#they expected fanservice and i delivered

[flutt3rb4tz]

AREYOUDANGEROUS?

[rebelumbrella46]

Let’s just be honest—The Umbrella Academy was essentially cancelled after Season 3, but given the massive fandom, Netflix gave them the chance to wrap up the story with a final season. It’s similar to what happened with Shadowhunters—it was cancelled, but after the outcry from fans, they were given two more episodes to tie things up.

For me, the first two seasons were masterpieces. They truly became my comfort show and introduced me to my comfort characters. This might sound cheesy, but it’s true—when the first season aired, I was going through a rough time in my life, and I held on to this show like my life depended on it. Season 2 arrived amidst the pandemic, and it was a light in the darkness for me as well. Even with the massive success of Season 2, I think Netflix hesitated to greenlight another season. I remember waiting for an announcement, and it felt like it took forever.

Season 3 was filmed during the pandemic, and if I recall correctly, Netflix cut the budget for visual effects. So, the season didn’t quite live up to the expectations set by Season 2. Regardless of its flaws, I enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it more if the writing hadn’t been so sloppy and, at times, cheesy.

But this last season? It feels like fanservice—and not even good fanservice. For example, the Lila and Five thing? The enhanced powers? The Jennifer Incident? All of it fell flat. Klaus’s storyline this season was basically what I wanted to see in Season 3, but it was delivered too late and added nothing meaningful to the plot.

But was the main plot really supposed to be about Jennifer? Who cares about introducing a new character in the final season instead of focusing on saying goodbye to the beloved main characters?

The subplots were boring. Klaus’s storyline was fanservice, but it felt like they just threw us a bone to appease years of fans asking for Klaus to get his comic powers. And it was insulting. Ben and Jennifer in love? Unrealistic and boring. The train station? Who came up with that cheap idea? I thought it would be a place built by Reggie, but there was no explanation at all.

The apocalypse no longer feels exciting or even important. There’s no sense of urgency anymore.

The family dynamics—the strongest part of this show—felt odd and weak. Pairing Viktor with Reginald was boring. Lila and Diego’s drama? Nonsense. And what was the point of Claire? I thought she would be the main conflict of the season, with everyone banding together to save a character we’ve known since Season 1, who has emotional ties to every Umbrella.

And where were the villains? To make it as interesting as Seasons 1 and 2, you need a great antagonist. Like Hazel and Cha-Cha, The Handler, Reginald, or even an antihero like the Sparrows, Harlan, or the Commission. Why not make Abigail the greatest threat? Or bring back some of the former villains?

What about resolving old family drama, so that if the show’s end was going to be the family sacrificing themselves, they could all go in peace?

Instead, they didn’t address Allison’s betrayal at all. They created a huge rift between Five and Diego. Nothing for Klaus and Ben. No Umbrella Ben. No Sloane. Why is Lila even here anymore? Why didn’t she just ditch out like Ray and leave Diego with the kids to be a single dad? That would’ve made more sense coming from Lila than from Ray, to be honest.

For me, the writers, producers, and directors knew this show was cancelled, so they didn’t even try anymore. For me, the ending of season 3 was meant to be the ending of the show.

I watched Game of Thrones after it ended, so I didn’t experience the same level of rage, disappointment, and betrayal that fans felt. But now, I do.

[demonslayerunhinged]

Ohhhhhhkayyyyyyy.......

*claps hands*

time to lose some fucking followers

So I haven't posted in a while because I'm currently battling a cold and a sinus infection, so most of my time is spent slowly rotting away and fusing with my bed, but during this time I've had the chance to think about some things regarding this blog and the stuff I post.

When I created this blog I didn't expect the amount of follows, likes and reblogs I got and while I'm grateful that people like my work a side effect is that I'm starting to not just put pressure on myself to produce content but also to produce sanitized, censored and morally 'approved' content.

And by this, I mean not making posts and sharing opinions that I know some people would deem problematic, especially when I see the blurbs on the blogs that follow me like 'pro-shippers dni' and stuff. I unconsciously started to mold my thoughts, opinions and subsequently posts to the expectations and restrictions I placed on myself which meant that whenever I wanted to make a post I'd have all these questions banging around in my head 'like is this okay?', 'will people like it?', 'will I lose followers?', 'will people think I'm a pro-shipper?', and so on. These questions were especially loud when I posted the answer to that RenTan ask and when I posted the male fanservice series. I don't want that, I don't want to question and second-guess myself every time I want to make a post, I don't want to run my blog based on the approval of others.

This blog is my safe space, it's where I can voice my opinions, problematic or not. I like to look at things from an unbiased and objective point of view and just because I can see the basis of a 'problematic' ship or character doesn't mean I support pedophilia, domestic violence, abuse etc. etc. Even when it comes to characters, storylines and ships that I may not necessarily like because ultimately this is fiction, these are 2d characters born from someone's amazing imagination, so live and let live.

If you have a problem with this, my blog, and my posts, feel free to unfollow and block me. I appreciate your support for my past posts and I understand if you don't like my blog anymore but don't go on posting negative comments or 'ew' reblogs of my posts in a misguided, self-righteous attempt to prove to yourself that you're a 'good' person. I'll just delete them and block you.

