#the little details really enhance this story greatly

[ramblingguy54]

What gets me most about the delivery of, “Maybe there is someone small there that needs my help…”, is the underlying heartbroken manner Roz says it.

Roz absolutely doesn’t regret adopting Brightbill. What she DOES regret doing though is inadvertently deeply hurting her child by keeping the tragedy that brought them together a secret.

It’s slowly clicking for her at this point how deeply fond she’s grown toward him. That natural maternal aspect has become apart of Roz and it’s never going away, no matter what she tries to tell herself.

What I found really touching, yet profoundly sad, is the other line she says to Brightbill’s refusal on accepting her help to fly.

“Your life is not negotiable. If you are willing to do this, you can fly away. And we can both go to where we belong.”

This line portrays where Roz’s priorities truly lie in intentions. She isn’t doing this in the hopes of earning his forgiveness. She isn’t going to scold him for rejecting her as his mother, either. All Roz really wants is for Brightbill to be happy and find his place to fit in. Even if he no longer sees her as his mother. That really hits me hard on rewatches of this movie.

Roz’s completely selfless act of motherhood in helping him to fly in time for the migration is so inspiringly uplifting and heartbreaking all at once. Roz believes she has hurt her son too much to deserve a second chance, yet is still willing to put aside how she feels deep down to help him achieve his goal.

It adds onto why the migration scene is a brilliant work of show don’t tell between Roz & Brightbill’s dynamic. They realize how much they need each other, but are too afraid to openly approach it understandably after what had happened between them. Believing this to be the last time they’ll ever see each other again.

God, this movie has so many loving details.

"Maybe there is someone small there that needs my help..."

This is such a throwaway line but it says SO MUCH. 😭 We saw how Roz first responded to the concept of motherhood. She's not programmed for it. The child stalks her and slows her down. She is damaged and her warranty voided by taking on this task. She's literally lost pieces of herself.

She was just moments before this told that she was defective because of this.

But it doesn't matter. Raising Brightbill has changed her forever. I have heard from my and other mothers that that is very much the norm once you have kids. She believes she has ruined everything, but I don't for a second believe that she regrets taking him in.

It's a part of who she is now, and she loves it. It gives her purpose. She doesn't want to part ways with Brightbill, but in this moment, she's trying to make peace with the fact that she may not have a choice. Even if she has to part ways with Brightbill, she doesn't want to let go of that part of herself. She's still a mother. She always will be. Maybe there's someone small there that needs my help...

[stillwill76]

Alright, I know April’s almost over but as it is still Autism Acceptance Month, I wanted to talk a little about it. Just wanted to share what being autistic is like for me and some of my special interests.

I was diagnosed with ASD and ADHD when I was 8 years old. Back then, I was technically diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome but that was merged into ASD in 2011 so I’ll just refer to it as ASD. Anyway, I didn’t really know what that meant until I was seventeen and actually did some research. Learning that a bunch of my behaviors and certain feelings I had were actually because I was autistic was…. I don’t know, relieving? Things started to make more sense. Before this point, all I knew was that I didn’t understand social cues and I was very specific about what I liked and disliked. It did not help that I was also on ADHD medication that exacerbated the negative parts of autism. Since that day, I’ve learned so much more about myself and I learn new things about autism everyday. I’m not angry or upset that I’m autistic. I was (and still kinda am) mad at the people who didn’t explain it to me properly when I was younger but that’s beside the point. I’ve learned to accept it and I’m a lot happier because of it. I don’t need people to be aware of me. I just need people to accept me.

Okay, that was a lot. Hmm. Anyway, SPECIAL INTERESTS, LET’S GO!!!! 😃

My primary special interests are manga, anime, and video games. And within those special interests are even MORE special interests. For example, some of the manga I have a huge interest in include Bleach, One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist and Jujutsu Kaisen. There’s a lot more but there are too many list. On the flip side, the anime I like differs slightly. I don’t always like anime adaptations of manga I like. For example, I really don’t care for either the Bleach or One Piece adaptations (Bleach TYBW is the exception). There are certain scenes from each that I really enjoy watching and they both have great soundtracks and great voice acting in both the original Japanese and the english dubs, but weird choices that differ from the source material and huge pacing issues make them hard for me to watch. On the other hand, there are certain adaptations that I prefer to the source material, such as Demon Slayer or Mob Psycho 100. These two in particular take the original material and enhance it greatly. What’s more, there are certain series where I really like both the original manga and the anime (Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen to name a couple). Also, I love original anime, like Space Dandy, Oddtaxi, Gurren Lagaan, Appare Ranman, and Vivy: Flourite Eyes Song. It’s really cool to see original content in a medium that is primarily adaptations.

Starting a new paragraph for video games. This might be my big special interest. RPGs, Metroidvanias, platformers, action games, puzzle games, party games, etc. I really love video games. Favorite series include but are not limited too: Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, Pokémon, and Xenoblade Chronicles. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a big Nintendo person. If I had to pick a genre, I’d say RPGs are my favorite, whether they are turned based or action oriented. My top three favorite games of all time are Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Kingdom Hearts II. Favorite Pokémon generation is three though Scarlet is my current favorite game. I could go on about how I love different combat and level up systems in different games, how I love that the sidequests in the Xenoblade games add to the worldbuilding and give them so much depth, how I love watching videos analyzing background lore in games like Hollow Knight or Breath of the Wild or videos going into detail about how dark series like Kirby or Splatoon are, or how even though the story is insanely stupid I adore Kingdom Hearts for how sincere it is. But I feel like this has gone a bit longer than I originally intended.

Anyway, a couple of notes really quick about Autism Acceptance Month and autism in general:

Don’t support Autism Speaks. They are a hate group focused on trying to “cure” autism.

Don’t use the puzzle piece when talking about autism. It is ableist. Use either the gold infinity symbol for autism or the rainbow infinity symbol for neurodiversity.

Vaccinations don’t cause autism. Whoever came up with that can burn in hell.

I think that’s everything. If whoever is reading this is autistic, I hope you had a great Autism Acceptance Month.

[sirichandanal]

Restaurant Interior Design

Within the stiff hospitality of the present, the interior design of a restaurant may define its character and general dining experience. It should already portray an impression if customers enter, so the ambiance should represent what the restaurant stands for as well as what it offers-cuisine. Being a professional Restaurant Interior Designer, Interiorwalaa knows how to create a dining environment that is not only attractive in appearance but also comforting, highly functional, and memorable.

Key Restaurant Interior Design Elements

Theme and Concept: After all, every restaurant has a story to share. Whether you have a simple café or a luxurious dining location, the design of the interiors must bring across the theme and concept of the restaurant. A rustic theme would be reflected by wooden furniture, warm lighting, and earth-toned walls; a contemporary theme would mean sleek furniture, modern art, and bold colors.

Space Planning: Optimum use of space without compromising comfort is an integral part of designing restaurant interiors. The patterns of sit-down and the pathways of the waitstaff are all really well managed to create fluid movement. All these little or big spaces are masterfully changed into effective layouts that meet the convenience needs of customers and efficiency of employees.

Lightings: Actually, lighting makes the mood evoked by a restaurant really real. Soft ambient lights create a background for very relaxed dining experiences and bright lights typically send forth an active feel. A restaurant interior designer who is an expert, such as Interiorwalaa, particularly pays attention to light so it harmonizes in association with the atmosphere of a place and heightens feelings about dining.

Furniture and Décor: One of the most important things in creating a style is furniture and décor. Whether or not a place takes the older furniture or modern minimalist style, Interiorwalaa helps restaurant owners choose the kind of furniture that meets their brand. Adding those decorative elements - artwork, greenery, and table settings - further develops the ambiance.

Acoustics: A good restaurant may satisfy your eyes and mouth, but what is satisfying for the ears too? Well-designed restaurants ensure there isn't too much background noise when diners are talking to each other. Interiorwalaa would incorporate sound management solutions to result in the perfect dining atmosphere.

Why Interiorwalaa for Your Restaurant Interior Designer?

It goes without saying for Interiorwalaa that restaurant interior design has a larger role to play not only in aesthetics but also customer retention and revenue. As creative experienced designers, the group at Interiorwalaa work with restaurant owners through conceptualization to actualization, so every detail comes aligned with the brand's identity when interior designing restaurants. Creativity, functionality, and customer satisfaction is what Interiorwalaa has remained committed to in designing restaurants that stand out in the dynamic food scene of Bangalore.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a Restaurant Interior Designer?

A Restaurant Interior Designer offers beautiful, functional, and value-enhancing spaces that maximize the concept or brand owned by the restaurant, improving the quality of the customer's dining experience.

2. How long does the restaurant interior design process take?

This duration of the timeline depends upon the scope and scale of the project; on average, design and implementation could take from a few weeks to a number of months.

