#they just did shit during the classic era

[jorrated]

idk why sonic fans care so much about canon timelines. classic sonic is past sonic or an alternate version sonic? who gives a shit sonic canon is the definition of fuck it we ball have fun with your blue rat

[gods-favorite-autistic]

People who are like “Omg gen z theatre kids only know *proceeds to list every single musical that came out after 1999*” are the most annoying assholes like hey maybe we just don’t like shit from the 1960’s or we have specific tastes have you ever considered that

[alexissara]

5 Years Of Three Houses, 5 Years Of Loving Edelgard.

5 Years ago today, I was first able to enter the continent of Fodlan, I meet Edelgard and from there I fell for a character in a way I never had before. I was already a professional writer with published worked and focused on Character driven work but I was still blown away by what an amazing character Edelgard was. 5 years ago, I got Engaged at a queer con, I was playing my 2nd route of three houses having played from Three Houses. The game was with me at this wonderful landing point in my life, it was there during the rough covid era struggles, when I was deeply, deeply sick, I was sicker than I ever been, not with Covid but with stomach issues and was hospitalized multiple times in one month ending in a surgery. I ran a roleplay inspired by Three Houses in Thirsty Sword Lesbians which I played for many years, I dated one of my exes through the whole campaign and grew a lot closer to one of my current girlfriends through it. I refined a version of one of my favorite OCs Ever Lena to do a Three Houses OC AU version of her for a different roleplay and while that fell through she did end up being used for that previously mentioned TSL game.

I reviewed Three Houses after finishing all four routes, I wanted to be really through and experience every route, every story, every FF romance arc, etc before I reviewed it. I gave the game a 7/10, I think now I'd give it an 8/10 maybe but a review score is what I think of the game as an overall package. The life changing power of Crimson Flower was really the big deal for me. That was 10/10, that was peak, it was just that the other routes were nowhere near as good for me. Edelgard the revolutionary who is happy to cast herself as a villain if that's what it takes to change the oppression in the world, something that was so strong, so powerful that it was reflected into our world. She was so good at being a character who impacted a fictional world, the only reason things happen at all that people to this day get angry about people loving her, discourse about her, cast her off, make up shit, show their political asses, etc. What a fucking character to be hated so strongly, for so long by this rabid group. Keeping love from a small fan base over time is hard but maintaining hate as a fictional character, that's harder especially with a 24/7 culture war of new women to hate. However, she also maintained love, Edelgard is the most popular character in all of Fire Emblem, in the 5 years she's got the most fan art, the most votes in CYL, she clearly makes nearly the most money in the gacha given how often they make new versions of her or rerun her, she is the moment.

Of course, it is not just Edelgard I love but the Black Eagles as a whole from the classic roster to the extended family of Mercedes, Lyesthia, Shamir, Leonie, to the Hopes additions of Monica and Shez. Edelgard stands so tall but she doesn't overshadow her amazing allies in changing the world. Even the men, me a famous not man enjoyer, finds at worst like, kinda boring rather than like repulsive. Plus I really love Hubert and Jeritza both as characters and think they are lovely, brilliant characters I wouldn't want to see replaced.

Three Houses hit me in a way "better" games haven't hit me in. I still think about the characters, the world, the politics, the ideas, the lore, the romances, everything so often, daily. I love so much art, most of this little blog is me talking about art I engaged with and I struggle to think of another piece of art that took me by storm in the same ways that Three Houses has. I'd love to have another game sweep me off my feet and have me giggling like someone who just met their idol but even if it doesn't happen again I am glad it happened with Three Houses.

Then there was Three Hopes and I fucking love Three Hopes, it only exists in the context of Houses but Scarlet Blaze and Golden Wildfire blew me the fuck away. Both routes do a ton for the characters in the series, the plots are fantastic, bringing Monica back and making her one of the best characters in the Fire Emblem series was so fucking great, and I adore the Warriors gameplay. Three Houses was a gift that not only gave itself but Hopes which really just furthered helped put Houses in focus, tie in way more lore, way more context, and way more information. I could explore the world of Fodlan even more honestly, I still hope for Hopes DLC because I just love this game.

It was so amazing to see Edeglard freed of Those Who Slither in the dark and the way her revolution works if she could just have saved her lesbian best friend and probably girlfriend. I loved to see the new amazing paralogues, the way the war shakes out, how she operates free of enemies resting in her house, how the nobles react when Edelgard is a free agent, the way the church fights back in this new time line. It really exciting and it is fun to see how the world once again revolves around the actions and moves of Edelgard and how she sets Fodlan Ablaze with change but now with more time to do things more carefully. It is such a great alterative look.

I don't have enough glowing things to say about Three Houses but I do have some things to say for the future of my favorite video game series. I deeply hope the future of Fire Emblem is more like Houses and not like the games around it. Houses was a return to form and the first story that blew me away since Radiant Dawn. I want more games that have the style and budget and scope and ambition of a Houses. I don't really trust intelligent systems to bring me that kind of story, so I hope they work with Koei again in the future and let their writers do their thing,

I love the smaller scale Fire Emblems but I can play indie games and smaller budget SRPGs and get the scope and ambition of a smaller scale Fire Emblem but only Nintendo money can bring the kind of game Houses is to the table. I really want to see the expensive class system brought back hopefully without the sexism and the big roster of characters and so much of the little things that made houses so charming. I don't need multiple routes but I would like a good political message like Crimson Flower to be in the future. I don't know if I'll ever love a character not made by me or my loves ones as much as I love Edelgard again but I want them try and I want them to pull it off.

Happy 5 Years Fire Emblem Three Houses, you are something special. If you want to see more of me gushing about houses you can read my fics here https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexisSara/works?fandom_id=23985107

[siberian-khatru]

HOLY SHIT I'M ALREADY UP TO POWER WINDOWS!!!!

Which is their 11th studio album, meaning I am really halfway there (and yes, living on a prayer). In his memoir, Geddy said this was in his top five Rush albums, and, well, he would be the expert, no? So, without further ado, here are my Thoughts on this synth-era classic: 1. "The Big Money"- This album was one of the more recent additions to my collection, and I remember listening to it the first time on a cold January evening, I think I had just turned 16, and being absolutely blown away by this opening. By the synths, by the bass line, by the sound of it. Of how clear and sharp the whole album sounded, and I couldn't believe that Rush had done it again: made another album that I loved. Power Windows is also one of my favorite Rush albums, and this opener completely sucked me in. It also establishes the themes of power present throughout the album: that "big money" wields so much power. 2. "Grand Designs"- This is one of my favorite songs on this album (hint: I could say that about any song on this album). I love how the synths sound, I love the accentuation of Alex's guitar, and I love the lyrics!!! The whole vibe of the song, to me, is about personal power, and it has just such a clear, optimistic vibe. 3. "The Manhattan Project"- Who doesn't love a song that Neil read an encyclopedia about the Manhattan Project to write? It's about the creation of the atom bomb and the impact it had, so obviously it's about the power of imperialism and it's about nuclear power. I love the way the breakdown is used in this song, and I love the climax when when Geddy sings "flying out of the shockwave".

4. "Marathon"- Okay, I may have lied about Grand Designs being my favorite song on this album, because I also love this one wayyy too much. The frantic baseline, the steady beat of the drums, and the modulation during the last chorus--- it really feels like you achieved something by the end of the song. This is song is just so... uplifting to me. I love it so much (did I say that already?). 5. "Territories"- This song is about nationalism and it's dangers--- which is another sort of power. The power on a national scale. Honestly, Neil's drumming on this track (and his lyrics) are absolutely spectacular, and I wish I saw this song mentioned more often when talking about his best tracks. I also love how the second verse also touches on how propaganda is really the machine that keeps this cycle going--- and I love the word play of "In different circles we keep holding our ground/ Indifferent circles we keep spinning round and round". That is just so clever. 6. "Middletown Dreams"- As I'm going through more and more of these songs, I'm noticing that the album is really split between personal and societal power and the impact it has. For example, this song is really about taking the power of your dreams and passions in your own hands, and pursuing what you love. I once watched/listened to an interview with Neil Peart, and he mentioned this song specifically as one that fans misinterpret as being cynical, when he never intended it to be cynical. I just found that really interesting. Another thing I'm noticing as I'm listening to this album is how fresh the synths sound to me--- the album doesn't sound dated at all to me (maybe because I listen to so much prog it's rotted my brain?). 7. "Emotion Detector"- Ahhh a song about the power of emotions, and the trouble of reading the emotions of others. The song also talks about the balance between being cut off and being too open with others which is a common theme in Rush's music and totally doesn't make me think Neil was neurodivergent of some kind haha anyway. This song is really about human relationships, and the way we communicate with each other, and some of the lines in this song are so good. And Alex's guitar solo is phenomenal. As usual. 8. "Mystic Rhythms" - This is about the power that nature has over us and our sense--- it's a song about the mysteries of the unknown, and it's soooo cool. My only gripe with this song is that it fades out at the end, and it's the closing track. Although, in this case, I could be persuaded to believe that it adds to the mystery of the track, and may have been intentional.