I also won't be answering 'morality-fishing' asks, I don't have to prove my 'goodness' to anyone just to get them to follow and approve of my blog and content. As long as the ask is polite and genuine, I will answer to the best of my knowledge, giving both biased and unbiased opinions.

The #KnYFansAreFuckingStupid posts have been deleted because they're kinda mean-spirited and serve no purpose except to make myself feel like one of the 'smart' fans. I would rather make posts that debunk misinformation by providing as many links and resources as possible than condemn people who believe them because we've all gobbled and spread misinformation at some point or another. I will still condemn people who complain and say bad stuff about queer ships because fuck you.

In Conclusion, no more sanitized, censored or pandering posts. This is Demon Slayer Unhinged, not Demon Slayer Morality Reassurance or Demon Slayer Puritan and Sanitized. My goal is to try to deliver good, quality analyses and shitty memes.

And for those of you who still choose to read my shit. Thank you for trusting me with your time, your asks and your content. It means a lot to me. Thank you. 🩷🩷🩷

[babbelswoofominides]

Man this season, this season of Good Omens literally healed all the “traumas” left by previous tv shows: I hadn’t been this hyped for a series since Sherlock s3 and s4, and we all know how well that went, with those 2 seasons being subpar in quality and also kind of mocking towards the fandom.  But this GO season 2? This season delivered everything I could have ever wanted from a sequel so beautifully, even the angst is beautiful. This is imho how you do a show for the fans: you take risks, write a compelling story and love the source material and the expectations fans have and what they love, without caving to easy fanservice.  Also the actors clearly gave all they got and it shows, this is a season that you can see was loved by anyone who worked on it.

[syrena-del-mar]

People forget that actors don't owe anybody the knowledge of their sexuality. Whether that be lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, demisexual, asexual, or any other sexuality. That includes their dating history or who they're currently dating. Actors only owe the public one thing: that they do their job and that they do it well.

If that job consists of partaking in CP/ship culture, consume their media knowing that what they show you in public is curated for you as a fan. If they're dating someone who is not their partner, they're not cheating you; they're not making a mockery out of you or of queer relationships. With ship work, they're simply doing their job how their culture expects them to.

Ship work is not queerbaiting. Living, breathing humans do not queerbait. Queerbaiting comes from a marketing tactic for fictional entertainment work to ensure that they don't alienate their straight audience while also ensuring queer interest. You're consuming BLs and GLs, where the shows deliver in the promised relationships. If you're consuming BL/GL, you should know that fanservice generally follows.

Fanservice works because it's understood to be common practice. It's acting, an extension of whatever series they're promoting. Also, realize that fans often find themselves so invested in a couple that a hug or even a tiny brush of their hands will be considered 'evidence' of a relationship. Friends can flirt, 'lovingly' touch each other, and mess around without it meaning anything.

That's still not queerbaiting.

Because of how advanced technology has become, we have so much access to these actors/actresses. Accessibility does not equal entitlement to know how they identify. Claiming an individual is 'queerbaiting' only causes harm in the long term because you might unknowingly force someone to come out of the closet before they were ever ready to be. This only pushes media/reporters to continuously ask for information that isn't anyone's business to drum up engagement, potentially exploiting them for clicks. There's no need to inquire about their personal life, relationships, or sexuality.

But what if they take cryptic 'couple' photos with someone other than their work partner? Stop searching. Take their social media posts at face value. Stop trying to come up with some 'gotcha' moment, whether that be actually dating their work partner or some other individual. It's their personal life (curated, but still their life); you're overstepping, and if what you find out upsets you, then it's time to pull away.

It's really that simple.

Just because you buy into the fantasy a little too much and invest yourself in the pseudo-relationship does not mean the actors are queerbaiters. At the end of the day, fanservice is just that—a service provided for the fans. In other words, it's a job. Finding out that an actor/actress is dating someone of the opposite sex does not make them queerbaiters. (Also, realize that dating someone of the opposite sex does not signify that they're straight; whether they are or not, it's none of your business.)

If an actor/actress's personal relationships make you so mentally unwell because they're not with the onscreen partner, it just means you've genuinely detached yourself from reality. I mean this sincerely, if you're at this point, find help. Try to learn and understand more about why you're putting so much of yourself into a parasocial relationship. It's unhealthy for you to get so worked up that you feel sick because two coworkers aren't together.

If you find out that you're not a fan of CP work because you feel lied to or cheated, just don't consume it. Simply watch the show, look up their artist profile to see what other works they've been in, and log off. Don't follow them on social media, don't look up their fan meets, or watch video compilations that fans have made for shipping.

You're the master curator of your online consumption.

Curate it.

[lazerv4]

Thoughts on Fallout (TV)

Just my raw thoughts not a review or anything

Of all the game adaptations to come out I really wasn’t expecting this one to be good, let alone one of the best to ever do it but Fallout certainly pulled through and delivered an even better story than what Bethesda has been able to cook up for a while. 

