#so all in all I will almost certainly not be remaking Im just having a moment lol

[chisatowo]

Y'know maybe I should remake tbh. I'm not even 100% sure if my account is broken or not with asks and shit plus like all but like 10 of my followers don't interact with my stuff anyways but like also. I'd have to move mains too to fix some of the problems I've been having and I don't wannaaaaaa and also Id be losing a LOT that Id rather not lose so idk :/

[n7punk]

nintendo direct thoughts:

mario & luigi brothershipe is going to end some friendships

memories to orbit looked sooo cool. like i dont actually enjoy doing that kind of gameplay but im def gonna watch lets plays

hello kitty island adventure looks adorable. like im not gonna play it but it's so cute!!

when they announced farmagia i legit thought they were announcing palword on switch for a second lmao i'm not super familiar with those designs

the artstyle of the dragonquest remake is honestly SO cool more remakes should go this route. hd-2d is such a cool idea. the closest i've seen to this was the link's awakening remake which worked well for what it was but the chibi look definitely wouldn't fly here lol. that said i am kind of exhausted with all the remakes these days. THAT said if they remade twilight princess id get it in a heartbeat like a sucker

i can't believe they made a fucking funko pops game. it's so ugly. i hate it so much. they want what lego dimensions has and they're not getting it because lego dimensions, despite being a toys to life game, has soul. that dev team LOVED their project.

my only thought on luigi's mansion is i wonder if they're going to fix all the insane skips from the speedrun. almost certainly because nintendo hates fun, but they'd be cool to see. also controversial opinion maybe but that game doesn't need a remake it looked fine lmao this is basically a fancy port

LOVE they gave four sword online capabilities, i hope you can get randomly matched with strangers

TUROK? a name i haven't heard in 84 years...

they started the mario party announcement and i was like "i wonder if it will be good" and then i saw the jamboree and no it will not lmao. ALSO THE EGGPLANT MINIGAME. COME ON.

oh hey what did i say about the link's awakening chibi art style lmao. also zelda lead loz game HELLO??? HELLO?????????????????? I AM A SUCKER AND YOU HAVE SUCKERED ME. i wish it had a cooler style for a zelda-led game but baby steps i guess. i like the potential problem solving gameplay even if i'll probably be terrible at it. the stack of beds is sooooooo real you know i'll be doing that lmao. sorry i just can't believe we're finally getting a full-fledged zelda-led game.

the just dance trailer hurt my fucking eyes. thanks i hate it.

LEGO HORIZON??? HELLO??? if you haven't played a lego game they are Shockingly high quality and fun, like the original lego star wars game is the best piece of star wars media, change my mind. anyway i fucking love horizon

honestly surprised stray wasn't on switch already i know its like an apocalyptic future but it's also such a cozy game it's perfect for the switch

the hobbit game looks like lotr animal crossing and that is absolutely someone's dream game

and then metroid of course is the big headline. not my kinda game but congratulations to the fandom who waited so long

switch 2 clowns who were sure it would show up after they explicitly stated it wouldn't how you feeling

[soildmud]

reading inky mystery

good morning y’all, it is currently 3AM right now and i have developed some very strong opinions about inky mystery that i need to projectile vomit onto the internet. this is gonna be like a book review so i have some disclaimers/warnings:

#1: this “review” is not intended for the author, TAP, or anyone directly involved with the writing of IM. this is readers-only!

#3: i will most likely say very few positive things about the fic so if you don’t want to see negative remarks about your fav fic/story, maybe don’t read this. and also if you can’t handle strong language.

#4: i have not read all of IM, and there is a reason why. i will explain later on but i don’t need anyone to try and avoid spoilers. i don’t care for this fic enough to worry about that. talk to your heart’s content, i want to hear what y’all have to say!!!!

#5: i still enjoy inky mystery and its concepts and the overall story ideas. i think it’s fun and a cool spin on the original qftim au (an au that had so much potential and such shitty execution) and love how the fic has created an entire community around it! don’t get this twisted, i got nothing against IM or TAP.

now i’m gonna put the “review” (more like a rant) under a cut so as to not take up space on people’s dashes more than i already have lol—have fun!!

with such an interesting and promising premise, inky mystery has so far been a frustrating disappointment. i started reading it a while ago (had to stop because of school) and picked up again last night, hoping to get further into the fic and reach the parts that seem to be much more compelling than the exposition. i’m only on chapter 20 and already want to just stop reading it altogether. the more i progress through this the more i think to myself, “is this fic even worth reading 2.5 million words and 335 chapters?” as i’ve come to the beginning of chapter 21, i’m starting to think it most definitely is not.

obviously the biggest criticism is the length. there is absolutely no reason for why this fic is like 3 times longer than the fucking BIBLE. twelve “books” for what? to leave us in the same spot of the plot for the fifth time in a row when the conflict could have been resolved in almost half a chapter? the over-explanation of everything and the placement of practically useless dialogue is excruciating. i don’t understand how having chapter long bits of the warner shenanigans was necessary; i get it was meant for comedy but i don’t think they should dragged any longer than like a paragraph. their dialogue gets old incredibly fast, and it’s just a hinder to the fic’s flow. and before anyone says anything—I HAVE WATCHED ANIMANIACS BEFORE. in fact, i used to be obsessed with them and watched every episode until it stopped airing in 2014. i know they’re supposed to be the way they are in the fic but Holy SHIT DUDE. SHUT THEM THE FUCK UP ALREADY.

listen. i know this was originally written in 2017, but if you’re still updating this into 2024, at this point you need to remake the whole fic and shorten it. the way the author is updating the fic with basically filler makes me feel like they care more about creating content for their readers rather than actually writing a coherent narrative. you don’t need to take down the OG fic but there has got to be a way to shorten it so it doesn’t take literally a week straight to finish the fic in one sitting.

anyways. apart from that, i need to say that the writing style is so juvenile in a way that feels aggravating. i read the most recent chapter to see if anything changed and while it certainly improved in small ways, i feel like TAP still hasn’t learned how to not make sentences like four words long and dialogue sequences that don’t make up half the chapter. i also feel like the narrative is just…holding the readers hand and explaining every little thing like they expect the reader not to have any media literacy at all. i don’t need to know explicitly that boris and bendy are tired from walking for hours, i knew that from your narration mentioning their legs aching and them getting mucky from clambering in the forest.

next, i hate the random inclusion of unnecessary characters. the way the two detectives seem to only show up when it’s convenient and how the warners were used basically like a deus ex machina is frustrating. don’t introduce so many characters with so much detail and then have them show up like twice. i don’t know how to explain this because it’s almost 4AM now and my brain is foggy but god. when those two fox characters were randomly introduced at the end of idk what chapter to have a completely useless conversation with the detectives i felt so annoyed. i don’t know if they have any real significance later on in the story (and i don’t mean that they show up to say hi later) and honestly i cannot be bothered to find out if they do, but if they don’t, that entire section of the chapter was fucking stupid. let your MAIN CHARACTERS learn information from other sources for the love of god.

in the end, i don’t know if i’ll ever finish Inky Mystery, at least not anytime soon. i had fun at the start and now i’m just annoyed and frustrated. also, to the wiki people, PLEASE MAKE CHAPTER SUMMARIES AND SHIT—IT WOULD BE A DREAM FOR THOSE OF US WHO DON’T WANT TO SIT THROUGH 2.5 MILLION WORDS FOR PLOT AND STORY!!!!

also, i am not claiming to be a better writer or have superior knowledge to TAP. i think TAP is good at writing, but has some flaws that really limit their full potential. i myself am an amateur writer with no training or anything, but i am a reader, so that’s why i’m yapping.

ALSO ALSO, i am not doing this to shit on TAP or IM or anyone who likes this story and everything. like i said, i actually like IM and really want to get into it so i can make fanart and everything, but it has been a struggle and i want to voice that because this is my blog and i use it like a virtual diary. i will continue to skim and push through IM, and will most definitely use it as a learning tool for my own au, SITP.

again, this review was made with zero malice in mind. however if anyone wants to say anything i’m 100% open to conversation, and if this reaches TAP’s screen somehow, please know i’m not trying to be a hater!!! i love your ideas and the community you’ve created, promise!!!! i’m done now cus i’m tired and need to sleep so bye to anybody who read through this beast of a post lol plus i don’t have the energy to write all i wanted to say. sorry if there’s any mistakes i’m falling asleep as i write LMAO

bye!!!!!!

[palukoo]

84 - what's the exact middle of the films you've seen this year lmao

ex-lady (1933)!!! a movie that you watch and go woah that couldn't have been made just a year later!

i actually enjoyed it and found it like an interesting study almost in like. what the hays code took from us lol. because like obviously there were certainly some outdated things that i don't currently recall the finer details of bc i think it was probably mostly the like standard issue 1930s shit. BUT it also genuinely did shock me in its portrayals of like sex and non-monogamy. im gonna kinda get into it so this is gonna go under a cut lol

like it was very casual on pre-marital sex and had discussions of like not wanting to get married in spite of loving each other and didn't vilify her for not wanting to get married (but then they got married anyways bc of social expectations) and like. iirc the non monogamy did just start as her husband cheating maybe but then!! they were just like okay lets do an open marriage now! we're still married but we're just gonna treat it more like casual dating we'll live separately and can see other people. which is crazy bc stuff now still barely portrays open relationships i feel (and like if so, rarely in a way that isn't a joke or explicitly like bad/cringe/whatever in some way). and like, it DID end with them being like actually we just love each other and should be with just each other but it wasn't really judgy on it, like it was like okay this isn't right for us, but not like this was dumb or bad and we never should have tried it. it honestly gave it kind of similar treatment/consideration as the conflict in their marriage caused by them working together and having like professional disagreements (that i think made her go work for someone else but NOT stop working!! win!! i may be wrong but that's my recollection). oh also on the pre-marital sex, the wiki plot summary i just checked mentioned that like it kind of implies use of birth control! hell yeah! the other wild part is that it also just. had them watching like a female burlesque dancer (or similar level of like ooh sexy woman) and then be like well that got us in the mood so we're gonna have semi-public sex now!

so yeah idk it just makes me kind of like damn obviously it's not like all other cultural things would have been fundamentally changed if we didn't have the hays code but i do wonder like how much the state of like attitudes towards sex and like portrayals of non traditional sexual/romantic relationships in movies (and eventually tv) would have been different/where we'd be today. like watching certain pre code movies and then code movies bc i think to an extent people think old movies are like that yeah bc of the code but also because it was the 1930s! and like yeah that's true and i said that too (bc the racism sexism classism etc) but there are some things they were generally like. doing interesting portrayals of that you wouldn't expect! idk if this is coherent at all i'm just always thinking about what the hays code took from us.

i know bette davis like hated this movie bc like she felt like it was too much of like a glamour girl role/they sexualized her too much in the marketing and like that's fair and i could say so much about the studio system but i'm not gonna get into it. (i will say like it's also probably bc bette was not uh particularly sex positive lets say but like. i do think it's also fair for her to want control over her own roles/publicity and how sexualized she is lol). and i will say, it's certainly not like great writing or particularly compelling characters but at the same time it's such an interesting cultural relic of a moment of sex positivity that was so immediately shot down after. also... relevant to your interests its apparently a remake of illicit (1931) starring barbara stanwyck. so there's that.

[cakejerry]

Persona first batch of listens thoughts. Did not look at the lyrics for any of these btw.

1. The who am i skool luv affair intro SAMPLE is genuinely a banger. Glad they brought it back although it does seem kinda cheap to bring up your old albums like that when its not even like they're leeching off of their old fame, or promoting a song that they think deserved more, because they make it very clear they don't consider anything pre-2015 canon but... Sure. Sell the "we're proud of our roots" story. Namjoons flow actually brings to mind haruman, for some reason. Im sure someone out there was gagged at his improvement over the years. Him refusing to use coherent english is certainly a choice. Also the song is too long.

2. Same issue with the self-referencing. Several white woman related problems i mentioned earlier. Just confused and personalityless, which is ironic. Do you want to be korean or american???? Choose, greedy. Makes me feel nostalgic, which might just be because I'm pissed about the direction they're taking in general. "Modeunge geumgeumhae hajilte" "YOUR ONE YOUR TWO" Jungkook randomly glew up in the mv I will have to investigate this further....... Im mad asfk about how attractive I find him btw. Yoongi just doing whatever in his verse ohhh he hates white people. Mv is literally so confused with its concept, 2012 sm-level box sets, when they promoted themselves with this deeeeep jungian philosophy, please. Just funny and shameless.