3. Why is lighting so important in restaurant design?

Lighting creates the ambience and the atmosphere for a restaurant; thus, it can greatly influence how customers perceive the space. Successful lighting design can make a restaurant all the more warm and inviting.

4. How do I select the right furniture for my restaurant? 

The right furniture needs to complement the theme of your restaurant as well as be solid enough to withstand the passage of time for daily activities. The right Restaurant Interior Designer will direct you in making the best judgment in terms of style, material, and comfortability.

Conclusion

At Interiorwalaa, we believe that great restaurant interior design is the recipe for the ultimate dining experience. Creating a room with creativity, functionality, and meticulous attention to detail is our recipe for creating a beautiful, yet excellent venue for dining. Do you need the professional Expert Restaurant Interior Designer? Then check no further than Interiorwalaa, where designs will captivate your customers and keep them coming back.

[thefandomjournalist]

American La Rhonde: A Critical Review from a not professional

A few weeks ago on October 14th at the Nevada Conservatory Theatre at UNLV I saw their production of American La Ronde by Steven Dietz. I saw the 7pm showing at the Black Box Theatre in the Alta Ham Fine Arts building. I was able to buy a ticket for about 15$ at the nearby Box Office.

The production’s intent was to show how human’s primal instincts affect our relationships and the ties we have. It is meant to primarily explore adult sexual relationships in the modern contemporary world with a touch of humor and drama. This was incredibly evident and intelligently achieved. Despite this, I went into the play with low expectations. Not for the reasons you might think, it being a college production and all. But when I read the description, and it absolutely did not suit my tastes, I felt it would be a slog to get through. I was very wrong. It ended up being an interesting, gripping, uncomfortable at times, raw expression of emotion and love that felt like it was actually saying something. Helped by the simple but effective costume and set design, it’s a perfect play for any adult wanting to see a mature take on modern sexuality.

The plot revolves around following several characters in sequence. I am going to preface and say I won’t remember names because I am very bad with names. We see them in their separate relationships and learn how they connect. With different characters in every scene, there is a revolving door of relationships and conflict. This method of showcasing the story serves really well to highlight the individual relationships and how they interact with each other. Every scene changes location, characters, timing, and props although they are all meant to happen one after the other. There is no main antagonist, and no one central conflict, but rather a series of interconnected conflicts happening around our group of main characters. As such there is no central climax either, but rather the expected conclusion at the end of a circle. The finale is where the lessons and storylines converge, but do not crescendo.

The set, while minimal, was effective at evoking the proper mood of every scene and the overall tone of the play. The designer utilized boxes, chairs, tables, poles, and a single small stage along with changing props like pillows or books. Beyond items used the set was covered in circles, on the ground, hung from the ceiling, and even in the center stage. It was something I at first didn’t understand but soon came the realization that the story was meant to be seen like a circle. This was reinforced with the constant circular movement at the end of every scene. It doubled as a change of props and enhancing the theme. It is even seen in the smallest of details, a circlet bracelet that moves through the characters in every scene. It eventually makes its way back to the start, completing its circle. The Black Box Theatre is notoriously small and intended for smaller plays. It worked well for American La Ronde because its intimate sets enhanced the strength of the mood for individual scenes. Whether that was intended to be angry, sad, hopeful, sexy or otherwise, and combined with the lighting every scene felt raw and full of life. I greatly appreciate how the designer was able to utilize so little, likely on a smaller budget, to create a beautiful picture in the mind of the audience. The framing of the small space allowed you to be able to take more of the characters and their movements in.

Acting is usually the star of any great production. Baring some exceptions like the chandelier from The Phantom of the Opera or everything from Cats except the story and acting. But every actor in American La Ronde did an exceptional job. There were some standouts of course, but everyone contributed and did their part to tell the story of love and sexuality in the modern era. It was not something meant to be super realistic. Every emotion, reaction and motion was heightened and more intense. But what was most exciting to me as a writer myself was how every scene, the dialogue even led into the next scene and hinted at each other's conflicts. As a play with so many different characters, it gave the story and the actors a great sense of cohesion, knowing they were all in the same universe, same town, and same story. The acting felt connected, like the story was flowing through each of them. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was throughout the other stories there was a woman who I embarrassingly thought was a drag queen (because it was dark and I have bad vision) kept showing up and singing for what I thought was no reason. I was confused. Her acting served her well to show her as a character before we even saw her. Everyone of the actors did their best to stay in character even in transitional moments and scenes they weren’t meant to be in. It added to make each character feel alive. But it was in each scene where the actors got to shine. My favorites were the maid and the rich man’s daughters. They utilized the dialogue they were given and took them to their extremes. They weren’t afraid to be angry, scream, get in each other's faces. Or even to be serious, tone themselves down, and take it slow. They in particular showed remarkable depth and range of emotion. And it served to highlight the way the dialogue and the story rhymed. Like the film Star Wars, it rhymes, and comes back to itself like a circle.

This production was absolutely worth doing. As a young person in my twenties who grew up out of covid, lessons on relationships and sexuality were not something I got to learn. I’m still scared of them even. Plays like this are so important to allow people like me, or even older wised people, a refresh or look at this part of life. It absolutely achieved its goal of showcasing the world of contemporary sexuality politics and exploring adult relationships with an emphasis on the dramatic.

In one of the final scenes with the singer and Mr. Chambers, it felt like everything actually came back together. After seeing example after example of toxic, unhealthy or unhappy relationships, we got to see something surprisingly honest. Two adults who know what they want, and aren’t afraid to be honest with each other. I love this because it gives a sense of hope when the rest of the play is so bleak. On the other hand, the scene between the maid and the rich con, who are also my favorite characters, show the other side of the story. In their separate stories, we see how life is bleak. The maid fell in love, but then was left alone after a great tragedy. The rich son was born in privilege, and thus turned into a jerk who valued himself above all others. He’s a selfish liar and a bad person. We think he is getting away with a cheating scandal, but it’s really due to his own actions he ends up alone. He is left poor because of something beyond him, but it’s his fault he will have nothing. Life has consequences. For both good and bad people, things will happen no matter what you do. I would definitely recommend this play to anyone like myself. Young, lost, confused and unsure about sexuality. Or people who just love small, intimate, intense plays. I experienced something that was raw and honest, full of devoted actors and attention to detail. I respect it for what it is and I admire what it was able to do with the resources it had. For all this and for its amazing story, I would recommend this to anyone. I had a wonderful time and would see something by this production team again.

[hillendlodge]

Here are some ideas to make your hotel experience better!

Each person has a different story to share about their stay at a hotel. Horror stories about hotels are common, and some of them are sadly real. Perhaps you chose a hotel primarily because of its pool, only to discover upon arrival that it was closed. On the other hand, it is possible that you were double-billed by a hotel. Although the hotel advertised to be at a handy location, it was really very far away and needed a lengthy walk. Over the last nearly 14 years, we have had the good fortune to travel extensively, which has enabled us to experience the hospitality of a wide range of exceptional hotels. We have compiled a brief collection of useful tips to help you make the most of your hotel visit. Make sure you fully understand what you've purchased. Typically, finding the hotel's listing is easy. Verifying a hotel's location quickly and effectively may be accomplished with the help of Google Maps. A good resource can be recent reviews of hotels. Staying at the 4 star hotel in hill end nsw, is a smart decision! If you would like to have a party, please remember to notify the hotel in advance. Upon prior notification to the hotel, visitors celebrating an anniversary or honeymoon may be entitled to special incentives during their stay, such as room upgrades. If the hotel has already made reservations for other guests, there's a risk they won't be able to upgrade your accommodation even if you notify them in advance. Nevertheless, they will do their hardest to abide by your request. It is advisable to make a phone call in advance and provide the front desk the necessary details so they are prepared for your celebration. Could you please help me find the best deal available? It pays to do a fast Google search for a discount code, even if you're not that enthused about saving money. This will increase your chances of obtaining the greatest deal. When we arrive at a hotel and discover there is a "No Vacancy" sign, we might sometimes feel disappointed as travelers. Calm down; there may still be rooms available at the hotel. It's critical to locate the best hotel in hill end nsw. There may be occasions when a room is marked as "booked" due to repair concerns. Despite any minor problems, you may be able to acquire a room at a discounted rate if you are kind to the hotel staff. Please get going. Developing Kindness Customer service personnel may encounter a number of challenges while interacting with problematic customers. Would you please elaborate on the nature of your question? Are you prepared to provide a helping hand to someone who could have had a difficult day and inadvertently come off as obnoxious or patronizing? Could you please clarify your response? It is possible that the receptionist will not be available. It's important to remember that front desk employees at hotels have a lot of authority. Being polite to the front desk staff might mean that you were offered a room with a quiet air conditioner and fully working curtains. They could also provide you extras at no cost. Here, choose the top hotel in Hill End, New South Wales, can be a wise move. Being kind to other people is really important. It costs nothing to invest! Being kind and kind to the front desk workers may greatly improve your whole stay experience. If the hotel staff supports you, you have a better chance of receiving an improved room, a more flexible checkout time, and other little favors that might enhance your stay. Even if they are unable to assist you, you have nonetheless managed to brighten someone's day. It has significant financial value as well. If you want to show your appreciation for the wonderful service, you could consider leaving a substantial twenty-dollar tip. Conclusion It is not shocking that workers at hotels, especially those with room service, have among of the lowest median salaries in the country. By leaving the housekeeper a gratuity each night, you can ensure that you will get first-rate service and a clean room for the rest of your visit.

