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clanwarrior-tumbly · 1 year ago

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Ignore this if you want but please write a ryan gosling!Ken x Shy!human!Reader? Like I can’t stop thinking about Ken being human and a dad of a infant son who’s a mommy boy and Ken brings them to Barbie land, just hardcore fluff? Like everyone is happy to see the reader again but also happy to see a baby. So cute shy reader brings her infant son to girls night. 💖💖💖💖💖💖

"You think they'll like him?"

"They'll love him, [y/n]. I'm sure of it." Ken popped his head out of the camper van's window, smiling as he saw you sitting outside on the lawn chair.

You weren't the only people making a trip back to Barbieland, however, as you were currently cradling your pride and joy:

It was your infant son, who had the same hair color as you, and the same bright blue eyes as his father.

Yes, the baby was also Ken's.

After he decided to become human with your help (and a whole lot of patience), he was finally at a place where he felt genuinely happy with his life and purpose:

He started working for Mattel to advocate for the Ken dolls and skyrocket their sales, got married to you--his owner who finalized his decision to leave all his dollness behind, and settled down in a house that you could both call your own.

Despite all of these great happenings, however, he did feel like something else was missing.

Something that he desperately wanted to experience as a man.

And no, it had nothing to do with horse or beach or patriarchy.

It was fatherhood.

During his second time in the Real World, he's seen families bonding with their kids in movies, books, and even just walking down the street.

He was a bit embarrassed about obsessing over horses and ignoring the beauty of humanity happening all around him back then.

But now? He got to truly appreciate it.

While Ken didn't explicitly tell you that he wanted to know what it's like to raise a family, you could just tell from his lingering stares and smiles that he would give anything to experience that.

So you had some conversations about it, and you were absolutely happy to have a kid with him.

Yet after coming home from the clinic with the confirmation that you were pregnant, he became utterly terrified, his mind cluttered with the "what-ifs"?

He knew that he messed up a lot as Barbie's handcrafted boyfriend, and even as a human...that guilt followed him back to the Real World. He may have left behind the pastels and plastics, but these overwhelming emotions stuck to him like super glue.

He's just so, so afraid of screwing up again. Or that his expectations of fatherhood will fall short and the kid will hate him if they knew what he-

But you reassured Ken he was going to be a great father; him worrying about raising them right before they're even born just shows it.

Those nerves finally went away the moment he got to hold his son in the delivery room, sobbing after he realized he helped create this beautiful life with you.

Something that he, a dumb blond plastic doll who only knew how to do beach, never thought he'd get to experience.

Like Barbie, he finally got to be the creator...rather than the created.

Now he couldn't wait to revisit Barbieland with you and introduce his child to everyone there.

You've taken a trip there a few times before, so you were well aware of the long rollerblade-snowmobile-camper van-tandem bike-rocketship-speedboat-convertible journey ahead.

This time however, you were reasonably nervous, given you now had one extra fragile passenger to take care of.

Luckily, it's been a rather smooth trip so far, and your son didn't make a single fuss.

Not in the freezing cold during your snowmobile ride...and not even when a mama bear was currently emerging from the surrounding woods, approaching you both. You still held him closely, staying calm and cool, knowing these animals wouldn't hurt you.

Ken, on the other hand, damn near jumped out the window to drive the scary beast away--his newly-acquired dad instincts kicking into maximum overdrive.

But you took notice and hushed him, before turning back to the bear who was now sniffing you and your son with curiosity. You got to pet her on the head, and eventually she huffed and left you two alone.

"See?" You glanced back at your husband, amused that his torso was now halfway out the window. "Seriously, Ken? There's a door y'know."

"W-Well...had to make sure my family is safe! But I see you got it under control...g-good job, sweetie!" He forced a smile, although he was clearly struggling.

"....are you stuck?"

"......maybe."

'Great...now I'm dealing with two children.' Shaking your head, you gently set your baby in the carrier, before going to help Ken.

Yeah, this trip was going to be longer than you thought.

And not because of the kid.

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

"Barbies! Kens! Allan! We're back!"

"Oh my god!"

"Everybody STOP what you're doing!! It's [y/n] and Ken!!"

"Hi [y/n]!!"

"Hi Ken!!"

"Welcome back guys!!"

"Ken, dude!!!"

"[Y/n]! How you've been-??!"

"Guys, guys..at least let us get out first." After stepping out of the car, you looked around at the dolls surrounding you and Ken, seeing that Barbieland had gone through some changes since the last time you've seen it.

Nevertheless, it still felt warm and welcoming. Like your second home at this point.

With a bashful smile, you cradled your son closely to your chest, sighing as you wondered how you'll break the news to them. You were never one to make huge announcements...especially as everydoll here now had their eyes on you.

Weird Barbie--now in a uniform fitting for the garbage workers here--was quick to notice the bundle of blue you were holding, tilting her head. "What's that you got there, hun? A gift for us?"

"O-Oh! This is...um-"

"Oh it's not just any gift you can buy, Weird Barbie," Ken interjected, trying to hold back the tears in his eyes as he wrapped an arm around you, smiling from ear-to-ear. "We have brought to you the gift...of life!!"

There was a silence so loud, you could almost hear crickets chirping from the other world.

"...he means we had a baby boy." You bluntly stated, uncovering some of the blanket so they could see your child.

At first there were gasps, before there were cheers and smiles all around as they came closer to congratulate you both.

The Barbies cooed at how adorable your son looked, while Midge asked you if he just "popped" out of your belly like her Real World counterpart (to which you said no, of course).

Meanwhile, Ken struck up a conversation with the other Kens, who had their own praise to give and told him about all the cool jobs and other opportunities they've gotten since he left.

Of course, though, he was the first among them to be a dad besides Sugar Daddy Ken.

"But enough about us, and more about your son..." Tourist Ken spoke up, leaning forward. "Tell me, is he shaping up to be a "beach boy" like his dad?"

"Nope. He's...definitely a momma's boy." With a warm smile, Ken looked to you, seeing how his son clung to you while looking mesmerized by all the colorful and sparkly things in the cul-de-sac. "But he has my eyes and...that's enough for me."

A small chorus of "awh's" were heard, but before all the guys could start spouting about the sports they wanted to teach your son, he noticed you approaching them.

He stood right up, his focus on you. "Yes, my love?"

"Oh! So..I was wondering..uh--girls, c'mon." You huffed to the giggling Barbies behind you, shooing them away. Then you turned back to your husband. "Anyways, they um...invited me to girls' night tonight. And they're hoping our little guy can come along, too!"

"........."

"It'll just be for a few hours, I-I promise." You nervously added, suddenly remembering how he felt about that event. "I won't be-"

"I don't mind if you two go."

You blinked. "...you don't?"

"Nah, the Kens said they're having their own boys' night on the beach...which so-happens to be tonight as well!" His grin returned. "You have fun with the ladies. You'll know where I'll be."

Those words brought a huge smile to your own face, and you stepped forward to peck him on the lips. "Thanks, sweetheart. You boys have fun.." Your gaze flickered to the male dolls. "Try not to "beach-off" my husband while I'm gone."

After that, you turned and walked back to the Barbies, while Ken stared at the other Kens, noticing their bewildered expressions.

"What?"

"Th-That was an actual kiss."

"I've never seen one like that before!"

"H-How did you do that???"

"...it took practice, and don't forget..I'm human now, too." He chuckled, feeling a bit smug. "Humans kiss very differently."

#clanask #anonymous #barbie x reader #barbie movie x reader #barbie 2023 x reader #barbie ken x reader #ryan gosling ken #ryan gosling ken x reader #fluff #female reader

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animarumaeternae · 7 months ago

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Here is my OC

His name is Kenan Halil

He is a sylph angel

He has three animal friends a fox a rabbit and a squirrel

COMMISSION DONE 🎉🎊🥳🎊🎉🥳🎊🎉

as always, thank you so much for the request!! It was a lot of fun to draw and I hope you’re pleased with the results!! <333

for the turtles I imagined the initial shock of meeting a literal Angel would be a lot to comprehend.

((especially for Donnie who tends to be rather skeptical when it comes to anything.. ethereal))

so I imagined that Donnie’s scanners would have picked up an abnormality that he would trace upstate

((approximately somewhere near where they went camping with Todd that one time))

Donnie took his brothers along in case the abnormality turned out to be something dangerous, but what they were confronted with was like nothing they could’ve prepared for.

——————————————

Donnie sat back in his plush chair, gazing uncomprehendingly at the screen in front of him. Something was in New York. This ‘something’ was small, as far as his tracers could tell. About the size of an average human. However none of his security cameras were able to track the thing for more than a second. Even when he paused and enhanced the image, all that came of it was a blur. Whatever this ‘something’ was, it was moving fast. And… approximately 50 feet above the streets?? That couldn’t be right. A glitch in the feed. Donnie thought. A new alert popped up on the screen.

“oh god” Donnie sat back from his screen, groaning with exhaustion. this thing is practically oozing empyrean signature. And whenever something bad happens to us, empyrean is usually at the center of it. Donnie sighed. thinking back to the Shredder and his insatiable desire for the substance. What’s more, after the whole Krang fiasco, Donnie had enlisted Draxum to assist him in studying the source of the Krang’s mystic-blocking power. The Empyrean that runs through their slimy pink veins.

Now Donnie was even less amped about figuring out what this speed-demon empyrean-oozing entity was. But he figured Raph would have his shell if he found out he let something potentially dangerous slide, just because he didn’t feel like dealing with it. …and maybe he was curious…

———————————

roughly an hour and a half later ((“seriously Leo? a mud mask??” “It’s self care day.”)) the brothers were exiting the turtle tank and into the woods of upstate New York. Donnie had traced that powerful Empyrean trail to somewhere in the vicinity of their old camping grounds, but as soon as they got within 5 miles of the source, Donnie’s tech had started malfunctioning.

ugh, of course now would be the time for it to start glitching. I’m really starting to dislike this empyrean stuff. Donnie huffed absentmindedly. Coming for my brothers, the human race, and the entirety of the human and yokai worlds is one thing, but the moment you touch my tech-

Donnie’s inner monologuing was cut short when he felt Leo grab ahold of his shoulder. Mikey had also stopped chattering, and Raph’s senseless worried ramblings had ceased as well. Donnie craned his neck to see past these- “wait are these giant mushrooms?”

“Uh, let’s come back to that later, Dee.” Leo squeezed his shoulder

“first, how about we figure out what that glow-y thing is?” Mikey suggested nervously from Donnie’s other side, gesturing through the trees to a faint light source.

suddenly an ear-splitting screech erupted from Donnie’s wrist-tech. Causing all of them to stumble backwards. Well, whatever that “glow-y thing” is, it’s definitely the empyrean’s source. His blitzed-out tech could at least agree on that.

the screeching faded as quickly as it had come, leaving the brothers to resume their previous position and creep past the.. giant mushrooms ((seriously coming back with a testing kit after this))

the harsh glow of the clearing nearly blinded Donnie, as he stepped out of the shadows first, and came face to face with- holy shit is that an angel???

the ethereal creature slowly drifted its glowing eyes back towards the astounded turtles. Its skin and hair were sprinkled with stars, its 2 pairs of eyes trained solely on the intruders in its meadow. It’s wings- literal wings- fluttered anxiously at its back, tail twitching back and forth.

it took Donnie a moment to realize they were not alone in this clearing. The growling is what first alerted him. His eyes quickly flicked over to the Fox at the creatures side. Donnie maintained eye contact while assessing the rabbit and squirrel also sitting alongside the creature.

The ((Donnie was reluctant to call it an angel but for lack of better word that’s what he was currently going with)) reached out to rest it’s hand on the foxes head, Donnie thought for sure that the fox would’ve taken the angel’s hand off, but they seemed to come to a silent agreement. Donnie’s brothers, for once, remained silent behind him. Anxiously waiting for what the angel would do next.

the air around the clearing seemed to still as the creature opened it’s mouth to speak-

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #save rottmnt #rottmnt leo #rottmnt raph #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt mikey #commission #free commissions #commission fanart #i will draw your oc #oc art #oc fanart #Ik i got a Little carried away at the end #This commission was just way to clear in my mind for me #To NOT write a long ass fic about it #ty for the ask!