3. I was actually expecting to be so gagged by souju especially since sakura said she loved it but its a SKIP. ITS A SKIPPER. ITS A SNOOZER FOLKS. A gift for the fans, was it? Why it's so beloved is beyond me. Literally a tear reject, sounding like magic shop. Sounding like the ost for a random webtoon actually but FROMIS_9 did that better with LOVE ME BACK so. Byeolbit part kinda catchy but not enough to not skip the song. "Shine dream smile" okayy i bring wind sunlight water. "Nanana" ohh bts you are on a downward spiral and you don't even know it

4. Am actually kinda GAGGED over the make it right sample/riff ngl! Gaslight potential. On loop for 8 hours while I look at spreadshees potential. It reminds me of something and i cant put my finger on it. Sounding like a girlgroup song probably im ngl. Was eddy boy on this one? He slayed so hard I almost forgave him for plagiarising April's snowman (cakejerry 2017 twitter reference, don't worry about it.) "I can make it better i can hold you tighter" okurrrr shawn mendes!!!!!!!!! I know jungkook was cheesing

5. Another tear reject, was it? Wasnt 'crazy for myself' an army meme or something, whatever. Rhyming rich and switch? Okayy inna up. Your love- I want that? Okurrrr ariana grande 7 rings!! Why that "naega" sounding a bit.... The houoououm part sounding like the average song that would be playing on mtv, oh bts you're so done

6. Jamais vu NOW OKAY THIS IS A REALL SNOOZER. And also another tear reject ctfuuu they really had a signature sound during this period didn't they. And it was TRASH. Sounding like an ending credits song for an episode of Grey's anatomy.

7. And the grandiose DISAPPOINTMENT. Dionysapppintment lol. Everyone gagging over this one i thought they were actually gonna serve rock realness when all they served was a seo taiji reject.... And again with the "haters"... Bts got more imaginary haters than itzy in 2019. Massyeo part kinda okay. Did jungkook just say he was feeling saucy???? FFFFFA- Wait hoseok just slayed omg okurrr onomatopoeia!!!! Is this supposed to be like the mic drop of the album?... Okay... Whateva that means. Brings to mind the injustice 6.5 faced but whatever. Wow you can actually almost hear an instrument here at the end. Bros think they rockstars 😭😭😭😭 okurrr opening song for a korean remake of a random flop japanese shonen anime from the 1990s!!

[butch-reidentified]

No radfem has ever said "just be nice to men" or "not all men." Radfems have a reputation for fervent misandry actually lmao.

We don't think all trans women are "pretending to be women to infiltrate women's spaces" or inherently predatory. There is a difference between claiming trans women are predators who transition with explicitly malicious intent, and acknowledging that trans women of any and all intentions are still biological males who were raised male. Radfems are doing the latter, not the former.

We don't think trans women are uniquely predatory - just that there is no proof that they are any safer than non-trans males. In fact, the data so far indicates that trans women commit crimes at the same rate as non-trans men, and might even commit sexual crimes at a slightly higher rate.

The threat posed by an intact male is the same regardless of gender identity. Any intact male, trans-identified or not, in women's spaces poses a risk to women's safety. Males of any gender identity are far, far more likely to rape than females are, and PIV rape carries drastically more severe risks than female on female assaults due to both risk of unwanted pregnancy (especially in the age of Roe being overturned) and higher likelihood of STI transmission.

And as said above, it seems odd to claim "terfs" or "cis women" in general are so evil and scary and pose a genuine threat to the lives of trans women, while also eagerly demanding to be allowed in private spaces with those same women who allegedly want to murder you. What other oppressed/at-risk group is so desperate to be in close quarters surrounded by members of the oppressor class? I certainly have zero desire to enter men's spaces as a woman and a homosexual.

Here are some links that might help you understand why we have reservations and why they aren't unfounded.

And how can we lesbians especially feel safe when this rhetoric is so prevalent in trans spaces? When many trans women (and allies) are making it so very clear that many trans women feel entitled to sex with lesbians?

I have plenty more links but I'll leave it here for now x

not so hot (lukewarm, really) take that im sure someone has already said on here: if cis women (terfs specifically) are so afraid of trans women in women's spaces because they're just "predatory men pretending to be women so they can infiltrate women's spaces" maybe you're afraid of cis men, not trans women.

funny thing is though, these cis women and the "just be nice to men!! not all men are predators!!" cis women are overlapping circles on a venn diagram.

[readerinsertfanfiction]

Nemo darling! ❤❤❤🥺 hehehe thats height tag is so cursed, freaken exposing how much taller i am than all my best boys //pouts🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 hehehe so here im to spam my favorite cutie❤❤🌈 could i pretty please with sprinkles ontop request a Hc with ma best bois (Theodorkus, Napoleon, Kenshin, annnnd Yuki❤❤❤) reacting to one tall bean s/o🥺❤❤🌻😆 here is some inspiration for ya 😆😳😳😳

This damn cursed chart! Why can these bois eat more candy to grow big and stong 😆😂😂😂

Hehehe love you lots nemo dear❤❤❤🥺🥺 hope ya getting plenty of sleep and eating all the candy❤❤❤😳

Can’t relate. I never have to worry about someone being shorter than me. 🤩🤩🤩 No, I’m not gonna share my chart with Tumblr. 

Donate some height to the ones in need? 🤪🤪🤪

Also, Zeta-dearest, Theodorkus already got HC’s versus a tall!MC, remember? Though that has been almost a year ago, so ... 🤪🤪🤪

(I also gave him some extra attention to make up for bullying you so much last night, love ya Zeta-darling! 💖💖💖)

Fandom: Ikemen Vampire & Ikemen Sengoku

Characters: Theodorus van Gogh, Napoleon Bonaparte, Yukimura Sanada & Kenshin Uesugi 

The modern age came with many advancements that improved life and with that improvement came gradual changes. Most notably the average height. While short people still existed you were not to be counted amongst them. You were an outlier of a different kind, being taller than most and much to your dismay that meant travelling back into time made you stick out even more.

Theodorus

“Hey vuurtoren.”

The unflattering nickname came from a certain Dutch. Where most of Theo’s nicknames were usually small and somewhat cute he was an absolute nightmare to you, sparing no chance whatsoever to remind you of your height with the starkest names.

“Yes, you bonenstaak!” Theo called as he approached you.

Rolling your eyes you didn’t want to give into Theo’s creative naming, continuing to stride away as you heard his step quicken.

“Hey, I was calling you!” the man grabs hold of your arm once he catches up, pulling you to a halt as he eyes you up, a frown on his face signifying that he very much knew what you were playing at, “seems like some—“

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you all the way down there,” you respond airily, confounding the man who stares at you first in surprise and then with a deepening frown.

“What did you—“

“Better take some distance, little one. I might trip over you,” you continue to interrupt the guy as you pat the top of his head. Two could play the game.

“Also, looking sorta out of breath, did you run to keep up?”

The smile you flashed at him coloured him a fine red as the man was thinking on how to get back at you the next round.

Napoleon

The little general, as he was lovingly nicknamed by his troops, was used to being surrounded by people taller than him. After all, the nickname did suggest his fair share of neck craning and the man knew himself to average in height and tall enough. You being the same height as him didn’t even cross him as strange.

“Snnrk,” the snort escaped the man as he listened to you putting Theo back in his spot. It was no secret that you had your fair share of retorts, proud of the height you had reached and knowing that it came from a place of envy from the other. That didn’t mean that it didn’t amuse him however.

“Don’t worry, you will always be my petite bouffon,” the man tells you jestingly.

Kenshin

He had noticed how he had to lift his eyes up ever so slightly to meet your eyes. It was a fact that did not escape him, nor did Kenshin miss out on the fact that your shoulder was positioned just a little higher than his as well. Yet, it didn’t bother him, not even in the least.

“Extra fabric? What happened to the ordered piece?” Kenshin’s eyes narrowed at the maid when he was informed that your present had to be patched up with an extra row of fabric, for they had not measured it well and made it too short.

“The measurements were clear and so were the instructions. Remake the kimono, I’m not going to gift a patchwork because of your inability to adjust.”

At times Kenshin reminded the whole castle that it was not just his sword that he kept sharp and that size and height did not matter when one carried an air such as his. The room was too small anyway when one managed to annoy the warlord, especially when it came down to you.

Yukimura

“What’s going on?”

Yukimura appeared from behind you as he arched his neck to look over your shoulder. The crowd was quite thick and the shoulders bumped into each other, it had been an honest unconscious reaction, but one that earned a wide blush on his face.

“Oh geez, step aside,” the male bristles instead, a frown on his face as he shoves himself between you and the crowd, effectively pressing you against his chest when he finally got a more comfortable space to watch from.

“For someone as tall as you, you certainly are clueless on how to protect yourself,” he tells you. The warlord would never admit how your height made him a little self-conscious of himself, leading to a need for compensation, silly as they are.

[letteredlettered]

hi! ive been following your writing for a few years now and i drop by periodically to check if you have anything new posted, and im really surprised that you seem to be enjoying the untamed? im curious what you think about the show - its story and characters, the acting, the production, etc. idk if you know, but the untamed is the most successful example of a current trend in chinese entertainment, where popular online novels centered around a gay romance is adapted into a 'safe' drama.

continued:

due to the many explicit and implicit restrictions imposed on creative media in china, many crucial plot points have to be changed (often badly) or removed, including the nature of the relationship between the main characters. the untamed is considered the most loyal adaptation so far, but like all other works in the genre, it received criticism for weak acting and queerbaiting. that's why im really curious about what you think of the show as it is, as itself, free from its context.

if you're interested, you could also check out guardian! it features much better performance and chemistry by the leads imo, but the story was heavily botched bc the original incorporates and reinvents a lot of classic chinese folklore beautifully and stuff like that is considered disrespectful and not-pc. i think it's really sad how so many great pieces of writing with complex world-building and plotlines are simplified into... idek what to call them, but just, less than what they are.

im sorry this turned into a rant. as a mainland chinese person with oh so many frustrations about our current society, it's hard to comprehensively describe my feelings about the untamed's popularity. it's the first mainland chinese show/movie to gain this much organic interest abroad so i should be glad? but, but. anyway, yes, im sorry.

There’s no need to apologize for ranting, but I admit to some confusion as to whether you want your question addressed or the rant. Because I’m me and tend to be thorough, I’ll address everything, in reverse order.

First of all, I’m sorry that this show is sad to you. I’m sorry that the popularity of it is difficult. I’m also deeply sympathetic to your frustrations about your society, as I too am deeply frustrated by my own.

Secondly, yes, I’m aware of the context of The Untamed. I’m aware that the book it’s based on is a BL novel, and that, in order to align with Chinese politics, overt queerness was erased from the adaptation. I’m aware of the censure laws of gay media in China. I’m also aware that some aspects of necromancy and morality were adjusted to make the show more palatable for general audiences, but I’m fuzzier on those details. Lastly, I’m aware that the popularity of the show calls attention to certain things, such as fanfic, and that attention results in more censorship,

The fact of this erasure and this censure provokes a lot of questions: by consuming this product, which contains erasure and censure, do we engage in the erasure and censure? By posting gifs and writing fanfic and talking about this product, do we increase its popularity, thereby encouraging additional erasure and censure? By increasing the popularity of this product, do we diminish the popularity of the original gay morally gray canon, thereby decreasing representation? Do we discourage other authors in China from writing explicitly gay morally gray material? In short, are we allowed to enjoy this media?

I don’t know the answer to these questions. However, I do know that boycott is a very effective tool when it can inflict economic pain on the producer, or when it can exert pressure on an entity to change. That said, I feel like a lot of the calls to boycott certain media these days are a lot like telling people to stop driving their cars to stop climate change: it’s suggesting that individuals can solve the problem, which presupposes individuals are the problem, and therefore fails to address the scope of the problem, or present the possibility of a real solution. Not watching The Untamed isn’t going to change laws about portrayals of homosexuality onscreen in China, partly because the laws in China are a much bigger problem.

The other part of it is that The Untamed is coded queer, so if you run a successful boycott against it, you end up with . . . less queer TV. I know a whole lot less about China than I do about the Hays Code, but if you had told gay people during the Golden Age of Hollywood that they couldn’t enjoy movies that were coded queer because they weren’t explicitly queer, they’d have said you were crazy. In fact, many people will tell you that media that was coded queer was a big reason we got more explicit queer stuff later. And as I’m sure you’re aware, the US is still fighting that battle . . . partly because it wants to sell movies to China.

So then there’s a question about whether me, an American in the US, liking something coded queer from China but not explicitly queer--does that encourage Chinese censorship? Should I only support texts that are explicitly queer? But the answer is the same--it’s not addressing the scope of the problem, and by supporting texts that are coded queer, you could be paving the way in the future for something brighter.

