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animebw · 6 years

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Zero no Tsukaima: Season 2 Reflection

I’ve talked a lot over the course of my blog, and especially in this show in particular, about the importance of stories that can just be good enough. The Noragamis and Blue Exorcists of the world may not win any grand awards, but they operate in a critical sphere of simple-but-evocative storytelling that can be incredibly formative for people who are just starting to develop a taste for the oddities and eccentricities of this medium. There’s a reason these shows are so often called “gateway anime”: the unique way they appeal to basic desires, wringing out broad stories of friendship and action, laughter and sorrow, and above all, connection, make them among this medium’s most easily digestible examples. As such, I seek to examine and critique these kinds of shows with all the respect I would likewise afford to the likes of Cowboy Bebop. And when a line is crossed, and a show that could’ve been equally harmless fun instead descends into a flaming cauldron of bullshit, that matters. Because fans of these shows deserve for them to be good. They deserve to not have their intelligence insulted by the media they enjoy.

And fans of Zero no Tsukaima deserved so much better than this second season.

It’s honestly kind of impressive how completely Knight of the Twin Moons tears down the solid foundation its preceding season set up. The likable characters, the smart storytelling, the occasional clever implementation of fanservice to its benefit, all of it gets routinely thrown out or ignored in favor of the laziest, most cringe-inducing pandering imaginable. I hate the stupid expansion of the harem, I hate Saito being dumbed down from an enjoyably immature kid growing into his own to a one-note pervert, I hate how Siesta’s boobs suddenly doubled in size between seasons just to give the audience something to jerk off over, and I especially hate how lazily the story retcons all the romantic progress Saito and Louise make over and over again just for the sake of keeping as many semen recepticles (sorry, I mean “characters”) open for business as possible. I’m somewhat reminded of a criticism I levied against the second season of Aldnoah.Zero; like that mess of a season, this also ends up feeling like shitty fanfiction, taking the characters of the first season and just throwing them together with no regard for what made them work in the first place, all for the sake of putting them in indulgent scenarios that appeal to the writer’s fetishes. Only this time, we don’t even have the saving grace of a legitimately compelling focal point like Slaine Troyard to provide a respite from the bullshit. There’s nothing but gag-inducing fetish outfits, oversized breasts shoving their way into the camera’s vision without any regard for personal space, and the bubbling rage of watching a show I once liked spit in my face again and again.

Thank god, then, that at least someone in the writers room seemed to give a shit about fixing this unmitigated catastrophe. Because whenever the focus shifts away from the insufferable harem antics and onto the expanding scope of Tristein’s geopolitical conflicts, you can see the show that this season should have been. The story’s increasing darkness, naturally transitioning the wacky world established by the first season into something much more steeped in shades of grey, makes for some of the most powerful moments of the entire series. Anges’ entire revenge storyline was 100% solid, and the increased focus on the horrors of war and the sacrifices everyone has to make for it really made you feel the increasing desperation everyone was experiencing. It’s the one part of the story that actually felt like it was moving forward, like the foundations established back in the first season were being built upon to make something even greater. And had the rest of the season not felt so agonizingly retrograde, we might be having a very different conversation right now.

In the end, though, the only word i can think of to best describe my feelings towards this season is “insulted”. I’m insulted by how much Knight of the Twin Moons takes for granted. I’m insulted at how stupid it assumes I am. I’m insulted at how little respect it has for the reason people fell in love with this show in the first place. At the very least, it’s officially extinguished my hope that this series will ever get better, so I can go into the third season with my expectations adjusted accordingly. Until then, I give Zero no Tsukaima’s second season a score of:

3/10

Das vidanya, cowboy. And I’ll see you all for the start of season 3 soon enough!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #zero no tsukaima #the familiar of zero

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diversegaminglists · 6 years

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Games where you can pet animals

This turned out to be pretty hard to research, so additions are even more welcome than usual.

Virtual Pet Games:

101 Shark Pet

Beast Pets (VR)

Bird Life

Cat Life

Catz

Cute Dogs Life

Dogz

Eyepet

Hamsterz Life

Kinectimals

Konrad the Kitten (VR)

My Best Friends - Cats & Dogs

Nintendogs Franchise

Pet City

Purr Pals

Horse games:

Horsez

Secret of the Magic Crystal (You brush your horses, a lot)

Other:

Arigatou, Nigen-San! (Entirely about petting animals)

Assassins’ Creed: III (Several different animals in the world including chickens as well as cats and dogs)

Assassins’ Creed: Liberation

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Assassins’ Creed: Origins

Avengers Academy (You can hug Lockjaw if you have unlocked him)

Batman: The Telltale Series (You can attempt to pet Selina’s kitty in episode three, this is not a euphemism, though you can also do *that*.)