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nemoys · 1 year ago

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a very long messy review of link click (season 2)

alright so reading through a bunch of (mostly negative) reviews of the season thus far i've come to my own conclusions over how this season felt, and i really feel like addressing them since i personally feel like it deserves recognition (and rightful criticism) within certain aspects. really interested in everyone's takes so lmk whatever you think about all these aspects i'm about to gloss over.

NOTE ; i'm not going to be talking about the art direction or OSTs . i believe those have been nothing short of phenomenal and i feel like we can all universally agree over that

1) tonal shift : from a more emotionally driven s1, coupled with sprinkles of slice of life moments, we turn to a mostly thriller/mystery plot line. personally, i've always seen this coming. the tonal shift really didn't take me by surprise. with the lg stabbing at the end of season 1 it almost seemed inevitable that the more light hearted aspects of the first season weren't going to happen. more importantly, it was very clear that there was always a higher presence to fight. link click was always meant to be a thriller, this was always the plan, and so i suppose logically i assumed the second season would follow that path. i understand how people might've felt disappointed, or 'robbed', but i don't think the shift was all that shocking quite honestly, it was always set up. link click was never light hearted, even at s1.

the more shocking shift has to be the shift from an emotional, to suspenseful change in writing. the emotional writing in link click has always been the best part of the show and that hasn't changed, the emotionally driven plot lines of s2 (chen bin, ltc/ltx) have been written very well. the suspenseful writing also works. replaces the tear jerkers with an unsettling anxiety, and it's executed relatively well. you can clearly tell that the crew's been experimenting quite a lot with this season, and yes, that's usually what season 2 is for.

2) pacing : now i totally get the criticism in this aspect. in my opinion, the weakest part of s2's been the pacing. with overly drawn out fight scenes, and unnecessarily long recaps, i think the issue has to do with the fact that lc just has a LOT to address, and so it makes us feel less inclined to sit through longer scenes that don't directly advance the plot.

obviously i get that the fight scenes show off a lot of the animation budget #tm and they do look great but the fact that we had way too much time dedicated to a five minute long fighting cutscene in the FIRST episode just made me feel impatient.

3) red herring endings: alright this might be an unorthodox opinion but, aren't red herring cliff hangers a norm in general with these kinds of shows lol. idk i've come to expect the total opposite every time so it doesn't really bother me i guess i'm just used to the medium. not really a lc problem it's a story telling problem in general but that's just marketing i don't know what else to say.

it'd be nice if they followed through but some part of me thinks they're pulling a whole boy who cried wolf situation, eventually they'll pull the trigger when we don't really expect it.

4) shipping/ main trio reconciliations : it's a really serious ongoing situation. i kind of get why the main trio/shiguang don't get a chance to talk things over amongst themselves, it just isn't the time. keep in mind everything that's happening rn is happening continuously, there are no gaps within the days or anything, kind of makes sense that they don't really talk about it. they probably will get to once it's all over, which might be well into s3. again, this was always meant to be a thriller more than it was trio focused. also idk about you guys but i think we actually did get a lot of sweet moments within the trio, cxs and lg, even the sibling dynamic with ql and cxs were really lovely this season.

5) the women: okay i REALLY don't understand the problem here. the women are written well. ql is written FANTASTICALLY and all side characters like ltx and that one red eyed lady i'm forgetting the name of were great too. hell even chen bin's wife was great. i think for a donghua/anime where women are usually given dirt in terms of actually strong writing, lc has always been very solid. their lives do not revolve around the men in the show it just happens to be that men are a part of their lives. they have very distinct personalities and aren't treated like weird objects to gaze at (what a bar lol) but yes i do think the women are written quite dimensionally.

6) unanswered questions : when have linear shows ever answered questions (especially mc based) in season 2?? when has season 2 EVER tied loose ends? when it comes to linear television, season 2's purpose almost always build towards a greater evil/climax. there's a reason why season 2 hasn't answered questions we've had, season 2s in most shows rarely ever do. from what i can tell, with a confirmed s3, i've always expected s2 to simply do its job as a second season and further raise stakes and raise even more questions. i do get the frustration, i get the lack of any backstory, but i want to refrain from making any actual comments over that till every episode's aired ahah, however, im not too mad at it. i just think this show's ride is currently still at an increasing accelerated pace (guys i'm sorry i study physics), things will only be explained once we've once hit the climactic point or go downhill right after. time will tell i guess

Conclusion

overall, i think this season was actually pretty solid. s1 set a very unrealistically high bar, as s1 in my opinion is one of the best seasons in television period. but s2 and s1 shouldn't be compared in the same way, their tone is quite different, and needs to be analysed individually instead. i'll make a complete review once the season is over, but honestly i've come to enjoy the season most when i stop expecting too much out of it. i think people had way too many things they've expected from s2, that were bound to simply never happen.

that said, i do hope the crew takes the valid criticism regarding the pacing (and ig the character focus?) into consideration and implements it well into s3. it's worth noting that i believe nothing was meant to be complete with s2 in the first place.

i've really enjoyed this season, and i'm beyond ecstatic to rewatch it all once it's done airing, in order to properly take it all in. it's had its flaws, more than s1 has had (let's be real s1 had little to none). but that's bound to happen to shows when they head down their linear routes. currently sitting at a 7/10

#link click #link click spoilers #shiguang dailiren #cheng xiaoshi #lu guang #qiao ling #this is still my favourite show ahaha #had to make this because i got tired of the overly negative views i've been seeing #some are fascinating and perfectly valid of #but some plainly disregard the effort put into it #calling it unrefined or insulting the very clearly passionate crew is NOT the right way to criticise a show #i really enjoyed reading negative reviews that had tact though'#lmk what you guys thought i'm very interested

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strobichie · 1 year ago

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just sae, forever.

♡⸝⸝ summary: poor you decided to replay ddlc, but instead you were stuck in an unideal situation. this is part two of just sae!

little note: i didn't expect my last post to get 30+ likes XD, i was never good at writing per se, regardless i'm delighted to see people enjoy my small short fic even if it wasn't that eye-catching. also, oftentimes i write for gn and fem readers and honestly.. i don't know which to use for this one. i guess it's up to you then reader ^_^ (small hints of inconsistent type of reader, reader's style and etc depends on her or their mood.)

your perspective:

huh, it's been a few days after that unfortunate event.

was i just pranked? geez, hopefully it was. the shit that 'sae' pulled back there felt real as hell. even his dialogues sounded real.

i heard a knock on my apartment door and froze in place..

i haven't gone out in days, i think i already became a neet.

my legs dangled from my bed as i stood up, rushing to the front door, i opened it, expecting to get ai hoshino's fate.. but instead... ---

"it feels nice to see you in real life." that.. was sae's voice. or more realistically AND honestly, takahiro sakurai's voice.

i perked my head up, oh... he was, tall. obviously. what am i saying?

he pulled me into a sudden hug, he wore the same clothes when he appeared in the manga and anime.

i was speechless, this... couldn't be real. i was just being pranked, was i?

"why are you so quiet? why don't you speak up, love?" he looked at me lovingly, gosh, my single ass felt blood running to my cheeks.

"no way, you're real? here?! in flesh and blood??" i said, absolutely flabbergasted. he looked exactly like sae, but i was still in denial.

"why would you think that my words were just empty nonsense? i was being true to my words... and you." he shyly admitted. why was he so out of character?

"and, i may not seem like the cold person i was in the anime and manga, but i.. since i'm with you, after all those times in the literature club, i actually found happiness with you." he continued to speak.

"...yeah, let's, like, settle this inside." i brought him in my apartment, it wasn't too small, rather it was quite big. my job paid me really well and i was able to afford quite a luxurious and spacious apartment. those years in school really did pay off, haha.

sae sat on my comfortable white couch as he looked around, surprised. i dug into my pantry desperately searching for.. something.

i was really warming up to sae now, i mean, judging from my tiktok reposts i reposted videos and edits of him way more often than rin, sorry... rinrin...

my eyes caught sight of my life long worth of candy stash, it could last for like, decades. or more...

i happily hummed as i took a big basket full of candy, walking to the living room and placing it on the glass coffee table.

"what are you staring for sae? come on, i didn't bring this big basket of candy here for nothing." i shot him a smug smile, urging him to take one candy bar.

"it's nothing, i just never expected you to be this welcoming and kind.. i'm... grateful. thank you." he took a candy bar and peeled the wrapper open, taking a bite into the soft chocolate caramel.

he was secretly enjoying the candy bar, so i took one for myself and swallowed the candy bar whole after peeling the tight ass wrapper.

"riiight, since you're a famous footballer back in the bluelockverse, i guess you need to get used to getting pampered and taken care of by me since you have no job now, whatsoever. but to be frank, i don't care. it's nice to have someone around me after god knows how long!" i said out of the blue, eyes star-struck. i didn't know why, i felt happier when people were around me. but when i was with sae.. i felt.. like i was on cloud nine.

"...sae, i don't know why. but i like you, a lot." two lonely bitches staring at each other, that was us.

"i like you too, {name}... i like you, a lot more than you'd ever like me." gosh, this stings. what was i thinking? am i hallucinating or just crazy? i eyed sae sadly, a evident frown plastered on my face.

"i'll love you till the end of time, {name}." he smiled, shit, i felt butterflies in my stomach. is this true love? ironic since he was a fictional character that broke the barrier between fiction and reality.

maybe.. life with sae.. wouldn't be so bad.

we can do many things together, like drawing and painting. playing video games, and going out together. like a real couple would do.

i found myself slightly blushing a soft pink colour, i actually felt happy, with sae.

"...i love you, sae." i smiled at him lovingly, and he shot me a loving smile back.

i finally felt true happiness!

author's note: might do a silly lil fic of reader and sae living life together as a happy couple, gosh, i'm a sucker for lovey dovey pairs wkdjskwksfr

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ms-cartoon · 1 year ago

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Sorry for the long wait for this review. Life has been biting me in the rear lately and I’ve been unmotivated to get anything done. But I’m finally finished with this commentary and I haven’t forgotten about the “Unhappy Campers” episode that was uploaded recently. That will be done as well!

Okay, FINALLY Season 1 Episode 8 came out and about, after a year I think. Why was it taking so long?

Well, short story; professional (or personal?) reasons involving Kesha. Also, copyright issues.

Long Story? Well, as we all know, Kesha, a pretty known popstar, was voicing the role of a character Viv created for this episode named Beelzebub. As you can see from the gif I put on top, you can tell that there are some similarities there. Not just with the voice, but also appearances here and there.... which was one of the problems and reasons why Kesha didn’t wanna voice this role, at least initially since she clearly changed her mind after a year or so. If you’ve seen this episode, you’d probably know by now that Beelzebub is a party girl; she likes to drink, party, and eat junk food n stuff. And Kesha is ALL those things; party girl, likes to drink and eat. Or at least... she was like that? Thing is, she went to rehab for all those things and is recovering from it from what I’ve heard.

Not that I wanna assume anything but... creating an oc that has certain traits that the voice actor was struggling with and had to get cleaned for, not to mention that Beelzebub is a literal reference to Kesha and how she was back in the day? I don’t know what Viv’s goal was there, but doesn’t she think that might be a little insensitive?? Now, I don’t know if Kesha is sensitive about that, but she must’ve felt some type of way about it considering she wanted nothing to do with HB in the first place and had to wait almost a year to finally decide to do it.

Also, I still don’t get why this episode had to wait a year for this. Like, I get that Kesha is Vivzie’s idol and it was her dream to have her voice someone in her show, but did she really want her to voice a role so badly she wanted to put a pause on the season 1 finale and completely skip to season 2 until finally uploading it a year later? Why couldn’t she just get someone else to voice Beelzebub? Kesha didn’t even sing the song that was played in this episode, and she wrote it!! It just kinda feels like all this was for nothing. This should probably be the last time Viv EVER tries to get big-time celebrities to voice over characters in her show. Especially when it gets so complicated to the point where you have to keep certain famous youtube videos private, when animators can’t even upload animation roughs from the episode, and when you can’t tag Kesha about her association with Helluva Boss on ANY social media. Yeah . . . It’s that complicated. Hopefully, Viv will learn some kinda lesson from all of this, cuz she had to take her “Die Young” animation off YouTube because of it, which honestly sucks (mostly for her anyway). It really is messed up, especially when considering that Viv’s Die Young video was what mainly started her whole career in the first place before Hazbin. I really hope it was worth it,Viv. . . .