[zenixromeave]

GARROTH SKIN REVIEW YIPPEE! 🎉 (MCD season 1)

masked (original)

Can’t blame Jess for how poorly this cross motif fits into the eventual lore, since it didn’t exist yet and she didn’t make this skin herself, it was another one that was just part of the mod. Other than that, it’s pretty nice looking and certainly gave him an iconic theme & design. I personally have some very mixed feelings on the crusader imagery present: on one hand, it brings in some unpleasant history which can sully the image of what’s meant to be a very likable character and otherwise bring up unpleasantness, but equally it does evoke strong, iconic imagery and draws on religious and historical iconography that the audience will already be familiar with, which does provide him with a strong, recognizable presence and gives the audience an automatic understanding of some aspects of who he is. The black cross on his chest probably should have been a little lighter so it could have been shaded, and the gold pieces are pretty ugly, but since the skin is mostly monochromatic, I have no complaints for the majority of the colors and shading. I’m only noticing it now, but the texture on the sides of his legs doesn’t match up with that of the front at all, which is... certainly an odd choice. He looks nice though, overall. 

( P.S. In CustomNPCs mod (not Minecraft Comes Alive, like I previously thought?), this skin was titled White_knight. Couldn’t they have picked a better name? u_u )

-

masked (rebirth!!)

It’s cute that his mask emotes, but otherwise... hm. Not a huge fan.

The color of the gold is a lot better, that’s nice to see (sure took her a while.../lh), but otherwise this is just the same skin but overdone. I was really excited at first by the prospect of Rebirth as a rewrite and redesign, but realizing most of the characters just looked exactly the same but more highly rendered was disappointing, for me personally, at least. The colors in this one are actually a lot less pleasing to me, since there’s a lot more of this very light grey which wasn’t present in the original, and the shading is highly lacking despite it being a more “high quality” rendering.

And while it is cute that his mask emotes, it doesn’t match the style of the show very well, in my opinion. Garroth is generally a pretty serious and stoic character, which is greatly enhanced by the fact that no one can see his face or read his expressions. Additionally, it’s a little overly cartoonish, especially for, again, a character with a generally serious demeanor.

It is cute though, I can definitely see why the team would choose to make him more expressive this way, since lack of personality and expression can certainly be a character design flaw, rather than enhancement.

The small amount of skin showing under his helmet also lends itself to poor character design, in his specific case. Originally, the audience has absolutely no idea what this character will look like underneath his helmet, and while it’s a small detail, showing his skin still detracts from that suspense and mystery a notable amount.

Finally, there he is, still wearing a cross in a world where Jesus Christ does not exist (at least, there sure hasn’t been mention of a Minecraft Jesus,) and where he, along with most others, follow a religion with a different representative symbol. It’s a nice enough idea that the cross is specifically the crest of the Ro’meave family or O’khasis, but then it makes even less sense for him to be wearing it, as he’s keeping his identity a secret.

What a downgrade, to be honest! Rewriting a story with a more clear vision of where it will go should provide one with the ability to enhance character designs and make them fit the world they come from better, yet when given this chance, Jessica didn’t do a single thing to make his character design make more sense within her fictional world, and instead decided just to render every piece of chain on his chain mail.

-

face reveal!!!

I’m blinded by affection for him. I can’t properly review this because when I look at his little face I want to explode into a million little pieces. He’s so cute. Little guy. I want to squish him and knead him like dough and

-

tuxedo

Yeah, that’s historically inaccurate for sure. Whatever, I guess. It looks nice enough.

-

that other armor?

I want to dribble him like a basketball & put him in a blender & throw him &

This armor is a fun change from the original, and it adds a lot to his character knowing that back in O’khasis he had designed his own armor and that it’s considered some of the best of the best. However, he is still wearing that damn cross.

I have yet to mention his sword. It’s one of the least tacky of the swords in MCD. Even though it’s definitely just supposed to be a cool fantasy sword without any particular bearing on reality, its silhouette does actually have potential both as a fantasy weapon and a more realistic one. Though it certainly isn’t exact, his blade does bear more than a passing resemblance to the Indonesian keris/kris sword, a wavy bladed weapon with spiritual and practical associations and which is historically a sign of status. These were also considered individual works of art, with each sword being highly detailed and decorated.

While it isn’t necessary, I think details like this are worthy of note and interesting to look over. I think the keris is quite a fitting blade for him.

-

Jury of Nine transformation

Well, this is basically just his first armor again but without the white cape thing, but if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it! The darker colors clearly signify to the audience that he’s become more villainous and his muted skin, eyes and hair give the impression that he isn’t quite himself. It’s a little bit cliche, but there’s nothing really wrong with it. He looks good!

[rainy-day-coffee]

hi... how about head cannons about the dorm leaders with a magical girl mc from either the puella magi magica madoka, magical girl site, magical girl raising project or princess tutu universe please?

I'll be doing Magical Girl Raising Project for this one! I’ll be using the abilities found in the anime since I’m not creative enough to think of any myself. The personalities of the characters themselves have nothing to do with the abilities I chose, they’re their own person! This is written as platonic! I hope this is alright!

As an extra note, this was a really interesting topic to write about. I enjoyed it! I actually just binge watched this anime for this request! It was quite good, I might pick up the light novels!

Warning: Mild mentions of gore; spoilers for Magical Girl Raising Project(?)

Dorm leaders reacting to a Magical Girl Mc

A new game has been released! Customize your own Magical Girl and work hard to defeat monsters!

Granted a 1-in-10,000 chance to be a real-life Magical Girl, the unfortunate souls who agree to the contract are unknowingly pulled into a world of bloodshed. All Magical Girls are expected to collect Magical candies through acts of helpfulness. Whomever is at the bottom of the ranking list by the end of the week is greeted by death. That is, if they can even make it that far.

Magic: Swimming through objects as if they were water - the objects do not affect the user as they pass through them.

He’s never heard of an ability quite like yours! It isn’t teleportation--it’s literally going through objects, ignoring any kind of barrier. It sounds impossible. Understandably, he doesn’t believe you until you show him.

Please refrain from popping out of random places in an attempt to scare him. He doesn’t want to be on edge everyday, the stress he has now is more than enough.

He’s curious about the whole situation. Just how and why did these “people” wrap you (and others) into such a terrible contract? How is it possible to grant these special abilities onto otherwise magicless people? Unfortunately, you most likely don’t have answers for those questions.

Sadly, Riddle doesn’t know of a way to help you out of this. The library may have some information, but the chances are slim nonetheless. He can offer assistance in candy collecting instead!

Something always seems to be going on at his dorm, it would help him greatly if you were to keep an eye on everything and everyone. He knows it isn’t much, but every little bit counts. You have his full support.

Magic: Entering the dreams of others - the ability to pass through the Dream World, granting access to the dreams of those who are currently sleeping.

He’s extremely annoyed. He doesn’t understand what’s happening. He’s only seen you a couple times before, so why do you seem to plague all of his dreams?

In his dreams, you move so vividly and in-character, it baffles him. Dream versions of people can be accurate, but never to such an extent each time. He’ll confront you about it soon enough. He has no evidence of what you’re doing, however vivid memories of dream-you push him to demand answers anyways.

Highly uncomfortable to know his dreams, his usual safe place, can be invaded by a person. He demands that you stop. You can go bother someone else, he doesn’t need that kind of help. If he sees you in there one more time, he may have to resort to other methods to get you to stop.

In regards to earning candies, unless you ask him specifically for help, there isn’t much he can do. You can always help Ruggie out with chores around Savanaclaw and you’ll be set. It’s a good deal for both sides, you can earn some candies and Leona can finally sleep comfortably again.

He finds the system you’re stuck in deplorable. Unfortunately, he can’t get you out of it, but if you ever need extra help he can always have Ruggie find one or two ways to get you those extra candies you need.

Magic: Hearing the thoughts of those in need - with enough training, the user can pinpoint the location of a person. Additionally, they can hear thoughts apart from cries for help.

Your special magic interests him greatly. He already has a good pool of information of all the students, but being able to hear their most inner thoughts is something truly amazing. No amount of research could easily give him those kinds of details.

He has the twins watch over you for a bit, gathering as much information as they can about your situation and what you go about doing.

Given the circumstances, he doubts he can rob this ability of yours through a contract. This does however present an amazing opportunity.