But you weren’t talking about boycott! You were talking about your discomfort with the popularity with this show, which I accept. I understand feeling uncomfortable. I can only hope it makes you a bit more comfortable to know that plenty of fans are deeply aware of the context and do wrestle with the question of what liking this show means in the context of a society that would never allow aspects of the original to be portrayed onscreen.

Thirdly, I’m not against trying Guardian at some point, but by comparing the acting and chemistry of the leads to The Untamed, I feel like you prove our tastes are very different in these regards. I love the acting of the leads in The Untamed; I found their chemistry off the charts. It’s okay you don’t feel the same.

Lastly, you asked my opinion of The Untamed: its story and characters, the acting, the production, sans context of the canon upon which its based and censorship laws in China.

a. I love the overall story, but the plot has deep plot holes. Quite a few segments do not actually make sense to me, because the plot is so haywire. However, I’ve never cared that much about plot, except when it gets in the way of characters and themes, and for the most part, this plot serves its characters and themes, except when the parts they leave out are so confusing that I cannot follow the story. As for the story, it feels like it’s built for me, because ultimately it’s about moral decisions and how to make them; it’s about guilt and paying for mistakes; it’s about learning, changing your mind, and remaking yourself. Really, I’m not sure there are many stories I love more--except they killed my favorite character, and I almost quit. So, that certainly put a damper on things.

b. I love the characters most of all, although the villains are really two-dimensional. However, large parts of the plot are not Hero vs Villain, they’re Hero vs Society, and then some Hero vs Himself in a way that suggests the Hero is no longer a hero. I could talk about the characters forever, but suffice it to say I think they’re really strong. Also, the relationships are really exquisite, particularly when it comes to family dynamics. Unfortunately, they killed my favorite character off. Also unfortunately, there are six women in this show, only two of them are main characters, and every single one of them dies. It disgusts me.

c. I think the two leads are exceptional, in particular Xiao Zhan . . . when he’s not being too broad, which he is quite a bit. However, I do wonder how much of this is direction and production style, because in many instances, he’s quite subtle, and the choices he makes are astounding. Then there are times where it’s like they needed more footage, or wanted to drive home a point, and he turns on the extra, and it’s awful. It could just be him, but I actually feel it’s the case with most of the actors, which does make me think it’s a directing issue. Meng Ziyi never really has that problem though, because she is the most perfect of all. But then take He Peng, who I actually thought could be incredible, but every scene was just SO BROAD that I began to feel sorry for the poor dude having to act that part. But there is nothing to be said for Wang Zhuo Cheng, who really is just terrible, which is sad, because it’s a great part.

d. Production-wise, it’s really hit and miss. So much of the locations are truly beautiful. A lot of the costumes are too, unless the shot is too close. I actually don’t mind the wigs; I love the long hair. The CGI is terrible. And then while a lot of the shots are beautiful, some of them are awkward, and the pacing is really difficult, imo. It really seems like they wanted to drag it out, and there are so, so many scenes where I’m sort of embarrassed that we’re in the same scene or that we’re still looking at someone’s face, or that everyone is just standing there waiting for the shot to finally end.

I will say that film is a language that does differ from culture to culture. It could be that both the broadness of the acting and the awkwardness of the editing are my cultural lens based on American and a lot of western film. When I watched older Hollywood films, the acting is a lot more broad and maybe a little less “true” feeling, but I understand that it’s not the case everyone in the past was a bad actor. It was just a different style, so I’m not sure I’m equipped with the cultural knowledge of Chinese acting, cinematography, and editing to be able to really judge the value of these things.

I do know how I feel, which is that the editing is the biggest hurdle for me while watching the show. However, I feel that the beauty of it makes up for a lot, and the strength of the characters and themes really carries it.

I hope I addressed your points adequately, and I wish you well.

[darkestwolfx]

Earthbreaker - Re-Review#27

Here we go, the start of Series 2!

This is another machine that looks a little bit like the Sidewinder (TOS). Hmmm, I can see why the episode is called Earthbreaker though. I mean, look at the earth. Big clues there.

“We’ve got ourselves another gold rush.”

“Except it’ts scandium ore, not gold.”

“Ten times as valuable though. Ker-ching.”

Nothing like it, ey, money makes the world go around! And where there are money making opportunities, you can expect to find The Hood! Except, oh yeah, the part where he was like caught and put in a GDF prison at the end of the last series.

Oh well, no bad guys. Unless of course, you can find an accomplice of The Hood to fill the gap!

So this looks a little like our new villain! But we’ll get to him a bit later, folks. For now, let’s put our attention on our main family here.

“Let’s go in strong. Three ships at least.”

Oh really? Scott will never agree to that Kayo.

“Agreed.”

Okay... they clearly resolved their differences in the break.

“Virgil, Kayo, get ready to fly.” 

“Anything Alan and I can do?”

Look at Gordon itching to get out and in on the action.”

“Just hold down the fort.”

“We could build one right here out of sofa cushions.”

Those faces there say it all, Alan! They are like *speechless*, *don’t know how to respond*, *oh Alan*, and *what on earth did you just say?* faces. I love it!

“Or not.”

Yeah, or not.

EOS is back! EOS is back, this is a big thing everyone - and google images doesn’t have like a single shot of her from this ep. Literally I searched for ages and there is nothing. I gave up because I couldn’t be bothered to keep on searching. I think I got to page 12...

“EOS, this looks like a life reading. Can you get a more detailed scan?”

“Of course, John.”

“Woah.”

“It appears to be the driver.”

“Yeah. He doesn’t look very friendly either.”

“I’m five minutes out. Where are the GDF?”

“On approach now.”

Yes, because they fared so well even with their “weapons clearance”.

Anyhow, don’t worry, because International Rescue have arrived to save the day!

“Colonel Casey?”

“Stay back, Thunderbird One. We’re still accessing the situation. That’s an order, Scott.”

“FAB. Standing by.”

Grandma strikes right again too - definitely be more interested in who is driving it. He’s dangerous and he’ll be back.

“Do we take that as a yes?”

In my opinion Virgil, never take silence as a yes. This is what happens as well so it seems.

“I told you to stay away.”

“Who are you?”

“I am The Mechanic. and if you’re Thunderbird comes any closer, I’ll break it as well.”

And now we have a name. Still, we’ll discuss him later, let’s continue with the story for now.

“This is my ship and I say not a chance.”

Got to love that giant green determination.

Thunderbird Two makes it back safely! That’s a testament to the pilot really. In both TAG and TOS we get displays of Virgil’s calm and skill. In TOS, Thunderbird Two crash landed at Tracy Island in ‘Terror in New York’ after being shot at by the US Navy’s new Sentinel... Oopps. In TAG, it’s a case of mechanical sabotage (add in a little stubborn will). In both cases though, the issues are similar - rear damage to the engines and the possibility of fire or cut outs.

In TOS, Scott is encouraging Virgil to make it a little further to the Island. In TAG however, Scott is the one who almost orders for Virgil to

“The landing will be way too risky, Virgil, you need to ditch her in the ocean.”

Now, my theory on this is that in TOS the boys still had their father, and were a bit older than they are in this series (not too much, but enough). In TAG, they have lost Jeff and so I think it makes sense that they have more understanding of their own mortality and less super human thinking (or visuals for us anyhow). In TAG, their also seems to be more thought into keeping the original Thunderbirds as in tact as they can - upgrades and modifications, yes, but as original as possible. Where as in TOS there’s less consideration of the machines. Maybe it’s just the different ways in which the two series are written, but in TAG, it definitely seems to be that keeping the Thunderbirds as much the same as the way their Dad built them, really matters to these boys.

It was a pretty good remake of the crash landing too, as well as being perfectly original in its own senses. And hey, Virgil didn’t get knocked out this time! But Thunderbird Two did still get drenched in fire suppressant foam. Oh well, you can’t have it all.

“I don’t know who this Mechanic fellow is, but I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts he’s getting some help from The Hood.”

“Uh, Grandma, The Hood’s in prison.”

And Grandma calls it right again! Anyone want to give her a third go this episode?

Interesting method of rescue. We’ve never seen anything like this before... And Kayo’s off doing her snooping. Love a bit of spy work.

Speaking of...

Here is something of a conversation... or should that be interrogation, but subtly?

“You know, Ma’am, hI ‘ave ways to make ‘im talk.”

“I think Miss Creighton-Ward is doing just fine on her own, Parker.”

No! I wanted to see what Parker had up his sleeve, Colonel Casey and I bet others out there did too, someone dare to prove me wrong. Go on.

“This look suits you. Stripes.”

“Yes, and red suits you. We can chit-chat all day if you like, but I suspect you’re here because someone is in trouble. Perhaps something worse than me has come to pass?”

“You mean The Mechanic? Oh, he’s well in hand by now. His first mistake was taking shots at the GDF; his last was taking shots at my friends.”

“This has nothing to do with me, of course. Being in here!”

“Certainly not. This Mechanic fellow has none of your guile and sophistication.”

Look at that creepy eye going.

So these are Mecca’s.

And this is The Mechanic.

Let’s finally discuss what we know about the villain.

“This guy is untouchable, Brains.”

“I believe The Mechanic is using Null-Point Energy in a recombinant distribution matrix.”

So, I’m trying to write this like I know nothing of how this whole story and character pans out, just so we can note the development along the way - so I know we do know more than this, but run with this level of knowledge in keeping with the current reruns of the show.

So we know he’s good with tech. That’s a first.

He’s connected to The Hood in someway for a second.

He can hack EOS, for a third - and John is good with tech so that is saying something.

And he knows Brains, that’s our fourth.

He looks like quite the bad guy actually... Little bit worrying for us.

Now, expanding on all this - back when series 2 of TAG first started, I read an interesting theory that suggested The Mechanic was meant to be in someway like or be the Black Phantom from the original series (Thunderbird Six) who was also mentioned by the IR impostors in the episode ‘The Impostors’ and was clearly supposed to be the person they were working for.

Now, we never really got to know much about Black Phantom, other than the fact that he ran his operations much like The Hood. In fact, Sylvia Anderson apparently referred to him on set as “Hood Jr.” which of course, could just be a nickname she chose to give the character, or could be implying a possible blood relation. ‘The Complete Book of Thunderbirds’ then took this one step further by implying that Black Phantom and The Hood were indeed the same person. Now, of course, there is every chance of this potentially being true as we know the Hood is capable of changing his face, and that he is called The Hood because he has so many alias’ that no one knows his real name.

Of course that above theory would cut The Mechanic out from being the Black Phantom, but it was still a worthwhile penny to flick into our thought space. Personally I don’t think The Mechanic and Black Phantom are the same person, but the post did raise interesting points about their shared traits of shadowy intelligence and ruthless actions. I think these are definitely the kind of characteristics that The Hood looks for in employees and so I can see where the idea came from.

Returning back to the idea of The Hood and Black Phantom being either related or the same person - just quickly to finish this whole section - The Hood is “feared as the most dangerous man in the world”, where as Black Phantom was noted as “utterly ruthless”. In many ways, these two elements and traits can and do cross over. It is likely to think that if The Hood is regarded as the most dangerous man in the world, that he is known to be capable of being ruthless. As a counterpart, if someone if known to be ruthless, let alone utterly, you would probably regard them with caution and consider them a potential danger at the very least.

In case it makes any difference - especially as it could have just been complete coincidence - The Hood’s original puppet was remade into Black Phantom for the sake of the Thunderbird Six movie, so who knows, maybe...

Oh, and the above I’ve included just because I like it and I wanted to put it here. I don’t know who made the original gif, but credit to them.

[rantshemlock]

you heard it right folks, for the second year in a row i watched 

Every Halloween Film

it took around 18 hours. there are eleven movies now after all. next year there will be twelve, and next year i will throw myself into the river thames if i make myself watch Rob Zombie’s Halloween II again. 

this time i wrote it out as a journal. it is a mess. i will not edit it. if you read the entire thing you dont get a prize. im very, very tired. i watched eleven movies today. i like five of them. 

9:27- I boot up Halloween (1978). I don’t know if this is the movie I’ve seen the most in my life, but I’ve certainly seen it dozens of times, and it never loses its impact. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m reading into micro-expressions on actors’ faces and I don’t know how much any of this was ever intended, but it certainly enhances my own reading of the film. I catch the expression of slight annoyance on Judith’s face when Michael walks into her room; it’s clear she had just no idea this was coming.

9:37- The staging of the opening of Halloween is so like a nightmare, a comparison I keep using this year for the movies I watch, but there’s a sense of being placed in the immediacy of what’s happening with no context and a burden of responsibility that only exists in dreams in the first few opening scenes. You don’t know where you are or what you’re supposed to be doing, but something huge and terrible is happening and the thick, dark shadows combined with the pale white-blue light the film uses makes everything emerge out of the black but never truly divorce itself from the darkness.