Anyway, let’s just jump to the review...

So episode 8 was kinda... meh. It was alright I guess, still like always, I was expecting something outta nothing. Of course, some things happened on here that I just had to complain about, and I’ll explain later. But the gist of it is that... not a lot happened in this episode. As always, the writers were just rushing things. This whole episode might as well have been a 5-minute clip after so much wasted time on some stupid song which I’ll admit is pretty catchy (gives me 2010 vibes). And also what bothers me about this whole thing was that this was about Loona.

Lemme explain; so y’all remember Ozzie’s right? That whole thing with Blitzo spying on M&M and bringing Stolas along just to get in the club? Yeah, that episode. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but that was supposed to be a Part 1 before episode 8 before Viv decided at the last minute to change that. At the end of episode 7, Blitzo pushed Stolas away after dropping him off. He went home and was scrolling through pictures and started to cry after seeing a picture of him, his sister, and mother. I was expecting this whole episode to be about just Blitzo and what he got going on, similar to Stolas and his episode in the second season. Like maybe a flashback of his past or something with the people that was a part of his life and left at some point over what he did. We have yet to know what happened between him and Fizzarolli that ended their friendship. Or what about his sister?? Cuz apparently, she doesn’t like Blitzo either and is holding a grudge about something. With Verosika, well we already know the two dated and why they broke up sorta, but I still feel like we have yet to explore the relationship they had. Like, how the hell did a scrawny little imp like Blitzo get with such a baddie like Verosika??? What was their relationship like?

So yeah, I just feel like this episode could’ve given us a whole other different plot. If anything, the story in this episode could’ve been saved for another. Not that there was any plot to tell anyway, especially when it’s 15-minutes long and rushed as hell.

It’s literally just Loona at a party...

In episode 7 S1, Blitzo got a text from Loona saying Vortex invited her to a party and that’s where we are. The whole time, she’s having difficulties socializing with folks and is very awkward. Plus we have our new character, Beelzebub to lighten everybody’s mood. She’s also Vortex’s girlfriend, but I’ll get into that in a little bit. Also, after a while, Blitzo comes by to pick her up initially but later joins the party with Loona.

Let’s just get started....

-- Hold up, so no disclaimer of “This is for adults! You have been warned!” warning?? We’re just gonna jump straight into the episode? I’m not sure whether they forgot about that part or if they just don’t care anymore, but to me, it feels rather off. Especially since they’ve been doing it since the first episode of season 1. If you’re wanting to go all out with the r-rating anyway, it would still be best for you to put that disclaimer every time before you start the episode, especially when folks of a younger age are watching it for the first time and don’t like to be caught off guard with anything vulgar.

-- I couldn’t tell if Loona just hung up on Blitzo or just left him on read when he tried to call her. Regardless, she didn’t answer the phone while knowing fully well he’s trying to call her and its pretty rude. I know I’m being nitpicky about this part, but as someone who has parents who’d get onto you a little for not answering the phone sooner and not calling back immediately after finding out you missed the call, it can get a little triggering.

-- The hellhounds in this party don’t even look like actual hellhounds; just over a hundred different breeds of dogs with red eyes. If anything, Loona and Vortex look more like hellhounds.

-- Is it just me, or does the animation and clean-up here feel . . . . off? I mean- Look at the outlines!!

Do you see how different the outlines are in size in each different scene??? They’re thick in one part, totally thin in another, but right back to thick again, and so on. Honestly, the more I notice it, the more irritable it is. I get that there are hundreds of animators working in this show, they like to animate their way, and I’m no animator myself (not yet), but would it kill y’all to stay consistent with the clean-ups here? Why can’t you stick to the same brush size while outlining?

-- While we’re on that topic, Loona’s character model looks much more off than the outlining. I’m not sure how I can explain it, I don’t critique art or character designs often (ironic cuz I draw a lot, lol), but Loona has been drawn so stiff and thick lately. . . . . I dunno. It just doesn’t look the same. You might see what I mean if you just look at the pictures above. Once again, it just seems like the animators and artist cannot stay consistent with the animation and character appearances.

-- Loona butts in on a conversation with a couple of people she apparently doesn't get along with. I get that she's trying to socialize, but why, out of everyone in this party, did you choose to talk to someone who takes embarrassing photos of you and talks shit??

-- So this poodle hellhound took a photo of Loona throwing up that one time at a party she participated in. A party before this one of course. But last I checked, it was implied in ep 3 season 1 that Loona had never been to a party before and the one that Tex invited her to (the one in the episode) would be her first one. The party that Loona vomited at should’ve been her first one instead of the one Beezlebub is running. Not to mention that she has met some of these hellhounds before and is known as “Lunatic Loona” by most of them. This folks is yet another retcon.

-- Loona calls the poodle a bitch, leaving everybody completely shocked for some reason. “Ooooh! Teacher! She just said a bad word!” That’s seriously what they’re acting like. As if NOBODY in this wasted ass party (or in hell at all) has ever said a bad word before. If y’all don’t grow tf up-

-- I’m sorry, but if y’all asked me what I thought The seven deadly sin of Gluttony would look like, NEVER in my LIFE would I have pictured THIS--

I know I cannot have been the only one high off shrooms the moment I seen this character design. . . She looks like a concept art of an OC that was made a 12-year-old Vivziepop.

So first off, she calls herself Queen Bee... but is shaped like the rest of these furry fanservice mutts. She’s just another wolf/fox with only a little bit of bug-like features to pass off that she’s only. . . part bee. But why not just make her a FULL BEE??? Why does she have to look like a whole lava lamp hellhound??? Like, I know the lava lamp feature was supposed to be based off her personality, but why can’t that just be her hair?? Why do you have to add that part to her STOMACH!!?? I can’t even tell if that’s just apart of her clothes or her actual body! Either way, its too much!! It must’ve been hard as sh*t to animate her!!!

It doesn’t even make sense that she looks like a hellhound anyway!! Hellhounds are supposed to be in the lowest rank right beside imps and Beezlebub looks like one of them, only with an extra pair of arms!! Once again, why can’t she just be a BEE or something???

-- I always forget that Helluva Boss is supposed to be a musical. Probably because it just doesn’t fit as one at this point, especially with this pop music. When it comes to musicals, the point in the songs is that we would have to feel empathy for whoever’s singing and they also tell a story while we get a sense in what we’re about to see, and it also drops hints in what will happen next. But THIS song, it’s just a little pop music talking about sweets while also introducing Beezlebub. I get that its the point in pop music; there’s not much meaning to them and it’s only meant for you to enjoy and sing along with, but you can’t really call this show a musical when music like this is being played. Like I said from before, it’s still fairly catchy. I’ll admit that, but I could hardly feel for it.

-- I don’t wanna badge Kesha for her acting skills. It’s not like she’s been in a lot of films anyway. I mean, she’s a pop singer first and always, so that’s fair. But it was pretty, meh? Like, she kinda sounded like she didn’t even wanna be there in the studio and is only reading her lines instead of actually ACTING them while putting little emotion in what she’s saying. Honestly, most of Beelzebub’s lines are kinda pointless anyway. Like she’s just saying random bizarre monologues that I can hardly care about or even listen to. I can’t even tell if I was supposed to laugh at them or what. Seems like to me the writers only put those lines in the script just to hear the famous Ke$ha talk more. Not to mention that some of what she said sounded completely unnecessary and weird. For instance, Beelzebub mentioned how she was associated with Satan and thinks of him as her brother, but also finds him hot without his shirt on and said that she could “hit that”. . . . . Uhh, not exactly something you should say or even THINK about your brother figure ma’am. Why y’all gotta have Kesha say all that?? I can definitely see why she wouldn’t wanna act out these scripts!! She must’ve felt hella uncomfortable reading them!

And Viv, WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND THE INCEST JOKES!!??

-- Okay, so . . . . Vortex, a lower class hellhound, and Beelzebub, one of the seven deadly sins being Gluttony (which means she a higher rank) dating?. . . Um, last I checked, a lower class and someone of higher up than that is kinda frowned upon by most of the demons in hell, as seen with how some people reacted to Blitzo and Stolas’s relationship. But for some reason, no one seems to react to Tex and Bee’s relationship?? Why is it that people mock Stolas and Blitzo for being a thing, but Tex and Bee can walk around and hold hands scott free??? I can tell that Viv just doesn't care anymore about the ranking system SHE made up.

-- I don’t really see Vortex and Bee as a couple anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I actually find it cute they’re together and even like the ship a little bit. But from what little interactions I’ve seen between them, kinda just seems like they’re more platonic best friends then boyfriend and girlfriend. I guess if we we’re to dig deep into they’re relationship, then I might see something, but . . . . I dunno, that’s probably just me.

-- Loona is so hard to read, especially now. The whole time she’s there, she’s just feeling super uncomfortable, like she doesn't even wanna be there even though she's with Vortex, who's the only person she seems to be more at ease with out of everyone in the party. Even when Bee is super welcoming and nice to her, Loona still feels bitter while not even liking her (Probably because Bee is dating Tex). And then for some reason, she just ups and leaves then starts to... tear up?? It's not too clear to me why she’s feeling sad. You can’t blame me for not knowing or picking up on it. It’s not like she was doing much of anything other than standing there and barely talking. How am I supposed to know what she’s really feeling and why she’s feeling it when she’s given no dialogue?

-- I'm reminded that Loona still acts so bitter around Blitzo and it's honestly irritating. She calls to ask him to pick her up and when he asks her if she was doing okay, she responded with such attitude! Aren’t we supposed to be sympathizing with her here??? I don’t care how frustrated she feels right now, especially since she has no reason to be. And I just love it how when people see her and say, "Oh hey Blitzo! Is that your daughter?" And she quickly responds, "I'm his ADOPTED daughter!" Like bitch. . . WAS ANYONE ASKING THAT!! He’s your family!! Paper or no paper!! DEAL WITH IT!! And no shit your adopted!! People can see that he’s an imp and you’re a HELLHOUND!!! Stop being so defensive!!

-- Are you for real right now. . . . . .

You were getting all teary-eyed n shit, wanting to go home but as soon as some hellhound hottie starts flirting with you, you immediately get over it and change your mind in less than 5 seconds before you’re about to leave???? Like you don’t even think about it?? Viv, where are you getting at here???

-- I can’t really say much about Blitzo right now. He’s barely there anyway, only making an appearance in the last 10 minutes of the episode for comic relief and a pity party.

-- Viv must really don’t know what to do with her female characters and how to go about ‘em. Loona’s shown to be introverted and sad at first to straight up confident and lively around everyone in a matter of seconds. She’s so quick to make friends and get along with other hellhounds at the party as if it was no issue from before when it was. We don’t even get to see any progression of bonding with these out-of-nowhere friends she’s making. And all because of some dude that called her hot!!! It kinda makes me question on why Loona was even feeling sad in the first place since it was so easy for her to gain confidence.

-- Y’all, I think I’m convinced right now that the only reason Loona doesn’t like Beelzebub is because she’s dating her crush! Like- there’s nothing else to it. Bee and Tex are dating, Loona is still crushing Tex and that’s why she doesn’t like Beelzebub. Not to mention she’s possibly jealous because she feels inferior to her. She’s super outgoing, social, and could easily get along with anyone, something Loona can’t easily do (though that alone shouldn’t even matter because Loona already managed to make friends and some random hellhound flirted with her). You CANNOT convince me otherwise. And if that is the reason, then honey, you’re gonna have to let that go. For real!! You’re lucky that Tex even likes you enough to want to be your friend.