This could blossom into a wonderful partnership. You need to collect candies, and he’s always willing to accept requests from those “poor” souls who need help. By helping him, you can meet your quota! The rules never did mention what kind of help you were limited to offer after all.

He pities you, nothing can be done about your situation at the moment. You can rest assured though, you’ll never be at the bottom of the leaderboard with him around!

When time allows it, Floyd and Jade will be busy poking their noses where they don’t belong. The mascot that appears when you’re around seems to come from that phone you use. If they can see it, then that means these beings have made a mistake somehow. Is it possible to find a way to free you from this through that?

Magic: Transforming into any biologically living being - the size and shape of the creature do not matter, anything is fair game.

When he first discovers your special magic, he’ll be amazed! Transformation magic isn’t exactly easy, so being able to turn into whatever creature you want sounds like a lot of fun!

He’ll be begging you to turn into a wide variety of animals. Can you please turn into a tiger? How about an elephant? Maybe an alpaca? This could go on for hours if you don’t stop him.

Upon learning the darker side of the Magical Girl world, he starts to cry. He knows the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but this is too cruel. You didn’t know you would suffer this way. They should have at least given you all the information beforehand. Better yet, they shouldn’t be doing something so awful in the first place.

Because he finds it hard to keep secrets from Jamil, he ends up telling him about you. He then needs to convince Jamil that you aren’t trying to get him killed.

He goes around asking if people need help. He wants to do everything he can to ensure you survive. Money can’t get you out of this game, he’s tried to use it but that mascot that follows you around always refuses it.

Kalim doesn’t want you to die. Just thinking about it makes his head spin and worry bubble. It wouldn’t be his fault if you died in the first place, but the guilt would consume him entirely.

Magic: Freely manipulating sound - the user can generate sound from anywhere and even recreate the voices of others. As an added result of this ability, the user has enhanced hearing.

Vil won’t forgive you if you decide to mimic Epel’s voice so he can escape. He may be evading his lessons for now, but Vil will find a way to drill them into him later on.

He never would have thought such a thing was possible. This terrible fate you’ve had forced onto you makes no sense. The beautiful power you’ve been given is nothing compared to the price. He doesn’t blame you, he blames whatever is doing this. 

If such a game exists in the world of Twisted Wonderland, he’ll use his influence to dissuade people from playing. Vil will do this behind the scenes of course, his public image has to remain intact.

He actively requests your assistance. For example, helping his dorm improve their instrument playing--your impressive hearing can detect small mistakes they need to work on. Apart from this, he regrettably can’t offer more help.

Hone your abilities and work with what you have. He knows you can prevail. Please take care of yourself as you move forward.

Magic: Receiving one futuristic tool a day - the ability to randomly pick one useful tool out of 444,444,444. The tool breaks down and is no longer of use after a day passes.

He’s in awe. A real life Magical Girl! To think they could really exist outside of anime! Just what kind of world did you come from? Forget living in a world where magic is common, Magical Girls are on a different level entirely! Curiosity gnaws at him, but given how shy he is he won’t approach you with questions himself. Ortho is more than happy to ask any questions for him in his place though!

Once he finds out you’re one of those Magical Girls, he feels a tad sympathetic. You really got the short end of the stick in life didn’t you? He knew the possibility was there, that trope is not uncommon, but a small piece of him wished it wasn’t the case.

He supposes your special magic can be compared to gacha luck. You never really know what you’re going to get. Unfortunately, in your case you can’t even calculate rates for good rolls.

If you’re willing to let him, he’ll happily take apart the tools and gadgets you get from your daily pull. One of those future items should help him create even better machines than he can now! And even they can’t, disassembling and reassembling objects he’s never seen is a thrill in and of itself

If you happen to hear a small tip from Ortho or someone else about an issue occurring around campus, it may or may not have been Idia. He has eyes all around the school, spotting problems is quite easy.

He’ll be rooting for you from the sidelines. You’re a protagonist in this story, he hopes you can make it through to the end.

Magic: Extreme regeneration - being able to recover from any wound so long as a portion of the user’s body is left.

Mortified when he finds your body all mangled and bruised after a rough “accident.” Malleus is ready to destroy whoever or whatever did this to you. He cares about you greatly, the very thought of seeing you in such a state makes his stomach churn and pure rage wash over him.

Once you explain your situation, he can grasp enough to understand the major gist of it. He doesn’t quite know what a “Magical Girl” is but obviously it isn’t something good. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in such a terrible situation.

To know that you can take care of yourself in the face of danger, makes him relieved. Although he doesn’t like the idea of you getting hurt at all, a healing ability is always wonderful to possess.

While you earn candies, Malleus will be working on a way to free you.

Even if these beings who granted you this ability are “all-powerful,” his magical capabilities are among the top in all the world. Perhaps, he can start by politely asking for answers from the leader of this group. If that seems to fail, killing off that mascot seems like a good place to start instead.

[translationandbetrayals]

A review on Hyouka and why it's so great

Hyouka is easily among the best products that the renowned Kyoto Animation anime studio have worked on.

Hyouka is a character driven slice-of-life anime that uses seemingly mundane mysteries as a means to move the plot forward as the characters interact and develop. The anime is an adaptation of the original source novel series, specifically the first 4 volumes of it.

The story follows Houtarou Oreki, a teenager who prefers to be laid back and save his energy, or so he says, and we get to experience his lazy view of things. At the start of the story, he gets a letter from his older sister who wants him to join a certain school club so that it won't be abolished, and once he visits the club he finds out that Eru Chitanda has already joined the club, but despite his obligation to his sister being fulfilled (as the club now has at least 1 member), he finds himself feeling entangled by Chitanda and ends up joining the club anyway.

Throughout the story he is exposed to both good and bad things about having a rose-colored life through the mysteries the main cast interacts with. Seeing his clubmates having fun makes him feel restless, but the negative feelings from having been burned in the past by his desire to have fun and put energy into what he wants to do lead him to hold back, after all it's safer to not get involved too much so he won't hurt. The story arcs bring seemingly mundane mysteries that drive the plot and slowly make him feel like he wants a brighter life.

Among other elements that I think make this anime great, I could list many:

- The rest of the main cast are compelling and interesting. Each of them has a distinctive personality and design, and they also develop as the pronagonist does. The characters are realistic and have a life-like feel to them, as they experience complex feelings like frustration, resignation, envy and longing that fuel their development and improve their depth. The progress in their relationships is gradual but satisfying.

- The art and animation are really well done. I could list many scenes where this stands out, but as an example there's this scene at the start where Oreki is trapped by his clubmate and co-lead Chitanda's hair as if it were vines, to show how he's captivated by her and how he feels that he can't escape or refuse. The use of colors and saturation greatly enhance certain scenes. Visually this anime is satisfying.

- The soundtrack never misses the mark. The soundtrack is always on point, ranging from bright, well known classical music pieces to dark, eerie and intriguing pieces that enhance the sense of suspense.

-The undertones of other genres like psychological or romance are not necessarily too pronounced, but are present to different degrees of subtlety, and they're enjoyable nonetheless.

- The usage of visual cues and symbolism are outstanding. There is a lot of thought put into this adaptation, as there's a clear attention to detail we can see from hints that are shown regarding the mysteries to the body language and demeanor of the characters.

While on the topic of how detailed and well crafted this story is, I'd like to highlight a particular portion of the story, which is the contrast between the first and last episodes of the anime. I find this very telling how much Oreki and Chitanda have grown closer throughout the story.

At the start, Oreki has a monologue about living a dull life, and at this time he sees Chitanda as someone who lives a rose-colored life because she's always bright, energetic and curious. Oreki initially makes little effort to try and help her and doesn't want to do much, but by the end of the story it only takes Chitanda telling him that she needs his help for him to accept her request, even though it goes completely against how we've heard he wants to live life, clear evidence of character development.

Having said this, in the last episode we come to understand it's the other way around than how it was at the start: one could say Oreki has started to want to live a rose-colored life, or has already been living one for a while (thanks to Chitanda in particular), and what's constrasting and polarizing is that we realize (through her own monologue) that Chitanda is the one who's been actually living a dull life, as she is anchored down by her family and its traditions and she feels like her path is set in stone. It's important that we start the story with Oreki's monologue and end with Chitanda's, and we come to realize the development of these characters. This is very well thought-out by the author as it's not only contrasting, but also symmetrical.

Not just that, but in the final scene we see Oreki and Chitanda walking together as Oreki is holding a bycicle, which also contrasts with how in previous episodes it was Chitanda who would be holding a bycicle while Oreki walked beside her. The bicycle is one example of what I previously mentioned: symbolism. It symbolizes freedom and possibilities: at the start it was Oreki who had a grey outlook on life and he saw the bright Chitanda through his own lens, therefore we're shown Chitanda holding the bike, the freedom.