The way Loomis talks about Michael like some kind of animal is such a point of fixation for me. He calls Michael ‘it’ and wants ‘it’ to be locked up for life. Maybe it’s just being of a crazy persuasion myself but being the responsibility of a doctor who despises you and refers to you as an untreatable evil doesn’t feel like it would be much help to me. I just don’t think Loomis is a great doctor, is my point.

Laurie’s introduction is such a surge of light in a film that has up until now been shot almost exclusively in darkness. We are shown someone good, normal, happy, but the long, distant shots mean we are not accompanying her on this journey from her perspective; we are following her. Halloween legend suggests Michael doesn’t start stalking Laurie until she approaches the Myers’ house, but it feels like his eyes are lingering on her long before she does that. He casts a long shadow over her life before she even knows he exists.

9:42- The fact the film approaches the idea that it doesn’t make sense Michael would know how to drive a car but doesn’t explain it at all is weirdly funny. Just fuck it man, he can drive.

9:45: I really love the focus on Michael as a physical being. The fact we see him touch someone with his hands, open a car, steer while driving, run his hand over a fence… All of this adds a sense of Michael being tangible that I think is so vital. Michael Myers is a human being, not a demon, and that’s precisely why he is scary. Halloween as always meant to be a movie about the person next door; the fear comes from the fact that something inside your apparently nice, normal neighbourhood is rotten to the core. Laurie herself is incredibly on edge almost from the start; she knows something is wrong. She just hasn’t figured out what yet.

9:57- The gravekeeper’s insistence that something like this happens in every town is probably right on the money. It’s definitely what the film wants you to understand. The apparent nicety of your hometown doesn’t mean it’s free of violence, only that you’re trained not to notice it.

10:01- at exactly 0:33:16 Michael drives by in the background right behind Loomis without Loomis noticing, which is hysterically funny to me. I imagine Michael finds this incredibly funny too.

10:02- Laurie saying she’d “rather go to the dance with Ben Traimor” smacks of being a teenager and gay and saying the name of the first kid you know who’s nice to you because you guess that’s what having a crush is?

10:05- Loomis’ insistence at 0:37:12 that Michael killed and ate a dog raw is incredible to me. Also, I can’t say “Michael raw dog” to my friends without them screaming hysterically at me. They’re fuckers, and I hate them

10:07- From Loomis’ description, he met Michael when Michael was six, already condemned by the doctors as an incurable patient, and stopped treating Michael and turned to insisting he be locked up by the time Michael was fourteen. I think about this a lot.

10:13- “I’m not about to let anything happen to you.” I’m always very touched by Laurie’s immediate assertion of her position as a protector of children.

10:19- Lindsay caring literally only about watching horror movies is incredibly relatable. Truly a hero I can finally understand.

10:28- The house across the street, Lindsay’s house, is almost as haunting as the Myers house itself. It’s certainly a beautiful spectacle, the huge white building with its pillars and vast, blank windows, looming out of the darkness like a moon-lit tombstone. Laurie always seems so lonely when she watches it from the outside.

10:33- The head tilt after Michael pins Bob to the wall is so fucking iconic. It’s the first time it was done, I believe, and while it’s a cliché now it’s still chilling. The way Michael just studies Bob’s corpse, thoughts completely unable to be interpreted. The fact he turfs up in a ghost costume wearing Bob’s glasses moments later is so strange; there’s really no reason he would do that at all, other than the idea he finds it funny. There’s more showmanship to what Michael does than people recognise a lot of the time, I think. It’s like he really wants his work to be seen.

10:43- The shot of Annie on the bed under Judith’s tombstone has to be one of the most beautiful shots in the franchise. The perfect arrangement made just for Laurie to walk in on and experience in one precise way is so meticulous. Michael’s obsessiveness nature manifest in so many ways. The final showdown between Michael and Laurie is only around ten minutes long but it’s an incredible endurance test of a scene; the way Michael grows out of the shadows like he’s being formed within them is still beautiful and terrifying.

I think a really underrated part of this sequence that makes it so frightening is how Laurie is pointedly not alone; the neighbourhood she’s in is populated, and there are people around her. But when she runs to the neighbours for help, screaming and banging on the doors, they choose to ignore her. Seeing something they don’t like in their neighbourhood, they shut it out.

10:50- the closet scene is an incredible piece of filmmaking. There’s really never been anything before or since. I love art with a lot of lines and shadows and seeing the shadow of Michael moments before he breaks through the door is so haunting.

10:52- Laurie desperate and holding the knife in her hands is stunning. I love her.

10:54- I love the brief glimpse of seeing Michael’s face and how it stops him dead in his tracks. The fact he looks so painfully normal is so important too.

10:55- There’s a lot to be said about Loomis confirming Michael is ‘the Boogeyman’. I think Michael’s definite physical humanity in this movie is so important because it contrasts so strongly against the dehumanisation of him by the characters around him. We can only accept there’s a nightmare inside our neighbourhoods if we choose to believe it isn’t natural to it; that someone like that could not form there, but must have been artificially summoned, like a demon. Later movies and the remakes run with this idea; that Michael is somehow an outsider, but I think that defeats the entire point. Michael is part of this world just as much as Laurie is, whether we want to believe it or not.

10:57- I should be starting Halloween II but unfortunately, I have to go to the pharmacy. It might be Halloween, but prescription medications wait for no slasher villain.

11:13- I start watching Halloween II (1981). I like that this movie starts off with Mr Sandman. Horror movies having nursery rhymes in them now is another cliché, but this is such an interesting pick for Michael. I suppose it fits with him being the Boogeyman; he’s a creature of nightmares that slinks into our homes only through dreams. Allegedly.

I like the decision to pick this movie up right after the last one stopped, something that it looks like 2020’s Halloween Kills will be duplicating. It just makes a straightforward kind of sense.

11:21- The hysteria of Loomis screaming “I shot him six times!” over and over is sort of funny and sort of sick. There’s a slight traumatised, obsessive lunacy in Loomis the same as there is in Michael. I like the parallels between them. Loomis raised Michael more than Michael’s own parents did; it makes sense he’d have a lingering affect.

11:23- The shots from Michael’s perspective both in the first movie and this one are great. I love that we’re challenged to be inside his mind. We follow Michael a lot in this early opening. There’s an obvious strategy to his actions in this film, but the randomness of his kills are new. In the first movie, all the kills either get him something or revolve around Laurie. In this one, he kind of just does whatever, a theme that carries on for the rest of the movie.

11:24- A difference I don’t like so much in this movie is that the neighbours are so much more keyed into each other; they pay attention to the screaming and the strange noises, watch out for things that look out of place. I feel like it clashes with the first movie’s themes of isolation simply through your neighbours not caring what happens to you.

11:32- Ben Traimor getting hit by a cop car which crashes into a van and then explodes is one of the funniest fucking things that’s ever happened in this franchise. It is so completely fucking inexplicable and suddenly violent and pointless that it becomes hysterical, which is unfortunate given it’s meant to be a serious scene.

The breakdown scene that follows, where the Sheriff Brackett finds his daughter Annie is dead however is excellent. Charles Cyphers manages to carry the weight of the tragedy pretty effectively for a film that can veer into the goofy too easily, and Dr Loomis’ more measured delivery on his beliefs about Myers is Donald Pleasance at his best.

Halloween II isn’t any longer than Halloween, but the pacing is worse. It lets go of the original’s constant, haunting tension and delivers a sloppier movie as a result, too padded with side characters and people passing through the world with no consequence. The character of Brett is probably one of the most obnoxious characters in the franchise, which is saying a lot.

11:46- Laurie literally not knowing it was Michael Myers who was after her until she’s told is weirdly sad. Like of course she didn’t know, but it’s still sad. She feels very small and vulnerable in this movie, very lost in the big, empty hospital. The fact her parents are inexplicably missing and never shows up makes me crazy. I always wonder if there was a dropped plot thread where Michael was meant to have killed them, or something, because there’s really no explanation.

11:53- The musical stings in this movie are so odd. They’re too bleepy. Don’t know what the hell happened.

11:55- I take the laptop into the kitchen to make a sandwich while I watch the movie. It’s early for lunch but I don’t eat breakfast and I can actively feel my braincells hurting me.

12:01- I’m fascinated by the shots in this of the faint dream Laurie has of seeing a boy in the hospital when she was a child. I can never decide if these are real or not; if she’s unlocking some strange, contextless memory from childhood or just imagining it, instinctively feeling the connection between her and Michael without knowing the truth.

12:04- Bud’s off-screen death is so unsatisfying. Also, so continues the trend of Michael being mistaken for people’s boyfriends. Guess he’s just boyfriend material. Seems unbelievable to me she wouldn’t notice how dirty his hands are, though. And Jesus, the boiling her to death kill is really pretty brutal and graphic, after kills in the first few movies are so relatively restrained.

12:07- Michael writing SAMHAIN on the wall is so over the top. Yeah, I can believe he’s fucking 21 years old. Michael is a performance art student.

12:09- Laurie having Michael’s ability to go deadly still and silent is neat. I like them having links. They’re siblings after all. Runs in Myers family.

12:11- The needle into the side of the head kill is bizarre. Also, the head-tilt here feels cheap. I have already started stealing candy from the bowl intended for trick-or-treaters. In my defence, I could, and I wanted it.

12:20- I like that Laurie has an instinct to run, hide and defend herself. I don’t know if it’s the trauma of surviving or a prenatural sense that Michael is coming for her, but I like it. I don’t like that this entire movie is like twenty minutes longer than it needs to be, or how little Laurie is actually in it.

12:28- The reveal that Laurie is Michael’s sister is so great. It fits so well. I say bullshit to anyone who doesn’t like it. The repetition and obsessiveness of Michael’s behaviour, the strange links and parallels between Laurie and Michael. The fact that the two of them are just as much parts of Haddonfield as each other. It just feels right for them to be related. They are related.

12:31- Laurie crawling on the street begging for help as Loomis ignores her again – this man is truly useless.

12:33- Michael walking directly through a glass door is hysterical.

12:38- Laurie calling Michael’s name, stopping him for a second, blinding him with a shot… This last sequence is fantastic. There’s an enormous amount of pity in seeing Michael blindly stumbling around, swinging his knife, unable to see but still so desperate to kill. The fact she stops him by calling his name is great. The way it almost, for a second, perks some recognition inside him. I think a lot about Michael’s sense of identity. Who does he think he is? I guess we’re never going to find out.

12:43- Halloween III: Season of the Witch time. There’s a trend now of saying this is really the best Halloween movie. I can’t really argue with people’s personal takes, but there’s always a sense to that to me of denying the classic to favour the underdog. People love an underdog. But Halloween III definitely does kind of rule. As much conspiracy thriller as it is horror movie, Halloween III is deeply weird and creative, but packed with great performances and truly memorable special effects, with a killer soundtrack to boot.

1:11- Halloween III is so distinct feeling; it almost feels like a John Carpenter movie, but more like The Thing than Halloween. The film is less aesthetically distinct than Halloween; it takes place over days, in many locations, following the characters as they dig into the conspiracy behind the menacing Silver Shamrock company. It’s well-written and often pretty witty and builds an incredible sense of menace and strangeness. The little company town surrounding the Silver Shamrock factory is bizarre and frightening and although the film can be a little heavy-handed in its depiction of a surveillance state, it certainly builds up atmosphere.

1:20- The scene of the old drunk being taken out by the corporate men in black rules in how suddenly violent and horrible it is. We love a horror movie.

1:26- Some of the digital effects leave a little to be desired but god the practical effects are fucking incredible, and so goddamn memorable and horrible.

1:33- The over-the-top niceness of the Silver Shamrock owner is so pitch-perfect. He’s so nice that it’s obviously, blatantly menacing. What owner of a big corporation like this just gives shit away for free? I mean, come on. I really love the apparent legends that surround him, though, the reputation of being a genius and a great man.

1:48- The complete calmness with which the whole plan gets revealed is so good because you really sense how fucking little threat our heroes pose; no one here thinks they have a chance in hell of stopping Silver Shamrock. The plan in itself is absurd, but like, who cares. It’s fun. The fact Cochran is like, delighted to show off his big ideas because he’s so confident nothing will stop them. And in a way he’s right; at least partially, the heroes do ultimately fail.

2:00- the speech Cochran delivers about the power of Samhain rules. It’s so intense and menacing. Fucking great performance here.

2:07- As much as I like the ending, I think how much it drags on kind of kills some of the tension. Feels like it could have been cut back. The imagery at the very end is fantastic though; it’s so weird. The way this movie embraces strangeness is great; I’ll always take a film that tries to be something different and weird over anything that plays it safe.