So Bee and Tex confront Loona about Blitzo, saying that he’s been drinking a lot (obviously) and that he’s going overboard with the partying. They suggested that Loona go check on him to make sure he’s okay and that he doesn’t cause some kind of scene (Then again, I don’t see why Bee would care. The point of her being the sin of Gluttony IS to go overboard with nearly anything. I mean- not the whole point, but it’s a common characteristic, so I don’t think she should be worried about it. I guess it’s good to know she’s considerate though.) Then all of a sudden, Loona snaps mainly at Bee and gets so hostile towards her saying, “You don’t know anything about my dad.” such and such, and I’m just like, “Ugh, again with your attitude!!!”

For one, its pretty bold of you to stand up to a higher rank considering she could squash you in an instant.

But I mean- WHAT IS WITH THE SUDDEN HOSTILITY??? And most people wanna validate her, saying, “It was only a trauma response. You gotta understand that Loona is new to this and she’s not used to people suddenly caring and being kind. She’s just having a hard time trusting people and she did apologize.” Y’all. . . don’t even- First off, Loona's reaction to Bee felt too rushed and forced to be considered traumatic. Second off, someone having trauma does not excuse an unnecessary shitty attitude, especially when Bee has been so kind to Loona this whole episode. Third off, for someone who doesn’t trust people so easily and isn’t used to being given kindness, Loona seemed pretty quick to make friends with everyone at the party who were nice to her. She was sure as hell quick to get along with Vortex after only knowing him for a short amount of time! And he was kind to her too. She wasn’t being bitchy to them then. But when BEELZEBUB is showing care or kindness, Loona will suddenly start to act bitchy??? And because of some past trauma?? PLEASE!!

And some fans would go on to say, "She's just getting over a heartbreak. It takes a while to get over your crush."

They're saying this as if Loona is head over heels in love with Vortex when she was simply CRUSHING on him and from the moment she saw him. And yes, there IS a huge difference especially when Loona only knew Vortex in that short amount of time. I would understand Loona falling in love with Tex if they actually had the time to bond after ep 3. . . . but they didn't. At least there was no indication that they did. And on top of that, just for the record, Loona already knew that Tex had a girlfriend the same day she met him!! Which was five episodes ago!! So before y'all go on and say "She needs time to get over her crush", she should've already gotten over it by now!! I dunno why she's still crushing and blushing around him as if she believed he liked her back!

Why did she seem so shocked after Tex introduced his Bee anyway? As if Loona never recalled him mentioning he had a girlfriend back in ep 3. And say that was the reason why she was sad . . . why would it would it make her sad!!?? Like I said, she should’ve already known Tex had a girlfriend since he brought it up straight to her face. I would understand her being upset if he didn’t tell her and she didn’t find out about Bee until the last minute when Tex introduced her as his girlfriend. Then it would actually make sense for Loona to still crush on him the entire time because she wouldn’t have known he was taken and would believe she still had a shot with him. In this case, it would be understandable why it would make her sad. . . . but we didn’t go that route. Instead, we had to go about it the “Vivzie Way” (the more complicated way).

Point blank, Loona seems to only dislike Bee because she's with Tex and is jealous. And she shouldn't have reacted the way she did out of jealousy when Bee was only showing concern for Blitzo. Trauma or no trauma, I don’t care. It was unnecessary.

-- “Blitzo! BLITZO! Where are you, shithead!!”

Loona . . . . how’re you gonna get all defensive about your dad and then go straight back to calling him names?

-- For once, Loona decides she actually wants to care about her dad (mainly cuz she was told to). I guess its nice to see a cute father/daughter moment between Blitzo and Loona for once. Can’t say I feel for it at all though especially when it immediately starts to become completely pointless a season and two episodes later when we see this happen-

Seriously, how're they gonna have Loona and Blitzo bond by the end of the episode only for Loona to go back to treating him like shit the next? It’s like whatever build-up was being made between them immediately collapsed a season later, and over something as petty as a mild criticism Blitzo gave Loona. You can just TELL that Viv and the other writers don’t think before writing these scenes down!!

Also, how is it that Loona will get all concerned for Blitzo making out with folks in the party while wasted even though she was literally cheering for him to chug a whole barrel of liquor in order to beat Bee in a game. What’s sad about this is that it was one of the only times Loona calls him “Dad”. . . . In a drinking game . . . . .

-- Blitzo: "Loony, will you be there for me?"

Loona: . . .Be where?"

Be invisible, obviously. . . . Frickin' idiot. . . .

-- We're supposed to feel bad for Blitzo, but it's kinda hard for me to do that when he wasn't even the main focus in this episode at all when he should been. Still, it's not like I could feel sorry for him anyway since he brought that whole Ozzie's mess on himself.

For now, I think that's all that could be said about this episode. I might just make some edits if I feel if I left something off. But the whole gist of it is that I feel like this episode was just a whole lotta nothin'. I don’t even think Loona learned anything this entire episode. Of course, the whole plot here was Loona learning to socialize and make friends with everyone, but we didn’t even get to see any of that. And she clearly didn’t learn anything since she was influenced by some rando calling her hot. It’s honestly sad, for real. The females in this show needs some serious work not just in their stories, but their characters too.

#helluva rant #helluva boss rant #criticism #critique #animation critique #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #helluva boss critique #anti helluva boss #Loona #Helluva Boss

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my-current-obsession · 10 months ago

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My Next Life as a Villainess VN - Thoughts

Considering the source material, I was surprised at how good this game was! It's unsurprisingly light-hearted and comedic, but most of the CGs are still great and the romances mostly worked. I appreciated how despite Catarina's black-hole level of denseness causing issues in basically every route, everyone tackled it differently and every relationship felt unique.

My biggest complaint is just that we were robbed of routes with the girls outside a "normal/friendship" ending, since the girls canonically ALSO love Catarina. Getting three extra routes for Mary, Sophia, and Maria would have been SO GOOD. But Alas.

While this game and story is definitely meant for fans of the light novels and/or anime, I think there's plenty of information for people new to the series to still enjoy it. I also appreciate how much content is added to the common route as you complete the routes of love interests. Expect SPOILERS below the cut, as I go into detail on my thoughts for each route.

My play order was:

Alan -> Keith -> Geordo -> Rozy -> Nicol -> Silva

Common Route: I won't linger too long on this, since the common route in this case was pretty short. It did its job, setting up the plot and introducing us to all the important characters, both new and old. But in terms of notable interactions with the love interests or MAJOR plot points, there isn't much of notice yet. All the choices that give affection for the guys pre-route split lead to very brief tangents/conversations, nothing substantial.

We do meet and immediately befriend Rozy in the common route, which is nice. Silva by comparison barely features here, but he's ALL OVER basically every route, so his absence here is honestly fine.

I do like that we learn about the sachets and their connection to Ryle Werder, since that plays an important role in several routes. The Witch's Eye, by comparison, perhaps receives TOO MUCH attention in the common route. It's only relevant in NICOL'S route and yet we learn about it when meeting ROZY, which seems odd.

Alan: Not counting the girls, when I watched the anime, Alan was my favorite love interest. Hence, I decided to start with him. And I wasn't disappointed! I like that it's pretty clear under "normal" circumstances that despite his love for Catarina, Alan would never rock the boat and confess to her. He acknowledges and respects that she's engaged to Geordo, and he's engaged to Mary.

Thus, for this love to bloom, the pair kind of NEEDS to be separated from the group and spend some quality time together, which is just what we get. Interacting one-on-one, these two have a very casual and easy relationship that appeals to me. They get along well and Alan is mostly charmed by Catarina's eccentricities. His one real problem with her is that she is reckless to the point of endangering her own life, and that's a fair criticism I think.

Since Alan wasn't planning on confessing, his struggle to "get through" to Catarina is mostly about making her understand that being reckless hurts and upsets the people that care about her, which he finally inadvertently succeeds at by... getting hurt himself while protecting her, causing HER to be upset.

It's a very sweet and subtly romantic moment, which I liked a lot. I like how this route, particularly the "memory scenario" bits, seemed to imply that deep down, subconsciously, Catarina ALWAYS has liked and favored Alan. He's the one she likes to just... hang out and spend time with, and thus when they spend a certain amount of time alone and have some (mostly accidental) romantic moments, she's quick to Catch Feelings, even if she takes a bit to acknowledge them.

The cherry on top to this route was his confession and how it was handled. When Alan accidentally confesses his feelings while saving Catarina from Frederic, due to her hangups about the whole "I'm a villainess in an otome game and all the guys should love Maria" thing she initially wants to doubt or misinterpret it - but Silva (who had earlier called out and WEAPONIZED Alan's feelings for his own gain) is quick to correct her, forcing her to acknowledge it. But the pair don't get to talk it out right away, leaving them to be noticeably awkward around each other until they do.

Only then, when it's unavoidable and necessary, does Alan fully confess. Because he knows Catarina NEEDS to hear this in order to fix their current relationship. But he immediately follows it up by telling her to forget it all - because he's genuinely content with just being friends with her and doesn't want to ruin things between her and Geordo.

I appreciate how much Alan is selfless and trying to do the right thing - and I appreciate it even more, comparing it to other routes to come. And Catarina refuses to forget because simply finding out how he feels is enough to make her recognize her own feelings, but she similarly resolves to talk things out with Geordo and Mary before confessing. The respect paid to their "official" partners and trying to properly end things before starting anything together is mature and wonderful, to the point where in Alan's happy end Geordo (reluctantly, but still entirely of his own volition, without outside pressure) gives them his blessing. It's sweet and satisfying.

Also, sidenote - I genuinely liked Liliana a lot as a side character and was disappointed she wasn't in any other route. On the other hand, that means she got to witness and support JUST Alan's romance and none of the others, so...

Keith: I won't lie, this is my least favorite route from a plot AND relationship standpoint. While basically ALL the other love interests find Catarina charming and endearing, it bothers me how Keith is always criticizing her. He loves her, but he's constantly trying to get her to act like a "proper noblewoman" instead of embracing her as she is. And from the perspective of a SIBLING, that's fine. But I HATE it when you're actively trying to mold your love interest's behavior and personality.

Across all the routes Catarina must have dreaded Keith lecturing her (explicitly acting like her mother, at that) more times than I could count. That's just NOT romantic. At all. And isn't a dynamic that can/should be TURNED romantic, IMO.

Another big turnoff for me is that Keith is one of two love interests who has... let's say a sense of entitlement to Catarina. He's actively hidden his feelings for years, AND YET he hates the idea of her with anyone else and actively tries to keep her away from her more aggressive suitors like Geordo. Unlike Alan and Nicol, who acknowledge their feelings but WILL NOT act on them in usual circumstances, Keith monopolizes Catarina's attention when he can and actively WANTS to be with her romantically... all while excusing the time and attention he gets by saying it's his right as her BROTHER.

The underhanded nature of how he gets her attention and his ulterior motives bothers me. At least Geordo is UPFRONT with his possessiveness and intentions, even if Catarina is too dense to notice.

On Catarina's end... I just struggle to buy her suddenly falling in love with him. This route makes it clear Keith is "special" in that she's quick to notice if he's not feeling well physically or emotionally; Catarina likes to TAKE CARE OF and DOTE ON Keith. That's pretty in-line with her seeing him as her brother, and honestly that same care and attention comes across in other routes where she clearly loves him PLATONICALLY, so it's hard for me to accept that not only does she quickly fall in love with him here but she confesses FIRST before Keith makes his own feelings clear.

As for the rest of this route's plot, I barely remember it. I wasn't invested in the conflict here - and that's not the case in most routes. Alan's route interested me with the relationship drama of Ryle & Liliana, Silva and Rozy had big political issues, and Nicol's was supernatural. Only Geordo's route was similarly dull in terms of non-romance content. The main thing I took away from the conflict here is I was unhappy how Keith's conflict of feeling weak and unable to protect Catarina was handled.

Rather than learning he didn't HAVE to protect her, that he was important/valuable to her without that, or something along those lines (leading to a more mutual and open dynamic, theoretically), it's resolved by... him finally being able to protect her. He had a BAD personal arc on top of a BAD romance on top of a BORING overall route/conflict.