As Chitanda has this monologue (which is already evidence of how close they've become throughout the story), it is her that is tied down while Oreki has the freedom symbolized by the bike he's holding. Moreover, in the scene, Oreki is on the side of the frame that has crops growing while Chitanda is on the side that shows wilted trees and the river. This is a great example of symbolism: the paddy fields represent the possibilities for Oreki's life, the bike is freedom to go places and make choices, while for Chitanda the dead trees represent stillness, boredom and a lack of options, while the river is a metaphor for how her life moves forward in a set direction and only leads to one destination. I find this marvelous, and it's just one example in this series that is handled with passion and care.

Felipe Arenas.

[skitzo-kero]

🖊🖊!

!!!! Two pens, I shall grace thee with two ocs!! Because this is probably gonna get long I'll put it under the cut!

This is going to include my favorite girlboss ocs Chrys and Khalki!

Chrys Warnings: Mention of murder, emotional manipulation (supernatural ability), mentions of child neglect. All non-descript

Khalki Warnings: Slavery, attempted drowning, drug mention. All non-descript

So starting with Chrys! She has come a long way from being an uwu cat girl chimera fullmetal alchemist oc to being part of her own story (which doesn't have a name yet, RIP).

She is called a Reborn, someone who's died/almost died, and their soul fought so drastically to be returned to life, that when a spirit comes to take their heavy traumas and pasts from their body, they take the spirit and return to life with new funky powers!

Chrys (gave up her surname a loooooong time ago), has one near-death experience when she was a child (car accident) and later as a teen she did die for a short period of time (psychosis break during school, resulting in police shootout). She returned to life and became a serial killer and blood analyst.

Her abilities make her akin to the charming/charisma based vampires. She can manipulate the emotional state of others in a situation (mainly towards herself). If she consumes blood, this ability is enhanced.

This ability formed due to the spirit attached to her, and therefore is a manifestation of the trauma she endured during her life. Mainly neglect from her father and then her foster homes, she felt like she was never good enough and just wanted people to not be mad at her. Her near-death trauma is why blood enhances her abilities, because she's already a close friend of death.

When it comes to her personality, Chrys tends to be boisterous and snarky extrovert. She likes to keep conversations light (sometimes bordering on flirtatious, but that's just how she converses, if someone is uncomfortable she will make an effort to cut back) and prefers to have others talk about themselves than to talk about her own life.

As an example!! In an rp @multi-lefaiye and I did with her and their oc Sam, Sam was hitchhiking and Chrys casually picked him up. She got talking and was trying to cheer Sam up since he was really going through it at the time. She bonded with him over the trip, mainly because she saw a lot of herself in Sam, but she did almost... uh... off him. She was heading to bury a body and made Sam do all the work </3. They're heading off now to kill Sam's parents <3.

Khalki!!! My girl!!! Okay so there's a few iterations of Khalki! There's her og DnD 5e iteration, the modern iteration (with powers), and the Arcana iteration!!

Starting with the dnd version. Khalki, otherwise known as Captain Free, had previously been a slave on a drow airship. She freed herself and found her own crew, becoming a captain in her own right and naming herself after an aspect of life she values greatly. Freedom.

Haven't worked out all the details for this version, but she's partnered to Multi's character Adeli!! They're very cute, I'm soft for this ship (this was the main ship we had going on around the time we got together). This actually goes for all iterations! They're aren't allowed to be separated <3

The Arcana iteration had a similar start though, because of pirate superstition about women on ships, they decided to throw her overboard, tied to an anchor, as they had been in a storm so bad that crew were falling overboard.

Khalki survives due to making a deal with the Death spirit card, her eyes getting a fiery pentagram in them and her tongue splitting. Her magic primarily revolves around warmth and fire!

She eventually finds a little bit of a friendship in Julian and Portia (mainly Portia) due to pirate shenanigans, this leads her to Asra's shop one day and she meets Adeli <33333 Having no current work, Khalki asks to just be a guard or bouncer of sorts, or even to just help get supplies in from the docks.

Usually when I do writeblr prompts I do a lot of Adeli and Khalki because soft fluff mixed with pining angst.

Modern Khalki!! So she's essentially a growing demon! Her family gave her up after seeing the start of her horns and tail and she actually lives out of her car. Her primary source of income is selling drugs, but she has standards on who she sells to. She happens to meet Adeli when going into a new corner store for some snacks and thought Adeli was so cute that she had to keep coming back. Eventually, Khalki becomes an employee as well and man, this iteration has so much more pining <3333

Oh!! But her powers revolve around fire and draconic-devil imagery!! It's all fire related, starting off with fire manipulation and eventually being able to create fire herself. As she becomes less human, she also gets physical enhancements!!

[a-deadly-serenade]

so here are some of my favorites ive watched over these past 2 months :) i’ll even add little summaries too because why not!!

Going in Style (2017), stars morgan freeman, michael cane and alan arkin as 3 lifelong best friends that plan an elaborate heist to steal from the bank thats screwing over their pensions. super funny super charming, i had an absolute blast watching this.

The Kindness of Strangers (2019), is a more independent film, with its most notable stars being bill nighy and jay baruchel (he voiced hiccup!). however, the star of the show is zoe kazan who plays a mother who takes it upon herself to protect her two sons from their father’s systematic abuse and heads to new york city to try and make a new start. its raw and i think an amazing piece that shows the hardships domestic violence victims deal with, but, as the title suggests, it also shows the beauty of kindness and human connection. fantastic film but, i’d one i’d recommend u double-check to make sure youre personally ok to watch :)

Cloudburst (2011), is a Canadian film, starring Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker as an elderly lesbian couple that go on a roadtrip up to Nova Scotia to get married. super funny film, brenda fricker is hilarious!!! and their relationship is so natural and soso sweet. 

Catch and Release (2006), has an absolutely stacked cast you got jennifer gardner as the leading lady, timothy olyphant, juliette lewis, & even fiona shaw. it followers garner’s character dealing with the death of her late fiancee and the secrets she uncovers after moving in with his 2 best friends. its got a couple low-hanging jokes but, it was a romcom made in 2006. other than that, its really a fun movie. i mean u get olyphant as the cocky, yet sappy loverboy. what more could u want ?

Hellboy (2004), has another stacked cast but, imma be honest, the only reason i decided to watch this and its sequel, was because they were both directed by guillermo del toro. but!! man. do you guys remember when comic book movies used to be FUN?!? this movie is so fun!! the plot is crazy you’ve got this elite fleet of immortal russians (??) that used to work for the NAZIS trying so summon these eldritch monsters and start the apocalypse and in order to do that, they need to capture hellboy. AND IT RULES. this movie is allll practical effect work and allll makeup work and its soososososo sexy. everyone learn from senor toro. see? this is how a movie should look! anyways. ron perlman is hilarious and a fantastic lead, rupert evans is great as the little human sidekick, selma blair is a badass and doug jones is AWESOME. love u abe 💙 the sequel isnt bad, i just dont think the plot is as strong, however, definitely worth checking out if u enjoy the first one.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017), i hesitated a little to put this one on the list, because i believe the viewing experience is greatly enhanced by seeing the original 1982 film, since technically this IS its sequel. however, the original was. ok? the effects and atmosphere are fantastic, ridley scott never disappoints, but it did tend to drag a bit in my opinion, the last 15 or so minutes in particular. ANYways. 2049 is strong enough to stand on its own, so i’ll leave it up to you to decide if you want to watch the og. with its own fantastic mix of practical vs computer effects, great cast and solid story, you follow k on his mission to track down a miracle that was once thought to be impossible. super solid movie and the attention to detail to keep the feel of the world on par with the og is very impressive. 

[rebellionbeach]

So I’d like to get a little personal and talk about why I believe Junjou Romantica had stayed with me for as long as it has so far.

Now, knowing me I usually have an interest in something that slowly fades away in say a span of 4-6 weeks.  These range greatly from video games to certain TV shows but the main point it that I rarely am totally invested into something.  I think having that solid sense of community and having something that I’ll enjoy no matter what is something that I’ve always wanted in my life.  There was a time in my life in fact where I felt like I never am or did enough, especially looking at the people around me.  Trust me, there are definitely times where I still feel that way but the feeling has slowly died out, partially because I’m growing older and learned to stop comparing myself and maybe just partially because of this, Junjou Romantica.

It sounds absolutely stupid to me still but I’ve slowly come to realize what a clutch this series can be for me.  If you didn’t know, I’m actually really new compared to many other fans, joining really exactly a year ago.  It was exactly a year ago as well when I first went into lockdown.  Being in lockdown for me was definitely a roller coaster of emotions.  Now, I absolutely am fortunate to have never had my financial or living situations compromised and I’m forever grateful to my family for that however the emotional toil throughout the journey is undeniable.  I think for many people looking back, 2020 felt like a defining year of how the rest of this decade was going to go, in misery and anguish.  I definitely had some of the darkest days of my life during that time period but if there was anything that got me out of it and made me laugh it was definitely JR/SIH.  

