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deobis · 4 years

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Road to Kingdom Episode 4 Thoughts

The third challenge was for each group to pick one of their own songs and perform it. I really wish RTK stuck with the “king” theme, but I guess there are only so many challenges they can create revolving that topic.

DISCLAIMER: I am a lot harsher in this review than any of my other posts. Please know that I do not hate any of the 7 groups and I truly wish the best for all of them. This is just an analysis of the most recent performances.

Anyways onto my rankings!

Enjoyment ranking:

Pentagon (Wow! For once it’s not TBZ haha)

Verivery

The Boyz

Oneus

ONF

TOO

Golden Child

Objective Ranking:

Verivery

The Boyz

Pentagon

ONF

Oneus

Golden Child

TOO

Prediction rankings:

Pentagon

The Boyz

Verivery

ONF

Oneus

TOO

Golden Child

Put a prediction ranking bc the rankings haven’t been announced yet so we will see tomorrow!

For the first time in forever, TBZ is not first in my book. Shocker I know. That’s not to say that I didn’t like their performance or concept but rather the other groups (PTG and Verivery) did better in my eyes. Let’s talk about TBZ’s Reveal (Catching Fire) perf. I’ll call it RCF for short. TBZ was the only group to continue a story from the second challenge. This gains major points in my book as I love plot driven performances. Anything with a story or clear objective gains brownie points because it’s what makes performances an art. You can dance to a song but if there’s no emotion it stays as a sport rather than a form of artistic expression. TBZ have shown their artistry fully through RTK, something they haven’t really been able to do before. I’m amazed at how they are able to control shock factor so well. I was worried the stunts of Danger would outshine whatever they had to show in RCF but they proved me wrong. There were less stunts this time but they focused on a much larger picture (pun intended). They added backup dancers and allowed the camera to take wider shots to show their formations. I just felt like they lacked a spark this time. If you can’t already tell, I prefer their Danger performance much more. A large part of this is due to the arrangement of Danger. The RCF arrangement was interesting and refreshing but there wasn’t anything really new. Maybe I feel this way because I’ve listened to Reveal too many times who knows. Negatives aside, I have to say I really liked the choreography changes. The part where Haknyeon is center really blew my mind.

But here’s why I liked Verivery and Pentagon’s performance more: emotion. Pentagon’s is obvious, they used this stage to send off someone they really love. You can really see that the members love Jinho and that they have a deep bond. Pentagon was also the only group to mix two of their songs together, one being a title track and one being a side track (note: PTG and Verivery are the only groups who picked side b’s for their song). Pentagon’s arrangement was impeccable. For me, the new Shine sounded like a Jpop song (mostly because of the rock vibes; if you listen to Jpop you know what I mean), while still retaining the bright theme of Shine. A lot of people might say the performance was too emotional and not professional, but out of all 7 performances, Pentagon’s was the most meaningful and was delivered the best. The message and how they played with the stage was stunning and their little additions and references to other popular Kpop songs makes it so you will notice something new every time you rewatch it. Please watch this video where Hongseok goes into detail about the little easter eggs and the whole purpose behind their performance. I have so much respect for Pentagon and I could write so much more about this performance but I must talk about the other 5 haha (if you want to hear more feel free to ask!)

Verivery. VERIVERY. God DAMN did they really come back and hit hard. They definitely had the clearest and most well thought out performance of all. What differentiates them from TBZ’s story like performance is that TBZ had too much going on in my opinion. They tried to tell us a long story with not enough time. This is why so many fans have vastly different interpretations of their performance. While this can often be a good thing, I think you have to find a balance when doing a storytelling performance. Verivery cleanly executes their narrative of a nightmare and takes the cliche of “it was all a dream” to the max by going “SIKE” at the end. Their choreography was so well planned out and they were honestly very minimalistic about their stage, just like TBZ’s Danger stage. The shock factor is just right (my favorite part being when the backup dancers have the smoke come out of their mouth). Not only that but Photo is a SIDE TRACK. I cannot stress enough how brave of them that is. I legitimately thought it was a title track until I looked at their discography. They arranged their side b to sound like a title track, and not only that, they changed the overall feel of the song as well. If you listen to the original Photo, it sounds more like a bad boy song, but their RTK version is very much so horror/rock themed. I can’t STRESS how good this performance is. Especially because it’s such a contrast from their last performance. Photo is now in my spotify playlist and I have no regrets.

Now onto the last 4 performances. I hate to break it to you all but... I didn’t really like any of them. None of them made me think “wow I could rewatch this so many times.” Lets start with Oneus. LIT is my favorite Oneus song so I highly anticipated this performance. If you didn’t know Oneus before and only watch this stage you might think its a very good stage with a strong traditional theme. I totally agree, the traditional theme is unique to Oneus and I loved the instrumental changes they made so the song would cater more to their theme. The biggest issue I had with this stage was that It literally is just like their music video. If you have seen the LIT mv you will know what I mean. The dragon dance, traditional clothing, theme, sound, everything was too similar. The stage was grand but it just felt like a live version of their MV.

I know a lot of people liked ONF’s performance. Let me just say first that they killed it and YooA was *chefs kiss* The biggest issue I had with this stage was its message and theme. They seemed to have a conductor/medieval theme but also the masks?? Like what? It felt so out of place and random. I felt like a lot of their stage choices had little to no purpose. I honestly still don’t understand why YooA was there. The duet dance was nice but why? It seemed like they were trying to tell a story but it just wasn’t clear to me. It looked nice and everything but that was about it. In no way am I saying the performance was bad, it’s just there’s nothing that makes me want to go back and watch again. I think the fact that there was a plot but no plot at the same time really bothered me and that’s why I didn’t like it as much.

TOO has grown a lot since episode one. They are truly experimenting with the stage and I’m very happy to see that. I have the same issue with TOO as I did with ONF. There was a clear theme of “dark vs light” or “evil vs good” but why? What was the point? The theme may have seemed obvious but was it really? Were they trying to convey good vs bad, angel vs devil, justice vs injustice? I couldn’t tell throughout the entire performance. It’s okay to take cliche themes but with a show like RTK, there needs to be something more. I also hate to be harsh but some of their execution just wasn’t as clean. This doesn’t only apply to Chan (I think that’s his name), but the whole performance in general. The most obvious instance is the head twist part. But I applaud Chan for performing with 100% even after his mistake (which, by the way, he made look very natural. I was very sad when he kept beating himself up over the mistake 😞 you did great bb I hope you know that). Even if their age and lack of experience is shown in their performances, I must say they are really stepping out of their comfort zone and learning at a rapid pace. I have high hopes for them.

Now onto the last group. Golden Child. I was very impressed with GolChas first two performances but this one was a disappointment. I appreciate the use of strings and their classical arrangement (as I said in my previous episode thoughts post) but this performance was, well, dull to say the least. The only “shock factor” was the violin solo (which was very good btw), but I think it was too late into the performance. There wasn’t much that made me interested in the performance up to that point. I don’t know. There really just isn’t much for me to talk about because they didn’t really do much.(God that sounds so harsh;; I’m sorry 😭😭) I really think their second performance was highly underrated but all in all this third one was not it.

As you can see my critiques for this set of performances are, well, a lot harsher. I think it’s because the bar was raised so much higher after the first three episodes. Overall, if I had seen any of these performances outside of the RTK context I probably would have been a lot more impressed and shocked. I wish the best for all the groups and no matter who gets eliminated tomorrow I want all the groups to know that they all deserve a spot in the Kingdom. Mnet is just trash.

#yikes another lengthy one #road to kingdom #sdjfhdfjh god i swear im gonna get hate for this post fuck #but i like what i like and i said what i said #take this with a grain of salt please #anyways that took way too long #if you're going to take anything away from this post #its the hongseok video i linked #please watch that #my heart breaks so much for pentagon #they truly deserve to win imo

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tazzmanien · 5 years

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The Tian Guan Ci Fu (Heaven Official’s Blessing) Review

Okay I’m doing it finally. Sorry if it ended up way too long, but in my defense the novel itself was huge so…

First of all I will not be comparing this novel with any of the other MXTX novels, but I just want to tell you this is definitely my new favorite for several reasons, but mostly its love story. If you want to know more write me I will gladly talk more about this.

I read in many posts everywhere that Hualian invented love. Well you know what, there is really no lie there. Theirs is one of the most beautiful love stories out there.

So, before I go into the details, please just go and read the novel!!! NOW!

The good:

Usually I would like to say a few words about the writing style and quality, but as I’ve only read a translation of the novel I don’t think I can tell you much about it. The translation was very easy to read, so I’m guessing the novel can’t be too extravagant or bad either. BTW thank you everyone who is doing translations for FREE. You all are angels!

The novel was quite long, but the moment you step into the world you would wish it was longer. Every character has their own story and they needs time to evolve, so I really liked its length, but also not so much. Check out the bad for more information.

I liked how the story took place in three realms and different times. I know some get confused by such switches, but I tend to enjoy them very much. I think the heaven and the ghost city were so diverse, that I can’t wait to see them play out in whatever visual adaptation. I feel like this time around MXTX finally explained the actual world with more detail, which made it easier for me to imagine myself strolling through the ghost city market buying sum forbidden rubbish, or watching the moon up close while seated in a garden in heaven. I could see, smell, feel, hear and sometimes unfortunately even taste many things and that is what I think good writing should be about. The things that weren’t described in detail made it even more fun, as one could work with their own imagination (this might be a bad thing for visual adaptations, just saying). And some of you might remember I complained before that if one has no prior knowledge about the whole cultivation, eastern religion and xianxia stuff, then you might have issues reading MXTX books, well this did not change, but I guess I’m starting to appreciate it, as my own imagination created a whole new version of what this whole thing was meant to be. Still, I should have probably listed this in the bad part as well.

The main plot was very interesting and at times even slightly surprising. Mostly it was quite predictable, but I think writing does not have to invent itself every time again, but it has to give some sort of satisfaction at the end. If a story is predictable deep down to every little detail, this is not a huge issues if the story has other strengths. And this one had a nice mix of both.