Geordo: Like Keith, Geordo is pretty possessive and "entitled" to Catarina. Unlike Keith, I can at least somewhat understand why. He's literally engaged to her and has been for years. Beyond just his own hopes/feelings, there is an expectation that he WILL marry her eventually. I also appreciate that while he's initially not that forward, he's still open and obvious about his romantic affections. It's just that Catarina is PARTICULARLY dense with him.

She struggles to believe anyone could fall for her when Maria is Right There, but Geordo in particular she struggled to win over "in game", and despite years to get used to the idea she still doesn't seem to realize how much people and relationships have changed due to her actions. Thus she can't envision him EVER loving her romantically and finds a way to misinterpret his every action.

Whereas Keith just kind of... snapped and wasn't able to hold back his feelings in his route after spending too much time alone with Catarina, Geordo by comparison is very DELIBERATE in making more aggressive moves. And again, I think it's narratively justified albeit kinda messed up. While he is used to the usual rivals and felt relatively secure that they wouldn't/couldn't steal Catarina out from under him... suddenly Silva enters the equation and NOW he feels threatened.

As a pirate, Silva wouldn't care about Geordo's title or his claim to Catarina. If he chooses to steal her away or if Catarina just comes to like him, there's NOTHING Geordo can really do. Thus, he couldn't afford to be patient anymore and he got desperate.

He thought he had time to win her over, but now he had to progress things FAST or risk losing her. His actions make sense, and by making his feelings clear earlier on in the route, Catarina has more time to think about it and figure out her own feelings.

I think it's notable that none of the other love interests, despite their own feelings for Catarina and their frustration for how Geordo handles things (since he says some nasty things and unintentionally hurts her while revealing his feelings), actually try to PREVENT Geordo from "winning" Catarina. The girls even come around to SUPPORTING him despite loving Catarina as well.

Geordo's "entitlement" to her is reasonable. He's not guaranteed her love, but he is the most justified in expecting it and acting possessive by virtue of their engagement. While Mary may plot to run away with her, while Keith might secretly want her for himself, while Sophia tries to push Nicol to pursue her... EVERYONE acknowledges on some level that unless Catarina actively falls for someone else (which looks increasingly unlikely as time goes by), Geordo IS her endgame by default. And they respect that. They are all prepared for this marriage to eventually happen; Geordo by comparison on other routes is typically NOT prepared for Catarina to suddenly fall for someone and want to break things off.

His crime is of being complacent and then poorly handling it when he realizes just that. I personally can forgive that a lot easier than Keith's... everything, and a lot of what happens in Rozy's route, too.

On Catarina's end, the extra time she got to think about Geordo's feelings and re-contextualize a lot of their earlier interactions while also being more aware of the romantic implications of later ones served her well. While I personally imagine Alan and Nicol as the two guys she's lowkey into "by default" judging from their routes, it was easy enough to see Geordo's efforts to win her over actually paying off near the end, and her accidentally acknowledging her realization of "maybe I love Geordo" out loud, TO HIS FACE, was great. The non-romance plot of this route was fairly dull, but I found the romance very engaging so it evens out!

Rozy: I was impatient and just had to give one of the new love interests a go before doing Nicol. I have very mixed feelings about this route. On the one hand, as a new character, I found Rozy very attractive in terms of his appearance and personality. And many of his interactions with Catarina were sweet and endearing. On the other hand I have two MAJOR issues that hampered my enjoyment of specifically his relationship with Catarina, A LOT.

Problem one is that, plain and simple, Rozy was TOO devoted and obsessed with her based off ONE, BRIEF interaction 8 years ago. I understand that she inspired him and changed his life without meaning to, but he just... takes it too far. I can rationalize him looking into her immediately afterwards to learn her name. I can get behind him thinking back to that moment and hoping to meet her again one day, to thank her.

But he went as far as HIRING people to check up on her and tell him all about her, years later. That's just STALKING. Through a proxy, yes, but stalking nonetheless. Which is not okay. Ever. It doesn't help that outside of this one "flaw" - being TOO devoted, to the point of clear obsession, which is noted in story to be a flaw his entire family has - he's basically perfect in a way NONE of the other love interests are. I'm genuinely not sure if I would have preferred a literally flawless Gary Stu love interest or... this, which was gross.

Problem two was Albert's interference and the DISRESPECT to Geordo this route had. In general I'm wary of other characters in a story "shipping" anyone together - passively rooting for something like Liliana did is typically fine, but very active matchmaking is grating - but WOW was Albert a busybody about getting Rozy and Catarina together. When he was talking politics I was engaged and enjoying him, but whenever he turned his attention to playing matchmaker, I just felt frustrated.

He's MEANT to be eccentric, but this is really how a king is spending his valuable time? In particular the way he outmaneuvered Geordo so that Catarina and Rozy could fake-date For Reasons, and even PULLED RANK on him, threatening to end his and Catarina's engagement BEFORE Rozy had even confessed, was infuriating.

What gets me is that his interference was ENTIRELY unnecessary. There were plenty of moments between Rozy and Catarina to justify their mutual feelings without him poking his nose in it, and despite being clearly unhappy about it Geordo HAS proven to be reasonable about letting Catarina go when she actually falls for someone else. It's not like Albert's actions prompted Rozy to confess; he was going to do so ANYWAY. All Albert did was piss off and disrespect Geordo. In theory his actions SHOULD cause political issues between Quid and Sorcier, which he wants to prevent, and yet...

This was the one route where I liked the plot outside the romance significantly more than the romance itself. The political drama and intrigue was engaging, and I loved seeing Rozy and Silva interact. They have a genuinely sweet dynamic. It was also cute seeing Rozy's dad gush over him - a more normal, healthy (yet embarrassing) way to express the family's overly-affectionate trait.

The conflict with the premier Cet Norden was... a bit sloppily handled though. It bothers me that like 90% of his backstory and motivation was in an optional "memory scenario". Was an optional exposition dump really the best they could do? No way to incorporate any of that into the story naturally? By comparison the conflicts are much better integrated in Alan, Nicol, and Silva's routes.

I have a third minor issue with this route (and to a lesser extent, Nicol and Silva's) - it's frustrating that even AFTER finding out Rozy is associated with the pirates, he continues to hide shit and only comes clean when he can't avoid it any longer. Silva's route fully explains WHY - they're trying to secretly handle this so they don't have to work with and be indebted to Sorcier. But the politics of that choice are, in itself, kind of disgusting. Thinking rationally, Rozy chose to endanger who knows how many Sorcier nobles by keeping things secret, and even if their lives are kept safe by the "pirates", they're still under extreme emotional stress due to the situation. They even go so far as to plan for ships from Quid to "rescue" the Sorcier nobles, making them feel indebted rather than the other way around! The entire plot/conflict of this game could have been avoided if saving lives mattered more than politics.

Nicol: This route took an interesting turn into the supernatural. There is an entirely unique conflict (on top of the existing ones, which... still exist and take up nearly half the route), and I quite enjoyed it. I do think it needed more time to shine, though. The witch is only properly introduced more than halfway through the route, and that conflict is resolved surprisingly fast and easily.

As for romance, this route actually worked way better than I expected going into it. I'm not typically into aloof love interests that don't emote much, but I think it helped that we got to spend a lot of time from Nicol's perspective so I could see what he was thinking and feeling, even if it wasn't clear from his expressions and voice.

I mentioned that I think Catarina is lowkey into Alan and Nicol "by default" earlier. Alan I explained in his section - she subconsciously seeks him out and pays him special attention, to the frustration of her other love interests.

Nicol by comparison she is more OVERTLY into, but it's initially shallow. Nicol has a "mysterious allure" that exists both in-game and out, and since canonically she hasn't played his route, AND she's the most distant from him out of all her love interests (he's more "my friend's brother" than "MY friend", initially), she's intrigued by and drawn to him in a way she isn't to her other friends. She is Not Immune to his good looks, and he's able to fluster her in a way no one else can, without even meaning to.

Thus, when they actually spend time together and get to know each other, it's actually very EASY for Nicol to win her affections. Lucky for everyone else that he's a good friend and is DETERMINED to keep his feelings to himself. Much like Alan, he has no intention of confessing and attempting to steal (ostensibly) Geordo's Girl, and I respect him for that.

I was honestly really into the tension between Geordo and Nicol this route, where out of respect and friendship Nicol was trying so hard to keep his distance from Catarina but he kept accidentally letting his feelings affect his actions in ways that stepped on Geordo's toes anyway. That said I think there was a missed opportunity regarding how that conflict ended. I think there was a lot of potential for either drama or wholesome friendship if he and Geordo had actually gotten to TALK about it, but they never did.

Nicol spent the entire route not wanting to confess and get between Catarina and Geordo, but then due to the witch's interference he ultimately confessed to Catarina anyway WITHOUT talking it out with Geordo first. Either Nicol needed to find the courage to confront Geordo and at least give him a heads-up that he was going to do this, or even better, Geordo could be a good friend and tell him to shoot his shot (but obviously Geordo himself wouldn't fully give up until it's clear Catarina has fully chosen someone else); either way making it a "may the best man win" situation would have been ideal. Instead Geordo tells Nicol they need to talk AFTER Nicol has confessed and stolen his girl after spending the whole route determined not to do literally just that, and we don't even see the confrontation.

This route is leagues better than Rozy's in "dealing with" Geordo, but not as good as Alan or Silva's. While I wanted Nicol to talk things out with him first, I at least am more accepting of the witch's interference than Albert's. Albert was playing matchmaker and screwing over Geordo in the process, while the witch was personally trying to upset Geordo due to his similarity to her lover that she wanted revenge on, and Nicol and Catarina getting together was more a byproduct of that.

She forced Nicol to spend time with and confess his love to her (in Catarina's body), which made him reconsider his feelings and his passivity, and when he ultimately confessed it was because he couldn't bear for his only confession have been to the witch. It was explicitly for the sake of closure rather than expecting reciprocation, which was a happy surprise.

Ultimately I think this route was very solid all around though it could have been improved in some ways. It also brings another point AGAINST Rozy, because I can't help but feel he WAS trying to pull a last minute Mr. Steal Your Girl despite claiming his confession was just for closure. If you only wanted closure... why did you not also confess in Silva's route, where you spent MORE time with Catarina and thus should have loved her there too? It comes across in hindsight like he cares too much about Silva to come between them but he's willing to try his luck with Catarina's other love interests.

Silva: It's rare for me to love the true/favored love interest in otome, but this is definitely an exception. His route was so good! I already liked Silva a fair amount from what I'd seen in other routes - not only is his design very appealing, but his Honorable Rogue shtick was right up my alley. So I went in with fairly high hopes and honestly still got way better than I expected.

I appreciated that while he and Catarina definitely get along right from the start, he WASN'T immediately into her. It was refreshing after literally all of her other love interests being in love with her from the start of the story (including new character Rozy, who either fell in love as a child or immediately fell for her upon reuniting). Silva's "romantic" scenes in the early parts of his route definitely felt like he was flirting more just because he's USED to getting women's attention and he was testing her reactions, rather than him genuinely trying to woo her. Instead, it's her complete trust and faith in him (despite him being a "pirate" and having a somewhat shady past that he initially tries to hide) that really warms him to her.

Either intentionally or accidentally, this pair kept stealing moments alone together, and almost every one served to bring them just a bit closer together. You could really feel their relationship shifting from strangers to acquaintances to friends to ultimately lovers. They were BOTH gradually getting to know and falling for the other, rather than it being largely one party trying to win over the other.

And while Geordo has a relatively small role in this route and isn't really addressed until the ending... I think that works. As I mentioned in Geordo's route, he was complacent and assumed his "victory" was secure. He might have been initially paranoid, but he took reassurance from Silva initially saying Catarina was like a little sister and didn't consider that those feelings might change. But then unbeknownst to him, Catarina ended up spending A LOT of time with Silva (and as I said, those moments often happened to be ALONE, so no one else truly knew just HOW close they were getting), and falling for him. Basically, Geordo was caught sleeping on the job in this route and by the time he considered Silva a threat, it was too late.