2:20- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Jesus we’re starting down a dark path now. Halloween 4 is pretty thoroughly ‘ok’ and even has a couple of good moments but God. The decision to return to just being about Michael Myers after risking and flopping with an anthology movie is fine by me, but Halloween 4 plays it as safe as possible and lacks any of the flair or charm of the original. It just doesn’t have any style, and the forced drama falls short. Jamie Lee Curtis’ absence also feels like a sucking void in the film; it’s too painfully obvious that she was meant to be in this movie, and the fact she isn’t, the fact she died off-screen in some completely nondescript way is so depressing. The filmmakers assumed no one watching gave a shit about Laurie, and that’s so wrong and so disheartening.

2:25- the other doctors hating Loomis really adds to my reading of him as a man on the brink. He must be insufferable to know.

2:30- It really feels so painfully fucking unfair that Laurie would go through so much to just die in a random car accident. Or maybe there’s a kind of poetry in her dying without Michael’s involvement; just part of her own life.

2:36- Donald Pleasance is such a mensch. As stupid as these movies get, he never stopped bringing his fucking A-game and giving them as much respect and gravitas as he could. What a fucking legend.

2:41- Loomis seeing Michael in the diner is so fucking good. Loomis’ quiet pleading, asking Michael not to go back to Haddonfield but just take him instead, the quiet God damn you. Such a great moment. Would be better if Michael didn’t just suddenly teleport out of the room with no explanation, but you can’t have it all.

2:42- Why are later Halloween movies so fond of explosions.

2:43- The kids literally chanting ‘Jamie’s an orphan’ at her is incredible. Not in a good way.

2:50- I fetch the kitten to keep him on my lap because my house is colder than Michael Myers’ black heart.

2:55- Michael looking at Laurie’s photos… Ugh.

2:56- Why do people not just believe Loomis when he says Michael is back. We have this thread every week, comrade.

3:06- Michael just kinda standing around in the background doesn’t really do much in terms of fear. It’s just silly. And his mask looks ridiculous.

3:12- This film is a masterclass in failing to raise tension.

3:23- There’s an attempt to manufacture conflict by having the police clash with a group baying for mob justice, but it all feels completely inert. Nothing in the film carries any weight or drama, and the tension is all derived from using familiar music stings to try and kick your brain into recognising it’s an appropriate place to feel something.

3:25- The kitten bites me, drinks my water, and goes to sit in a box instead. I hate him. The kill where Michael stabs someone through the gut with a shotgun and pins them to the wall is the most flagrantly absurd thing I’ve ever seen. The fact she’s immediately found also really kills the tension. Also why is Michael so fucking strong. He’s so strong.

3:31- I can see the intention with the roof scene, but there’s too much unintentional comedy and Michael is so unthreatening that it doesn’t hold together at all. I especially hate how Michael will just suddenly appear out of nowhere; the first movie utilises his forming out of the shadows so well, but it doesn’t fucking work the same if he’s just there, in a formerly empty and well-lit corridor. He’s not being beamed in by a spaceship.

3:39- God this film is slow. Michael’s hands look absolutely terrifically fucked up. I wish Laurie was here.

3:41- It is insufferable how this film has like ten climaxes. Jamie running to inspect Michael really just doesn’t make any sense. I understand why the filmmakers did it, but it doesn’t make sense. They allude to some connection between the two, but it’s really underplayed and doesn’t pay out well when so much of the movie is her being flatly scared of him. They could have – and should have – acted more on the idea of her finding some sort of familiar connection between them. Famously, the movie ends with the idea Jamie might have somehow inherited Michael’s drive to murder, but the plot thread disappointingly gets dropped after this movie.

3:47- It’s time for Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. God, this movie is such a non-entity in the franchise. It doesn’t have 6’s turbulent history or 4’s dramatic ending. It just like, occurs. It occupies space and time. It tries to further the connection between Jamie and Michael, turning it into something psychic and supernatural, and begins to introduce elements of the Cult of Thorne before that takes over as the plot of 6, but none of it is interesting and I also hate the attempt to make Halloween a supernatural franchise.

4:04- The totally legal for sure stream I’m using starts fucking up so everything takes a break while I find somewhere else to watch it.

4:05- Contemplate if life is worth it.

4:06- Film returns. It’s not worth it.

4:27- If screaming at kids was always Dr Loomis’ brand of psychiatry no wonder he couldn’t help Michael.

4:30- You really need to put in more effort than this if you want to make someone being murdered in broad daylight scary. If you’re not putting in the kind of effort Midsommar does to sell the death, you aren’t gonna get there. Halloween as a franchise seems obnoxiously dedicated to doing shit in the middle of the fucking day, for something who built the power of the original scares so much off of the quiet and darkness of the shadows.

4:39- Imagine leaving a traumatised child alone because you want to get laid. Tina’s character is fucking absurd. There are far too much entirely interchangeable faces in this movie screaming incoherently.

4:57- The scene of Michael desperately trying to run Jamie over with a car while the camera swings around hysterically and then the car inexplicably exploding is like peak mid-sequel Halloween. It really exemplifies how much the franchise started relying on noise and flash instead of like, being scary.

5:02- Loomis begging Michael to ‘fight the rage that drives you’ and saying that killing will never drive the anger out is too little too late, ain’t it. I like the idea of an appeal to his emotions but there’s so little emotional weight to the rest of the movie that it fails to maintain a meaningful tone. All the moments where Jamie is communing with Michael are supposed to drive tension I guess, but it mostly is just very silly.

5:09- Every set in this movie look so much like a set. Considering the first movie was just shot in a house I don’t understand why they didn’t do the same. I like the prospect of Loomis trying to talk to Michael, to get through to him emotionally, but seeing Michael just standing there in the really goofy fucking mask they gave him this film is just ridiculous. Donald Pleasance can only do so much.

5:19- Again we return to the idea of getting through to Michael emotionally. Jamie calls him uncle and asks for him to take his mask off. He does, even. But there doesn’t feel like there’s any understanding of who Michael is; there’s no consistent psychology or examination, only the gut feeling that family has to be important. But we know how Michael feels about family, and it’s not tender. He speaks his own language.

5:21- Where the fuck did Loomis even get a giant chain net and tranquiliser drafts.

5:25- Sure why wouldn’t a guy with a machine gun show up and just start slaughtering everyone like who the fuck cares.

5:28- I take a break to gather my thoughts and feelings emotionally so I can handle watching Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers.

5:32- I change the cat litter to avoid watching Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers.

5:40- I start Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers.

5:50- The woman calls into radio station and says she’s in love with Michael Myers is the only person in this film I respect.

5:51- The decision to bring back Tommy Doyle as a conspiracy theorist who’s obsessed with Michael is a great concept, which is why I’m glad Tommy Doyle is in Halloween Kills so I never have to say Halloween 6 makes a point again. Paul Rudd (yes, that Paul Rudd) is shockingly terrible in this movie, and also, I don’t like him as an actor, so nothing about this performance endears him to me. I have no fucking idea what they directed him to do. It is miserable.

6:01- I am straight up not having a good time bro.

6:03- This is the only Halloween movie in a long time to actually try and show off its location; Halloween 5 could be set literally anywhere and is unfollowable, but Halloween 6 at least attempts to ground the movie in Haddonfield and show that this is a normal neighbourhood. Unfortunately, this movie takes place in nonsense magic doo-doo land so any attempt to ground us in anything is a waste of fucking time.

6:13- There’s a lot of reasons I don’t like this movie; I think the additions of mythology are absurd and go against the themes of the original, the conclusion is dumb as hell, the story is boring. It isn’t scary and it isn’t well-shot or well-written. But on a more abstract level, I hate its schlock, cheap understanding of what obsession and trauma does to someone. I fucking loathe that it uses rape as a shock tactic and how much abuse it puts its female characters through for no catharsis.

6:50- This curry I’m eating sucks ass. I want that on the record.

7:22- Jesus fucking Christ it’s finally time for Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. I love this movie. I love it for the ambition it had. It might not be a as fully realised examination of trauma after time as Halloween (2018) is, but I admire it for its vision. It doesn’t try to mimic the style of the first film, and I guess there’s a certain loss in aesthetic as it’s more akin to Scream or other fairly uniform 90s slasher movies in appearance, but it’s a far more confident movie than the other middling Halloween sequels. It has a clear understanding of what it wants the movie to be and is genuinely tense and thrilling because of that, as well as more readily grounded in reality. It has a genuine respect for the original that others fail to and tries to build an original film that follows it in a meaningful sense.  

7:56- Laurie is really condemned to be around people who don’t listen to her but as much of a horrible little punk shit her son is, narratives about inherited or family trauma make me go insane, so this all affects me still.

8:01- I like the discussion of fate in Frankenstein as parallel to the discussion of fate in the first movie. It’s silly, but I like it, and that’s on me.

8:07- One of the smartest moves this film makes is using its own score. A lot of the middling sequels just lift from the original without any care, but H20 puts in some effort into building up some actual atmosphere.

8:13- I like that Laurie is a mess but still holding it together. She’s jumpy and always watching, with a bottle of alcohol a little too close beside her. It’s not exactly the most monumental depiction of lifelong trauma, but the film makes an effort. I love its effort. I love Jamie Lee Curtis as well.

8:26- This film brings back a theatricality to the presentations of Michael’s victims that I feel the movies sorely lack. If it doesn’t look like an art project why bother? I was going to say I wish there was more development of the relationship with Michael and his nephew, but I don’t. I want more Laurie. Love Laurie.

8:28- Michael’s not good with keys. I love the fact that his hands and eyes are so clear, though. It brings back that kind of essential physicality he had in the original. Him making contact with Laurie, the shot of the two of them through the glass looking at each other is so fucking good.

8:34- Laurie standing in the drive with a fucking axe screaming Michael’s name as the Halloween them kicks in fucking rules so goddamn hard. The final fight scene between these two is an all-time great.

8:39- Laurie pulling a gun on a cop so she can kidnap the coroner’s van so she can make sure Michael is actually dead is fucking incredible. She’s the best person who’s ever been written. The final conclusion of the film, with Michael reaching out to her when he’s pinned down, and it’s unclear if he’s asking for help or trying to reach out to hurt her one last time but his eyes are filled with desperation is one of the best moments in any of the films, and the power of Laurie just delivering the killing blow makes it even better. The fact they both get to be so vulnerable and so human and have a moment, just a moment, where their hands touch for any reason other than violence is so fucking strong. I love this fucking movie.

8:45- Halloween: Resurrection. Because after just seeing Laurie fight for her life and get out alive, triumphing over Michael once and for all, obviously what we want is to have the whole thing turn out to be bullshit and a fake out and for Laurie to die in the first five minutes of this film? Fuck this movie man. Like fuck this movie.

8:59- as bad and stupid and shallow as this movie is, the slight manipulation Michael performs is pretty great, and Laurie’s line “Are you afraid of me?” is an all-time great. This film doesn’t earn Laurie’s death, though, and it doesn’t deserve Jamie Lee Curtis. I’m not even totally against the idea of finding out what Michael would do if all his family was dead, but this movie’s option of ‘be in a reality show being filmed in his house’ is probably the answer I never, ever, ever wanted.

9:03- I have given up.

9:25- People make a big deal out of the ending scene where Busta Rhymes electrocutes Michael Myers in the nuts but it is really the only moment of levity in what is otherwise the most boring experience anyone can have.

10:00- I am eating leftover candy and contemplating my life.

10:17- I boot up Halloween (2007). I have accepted death.

10:19- Yeah, what Halloween was really lacking was a guy yelling “I should crawl over there and skullfuck the shit outta you!” before hitting on his teenage stepdaughter. The level of overt grossness and extremity that Robert Zombert brings to this franchise is so fucking putrid and unnecessary. All he brings to this franchise is insane amounts of unbridled misogyny and pop psychology. I said the same thing last year and I’ll happily say it again; this movie’s idea of what makes a serial killer is like something from a daytime TV movie. I’m sure it was intended to be edgy, but the demonization of the working class and sex workers and the position of Michael as the lower-class outsider to the nice suburbs is the most conformist class politics in existence. Halloween (1978)’s depiction of a serial killer who was a part of and came from inside the nice, safe, upper middle-class suburb will always be a far, far more revolutionary statement than this.

10:44- I don’t believe this really gives Michael ‘more backstory’ since it basically just re-treads what the first movie did, but it sure does it worse. The film just takes an incredible amount of time to say ultimately nothing at all. What really gets me is that this does really destroy the Michael is the big bad boogeyman myth simply because the childhood it gives Michael doesn’t fit with who he is. The change just feels forced. The suddenness of his violence feels forced. There doesn��t seem to be any observation here other than it would be scary if a nice kid was actually murderer.