[moongothic]

To be honest I can kinda see how having a hook instead of a hand prosthetic has its benefits

Hook is easier to mantain than a hand with lots of small moving pats, especially when you don't know shit about it. If something happens to it and it gets broken, it's much easier to replace a hook, even with all layers and poisons

And depending on when in time Crocodile lost his hand he may have just got used to it already

But also yeah, Crocodile is just the type of guy to choose a hook instead of a new hand because looks and aesthetics lol

(sorry for typos btw)

Crocodile's hook is kind of fun because it's a reflection of so many things in the story. Like there's the in-universe lore and character stuff we can look at, but also we can look at it from a meta perspective

Like we know Oda wanted to give certain important characters in the story the Iconic Pirate Traits; the peg leg for Zeff, the hook for Crocodile and an eyepatch he has seemingly been saving up all these years for a special someone (my money's on Mr Burns but that's a different subject). And so Crocodile having the iconic hook is a part of an old pirate-y "vision" Oda wanted to fulfill with One Piece, an OG "goal" from waaay back in the day

But another thing is that Crocodile is very much from The Olden Days of One Piece, more specifically, very much pre-what I'd call the sci-fi era of OP. I'd say One Piece started truly dwelling deeper into that genre and its tropes during Punk Hazard, but Oda didn't even really dip his toes into it until the CP9 Saga (with the introduction of Franky and the namedropping of Doctor Vegapunk). Sure, Oda did already hint at the existence of Vegapunk and his scientific developments back in Alabasta (when Miss Merry Christmas explained that Lassoo was a gun that had eaten a Dog Dog Fruit, this being "the Latest Science from the Grand Line"*), but One Piece was still very much in its more classical fantasy element/genre at this point in the story, so the science fiction that was to come years and decades later was not even present at this point

*(Thinking about it, honestly, how the fuck did Mr 4 get his hands on Lassoo if Lassoo was created by Vegapunk?? Was he a gift from Vegapunk/the WG to Crocodile, maybe????? That Crocodile just secretly gave away to Mr 4????)

In other words, in hindsight it might seem odd Crocodile wouldn't have taken advantage of his position as a Warlord and gotten a prosthetic arm to replace his hook. But Crocodile is a One Piece character from a different era in the story, when advanced prosthetics, cyborgs, robots, clones and so much more were nothing but a twinkle in Oda's eyes. So expecting Crocodile to have lived up to the sci-fi future One Piece wasn't originally going to even get to would be unreasonable.

But the fun thing is that we can actually look at Crocodile and his silly little hook, and spin it in a way that does actually complement his character. We can find in-universe reasons for him to have stuck to a hook over an advanced prosthetic, and they make sense. The most obvious would of course be that Crocodile does not trust anyone. It would be very much unlike him to go to Vegapunk and/or the World Government requesting to be given a prosthetic, because that would mean 1) Leaving himself vulnerable for a period of time so that Vegapunk could actually give him a prosthetic (dangerous) 2) Knowing the WG they would not just give out something like that for free, surely they'd want something from Crocodile in exchange. And, while we know what would become of Kuma eventually (a fate so cruel I'm sure even Crocodile could not have imagined) I'm sure he could have suspected the WG could want to use him for a science experiment or two, something I'm sure Crocodile would never have agreed to. Or maybe the WG/Vegapunk would've wanted Crocodile to pay them an obscene amount of money in exchange for a prosthetic, and/or have him do some other favors. Whatever the case, I'm sure none of these options would have seemed worth it in his mind.

And yeah, what you said.

Maintaining and taking care of a hook would be easier, like if Vegapunk's prosthetics ever broke or malfunctioned for any reason Crocodile would have to make a horrifically long hike all the way from Alabasta to Marijoa, cross the Red Line (to be fair his Shichibukai Status would allow him to go over which would be more convenient than passing through Fishman Island), go to Punk Hazard (or Egghead later on), and then hike aaall the way back to Alabasta again. And Vegapunk's inventions didn't always work as intended, the man had to refine and develop his creations to get them to work the way he wanted them to.

So if the option get a prosthetic was ever brought up to Crocodile by the WG like 10+ years ago, he might've been far more cynical about Vegapunk's ability to actually create a decent prosthetic that worked and wouldn't malfunction/have issues etc. And as you suggested, by that time he probably would have become used to his hook, to the point that he didn't mind keeping it.

And yeah, it would be just a big ol' Luffyism if he preferred the giant, golden, gaudy-ass hook

[everytaylorswiftsongisaboutcats]

Taylor Swift Eras Tour Swift Streams w Me Miami Night 2

Ladies, Gents, and Non-Binary friends, we have arrived: live updates here we go

If any announcements, new costumes, new collabs, or MAJOR events happen they will be highlighted in red with all caps. If I’m wrong I’ll cross it out😂🤡 heads up probably won’t be as active as last night unless things go CRAZY; heart stamp for closed usually set🩷💛❤️💜🖤🩶🤎🩵🤍💙

Lover:

Classic opening

Gold & Blue bodysuit

Black Man jacket

Typical speech

Usual Lover set🩷

— Does the house always tip forward instead of burn?

Fearless:

Normal dress: black & silver / cacio e peppe

Usual Fearless set💛

Red:

This is NOT Taylor’s Version (clowning me again😂)

New-ish speech like last night addressing this final tour leg

Usual Red set❤️

Speak Now:

NEW DRESS!!! Teal? — almost Swiftbowl for me?😂 Looks like a new version of blue dress mixed with firework starry night but just blue…

lets see what Tay Nation names? It’s giving dare I say… snake scale vibes? I’m liking TEALor Swift (minus the fact it’s not super Teal unless Hq’s prove otherwise?)

Usual set: Enchanted✨💜

Reputation:

Black & Gold again

Usual Rep set so far☑️

Her smile during lwymmd was cute

Happy rain show✨

Usual Rep Set🖤

folkmore/everlore:

Green Folkmore dress

Usual folklore set🩶

Normal Betty & Champagne Problems speeches

Usual evermore set🤎

1989:

Yellow top Pink skirt (nothing new)

Usual 1989 set🩵

TTPD:

Usual TTPD set thus far

Who’s afraid of little old me? dress w Black gloves

Florence has appeared again to perform Florida!

Black suit gold coat

Normal TTPD set🤍

Surprise Songs:

NEW Surprise Song Dress! It’s PURPLE & GORGEOUS! & so pretty it gets a speech addressment (loving the sparkles)

Surprise songs are — Guitar: Should’ve Said No (another debut song?🤡) x I DID SOMETHING BAD (she’s really messing with us🤡🤡) & — Piano: loml x White Horse (HOLY MOTHER NO WORDS) “IM SO SORRY CAUSE YOU SHIT TALKED ME UNDER THE TABLE”

Midnights:

NEW Midnights Tee (Silvery Blue?… lots of Icy vibes)

Normal Bodysuit: Chevron

Normal Karma Jacket: Dark Blue

Normal Midnights set💙

She really said I can do what I want Debutation clowns & dress color debates, and I’m here for it!🫶 See you tomorrow for Night 3

[bad268]

hiii! any chance you could write a Sebastian Montoya enemies to lovers fic? in my Sebas era at the moment 🤩🥳

Because of You (Sebastian Montoya X Reader)

Fandom: RPF/Formula 2/3

Requested: Clearly (thank you for being patient I loved this request!)

Warnings: road rash, injury, mentions of being attacked, hurt/comfort, “i had nowhere else to go” i hate myself

Pronouns: First person (I/me)

W.C. 2015

Summary: Classic enemies to lovers with Sebas

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~(^Pinterest)

Racing was my life. For as long as I could remember, I was racing, and I was racing well. I rose through the ranks relatively quickly going straight from karting to single-seater championships within two years, and I was already catching the eyes of different Formula 1 teams.  

One thing is for certain: I had my fair share of haters. One of which was someone I looked up to while karting who then turned out to be my teammate in F4 and FRECA at Prema and eventually, in F3 for HiTech. That person would be none other than Sebastian Montoya.

It was all fine when we first met during preseason testing for F4. We were getting along great, found some common interests, and he gave me some tips and tricks he used to prepare for a race. All was well until the season started, and I started winning. 

It was like I was no longer a friend but a competitor, so I did what I always did and reciprocated the acts. If he was going to be cold to me, I would be cold right back. I was taught to never waste my time on people who didn’t deserve it, and when he ran me off the road during a crucial race of the FRECA season, I saw red.