One aspect of this route I really loved was Silva's interactions and dynamic with Rozy and the Lindgren family. It's so clear how much Rozy and his father truly love Silva, and Silva loves them too but is reluctant to officially join their family because doing so would cause a minor scandal. He'd rather keep a wall between them than burden them in any way because he feels indebted and unworthy, while they WANT him in the family and would happily accept any trouble he brings.

Heck, Rozy loves Silva enough that he didn't hesitate to back off when he noticed Silva getting close to Catarina, despite presumably being in love with her himself! The subtle way he gave the pair his blessing through giving Silva the notebook that had her picture - something he had in the past told Silva he "couldn't give" him, despite Silva's curiosity - was honestly sublime. One of my favorite moments in the entire game.

I also adored Silva opening up about his family and culture to Catarina, and then how he used that unique culture to woo her. Even before the reveal, the ear kisses were SO GOOD and clearly affecting her. In the end, when he revealed it was actually a sign that he was courting her? Buddy, that's too smooth!

Speaking of his confession, I loved that initially it seemed he was going to just confess his feelings and then back off, leaving the ball in her court. He wanted her to know how he felt before she left, since it would be who knows how long before they saw each other again, if ever, but he didn't intend to pressure her. It was only AFTER she instinctively stopped and clung to him - after she'd given him some small indication that she reciprocated - that he made a move. And what a move it was! The way he warned her to stop him or leave if she didn't want this before kissing her, MULTIPLE TIMES, was just... very attractive. He was probably already my favorite before this, but even if he hadn't been, this scene would have pushed him to the top anyway.

And the epilogue is also very lovely, with him having finally been officially adopted by the Lindgren family. He found a reason worth troubling them - so he could have the status and education to "properly" be with her without society putting up a fuss. It's so cute to see her so thrilled to see him again and being so happy and excited at the prospect of marrying him.

Finally, the conflict and drama in this route was once again pretty good. I don't have much to say (mainly because while I DID enjoy the conflict, the romance was just astoundingly solid and stole most of my focus), but everything regarding human experimentation and how Silva was directly linked to it and the antagonist was good. I wish the villain wasn't a brand new character not even SEEN in other routes though (he might have been MENTIONED in one or two other routes, but that's it).

One thing I think this story does REALLY well is the Butterfly Effect of Catarina changing the game's canon (something she hilariously never seems to fully grasp). Her one meeting with Rozy changed his life. And even though she NEVER met Silva as a child, her chance meeting with Rozy also rippled outward and still positively affected Silva, making him radically different than the "in-game" Silva, who most likely WASN'T a romanceable character but a true villain (I find it hard to believe the game would let you romance someone who callously kills several people in his INTRODUCTION and who is part of a pirate crew that is legitimately threatening/evil. I like to imagine Rozy was the true "secret" romance in the fandisk, since he WAS still in the game and on the ship).

Overall I thought this game was great and it far exceeded my expectations. I expected (and got) comedy, but the romances were mostly good and there was more drama and intrigue to many of the plots/conflicts than I expected. I'll definitely be returning to this game to re-experience my favorites.

In terms of my feelings on the routes as a whole, best to worst: Silva > Alan > Nicol > Rozy > Geordo >>>>> Keith

My feelings on the romance/relationship with Catarina: Silva > Alan > Geordo > Nicol >>> Rozy >>>>> Keith

#otome #my next life as a villainess #hamefura #aside from the length the hardest part of this review was consistently using 'c' instead of 'k' for catarina #bc the GAME uses c but i'm like 90% sure when i watched the anime years ago the subs used k & that's what i'm used to

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brainrotparsecsaway · 1 month ago

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Okay a series of questions for you

1. Who was Quasar's master?

2. (Stemming from question 1) If Quasar's master was a canon star wars character, who would that master be?

3. Does Quasar have a bestie?

4. How did Quasar lose one of his legs?

5. Tell me more about that Togruta hunk and pretty pink Twi'lek 👉👈

6. Remember to hydrate and eat something bc all bad bitches do <3

Fuck yeah more >:D

You're single handedly keeping my asks alive. Also this is good because I have no idea what you guys would be interested in hearing

Warning this is long.

1/2. If I could pick a canon character I feel like Eeth Koth is a great fit for Quasar. Would also match with the times she Eeth Koth left the order and when Quasar was knighted. Koth has this weird thing about learning to handle pain (reason why Grevious failed at getting information out of him even under torture) and Quasar would probably benefit from the same skill.

I haven't made him an oc master since he isn't in the picture for too long (and Koth felt like a good match) but if I had to, I've always been picturing someone who kinda looks like Koth, so a mid tone Zabrak

3. Quasar unfortunately does not have a best friend, at least when he's older unless you count Bucket. BUT! During his jedi years he did have friends, probably on the best friend level. I do have some designs for them a mirlian and a togruta, but I've yet to redo them so to speak as Quasar's story changed a bit since I originally made them

4. >:))) oh you've hit a big plot point I've planned to make a comic about. Well, to not be overly spoilery and to keep it short: he lost it during the early days of the war when he was cooperating with some clone squad (not yet sure if it was a sub devision of Dead zone) before he became a general. We're talking about like a barely knighted 15-16 year old Quasar, just a legal adult in nautolan standards. Welp, my main plan is that he's hunting a stolen holocron down from the enemy's ship, and the enemy sets their ship to explode so you can imagine the ships integrity does not like it when parts of it get exploded off :)

Yeaah he doesn't really like tight spaces let's say that

5. HAH I'M DYING! But yes Gurmenas and Mi'var. I'm surprised I haven't drawn them more.

Anyway let's do the basic lore of them since there isn't a whole lot about them yet.

Gurmenas: let's be honest here, we like villains here and he is my very much indulged villain character and nothing else. This man does NOT know how to cook, social interactions NONE, yet people like him and I understand. Try to fix him, I dare you, he'll fight against you with teeth and nail, he knows he's fucked up and loves it. Oh yeah he's also an imperial, ain't that fun :) his hobbies include torture, first degree murderer and manipulation, I intend to not give him any redeeming qualities :)

Mi'var: my girl, what a goth (?) queen. For her I surprisingly have even less. I've been thinking that she could be related to Hera from her mother's side, and thus aristocratic, but still undecided on that. Well either way girly said no and became a rule breaker by joining or even starting a smugglers guild of her own, and we know she somehow dragged Quasar into it for a little while. Anyway her hobbies include: being quite literally better than you (knows a lot of things), fashion and probably caring for a handful of droids and or animals she's rescued

6. 🫡 Will do, you too readers

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kidge-planet · 7 months ago

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pidge headcanon!

It was Pidge's birthday and I didn't do nothing... SO I GUESS I CAN WRITE A FEW PIDGE HC!

The Paladins often witnessed arguments among the Holts, especially between Pidge and Matt or Pidge and Colleen. For example, during lunch together, Matt joined them. He teased Pidge by calling her "his little baby tiny sister" and treated her like a baby in front of her friends. Needless to say, he got punched right in the guts. And as she punched him, her parents passed by and screamed in harmony, "KATIE!" In response, she simply raised her shoulder and said, "What? I was simply giving CPR to that old man..."

The Paladins have a group chat, and Pidge frequently sends random pictures and messages because she finds it amusing. It could be a picture of her forehead or something silly like her and Bae Bae covered in mud. Sometimes, she also sends pictures of Matt sleeping, or once, she sent a picture of Matt and her with glittery face masks on (she forced him to do it).

She loves peanut butter so much that as a kid, she used to take the peanut butter pot in her room and to hide it to eat it ENTIRELY at night.

Her biggest fear is her mother... (ironically)

One time, she wanted to make fly a small plane that she had built... She went on the roof to do it. The plane did fly and so did she. (She fell down the roof and lended in a huge bush full of flowers that she was allergic to not a huge allergie, just irritated her skin... Ho! And she broke her arm.) Colleen laughed ( when they were at the hospital and the doctors told her that she was fine!)

Also once, shut down the whole city's wifi... Lance remembers that day very well! (Even tho he didn't know Pidge by the time) he was watching the last episode of his show and suddenly, NO WIFI. If he today learned that it was her fault, he would probably act very dramatically in front of her like: "HOW COULD YOU?!!?" *Falls on the ground dramatically*.

Pidge was always doing risky stuffs and she was always taking Matt with her... They were always getting grounded.

SHE ONCE HAD A BUZZ CUT. BECAUSE SHE PUT GLUE IN HER HAIR. IMPOSSIBLE TO TAKE IT OUT... (She was 4)

Pidge got Baebae for her birthday... They were ALWAYS together... Sleeping together, eating together, BREATHING TOGETHER... Baebae is her best friend.

Well, pet best friend... Before Voltron, Pidge didn't have a lot of friends... I would say she had friends but probably 2 or something... I headcanon that she knew a girl and some times, they would sit and gossip a bit... This is the actual only female friend she had before Allura and they we're doing many stuffs together but then she moved to another country, somewhere.... And then there was a guy... A tall guy and he is probably the gayest man alive🤔 they know each other since kindergarten and their parents are good friends... These are some OCs I have, im maybe going to draw them.

Pidge used to have a crush on a guy guy from the high school's football team... She never told him but it was a quick crush... (She was 11... he was 17.)

She also used to have a crush on Shiro when she was 13... Shiro knew but never told her... (Matt told Shiro lmao).

Pidge loves animals and animals love her. (Her friends call her a Disney princess.........)

Pidge used to enjoy having long nails, that was before war! She now always cut them.

Pidge doesn't have a voluminous breast, but she binds (she started when she had to prentend to be a guy and felt more confortable with her binder and then stopped after the war.)

same as the nails, Pidge loved her long hair! you can see it in episode 5 season 1: when she hcut heer hair, she hesitate and doesn't seem to actually want it... later, she liked her short haircut, but she would always prefer and miss her short hair...

At home, Colleen speaks Italian ( in the Atlas too, which was confusing to the paladins)

tell me if you'd like more of these!!!

#pidge and keith #keith and pidge #voltron kidge #keith #pidge #keith voltron #voltron pidge #voltron #kidge #voltron legendary defender

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chrimsonfoxdon · 8 months ago

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Ooh question, you mentioned rewatching as an adult, and I'm curious, what kinds of things do you view differently now? I'm rereading the manga after a long time too, and the big thing I'm noticing is that I have more compassion now, especially towards characters who I didn't realize reminded me of myself and not in the best ways 😂 And especially during part 1 I found myself wondering why we don't see their parents more often (for those who still have them) and who took care of them growing up (for the others).

I have felt similar!! Ok I’m gonna maybe list stuff out on what I’ve noticed I view differently.

Very long post under the cut of me rambling (again)!

1. My Opinion on What I Consider Good Media Has Changed

Starting with this one as I feel it’s a big overarching thing that’ll dictate all my other opinions and thoughts. I’ve watched, read, and listened to A LOT of other series and media since I first started watching Naruto (also you know life experience and such), so I have a better idea of what is “good” media and what is “bad.” When I was younger, I considered Naruto to be the best of the best, but I don’t think that now (as far as anime that title now goes to FMA:B it’s very good please watch it if you haven’t oh my god). It has a lot of flaws, some endearing and others… not so much. Granted that’s any piece of media. Nothing is perfect (not even FMA:B). But despite that, I’ve also learned that it’s ok to still enjoy it!! Imo it’s not all bad, I mean, we’re still here discussing it yea?

I guess the TLDR of this part is: it’s cringe but that’s ok cuz life is short and we should enjoy the stuff we like.

2. Female Characters/Feminism

I feel like, while these are different topics, they’re very linked together in how I watch Naruto now so I’m putting them together. When I was younger, I didn’t like really any of the female cast (except Tenten). I found them “annoying,” to put it simply. Sakura always chasing after Sasuke?? Lame. Ino being obsessed with her looks?? Shallow. Hinata losing to Neji? Weak. I began to think that I didn’t like those characters because I didn’t like female characters mostly as a whole (which is kinda hilarious cuz I did start making Chihiro back then who does in fact identify as a woman LOL!!). But this negative attitude towards female characters not only leaked into how I consumed other media, but how I saw myself and other women irl. Like I distinctly remember believing that a woman could never beat a guy in anything. Which is uh… not true!! And kinda fucked up!!!