It did have some parts which appalled me, but you know what, this was actually a good thing. Like I felt a lot of things, even though I really didn’t want to. The things that were disgusting, really actually disgusted me. The things that were supposed to make you angry, made me go nuts. The things that should have made you happy, made my grin like a maniac. But worst of all, were the things that existed to hurt you, they ripped out my heart and shredded it in front of me while I was still conscious. So all in all, yeah even the bad parts about the plot served a purpose. If you are good at keeping track on the main plot while diving into hundreds of subplots, then I would say it was easy to follow. I think this was okay, but the other way around (remembering the subplots) I would argue differently (more in the bad). Nevertheless, some of the subplots were so beautiful that I think they might have deserved their own novel, but isn’t that the case with all good stories?

On a side note, I don’t know if that was intended or if I just saw things that weren’t there, but was the hidden plot actually about how wrong idolizing people is and how it feels to go through post traumatic stress? I might write some more on this in a separate post, I just wanted to get it off my chest here.

Now my favorite part of any MXTX novel: the characters. Honestly, I can’t remember many stories where I loved every character. But MXTX did it again, I loved all of them, even the ones I hated. Once again the way the side characters were introduced, involved in the main story and the main guys, had their own very individual nature and lifes and fought with their own challenges was beautiful. Every character had their own aura (for the lack of a better word). Yeah I like to make fun of this but it’s true nevertheless: most of them had sad histories or were living their nightmares while the plot evolved, however, this was good as it made me appreciate the few sunreys that were able to shine through the clouds even more. As I said, I hated quite a few of them, but either they had their moment one had to love them for or they served another purpose, like propelling other characters to become what they were meant to be or drive the overall plot. And none of this felt forced. So to make it short wow!

And last but no least, the main characters and their love story.

Xie Lian, our protagonist, my angel my only god the life of my love (yeah I used this one already, sue me), is an adorkable martial arts badass/nerd with the worst luck and cooking skills and spiderman reflexes. He is a true neutral, treats everyone with the same respect, just the way a god should be. He is so genuine in every aspect of his being. He is fully aware of all his shortcomings and all the wrongs he has done, but he still hasn’t lost the good in him and the will to act righteously. He is just so so human, that each of us could learn a little from him. I mean he even warns the freaking demon king to not think too highly of him, because he might disappoint him. And what does Hua Cheng do? He calls him his hope! So XL gives the cruelest of all the demons hope. This shows how perfectly imperfect and inspirational XL is. The world does not deserve him, yet still treats him the worst it can. He lost everything, EVERYTHING! Still he somehow came out to be this beautiful being. The only consolation we get is that at least he gets to have Hua Cheng in his life.

And Hua Cheng, he is the only man out there! Towards Xie Lian he is gentle, loving, understanding, supportive, patient, strong, funny and all sorts of beautiful things. With everyone else he is everything you would expect of a demon king to be and none of it a the same time. He is unpredictable in all things that are not Xie Lian. He does so many good deeds that one would forget that he is a demon king, but he hates, is cruel, intimidating, has killed and is mischievous through and through. Even though we don’t get to see everything about him (see the bad), we know him to be the perfect grey character. Also he proves to be the realest of them all, he stands by everything he says and does and I respect that a lot. He shows his anger and love equally and acts upon both equally. And is so freaking intelligent, handsome, sensual, seductive and cute, that I am actually fearing of being in love with a fictional character. The butterflies are a nice touch btw.

Yes, you are right, we all tend to praise almost every main couple, when the love story is good, but please hear me out. Both of them individually are just perfect in their own imperfect way and together they are the definition of true love. Their first encounter was magical to say the least. Without having any prior knowledge about the overall story or how their love would come to be, I was bewitched from the first moment they both shared the “screen”. I could feel the air stilling, just so I could give my full attention to them falling in love (yeah I know one was already head over heels before that meeting, but that is beside the point). And boy, the way they were falling. It was so realistic and yet hopelessly romantic, that I will use them as the perfect example to show people what it feels like to fall and be in love.

The bad:

The length and some subplots… Yes well it was quite strenuous to follow the happenings, as every character had their own huge side story. While I loved to know every single bit of their stories, sometimes it took me a while to get back on track in the main story and many many times I totally forgot about some subplots later in the novel and was like “where is the other character now? why don’t we see them anymore?”. Despite its length, some characters stories were either only told from the view of the protagonist and lost a lot of what was going on deep down, or some characters stories had huge gaps even. Sure, it was not their story and we can be happy we even got something, but at some point I was kinda disappointed to be teased about a character and never get to find out what happened or how they felt. So I would have enjoyed an even longer book even if the one now was too long. Do you get what I mean? At the end of the day I can actually forget and forgive all except the fact that we never got to see some sides of Hua Cheng and had to read between the lines to understand his motives and feelings a little better. I need a whole book about him only to be honest.

So my next bad thing, might actually be inaccurate if I’d knew more about Hua Cheng. This part is probably highly subjective, but I feel like Hua Cheng was not demonic enough. You know, in my head I pictured him to be a real demon, including the looks and what he is doing. How else would he become a demon king? I mean the looks were pretty much on point, I just feel like all the other characters either ignored it or didn’t care and the fandom just makes him look more like a human being. And yes he treats many badly, but in my opinion not bad enough. It feels like all his good deeds got more screen time and his bad deeds were either justified by something good or not really shown.

Not sure if it was only my short attention span or if that was the case, but I felt like the living world was not described as good as the heaven and ghost city.

Conclusion:

I would recommend this novel to everyone who wants to feel love, but is not afraid to hurt a LOT. If you are searching for a story with some human or heavenly goodness, good friendships, good families, just decent people, then this is not a book for you. Xie Lian is the only exception of course and he is worth every tear you are 100% going to shed.

Just go and read the book! Please. And come back to me and talk about it with me :)

#tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #heaven officials blessing #tgcf #hob #xie lian #hua cheng #hualian

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rkrosememories · 6 years

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hello everyone, i hope you’re all well. happy rkfifth! five years, that’s a fair portion of time, half a decade in fact! i was contemplating on whether i wanted to write up one of these posts, as i usually do something similar when my own personal anniversary with rookies comes around, but for the sake of this being the big ol’ 5, i’m willing to do it. let’s take a walk down memory lane shall we and see where it all began for little ol’ me ( i got a job interview today, yay! )

i joined the krp community in august 2014, and rookies was one of those rps i considered joining, and a part of me wishes i did. i didn’t though, i found the large size of the roleplay to be somewhat intimidating so i ended up going on to make my own idol themed roleplay; which was fairly successful in its own way! ( r.i.p apollokrp ). but, i did end up meeting steph there, and eventually, i would end up being convinced to join rookies in july 2015; bringing forth my first rk muse, rkseokmin ( that’s dokyeom of seventeen, btw ). he didn’t last for long, and neither did my other two muses rkkyungri ( yes, i roleplayed kyungri prior to this, looking back, she was sort of like rkrose, being from australia and all ) and rksana, who i brought to rookies in july 2015 and december 2015. and now, looking back i don’t really have any strong attachments to these muses, i think i really just brought them in on a whim, and it wouldn’t be until the following year that i truly found my place at rookies.

come may 2016, season three of the mgas had begun and i decided to give rookies another go. damn rp! pulling me in and trying to get me invested! this time round, i brought forth a muse which y’all will definitely be familiar with. rkjuyeon, who was known as rkseo back then. and for anyone newer, that’s rksaercm. it all began with her, my tall dancing gay who had ambitions of idoldom since a young age. she had auditioned with her cousin in a process called the deathmatches ( you guys, if you weren’t around during like ... early 2016, you won’t know the pain of reserving / applying etc. as the old main blog was ancient. anyways, bless the rookies team for keeping everything going for so long ) and she failed to make it through. meanwhile, her cousin ends up winning the whole goddamn program. what a fluke. i did end up dropping her though, although she did return a few months later in september!

and we fast forward to july 2016; enter rkrose. blackpink’s iconic dance practice video was released and instantly fell in love, with one member in particular ( everyone was ranting and raving about lisa, but i couldn’t take my eyes off of the girl with braids in her hair ). that girl, was park chaeyoung, who like me, is a fellow australian! i instantly knew that i had to bring her to rookies, along with rose and keith ( who play lisa and jisoo, and eventually lari would end up completing the rkblackpink lineup that we know today with jennie ). looking back, i don’t really know how i envisioned rkrose to be; i mean, she was signed to royal within her first six months of being at rookies! she won the kt & royal contest, if ya didn’t know! she is probably the muse i am most well-known for, likely for not so good reasons. she’s been through countless “scandals” in her time, things of which are likely both of our faults. i’m not ashamed of her though ( more so of my own actions ). i think she’s a good egg.

when rookies gave us permission to go ahead with third muses, i think we all went a little crazy. i’ve had quite a few third muses, some whom i’m sure i can’t really remember, but rkchangkyun and yugyeomrk come to mind; i’m sure some of you might be baffled to know that i’ve ever actually roleplayed a male before, considering the fact that all i talk about on twitter is girls and girl groups. ah i forgot i did actually bring rkclaudia to rookies, aka moon hyuna. but we come full circle, and in march 2018, we meet rkkyungri, who is my third and final muse at rookies ( unless y’know, y’all wanna open up fourth muses to the public rk, because i’m down for that, i have many stories to share still wink wonk ). she was unlike any of my rookies muses; an ex-idol who failed at achieving her dream the first time round.

so, here we are, december 2018; i’ve given you a rather comprehensive and detailed run down on my past with rookies, muses wise that is, because there is a ton more to talk about. and i shall, because i want to be able to commemorate this special occasion! i think it is healthy to reflect on things that have happened in the past, so we can learn from our mistakes and better ourselves as people and writers. i have had my fair share of negative and positive experiences at rookies, and i think it’s normal to. rookies is a really big place, and people are bound to bump heads and not get along, that’s just human nature. i think that a good portion of my problems at rookies have been because of miscommunication. so new members, please take a leaf out of my book and remember that communication is key! also don’t get swept up in ooc drama and take your problems to the mods! that’s what they’re here for ( and they do an excellent job of it, thank you guys <33 ).