Reading this stupid series first ironically; ordering the first 24 volumes (i know still ironically) I thought “oh this will be a laugh, can’t wait to read this shitshow”  However I recall the moment when I stopped seeing it that way and it wasn’t actually through reading the manga itself but by reading a fanfiction.  The fanfiction in question was called Tears of Grief and OH BOY it is exactly what you think it is.  So yeah, it was depressing and I expected that but what I didn’t expect was to be reduced to sobs, weeping out for characters that I barely knew yet felt like I did.  I think it was due in part to how the writer structured that story, having honestly the most smooth ending I’ve ever read to any piece of writing.  They were able to perfectly capture every nuance to the characters and bring them to life through this story of loss yet new beginnings.  

After reading that story I honestly thought to myself, “well, if someone is going to write fanfictions like this then theres got to be something” and I think I found that something.  I won’t lie, Junjou Romantica is definitely not one of the greatest stories I’ve ever read objectively.  However, I think through reading that story I was able to incorporate certain elements from their writing into Nakamura’s actual story to enhance my reading experience.  Certain details such as the suit Misaki wore at Usami’s celebration in season 2 now struck a nerve deep inside my heart and left an even bigger impression on me.  That fanfic gave me leeway to look directly at this series with, albeit, rose-tinted eye glasses and see something worth while, something I haven’t given up yet.

I sunk myself further and further into the story, reading every fanfic that popped up on the Archives, notable stories that pop out are things such as Webcam Secrets and Edible Arrangements (it’s funny lol).  Then I figured out that there’s a whole ecosystem on Tumblr and I started interacting with it, appreciating the series even more through everyone’s opinions and art pieces.  

But I often find myself feeling isolated in many situations from many communities that I try to involve myself into, not wanting to sink too deep as often my own enjoyment decreases.  Have I felt that way with JR, maybe a little, but that feeling usually dissipates.  I think it’s quite important to enjoy something for yourself without anyone around and at the end of the day if I ever pull up a JR chapter I still feel every stinging emotion that I’ve felt the first time I’ve read it.

How long will I keep this up, not too sure.  I have other interests for sure as some of you may have already known.  However even if I lose interest in JR I’ll never forget the feelings that this series has allowed me to felt and in the end that’s what it’s all about.

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Pokemon Heroes

The best of the Pokemon movies are the ones that actually have something to say. Beyond the greatly improved animation quality and the grand scale of the stories, what sets the movies from the TV show is their willingness to use the concept of Pokemon themselves to explore big ideas and distill complex emotional drama down to a level that kids can connect with. Mewtwo Strikes Back was practically Baby’s First Philosophy Class, tackling nature vs nurture and the existential terror of being through a cloned psychic cat going on a rampage. Spell of the Unown used a literal living alphabet to tell a tale about the paralyzing nature of grief, and how we can’t disconnect from the world even when it hurts us. At their best, the Pokemon movies aren’t just entertaining, but also meaningful. Pokemon Heroes doesn’t really fall into that camp, though. It doesn’t have a powerful theme it’s exploring, no real big ideas beyond telling an episodic adventure on a grand scale. What it does have, thankfully, is masterful attention to detail. This isn’t the best Pokemon movie, but it’s definitely one of the best thought out, and that makes it more than entertaining enough to make up for its relative lack of depth.

The story takes place in the island city of Altomare, which is very obviously inspired by Venice with its Renaissance architecture and canal streets. Ash and his friends are having a nice, fun vacation in this wonderful tourist spot, but little do they know, they’re about to be roped into yet more earthshaking events. You see, this city’s patron “gods,” as it were, are the legendary Pokemon Latios and Latais, brother and sister flying beasts who saved Altomare long ago by creatings its canal system. It’s said they keep watch over the city to this day, waiting for when their power is needed to save everyone all over again. And trouble comes knocking in the form of Annie and Oakley, an elite duo of Team Rocket agents. They’re here to track down Latais and Latios, capture them, and steal the sacred jewel that protects the city’s canals. Soon enough, Ash and Pikachu are caught up in this mess, and it’s a race against the clock to stop Annie and Oakley before their greed ends up destroying the town... and the Pokemon protecting it.

Like I said, not the most creative plot in the world. There’s good Pokemon, bad Pokemon thieves, and a suitably apocalyptic fate in store should the bad folks get their way. You can predict where this movie’s going pretty easily, and there’s nothing in the way of deeper meaning to enhance the drama and make it feel personal or specific. It also shortchanges a lot of the main cast; Misty, Brock, and Team Rocket basically do nothing but sit on the sidelines all movie and pop in every once in a while to remind the audience they exist, never really interacting with the rest of the cast. So why is it still entertaining? Because it feels like the writing and animation teams went over the entire script with a fine-toothed comb, and at every step of the way they asked themselves, “What’s the most interesting way we could handle this moment?” It’s like they took all the creativity out of the main plot and spread it all around the entire rest of the movie, delivering on a series of moments and bite-sized ideas that crackle with wit and imagination even while the plot fails to connect. I couldn’t give less of a shit about the story, but I wanted to keep watching just to see what unique, imaginative thing would pop up next.

And that’s always been the core of Pokemon’s appeal, hasn’t it? More than story or battles or any of the characters (well, expect Team Rocket), Pokemon’s strength as an anime has been in exploring all the unique little corners of the Pokemon world, showing us all the neat concepts and enjoyable diversions it can come up with. And Pokemon Heroes is the most direct translation of that ethos to the movie side of things yet. We’ve got a fantastic location in the city of Altomare itself, which is positively bursting with character and history. We’ve got some of the best-characterized non-speaking Pokemon yet in Latios and Latias, both of whom have very unique interactions with each other and the human cast. We’ve got some very enjoyable villains in Annie and Oakley, all the prickly banter of our favorite trio of losers with the skills to actually pose a legitimate threat. And I appreciate that this movie is willing to let things play out wordlessly on occasion. There’s an artsy prologue detailing the foundation of Altomare that goes by with zero dialogue or narration, just letting the visuals communicate the story. And Latias and Latois themselves have a couple of conversations that aren’t translated into humanspeak for us: we can just understand what they’re saying through tone and body language. It’s got a surprising amount of trust in its audience, considering it’s, well, a Pokemon movie. Plus, the animation is still as impressive as ever, and this movie probably has the best CG integration of any Pokemon movie up until this point. There are some great tracking shots that make use of CG backgrounds for dynamic camera effects, and the 2D elements composite onto them so seamlessly you rarely notice anything out of place. Considering this movie’s from 2002, that’s really impressive stuff.

And it’s that kind of effort that makes Pokemon Heroes a worthwhile watch. it’s nowhere near the best Pokemon movie, but it’s sure as hell fun, and it’s clear the creators really cared about making it the best version of itself it could be. For that, I give it a score of:

6.5/10

And that really is the end of Pokemon for now. Thank you all for sticking with me, and I’ll see you next time when we start Legend of the Galactic Heroes!

[mountainsluna]

love spell

pairing: witch!wooyoung + witch!reader (as best friends)

mentions of wooyoung x seonghwa

genre: humor/supernatural

word count: 1.5k

✩ [author’s note] this is a witch/witchcraft au, i just wanna say that it is fiction and is not meant to depict the actual witchcraft community’s work! (me being apart of the community as well!) this was just written for fun so i hope you all enjoy it :) your feedback is greatly appreciated, i really want to turn this into a series so expect more stories soon!

✩ masterlist

✩ requests : check bio or masterlist ♡

This was your typical Friday night, you were sitting on your bedroom floor across from Wooyoung. Candles lit in a circle surrounding you both. Glasses of red wine on either side of you as you placed your hands on top of one another’s, eyes closed as you focused on your energies.

You two had begun meditating together like this a little after you met, realizing you could feel the other's energy a lot more clearly through it. It helped you understand each other better and it brought you closer as friends and as your two person coven.

It had been about 20 minutes of silence when you began to feel a bubbly rush through your body coming from Wooyoung, it felt sweet but you couldn’t pinpoint what emotion it was. After another minute or so you felt Wooyoung's hands lifting away from yours. You peeked through one eye to see Wooyoung levitated about a foot or two from the ground, a soft smile on his lips, legs still crossed, eyes still closed.

Ahh. He did that when he was in love. Or at least, when he thought he was.

"Uhm...Woo?" You said softly causing the boy to open his eyes, bringing to his attention the position he was in.

"Ugh...not again." Rolling his eyes in annoyance at himself as he slowly settled back onto the pillow he was sitting on.

You snorted in response, as you lifted your wine to your lips taking a small sip before gesturing to him. "Soooo?" you said awaiting his response.

Wooyoung let out a sigh as he placed his hands on the floor behind him, holding himself up.

"So....I met a boy the other day..."

You cocked an eyebrow at him expectantly.