Fallout as a show is a weird mix of a western and a dramedy all within the setting of the post post apocalypse (understanding this way more than the Bethesda games) with a catch it all set of Fallout relating things to keep it more setting appropriate like including The Brotherhood of Steel (which are a weird mix of the Interplay incompetent LARPers and the Bethesda deus vult guys) and a main character from all 3 settings you can come to be it a vault dweller like Lucy, a normal guy born in the wasteland like Maximus or even a Ghoul born before the bombs dropped.

The show mainly follows Ella Purnell’s Lucy as she goes through a weird mix of Fallout 3 and 4 plotlines and a few from the other games (the water chip gag was great fanservice) trying to rescue her kidnapped father from unknown assailants that break into her cherished Vault 33 which after leaving becomes the secret 4th aspect of the show with her brother Norm slowly uncovering the mystery of the connected Vaults 32 and 31. Our second lead role is taken by Maximus, a Brotherhood of Steel alumni who is dealing with the reality that the order is a bunch of stupid dipshits while also trying to find a place in the world. And then we have number three, the ghoul himself Cooper Howard who in a surprising twist also happens to be the original vault boy and a very regretful person regarding his actions in favor of vault tec but also one that can firmly put that behind him and just be a full on badass that takes great advantage of the perk system and v.a.t.s.

Not trying to just explain the plot it follows the 3 main characters as they unravel their own a plot that interweaves between them constantly while we have Norm solving the vault mystery as our b plot to keep some of the signature fucky Fallout vault tec mysteries as part of the plot. The show masterfully paces this ambitious structure in ways that are no easy feat for anyone. 

The show also makes great use of the IP with the only essential franchise thing missing being the Deathclaws which have been confirmed to be saved for Season 2 and synths but besides that everything else is here is an utilized in ways that make sense for the universe and the plot they are trying to tell without feeling like unnecessary fanservice or shoved in props to make the IP recognizable.

While writing a little less than I would have liked to, Fallout is a masterclass in adapting a game for television similar to the other Ella Purnell video game adaption, the show wasn’t without some controversy for the handling of some lore from Fallout 2 and New Vegas but honestly I don’t think it’s an issue and the show stands better for those choices that will eventually be tackled by a game, let’s just hope Bethesda is up to the task this time because the show has raised the bar so high that their previous efforts just won’t cut it anymore.

[self-indulgentmanic]

What is your favorite moment and your least favorite in the spirit hunter series?

Least favorite? Any ero scene from the game honestly. (Except Yashiki fanservice like in DM 2, they should keeo making more of that )

Favorite? The confrontation scene with the Urashima woman in NG, SO GOOD. I was absilutely blown away by how the devs managed to make the confrontation more interesting without having to make major changes to the core mechanics and it really set my expectations high for NG (and they always delivered each chapter) I wouldnt really call this a "favorite" but it definitely had an impact

(My actual favorite scenes are the Yashita crumbs 🤫)

[maple-rose]

I went to see Gundam SEED Freedom tonight.

I don't ever talk about it here, but before I fell into the Fire Emblem hole, Gundam SEED was my obsession throughout highschool and university (if you ever find my deviantART or livejournal account, uh.... the proof is all there, embarrassingly...).

Anyway I've been waiting for this movie for like 15 years. It's kinda surreal that it even exists, amidst rumors of it being cancelled and all.

I wore my Murrue cosplay jacket I made 15 years ago (it still kinda fits, lol), brought a Haro plush and a Lacus plush.

The movie itself, it was fun! Lots of fanservice (both in terms of people and mechs). The pacing felt too fast in the 1st half, and most of the new characters aren't very well developed but that's kinda expected given the run time. Other than that, as a long time fan, it was a good movie!

Also it looks really nice! SEED/Destiny always had inconsistency in art and animation so it's good to see more good animation.

Some specific thoughts under the cut (spoiler warning):

Mu x Murrue scenes! screams Have I mentioned they were my OTP throughout highschool and university? Mu cut his hair and it looks way better! The new ORB uniforms look good, though kinda wish to see Mu in casual outfits more

RIP Archangel T__T You went through and survived so much…

Mu said his line lol (actually 2 of them, Shinn called him an Ossan and he said he's not an Ossan (callback to same exchange with Dearka))

Kira's pinboard has some nostalgic photos on it! Including the shot of the Archangel crew from the 3rd Destiny ending <3

Lacus got so many new outfits! I'm not sure if I like her role in this but she is more interesting than in Destiny

I got new respect for Athrun now. I was hoping someone would slap Kira out of his slump and he delivered!

I actually like Shinn more now too, when he's not being an angsty teen and instead a simpleton kid/the comic relief

Kira.. I think this Kira is an improvement from Destiny at least; he was really boring in Destiny… so it's good to see some emotion and see him crack. But also be more honest with his feelings

New girl Agnes is Flay 2.0? but if Flay could actually pilot a mech?