Now that I’m older I just realize that kishimoto doesn’t know how to write women all that well. Imo, it’s not the girls’ faults, it’s their creator. Which is disappointing but also freeing almost?? Plus, I can now appreciate what good they do have to offer!! (I talked a little about the konoha 12 girls and what I like about them in this ask in case you’d like details on individual characters)

I think also being exposed to other fans with differing opinions and views has helped me with this as well. When I first started watching I didn’t really go online (wasn’t a thing in Cuba plus I wasn’t really interested), so I didn’t really have other perspectives to bounce off of.

Also wanted to add that there are definitely parts of the show I laughed off before but you know, just are not acceptable nowadays. Mainly thinking of Shikamaru talking down on girls/women, Neji made a rude comment about girls too (that Tenten corrected him on tho thank you queen), and some bits that could be perceived as a little transphobic (I’m not trans tho so I don’t wanna speak for them on that bit). Its viewpoints that I feel are a product of the time, but does not make the overall series bad per se.

3. Seeing Other Children as a Child VS as an Adult

Ngl since I grew up with Naruto, I feel as if I will always see them as my peers in a sense. If anything, almost like the “older kids” in school. Like I don’t know if this is a common perception, but I remember when I was like in 2nd grade I saw 6th graders as like tiny adults, but then when I was in 6th grade I saw 2nd graders as like babies. Does that make sense?? Anyway, it’s interesting rewatching Naruto as an adult and seeing my “peers” when they were younger. I remember thinking that 12 & 13 year olds were badass and cool and practically ready for the real world (I was like 8 or 9 when I first started watching leave me alone), and being amazed at stuff like the chunin exams. Nowadays my brain just kinda goes “why are we letting these CHILDREN go to war???” It’s a similar story with like the sensei. Thinking they’re so experienced and old and… now I’m the same age as them and I’m still young!!

4. Might Gai is Cringe and I Love Him For That

The way I didn’t appreciate this man when I was a kid is a CRIME. Teaching his students (and friends) that it’s important to find joy in life is SO IMPORTANT and Gai just does an EXCELLENT job with that!! He strives to be a source of light for the people in his life, and to show others it’s important to smile and laugh from time to time. It warms my cold dead grownup heart what can I say. There’s a line in OG Naruto after Lee beats Sasuke in their fight before the chunin exams, where Naruto turns to Sasuke and Sakura as their cringing at Lee and Gai and says, “actually, it’s kinda sweet how they’re all hugging and stuff!” And that kinda summarizes my thoughts on them.

TLDR Might Gai is cringe but he is free and I love him so much for that.

5. Seeing Myself in Characters I Didn’t Before

Off the top of my head, the three characters I see myself in more so now than when I was younger is definitely Choji, Lee, and Tenten.

I was never popular growing up, especially when I moved back to the US after living in Cuba. Kids just didn’t wanna play with me or have me on their sports teams, so I was purposefully left out oftentimes, kinda like how choji was when he was younger. Rewatching that part made me cry honestly HAHA I saw myself so clearly. I’m also plus size so the beauty standards he has to deal with really speak to me. I remember Shikamaru telling him one time that girls don’t have to be skinny to be pretty and I would be lying if that didn’t give me a huge amount of confidence in myself.

Rock Lee’s story has always been top notch, but as someone who chose to specialize in a path that I didn’t really have natural talent for myself it REALLY speaks to me now. I’ll be 100% honest, I was never really one of those “been drawing since I could hold a pencil” kind of kids. I liked it, but I didn’t really consider myself any good until like 8th grade or so. Anyway, there’s this scene where Lee is crying at the training grounds cuz he’s scared that, no matter how hard he works, it’ll all be for nothing and that he’ll always be a loser, and uh… had to turn the show off cuz that struck WAAAAAAAY too close to home for me as an artist with a… let’s be real, a failing art business. Anyway, he inspires me though to keep going cuz this is what brings me joy. I may take longer than most, but that doesn’t mean I’m less of a person for it.

Tenten I’ve honestly seen a lot of myself in even when I was younger! But there’s this filler episode that goes into detail on how she tried really hard to be just like Tsunade, since that was her dream since she was little. Turns out she doesn’t have the capacity to do that (not being able to do medical ninjutsu well, etc), but she finds her own strengths along the way. What really spoke to me was letting go of your childhood dreams. It’s hard. It feels like you’re failing in a way. But Tenten was able to persevere and find a new and even better path forward for herself. And that’s just amazing. I love seeing that, and it helps me feel as if I too and maybe find my path.

6. Final Thoughts and Random Little Things

I think it’s also safe to say that I can pick up on story flaws (I’m looking at you 4th great ninja war arc) and inconsistencies (how the heck does the hyuga clan work wtf). It’s a long series and nowadays you can binge the whole thing in one sitting (I don’t recommend that please take care of yourself). Back in my day I had to wait a whole week to watch the next 26 minute episode with commercials in between. Also I was a kid. AHAHA!! But again, long series, so I’m sure Kishi forgot about certain details while he was being pushed to continue the series.

Also my views on certain things that happened in the series changed based on what I know what happens later, which I find to be quite fun!

Overall I still enjoy the series, both for similar reasons as I did back in the day (Neji) and for new reasons!! Flaws and all. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

#chit chat #naruto #naruto meta

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stilldancewithyou · 2 months ago

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well I just watched Uglies....

I'm hoping some of you also love this book because I need someone to talk about this with.

I have been waiting for this book to be made into a movie for SO LONG. it's my favorite book series (and I can never choose a favorite so know that the fact I'm saying this with confidence is a big deal). I've read the whole series multiple times although it's been a long time since the last time I read it, but this story was like a core part of my childhood. so I went into it knowing I was very likely going to be disappointed because this story is so close to my heart.

well. I feel like some parts were really good and stayed close to the book, like certain scenes I was like YES! but they also made some weird changes and I felt like a lot of it was very rushed. like all the good parts/my favorite scenes were rushed through. I feel like the movie was kinda short in my opinion and they could have made it way longer and given the story the time it needed (The 3rd Kissing Booth movie was literally almost 3 hours long so wtf...if people watched 3 hours of The Kissing Booth they would def have watched 3 hours of Uglies. Just saying). I was actually kinda surprised when I saw that it was that short.

also am I the only one that thought no one looked like how I imagined them? Also I feel like aside from how they looked, the characters on screen didn't come across anywhere near as strong as they did in the book, they almost didn't feel like the same characters. I remember Tally being super bad ass in the books from the start and she seemed kinda watered down. And other than Peris, the other Pretties looked nothing like I thought they would and didn't look that different from the Uglies. Although they did a great job with Shay at the end, that was closer to what I had imagined, although for her it was a very stark contrast going from short to long hair like that so I think that was part of it.

um....who tf was in charge of the Specials??? Cause those were just Pretties in blue outfits. I could be wrong but I thought the Specials were supposed to be kinda grotesque and kinda animal like. Not sure what happened there.

finally, they did my man Peris DIRTY. Idk maybe I'm forgetting something that happened way later on but I actually pulled out my copy of the book to confirm cause I was losing my mind and he never got turned into a Special, so that whole thing was weird to me. I'm pretty sure after the first book he just kinda disappears which I always thought was weird but it was weird what they did with him in the movie. Idk maybe they felt like they had to give Chase Stokes more screen time or something? Peris deserved better tho. #justiceforPeris

#uglies #uglies netflix #scott westerfeld #i wish anyone but netflix got the rights to make this movie #idk i have a lot of thoughts #i know this is petty but it bothered me that when tally saw Peris as a pretty they made it seem like he asked for the scar to be removed #in the book they weren't given that much choice #that's another thing.the books described the surgery in a more grotesque way.the movie made it feel like the only thing changed is the face

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crehador · 8 months ago

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Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

ahh this is such a fun question, thanks so much for the ask! a difficult question as well lol, i am very indecisive so a top 10 anything is... tough

i'll limit myself to animanga only, aaand lump some characters in under the same banner so there's definitely going to be more than 10 here. i'm also prohibiting myself from giving more than one slot to hpmi characters or that would just be the whole list

anyway:

ICHISAMA (package deal, do not separate)

this is probably obvious (or should be obvious) from my pinned but in first place are of course my forever blorbos (and forever otp) ichiro and samatoki of hypnosis mic

it's hard to say what i like about them besides "literally everything" which is kind of funny because for like the first year-ish of me being into hpmi neither of them were my top favorites lol

and now i genuinely have to say i like them both equally, and like them both the most. out of any characters of anything ever. i typed a bunch of paragraphs after this but think i'll actually just stop here because nothing really does justice to how they make me feel (unwell, in a good way)

this post is already getting long so everything else will go under a cut! and besides ichisama in first, none of the other characters will be strictly ranked in order. mostly just listed as i think of them

2. bon my beloved, of showa genroku rakugo shinju

this is my favorite anime of all time, and what i would personally consider the best anime of all time, and bon is perhaps the single most beautiful character with the single most beautiful story i've consumed ever. i never feel any urge to make or consume fanworks of this series because it's just so mind-blowingly perfect and complete to me

i won't spoil too much about the series, but it's a tragedy, and that's something i don't read or watch much of. so it's truly exception for this to be my favorite, but it was just that good

bon is in so many ways a tragic character, and the series allows you to see him through his whole life. he's tragic in such a hauntingly beautiful way, though, and i left the series feeling like he now lives in my bones

this is probably also my favorite ishida akira role ever, which is saying a lot because he's always great. i love the anime because it gives such life to the rakugo performed in the series, and though i'm not an expert on rakugo, i felt like the performances were top-tier. and it always impresses me when voice actors take on roles that require them to perform a whole ass other art form (like rakugo or rap)

3. aomine (knb) AND grimmjow (bleach)

these are the same goddamn man i'm putting them together no one can stop me. they are a) blue b) panther-coded c) very aggro d) very aggro at a ginger mc specifically e) DEPRESSED and f) voiced by suwabe

(though honestly grimmjow's just here because they're too similar to separate, aomine's the real favorite here)

the thing with aomine is basically—

—and that paired with his tough guy/badass/fuckface manner is very appealing to me. i don't think it's even remotely possible for me to be brief in why he's so dear to me, but the short version is he's a deeply traumatized asshole and i'm into that

4. KIYOSE HAIJI RUN WITH THE WIND GUY OF ALL TIME (and various other sports guys who are single mothers)

i may have a lot of guys of all times but haiji is for real. before ichiro he was my favorite character of anything ever for a while, and he is definitely my favorite type of sports guy (so a lot of other sports guys are going to be lumped into this category with him lol)

he has an infectious passion for running and he will infect you. whether you let him or not. it's not negotiable. you will run. no matter what

i think he brings out the best in those around him, sometimes at a detrimental cost to himself. he pushes his team hard but pushes himself even harder. we stan a self-destructive king

and i'm putting natsusa number24 right in this rank with him

because while number24 is objectively Not a good anime, it's easily one of my favorite sports series and i sincerely love natsusa just as much as i love haiji. natsusa is like if someone made haiji but cranked the bitch factor up to one billion, he is the most gaslit gatekeep girlboss guy in all of sports anime and i love him for that

bonus shoutout to iura kei of shakunetsu kabaddi, usui yuuta of days, and sugawara koushi of haikyuu. gotta be my favorite flavor of sports guy

(ok this is not even fully true because i think my days favorite did ultimately end up being mizuki because he's just so fucking stupid BUT usui i still love you.........)