i really am invested in rookies; invested in the plot, the characters and their stories. i think it’s so amazing that we have a place on the internet where things can unfold and happen in real time almost. krp can be so fast-paced and it’s refreshing to see a place like rookies. i don’t think i could ever truly leave rookies behind, well, one day i’m probably going to have to, but that is another thing; rk is always there. rookies has reached five years. five! years! and that is a momentous occasion, because some rps don’t even see five months. as someone who has been an admin countless of times in the past, i have always wondered how rookies withstood the test of time, and now, having been apart of rookies for nearly three years, i think i understand now. many things go into making a roleplay work: the admin team and the members must work cohesively together, and i think we at rookies all do a good job of that.

i have learnt a lot at rookies, and i think i definitely have a lot more to learn and experience. i must say, going into the new year, i really want to work on being more productive. some of you amaze me! replying every week, getting those points! you get that, pal! it’s really, really inspiring, and i want to be more like that. i’m honestly amazed i’ve made it two years at rk, as i’m someone who gets bored easily ( i also have commitment issues to some extent ). there have been countless occasions where i’ve wanted to give up and drop my muses, be it lack of motivation or drama, but the sole fact that i’ve dedicated two whole years to creating these characters is an incentive to keep going. i’ve always loved writing and i love that i have a space to share my creativity, interests and dreams with like minded people! i think that rings true for a lot of other people, but i’m sure y’all have your own reasons for sticking around.

i don’t think a post like this would be complete without some shout outs, but this part for me will probably be lacking, whoops. maybe i can make that another goal of mine. socialise more.

steph ( @jungwooxrk ), thank you for introducing me to rookies and convincing me to join. we’ve been friends since december 2014!?! which feels like a long ass time. you were my first real internet friend and i’m very grateful to of met you. thank you for writing with me and putting up with me!

rose ( @rklisa ), keith ( @rkjisoo ) & lari ( @rkjennie ), rkblackpink is precious and means so much to both me and rkrose. although we don’t talk as much as much as i would like ( or we should??? ) i’m so happy that we’ve got y’all, i hope that our girls can experience many more things together.

shinobi ( @rkkangjoon ) thank you so much for putting up with me. we’ve been through a lot of crap but i’m really thankful that we’re still able to talk despite everything. i hope you know that kangjoon will forever be important to rose, he was her first real boyfriend after all! thank you for putting up with us both! we love you! <33

peach ( @rkhaechan ) i don’t think rkrose would be who she is today without you and the help of jaebum. after a year of depression i think she’s back on her feet though!! toughest 12 months as a writer! but, despite everything we’ve been through, i’m so thankful we’re still able to talk. i also love your new muses, haech is a cutie & i love him very much :((((

lemon ( @rkyena ) aaaaaah i can’t believe i forgot to put you in here, i’m so sorry. thank you sO MUCH for putting up with me and my forgetfullness. i really love seoyoung as a muse and i’m excited to see her grow as an idol! also saeseo?!

nana ( @younghyunrk ) i’m so thankful that i get to talk to you almost everyday!? i feel as though these past few months we’ve been able to get close which is exciting because you are awesome & i treasure you a ton! i’m excited for whats to come in the following months for our muses! hopefully we meet when i fly over your way sometime soon! i love youuu!!! <33

royal and sphere trainees! i would tag you all, but i’ll be here forever. thank you for making me feel included, even if i don’t participate in the group chat! i love our group antics, like photocard swapping, that was fun. thank you for taking care of both me and my girls, rose and saerom. i would like to work on getting closer to y’all!

and our incredible mod team, you know who they are, they know who they are. thank you so much, for everything you do. you guys keep this place safe, happy and running for all of us, all while writing for your own muses and keeping up with real life stuff like work and school?! incredible! amazing! fantastic! thank you for being so accepting and welcoming and supportive. i love y’all a ton and i don’t think this little message truly explains how grateful i truly am. thank you, for all that you do.

i’m sorry if i forgot anyone in particular, i probably did and i’m sorry; i don’t have the greatest memory. just know that i’m grateful for you! even if we’ve never spoken to eachother before! thank you for making rookies the place it is! that being said, i should probably work on wrapping this whole thing up, since it’s getting pretty darn long and i would like to do some things today prior to this job interview i have later ( please send positive vibes, i’m going to need them ; _ ; )

these past two, nearly three years have been absolutely wonderful. i’m bummed i didn’t join rk back in the day but maybe the fact that i joined later was a good thing? i mean, everything happens for a reason right? these years have been hard and tiring but also very exciting and rewarding, and i’m very enthused to see where 2019 takes me and my girls, along with you and your muses! lets work hard and be happy, happy rkfifth everyone <3

- lots of love, from sacha!

#♡ ┋ out of character.#rkfifth

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vankoya · 6 years

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As I said, I wanted my review to be full and for your eyes only. But... Okey. Never mind. Since The Devil skates on thin ice is officially over, I think I’m ready to write my little review. Not so little tbh. 🤣 (1)

First of all, I wanna say that your style of writing is really stands out of all fic writers because of alikeness with literature. I mean it’s really classy and reminds me of all books that I’ve read not only in English but in my mother language. Full of this beautiful descriptions, metaphors and other stylistic things. (2)

Every time I read stories written by you I found something new to me.Like new words or phrases.And at the same time I can find so many common grounds.I can’t stop wondering,my mother language and English are so alike.It’s like I finally can believe that all languages were one language back then.“Anyway,prepare yourself;this is going to get long, and it’s strewn with angst.”-I think this phrase could be used as description for the whole story. U almost made me cry by the end. (3)

The plot isn’t so unique. I mean, lots of authors write stories from lovers to enemies and back. But I love your choice of AU. Everybody usually choose basketball for Yoongi. And I enjoyed that u somehow choose my cup of tea. I’m in love with ice. I’m not rly into winter but ice is definitely my thing. (4)

[I cut out a few parts here just because this was going to be too long! But the story about you and your friend was really sweet; I’m glad you had someone like them by your side during that time!]

Min Yoongi. To be honest if I saw this guy in flesh, I mean your Yoongi, I would definitely fall for him completely. He has almost everything that I like in man. Confident, strong, with right thoughts, loyal, able to wait till right moment, passionate, man of an action first of all. I see real life Yoongi this kind of man as well but... He isn’t suitable for an ice hockey. Too thin and short. It isn’t stop me from likening him anyway. (8)

Lead fem. It’s definitely me. Like almost 100%. I use phrase “keyword ....” like a lot. It’s one of my favorite. And another thing that makes us so alike - our love for ice and figure skating. I was and I’m still madly in love with this sport. And we both came through trauma. But I can’t fully recover from it emotionally. I’m still afraid of doing some tricks. Specially Lutz and Axel. (9)

She is stronger than me. And I can say that jumps are one of the hardest things in figure skating besides spins. You need to put a lot of effort to make it beautiful and right. Like u have to be fast and jump really high to make it correctly. Other characters. They support and show us other sides of main characters like the extras should do. Specially I love that u put members of other kpop bands into your story. Like Yugyeom and others. (10)

My favorite scenes. First one on skating rink. It was at the very beginning of the story. When they were arguing. God it was cool. But I’m too Dory to remember all the things that I like in this one. Another one is scene at Yoongis room when he was thinking about the night when ice starts to melt a little. And I’ll add a scene on the roof to this one as well. (11)

Third one is a memory of the past with hair scrunchie. Whole scene made me so soft. G O D. It’s too romantic for my lonely ass. And ultimate fav the scene before an accident. It’s so adorable and once again reminds me of me and my friend a little cause we were found of skating catch game. Like who is fast enough to run away from another and last longer. (12)

One of the things that really bothered me was Olympic team. To be exact if I’m not mistaken usually Olympic team includes only best members of every single team. I mean every single athlete who suits the team by the level of experience and abilities. The whole team which won some championship or something can’t become an Olympic team. But maybe this rule works only in my country. 🤷🏼‍♀️ (13)

Another thing is little lack of experience or knowledge about both kinds of sports. I’m really into ice hockey and figure skating and some things weren’t exactly right. Specially about hockey. The game is really fast and if u ever had seen it’s live you understand that even a defenseman is able to score. Btw the game could be dirty like members of both teams are always fighting and got ejected. But most people doesn’t even know simple terminology of the game. So I just deal with it. (14)

I’m not trying to criticize you at all and I mean no disrespect to you when Im saying this but... Some things are a little far from reality but it’s a fiction so it’s okey. One more thing is you need to shovel the snow to skate on the lake. And it was never mentioned. (16)

I know it from my experience because I had to shovel the snow away to skate on the river. And it was really hard. But it was also unforgettable to skate on rivers ice surrounded by trees covered in pure white snow. It was like I was in The Snow Queens winter land from Hans Christian Andersen tale. (17)

Anyway you did your job so well. I really enjoyed this story. You are such a good teller and I love it so much. Also you made me wanted to go to the skating rink. It’s a good sign cause my acting teacher said that the art should make such impact on human beings to do something. I haven’t been on a skating rink like for year and a half. But I will go there this Sunday for sure. (18)

I can definitely say that I’m so thankful to this plagiarism thing cause it lead me to such a good authors and people. You all inspire me to write. Like I already was a ficwriter, but since I found all of you I wanted to try to write something in English as well. And I did but I’m scared to death to show it. I’m pretty sure in my abilities in my language but English is a whole different story. (19)

I’m waiting for the “We were made out of stars” series, cause it’s reminds me of Hancock movie with Will Smith. I rly love this film and your short story was so alike with its plot but without any superpowers and stuff. Another thing that it’s reminds me of is a novel by Hilary Duff-Elixir. It also was about remembering past lives and all this things. So I’m looking forward to this to come out. Thank you for breaking my heart.Now I need to buy a plaster for it.Hope your week started well. ❤️ 20

P.S. And JT. He was the love of my life as well as Usher and Chris Brown when I was in my early teens. After that I fell head over heels for Alex Turner. But not for so long. I found Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd in 2011 when I was something about 16 and things changed. P.P.S I’m pretty sure that I made a lot of mistakes in my review, so I’m sorry for that. Have a nice day. 🌸💜🌸 (21) End

Woah, what a long and in-depth review!! Thank you so much for taking the time to write and send all of these—I was sure I had done something bad when I checked Tumblr for the first time today to discover 20+ messages in my inbox sdfghs. But I’m so happy to see that you enjoyed and related to the characters—that’s all I can really ask for!! 🌸💝💐

As for your criticisms, that’s fair. I’ve actually never seen snow in my entire life and I’ve only been ice-skating once or twice on an artificial rink, so my personal experience is highly lacking. I tried to do as much research as I could without spending hours pouring over information and watching videos that were only going to be attributed into less than a paragraph, though that clearly wasn’t enough. But, as you said, this is just fan fiction and it’s only something that I’m doing for fun and to build my writing skills, so certain details and facts are going to be glossed over—whether it be intentionally or unintentionally!!