I was expecting more new mechs (to sell kits), so I'm really surprised they brought back so many existing ones (even the Buster and Duel… but not Aegis)

Though when Freedom deployed and they played Meteor, it was very nostalgic! (Meteor is basically Freedom's theme song, it first played when Freedom was first shown SEED)

New songs by TMR, Nami Tamaki, and See-Saw (who broke up pretty much after Destiny ended, came back for another song)! Also some nostalgic BGM came back

The new antagonists aren't really redeemable or sympathetic, which is a shame 'cause that's one of the things I liked about SEED; but with the runtime I get it, they're supposed to be the "bad guys" so the main crew can come together

It's kinda funny how that guy keeps calling Kira a failure, 'cause Kira is literally the Ultimate Coordinator

Lacus's pilot suit is really funny. This is actually the first time she's been sexualized like that; usually she's the pure one

The final scene is.. what I expected from a SEED climax, but a lot more hammy lol. Power of love!

They did end up confirming AsuCaga, but funny thing is Athrun and Cagalli never actually talked to each other or were in the same room even.. Meyrin is the one with Athrun (not sure if I like her new hair...)

Who is that kid with Cagalli?? He called her "Nee-san". He looks like Mu... it can't be Mu's kid, he looks too old for that. Another clone of Mu's dad? Some new guy who happens to look alike?

I saw a lot more cameos than I thought I would. The whole Archangel crew, Miriallia and Sai, Erika (ORB's head of tech, the one who gave them all Gundams), Arthur (Minerva's 2nd in command guy), Andrew Waltfeld (why didn't he have a bigger role?! He was just shown in 1 passing shot). Even some dead people were shown in flashbacks. Actually I think the flashback at the end showed all the major characters who died.

[each-uisge-and-glashtyn]

so. obviously ur pfp is satoshi from dnangel. but who're your header picture?

Munakata Reishi and Fushimi Saruhiko from [K] Project! It's a like. Modern with powers show where this slate was uncovered in Germany during WW1 iirc that gave certain people who resonated with it various powers. There's 7 people who resonate The Best (within a certain radius) that become "Kings" of the 7 different color resonaces it gives, and Munakata is the Blue King. Fushimi works for him as part of the Blue clan, though he also has good resonance with Red and Green. Each color specializes differently/with different powers, and then you get random wildcard resonances with Strains. Blue clan's job is to keep that all under control and make sure no one gets too out of hand or destructive.

It's SUCH a pretty show, the animation and characters are all gorgeous. It's also got a lot of fun push and pull in the relationships between the characters, as well as the first season being a murder mystery! The sequel movie and second season turn into examining the consequences of the Slate's power, who "deserves" to have it, why is it important to people, and a LOT of character development in trying to answer those questions on a social and personal level.

Moon moon and Saru are my favorites, though I adore just about the entire cast. I won't say the show doesn't have fanservice, but it's practically never ~sexy~ fanservice, and mostly just funny and awkward (one of the characters thinks she's a cat. This causes wardrobe issues lmao). I think my favorite scene in the entire show is they animate one of the characters putting his hair up in a ponytail AND THEY ACTUALLY ANIMATE HIM TWISTING THE BAND AND PULLING HIS HAIR THROUGH A COUPLE TIMES AND THEN THE LITTLE SHAKE TO SETTLE IT. Porn, right there, as far as I'm concerned.

I am sure you probably expected this to devolve into me shouting about this show, and I hope I delivered lol ( ^-^)ノ∠※。.:*:・'°☆

[grimxark]

Ok. Part 3 earthspark was so incredibly disappointing. I feel so sad about it because it’s such a promising show.

I kind of ranted abt this to my friend for like an hour as soon as we finished watching but here’s some of my criticism which I may add on to. Or not

Warning for Earthspark s1 p3 spoilers and overall negativity. So sorry!

1. The writing of this part was sooo terrible. So many plotholes so much drama and so much cringe dialogue. I want to give it slack for being a children’s show but! There’s so much here that’s just senseless. I can excuse cringe dialogue but some of it is back to back to back. Like holy shit

2. Hate what they did to Karen. She was this malevolent evil that was being hinted and teased since part 1 and she amounted to literally nothing. She had no motives other than being racist, none that we know of. Maybe her parents died idfc but there are no real motives that she ever makes outright known. And she was being hinted to being this final boss type. Her death had no impact. It felt like a “oh look this is a child’s show turned dark”. Her death promised everything and it delivered nothing.

3. The last 3? Episodes where Twitch take charge feel apocalyptic and it was nice. Twitch and her older sister curse. The last one standing. The one bearing the weight of the family, having all that responsibility because wether you want it or not she is the older sister of the group. She watches everyone she loves simply disappear. She goes through so much trouble and so many plans and then thrash dies protecting her (which doesn’t make sense?? ill go onto this later). So, after she goes through all that trouble, the humans wake up and fix everything in the blink of an eye. and it undoes all this effort and character thrown into Twitch because she isnt the one who finds a way to fix it. it makes the last 3 episodes totally meaningless.

4. how would Thrash's body protect her from the blast. they were closest, and none of the others were protected the same way despite being in close proximity. why did the terrans even get affected by the blast? theyre not energon based. its like, the main plot of the show.

5. mandroid coming in and being like "interesting! for you ive been gone for a day, but under my calculations ive been gone… a year." was funny as hell. why a year?? why not one hundred. or at least fifty. as a lone human he would NOT have been able to convince the sharkticons in a year. and against the quintessons? and all those bodily changes? its so funny how stupidly underwhelming that time is.