5. kaworu and all his ridiculously many expies (aka the "and then a weird guy appear" category)

basically i'm talking about these fucks

they show up, sometimes not even for very long, and all they do is cause problems (ok victor probably doesn't really belong here but he honestly does fit the mold and i'm too lazy to crop him out from this old graphic i made lol) and love another weird guy so catastrophically that it alters the course of the story

the way kaworu loves shinji the way komaeda loves hinata the way zashunina…… obsesses over shindo. like fine wine to me, chef's kiss. tbh that's why victor fits the mold for me, his and yuuri's love is less the "People Will Die" type of catastrophic but it's still life-changing, life-saving, for them both

ironically even though kaworu is a ryo expy himself i'm not. i'm not that big on ryo, i'll be honest. maybe it's because i wasn't the biggest of netflix devilman in general. i should probably read the manga sometime, might change my mind

6. SOFT BOYS natsume and rei

putting them together in part because lol look at them making the same pose on their anime covers even

these are both (natumse's book of friends and march comes in like a lion) two of my favorite series, and two of my favorite protagonists. they're soft but not weak, hurt but not broken. it just feels comfortable to spend time with them, to follow them even when they're hurting

7. CELTY MY BELOVED, of durarara

honestly celty is just cool as fuck. there are lots and lots of reasons to love her but i get so incoherent about it. it's really strange because i feel like the way narita writes women is not great in many ways, and yet... he always fucking... writes the hottest fucking women goddamn, i can't be mad about that

i always liked shinra too. because of how relatable he was lmao. i would be a weird little man about celty too i'm sorry

8. sir integra fairbrook wingates hellsing, of hellsing

god. yet another. she's just so fucking cool. massively obsessed with her. it's been too long since i've watched hellsing (and durarara for that matter) for me to remember a ton of details but her whole personality is just so appealing to me

you know the way people like fma olivier armstrong. sir integra's my armstrong

9. hei, of darker than black

once again he's just cool as fuck, also i'm chinese and it's rare to see a really good chinese character in anime, much less as a main character. darker than black is an older series at this point, but it remains one of my old favorites. second season was a bit questionable but honestly i didn't hate it. my boy got fuucked uuupppppp (said with delight)

funny story about hei is when i first started watching the show there was this moment where i thought "this is a weird detail to notice but something about his collarbones look really nice to me? they're just two lines but idk they're lovely"

THEN LATER IN THE SERIES on at least two other occasions that i can remember, maybe more, actual characters in canon commented on THIS SPECIFIC THING. HIS COLLARBONES. so what do i like about hei? what does anyone like about hei? apparently it's his collarbones lmao

10. nooooo i'm running out of space now and there are so many more blorbso i would talk about i can't choose who to put here but but but closing my eyes and picking the first name that comes to mind MIKOTO SUOH K PROJECT

part of me thinks i shouldn't actually put him here because he's, like, red samatoki lmao but no he deserves a spot. i think. idk. that's what i'm going with for now but, you know, indecisive

anyway. love a tragic mfer with one dead boyfriend who haunts the narrative and another ex who [redacted idk if anyone is going to be reading this far but just in case no one wants k spoilers i want say anything but you know this show is old as balls by now]

i actually love both of the factions in k (there are more factions later but i'm focusing on red and blue) because they're both families in different ways, and mikoto and munakata both care about their families in different ways (yes i love that bitch munakata too)

and the way they care for their people while failing to fully let their people care for them in return is sooooo delicious as a character trait to me

so that's the end of this enormous post i guess! there are approximately a billion other characters i love that i didn't get to mention but i will do my best to shut up now lmao

thank you again for the ask, very fun exercise to think about!

#asks #long post #<- NOT KIDDING. DO NOT CLICK THE READ MORE IF YOU ARE NOT PREPARED. IT'S A BEAST #actually last thing is OBLIGATORY SHOUTOUT TO DOMINIC CREHADOR I GUESS LMAO #I LOVE YOU YOU LEOPARD PRINT BITCH SORRY FOR STEALING YOUR NAME #you unfortunately do not make it into the top 10 and are in fact not even my favorite character of your series #but i do love you.........

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tokiro07 · 11 months ago

Text

Undead Unluck ep.13 thoughts

[Happy Late Out of Touch Thursday]

(Contents: praise - animation/adaptational additions, griping - exposition/pacing)

It goes without saying that the animation was good. I say it every week. This episode also, as usual, made some good and noteworthy extensions: they extended the fight between Andy and Tatiana in such a way that we felt the danger that Fuuko was in a lot better, they added in Tatiana finding Gina's body which added some weight to her anger at Andy, we got to see Creed actually losing his hand when Tatiana unleashed her barrier, and the embellishment of her hair glowing and her Rule breaking through was really cool

All of the events of this episode were really good, and I would go so far as to say this was a much better episode than last week's, but there's one thing that really bothers me about this episode that I imagine many of you noticed too: these recap scenes are getting absolutely ridiculous

I don't mean the recap of the previous episodes at the beginning, though this series is pretty egregious about it, I'm talking about how they decided they needed to recap a 30-second-long conversation that we just had! I don't even think it was after a commercial break, they just...showed the same conversation twice! You could have done anything with that airtime! Make the fight longer! Make Fuuko and Tatiana reconciling longer! Do literally anything other than repeat a full monologue that we just heard!!!

Undead Unluck has definitely done that many times, I'm pretty sure I've said "yes, I was there" out loud while watching nearly every episode so far, but this??? Whose idea was that? Who okayed it?? Was it a problem with the budget? Did the timing come up short and they just needed to pad something ASAP? There's a story here, and I feel like I need to know it!

But like I said, the actual content of the episode was really good. I don't want to give the impression that this is a bad episode by any means, there was just one really disappointing element that was hard to ignore because it definitely speaks to a bigger problem, whatever that problem may be. Either someone is really bad at budgeting their time, someone is bad at budgeting the money, or Yuki Yase thinks we're idiots who won't understand what's going on if we don't hear it twice, but something is wrong, and I hope it gets ironed out as we go

Even if it doesn't, I'll probably be able to forgive it fine so long as the action stays this good or better, and with the Rip fight coming up next week, it better be great. This is the climax of cour one, and it's set to have a gorgeous backdrop, so they better put their whole ass into this one! I'm not asking for Demon Slayer ep.19 or nothing, but...well, that sure would be something, wouldn't it?

Until next time, let's enjoy life

#undead unluck #fouryearsandananime #4y1a reviews #uu anime

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metanarrates · 1 year ago

Note

talk more about little mermaid 2023

bad movie! but since when is that news to anyone

here is a short list of things I liked:

-shockingly, the actors playing prince eric and ariel had pretty decent chemistry! i thought their scenes together were somewhat cute. they were certainly the only actors in it who seemed like they were trying to give their all, except for maybe a few minor largely unnamed side characters. nothing special, but in a soulless CGI cash grab poorly disguised as a "live-action" work, having a handful of vaguely pleasant scenes was better than nothing.

-also shockingly, I did somewhat like most of the scenes the movie added from the original. rather than being a straight-up adaptation, they added a number of scenes to either flesh out eric's character, flesh out the romance, or to further explore ariel's experience on land. they weren't all great scenes, and were basically the equivalent of polishing up plastic, but some of them worked fine at a mechanical level, and at least it shows that a little bit of effort was made? although a number of creative choices were clearly to Ward Off Discourse. we will discuss this.

-uh. i thought the costumes were okay. there was an attempt

ok that's it for good shit the movie did. here's the stuff i did not enjoy:

-BAD cgi. like APPALLINGLY bad. I'm by no means a visual effects expert but the way the actors were integrated into underwater environments was horrible. they didn't look like they belonged there, their movements were too floaty even for underwater, and the way their hair was animated to float looked distracting and unnatural. additionally, the "camera" was set up frequently in action scenes to not capture a lot of the action, seemingly because the movements were difficult to capture well in CGI. a lot of the time in the CGI environments, the lighting would be distractingly weird and make the whole environment look even more fake than usual. the color palettes didn't feel like they always had a lot of thought into them, which also led to weird lighting and visual problems, and it never felt like the CGI animals had much weight. speaking of which...

-WHY DID THEY MAKE THE FUNNY ANIMALS WHO SING AND DANCE LOOK LIKE REGULAR CRABS AND FISH AND WHATNOT

-NO SERIOUSLY IF YOU'RE TRYING TO PAINT-BY-NUMBERS RECAPTURE THE WHIMSY IN THE ORIGINAL? GOING FOR "REALISM" IN ANIMALS THAT DON'T PARTICULARLY EMOTE IS A HORRIBLE CHOICE

-halle bailey seems to be a perfectly fine actress, based on what i've seen of her. it didn't seem like the director wanted her to facially emote hardly at all ever. she mainly goes for the wide-eyed vaguely pleasant disney princess expression the whole film, and it makes her performance feel horribly strained. im not expecting a disney film to have stellar acting - its a movie targeted to kids and millenials with nostalgia - but it kind of sucked to watch because there were a few moments where she DID emote more and it felt like she was doing pretty well in those moments! it felt to me like, rather than a lack of ability, she was simply hamstrung by those directing her :(

-awkwafina rap written by lin-manuel miranda.

-on that note, none of the new songs were very good. they also changed under the sea to not be an ensemble piece? look, im not the biggest fan of the original film, but having the fun colorful song where lots of fish and whatever sing all together change into a sebastian solo act with ariel support is... a weird choice. it does kind of feel like the whimsy has, in general, been sucked out of this film at times.

-outside of a few side characters, nobody seemed like they wanted to be there besides the leads. the deliveries were awkward and strained. king triton ESPECAILLY seemed like he did not want to be there. sir was there a gun held to your head here

-perhaps the biggest sin of all, but ursula did NOT serve cunt. half the fun of watching the original movie is how over-the-top she is as a performer, and here the actress is just Not giving it. her vocalization sounds really oddly strained at times? ma'am is there also a gun held to your head

there's a certain structural ethos applied to this movie. I alluded to it earlier with the comment about warding off discourse, but probably a better way to word it would be "trying to retroactively defend the original film, and try to make parts of it more 'up-to-date' when thet's not possible." a sort of repolishing and image-update of the Little Mermaid brand, if you will.

obviously, remakes have frequently done this in the past. I would argue that is often the point of a remake: a way to make the IP still viable in the modern day as a source of income to the company. but it felt very transparent here. the little mermaid has often been criticized for being an insta-romance where ariel's only dream is to marry a random guy? here's several more scenes with eric and ariel to establish their chemistry. people have discussed some of ursula's lines in "poor unfortunate souls" as being objectifying? we're cutting them. and hey, let's just show everyone that the little mermaid is now a diverse story that values women. let's cast a black lead actress and have several side characters be woc, including a new character who is eric's mother.

to be clear, I don't think these changes are bad, in and of themself. it's nice that these actresses of color were cast! the changes made to the plot were kind of fun! but all of these changes are only in service of trying to squeeze even more money out of an existing cash cow. it's very obviously an image and marketing thing, rather than people feeling passionate about retelling an existing story. and really, there's only so far you can go with a story originally only showing white people and written in 1989. all you can do is polish. there are no broader, structural changes you can make to it, because all that would do is turn it into a different story. and of course disney is never GONNA tell a different story, made by and about black women, because there's not a cash cow in that. in the hands of a megacorporation, diversity is only going to be a token gesture to accumulate more profit.

it's a disney remake. at the end of the day, there's not too much point in thinking too hard about it. I watched it for a laugh with my good friend, basically. but I'm still interested in it as a gateway into the decision-making process of the disney board of directors and stakeholders. i've seen some of the other disney remakes, since my mom and younger siblings do like watching them and this one in particular strikes me for how little care was put into it. I'm wondering how well it did at the box office, because this really does feel like we're reaching the final possible end for these remakes. they're not making very many cultural waves. it seems like nobody likes them. but clearly, the disney board is hoping for them to be a perfectly marketable recapturing of whatever the existing IP had. who knows how many remakes the studio has left in them?

whatever. the late-stage capitalist megacorporation media landscape continues to be a depressing slog. I'd recommend going and finding something actually good to watch lmao

#narrates #ok since the people were asking here's my full thoughts on this frankensteinian nightmare of an IP recapture #it almost feels like this isn't worth criticism? like this is just a low effort ad pooped out by a megacorp that has obviously given up #certainly not worth any discourse. lol #but there's some revealing stuff in it about the disney decision making process and I did want to discuss that #in the future though I'm probably not gonna like... ever watch a disney movie unless I'm dragged to it by my younger siblings lol

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