“You gonna run me off the track again, Montoya?” I teased as we both walked out of the HiTech garage toward our new cars for free practice in Spielberg for the F3 race. “I don’t think the bosses would appreciate that, honestly.”

“If you stay out of my way, we won’t have a problem,” He sneered, rolling his eyes as he finished doing up his race suit. 

“Oh, trust me. I plan to be nowhere near you,” I laughed as I pulled my balaclava over my head and started preparing the straps to my helmet. “Besides, it’s not like I have a problem with keeping my nose clean.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed given that you crashed into Gabriele last week,” Sebastian mocked, pointing out my DNF from a couple of weeks ago.

“Because you turned wide!” I exclaimed, slamming my helmet down on the table. “You turned into me, and I took evasive action. It wasn’t my fault. You were the one that got the penalty, dumbass.”

“At least I finished the race,” he snickered as he turned to walk toward his car. 

“And at least I can run in the top 3,” I whispered just loud enough for him to hear. 

“Mind saying that a little louder?” Sebastian snapped, turning to face me as he came to stand directly in front of you.

“I said, at least I can run in the top 3,” I stated firmly, not backing down from his threatening stance. “At least I can say that I’ve won in Monaco. I’m keeping up in the title fight, and where are you? Oh, right! Down in 14th. Our gap is almost as bad as Alonso on Stroll.”

“My car is shit, and you know that,” he seethed, getting up in my face as he pointed a pinger at my chest. 

“Excuses, excuses. We have the same fucking car, Seb,” I pointed out as I glared at him. “We all have the same fucking car, so don’t blame the team for your shitty driving style. Maybe if you knew how to drive, you would keep up.”

“You two can fuck later, get in your cars!” Dino shouted from the next garage over as he put his helmet on.

“Shut up, Dino!”

~~

The race went great for me. I secured pole position, scored third in the sprint, and won the feature race. These points shot me up from third to leading the championship. I was on top of the world. I decided I was going to celebrate for the night before I left for the next race. 

I was walking through the streets of Monaco pretty late at night. I was pretty sure I knew where I was going but it was also my first time in Monaco. I should have followed the map closer. I don’t remember if I walked into a bad area or if it was some crazy haters. All that I remembered was them yelling at me.

“You’re stealing a seat from people who really deserve it!”

“You’re never going to win the championship!”

“Gabriel deserved that win! You’re just in his way!”

“Undeserved! You’re just lucky!”

At some point, it got physical, and they didn’t stop until they heard sirens in the vicinity. I was breathing heavily as I picked myself up off the ground, immediately taking notice of the soreness across my face and my limbs. Somehow, I limped my way back to the hotel I would need to check out of in the morning. 

I got into my room, and as soon as I saw my reflection, I broke. It hit like a ton of bricks (and looked like it too). I slid down the wall, letting it all out. Maybe I didn’t deserve to be in F3. Maybe I didn’t deserve my seat. There are definitely more talented drivers out there. Heck, Ollie swept the weekend at the last race in Baku, and I couldn’t get past Fornaroli for second in the sprint. Maybe they were right.

I took a deep breath, stood up, and moved toward the restroom to get a good look at the wounds and clean them. My right eye was black and bruised, there was a large gash on my eyebrow, my lip was bleeding, and don’t even get me started on the road rash on my arms and legs. I was going to need some supplies to clean these up.

I grabbed my room key and walked out to the hall. Hopefully, Dino or Paul would be in their rooms. Across the hall was Dino’s room to which he didn’t answer. I sighed, already knowing if Dino didn’t answer, he probably already left, and chances are Paul was also gone. Still, I moved over a door and knocked on Paul’s door. Of course, he’s gone too. 

They were the only people I talked to on the grid, and I was not about to swallow my pride and go to the lobby for a first aid kit. Just as I was about to head back into my room, I saw a light flash from under a door. Specifically, Sebastian’s door. How desperate was I going to get for this first aid kit? Enough to ask my sworn enemy for help? Yes. 

I sighed, walking up to his door. I hesitated before knocking. What was he going to say? What if he laughed? What if he just slammed the door in my face? What if- I didn’t let my mind run anymore as I hurriedly knocked. It took a couple of seconds, but a confused Sebastian opened the door. As soon as he registered it was me, his gaze hardened until he took into account my appearance, his eyes softening almost immediately.

“I had nowhere else to go,” I whispered as I bit my lip, already expecting him to turn me away. “Do you have a first aid kit I can borrow?”

“Who the fuck mauled you?!” He all about shouted as his jaw dropped.

“Shut up,” I hissed, covering his mouth as I pushed him into his room. I closed the door quickly as I flipped us, so I was leaning into him against the door. “Do you have any idea what time it is? You’re gonna wake someone up.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied sarcastically as he pushed my hand away from his face in annoyance but quicking wincing as he heard my hiss of pain as he rubbed against one of the road rashes on my arm. He sighed as he dropped his voice to a softer tone, “Sorry, it’s not every day your teammate shows up at your door bloody. Forgive me for freaking out.”

“No, it’s a valid response,” I admitted, stepping back to give him space. That’s when I notice his eyes looking me up and down, taking in all of the injuries. “I just need alcohol and bandages if you have any.”

“Here, hop on the counter,” He offered, leading me into the bathroom. “I’ll help you.” He put his hands on my waist to help me jump up as the rashes on my legs had started scabbing and it was getting difficult to bend them. We fell into a comfortable silence, surprisingly, as he started addressing the wounds on my legs first. As he moved up my legs, he would glance up at me, making sure I was comfortable with what he was doing, causing me to nod almost every time. The one time I didn’t nod immediately was when he got back to my hips and grabbed the end of my shirt. “What if there’s a rash on your side? Or something with your ribs?”

“I don’t think I’m comfortable with taking my shirt off in front of you, Seb,” I said, honestly. “We’re constantly at each other’s throats. Who’s to say you won't make a comment about my body?”

“I would never,” He defended, “I just want to make sure you’re okay. How about I just lift it and do a quick check? If there’s nothing, we move to your arms.”

“Quick check,” I pressed, sending him a pointed look, “Nothing else.”

“Nothing else,” he smirked, pulling up my shirt a little and his eyes grew wide immediately. “So, good news and bad news. Good news, there’s no rash. Bad news, you are fifty shades of back and blue.”

“You’re kidding,” I gasped as I tried to turn around and look at my reflection, but quickly felt the pain from turning, causing me to hiss in pain again. “Okay, I believe you.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He stood directly in front of me but refused to meet my eye.

“Why would you be sorry? It’s not like you did this,” I asked. He had no reason to apologize for something he didn’t do. “If anything, you’re making it better.”

“I just- if I had been nicer, if we had been friends, if I had gone out with you tonight, none of this would have happened,” he admitted. “Instead, I was in here, watching a movie while you were out getting attacked. I just feel like I could have prevented this somehow.”

“That is out of your control,” I told him. Of course, it was! “You can’t control how people feel toward me. You can’t control the haters.”

“But if you had someone with you, the haters probably wouldn’t have approached you,” he explained, finally meeting my gaze. “I could have protected you.”

“That’s sweet of you, but you hated me when I left the track. There’s no way you would have risked yourself on my behalf.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s a fine line between hate and love,” Seb admitted. “Maybe I was jealous of your success. It’s hard being compared to my dad all the time, and I was finally doing good. No offense, but you came in out of nowhere and started dominating. I don’t know if I was just jealous or envious.”

“Really? I’m here because of you!”

“What?”

“You were my idol, Seb,” I chuckled. “I saw you at a karting competition a few years ago, and because of you, I started karting. I was so excited to race with you, and it was awesome getting to learn from you ahead of the season. Then, you just flipped, and I didn’t know what I did. All I knew was that suddenly you hated me, and I reacted back.”

“You’re here because of me? And because of me, we became enemies?” 