Thank you again for taking the time to send this and for reading. I’m delighted to hear that you loved the story, despite its few slip-ups in providing factual information!! (And I’m glad that you’re looking forward to WWMOOS hehe) 😌💗✨

#/ long post #tdsoti #kindest words #anotherlittledreamer #blabvory

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promiscuous-jalapeno · 7 years

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☼ V Route Review ☼

I have had so many messages asking for my input on the route and the characters, so here it is!!! (p.s. I made that gif^^^^ I’m pretty impressed with myself ?? wow lmao)

Heavy on spoilers so the text is under a cut! It’s also pretty lengthy so...you’ve been warned haha.

This route had me feeling different ways as I moved through the days. I’ll try to touch on as many subjects as I can, and I am not sure how lengthy this will be getting. Some themes/aspects I both liked and disliked for different reasons. It is in my nature to debate myself and see both sides to things, so if you see me basically contradicting myself or arguing with a point I made previously, that is why.

I am basing this on the Good End play-through alone, as that makes the most sense.

I’d also like to state that, of course, these are all my personal opinion. If you disagree with anything in my review then that’s great! But on the contrary, you will not find me fighting you over opinions. If you come into my box to attack me over what I have to say about the route, I will simply ignore. I’m really sorry I have to say this, but as I have unfortunately already seen several...distasteful arguments over this route, I feel it needs to be said. I think everyones opinions are valid and this is by no means me trying to force my opinions or tell you that what you feel and think is wrong! It’s just my analysis^^

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I’d like to preface this by saying that I did have fun and enjoyed the route for entertainment purposes. We got to see more of those minor characters we have been craving (i.e. Saeran, Rika, and even Vanderwood!)

I think I am not alone in my wanting to see more of Mint Eye and the interactions between Saeran and Rika (as well as V, of course). I am so glad this route focused a lot on that aspect. Before the route was released, I thought it would make the most sense to approach it from MC being involved with Mint Eye more in order to get closer to V and/or Saeran, and after playing it I still believe they made a smart choice!

The beginning of the route was everything I wanted. We had plenty of Saeran, we had our set-up. Game testers in an unknown place. I had stated this before but I honestly loved this premise so much more than “wow you’re now in some random apartment and btw you can’t leave.” They kept it otome fanciful while making it a bit more believable, I was really happy with that. And when I first saw V in his Mint Eye garb my heart dropped! I especially love the CG where Saeran is behind him with the flowers!

I’m kind of a sucker for story lines where you’re a captive and someone rescues you, so I was so so happy with the plot for this route. Not to mention being in the middle of not TWO people, but THREE. I was not expecting Rika to be so infatuated with MC as well. That threw me for a loop, and hats off to Cheritz for that because I was digging it lolol.

I adored learning about V’s mother. That was something I hadn’t expected, and I am just so happy that we got to see what we did. The CG’s were so heartwarming, and the diary entries and thoughts were just beautiful. I loved seeing V progress in his relationship with his mother, and how her love for him helped him be who he truly was. For once, it was nice to see a parent in this game really nurture their kid and help them grow.

Lastly, I would like to add that I was completely pleased with the timeline of this route, simply for Saeran. I was so curious what he was like during the formation of Mint Eye. I loved seeing this glimpse of ‘Ray’ since this takes place a mere 6 months ? after Rika’s “death” so it is still very fresh. Mint Eye is very new. The building isn’t even completed yet--

The basement....yikes. Yes, the last and most important detail to any good, well functioning cult hideout--the creepy dungeon-esque torture chambers complete with jail cells and the happy shrieks of pain excitement from loyal followers.

MC is kinda joining this clusterfuck in its heyday. We are seeing these characters before they are too far gone. They’re figuring things out, Saeran is still mostly his kind and calm self, Rika is still questioning very much her relationship with V and the RFA, as well as her inner demon. I think it was an integral part of the story and a very smart placement for this route.

Overall, there were plenty of things I enjoyed and also things that bugged me. I think Cheritz did a very good job, all things considered. But the Good Ending left me feeling...more dissatisfied than I had hoped.

As I drew nearer to the ending, I got the overall feeling of a kid watching your parents argue. A lot of the interactions as the days rolled on were quite repetitive and honestly I found myself getting bored reading them. They filled up the days with an onslaught of chats and VN’s featuring Rika talking about loving her demons--we GET IT. YOU LIKE BEING EVIL-- V being a wet blanket and a masochist, and lots and LOTS AND LOTS of talking about the Sun. To the point that most of the language and poetic descriptions of love and suns just started to mesh together, seeming fake deep and overworked and mundane.

Instead of these repetitive chats, we should have had more interactions with V, where he actually relies on MC and they learn more about each other. Most of the time MC was with V he was either SICK or hurt or...asleep. Or weirdly sitting in Saeyoung’s car outside for no apparent reason. Why? It almost seems lazy. Like they couldn’t figure out a way for V and MC to interact and bond more (or it was just too difficult to squeeze it in) so they kept find reasons to keep them apart. I felt the text messages from V were the most he really tried to communicate with MC and really learn about her. Most of the texts were philosophical back and forth or him asking her how he should deal with feelings like apprehension in art when faced with criticism etc.

I think we could have scrapped quite a few of the lovey-dovey VNs where Rika and V are proclaiming their undying dark love over and over again or like...in bed together (groan)...and replaced it with, I don’t know, maybe MC and V? Actually learning about each other????

It didn’t bother me so much during the route that V had a hard time confessing that he had feelings for MC. That part seemed very natural. What bothered me was just the complete lack of true interaction with V. If he was so obsessed with Rika, we would really need to see just why he fell for MC. I’m not satisfied with the answer that MC is naive, or that she’s so good and pure just because she didn’t form an evil cult.

I felt more romance from Rika than I did from V. And in the other routes, we ALWAYS help the characters overcome their fears and learn to be better people. We help Zen get in touch with his family again, and we love him for his heart not his looks. We help Jumin overcome his issues with women and possession. We help Jaehee finally go for her dreams. We help Yoosung learn to work through grief and become mature. And Saeyoung of course, we help him accept love, and finally search for his brother. This didn’t happen with V. Well, it did a little bit. I liked that MC wasn’t pushy, and she encouraged him that he could find true love! I liked that part a lot. But for the majority, I just felt more like a passive observer in the route. Talking to V seemed like you were talking to a brick wall at times, and no matter what you say he still wants to sacrifice himself. So it felt like, while we said kind and encouraging words, V sort of did his own thing until he figured it out himself.

Not to mention the fact that they gave him an out in the end. Why was it Yoosung who makes Rika face what she has done? Don’t get me wrong, it was still wonderful to see Yoosung taking charge and using his familial love to push her to get the help she needs! I was so happy! But... It should have been V. Everything got tidied up for him, and apart from telling her it’s over, I didn’t see much development of his character towards the ending. I wanted to see him go from refusing medical treatment in order to protect Rika, to finally realizing what she is doing is wrong, she needs help, and having her face the authorities.

And what about Saeran??? That was handled so oddly? It’s like everyone forgot he existed or didn’t care what happened to him? It was the weirdest from V. It left a sour taste in my mouth that they made it seem like Saeran died and yet V is off getting puka shell necklaces or whatever for 2 years and then comes back with the strength to love. Like, that’s all well and good but....did you forget about Saeran? And how are you going to tell Saeyoung his brother is dead now even though the only thing he asked of you was to keep Saeran safe.

I TRULY HOPE they touch on this in the after ending, because I don’t think it was like V at all to just toss Saeran aside like that. -_-;;

I loved the route for what it was. I’m playing it again, and I’ll continue to play for the different endings. I am so grateful to Cheritz for this content and for being gracious enough to give us a route for V! Some days had me on the edge of my seat, some parts had me laughing or made my heart ache completely. I probably sound really nitpicky with some of the above text lol but in all honesty I loved the route and had a ton of fun playing it. The music was brilliant! The CGs were beautiful, I really love whoever the artist(s) was that worked on these for the route. Playing this game again was a bit surreal, and I found myself filled with memories of when I first downloaded and played the game (obsessively). I think the route was worth the wait.

-ON SAERAN-

I think it goes without saying but I will say it anyway--I LOVED SEEING MORE SAERAN!!! Going into this route, I had the lowest of hopes for Saeran interaction. It’s better to have low expectations and then be thrilled instead of high expectations and disappointed, right? We got to learn so much about his character, just from the few interactions we had with him. His confirmation of loving ice cream, he enjoys being outdoors, he loves flowers and has even gone so far as to know the language of flowers (which is impressive), he has an intense need for validation and love, and finally, due to his extreme circumstances--he has compartmentalized his feelings and personalities in order to protect himself.

Learning his softer side was a shock as well as a pleasant surprise. I felt my heart warming up as I chat with him.

On top of that, I would also like to point out that since this takes place over a year (?) prior to the regular routes...it was heartbreaking and eye opening to see how often he was taking medicine/drugs.