10:56- Why does Michael’s mother own a huge projector. The melodrama of her killing herself is so absurd.

11:03- Michael Myers gets called the F-slur so many times in this movie that I’m officially adopting him as part of the LGBT community.

11:12- people criticise the original for not having the most natural of dialogue for its teenage girl characters, but the teenagers in this film are so incredibly obnoxious that it’s borderline unbearable to watch. Their dialogue is unnatural too, because it’s the kind of shit a weird old man really, desperately wants teenage girls to say.

11:23- There isn’t a scene in this that doesn’t drag on for too long in a completely unfunny, charmless way. It’s also insanely aggravating how Zombie is incapable of holding the camera still for longer than a couple of seconds at a time, and why everyone in the movie always has to be twenty feet away at all times.

11:25- This movie is just the first movie but longer with people screaming fuck constantly and added rape scenes. It is so insanely fucking worthless it really defies description.

11:28- I could be hanging out with my friends but I’m watching a bad movie. Contemplating life again.

11:45- I wish Robert Zombert wasn’t so horny.

11:51- I like truly never want to hear screaming again. There’s so much noise in this movie all the time. There isn’t a fucking second of silence in this film that couldn’t be filled with someone screaming hysterically or shit breaking. There isn’t a moment where the camera holds still and lets us take in the information in the frame without wobbling deliriously or swinging around like it’s on a fucking office chair.

12:10- I wonder if I can go see Doctor Sleep tomorrow. It’s technically not Halloween anymore, but if I manage to watch all these films within twenty-four hours I think it still counts.

12:13- We’re on Halloween II (2009). I like that this movie opens up with an explanation of what the symbolism of the white horse represents, in case you’re too stupid to figure it out for yourself. I like that the flashback is also completely drained of colour, in case you’re too stupid to figure out that it’s a flashback, even after it had a title card explaining it was. Just in case you thought Michael turned into a kid again, or something.

12:17- Glad we’re back to the constant screaming and camera swirling, just in case you thought for a brief second you’d have a moment of fucking peace.

12:21- I joked about the absurdity of Ben Traimor in Halloween II (1982) getting hit by a van and then exploding but it really doesn’t match up to the pointless fucking spectacle of violence that occurs roughly every ten seconds in Halloween II (2009). There’s no reason whatsoever to have the coroner’s van full of rapists crash into a cow and have the most incredibly bloody crash scene ever while one of them screams fuck over and over, but it happens. It isn’t scary, funny, or interesting, but it sure happens. That just about sums up this movie. Loud, bloody, and gratuitous, but not, y’know, interesting.

12:39- What an exploitative ‘I think crazy chicks are hot’ vision of trauma this is.

12:48- The idea of Loomis cashing in on his fame and becoming a celebrity psychologist is a good idea, but in classic Rob Zombie way, it’s done in the least interesting way possible.

1:04- What the fuck is happening.

1:13- it is like fucking incredible how boring this movie is. None of these scenes have any purpose. It’s just stuff, it’s stuff to put on film, with no larger thesis or point. I don’t fully understand why anyone bothered making this movie.

1:29- Great, a party sequence. That’s what this film really needed. More pointless noise and scenes that go nowhere. It was way too quiet and plot-heavy until now.

1:31- Does Mr Zombie know he can just make music videos. Like wouldn’t it be easier.

1:55- The ending scene in this movie is so incredibly incoherent and unwatchable. The bringing of the strange psychic ghosts that haunt Michael and Laurie and making them real, physical presences only makes the film more incoherent. It’s all jerky, wild camera movements, strobe lighting and screaming from here on out. Michael is such a non-entity in this film. He’s in at least half the movie, but he’s not himself. He’s just like a big guy with a beard and one line.

1:59- The slo-mo is so unnecessary. Like you fucking had to make this movie even longer? For who? For what?

2:00- I wish we were all dead.

2:01- I think I’ve seen Blade Runner 2049, a movie I deeply love and cherish, less times than I’ve seen Rob Zombie’s Halloween II.

2:02- Feel depressed about this.

2:03- If I ever hear Love Hurts again, I’ll kill myself.

2:04- Spent two minutes in silent contemplation.

2:06- It’s finally time for Halloween (2018). It’s hard to understate how much respect I have for this movie. Like I said earlier, I admire H20 a lot for its attempt to be a reaction to Laurie’s trauma and grief, but it does not manage to pull this off with anywhere near as much grace and effectiveness as Halloween (2018). And on top of that, the film is stunningly shot, the only film on par with the original in terms of how beautiful and memorable the cinematography is.

2:10- The distance from which we see Michael initially is so great; there’s so much restraint. He’s unmasked for a good portion of the early movie, but the film holds back in a way that makes his face completely unreadable and instead focuses on people’s reactions to and fear of him. It gives a sense that he’s almost too frightening to be fully captured on film. We can never really understand the legend of Michael, the same way people who don’t see him ‘in the wild’ can’t; we can only see him through legends.

2:14- The soundtrack in this movie is a fucking incredible beast. John Carpenter is God, frankly.

2:17- I adore Laurie’s portrayal in this movie. She’s so cold and defensive towards people who don’t believe or respect her, but there’s a painful, raw vulnerability to her as well. She’s traumatised person who has run the gamut of people refusing to understand or respect her trauma or the worldview she’s developed. There’s such a profound mixture of power and pain, a sense of immense dignity to her. She’s sick to death of the lack of respect and cruelty she’s faced. I just love how much emotion was put into her performance, how much the filmmakers really cared about making her a fully realised expression of trauma and the way people react.

2:24- Dave blowing up a pumpkin with a firecracker is the most accurately teenage thing that’s ever happened in these movies.

2:25- Laurie standing on the sidewalk outside the school in a mirror of how Michael did rules. The callbacks in this movie are always so underplayed that they feel like they take actual meaning, rather than just being a case of demanding fans look at something cool they recognise.

2:31- I am deliriously sleepy. Laurie’s breakdown at family dinner is so painful. She carries so much grief; she is, in her eyes, the only one who does and who may ever know the truth, surrounded by people who can’t understand her because trying to put themselves in her world hurts them too much. I think Laurie’s daughter’s description of what it was like growing up in a survivalist environment filled with anxiety and paranoia is so key; it was traumatising for her to grow up in a trauma-based environment. I hope she gets more time in the next movie.

2:43- This is the third movie in the franchise where Michael kills people in a public toilet, but definitely the best time it’s been done. Michael throwing teeth at the journalist writing about him is something that is so insane that it’s now burned itself directly into my brain and I am incapable of not tweeting ‘i wish michael myers would throw teeth on me’ at least once every three weeks.

2:46- The gravity that’s given to Michael putting the mask on is mesmerising. Again, I love the physicality of his hands and motions; this movie doesn’t forget he’s a real, physical person.

2:52- I’m obsessed with Michael’s decision not to kill the baby. He’s on a random murder spree, killing anyone who he sees without any particular cause, but he passes right by the baby. Looks at it, and then chooses not to. He made an actual choice not to. I always wonder what was going through his mind at the time.

2:59- Alyson’s costume was a really great way to have her end up with the same silhouette as Laurie in the first movie without having her just straight up dress like her grandma. Nice touches.

3:01- “You are so getting dry-fucked tonight” is probably one of the most wretched lines of dialogue in this franchise.

3:09- Laurie hunting for Michael is so good. She’s so fucking ruthless in this movie; she’s afraid but she’s fucking tuned in completely to her revenge hunger.

3:13- Sartain is a character I really love. The set-up is obviously that he’s Loomis 2, Laurie even refers to him as “the new Loomis”, and he reflects and subverts this in interesting ways. I like that he calls Michael “property of the state”; it’s his own way of dehumanising Michael. To him, Michael is an asset, something to be poked and prodded and studied. But of course, unlike Loomis, his obsessive interest in Michael is far more appreciative.

3:16- This film’s ability to just use silence is so good.

3:17- The first time Alyson sees Michael is incredible. The musical sting. Fuck me. God, I love this movie. And God I love this fucking soundtrack.

3:22- The twist of Sartain turning and killing the cop, protecting Michael and trying to seek out what it feels like to kill is great. Also, the way he stroked Michael’s face? I hate to break it to you, but if you don’t think they were fucking? Grow up.

3:30- I love the drama of Michael’s corpse arrangements. Back to the good old art student days, I see. He’s having a midlife crisis. Every time Laurie and Michael see each other is so fucking powerful. The connection between the two of them is so vibrant. And her shooting half his hand off? Iconic. Really excited to see how the makeup department carries that on next film.

3:39- The final showdown sequence is incredible. Laurie and Michael nearly being on equal terms sounds like it should make it boring, if she can match him hit for hit, but the film never drops a level in tension. It manages to be surprising not just for us but also for Michael, who obviously wasn’t expecting to be on the back foot with Laurie, which only makes the scene more intense.

3:42- WHY IS HE SO STRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3:43- The performance of Karen screaming she needs help and she can’t do it only to shoot Michael point blank and then have Laurie emerge out of the shadows the way she does is one of the best fucking moments in cinema. The three women working together to defeat Michael and kill him where he stands, absolutely kicking the shit out of him and then setting him alight is fucking incredible. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a triumphant fucking ending in anything. The Strode women’s win feels like such an incredible fucking win. I have no fucking idea how Halloween Kills is going to follow this up.

3:46- I love this movie. The house burning down with Michael inside it is so striking. The way fire is shot is so powerful, and the ending shot of the Strodes? With Alyson holding the knife? A perfect movie.

3:47- I have died.

[tenebraetrash17]

This is a really random rambly rant, but I would like to go into how much I love Luna’s outfit and how they kind of make her stand out in terms of female apparel in games

This is going to be purely game Luna however, just to put that out there. We all know how stunning her Kingsglaive dress is.

Something I’ve always liked about Luna is how she’s tastefully modest, in a way. When it comes to her casual dress, it’s functional with pockets, looks to be made of a stretchy material and another thing is the neckline.

When she bends down there is almost little to no cleavage shown, and it seems to have it’s primary purpose to accentuate her necklace. Something to add is that it also is pretty supportive, as there’s no jiggle physics when she runs or moves a lot. Her dress isn’t short either, it stops right above her knees, which probably makes movement easier.

Her oracle dress is the most marketable more recognizable one as it was the dress used in promo pictures, and at the time of her death which was followed by that one scene which was too pretty for words.

b e a u t i f u l

This dress is admittedly lower than the first, but given that it’s a ceremonial dress, it’s not impractical. That and the neckline isn’t low enough to be calling attention specifically, it’s at just the right height to be a little showy, but not to the point where it’s in your face obvious.

Of course, I can’t go without talking about the length and mass of this dress, as in this promo picture

This dress is LONG, and with no slit or anything for her leg in order to make it “more appealing” instead it’s just a simple and elegant long dress, and again, made for ceremonies so I can definitely see why it’s unfit for action.

Not to go off topic,  and lowkey I was scared to post this because hella unpopular opinion but @boysloveandtaxation encouraged me to post the rant so yee here it is I guess but personal thoughts below on some...uh, OTHER matters that kind of involve Luna’s development:

This, personally, is one of the reasons I prefer Luna to Stella, I’m not against “sexy video game character design” or anything like that, but when I look at pictures of Stella, the main thing that sticks out to me is her design.

The neckline is near the same as Luna’s, but it has more attention on the cleavage, she also has that slit in her skirt, to me it feels like it was meant to be more sexualized, but hey, maybe that’s just me being nitpicky. I personally don’t find too much issue in that dress, but I just thought it would be an interesting note since Luna’s ceremony dress is inspired from it.

Now this outfit here:

First thing to notice is that she has a miniskirt you can almost look up, this was even one of her first establishing shots as a design reveal.

Not to mention

Heavy emphasis on movement, not a lot of support as she bounces around. Her outfit here is certainly made for a certain type of appeal.

If you kind of consider that ff7 has been said to be Nomura’s “Self Insert Fantasy” and take into account Stella has a style similar to Tifa’s bangs, and her mannerisms are a lot like Aerith’s in that one scene where she speaks to Noctis, it’s possible that Stella was perhaps just him combining aspects of the two characters to make “His Ultimate Waifu”

I was originally unwilling to post this, but I recently read @rosiereverie and @finalfanasty ‘s posts on the women representation in the ffviir ( you can find that here https://rosiereverie.tumblr.com/post/186824066086/finalfanasty-womens-representation-if-ff7r-so ) and just

not to be that person

because I've come under fire for it a l o t in the past

but really, when it comes to Final Fantasy, Nomura really is out here making most of the sexualized females and trying to basically use the game to fulfill his wishes-

alsolemmesaythatNot!StellabeingpulledawaylikeBowserdoesPrincessPeach??????yeah,realstrongfemalecharacterthereguys

But maybe im reading too much into it-

But I kinda feel like in the remake, the girls aren’t gonna be the same, especially coming from a man who does all this is running the whole shebang.