“Yeah, but because of me, we could be in our lover's arch,” I slipped in, jokingly. At least, it was supposed to be jokingly. Sebastian didn’t take it as a joke as he immediately leaned in and connected our lips in the first of many kisses.

~~~~~

© BAD268 2024. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

[beevean]

Frontiers is bad and boring to play but I take it over Forces anytime of the day, first the gameplay plays the game for you half of the time why is Classic Sonic here? Other then Sonic Team being desperate? Why did Tails forget he could fly? INFINITE was wasted and his theme song is embarrassing. Why bother using Chaos if he wasn't even going to be a boss level? Sonic is tortured ? Okay sorry but atleast Frontiers had a better ost.

why is Classic Sonic here? Other then Sonic Team being desperate?

Most likely because 1) Forces was meant to be one of the 2 games for the 25th anniversary, even if they both slid forward one year, 2) precisely to connect Forces and Mania, 3) to piggyback on the success of Generations. Do you want to call it pandering? Feel free to call it pandering, by 2016 fans weren't as eager to play as Classic again, true. But then we can also call pandering the relentless references to the Adventure era in Frontiers, both in simple "hey this reminds me of X" and in general plot beats - now that game very much wants to win the Adventure crowd back more than Forces wanted to appeal to the Classic fans.

Why did Tails forget he could fly?

Do you mean when Sonic (Sonic the fucking Hedgehog) was getting his entire shit beaten out by a terrifying creature not even his Miles Electric could understand, plus clones of formidable enemies that included Shadow?

I don't know, I get the flak against "Sonic help me", but I don't blame Tails for not knowing what to do in that situation.

INFINITE was wasted and his theme song is embarrassing.

Opinion discarded. Infinite's theme slaps absolute ass and if you don't agree AND AFTER ALL THIS TIMEEEEEEE YOU'RE BACK FOR MOOOOOOOOOOOOORE

I agree that something happened to Infinite during development, as everything in the main game hinted at him being a fully artificial creature and not a rando still sore that he was beaten by Shadow lol. But dude was cool in my book. I really like that stage where he creates all sorts of creepy illusions to stop Operation Big Wave :P he could have had more screentime, but he chewed that little screentime we had just fine. better than the end, anyway and always.

Why bother using Chaos if he wasn't even going to be a boss level?

The game was most likely rushed, which sucks, no doubt about that. But somehow, only Forces gets treated like a piece of shit for being rushed, when Frontiers doesn't get nearly the same amount of disappointment for being pretty much a test game (and we know it was rushed because of the last two islands that are pieces cut from Kronos Island and for the weird way Sonic's corruption was handled). Hell, by this point, even '06 is getting apologism even though until recently it was the king of rushed games, and much worse about it than the previous examples.

Either you're equally uncharitable with rushed games that sacrificed content (so I'm not talking about game breaking glitches), or you cut them all some slack.

Sonic is tortured ? Okay sorry

Sloppy translation. And while Sonic looks chipper after being freed, and we can argue all day if that's IC or not, you can guess from things like him beating Zavok with his bare fists or the veiled death threat he gives Infinite that deep down he's actually pretty angry.

Now, Sonic being rescued by his corruption in Frontiers in a minute, undoing all of his hard work in rescuing his friends, and him being just as chipper after Sage, the girl he had just befriended, died in space, is not sloppy translation, it's the game getting rushed to hell (although I don't know why Flynn blames time constraints when it comes to Sonic not sparing a thought about Sage lol).

atleast Frontiers had a better ost.

I like both ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and Frontiers' cyberspace themes are clearly inspired by the Avatar themes in Forces.

[variousqueerthings]

I feel like I need to make a little rundown of everything UNIT and Kate Stewart has done since being re-introduced in s7, but I also want to finish watching classic!who so I can make that comparison more effectively. certainly in pertwee-era of doctor who there was some critique and analysis of UNIT's methods as a military group and that the doctor kind of had to work with them to begin with because he didn't have a working tardis (+ already knew the brigadier and UNIT from troughton-era)

liz shaw and jo grant both start with UNIT and both leave UNIT, partially after narratives where they're at odds with what the institution represents and how easy it is for it to abuse power and/or simply make bad choices to begin with (liz taking the doctor's side several times and eventually quitting, although with that slightly lazy--pseudo-feminist "she didn't want to fetch the teas" explanation given post-leaving when there was definitely a lot more going on for her than that, but I think that was the way the actress was feeling so I can see the meta reasonings in it, and jo figuring out that she believes in different ways of protecting the earth joining a radical group and yeah ok straight up getting engaged to that welsh guy after two days, but she was considering leaving before then anyway), and sarah-jane just enters spaces and acts like she belongs there and nobody knows how to tell her to leave, but she's frequently not on UNIT's side so much as the side of Truth (I say, we now enter fourth doctor era so we'll see)

but yeah, the brigadier was there from the beginning, and there's yates and whatshisface, so there's the humanising faces depicting UNIT as essentially for good from the get-go, despite episodes where they're definitely antagonists. but then reintroduced in nu!who s4 as... not quite comfortable to the doctor/partly as that season's narrative of how the doctor affects their companions for worse and inspires them to become soldiers. so they're not the bad guys in the same way torchwood of s2 were, but they aren't comfortable allies either

so now I'm on s9 and... dunno. they're not quite what they were at the beginning, and they're not what they were in s4. more than anything they feel like a get-out-of-jail free card for whatever writer needs to do something that would be easier to solve with a big handy institution with guns, but don't want to analyse the idea of a big handy institution with guns, so we're told that UNIT is "good" but I keep waiting for someone -- osgood and/or bingham -- to become that next liz shaw, and for kate stewart to be confirmed an antagonist based on said rundown I haven't made of her actions, which at best are often ineffectual and at worst some near-villain shit

rtd in the new specials continues writing UNIT the way it has been since s7 -- the same issues and questions about it are at the forefront, with a couple of new ones thrown in (an institution that's very diverse does not make it any less a paramilitary institution and in fact makes one highly suspicious of its propaganda campaign), but I hope he remembers some of the ways they caused problems during three's era, or the way his own original run at least complicated the doctor's feelings about them and I hope he ends up reintroducing those complications with fifteen but x 1000

and. kate stewart needs to become an antagonist. in my opinion. she'd make a very good antagonist, considering how much history there is between her and the doctor. that's another post though, but I want to make a list of every time KS has tried to deal with a situation with extra-judicial violence, because it is practically every episode she's in (if not every episode she's in)

I can buy the doctor feeling some kinda way, because UNIT was the brigadier, was liz, was jo, was yates and whatshisface (sorry I have forgotten his name), was a time where they were stuck and in need of help and UNIT did help them, and then it was also martha and now mel... the doctor built real personal connections with UNIT, but as a structure it is hiiiighly dubious At Best and fully just no-good the majority of the time

[saunne]

You know what babe? M gon ask u about yingheng now cause they 💯💯 need the spotlight as well and i WANT the world to know how crazy u are about them. Go fuck shit up dear spouse

*looks at inbox* *looks at ask* *looks at date*

WELL GUESS WHO FORGOR TO ANSWER. I did the XingRen one here but I guess ADHDon't then got in the way and since I open my inbox like, once every three month I just. Forgor. We're kinning Acheron in this house baby.

So. Heart is big cause So Many Thoughts but I think indicating that it could have taken off like a rocket from the top right corner towards distant horizons was also a possibility.

So, YingHeng. YingHeng as "HCQ Era Furnace Master Yingxing" and "Dan Heng of the Astral Express" (and for once it's fixated dynamic). It is a rareship and even more, it is a crackship cause there is absolutely no way for them to ever fucking meet in canon.

Doesn't mean I won't try tho.

(Long babbling under the cut)

It doesn't make any sense because they do not belong to the same timeline at all (700 years apart more or less) and because the only way for them to meet (and do more than that) would actually break the space-time continuum OR involve some really strange and fucked up revival/reincarnation with the existing possibility of destroying/replacing Blade in the worst case scenario process.

BUT AEONS IT DOES COMPEL ME SO MUCH and you would know cause I shoved at least 4 WIPs about them right in your face lmao.

I like this ship because it compels me and scratches a itch in a way that classic RenHeng never really managed to do except for certain fics.

I will admit that I sometimes have troubles with the RenHeng ship and the way their dynamic can be/is portrayed despite loving the ship. RenHeng has a common past involving Yingxing and Dan Feng their past-self/incarnations (whether one agrees or not with the theory/system of thought that DH = DF for that matter) and their ship is based on acceptance/rejection/reflection around this common past, the idea of responsibility and above all an idea of healing of trauma (for BOTH OF THEM).

The main thing is that RenHeng often involves violence (canonical and/or added one) and more or less toxic relationship tropes that I don't always have the desire or energy to deal with, even if the writing of the fic is of exceptional quality (I have a lot of RenHeng fics like that in the waiting list fir when I'm in the mood for it tho) . Sometimes I just want something that's still as emotionally charged but a lot simpler and that's where YingHeng came in.