Saeran turned into unknown when he drank the elixir (as the majority of what he took “with each meal” was just painkillers). It was so sad to see just how loaded up with drugs he was. And it gives you a scary comparison between ‘Ray’ in this route and the Unknown we know from the original game. I can’t imagine just how many things he is taking during the original. Wow. I just kept clinging to the memory that we save him in Saeyoung’s route lol.

-ON RIKA-

I loved learning about Rika’s backstory. We did learn a bit from the normal routes and secret endings, but I think it helped to get a glimpse into her own perspective of her life. I think it was also really important, this feeling that she hadn’t even disclosed this information (her school life/some of her childhood and feelings about her darkness) to even V himself. She really opened up to MC, apparently more than anyone else, EVER. This was strange to me at first...but I think it is a positive. I felt that she was just so desperate for someone to be close to her again, and she latched on to MC.

Her character is so interesting and I know she’s a topic of such controversy in the fandom, but I liked hearing her thoughts on why she did what she did. It’s something I wanted since I finished the secret endings. I hope in this unreleased after ending we might see her making progress in treatment.

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So those are my thoughts. I could probably keep going but I think I’ve said enough to convey the key points! Kudos if you read all of that haha!

-Jalapeño

#mystic messenger #v route #jihyun kim #v route review #mystic messenger headcanons #mine

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crystalnet · 7 years

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My Top 10 Video Gamesss

I'm really bored so I'm just gonna do this, fuck it. Top 10 from a guy whose genre of choice is the action-(J)RPG, of which makes up about half this list. I'm gonna try to keep it pretty short and sweet, cuz like who cares, like why am I even doing this who cares. (Digibro says text-blogging is dead, like I need to make videos but like who would want to watch the video of some rando listing things either? Idk, like I don't really get any motivation for anything anymore. But I do like games/JRPGS soooo.... without further ado...). Also I'm doing a 1-game-per-franchise rule 'cuz otherwise it'd be largely Zelda and Final Fantasy because I have good taste, am sheepish and bland, and overly-content with the same 2 franchises. But yeah, I'm digging a little deeper here.

1. Zelda Breath of the Wild-

This may seem risky, audacious and possibly even sacrilege to put a game that is only like 5 months old on this list, but really this is the only game that I could really confidently put on my top spot. I think this game is just about perfect, and even though its not technically my genre of choice, it comes pretty close to a JRPG, and yet feels more pure than that, and somehow even deeper in a way. I'm just astounded by everything from the mechanics, to the presentation to the flow of this game and more. But especially those things probably. The "flow" of this game for example feels so fucking organic and open-ended that it essentially feels like no other game I've ever encountered. You can wander for hours semi-aimlessly and still have an amazing time and work towards progress.

The climbing/paragliding thing is just about the coolest mechanic I've ever seen or played in a game and works as a really amazing foundation for one of the underlying aspects of this game, which is sheer unadulterated exploration. And I was saying it somehow reminds of a JRPG even tho it's Zelda and that has everything to do with the deep item-management and collecting, the deep cooking/crafting system, and the huge array of weapons which all transform the combat from being vanilla-as-fuck as it was in previous console Zeldas (barring Skyward I suppose) to really cool, challenging and pretty dang deep, for a Zelda game at least. And that, along with so much of this, including the incredible different experimental non-linearity of it, make this unlike any other than Zelda save the first, revolutionary entry. A lot of the depth also has to do with the crazy deep physics. Did I mention the physics?? And though there's only like 5 dungeons (I easily count Hyrule castle, and this is not including 120 shrines and the various fortresses/mazes), they're really ace and easily rival my favorite Zelda dungeons in the way in which the structure of the dungeons must themselves be manipulated in order to solve their puzzles (my next top 5 is gonna be Top Zelda Dungeons btw..).

So yeah, this game is just freakin' incredible and this iteration of Hyrule is probably my favorite game world of all time. Every inch of it is beautifully lit, realized, and filled to the brim with little puzzles, shrines, formidable foes and questing galore. Also the horses. The horses are sick. And yeah, climbing to the tops of mountains and paragliding down (or later using Revali's Gale to ascend rapidly) is the most free I've felt in a game since the weirdly amazing web-slinging in Spider-Man 2 (PS2). Also the difference between how weak and basic you feel at first to how you feel toward the end when you have the Master Sword, a crazy good arsenal of weapons that you've curated, all the spells and Shiekah slate magic and all the amiibo-dropped gear attained from an illegal/frowned-upon amiibo deck is freakin awesome and even cooler than the dynamic progression of something like Dark Souls. And the whole first 10-20 hours or so of a new file are especially “special” to me. Not that it gets less fun-- in many ways it gets more fun as you get more capable and experienced-- but the Plateau segment is a master class in tutorial segment design, and the way you learn to live off the land is kind of incredible... There’s this whole Buddhist-esque anti-attachment thing the game forces you to accept regarding early weapons breaking all the time that help make you depend so heavily on scavenging and exploring and always looking for more loot just so that you can survive. You really learn to live off the land, and well that’s beautiful. And everything about all the various mechanics and the world feel so holistic and cohesive and unified in a way that I just haven’t really seen before. Anyway, yeah I could go on but I think that mostly sums it up. This is the only game where it feels like your actually exploring an amazing natural environment, but without like sore feet and bugs and being sweaty and stuff. It's just all the good stuff involved in taking in a crazy beautiful environ. I already said that but yeah. This game feels restorative, peaceful, meditative. And I never get sick of those lonely little piano chords. It's good. Perfect even. Really a masterwork for me. And the DLC is sweet to boot and still incoming, so yeah. Me likey. 2. Final Fantasy XV-

Where I feel really good picking BotW as my #1, and can do it without hesitation, and it's not even a tough call to make as my favorite entry of its respective franchise, this one is a bit more complex. And like a lot of FF fans would probably rightfully scoff and write me off right away, whereas Zelda fans would probably be more accepting of BotW as the top pick. Because it involves a shit ton of caveats. For one thing, deep deep down, FFXI will actually always be my favorite video game experience of all time. Always. Forever. Sorry not sorry BotW. But I'm not putting that one, because I feel like there's something weird about listing an MMO that I only played for 3 years as a child and can't really revisit in a real capacity. Its sealed in time and perhaps that's what makes it special. Sure I could get on one of the couple of PC servers still going but it wouldn't be the same. Another caveat is FFVII, IX, and XII (Zodiac Age!!) are all, to me, way classier and probably on a technical level "better" than XV. And yet, I'm kind of have this disease where 64-bit games have aged worse for me than any other gen, and while XII is fucking awesome (Zodiac!! ^.^;;), I don't have quite as much fun playing that as XV (though its pretty close...). Somehow, despite all its short-comings, FFXV almost perfectly captures the charm and joy of this series, and all my memories of it, while containing them within a fucking gorgeous-- immaculately so at that-- package that is super freakin' playable compared to older turn-based titles. Like, ATB/turn-based FF will always be more "legit" in a sense, but I can't deny I am an action-JRPG addict and this game hits the sweet-spot for me.

Did I mention how beautiful it is? While some might see the new fixation on open-worlds as kind of redundant-- and BotW has now kind of revealed the flaws in the old triple-A formula for them--, I think this is just a reeeeally good rendition of the "open-world" concept, which is something I always wanted in FF. And while you can't join in with other players like in XI and carve your own path in the world (multiplayer is coming though...), there is a certain feeling of freedom felt in this game that makes so many other FF titles seem so limited (lookin at you XIII). Also, pretty. It's pretttttty. And if BotW's Hyrule is my favorite game-map, Eos is my favorite world in terms of like lore, look, and design. It's freakin cool. It looks real and there are cars and there are modern-looking people like us but there's also crazy monsters, magic, teleportation, robots and evil empires (well those are real). And the monsters seem like something out of an otherworldly Nat. Geo. the way everything is so wonderfully detailed. Its freakin cool Dinotopia shit in this bitch. So yeah, while there are flaws-- notably of which are the lack of customization in character-progression that I love in games like XII Zodiac Age and with the kind of unrealized story which is spread mercilessly across an anime mini-series and OVA-- this game feels like a perfect monument to my favorite series of all time. And like you can play all Nobuo songs while exploring this amazing world. Like seriously that tiny little feature is what puts this over-the-top. Otherwise I might have honestly chosen IX or XII Zodiac Age 'cause they're classy AF and the RPG mechanics are deeper. But fuck it, when I play this, it's basically the best visualizer for an endless Nobuo Uematsu soundtrack I could imagine. And like Shimumura's new stuff is great on top of that. This point falls apart 'cuz I could just play an FF actually composed by Nobuo, but like this way it's like an endless loop of my personal favorite Nobuo. Nobuo...