"At the grocery store..."

"Woo..."

"No but you should've seen the way he bagged my groceries, he even asked about my dog and oh my god was he gorgeous!"

You laughed at his words, swirling the red liquid in your glass. "Wooyoung you know you were deadass buying dog food, right?"

"Yeah and?? How many cute bagger boys ask you about your dog when you go buy dog food?" Lifting his eyebrow playfully, taking a big sip from his glass.

You rolled your eyes, leaning back on your hand, taking another sip. "So he was that cute huh?"

"Y/n I swear, if you saw him you'd drop your boyfriend in a second."

"Oh please, with the demon of a boyfriend I have, I've never looked twice at anyone since I met San."

Wooyoung rolled his eyes, setting down his glass as he moved closer to you. "So anyways! He ended up walking me to my car because bags are so heavy” he winked “And we may have exchanged numbers."

Your mouth fell open in shock, Wooyoung never made moves on the boys he met so this was a first. You knew now you just had to meet this grocery boy.

“Wow Wooyoung I’m proud of you! So, I’m assuming you got his name?”

“Yes, it’s Seonghwa.” His eyes practically sparkled as he said it. “Like how pretty is that? He says it means ‘to be a star’ but I think it means to be my soulmate.”

You scoffed at his lame joke, “Well lucky for you, that’s all we need.” Extinguishing the candles with the snap of your finger before walking over to your wardrobe where you kept all your witchcraft supplies. You flicked your wrist, opening your spell book, your hand hovering above it as you closed your eyes to focus, the pages began whipping until stopping on the exact spell you were looking for. A love spell.

“What do you think?” You asked, lifting the book for Wooyoung to see. 

“Ehhh...I don’t wanna force it, maybe just speed it up a bit.”

“Hmm...” you contemplated, flipping through a couple of pages with the flick of your finger. “Okay I found one that isn’t too dangerous, it’ll just enhance his true feelings a bit.” You began gathering supplies in a large bowl, setting everything down at your altar, your book following behind you. It settled in your lap as Wooyoung joined, sitting across from you.

You and Wooyoung closed your eyes as a circle of pure white light slowly began to form around you both. Once it was complete, you began setting out the supplies. Placing two pink candles in front of you, Wooyoung grabbing one and hovering his hand over it, the letters PARK SEONGHWA engraving itself onto the side. Repeating the motion on the second candle engraving his own name, JUNG WOOYOUNG.

You sprinkled rose petals around the candles and placed a small bowl of brightly twinkling moon water in front of you.

You motioned at your deck of tarot cards, the lovers and nine of cups cards shooting out into your hand as you placed the first one between the two candles. You handed the nine of cups card to Wooyoung, “Jung Wooyoung, your wish?”

“I wish to know Seonghwa’s true feelings for me.” The card levitated in his hand, before settling itself next the lovers card. You closed your eyes, holding out your hands, palm up in front of you, Wooyoung following your lead as he listened to you speak.

“Winds of the east and mind, bring Seonghwa’s thoughts to us.” A soft breeze forming around you as it blew through yours and Wooyoung’s hair.

“Fires of the south and passion, bring Seonghwa's true feelings to light.” The flames of the lit candles burning bigger and brighter than before.

“Waters of their hearts, help them find each other.” You poured some rose water into the moon water now swirling inside the bowl.

“Forces of the earth, bring their bodies together in good spirits.”

“and free will.” Wooyoung chimed.

You smiled, picking some rose petals from the ones you had sprinkled around and released them into the bowl of moon water. “and free will.“ you added, the addition of the petals causing the water to glow bright pink, a smoke of the same color now rising from the top.

“As I will it, so shall it be.” You clapped your hands after your final words, as the candles blew out. An abundance of pink smoke now enveloping the area around you two sending you both into a coughing fit as you inhaled it in. “Okay maybe we used a littleee too many rose petals.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Wooyoung’s eyes shot open at the sound of his phone ringing. The sound causing you to jump a bit in your seat before smiling at the boy who was already scrambling to his feet to retrieve his phone. The bright circle of light dissipating as he stepped away.

"Oh hey! What a surprise I wasn't expecting a call from you!" His phone hovering above his palm as he placed it on speaker for you to hear.

"Y...yeah I usually don't make calls at all but I just got this overwhelming urge to hear your voice again." You walked over to Wooyoung who had the biggest smile on his face, his mouth slightly open in shock.

"Oh I see...Well I have to admit it's nice hearing your voice again as well."

"Uhm so I was wondering if it's not too weird, if you'd let me take you on a date tomorrow night? We can grab dinner and see a movie afterwards."

You jumped with Wooyoung silently, holding in your squeals so the boy on the other line wouldn't hear. He took a deep breath fanning himself before he replied. "No no its not weird at all! I'd love to go out with you tomorrow night."

"Oh that's great, I'll text you the details...Once I figure them out. I can't wait to see you again." The poor boy really hadn't thought anything through before he called.

Wooyoung nearly passed out at his words. "I can't wait to see you either. Thanks for calling, Seonghwa."

Wooyoung hung up the phone as he threw himself onto the bed unable to contain his happiness. "Oh my god could you tell I was nervous? Did I sound nervous?" He asked, sitting up to talk to you.

"What does it matter? You have a date tomorrow night!" You poked at his side, genuinely excited for your best friend.

"I can't believe the spell worked so quick though, it was instant!"

"Either we're getting better or his feelings for you were just that strong." You said, smirking at the black haired boy before walking back to your altar to clean up.

"Or maybe it was all those rose petals." He mumbled teasingly, earning a glare from you.

"Now come help me clean up before I make you show up to your date with actual cat ears and a tail!" You said as you picked up the remnants of your spell.

Wooyoung rolled his eyes before snapping his fingers, the mess in your hands vanishing in smoke. "Okay that's done now help me pick out an outfit!...Unless you really think he'll like the cat ears and tail."

[opalosprey]

Higurashi/Umineko Thoughts Pt. 1: Onikakushi

I read through both Higurashi and Umineko over the past few months, and I wanted to write about my thoughts on both of them; things that I enjoyed, things I didn’t enjoy, and things one did better than the other. Originally I was going to just have everything in one big post, but as I was writing, it became apparent that I’m probably going to need to do separate posts for each chapter (or maybe 2 chapters per post for some?). This is the first time I’ve really done anything like this, so it might be a bit all over the place. Don’t expect anything too insightful, lol. Hopefully I’ll be able to improve and better articulate my thoughts as I go through each chapter.

I used the 07th Expansion mod for both Higurashi and Umineko, so I had the PS3 sprites and voice acting, which I felt definitely enhanced the experience (don’t settle for the awful steam version sprites). Major spoilers for both stories will be included in these posts, so don’t read them if you ever plan on reading/watching either story and haven’t done so yet. I definitely recommend reading the VNs, even if you’ve watched the anime adaptations already.

As a disclaimer, I did watch the anime adaptations of both Higurashi and Umineko about a decade ago, back when I was in early high school (that sucks to type out). As a result, I knew about a decent number of the twists that happen in Higurashi and a couple in the first half of Umineko. The main things I remembered were that the timeline resets after things go badly for everyone, Rika and Hanyuu remember what happened, and Takano is the Big Bad at the end. While this seems like it would kind of ruin the experience, the fact is that I thoroughly enjoyed my read through Higurashi. I knew a lot of the twists, but I forgot nearly all the context surrounding those twists, along with the specific stories that happen within each chapter, and the very important details of what was actually causing all of these tragedies. I knew Takano was the main antagonist, but forgot how and why she did what she did, along with not remembering the existence of Hinamizawa Syndrome. As for Umineko, my remembered knowledge was significantly less, and barely affected how I felt about the story as I read it.

Now that all the disclaimer stuff is out of the way, on to my thoughts for:

-Onikakushi-

Onikakushi is probably my favorite chapter out of both Higurashi and Umineko. Part of this might stem from the nostalgia of having watched the anime back in high school, but I think the biggest reason is that this chapter is the most horror-aligned of the Higurashi chapters. While other chapters have some horrific things happen in them, this one has some scenes that still give me the chills, even on repeat readings. The lighthearted first half of the chapter might seem a bit long to some, but I think it’s an important section of the story that really endeared me to the main cast (again, nostalgia might have helped). Plus, the smattering of hints at the darker side of Hinamizawa that I didn’t remember really hooked me in. 

This is one area I feel Higurashi did a better job than Umineko. Both stories start out with a lighthearted, exposition heavy introduction in their first chapter, but I felt like Higurashi did a much better job of getting me attached to the characters and the setting than Umineko did. Umineko did have the disadvantage of having 18 characters to introduce in the first chapter, but even by then end of Umineko there were still characters I was less attached to than any of the characters in Higurashi after reading Onikakushi alone. The scene at the Watanagashi festival where everyone writes messages on Tomitake’s shirt for his punishment game was so heartwarming to me that I teared up while I was reading it. Hinamizawa as a setting also has the benefit of being a place that can feel both warm and friendly, but also isolated and creepy when things start to go south. It’s the type of place where you really could expect to run into some sort of supernatural entity, and you’d have very limited ways of calling for help if it wanted to harm you (especially since the story takes place in 1983, so people having cell phones wasn’t really a thing yet).