The biggest problem for YingHeng is to "bring" Yingxing back into the picture and there are several solutions for that :

time travel (him coming or Dan Heng going)

dimensional travel (Curios are very practical for this kind of stupid plot)

Yingxing's memory having survived in one way or another (in an object, in Dan Heng's memories inherited from Dan Feng, sealed outside or inside of Blade)

Alternate Universe (it's easier to make him appear in a modern AU settings than in sorta-canon HSR settings lmao)

I like the third option the best, because it allows me to be able to keep Blade in the picture if I want (whether to do a YingHengRen or just an opposition/comparison study between Yingxing and Blade) or not ( by "killing" Blade by retransforming him/rewinding him back to Yingxing).

My two mains thoughts paths about YingHeng are “longing for something you never had” and “mourning for something you never thought you would have to mourn”.

"Longing for something you never had" is mostly Dan Heng centered. I like to start from the idea that Dan Feng's surviving memories can be a curse because they blur the separation line between their respective identities, but that it can also be a blessing. I like the idea that fuzzy and imprecise surviving memories of XingYue's passionate love could have been one of Dan Heng's greatest comforts during his imprisonment in the Shackling Prison. I like the idea that Dan Heng fell in love with the idea of Yingxing or at least fell in love with the idea of Love and Being Loved because of these memories of Yingxing.

All of this while being intimately aware that they were never intended for him.

I like the idea of Dan Heng longing for something that doesn't belong to him. Of being unable to let go of this feeling of "wanting/desiring/missing" Yingxing's love he felt in Dan Feng's memories despite wanting to separate as much as possible from Dan Feng and the burden of his unintended inheritance. Which can lead to a feeling of shame/embarrassment due to being sorta "voyeuristic" and yet attracted to it. Or on the contrary, a sort of defiance with a "these memories have been imposed on me against my consent so I don't have to feel guilty about anything, let alone my feelings about them".

For Yingxing, it was the idea of how he would deal with grief that interested me. Firstly the mourning of his life/friends (and what they became) if it's a time/dimensional travel scenario. Secondly, if his memory is forced back into Blade's body or stuffed in a newly created body to "re-alive him", the mourning of his past death and having to continue / start living again (whether or not he is immortal after said resurrection). If Blade remains alive it adds yet another level of mourning/philosophical reflection on identity, on what makes someone unique and all the tropes around "what would you ask/would say to your past/future self if given the opportunity". I like the idea of exploring the grievance of the one who died/should have died first ending up mourning the one who should have lived/who was supposed to live.

I like the idea of how Yingxing and Blade might treat differently the whole "is Dan Heng = Dan Feng ?" and "does Dan Heng has to pay for Dan Feng's mistakes/errors/crimes ?". I like the idea of Yingxing being "excuse me I was married to/in love with Dan Feng and I can tell you that Dan Heng is definitely not him" compared to Jingliu and Blade's "Dan Heng is Dan Feng" motto. I like the idea of exploring the theme of the difference between Dan Heng and Dan Feng through Yingxing's eyes rather than Blade's.

I like the idea of Yingxing bringing emotional and identity stability to Dan Heng by falling in love with Dan Heng not for his similarities with Dan Feng but for his differences with him. Because Dan Feng was irreplaceable and nothing could take his place in Yingxing's heart, especially not what would appear as a poor copy of his former lover. I want Dan Heng to feel comfortable asking Yingxing about Dan Feng, because Yingxing never compared them as a before/after or past/present but always kept talking about Dan Feng as if he was Dan Heng's deceased brother or distant relative.

Also, I'm sorry but I find Yingxing more aesthetically pleasing to the eyes than Blade, even more when you put him in the Artisanship Commission uniform and next to short-haired no Vidyadhara features 4-Stars Dan Heng. Also, Yingxing should have wrinkles like crow feets and smile lines. And not completely white hair, but more like a salt and pepper hair with mostly grey/white hair but some surviving black hair.

I think they should hold hands and cuddle in the Archives Room while Dan Heng updates Yingxing on what happened while he was dead and asks him about crafting and Zhuming to add to the Express Database.

*gestures* I'm nowhere near the term "sanity" when it comes to them.

[gemsofgreece]

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMF3Gy5pj/

I think that's a misinformation video about women in Sparta. During marriage i believe they shaved their heads so that they were associated to male soldiers, unlike most women in Ancient Greece who styled their longer hair to appeal more to the beauty standards of that time, like depictions of Aphrodite.

So i don't think it had anything to do with sexuality, especially since back then they didn't have a word for that. It's was just a tradition they had that differed from the rest.

Man this is so stupid and it’s crazy how much it has spread once again. I did some research on it and I found that the source is “cracked.com” and it is based on a book where the author (called Dover or something) simply said that this idea “was worth pondering”. And now of course most everyone sucks it up like crazy.

I like how nobody has even a moment’s doubt that this suggests that apparently not a single man in Sparta has ever been anything other than gay or that apparently not a single woman in Sparta has ever been desired (unless it’s another girl I assume hehehe) and apparently men could close their eyes in front of boobs and vulva but they drew the line at long hair on a woman’s scalp. I mean, okay, I understand westerners are fascinated by the different views on romantic and sexual relationships in classical antiquity but they have blown this shit out of proportion to a ridiculous degree.

I like how they say women shaved their heads so that their husbands would feel like they were sleeping with men but it escapes them that:

Spartan men had long flowing hair or braids so women shaving their heads for their gay husbands kinda defeated the purpose

Lol

Spartan maidens and unmarried women had long hair and dressed lightly, almost provocatively in order to entice a suitor. Therefore they did not try to hide their femininity when actively looking for a husband. They also married at an older age (19) than women in other places in Greece, therefore they might as well have had more matured feminine figures in their early marriage than the average.

As to why they shaved their heads during the wedding and kept it short afterwards, I do not know and there is obviously no conclusive scientific answer to this but I can think of alternatives that are a little more realistic given Sparta’s peculiarities than this western sex obsession suggests.

There is one symbolism that is very widespread when a woman cuts her hair in old cultures, and it has survived until recently; that of a woman grieving. Of denying her female beauty and refusing the joys of youth and love. In Sparta, cutting off the hair might have symbolised that the rosy carefree era was over for the woman. It was time to leave her own family behind and dedicate herself to giving birth to strong boys (and get rid of the weaker ones) and making them even stronger, more hardened and very disciplined until it was time to start their military training in the ripe age of 7. Happy tender motherhood wasn’t what was expected from Spartan women. We know that Ancient Spartans interpreted childbirth and motherhood as the war destined for women. Women dying in childbirth were honoured as men fallen in battle. Therefore cutting the hair probably meant that the woman had transcended into a new state, a serious, solemn and grave one, with no room for frivolous vanities and other “womanly concerns”. Is this what you also meant by saying “they were associated with soldiers after marriage”? Of course on a more superficial level it could also be a sign that the woman was married, therefore she shouldn’t be courted by another man.

Anyway, I am no historian but I think my (our) theory is better than that nobody in Sparta could get it up at the sight of long hair (on a woman).

[nadziejastar]

When did Kh go to complete shit in your opinion

The short answer is that the series experienced a gradual decline after the release of BBS. I think it officially went to shit with Union X, particularly the story arc that started after the Keyblade War. The longer answer will be under the cut.

KH2FM/Days/BBS (2007-2010)

Since Birth by Sleep is the first part of the Kingdom Hearts storyline, I'd like if you considered it as Kingdom Hearts, "Episode 0". This title isn't placed as a side story, with its storyline and battle system, it is substantial like that of a numbered title.

During this time, the series was extremely healthy and at its peak of popularity, with a bright future. KH2 was a beloved JRPG classic (and still is). The Final Mix introduced interesting new mysteries surrounding Xemnas and solid gameplay extras like the Lingering Will. Days was a side game, but it gave more development to fan favorites Roxas and Axel. The PSP wasn't the most popular system in the West, but BBS still sold quite well. It was a bit of a downgrade from KH2 due to the lesser hardware, but it was still a true mainline numbered sequel in the spirit of KH2 and was well received by fans. Tbh, I'd consider BBS the last truly great game in the series.

Re:Coded (2010)

After BBS the next new installment was...a filler game in the spirit of CoM. Recycled Disney plots, and an even more nonsense story with the datascape stuff. But it was just a DS port of a Japanese flip-phone game. It was a title that you could completely ignore and not really lose out on anything. Still, it is a low-quality title that didn't need to exist and wasn't doing the reputation of the series any favors.

Birth By Sleep Final Mix+ (2011)

[D]uring that movie there were the words ‘A fragmentary passage’, weren’t there? That means a ‘bits and pieces of something whole’. In short, a story for ‘Volume Two’ exists that ought to be told, but the story cuts off with those scenes. Because of that, I won’t say there is absolutely no chance that we will produce a title to follow KHBBS, but there are no plans as of now.