But anyway... Yeah I like the look, combat, magic, world, characters, chocobos, and the look again. Also the potential... I think multiplayer could be really, really cool honestly. So while it bears some of the issues all post-Enix-merger FF games have (like weirdly dropping parts of the plot which is like...why???, or the fact that they're having to patch it all year, and are adding stuff (can you say DLC $$$$)), it's still a minor masterpiece for me. And while not as deep, or even as charming as old PS1 FF or 16-bit FF, its just so damn playable. I'm not a good retro-gamer like other people-- I like my games new and bright/shiny, and this game is shiny AF. So yeah. I clearly have to defend the hell out of this, but fuck it, it's great. Like seriously the design of everything? Just walk around and like look at it. LOOK AT IT. Character models!!! Lighting!!! Facial animation and movement!!! Omg. Okay, yeah I'll leave it at that. Don't hate me. 3. Super Smash Bros Wii-

I feel like I don't even have to explain this one. This is quite simply the perfect multiplayer game. And as with BotW and FFXV, I like these latest iterations a lot, which may seem sheepish and like plebian-core but fuck it. Melee was reeeeally fun back in like 2008, but I'm not trying to play that rn. Robin all day. And Cloud?? So yeah, there's just something kind of endlessly sweet about a game where the likes of Mario, Pac-Man, Sonic, Megaman, Cloud, Ryu and... Bayonetta (??) all collide in a game with amazing physics, awesome platform-y freedom-of-movement and a deep competitive scene which almost make this seem like some kind of weird master-game. Like the Master Sword of games. An Einherjar/Valhalla of all videogame character of fame and fortune. So yeah, its great. I can't speak about it to it to the length I did with FF and BotW because I feel like it speaks for itself. Its just pure, unadulterated Nintendo/pan-franchise world-colliding fun. 4. Nier Automata-

Nier/Drakengard lore is fucking crazy, deep as hell, and multi-faceted AF and Yoko Taro is freeeeakin cool and the best game director this side of Hideo Kojima. And where the first Nier is an amazing, lovably imperfect game-- clunky combat, and weird genre-hopping and all-- this one is like freakin' awesome to play front-to-back. Unless you like don't like abruptly inserted bullet-hell segments. But the main combat is irrefutably sick, which is crazy. Platinum games took a reeeeally weird game-world and made it feel super slick despite all the amazing quirks that are inherent to Yoko Taro's games. Also this is one of my like top 5 maybe 3 game soundtracks of all time. It's amazing and reminds me of my favorite Yuki Kajiura soundtrack for .Hack//Sign. Is there a term for awesome vaguely medieval-ish female-vocal heavy mystic-sounding music? 'Cause this game has it in spades and it's freakin sweeeet. Alongside some like soulful adult-contemporary R'n'B ballads? Buy yeah, amazing-feeling combat, a plethora of combos and weapons, a solid amount of depth to character progression, and really fun bullet-hell segments make this game sooooo playable and maybe my favorite action-RPG of all time (FFXV doesn't quite feel like a true action-RPG?)

But then, on top of that it has an amazingly evocative story, with wonderfully dynamic characters who are lovingly revealed over the course of multiple play-through, in a an epic struggle that revels in the philosophy of Sartre, Kierkegaard, and Marx among others. That in itself is freakin' crazy. Games/anime/movies with AI characters or like androids can be so cliche in their exploration of existentialism, and this game can seem like its gonna be like that at first, but it ends up making good on its promises, and functions as just a really cool exploration of a rich philosophical tapestry. And it's all beautifully told, in these really nice semi-muted colors and with these super lovely character models. Plus the open-world is surprisingly great to run around. I love the over-grown human city thing, and the super atmospheric music come together with the aesthetic to make this game so emotional. Like honestly, along with other aspects of the story, this game is sooooo feels-heavy for me. It can be really sad, and there's this amazing dichotomy/friction between how fun it is to play, and how like strait-up bad it can make you feel sometimes. To like even play it. Getting into that would be spoiler-y and stuff, but yeah I'll kind of leave it to there. The story is awesome. 2B and 9S are amazing. The concepts and way this game actually effect you are super unique, and all the presentation-aspects bring it together so beautifully. It's just like... wow. Like play this game. then play it 5 times to get all the endings. 5. Metal Gear Solid V-

I almost have to make the same caveats I did for FFXV for this game as well. Yes, I know, it's not perfect. It partly represents like the downfall of this whole series, and the darker side of video-games in general. There's a pachinko-level pay-wall type thing inserted right into this and there's some behind-the-scene drama involved that strait-up led to Kojima's departure from Konami? (firing??) Idk, idc, I don't have the energy for that, honestly. So maybe I'm a horrible MGS fan, but I'll be damned if I don't love this game unabashedly. I first played it during a time when I had basically spent 5 years not playing any video games besides Smash, and it was an amazing reintroduction into the world of triple-A titles. Emergent gameplay. Openness. The most handsome character model of all time (Big Boss is my daddy). And that Asia song "Only Time Will Tell". Seriously-- something about the way that song synchs up with the feel of sneaking into an Afghani military outpost in the early 1980's any damn way you please is like the story of this game for me, and part of why it's on this list. That song is everything. Like in the context of this game that is. But also outside of it too? But yeah the sheer openness is just incredible. Not open in the same way like Skyrim or BotW is, but in terms of how you complete each and every mission. It feels like your writing the script to your own big action movie every time you set out. Like the game doesn't force anything on you. Did I mention Big Boss is fucking hot.

And yeah, great music, gameplay and overall presentation, and the cool base-management stuff adds this really cool RTS-ish depth that fleshes out the game wonderfully. Add some solid online PVP, a sweet mech and the gatdamn coolest most open-ended stealth gameplay I'm aware of, and you have yrself a winner. Sorry old, classic MGS, I gotta go with the new model. It's just so damn playable. Like yeah, I know, Konami is like really bad, and fucked up, and like if I really respected Kojima maybe I wouldn't chose this one? But like man I can't help it. I love it soooo much, contemporary triple-AAA-developer-dysfunction and all. Oh and Asia. And the Pere Ubu "Man Who Saved the World". And "Take On Me". Honestly without the tape-collecting/playing this might not be included. But yeah, its clearly great.

6. Dark Souls- Idk, I'm not even a huge Souls guy but this game is kind of breathtaking. I got it for cheap and went in a skeptic, and remained that way for a decent chunk of it, but around the time I was getting to Sen's Fortress things started to click like crazy. This game is undeniable and I'll leave it to the plethora of well-made YouTube analyzers to really get into why. But for me, as far as action-RPGs go, this feels like it has some of the most legit customization and progression of any RPG I've played. It's got an amazing world, with the vertical-nature of the map and way that inter-locking various paths slowly reveal themselves is an amazing thing to behold as the game unfolds. I also just really love the online aspects of this game. I played this game when Dark Souls III was just about to come out and it gave it this kind of spooky feeling. Like I still got invaded a good bit and had help when I wanted it from others, but I could tell it wasn't as busy as it might have been during its initial hey-day. Like playing a weird culty Dreamcast game online in like 2005 (Phantasy Star Online anyone?). This spooky feeling of people being there but not at the same time fits the lore and the world itself really well and that aspect is probably even more exaggerated now (plus the fact that I fuck co-op proves im a n00b). But the fact people were still playing it at all, and still do to this day, speak to how singular and amazing it is. For me, this is just the end-all be-all as far as archetypal high fantasy worlds go-- at least as far as the darker side of things go. Its a bit heavy metal and dreary for me as far as fantasy goes (I like my shit kinda twee and anime-core), but if I want dark and bleak, with an underlying sense of old-world scenic beauty, this game is unbeatable. Like literally, I can't beat it. That's my one complaint: too hard! I'm a noob, maybe one day I'll git gud and stop getting wrecked-- one can hope... 7. Persona 5

This is weird to put after Dark Souls 'cuz if I'm honest I feel like this game has so much more charm and character and like personality than Dark Souls? Idk, I guess I can make that claim. Like Dark Souls has tons of personality, but like Persona 5? I guess it has to do with my slight preference for action-RPG over turn-based, but this game almost seems like one long ass 100 hour+ trek through sheer charm and personality. Hm, PERSONA-lity? Wow genius. But really, this game is just dripping with unique style and charisma. And I'll be honest, I wen't in expecting a lot and for a solid like 20 hours initially I wasn't all that into it. I'm still kinda an SMT noob so I think I'm just impatient for how long this game takes to reveal itself. It's just freakin big and deep that it literally takes that long and then some to truly get going. But once it does... oh boy does it. I think it might be the coolest turn-based game I've ever played in terms of just the sheer combat itself (sorry all pre FFXI Final Fantasy games???). Equal parts FF at its deepest and classiest and Pokemon at its um. Well idk, it's not as Pokemon as Ni No Kuni, but the Persona-collecting system is freakin great. And the level of challenge the combat/dungeons have seem almost pitch-perfect in a way RPGs rarely do. And then add in all the social links/dating sim components, and the open world, and the weird Sly Cooper-inspired stealthy dungeon-crawling and you have like one of the craziest, coolest most legit JRPGs of all time.

But yeah the saving grace for me is the actual turn-based system/combat itself. For a turn-based, its bizarre how kinetic and speedy it can feel. You have all the time you need to strategize if you so chose, but once you know what your doing it can be like lightning, right up until the point where your arguing with a demon to either fork over some loot or join your party, or else your moving fluidly back into great dungeon-crawling action. And then yeah all the crazy super-Japanese high-school student simulation stuff rounds things out delightfully. Like, I admit I like my RPGs to either be high fantasy or else cyber-punky and this is neither of those. Like I'm not even sure what aesthetic so much of this is... smooth jazz and sassy r'n'b moodiness, and like Japanese high-school-attending outcasts who moonlight as stylish treasure-hunting demon-slaying thieves and fight against the inner-world manifestations of corrupt adults-- like what is that vibe? I really don’t know, but I suppose its something all true otakus understand on some inherent level, even if it does remain mysterious and ever allusive in its charms to me.

But the story is cool and huge (Seriously, 100+ hours! What?!!?) and plumbs psychological depths and doesn’t pull punches when it comes to getting a little dark, if maybe in a somewhat simplistic way. But yeah, this game oozes charm, like in the way Mona is so undeniable as a side-kick. I mean they’re almost annoying too but then like, no, Mona’s pretty great though. There are things I can almost imagine it doing that would make me like it even more (like the whole day-cycle thing never quite feels as open as I want it to? But like if it was it'd be like 300 hours. Just that thing where you speed through yr day and almost skip right to one scene in-class and then BAM its after-school), but yeah like this nitpick doesn't even fully make sense. It's just that this game is open-ended af and yet it can also sometimes feel kind of like your spending a lot of time clicking through text without a ton of control. But really that's just the like first 20-30 hours. And again the combat is just undeniably solid. So yeah, it's lite-novel-y and when yr not in dungeons it can seem like yr clicking through an anime almost, but I mean that's kind of also what makes it amazing.