[magicalusuki]

progen dragon sharing, inspired by a post by @goannafr that ive had in my drafts since may 12th of this year! wow i am good at being late

varsha- custom progen

so the colors i chose for varsha.... well, i didnt choose them. which is fully. i was in school in the middle of a movie in health class, and id snuck onto my phone and made an fr account because the registration window was about to close and i was going to be busy the rest of the time it was open, or maybe i was just too impatient.

i didnt realize you could even change the colors of the dragon- i just chose the breed and my flight (wind), and actually moved to ice almost immediately after because wind was such an impulse decision. 

i actually hated her colors once i realized that i could have picked them myself, because i would have probably made a seafoam/rose dragon. but now i love her. it might have been cool if she at least had a different blue for the wings, so if i could remake her (and assume she got the same tert) i would give her storm wings. it brings out that gray tert in a really cool way and just makes her a biiit more interesting. i mean, look at that! it look great with her apparel, too.

i chose to make her a fae, because i though that they were cute. i didnt like any of the other starter breeds when i joined because i was a coward. i wanted the cutesiest dragons ever, which is funny considering now varsha is super badass

i had like... the vaguest clue of what fr was, because i was in the neopets community and a ton of the blogs i followed were into it, but i didnt really understand it in depth. fun fact! my original username was twinkling. 

exaltation

so when i first joined fr, from what i remember we had... very few tert options. i believe we had basic, crackle, underbelly and circuit? and with varsha’s tert being grey, and yukienne’s being denim... basically nothing looked even slightly decent.

on top of this, i really wasnt in the forums or community much at all- so i wasnt aware that maybe exalting your progens wasnt a great plan, and how special they can be. and i certainly wasnt thinking about future genes. i mean, its been 5 years and STILL the best tert for varsha is stained and i dont particularly love any i have for yukienne!  ive grown to like stained on varsha, but for real. even irishim couldnt save that grey tert, and i used to be OBSESSED with irishim

.im not against geneing yukienne fully and i have a few options planned, but denim is not.... its not an easy color to work with, which sucks because sky and violet work together so well, and then you have this random greenish-grayish blue. why. which is why he is not gened at all because oh my god. please fr give me something that makes denim purpley ill die for you

this is his current most likely scry but im still... not sold... at least sky is one of my favorite colors on site! hes still a pretty lucky random progen all things considered, i know some people were truly cursed. they also have a pretty okay range, so thats nice! i brought these guys back as quick as possible and was so excited i got the option so do so.

lore and clan roles

in the end, exaltation gave my progens a lot of character- although i was so upset about having done it for literal years, lol. my clan lore felt super weak up until bringing them back.

varsha is clan leader, but im undecided about yukiennes role- all i know is that he did essentially abandon varsha in exaltation and didnt actually fight to earn his right back to this plane, and she resents him for that. i can imagine they did talk initially about him rising up the politcal ladder rather than being involved in the war itself, and i imagine initially he was actually quite gentle and perhaps a bit skittish- she had more pity for him then, and understood he wouldnt fare as well. maybe she even thought it would help his confidence. but seeing him live a bejeweled life as she fought endlessly.... well, thats just not great. on top of it, he sees himself as responsible for their return, not acknowledging varshas efforts, and he does this despite the fact that there was no evidence of it.  so yukienne likely doesnt do much in the clan, and i imagine varshas bodyguard- nevara- keeps an eye on him until or if varsha decides hes trustworthy to help. in the end, he doesnt especially want to do things for the clan anyways- he doesnt feel the dedication that varsha does, and though varsha doesnt realize it hes worn himself. hes tired of lies and a political lifestyle, and i dont imagine hes as confident as he might come off- its likely more a force of habit, and in saying it was because of him they got home, he just more than anything wants validation that his suffering was just as painful and he worked just as hard as varsha. but she really cant see that. in her eyes, hes still sitting on a pedestal, lying and spoiled rotten. even if now hes just lost and tired more than anything else.

varsha obviously is very strong willed and stubborn, and sometimes has difficulty empathizing with others- particularly those she perceives as having caused her harm. shes not especially friendly, and a bit paranoid. still she cares a lot about others, particularly her clan members who she views as her responsibility, and so she pushes away her own feelings best she can. shes more prone to trust those from wind than from any other flight, and is working on her distrust of those from ice. 

she has a close bond to nevara due to her wind heritage and time spend together on the battlefield, and trusts her deeply. she also deeply trusts aer, the very dragon that first found her and yukienne, and the only from the clan at the time that did not know of her exaltation until it was too late. she appreciates the effort on her behalf to keep the clan in order and understands aer was also very hurt by what her clan members had done, and is glad to have someone from that time who had missed her. 

varsha also finds amaryllis sort of cute and charming.the wind heritage probably helps yet again in this case, but even beyond that, she appreciates someone so unfit for the role trying their very hardest to play leader to keep their clan together in her absence. she sees her somewhat like a little sibling, despite not having a large gap in age.

since mako worked so close to both amyrllis and aer during her absence, she was one of the first ice flight members in their clan that she warmed to. with her optimistic and free spirited attitude, and the fact that shes still willing to work in a political position (unlike amaryllis, who was happy to retire) she helps to balance out varshas negative views of people and also is very useful in giving intel and helping create strong bonds between their clan and others, since varsha... would probably never do so on her own, but does see the necessity.

yukienne, at this point, lives a fairly solitary lifestyle. being rejected by the person he admires most as well as feeling he betrayed and failed her, he sees himself unworthy of deeper relationships. at the same time, he is stubborn and unwilling to discuss and feels he doesnt deserve sympathy or to explain his side. all interactions and relationships he has are shallow. at the very least, he is genuinely very proud of his appearance, so thats probably the one thing he has actual confidence in.

[mxadrian779]

It really sucks when you find out someone you thought was a friend (or at least a good acquaintance) is actually a pretty trashy person.

Okay, let me build up the backstory. Almost seven years ago, I created a niche political page. I tended it alone for about a year before enlisting the help of a second admin. In comes this guy we'll call Richard. Richard and I got along decently. We shared a lot of thoughts and identities. I thought he helped me with the page considerably. He helped tend the page with me for about two years or so. We chatted a lot, and I really liked him. Then things start getting weird between us. Richard seems to start getting weird. There's stuff going on in his life, divorce and whatnot. I get a notice that the page we had was scheduled to be deleted within seven days. I loved my page; I certainly didn't schedule it for deletion. I ask Richard, who swears he didn't and blames his ex-husband, whom he insists must have hacked his account. I don't know who to believe, although I am certainly more suspicious of Richard than of his ex. I remove the deletion schedule, and bump Richard's page access down—basically, I took away his power and control over my page. Things are okay, kind of. The stuff Richard posts to the page is half decent and half questionable. Then he posts a swastika picture, a meme comparison of some current figure to a past Nazi figure with a swastika flag in the background. I wasn't aware of the post at the time; I was busy with school. I only heard of it when my stalker elsewhere online started circulating news of that post (my stalker watches every one of my online pages and presences) and calling me antisemitic—because of something I didn't post and wasn't even aware was posted! I immediately track down that post and remove it, and talk to Richard about it. He claims innocence and dodges the matter. I don't remember what else went on between us, but I certainly remember him being vague and dodgy about it, even after I told him what a shitty thing that was, and told him to at least consider the image that post projects. He didn't care.

(edit: looking back at my messages to him and finding a host of other problems that happened at once. I wanted to address them but he just ignored me. Transphobia, the swastika post, and he'd made some crude sexual posts, as well.)

 Now, I don't remember the exact timeline of events, but this was coming to a head about two years ago, when I was coming out of my transphobia. Richard had made a few transphobic posts on the page over its lifetime, which I didn't protest then. But then I started to see its shittiness and started deleting it all. I tried to open a discussion about it with him, like, “hey, what's up with this stuff?” kind of thing. Richard ignored me. A little later, I removed him from the page completely, which he didn't protest or maybe even notice. Richard was no longer an admin, but I spent the next few months cleaning up his messes and remaking the tone of the page. I tried to track down his old crappy posts and delete them. I know there must be many more, but they're buried beyond reach. I made it clear on the page that we are no longer to be transphobic, and that we are to be welcoming instead of mocking. I ran solo for a long time, afraid to enlist another admin and another Richard.

 A few years ago, before anything went sour, Richard decided we should have a group counterpart, which he created and added me as an admin. I was hardly active with it, though, more focused on the page part. I was last in the group three years ago—my last post. The group fell inactive and I stopped caring about it, especially when I started seeing what a richard Richard was.

Recently, this group came back to the fore when one of the other people Richard enlisted as an admin came back and started poking around. He took issue with what I had posted three years ago, and flew into all these weird accusations about it. He questioned my integrity and my identity, and said I shouldn't be an admin there. He especially didn't like when I told him I was transgender (he said something derogatory about me being a woman or something, so I countered). I private messaged Richard, and said, “What's going on with the group (i.e., this asshole)?” He replied that he'll handle it. I wish I took record of exactly what was said in the group by the other guy, but that wasn't on my mind. I'll finish this off with the transcript of our messages.

>me

>>him

 >Okay, what's going on with the group?

 >>I have no idea. [he] messaged me about your post im reading it now. But i dont particularly see anything controversial

 >It's so old xD I don't get the sudden action and the “I don't think you should be an admin”

 >>Think he just wants my attention...:P

Ill tend to him

I didnt know your not a woman

 >I'm female, but I don't identify as a woman.

 >>K well.. he says and I agree thats [accusation]

 >No, it isn't.

 >>And I was having such a pleasent day... haha

Drama queening over a dead group

 >Did

Did you just ban me?

 >>No y

 >I think [the other guy] removed me.

I can't access or even FIND the group.

 >>Dont worry about it. Were chatting ill take care of u in a min

And dont talk to him... shes just in a mood. This a mans job

 >? [I have no idea which of those was intended for me]

 >>Sigh... just let the men talk thats all you gotta do. RN

 >Uh, okay then, I'll let the penises talk.

 >>Lol

>> […]

>>Ok weve decided to reinvent the group and its gonna be male exclusive

 >Why??

 >>Because its a dead group anyway and if we reinvent it we can just say its been here for years. Also engage gay men in intellectual discussion and dialouge

Which isnt something woman are not typically interested in anyway

 >Only cismen are interested in intellectual discussion? Wow, seriously dude?

 >>Yeah actually. Its true. But ill let you know if theres something interesting going on in it :)

 >No, it actually isn't, and I didn't have you pegged as a sexist turd. Don't bother. I'm not interested in whatever Grindr knockoff you're going to turn the group into.

I can't believe you're doing this. We used to be a team. You wouldn't even have had the platform without me and the page, and you're just going to turn around and betray me like this?

 >>Its a dead group hun. Buisness comes first... also didnt need page platform for anything. Actually thats what killed it imo

Also no its not grinder. Its for intellectual dialouge and discussion.

We smoke cigars and drink brandy like men. And its a beaitiful thing

 And that's that. Richard is gone. I feel betrayed, but I don't know what I'm entitled to feel when I wasn't that close with him for the last few years anyway. He was married to a man and for all intents and purposes, he bills himself as gay, but he recently had a very strong and public relationship with a woman and got close to her son. Apparently that relationship is no more, and he still calls himself gay. Meanwhile, his page is full of questionable things. I haven't been keeping track of him, but he had recently started cropping up on my feed again. One of his posts said something to the effect of “the country went to crap when we gave women and minorities the vote” and it's just like WOW ARE YOU KIDDING ME. How was I EVER friends with this dude??

[dreadgamereviews-blog]

REVIEW: Resident Evil 2 (Remake) DEMO (PS4)

TL,DR: The demo for the Resident Evil 2 remake gave us an absolutely stellar look at the newest entrant into the RE series and breathes much needed life into the classic game with all new graphics and mechanics whilst still maintaining the much loved puzzles, ambience, and story of the original. From this sneak peek alone, I’d definitely have to recommend this title.

Hello everyone!

Time for my first review. This time around, we’ll be taking a look at the demo for “Resident Evil 2 (Remake).” I figured that since the game drops today, if anyone is interested in purchasing it, now would be the best time to release a review of the experience I had as a starting point for any other consumer.

LET IT BE KNOWN: THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE PS4 VERSION OF THE DEMO!