This game had an interesting playable secret ending and video. Volume 2 was supposed to be a numbered game (KH0.5), a mainline title that would fill in important gaps from across the timeline. But BBSFM didn't sell well in Japan. Which isn't surprising. Final mixes made sense in the PS2 era. But the extra content for BBS could have been released as DLC. Not many people want to buy the same game again for some new content.

Dream, Drop, Distance (2012)

KH3D was put together relatively quickly, I was still concepting the story when I brought it to the table.

This is when the series started going to shit. It started gaining quite a bad reputation and articles like this began to pop up. Re:Coded could easily be dismissed as filler, but 3D was advertised as more of a mainline game. People were eager for KH3, or at least a game with the same quality as BBS. DDD isn't terrible or anything. But you could tell that it didn't have as much thought put into it as BBS.

It was originally just the beginning part of KH3 that got stretched out into a full game and it shows. The Disney worlds don't fit into the normal timeline, there's fewer of them, Disney party members were replaced with animals, and the drop gimmick was controversial. There's weird time travel stuff that is convoluted and not explained very well. This didn't help with the story's reputation.

I originally planned to make that [a mystery KH title] after KHBBS, but we ended up making KH3D and the project was stopped. It’s a shame, but we won’t be starting that project again.

BBSV2 was planned after BBS. Production stopped to make DDD. The secret ending of DDD showed Young Xehanort on the beach of Destiny Islands, which was one of the events shown during "A Fragmentary Passage". There may have still been plans to start production of BBSV2 again after KH3D finished. But Square changed their minds. I suspect the reason for that has to do with Versus XIII.

Versus was being developed by the Tokyo team which made KH2. BBS was made by the Osaka team, which also made DDD. The original plan was for the Tokyo team to finish Versus and then make KH3. But things were a mess with Versus and eventually it was decided that the Osaka team would make KH3. So, if the Osaka team was busy on KH3, then they wouldn't be able to make BBSV2.

X (2013)

To tell the story about the Keyblade War we need the capacity of hi-spec hardware and we need to accumulate all of our knowledge on this hardware. And in telling this story, we will need to tell it in separate episodes, and how specifically to tell it has yet to be figured out.

There is evidence that X was probably intended to be an MMO on high-spec hardware. Square had a lot of trouble with the transition to HD consoles, so it was downgraded to a minor release on browser. It's an okay title. Interesting lore that expands on the fairy tale of Kairi's grandma. But it's got the typical recycled Disney plots and low-budget gameplay. Not exactly lighting the world on fire for the core audience.

If you do know, then you will enjoy the world of KH all the more, make no mistake. However, you don't have to know everything. The protagonist himself, Sora, doesn't know everything. That said, I'd be happiest if you did play it (laughs). If you do give it a try, I think you'll be surprised at what a rich experience you get for free.

But X was not meant to be a title with an emphasis on story. It was a spin-off, totally separate from the main plot thread. It was written alongside KH3 and the two were intimately related. If you played X, it would enhance your enjoyment (Ephemer cameo), but it was not essential.

X was rebranded as Unchained X and rereleased for mobile in 2015. X was also remade into Back Cover, which was included in the 2.8 HD Remaster collection. People would naturally assume that Back Cover told you everything you needed to know about the X story in preparation for KH3. And maybe at one point, that was the plan...

0.2 A Fragmentary Passage (2017)

As far as content goes, we can’t include a full volume of content to play with like the second chapter of KHBbS, so it’s just a “fragment,” and we left that part of the subtitle. 0.5 is one of the letters and numbers that appeared in the secret episode of KHBbS FM, and that meant full volume, so we decided on 0.2 this time, to indicate that there will be more content to come.

IMO, this is the first high-quality release since BBS. But it's still just a 3-hour prologue instead of a complete game. The events with Aqua are interesting, but they are just one "fragment" of the whole 0.5.

Actually, this was what I worried about the most. We showed this for a bit in the secret episode of [KHBbS FM], but the concept for two chapters of [BbS] is something we've had for a while, and because of problems with time, it's become just a morceau.

Releasing it as a full game on consoles would have delayed progress of KH3. And after nearly a decade of nothing but remasters and low-quality spin-offs, that was the last thing Square wanted. Despite how important 0.5 was, fans would be upset if the next mainline game wasn't KH3.

Union X (2017)

As a gacha with a worldwide audience, X was extremely profitable, so its storyline was extended past its natural ending. Even though X was a complete story that was meant to lead directly into KH3, Nomura retconned the ending, allowing the story of Ephemer and friends to continue in a new story arc called Union X which began in 2017. UX was...strange. It took place in the afterlife? Or the datascape? It had tons of filler, very infrequent story updates that barely progressed anything, and weird retcons, like character backstories that felt like they were in the wrong game (Why tf are Ventus and Marluxia here???).

Unlike X, the story of UX felt like it was being made up on the fly. Also, UX did not directly tie in with KH3 anymore. Its run actually continued past KH3. It was as if Nomura knew there were going to be too many plot holes for KH3 to properly resolve. So, he began using UX to set up the plot of KH4. People who only played the remasters were going to be completely blindsided when they played KH3. It wouldn't conclude anything that was set up in Back Cover, like the black box. KH3 would actually just be one big "to be continued" for KH4 with UX acting a band-aid. IMO, this is the point when the series had officially gone to shit.

KH3 (2019)

I had quite a tough time writing the story this time around. So many characters appear in this game, with each of them having their own set of problems and needing to choose their own fate. [...] I believe that KINGDOM HEARTS III is truly completed when the two thoughts - whatever you feel from playing the game, and my thoughts that I’ve secretly placed in the game - match up together. I hope that everyone playing the game will complete the game for us.

The long-awaited big budget mainline title on home console was a decent game, but it just wasn't a complete experience like KH2 was. 0.5 should have properly developed the relationships of Lea/Isa, Ansem the Wise/Ienzo, and Xehanort/Eraqus. Instead, these backstories only get lightly touched on in the Secret Reports and then one cutscene was given to "resolve" their problems. The new original world that was shown off in a private trailer in 2014 dubbed "Cable Town" was completely absent from the final game, except as the final battle stage.

KH3 had beautiful production values, solid gameplay, and vastly improved level design. But it didn't capture people's hearts like KH2 did. More incomprehensible time travel, rushed unsatisfying reunions for the trios, plot holes galore, and a cliffhanger ending only made things worse for the reputation of the series. The story is infamous in the gaming community now. A meme. KH4 doesn't have anywhere near as much hype as KH3 did.

Fans all have different favorite characters, so I thought I should give each of them their own time to shine, but because the amount of things needed to be explained was too large, I had to find a way to have Sora move forward, at the very least. Actually, when the scenarios were being written, the Keyblade Graveyard part was the most difficult. If I focused on each character at a time, the progression of events would be quite slow, and the battles involving Sora were necessary to be shown, so making allowances for everything was difficult. The way I imagined it, all of the characters tied to each other should fight in order and put an end to everything [themselves], but if I did that, the explanations would end up being too long.

Re:Mind was content that should have been in the main game, but was removed due to time constraints. For instance, the Final Fantasy characters from RG. Also, being able to play as the various guardians of light in their respective battles, rather than just Sora. Roxas and Xion weren't even supposed to be revived in the middle of Lea and Kairi's fight, but were included to please fans. The focus of the DLC is on Yozora, a new OC reminiscent of Noctis, showing that KH4 will be an attempt to revive the cancelled Versus XIII. The series is just...a hot mess at this point.

Melody of Memory (2020)

Another budget side game nobody wanted. Only has a tiny bit of story at the very end. Similar to Re:Mind, the plot felt like cut content from KH3. Stuff like Kairi's childhood flashbacks of Apprentice Xehanort, her arrival in the Final World to look for Sora's soul, then having a confrontation with old man Xehanort. All stuff that should have been in KH3. Ya know, when Xehanort was still alive...

Dark Road (2020)

I know what you're probably thinking: the Dark Seeker Saga, which depicted the battle against Xehanort, finished with KINGDOM HEARTS III, didn't it? Well, it's a grey area, but I wouldn't call this title part of the Dark Seeker Saga. Why? Because this isn't about battling against Xehanort—it's about the battles of Xehanort. And maybe you're thinking that's a bit of a reach, but… okay, maybe it's a bit of a reach. However, I had the concept in my head for many years. It got shelved because it never really fitted what our team wanted. But around then, I heard from the Union X team that they'd like to do a parallel title with a new protagonist. And, since it seemed there was an unexpected number of Xehanort fans out there, it all came together like it was destined to be.