When it comes to the parts I enjoyed the most in Onikakushi, the scene with Rena at the door to Keiichi’s house is definitely iconic, but I think my favorite parts are the “chase” scene where Keiichi is running away from Rena and ends up wandering into the forest, and the phone booth scene at the very end of the chapter. Despite knowing the entire story and how Rena wasn’t actually trying to kill Keiichi, these two scenes still creep me out even now. During the “chase” scene, Rena’s voice actress’ delivery of the line “It’s not about believing or not… Oyashiro-sama ‘exists’, period.”, mixed with the close-up of her face and the background suddenly turning dark red, really hits all the right notes for me. Similarly, Keiichi’s voice actor gurgling and choking out his lines about something following him and that he believes in the curse now during the phone booth scene, combined with being placed in Ooishi’s perspective, also sends a chill up my spine whenever I hear it. Other highlights for me included the aforementioned scene with everyone writing on Tomitake’s shirt and the scene where Takano and Tomitake first tell Keiichi about the Curse of Oyashiro-sama.

Onikakushi isn’t without flaws though, and there are two that stick out most to me. The first is something that pops up a few times throughout the first couple chapters, that being the perverted conversations and situations that sometimes happen. For Onikakushi, it’s mostly limited to Mion’s comments about Keiichi that were censored in the PS3 version, along with the club activity punishment games that happen right before the Watanagashi festival (which I would have disliked much more if Keiichi had been the one to put those punishments in the drawing). It’s nothing too awful, but I don’t like perverted things, so it did bug me a bit. 

The second issue I had with Onikakushi in particular was, ironically, something that happened during one of my favorite scenes. During the “chase” scene, shortly after Rena delivers her line about Oyashiro-sama's existence, Keiichi has a flashback to the conversation he had with Ooishi the previous night on the phone. I wouldn’t mind an abbreviated flashback to highlight a specific important thing Ooishi said, but instead, the flashback plays the entire conversation out, and lasts for nearly 15 minutes. It really sucked the intensity out of the scene, and I feel like that particular section would be greatly improved by cutting out most or all of the flashback. This is probably one of the worst instances of a problem that happens throughout Higurashi, and why I feel that Umineko has a higher quality of writing overall (though I much prefer Higurashi’s story). There are a lot of times in Higurashi where characters will repeat themselves multiple times or talk themselves in circles, usually when someone is trying to think through something. To be fair, I’m guilty of doing that myself when I’m trying to think through something in my head, but it does lead to times where the writing feels a little repetitive, or in this case, breaks the flow of a scene.

All in all, despite it’s flaws, Onikakushi hits the sweet spot for me of being endearing, intriguing, mysterious, and creepy all at the same time. It has the type of horror I enjoy most, that being something that you can’t really tell if the cause it supernatural or not. I’m fine with a human or supernatural explanation to a horror story, but the uncertainty of which one is the truth really helps to pique my interest and keep me hooked. Umineko plays with this idea too in its own way, but I’ll get to that when I talk about Legend of the Golden Witch probably.

[oosteven-universe]

Vengeance of Vampirella #21

Vengeance of Vampirella #21 Dynamite Entertainment 2019 Written by Thomas Sniegoski Illustrated by Michael Sta. Maria Coloured by Omi Remalante Jr. Lettered by Troy Peteri    Mistress Nyx is no more, but the evil she was responsible for still infects the world. Vampirella wanders a wasteland on the verge of rebirth while searching for her own, lost humanity. Will she find it, or will she succumb to the darkness that still grips the world once ruled by Chaos?    There are only a handful of issues left in this series and that makes me sad.  Thomas has been telling one heck of a tale and while I know Nyx is dead and basically the big threat has ended so there’s little else to really explore but by golly I don’t want this to end anytime soon.  I’m really a big fan of Jeannine’s and what she adds to the story and how by travelling with Vampirella she could be the key in regaining her humanity.  She still might be we’ve got a few issues left for this to happen.  What really impresses me the most is the fact that Thomas manages to get us so invested, engaged and involved in this series to such a degree as I am here.    I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told.  The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceedingly well.  The character development we see through the dialogue and the way that they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter.  This continues to flesh these characters out as believable people.  The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more we become embroiled in the exploits.    How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen is really rather magnificent to see.  The layers are where we see the bulk of the characterisation, the plot twists and the events or occurrences that open up new avenues to be explored.  What all of these do is add such great depth, dimension and complexity to the story and it adds so much to what we see.  How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is greatly achieved.      Nyx really did a number on this world that now has humans and demons living in this near post apocalyptic world.  So the creativity and imagination that we see on display here is really extraordinary.  The linework is nice, clean and strong and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail in the work we see throughout the book does a phenomenal job bringing this to life.  That we see backgrounds used fairly often expands and enhances the moments while also working within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story.  The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling.  The colour work is gorgeous.  The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a brilliant eye for how colour works and how to apply it to create the maximum effect that it can have. ​    This is an exciting chapter of her long and storied life and while it may not necessarily be canon it is one of the most intriguing stories that we’ve seen.  Also that it is basically one long story, kind of like a soap opera and it’s been brilliantly handled.  There is some beautiful storytelling going on here with strong writing, fascinating characterisation and strong beguiling interiors.

[miloscat]

[Review] Link’s Awakening (GBC/NS)

I finally got around to one of the few Zeldas I’d never played through properly. And it’s good!

Link’s Awakening has been on my list for a while. I even bought it on the 3DS Virtual Console. I ended up using my Raspberry Pi emulator though, so I could apply some nice quality of life fan patches: font improvement, removing intrusive text popups, etc. What got me to finally bite the bullet though was my friend kindly lending me his copy of the remake, so I decided to play them simultaneously, doing each phase and dungeon in the original then repeating it to closely compare the two.

As for the game, I’m very impressed. I grew up on the Oracle games, Capcom’s successors to LA, and while it’s a little simpler the world has so much charm and life to it. I think it also compares very favourably to its direct antecedent, A Link to the Past (which I always found awkward and bland), especially for a handheld game made initially on the sly. Koholint Island is a vibrant place, with lots of oddball characters including its village of talking animals and the guest cameos from other games, and the dungeons often have quirky ideas to them. The game also innovates with fun items like the Roc’s Feather that enables a jump, which helps in the occasional side-view segments (which are more fun than even when Zelda 2 based the whole game around them), and was the first to introduce a trading sequence.

The game’s story takes an unconventional tone of ambiguity, with the bosses taunting you as you question the ethical implications of your potentially destructive quest. The occasional eerie undertone is offset by the offbeat humour in the script, and your connection with the female lead Marin. In a memorable sequence she accompanies you across the island, following in your footsteps and occasionally commenting on locations (I also enjoyed the feeling of being accompanied by the other temporary followers, like the chain chomp, ghost, or flying chicken).

It’s really an accomplished game, only held back by the limitations of the system ie. only two buttons means lots of opening the menu to swap items, and things like this. So the remake then. It does go a long way to improving on these factors, with dedicated buttons for sword, shield, dash, and lift in addition to two item buttons; plus the enhanced warp system and greatly improved map with much more detail, waymarkers, a history of events, even marking collectibles you’ve found; and bigger screen areas means fewer transitions. It also adds a handy secret seashell detector, extra shells and heart pieces, and a rudimentary fairy bottle mechanic.

A headline feature of the remake (which by the way, stupidly does not have a distinct title) is the art style, where characters are styled to look toy-like, and a tilt-shift effect has been applied (too strongly if you ask me) to the edges of the screen. It’s a nice idea; I always love for a game to aim for a coherent and striking visual theme, but I can’t help missing the lovely pixel art of the Game Boy. Furthermore, I’m baffled by the poor performance of this remake,with stuttering and frame rate drops a common occurrence. I was also frustrated by the combination of mandatory analogue control and locked 8-directional movement, which felt very strange after A Link Between Worlds.

Apart from all of these highs and lows, I can’t help being ambivalent about the remake in the first place. It’s so painstakingly faithful to the original that it does little to justify its existence. I didn’t even mention the new dungeon-“designing”  with Dampé feature (actually just slotting existing rooms into a grid), because I found it tedious and unfun, plus it replaces the adorable mouse photographer, a crime in itself. I cannot in good conscience recommend paying the full Nintendo-tax $80 for the remake when the GBC version is just as good, and can be had for $9 on Virtual Console or substantially less if you’re emulation savvy. Either way, I’m very glad to have played this landmark title in the series: as far as I’m concerned, it’s the first really great Zelda game.