6. Robbie's death was stupid. he does a green lantern oath and power up then still loses against megatron (bc its megatron) and then dies and gets revived. theres no shock, you know hell come back. i hoped everyone going "somethings wrong" meant we were going to get a "he died and came back wrong" ordeal but i guess i was expecting too much. also wasnt he dying in one episode. he said "its getting worse" and then he was fine

7. this entire part feels sooo odd to me with the inconsistencies, i wonder if the writers strike has anything to do with it. it almost feels so random. like on the same episode where robbie dies— why were they like "is that the real megatron?" while being scared as if they dont know megatron as a good guy. why would you be scared its the real megatron.

8. final fight felt so rushed. this whole part felt rushed. i wonder if there were budget cuts or if they used their whole budget on the first half of the season.

9. ill say it. maybe you don’t agree with me but. So much of it feels like fanservice. The starscream episode… why would Hashtag be the one to relate to Screamer? Mind control isn’t quite the same as constant abuse. And the entire episode relied a lot on watchers knowing what that relationship was like. In knowing what Starscream and Megatron are like. If you don’t know anything, it just feels odd. Even as a g1 inspired show, where Starscream and Megatron are awful to each other in damn near equal measures. It was a nice episode, I really enjoyed it, but there should’ve been more build up to that.

10. So many of the deleted scenes provide an extra feeling that was missing from the show. I’m really sad at how much potential this show has and how the entirety of parts 1 and 2 were amazing and built up so much and part 3 was just a huge let down with so many inconsistencies and questions left unanswered right after being brought up.

11.

[ac-liveblogs]

Lostbelt 7.2 - The ORT Experience

I have this real problem with Kinoko Nasu’s writing, and it’s that whenever he lets loose and gets real indulgent in his work it’s genuinely one of the best things I’ve ever read.

I had my reservations about some of the choices he made in 7.1, but oh man do they pay off here.

The plot of this Lostbelt is as follows; there’s a giant fuckoff scary alien spider that’s been sleeping in South America since the dinosaurs went extinct. This thing is so powerful humanity hasn’t even evolved to a point where they’re able to comprehend how strong it is but, again, luckily enough, it’s asleep.

So... the Alien God that wiped out humanity wants to fuse with it, our last remaining enemy on the Crypter side wants to wake it up and make it destroy the world, and we would very much like it to just... stay. Please.

With the Alien God rendered amnesiac and our tentative on-off ally, most of the chapter is spent trying to beat Daybit and Tezcatlipoca to ORT’s location in the 9th Underworld. Last chapter went into a lot of detail introducing the two species currently dominating the Lostbelt; the Deinos and the Ocelemoh, while this time we learn a lot more about how this Lostbelt came to be in the state it’s in.

This trip is a lot of fun, though I did admittedly drift off in Ixquic (our AU Archetype Earth, sorry Arcuied fans) and Da Vinci’s history lesson, and while Ereshkigal Alter’s inclusion felt like blatant fanservice that honestly missed for me (she’s by far the weakest of the Underworld Goddesses - most of her schtick was comic relief), Camazotz and Nitocris (Alter)’s subplot was genuinely moving.

Not sure what it is about Nasu, but he’s been knocking it out of the park with the monsterboys lately. Playable Camazotz when, he’s the only bitch I respect in this whole Lostbelt. Camazotz is the best BEAST we’ve seen since Goetia.

This isn’t to say that Tezcatlipoca, Tenochtitlan and Kukulkan dropped the ball in terms of their writing, though. Nasu made me care about all of them - I cried during Tenochtitlan’s last stand, got chills when Kukulkan resolved to fight ORT and Tez and Daybit are by far my favourite Crypter-Servant duo by a literal landslide, but their designs... god, the designs for these characters really do let them down.

Setting aside how shockingly white they all are, I have a lot of difficulty taking any of Kukulkan’s scenes seriously when her design keeps drawing me to look at her ass, and something went seriously wrong during every part of Tez’ design phase. His stage 3 looks seriously off, which sucks given how great his voice actor is, how good his animations are and how fun his rapport with Daybit is. Stage 1 gets off best by far.

I even kinda liked Ixcalli by the end of things.

I got a bit less from Daybit than I was expecting - he’s an OP badass and a fun rival to Ritsuka, but he was always a bit out of focus until their showdown in Tezcatlipoca’s afterlife. It’s actually during Daybit’s final showing that I felt I got to understand him the best, which is why I’m very glad his boyfriend partner is going to pull some strings and revive him as our ally later.

Tez just outright says he’s gonna do that. “Can’t recruit allies” smh Daybit, you seduced a neutral god so hard he’s bending reality and breaking the world in your favour.

It was also great getting some more context as to Wodime and Daybit’s motivations, though we’re obviously still missing the final pieces as to what Marisbury is actually up to. I’m excited for Ordeal Call. It’s filler, but I don’t care. It’s more main quest FGO. I love this game. It has its rough spots, but when it hits, it hits.    