Let me say that, initially, I was really puzzled by the idea of remaking a title as old as Resident Evil 2 in today’s day and age. Especially after Resident Evil 7′s complete reboot of the series back into true survival horror, it seemed odd that Capcom had interest in going back to the old days and revisiting, let alone completely redoing, a classic. However, once I saw the trailer for the game, I was absolutely floored. I was super impressed by the vast upgrades to graphics, for one, as they’re truly stunning in-game, and once the gore and gameplay were shown off a bit, I was really excited to get my hands on a playable copy, demo or not. Let me say, I was not let down.

I’m not going to factor this into the score of this review, but I do want to take a second to talk about how this demo differed from those released for other titles. While Resident Evil 2 (hereon referred to as “RE2″) has a standard demo in the sense that it allows you to play through a section of the story to a final point, it also has one additional caveat: a time limit. RE2′s demo is built as a once off per platform demo where the player is given 30 min. to experience as much of the introductory level as possible, regardless of whether or not they complete it. This added a really interesting motivation to play through and see as much of the demo as possible, leading me to really bust my ass to see as much as I could. It was a really unique experience compared to literally EVERY other demo I’ve played in my life, and I would certainly say it was a good addition. It adds both urgency to the experience and preserves the longevity of this level for the final game’s release. Nice work, Capcom.

The Good (or “Points of My Experience Worth Giving a Thumbs Up To”):

-The Story: I see little reason to relate this version of RE2 back to its original, as it’s a remake that will indefinitely revise certain parts of the experience to be more fitting of a new audience and I have a very, VERY limited recollection of the story of the original Resident Evil 2 from the last time I played. Therefore, I will only discuss the story presented in the demo. Let me say, the snippit that we get in the demo is a really fantastic entrance to the story the game intends to present. We’re dropped into the Raccoon City Police Department as Leon Kennedy, just after escaping a horde of zombies alongside Clare Redfield, and have to navigate the halls to escape the hordes and solve the mystery of the outbreak. It’s a great intro to the content the game intends to present and I loved it.

-The Graphics: Holy s**t, does this game look good. Remember how “Resident Evil 6″ looked amazing for the generation of consoles it was released on and we were all like “Whoa?” Yeah, it’s like that again. Texture quality is absolutely stellar and the post-processing effects they’ve created to show depth, enhance shadows, and distinguish item from item are beautiful. On top of that, the model work is absolutely impeccable. I’m playing the US version of the demo, which means I’m getting the full brunt of force when it comes to gore. The models on several dead guards and one cutscene in particular, where a RCPD officer is ripped in half, are seriously admirable, feeling almost real in the way they’re framed. I don’t tend to harp on graphics when I talk about games, but this title certainly deserves it. 

-The Gameplay (Most of it, anyway): Imagine that you’re playing a fan passion project that combines aspects of the gameplay from the original Resident Evil 2, the combat of Resident Evil 4, and the neat and tidy UI of Resident Evil 7. That’s what it feels like to play RE2, and it’s amazing. Everything feels really well polished and tidied up, which is super impressive to me, as a large portion of triple A titles today feel like they lack the specific details that the worlds they occupy deserve. The game handles well, and navigating the RCPD offices as young Leon feels great and is truly a scary experience.

The Meh:

-The Time Limit: So this isn’t something I’m going to factor into my final score, but I do want to talk about it a bit. While I personally enjoyed the forced rush that the RE2 demo presented, it certainly isn’t for everyone and I can definitely see why. Some people are definitely going to miss a lot of the content present in this demo because of the time limit and from feeling too rushed, which could certainly rub some the wrong way. Nothing too bad, but indubitably noteworthy.

-The Gameplay (Specifically Related to the Combat Knife): So this is the only really bad thing about the way combat and gameplay fleshes out that I have a minor problem with. In games like Resident Evil 4, the combat knife acted as a permanent sub-weapon, and gave you a consistent backup to rely on when you were low on ammo or felt like strategically dispatching enemies. In RE2, the combat knife instead acts as an item that fills the sub-weapon slot, and has limited durability that depletes as it’s used, both in the standard slash attack and escaping grapples from enemies. Not a fan of the swap, but it’s certainly still workable, which means I can’t count it as a solid negative factor.

The Bad:

-UI controls: The controls present throughout the UI, in particular the inventory screen, feel very clunky and outdated, at least in my opinion. They’re very reminiscent of the controls in older Resident Evil titles, and I don’t think that’s a good thing, especially since the game is being remade for a new market that expects more fluid design. This was the only thing that I really disliked about my experience, and it wasn’t super obstructive to the experience, but bothered me enough to mention here.

So In Summary:

The Demo for RE2 is incredible and definitely worth a play despite its (generally) ignorable faults here and there.

FINAL RATING: 7/10

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

[wherethegravelsthin]

actually im coming to like a whole acceptance thing about this with the tlou remake lmao. like, i can’t get screwed over again as hard as i did with tlou2. it’s just not possible. like, look at it this way: they’re remaking my favorite video game of all time with updated graphics and models and environments and worlds and gameplay, like, obviously the constant remake question of “how badly is this needed” always applies bc it’s a question worth having but also oh my god i am getting fed

like, what’s the worst that could happen. the worst that could happen, imo, is that they shoehorn in tlou2 stuff. i mean, like, yeah. but how bad can that get, really? joel canonically cannot die until part 2 so, like, even if we have to see *bby which if they make story changes, which i’m kinda hoping we maybe see, they will add *bby, but y’know, like, i’ll live. i have watched so many speedruns of part two, including abby% runs, even the shitty parts. i think i’ve built up a resistance. i’m numb to it now

because, like, the other half of “they add new stuff to tlou1 remake” is... like, if one half is adding abby and doing more of the soft retconning of the fireflies that goes on in part 2, like, fine, because that’ll almost all but certainly mean that at some point after i’d have been playing all night on launch day, all of a sudden Joel will hop across some barrier and then it’ll be a whole new area we’ve never even seen before and they’re speaking new dialogue, it’s Joel and Ellie having conversations again --- but new conversations -- o h my goD what if they. what if they used some of the fucking. the old unused lines sob. like when joel nearly combusts at the thought of an espresso. when joel muses that maybe in jackson they’ll have hot water, a place to live and stay and belong. we’re wandering through the university and joel all of a sudden optimistically posits that “you and me, kiddo... we deserve a break.” and and and and and

i think i’d die if that happened. i hope that’s what happens. god. gimmie my father daughter comfort game in 4k. i’ll buy the overpriced fucking stupid fucking piece of shit fucking ps5. while it’s STILL overpriced and HARD TO GET by the way, fuck you for nothing sony, but i’ll STILL be giving you my fucking money by September 2nd and aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHAHHGDHKGSJKNBSGNLKSGDBGKL

i’m gonna go back to the last of us. curls up in a ball. tries not to cry. thinks about how it’s currently tlou season and i just got a big reason to go all nostalgic. title screen fades in, gustavo santaolalla’s music blends seamlessly with wind blowing through the open window, the flies buzzing. goodnight, and i’m fourteen again and i’m going to art camp in connecticut. it’s the summer before i enter high school and my life changes forever but i don’t know it yet. i’m just entering this world of video games and a lot of it seems kinda hostile towards people like me but here’s this game with a girl like me in it, my age and everything. vanishing grace, childhood. summer. this is the beginning of the rest of my life. the weeds seemed especially vibrant that year. so much green. wild chicory flowers dotted the road to camp. i made two friends there whose names i don’t remember, 16 year olds who loved the latest video game everyone was talking about, that i for once knew something about, that we all talked about together. i sculpted a mermaid from clay. the teacher of the class really liked me and my art and encouraged me to find out about ap studio art and continue with it because she said i had a lot of talent. if i listen to all gone for long enough i swear to god i can feel the hot summer sun on my skin if i close my eyes for just long enough, that summer... that i never went back and picked up my mermaid. the summer that i made two friends and never spoke to them again once the two weeks were gone. home fades in and i’m going home, but it’ll never be the warm summer sun on my skin, hope for high school, and the naiveté that can only come with being fourteen.

cries a lot.

[joulethieves]

Thank You.

thank you to ellie/ @amamiyakitagawa, who found me from balvaan AO3, became my tumblr friend, then my wifey, encouraged me to stream, and stuck with me since the beginning, since night one on 7/11/17, when i was delirious with joy at the remake and sitting in some german family’s mansion basement with a TV the size of my ass, dogsitting idiot labradoodles and axolotls; for staying in streams for hours on end whether it was just us or not. for making me laugh, and indulging in all my stupid headcanons, and being general garbage with me. your presence in my stream throughout this past year speaks volumes and i love you too bitch.

a HUGE huge thank you to @airknight, who also has tuned in since night one, staying for hours on end as well. who was a constant goldmine of information throughout, who helped me patiently through the great crystal, through everything else imaginable, who always showed up to the stream with a friendly disposition even to weird randos that showed up, and who always had something nice to say.

thank you to @chaoticrice, my fellow XII streamer, rarepair lover of dalmscan orphan babs/their archadian bf’s, my fellow fic writer, and good friend. i’m glad you decided to stream too, and look forward to more of your streams. thanks for making it to tonight’s stream even though you were at a baby shower, lmao.

thank you @livvyplaysfinalfantasy, who kept my love for the game alive in 2011/2012 when you started documenting your XII playthrough, and have remained my internet pal ever since. i enjoyed your presence in my streams and your constant source of lore. it’s weird to think how long we’ve followed each other! lol

i wish i could describe the joy i felt on the first night i played the remake. it was really monumental to me. there aren’t a lot of Things i look forward to and it was so refreshing to have that excitement. i’m not a particularly giddy person but i fell asleep that night after 5 hours (y’all really stuck around for five hours and i love you for being a part of that, ellie/izzie/vik/spud/feeny) with a smile on my face. i didn’t even think that was possible. thinking about it still makes me emotional: i was so happy, not just because of the game, but because of you guys. i couldn’t keep myself away from the game, but also, from sharing that excitement with those who tuned in. who talked. who watched. it almost became lonely to play by myself. it was nice to play with other people to talk to.

thank you to the friends that have stuck with me, popping in and out. the game took me long enough to finish, with bouts of Moods that kept me away from it weeks to months at a time. but no matter what, it never changed that i always loved playing this game, and it was amazing to be able to document it through my first ever attempt at streaming, since july 11th.

my two fondest memories (aside from the first night), i think (though this one is hardly a memory), is getting blackout drunk and failing miserably at the captain basch stream. feeny and ellie and izzie were there to witness it, and idk, that was just so hilarious to me, in concept. because i literally don’t remember that much of it. (i was so mortified by the stream footage i deleted it, a regret i now have.)

my second fondest memory is doing archades with ellie and @carnsy, doing the chop quest and making cracky jokes, JULES E_E, and headcanons. it was just us three in that stream in the middle of the night (for me), but it was really, really fun. that’s all that matters.

to be able to chat about headcanons on stream and joke about ships, that’s just...really cool that i was able to do that, and i’m in awe that you all stuck around, through my weird voice and lisps and bad cockney accents.

streaming this has helped give me a spark of joy and i laughed a lot. i can only hope to keep doing it with other games and would love for you to join me, old friends and new, if i play something you’re into.

i don’t know why this game stuck with me so much. all i know is that it did. the fact i draw so much inspiration from balthier and vaan, and xii’s window into ivalice in general, certainly helps. i hope that something else hits me the way this game does, because we aren’t getting a remake of a remake, lol. they did such an amazing job on it, and i am so happy i got to tell the director/producer that in person at PAX east 2017. 

this game has helped me make so many good friends (Ellie, Izzie, Vik, Spud, Tori, Raze, Jay, Sovaz, Carn, Mike, Vivi). im so glad i made it to share that excitement, joy, constant yelling about headcanons, au’s, ship bullshit, and my writing - my writing, which i haven’t honestly done since 2008, until this game came out. my writing, which i still struggle with a lot, but i really really hope to have some good stuff this year, and i hope to become better. this game is my muse. it’s hard to believe i hadn’t written in nearly nine years until it came out again, but it really has been that long. and i’m so glad that i asked in july if anyone wanted to watch me stream it - having never thought about it before - and getting the response i did. i know i took an age and a half to beat it. thanks so much for those who stuck around, or were even just a part of the first couple weeks, as that joy is still so fresh in my memory and heart. for those who joined in mid-journey. for those who made me laugh. thank you. the ffxii-the-remix tag may be finished but i will continue to be garbage on this blog for the game, and my ship. 

and to the followers of this blog that have dealt with my shit, thank you too. thanks for every like and reblog. i see them all <3

anyway time for new game plus bye

#rememberbhujerba