This story was no doubt one of the missing "fragments" of 0.5. Unlike many KH games, DR has a very solid premise and an interesting storyline. It's just a story that should have been told in a mainline game before the Xehanort saga ended. Because it was rebranded as part of the X series, there were weird retcons like Xehanort being the reincarnation of the UX Player. However, the main problem was the VERY low budget. The chibi pop-up book graphics fit the childish fairy tale story of X, but don't fit this story. Story updates were slow and gameplay was trash. Didn't even last a year. The scenario was truncated, and we got an abrupt ending that didn't even delve into Master Odin, how Xehanort fell to darkness, or how he and Eraqus grew apart. At this point, the state of the series is just pitiful.

Missing Link (2024)

"Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link" is a work that fills in the blanks between the two arcs and acts as a bridge, so it doesn't belong to either the "Dark Seeker" or "Lost Masters" arcs.

When UX finally ended, the Player, who was already dead, dies again. Only, instead of going to the Final World (X's ending) it's implied that they're reborn. This is because Square wanted to make a new UX with a parallel protagonist. But DR flopped. So, they retconned things yet again. No, no. Xehanort wasn't the reincarnation of Player-kun. Rather, it's this new robed person and Xehanort just absorbed their memories. ML is the REAL mobile follow-up to UX.

Honestly, ML doesn't look too bad. Unlike UX, it will be able to deliver a console-like experience (yay controller support!) and the story seems like it will be closer to a mainline game. I imagine most of the unused "fragments" from 0.5 will be included as "missing links" this time around. Better late than never. But fans are definitely burned out from the vast amount of side games and most just want KH4. Fortunately, mobile games only need a few dedicated whales to stay funded. ML won't delay progress of KH4 and it can dole out its story gradually, and it won't have to be rushed or shortened like KH0.2.

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 801: The Rolling Stones Exile on Main St.

I hesitate to say things like "favorite album of all time," but if I lost my whole record collection in a fire, the first album I would replace would be Exile on Main St.

What is a favorite album anyway? One where you love every song from start to finish? That's not what this is. Not every song is a hit. Hell, even the singles off the album weren't hits. Exile is a strange, murky, uneven double album recorded in Keith Richards' basement in the south of France while the band were tax exiles from their native England. Mick Jagger is buried low in the mix. The performances are loose even by the Stones' standards. Initial reviews from critics weren't exactly positive. And yet there's something about it that keeps luring you back.

I first bought a used CD of Exile in the early '00s at the insistence of a few folks in the Against Me! camp. Aside from a handful of songs, I really wasn't much of a Stones fan. But I was okay with the $5 I'd spent after one spin of "Rocks Off." It's the archetypal Stones song---it's got the classic open-G Richards riff to kick it off. But where similar intros like "Brown Sugar" or "Start Me Up" just unfolded into songs that, at the time, felt lukewarm and uninspired to me, "Rocks Off" actually ROCKED. The song just keeps climbing up and up, ascending to greater heights. And when the second chorus comes in with the horns? Holy fuck... yes. And what's this song even about? Sexual frustration? "I only get my rocks off when I'm sleeping." Wait... is this song about wet dreams? Why have I been barraged by "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" all my life when this is clearly the most kick-ass Stones tune by a WIDE margin?

But wait... then the band launches into "Rip This Joint" and now I have to reconsider that maybe THIS is the most kick-ass Stones song ever. It's like Little Richards if he took too much trucker speed. And that scream Jagger let's out during the last verse: "Little Rock fit to drop... AAHHHHH!! JUST LET IT ROCK."

Fuckin' A. Shoot that shit into my veins.

But then... "Hip Shake." An old blues cover that just kinda simmers but never reaches a full boil. They had all this momentum, and they just completely dropped the ball. For at least the first couple of years I listened to Exile I would play the first two songs and then hit stop on track 3. Truth be told, at least part of the reason for that was that my cheap used CD started skipping at track 4.

Fast forward to 2004 and my first iPod. Now I could listen to all of Exile without the glitches. But "Hip Shake" was still a buzzkill and "Casino Boogie" doesn't exactly reignite the party with its reserved shuffle. Side 1 closes with one of the two singles off of Exile: "Tumbling Dice." And to be fair, it's a pretty good song. It's got a little bit of that gospel flair that I've always sorta hated in rock bands, but as with so many rock tropes, classic-era Rolling Stones actually did it well, and all the imitators are what ruined it.

Over the next few years I listened to Exile on my iPod a fair amount, usually when I wanted something with positive energy playing in the background but didn't want to have to actually pay much attention to it. I didn't care much for any particular songs later in the album, but it was better than listening to classic rock radio at a low volume. So yeah, not exactly "favorite album" material.

My appreciation for the album really changed when I got a well-loved used 2xLP copy at Singles Going Steady in Seattle. Now Exile was broken up into four distinct chapters. Those first five songs were like their own little universe. Two rockers, a tension builder, a strutting shuffle, and a triumphant closer. Flip it over to Side 2 and you have a whole other trip.

And holy shit, how did I not appreciate Side 2 earlier? This is where the magic really blossoms. You've got the scandalous gospel-country tune "Sweet Virginia" with it's multiple drug references and the chorus of "got to scrape that shit right off your shoes." And then you have "Torn & Frayed," a Gram Parsons-inspired country rock tune. It might not rip like those first two songs on Exile, but as far as the melodic side of Stones goes, this is easily one of their best tunes ever. And that slide guitar solo? Fuckin' hell. How was this not a single? How is it not a classic rock staple?

From there we go into "Sweet Black Angel," a political country / world music mash-up in defense of the civil rights activist Angela Davis. And then we have "Loving Cup." Ya know, when you're a kid first hearing music from the '70s, you latch onto the John Bonhams and Bill Wards and Keith Moons---the drummers that just bash like madmen. Charlie Watts seems so boring in comparison. But listen closer and you realize that Charlie keeps the show going. He's not a show pony, but he holds the ramshackle band together with a simple, graceful groove. Wanna know why Charlie rules? Just listen to "Loving Cup." And hell, the drums aren't even the best part of the song.

If Exile ended there, I don't think it would've endured years / decades of derision. But there's still a whole other LP of music and it starts slipping into some strange territories. I could easily go track by track and explain what I love about each song, but I think the thing that's kept me coming back to Exile over and over again is the mystery, and maybe it's best to leave that mystery alone for the uninitiated. Like, why was the second single for the album one where Jagger doesn't even sing ("Happy")? What's even going on in "Just Wanna See His Face"? Why wouldn't they follow the ripping two opening tracks with the equally hair-raising "All Down The Line"? Why would they end the album on "Soul Survivor" after the apex of "Shine A Light"? Give it a listen and try to solve the puzzle yourself. It's worth the journey.

By now we all know that Exile was a record made at the peak of the Stones' debauchery and resulting consequences. And maybe on some level it sounds like a band barely holding it together. But it also sounds like a band where the creative peak overlapped with their most desperate times. It's a record that sounds like a party with its moments of elation, chaos, druggy haze, and inevitable comedown. It's a record with its faults, but the faults become part of its charm.

Nowadays, it's rare that I go more than a week at a time without listening to Exile. I have so many great memories listening to this record. It's picked me up when I'm down; it's made the mundane seem magical; it's made a sunny afternoon feel even sunnier. And somehow it still feels fresh and exciting and ecstatic and reflective every time I listen to it.

A perfect record? Absolutely not. But one of the best records ever made? Absolutely.

[smillingcartoonist]

Jodie Whittaker is announced to be returning as the Doctor in her own series on Big Finish, and then we can finally see Jodie properly at as the Doctor !!! This is a another big rant/rambling on Chibnall run on Doctor Who !!

Ok, Honestly, let's get this out of the way, I do think that Jodie Whittaker as incredible miscast as the role of the Doctor !! too be fair she as not given much to work with anyway, but that's in general, not only by Chibnall but his own swat of mediocre writers, so for three seasons we have this actor just being there !! Jodie is a good actress, she can say the dumb shit that is given to her without laughing !! but at the same time, it just that, she is just doing the best of what she can with the material that is given to her and not much else, she never elevates in any way, so if anyone don't remember anything of any of those episodes, well there is not much that stand out anyway to be remembered out side of the dumb stuff !!! Her Doctor as also done dirty !! Not only having the most of generic of personalities, that is just Tennant but water down a lot, we also amazing moments of The Doctor being talk down by a Trump allegory, saying that capitalism is fine actually (love that one), Throwing the POC Master to the fucking Nazis and thinking much about that later, and not given a shit about her friend having cancer or not !!! Great stuff Chibnall !! if all really he wanted as to assassinated the Doctor Character then that is the only thing he was doing right !!

Comparisons are at play here, we can compare these low point of the new series with the low point of the classic series, the Colin Baker years, honestly there is not much to compare here, sure the stories during this time where bad, but they at least have something in them !! an idea, a theme being explore, the Chibnall era have nothing !! just a dull boring 50 minutes of dead air to fill that slot every Sunday night !! Colin Baker of course was also not done very well by his first impressions, being incredible arrogant and constantly mistreating his companion and even chocking her during a manic attack in his first story, all that mostly is attributed to script editor Eric Saward not really liking Colin as the lead !! But even there Colin Baker manages to give an incredible acting performance (he is the best thing in Twin Dillema, his over acting there is what carries anyone to watch that story)