Over at Team Chaldea, Nasu delivered some really strong interpersonal dynamics this time around. Kadoc is melding into the team wonderfully, Nemo is still growing as Best Rider (dude’s just got it all, y’know?), Gordolf continues to trend upwards in my heart and Mash made me cry twice over her friendships with dinosaurs. Sion and Habetrot are still the weak links here, honestly.

And then there’s Ritsuka.

He had a strong showing in Lostbelt 6 with Oberon, but Nasu has again raised the bar on this kid. Ritsuka was the hero of this Lostbelt in a big way - in a way, honestly, he’s never been before. We spent a LONG TIME fighting ORT, and almost all of that time Mash, Kadoc and Gordolf were reduced to supporting Ritsuka long enough for him to summon another Servant - another friend - and send them out for ORT to devour because there was literally nothing else they could do.

The fight against ORT is a draining, challenging slog. Watching my Servants get replaced with DATA LOST was an indescribably empty feeling. The sheer panic that I wasn’t going to make it. The genuine joy when another ally showed up to slow ORT down, even if only for a minute. It was a lot. The atmosphere in the ORT raids is wonderfully constructed, even if the raids themselves are painful in a bad way. (I guess that’s immersive story=gameplay integration for you)

And throughout it all, it’s made very clear that no matter how much Ritsuka is suffering, he is not going to stop fighting, and he’s going to keep a smile on his face the whole time. He is the only one that can.

Kadoc is yelling at you to take breaks. Mash refuses to leave you behind when you try to save her. Despite everything, we still get to have a comedic moment here or there, because Ritsuka wants his friends to keep hope. His good nature won him allies that helped us at the last second, that we would not have survived without. Ritsuka is a kind, selfless hero, and it’s been absolutely wonderful watching him grow from a bland self-insert to a very distinct character, separate from me, that I’ve come to care about very much.

This Lostbelt started with Ritsuka selling his Command Seals to Tezcatlipoca to save his friends’ lives, and it’s fitting that same selfless, dangerous compassion stays with him the entire time. I really care about Ritsuka. I’m going to be sad if he dies.

Also, ORT is TERRIFYING? goddamn like. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE ORT IN PANHUMAN HISTORY IS STRONGER-

Nasu is the kind of writer that... you can really tell when he’s enjoying himself, and that enjoyment becomes infectious. There were moments I laughed out loud, there were moments I got genuine chills, I cried sometimes. I cried over goddamn dinosaur soccer, man, it’s stupid but genuine.

When I think about a game like Genshin Impact, where it feels like the writers only deal with half the characters out of obligation and shortcut to the easiest way to resolve any given plot, it staggers me. Are any of the writers enthusiastic about their work? Did any of that enthusiasm survive HYV sanding off the edges to make things as marketable as possible? Is anyone really passionate about Genshin Impact for Genshin Impact? It doesn’t feel like it. It seriously doesn’t.

I’m a negative person and I’m often really critical about the media I consume. FGO is certainly not immune to that, but I always end up forgiving it’s missteps more than I do any other franchise’s - and that’s because when it hits it hits. Nasu’s writing really works for me. I always end up feeling really emotional about a chapter he’s written, even days afterwards, and that’s actually really rare for me. I’ll often like media, but very few works really resonate with me the way Nasu’s do.

I dunno. I listened to ORT’s theme music earlier and I got chills just thinking about the fight again. I can’t really say that about many other works I’ve experienced. With him, I don’t even care to theorise about what’s going to happen too much, because if he’s writing a chapter I know it’s gonna be insanely good, and I just have to wait.

I can’t wait to experience Lostbelt 6 again, and in two years time I’ll have a blast replaying this one. That’s about it, I think.

also, my fgo rareship is mash/ritsuka/kadoc. i’m not alone here, right? i think it’s really cute. kadoc is super growing on me and he had a cute rapport with mash in traum and i swear to god i think some of the dialogue choices with him are going to matter later and-

[illiaccrest]

I dont usually do "wrapped" or "year in review" stuff but this year was SO good for video games. It's not really a ranking but my favorite games this year were:

Atelier Ryza 3 - I love this series and Ryza was taken so seriously! Adorable and wholesome, this game focused on letting all the characters have their own arcs and didn't just push fanservice. Great game would reccomend!

Harvest Moon Winds of Anthos - I was shocked by how good this game ended up being. I know we all hate Natsume and expect them to make garbage games, but it really felt like they put a ton of love into this one. Playing it reminded me of playing older HM games and there was a good balance between the simple but strong plot, surprisingly fun exploration, and the farming and animal raising. Some people don't like that you can't buy seeds in bulk here but funny enough, I liked the bit of challenge that comes with having to gather your own seed. Really good pacing that left me with plenty to do after the story was done and my character was married. SoS has not been delivering in this department lately so I appreciated it.

Genshin Impact - Genshin has been so good this year. If you played 4.2 then you know what I mean. Not much to say here, I really enjoy Genshin and I'll continue to enjoy it.

Baldur's Gate 3 - What even needs to be said about BG3? It definitely deserves every award and accolade it recieved. Personally, it wasn't my favorite game this year but that's really only because as much as I think the game is objectively fantastic, I spent most of my playthrough thoroughly frustrated and it took me until nearly the end to really get the hang of things. I started a 2nd playthrough but I dread act 2 so much I'm not sure I'll ever finish it.