And I'll just touch lightly on presentation stuff like the amazing soundtrack and the f a b u l o u s style of all the menu's and just over-all visual flair of this game, 'cause literally everyone notices that instantly. The dungeons also seem kinda weirdly PS2-looking to me, but like it doesn't matter. This game has a crazy amount of depth and charm that make more immaculate looking triple-A's seem soulless. Plus, yeah like all the menu stuff and like visual segues make it seem so much more stylish than them too even though its clearly not on the same level technically. So yeah, this game’s a lot of win. I was skeptical of the hype honestly, and aspects of Persona 4's world are a little cooler to me still, but man this game is just like... yeah it's good. It's soo long and so written and chock full of a very distinct kind of charm that it seems comparable to having some kind of weird virtual pal inside my ps4 (Does that sound sad ^.^;;). Like it's just cool to know I can always pop it in and hang out with my old pals Ryuji, Ann and Morgana. And Makoto. For like 100 more hours now. How long is this? Where am I, I've been playing it for 3 days, help!? 8. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir-

I'll have less to say to this 'cuz I'm pretty new to the hype-train and thank god 'cuz I wrote way too much about P5? But yeah, this game is the addictively-awesome side-scrolling action-RPG/Beat-'em-up I didn't know I needed in my life. At first I thought the over-all look was kind of not really my thing, but I've done a full 180, and while its not the like more traditional anime/FF-esque style I'm used to, I've come to see just how beautiful and fresh its style is. And then the combat itself is sweeeeeeet. Endlessly playable and as deep as you'd want a still kinda light-feeling action-RPG to be. Plus there's a deep cooking system which just always takes good action-RPGs or any game over-the-top for me. Most of the game is done exploring these really fun combat-filled levels but some respite is found in the mini-farming and cooking mechanics. And the crafting adds an extra dimension as well. Soooo deep. I also love that it scores you on how stylishly your playing by tracking yr combos. This is one of the more fluid and engagings JRPGs I’ve played, and the hand-drawn look is to die for. So yeah, I'll keep it short and sweet, but the action is great, the characters' various play-styles are wonderfully varied, and the overall presentation is just so unique and cool. Oh and the story ends up being like really legit? Caught me by surprise. It's mostly just good old fashioned sprite-based fun, with a really sick Norse-inspired fantasy aesthetic. A video game's video game (what does that mean?? (you get it)).

9. Dark Cloud-

The true OG "Dark" action-RPG of my dreams and heart-- sorry Dark Souls, you were a decade late. This game encapsulate the joy of PS2-era action-RPGs, a high-point for the genre. The kind of vaguely bland-but-still-unique fantasy look of it (a successful "Ocarina-killer" for my money, on a visual level at least), the procedurally-generated dungeon crawling, and the freakin’ awesome city-building and NPC-interacting make this game pure win. Like yeah, its a bit clunky with its combat, but charmingly so for me. Its mostly just got this really nice sustained vibe of like sheer pleasantness all throughout, and I just can't get enough of its over-all vibe after all these years. Harder to put this one into words... but yeah the city-building and little tiny touches with all the NPC-helping and questing is what make it special for me. Especially the city-building (you get to restore these little towns that have been ravaged and you have to make everyone happy with the way you set things up. So Japanese and so fun..) Like what a cool, weird feature that ends up being great. Idk, its great. I like the vaguely arabian-ish vibe too. It's just... really good. It's just sheer PS2-style win. So yeah this one is mostly a lot on inarticulate nostalgia but fuck it. 10. .Hack//Infection-

Speaking of inarticulate nostalgia...Now I can't quite say this game is like truly a "good" game? All the way through at least. In some ways its part of a big cash-grab for Bandai-Namco. I'll go with the first one in the series, but its really just a piece of a whole along with 3 other games, that may have been a bit padded and intentionally designed to leach a whopping 200 US from a true dreamer back in the day, who just couldn't help themselves. BUT it's also kind of amazing. Like the combat and dungeon-crawling is a bit cut-and-dry (is it just me or are procedurally generated PS2 dungeons kind of sick?) but its enough. You have tons of party members to choose from, a plethora of magic scrolls to use if you so choose, and your 2 trusty little twin blades with which you can press X to slash with until the cows come home. A game like Kingdom Hearts as an action-RPG seems so much more fluid and kinetic and yet? Well KH is ridic, and if I'm gonna die on some hill for a goofy anime-core action-RPG it'll be this one any day. It combines my favorite aesthetics (mysterious celtic-y high fantasy AND cyber-punk) by way of being a game-within-a-game, and by being about a fictional MMO while not actually being an MMO it's kind of meta AF also. Also, the stuff with the emailing the other party members you meet and the system that has you increasing your bond through these simulated conversations with other players just reeeally gets to me, and seems cooler than Persona confidant-developing honestly. I'm a huge sucker for the original anime, and you got these really sick OVA anime discs with each entry which were set in the real world that the game existed in and even though that shouldn't factor in really, I admit it does. It all comes together as this kind of cool, weird, slightly-trashy anime wet-dream from my childhood at the end of the day. Also, some sick music, sick AF character designs, and an overall concept (that I'll actually defend to the death despite some of the superficial anime plotting/characters) round things out very nicely. Just the fact that this is a game about an MMO... like what a concept (and a decade before that SAO garbage fire shit). Plus Grunty raising. And the G.U. Last Recode remaster is right around the corner, OMG!!!!!!

also rans/runner ups: 11. SSX 3

12. Resident Evil 4

13. Katamari Damacy

14. Super Mario Galaxy

15. No More Heroes

16. Spider-Man 2

17. Catherine

18. Bomberman '93

19. Tekken 4

20. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2

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ripplestitchskein · 7 years

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1/ So one of the thoughts I'm having after that amazing chapter is how excited I am to see what killian is like, how he grows. Thus is kinda incoherent but like, he finally fir the first time has his base Maslow hierarchy of needs met. He's warm, he has a safe place to sleep, he has enough food, and he's not afraid of physical or emotional violence. For the first time. And he's learning to trust someone. Learning that it's safe to have feelings and share himself instead of just being sweet/

2/ and cowering because that’s the only way he got any food and fewer beatings. But now, he can actually have a safe place to explore more if his personality, things he likes and dislikes. And I think they’ll both be surprised by that development… she cares about him and she is attracted to him and she wants to take care of him… and mold him, with his consent, into her tool and companion and toy (in a nice way). But still using him, not presently respecting his boundaries (see re /3/ dream catcher and ps fuck you very much on that front it felt like I was there)… but she sort of… respects what he’s been through but doesn’t quite think of him having his own opinions yet. Because he doesn’t because he’s never had the luxury or safety of having opinions. She doesn’t want to hurt him or embarrass him, she wants to care for him… but she doesn’t see him as ever disagreeing with her. She likes that he never had disagreed. And part of that is that he’s agreeable and /4/grateful for his rescue from torture and servitude but also because his opinion never was relevant to anyone before, most especially to himself. So I am really, really eager to see how this plays out… him finding out about the dream catcher invasion of privacy, him developing his own opinions and feeling safe enough to disagree or get mad or frustrated with her, and him eventually realizing that the sub is actually the one in control, that he can say no and trust that she will respect it/5/ which she sure as hell didn’t when he said no about his memories. It will be really interesting to see how she reacts to her toy/companion finding a bit of a spine and how the darkness reacts to that weakness in her regard for him. She clearly cares but also clearly is having a hard time remembering how to show care, hence the apology for him hearing people tortured via bj (beautifully done, btw). So I’m expecting some drama in C4 as killian finds his way back to himself with his basic/6/ needs finally met and him finally safe and watching how he reacts and she reacts when he learns about what those circle things are for and sees his feather and shells in one. This is just such a great fic with so much depth and complexity and yet also has hot smut. I am enjoying it immensely. Thank you!

Okay. Let me first start by saying. I love you. This is gonna get long and I’ll try not to be spoilery but I absolutely love this discussion.

There is nothing more gratifying to me than someone picking up EXACTLY what I’m putting down, be that the underlying themes, little snippets of detail, or just general symbols and everything you’ve described here is exactly what I was trying to convey and why I structured the story in this manner AND why I had to extend it.

I had a lot of scenes for developing both of them that I thought could be quick and dirty (not like sex dirty but you know, well not ONLY like sex dirty…) but then when I wrote them all out in a list I realized I needed a lot more room.

I wanted to see how Deckhand Hook would be in an environment where he basically has everything he wanted. Where Dark Swan has a person who didn’t want her to be anything but herself and who didn’t want to use her, and how they individually adjust to those vastly different environments. At the same time the reason it’s lite sub/dom is that there is an aspect of needed control that DS has, and a life of regimented order and being controlled that DH Hook has that taking them out of those dynamics would be pretty ruinous for them, but that worked perfectly for the characters together.

I also wanted to explore anxiety in its different manifestations. That’s something that is incredibly important and central to my life, and this fic kind of let’s me highlight the different coping mechanisms that come into play, and the different ways that they don’t necessarily help, and that just reassurance alone doesn’t even help, it’s a deeper issue than that. Emma manages hers with emotional unavailability, unhealthy outlets, and control of her environment and the people in it. Killian in contrast pretends these problems don’t exist, fills his world with mindless activity, and requires someone else to help him make decisions to prevent himself from spiraling and really focusing on what he wants. So seeing if they can work back to center will be fun.

I also really love the sexual healing aspect on both sides. Emma learning to respect someone else’s needs, work around her own desires to just take and get it out of her system, having to slow down by necessity, and healing some of Killian’s insecurities through an outlet that had been out of reach to him in the environments he had been in before but how that in turn, as is the nature of anxiety, brings up totally new fears he didn’t have to deal with before this was a part of his life.

I also wanted to kind of bring the CS dynamic from the show into it. Killian and Emma developed emotionally in regards to relationships at vastly different rates due to their underlying personalities and it took some drastic things for them to come together as a unit. I still think the show fails on allowing us to see Killian’s side of things, and that Emma doesn’t necessarily respect his emotions/boundaries/needs to the degree she should even 6 seasons in, but from a character aspect that works really well for DS. And of course this Dark Swan is based a lot of what we saw in S5, she was still very vulnerable and sweet and gentle in her interactions especially with Henry and Hook, but could be cold and terrifying like with the dwarves/Rumple/Regina when she wanted something.