Colin Doctor's as actually "Done Right" as some say, when the Big Finish audios started to happen, If you don't know this piece of trivia about Doctor Who, and how could you not, Colin Baker was fired by phonecall !! they didn't even have the decency of telling that he was the show to his face !! Colin didn't show up to do his regeneration scene, the brief moment we his Doctor in Time and The Rani is actually Sylvester Mccoy in a wig. So It's a surprise that he came back to play the part again in the audios, for me at least, and also surprise to see Jodie return as well, maybe there she can prove me wrong, that she can actually play this character and do the part right !!

Along side Jodie returning we have Mandip Gill as Yaz, I rather prefer someone else doing another character, Yaz is boring, well to be fair, like everything else during that run, Yaz was done dirty, well she was not even done for like two season !! Yaz is a non existence character in the show that only have her development in her last season !! that another thing they have to do right !! I believe they did do Peri and Mel right on the audios, especially Mel, how most of her time in the show her contributions where to scream really loud at the end every episode !!

Also we got Jo Martin coming back as the Fugitive Doctor, that needs to be back on the main show if they want to make that character relevant in any way, and not wasted Jo Martin !! It's so funny they put her in that banner with the other Doctors, like imagine explaining who that is to a person that just started to get into this show !! and also we have Sacha Dhawan playing the Master again, meh !!

So we can all wait for that coming redemption for Jodie's Doctor in July... 2025, sigh !! well plenty of time for me to figure out how to get my credit card to do international online purchases.

Also, recently a new River series just drop, a new set of adventures of River after she die !! how is that possible, she was cloned and upload all her memories from library !! Now there is a dumb idea to rival the Timeless Child !! what are the chances of Jodie Doctor meeting this River in her adventures ?!! it's not a question it definitely gonna happen !!!

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Little Things I Dig About STRANGE WORLD

Much like the one I did for PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, this post will be a list of unorganized thoughts on STRANGE WORLD. And as usual, if you haven't seen STRANGE WORLD and were planning on doing so but haven't really had the chance nor gumption to fire up Disney+ and watch it, there be spoilers ahead!

'They're The Clades'. This is a hit the ground running opening right here. An all-too-brief cel-shaded depiction of Jaeger Clade's adventures and exploits, and how his son Searcher was by his side but was never really the rough-and-tumble explorer type. The song would do the Mello Men proud, as it recalls the songs of various live-action adventure movies that Disney had made throughout the '50s. This whole movie, if it wasn't clear before, is a massive homage to that era of adventure stories. The scene alone is evoking an early-to-mid 20th century pulp comic. Also during this sequence, we see these really lovely paintings of the Clades on their adventures. Particularly the visuals of them encountering birds of prey and a bear. It hits all those classic wilderness aesthetics in mere seconds flat.

Avalonia itself is actually quite a cool-looking world. It being on the back of a giant turtle-like beast swimming around on an all-water planet is very much Terry Pratchett's DISCWORLD, but being someone who lived the early 2000s as a kid, it also struck me as very BIONICLE. Hey, did you know Walt Disney Animation Studios was looking to option DISCWORLD for an adaptation of MORT? That was to be Ron Clements and John Musker's movie after THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, but due to rights issues, that fell through, and they ended up pitching other ideas that would later morph into MOANA.

Continued, Avalonia in the post-Pando era: The retrofuture setting, the sortakinda steampunk-like aesthetic, very TREASURE PLANET in some ways. The graphic design recalled various decades of aesthetics of the 20th century, too. Some '30s and '50s touches on Callisto Mal's ship, the Venture, subtle and neat stuff. Loved the architecture, technology, and cruisers. The cruisers, especially the one the Clade family uses to dust the crops, in particular reminded me of the hovercraft vehicles in the JAK & DAXTER series. That was another action-adventure franchise from the early 2000s that I was very much big on back in the day (and still am!).

Legend. Just Legend. He's literally one of my dogs, but in Disney animated form. Plus he's a tripod. Disabled rep, even for a doggie! It was also nice to see a shot of a disabled Avalonian, too.

Primal Outpost reminds me of game called Heroscape, which I remember being advertised a lot circa 2004... Though my 12-year-old self never played it or got invested in it, I thought it always looked cool. The hexagon pieces and such... But yes, I liked that a role-playing/strategy game played a part in this world, it just added a depth to it: This is a game that the kids/teens play. Today I learned that Heroscape ran from 2004 to 2010, and there was a failed revival somewhere down the line. I kinda wish STRANGE WORLD came out in 2004, this would've been my *shit*. Big time.

The lighting choices are what really make the "strange world" pop. The subtle sunset-like oranges and pinks, the misty-like layers, really brings out a lovely look to everything.

There's a particular shot when the Venture is crash-landing while careening into the insides of the Avalonia turtle-beast-creature... Searcher and Legend drop off as the ship is still speeding, it's a particularly well-done shot.

What little there is of the vibe - both good and bad - between Callisto Mal and Meridian Clade, particularly when it shows up during their confrontation in the Venture cockpit.

Right before Ethan meets Splat in that cave of bioluminescent creatures, some of them are apparent in a few frames: They look kind of like glass vases with fireflies inside of them. A small but cool detail, and the framerate on them is much slower.

Splat slapping Ethan when you think they're going to do the HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON-esque connect-with-each-other moment, a well-timed send-up of those kinds of person-and-creature scenes.

The Clade men playing Primal Outpost is a standout scene to me, and I absolutely love the jab at the well-repeated "criticism" that Disney animated movies don't work without traditional bad guy villains in them.

How Searcher and Jaeger can't get the handshake/gestures right, they're preemptively doing a different one. It's a fun little character beat for both of them.

Everything about the much healthier insides of the beast after the heart is restored. A colorful, near-psychedelic set of images.

[dragbunart]

practicing some Amy outfits for Super Sonic Sound

In Super Sonic Sound. Amy has a HUGE closet ... In the Modern Era. During the Classic Era she's largly exploring fashion and finding her style. Because she grew up very secluded...

She's a half-echidna raised by Knuckles (their half-siblings). All her pre-classic era life is spent up on Angel Island.

Her tarot cards were inherited by their mother. And she actually uses them (and CHaos energy) to make pretty accurate predictions, most the time. When she's younger she often won't do much without consulting the cards, but she chills out and trusts her own instincts as she gets older.

If the Chaotix arn't basically Amy and Knuckles adoptive family (ie grow up on the island with them), They have an agreement with Knuckles to use Angel Island as a base of operations, in return for getting supplies form below.

This is how Amy learns to harness Chaos energy to turn invisible, and acrobatics from Espio. While training with Mighty and Knuckles helps her control her abnormal strength.

She was NOT supposed to leave Angel Island when she did to meet Sonic. But the cards told her to and Knuckles was distracted. What else are you supposed to do when you predict you'll meet your soulmate on a super interesting planet that only appears once a year, and your overprotective brother isnt paying attention? Not go? She'll be back before he notices her gone!

She falls for Sonic pretty fast for a couple reasons. A) It's the first time she's meeting a boy that isn't basically family. B) Espio snuck her romance books, and hero always falls for the damsel. And C) The cards told her he was her soulmate. Then she gets kidnapped... She was caught off gaurd and she had left her hammer back on Angel Island.

She acutally busts herself out of Eggmans pirson when Sonic saves her.

Though Amy has to politely request he and his siblings escort her home. (as she doesn't want to get nabbed again).

THey either already have tails as this point or meet him shortly after

They take her home (to Angel Island) And almost get their shit wrecked by Knuckles and the Chaotix, who A) have been looking for Amy the past few days and B) believe Sonic and Sibs KIDNAPPED her. because eggman told them that.

Amy has to clear up the misunderstanding. (the kidnapping and Eggman being a bad guy). And Proclaims she's gonna marry Sonic someday. Sonic's a bit put off, but kinda ignores it since Amy's just a kid. But Knuckles sees this as a reason to try and attack Sonic again.

Eggman gets kicked off the island, but realizing the master emerald won't be safe, Knuckles, Amy, and the Chaotix decided to land Angel Island for now, and go on the run, so that Eggman won't be able to easily locate the emerald.

The Chaotix go one way and Knuckles nad MAy join the main gang.

Amy's arc largely involves her discovering herself. When she's younger she doesn't really have a sense of self. Doing what she's told (either by her companions or the tarot cards). And this is reflected in her attire. Her style is either her Classic Outfit or an outfit obviously picked by other characters.

But as Amy discovers who she is the style becomes more unique and 'Amy'. She trusts her own judgment and ends up having a pretty stubborn personality.

Discovers she doesn't need Love to be complete. (don't get me wrong she still very much loves Sonic, but she is more laid back about it when shes older Simalar to IDW where she isnt shy about her affection but doesnt plaste rit in neon light severy ten minutes). SHe still WANTS love, but she realized there are many forms of it.