And finally, my favorite game of the year:

Fire Emblem Engage - I absolutely loved this game but who's surprised, I love Fire Emblem and this game was made for people who love Fire Emblem. Extremely fun gameplay, with both familiar mechanics like the weapon triangle returning, and new ones in the form of emblems, the game is a blast to play through and even now I find myself wanting to play it again. It also looks gorgeous and i really enjoyed the soundtrack. It helps that this game was released right around my birthday and features my favorite character of all time as a guest. 10/10 most enjoyable experience of the year.

[acourtofthought]

I don't have any patience anymore, I just want Sarah to finally confirm the ship so there isn't this need to prove someone who Gwynriel and Elucien makes sense. You also wouldn't have to see any stupid comment about how Gwynriel is made up.

Yeah you're probably gonna see "fanservice" comments because El/riels can't accept the possibilities outside that ship, but you can easily ignore those comments because fanservice or not, it won't change the fact that El/riel won't be endgame so those comments will only exist to reassure themselves somehow. They'll go through the 5 stages and the first stage is denial. It will die down because I refuse to believe that they'll scream about it forever. Maybe some will leave the fandom, some will contuine with El/riel fanfics (fanfics are mostly better than canon anyway) and some might like Gwynriel and Elucien if they decide to read the books. Perhaps a few will stay on the denial part.

I'm honestly more scared about Sjm screwing Elucien and Gwynriel up the way she did with Nessian..I don't know if she'll actually use that potential that they have because she literally wasted Nessian's potential.

There would be nothing more amusing than E/riels crying fanservice if E/riel isn't endgame considering SJM made Elucien Mates in Book 2. I truly don't care how much buildup they think E and A have had because it doesn't trump the fact that SJM told everyone that fate decided Elain and Lucien were Mates, the peak of fae romance. Sure, she could decide they're not going to end up together but if they do all she has to do is sit back, pull up text from book 2 that clearly states there was a real chance of Elain and Lucien ending up as endgame. I loved every TOG character / book SJM wrote and I've loved all the ACOTAR books as well until SF. I'm not sure if that's due to plot or the fact that Nesta and Cassian aren't my most favorite characters (I don't hate them or anything, I just wasn't as excited for their story). But because I'm still in favor of the majority of those books, I do think she'll do Elucien and Gwynriel justice. It's possible Nesta's story was simply too complicated to deliver what readers would have wanted for her. She was trying to break free of her mothers expectations of her, trying to resolve some really deep seeded feelings of self hatred and a past of lashing out at those who were just trying to help her, and come to terms with powers she stole and that she didn't even want anyway. To make Nesta's journey true to Nesta, I understand why she did what she did with her though it's unsatisfying for the reader because no one likes seeing their character have a somewhat anticlimactic ending, where she gives up most of her powers. But neither Elain or Gwyn are dealing with the issues that Nesta had so I'd like to think we won't see a repeat of what happened in SF.

[seoafin]

ummm.....how do you write stsg so well?????? that's pretty much how I see them in my head too, menaces by themselves, menaces when they're together, but also holding each other in check?? god I love their dynamic so much, really hoping the anime delivers on those extra scenes it promised

ME TOOOOO stsg is mappa's jjk money maker and they know it so im expecting FANSERVICE

[theskyexists]

gundam ep

The funny thing about Miorine is that she’s fanservice. she’s fanservice for ME and it isnt even entirely divorced from your regular shit fanservice. those see through tights whatever they’re called in english. BUT IT IS EFFECTIVE ON ME, ME!!!! because miorine is a whole person, stubborn, smart, passionate, and most of the girls just wear their normal gender-neutral uniform animated to look like normal regular unsexyfied human beings. SO THE SE THROUGH TIGHTS ARE ACTUALLY EFFECTIVE. THEY ARE A CONTRAST.

I LOVE HOW MIORINE HAS MANAGED TO FIND A WAY TO DUEL. SHE’S TRULY THE QUEEN WITH A KNIGHT AND SOLDIERS AT HER BECK AND CALL NOW

i already know that they are going to very effectively lift this conflict from ‘game’ to ‘battle’, from queen to commander

lololololol whatever her name is is protecting the honour of her 12th backup boyfriend.

her mother CRIES at her daughters being such an incredible team that Aerial can even push through a supressor (oh...she lost a husband to such technology of course...)

i do really like shaddiq, but he really thought he could beat the gundam with an ace team and suppressors? i mean that does make sense but.... why didnt he fight for miorine before i wonder....those tomatoes are such great visual metaphors - unripe.

they did say that one can refuse a duel. why not just refuse duels suletta?

SHE EVEN LETS SULETTA TAKE CARE OF THE GREENHOUSE IN HER ABSENCE THE FUCKING POWER OF THIS METAPHOR

they bought out TWO development teams. why are the high schoolers testing out these legs. did the development teams make them and sent them to the school for testing? why?

this is - as far as i can tell - completely unrealistic economo-babble lol

i love the league woman and mio negotiating. honestly it really goes to show that mio has no concept of how possible it is for your space pilot to kill you

they need a ‘spacious’ place. the whole school, the whole forest around teh school???

what the fuck. Delling had his son, heir to the house, clean spaceships? what is going on in these parents’ minds???????

shaddiq is funding an earthian community?