And of course there is the self preservation aspect of the darkness, since it is its own cognitive being in a sense, to work with as well that colors some of Emma’s interactions. Even DH Hook’s moral ambiguity is pretty central just because of how he was brought up, and his struggles with that and learning how he wants to feel about it now that he has a choice in how he feels.

And to a degree, the audience’s own inherent moral compass, the fact that you don’t really sympathize with the “villains” at all, or feel sorry for them, and can kind of feel free to root for Emma despite how ehhh her actions are.

And those things are A LOT of fun to explore.

I hope the pacing is okay with the remaining two chapters, I didn’t want to rush their development, that was really critical to me since this is a character driven rather than a plot driven adventure story, but I also didn’t want to drag on with little interactions that weren’t necessarily meaningful (as fun as little head canon scenes can be) so I chose scenes that were both critical for them and for the plot overall. Ch4 is furthering them and their relationship and how they react to actually being in one, and Ch5 kind of brings everything together if that makes sense.

Ch3 and Ch4 are really one central theme split into two parts because holy chapter length batman. So I hope people aren’t put off by the lack of adventurey plotty plot, that has been my fear from the beginning, since this is more subtle emotional and relationship development through interactions type story and any drama is based more on their character flaws and internal darknesses rather than outside events.

I just really love that you and others have kind of just gotten what I wanted to say immediately. It’s a really different fic for me to write in that they aren’t going off on some adventure and learning each other through external strife, and I love it and I’m so happy it seems to be working like I intended and will always hope it doesn’t come across as boring or dragging.

Your support it for has seriously just made me so very happy, and the recent weeks have been some of the best I’ve had in fandom.

#light of all lights #light of all lights spoilers #kinda

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atleastputinsomeeffortinuroc · 7 years

Text

Rant/Analysis: Logan & Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 --aka -- Redefining the Comic Book Film Genre

(As for why this gif specifically…yeah, I couldn’t think of a better one…)

Y’know…Logan and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 were really freakin’ good. Like…REALLY freakin’ good. Most people I’ve talked to have said that they liked it, but nobody seems to share the amount of enthusiasm I share about these two films in particular, and often say “It’s good. I dunno if I’d see it again, but it’s pretty good.” But, not only do I think that both are good, I will even go so far as to say that both of these comic book movies have shown what it means to redefine the comic book film genre in their own unique ways. BOTH. Bit of an odd claim, especially with that second film being…well it’s Guardians of the goddamn GALAXY. Volume TWO. And the other one is just…it’s WEIRD. It’s the dour follow-up to Deadpool to cash in on that sweet R rating they got. But, again, I have claims. Specifically, I believe that narratively Logan pushed the genre the farthest it’s gone, while I believe that Vol. 2 became the first film in the genre to work with one of the most unique and hard-to-get-right story-telling structures.

But, let’s go into detail about these things. Spoilers, btw.

First off, let’s tackle Logan.

The ways in which Logan pushed the boundaries for comic book films are roughly as obvious as you’d expect if you’ve seen it. It actually provides finality to a character, is self-contained, and successfully does the opposite of what we’ve been taught to be a comic book film ought to be. There ought to be big action set pieces, the villain has to be cut and dry from the get-go, make room for a possible sequel, if a hero dies, it has to be ceremoniously, etc. Logan has the downright balls to stick a finger to these ideas, and actively do the opposite. As the name suggests, we see the man underneath the Wolverine mask. The man behind the myth. In fact, that’s what the film’s main central theme lies in. Taking down myths that we have around heroes that we praise ala Unforgiven and the like. It’s almost a reverse Batman Begins, where Bruce Wayne is making a symbol, while Logan is trying to dismantle it. What’s more, the film downright stood against the very Hollywood mantra for how a sequel should work. It’s usually accepted that you should go bigger, instead going small, which is what Logan did. In fact, if you look at the Wolverine trilogy, you’ll notice that they actually steadily go smaller as the films go on in scale—with the quality just getting better as they progressed. The fact that both of these happen in the same trilogy itself makes it almost the anti-trilogy, as that kind of notion would be previously unheard of. But, that’s another subject for another day.

Despite Logan basically spitting in the face on how most comic book films are supposed to go, with the director himself scoffing at the very notion of seeing the films become something along the lines of carnage for the sake of carnage (sorry Kleatus Kassidy,) the film still remains true to the character in the best way it can. It stays on Logan himself. The man behind the mask, which, to be honest, is the real reason any comic book fan worth his salt likes the character. Not just for the excess violence and swearing and one-liners, but because of who Logan is. How he holds himself, how loyal he is to those who he cares about, how he’s too scared to be too close to anybody, and his general rejection to take a knee to just anybody. As such, it makes sense that the final villain that he has to face off against is a jacked up version of himself, the Wolverine that has been advertised and sold to the masses. A blood-filed rage machine that doesn’t have much in the way of character, but is just about the carnage and violence. By doing so, you make the audience question what it is that they expect from a comic book movie. Which makes it all the more tragic when Logan is eventually killed by this monstrosity. It takes another generation, X-23, or Laura, to put the Wolverine down, and finally do the character justice…perhaps it’s more of an open ending statement. How it’s up to the next generation to decide what matters more: the character or the caricature? The fact that Logan even poses these questions makes it stand out among both the top of the Fox brand of X-Men films, but also in general as a film tackling the subject of super heroes.

And then, conversely, there’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Before I go into detail about this one, I should back up a bit.

In film, there are certain structures that most films abide by, that all mainly circle around the 3 Act Structure, and hence be more narratively driven. Main character sees a problem in his environment that reflects himself, and he or she must conquer that evil, though not before entering his or her lowest point that he or she must conquer. Typical stuff that nearly every movie does. It’s not a bad thing, hell it’s pretty satisfying if you can do it in a unique way, but not all films actually follow this structure. One of note, and the one I’m going to be focusing on, is the “hang-out” movie. The hang-out movie, arguably invented on accident by the film “The Big Sleep” and hitting the mainstream with films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Jackie Brown,” is basically what the name suggests. It’s a movie where you “hang-out” with the main characters, and the plot takes a backseat. There is no clear end-goal that you can see from the get go, but that’s not the point. The point of the film is just to sit around and enjoy the company of the characters, and watch them bounce off each other in different scenarios. The plot winds and curves as dictated by the scenarios that the characters have been placed into. If you try to piece it together at the end, you may find yourself more confused to find a cohesive plot, which is a reason why it isn’t usually embraced by general audiences with a couple exceptions, though to try to pin it down would miss the general point, I think. To rephrase, it’s similar to watching a movie go from scene to scene, rather than plot point to plot point. Hell, the film basically spells it out for you that that is the direction the film is going to go during the opening credits. In it, Baby Groot is dancing to Mr. Blue Sky while the action and destruction is going on behind him. The plot is LITERALLY in the background to the character.

This isn’t to say the plot is unimportant, but it’s very much meandering, but oddly enough meandering with a purpose, which is something that a lot of films in general can’t seem to master. And the fact the film decided to go that direction is endlessly FASCINATING mainly because of one little fact. If I’m not mistaken…Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the first comic book film to actually use this structure. Every comic book film that I can think of has a very rigorous plot structure that the characters must fall into. That’s to say that there’s not a comic book film other than this one that doesn’t have its fair share of character moments, look at Logan for God’s sake, but this is the first that I can think of where the plot didn’t matter. They tossed out the handbook and just did whatever they wanted to do to flesh out the characters by placing them in different scenarios, see how they bounced off each other, and let it go from there. What you then get in response is this piece of film where every single major character is provided with enough character development and depth. Every single major character, I should remind you, include the already established five heroes, as well as five additional characters. That’s TEN characters who hold their own in terms of how much their characters are just that. Characters. With depth and layers that you could peel back to see the real humanity in them, or lack thereof in Ego’s case. (Avengers and Justice League: take note.) To see all of that come from a comic book film is honestly rather refreshing, when placed to all of these plot heavy films that are focusing on either setting up another movie down the line, mindless action or is just chucked into the same formulaic structure that Marvel has become damn near infamous for following. Add to that the most stunning visuals ever seen in a Marvel movie, and you have one of the most unique comic book films in both the MCU, as well as in general. The subject that Vol. 2 tackles is also very much an important subject matter as well, if you think about it. Focusing on toxic father figures as well as asking what’s more important: what your legacy is or what you value. (Insert political joke here.) Which, in this case, can be seen as family. I’d go into detail about this, but that’s another discussion for another day. Point is, you have a character heavy film in a very plot heavy world, and I couldn’t help but love every single minute of it.

In many ways, perhaps the two are more similar than I gave them credit for initially. Both are character driven films that defy convention and push the boundaries and demand more from their niche medium. Both are relatively contained with uniquely satisfying character development. They are both still vastly different, with one being a neo-western that tears down the “mythification,” for lack of a better word, of the characters, while the other is a hang-out space opera with the slightest echoes of old Greek legends. Both, I should also add, aren’t perfect. Each have their own set of issues, and if you didn’t like them, I can understand why. They also broke so far from tradition in each of their own respective ways, that I can see how it can be jarring and maybe a one-time watch for some of you, as hang-out movies always being an acquired taste, and Logan being so dour, dark and harshly blunt. That being said, I do think that both should be recognized as innovative in the genre in their own unique way. If you think that one’s a bit of a stretch, feel free to disagree, but I stand firm in saying that these two are among the best and unique I’ve seen come out of each studio. One is more critical, while the other is looser.

As to which one is my personal favorite, I’m torn. I’m leaning towards Logan, with its jaw-dropping performances from Hugh Jackman, Sir Patrick Stewart and Dafne Keen as well as the pure grit and honesty that went into it, but the more I think about it, the more I can’t help but smile when I think about how well those scenes between Yondu and Rocket (also, GIVE IT UP FOR MICHEAL ROOKER, Y’ALL. Best damn Mary Poppins I EVER did see), or how devious Ego was that FINALLY GAVE ME ONE GREAT FANTASTIC FOUR VILLAIN ON THE BIG SCREEN, or the eye-watering visuals….so I dunno. The jury is still out at the moment. But I’ll tell you what…they were both better than Iron Fist.

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