‘you work for peil yet you’ve been helping us’ WHERE IS THE BOUGHT OUT PEIL TEAM??

oh evil pretty Elan is so good at being seductive. i feel honestly like this anime was made for me lololol.

there is truly zero doubt in my mind that people can survive in space and theyre not adapted. these people live their whole lives in space without problem! what the fuck are tehy talking about

how did miorine buy a spaceship and not a pr team? i can only intuit that the video makes for a non-threatening impression and maybe that was her intention...

WHY are they bringing the whole team and the goats....

how the fuck do these kids get to drive a spaceship lol

AH. that’s how she convinced Delling. he’s got a Gundam project of his own that she convinced him she could deliver essential data for....

Suletta is so fucking annoying for being so goddamn fragile lol. makes ya want to shake her.

damn ok instead she gets punched first in teh boob (no problem) but then mio gets a hit on the solar plexus. the writers for this show are really good. the loose threads are getting tied up, the characters have multiple motives, and comedy is combined very well with drama.

Damn miorine KNOWS what she wants. And what she wants is Suletta.

ok so apparently groomly duties are also cleaning her room lol. this was super gay. fascinating how they stick to homosexual relationships being accepted and ordinary, but they still play with the audience’s expectations - suletta’s and miorine’s expectations of friendship romance and intimacy, the political game, japanese inclination to dismiss romance between girls as not actually real and the possibility that despite homosexual relationships being ordinary in this world they are not the SAME as straight relationships and interact IN-WORLD with everything previous.

LFRITHS!!!!!!!!!!!! VANADIS CONNECTION

wtf theyre doing an all out atttack. woudlnt sneaking in work better

ohhh shaddiq is betting on Jeturk man dying in the attack. hm

why is prospera so convinced that suletta will find THEM

the intro is actually really good

how in the hell did suletta survive that.

shaddiq didnt even fucking warn miorine or nika that this was gonna happen

ah.......jeturk was not the one who sent guel away. Shaddiq deliberately put him in harms way....if it was shaddiq. probably. the writers were cleverer than me.

I LOVE how sulettas shounen fucking phrase got Elan killed, Jeturk killing his dad, and Suletta indoctrinated to KILLLLLL. some pmmm shit. they went: lets use the tropes you know and MASH THEM TOGETHER WITH WAR!!!!!!!

the visual metaphors in this are so simple and beautiful. her moving forward was bout friends and connections and self-confidence in social situations one episode ago. NOW IT IS ABOUT MURDERING

they havent even confirmed a kill on delling

oh that was the last one. the quality of this series is the best in years and years.

god guel got such a terrible terrible terrible deal out of life now. if shaddiq is responsible... wait hold on. maybe guel left of his own accord to go work a shitty job.....that makes more sense than shaddiq putting him in harms way. normally anime spell so much out but not this bit.

[magicalgirlmel]

Anime finished this year 61: Akiba Maid War

10/10

Transcript under the cut

If you had told me at the beginning of the year that an anime about maid cafes would be in the running to be my anime of the year, I don't think I would have believed you. After all, I'm not someone who entirely 'gets' the whole maid café thing. I understand it as an occasional novelty, sure, but I can't understand the idea of going to one over and over again. There was also a spot in the middle of the year that had like three shows that all featured girls in a café in some form and I just felt like the idea was overdone. So, what did Maid War do to make it interesting again? It turned it into a yakuza movie... obviously.

Akiba Maid War is set on the backdrop of the maid café boom of the 90's, where supply is clearly outpacing demand so the maids are turning to violence to make sure their turf is staked out and the money keeps flowing through their doors. It imagines a whole seedy underbelly hidden away under cutesy layers just barely out of the eye of the public. I wasn't sure at first, but it really grabbed me by the end of the first episode when the brutal takedown of an enemy café was shown off like a choreographed dance complete with a backing track and all. It was wonderful, every act of violence done with a whirl of a petticoat.

There are some parodic elements here for sure, turning the whole thing up to levels that I don't think anyone would have expected the to take it to from the outset, with a sprinkling of dark humor laid over the top of the whole affair. However, what really astounded me and made it so special is that it was able to have these episodes that made me laugh out loud, but also deliver episodes that were honestly heartbreaking to watch and moments that hit with all the weight and drama of a more serious mobster flick. That is an incredibly tough balancing act to pull off and Maid War does it excellently.

It also treats most of the characters with the seriousness that they deserve. Aside from a tiny handful of shots, the maid costumes aren't sexualized when the girls in the show are wearing them. They're treated like the battle armor that the characters treat them as. I really appreciated it. It would have been so easy to make this a sort of trashy late night fanservice vehicle, but they didn't and it was very much to the show's benefit. 

Like I said, this is one of my contenders for Anime of the year, it was that good. If you missed out on this one for some reason, be sure to give it a watch when you get the chance.