Black and White & Black and White 2 (You teach your giant creature what is good or bad behaviour by petting or slapping it)

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Cats and dogs in the game world)

Chip’s Tips (Your dog)

Dragon Age: Origins (Your dog)

Eternal Ocean (You stroke fish to learn more about them)

Fable III (Your dog)

Fallout 4 (You pet Dogmeat when you meet him. There’s also a mod HERE which will let you pet him whenever you want)

Far Cry Primal (All the recruitable pets)

Far Cry 5 (You can pet dogs in the world as well as your animal companions: A dog, a bear, and a cougar.)

Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire (Your PC will pet their current mount as part of the idle animation. There are also several missions which involve petting Sylvan hounds and you can feed pet cats but can’t pet them.)

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature

Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

Haunting Ground - The bond between Fiona and the dog Hewie makes Hewie protect her better. Petting Hewie also makes Fiona feel less anxious, meaning she won’t die so easily. (This is not a cute game though, it’s a horror game centred around protecting Fiona from rape.)

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

The Last Guardian

The Last of Us (A giraffe)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (you can pet your horse to soothe it)

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Cats and dogs)

Metal Gear Solid V (D-Dog)

Monster Hunter Generations

No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle

Pet the Pup at the Party (All the puppers)

Phantasmagoria 1 (You can pet cats and dogs you find on your adventures)

Pokemon X/Y

Pokemon Omega Ruby/Sapphire

Pokemon Sun/Moon

Pokemon Ultra Sun/Moon

RuneScape

Shadow of Colossus (you can pet your horse)

Shenmue (There’s an orphaned kitten you have to look after)

The Sims: Unleashed

The Sims 2: Pets

The Sims 3: Pets

The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs

The Sims Freeplay

The Sims: Pet Stories

The Sims: Medieval

Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 (Chao petting)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - You can pet the Gizka.

Strange Horticulture - You can pet the shop cat.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - There’s a section in a village with yaks, you get an achievement for petting them all. You can also try to get Nate to put his hand in their butts and he will say “Eww!”.

The Walking Dead Season 2 - You may pet a dog, however it will try to eat you.

Watchdogs 2 (dogs)

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - Flash backs to playing with a dog, however your abusive father tries to make you shoot the dog, so warning for animal and child abuse.

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

Special Mentions:

A Boy and His Blob - Not technically an animal but this game has a hug button.

ABZU - You can’t really pet the animals, but you can ride them around.

Okami - Since you’re a wolf that almost everyone perceives as a dog, you can get people to pet you instead.

Stardew Valley - You can click each of your animals once a day to tell them you love them, but it’s not really “petting” them.

Tales of Symphonia - Colette gets a special title for naming every dog.

Undertale - The non-violent combat methods occasionally involve petting.

Woof3d - A mod for Return to Castle Wolfenstein that turns the game into a dog petting simulator.

#games with petting #animals #list actually

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thesansastarkimperative · 7 years

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The Black Veiled Bride (1/2 )[Jonsa]

Summary: In which Daenerys' army comes to the North to prepare for the Long Night. Jon is forcefully removed from his position as King and Sansa rises as the new Queen in the North. Instead of staking their claim to remain at Winterfell, Sansa and the Northern folk choose to travel to the Riverlands to await their deaths unless they can strike a bargain with the Dragon Queen. One that assures the North's independence.

Note: I haven’t written in ages and as such, I am incredibly rusty. I wrote this because I wanted to sort out my feelings for Jon - I wanted to reconcile what I think the poor characterization he received in season 7 with the only possible explanation as to why: Undercover!Jon, eventually. I also want to apologize if the language doesn’t fit the time period. I simply don’t know how to.

Unbeta’d / Did not proofread. Sorry for the spelling and grammatical errors.

It disturbed her greatly to see that the brother she swore remarked that he would do anything to protect her, walked in with the most dangerous conqueror she had ever known.

At first she thought that the raven he sent was false, that he was made captive at Dragonstone, akin to the time when she had to write a similar letter at the hands of the Lannisters. She desperately wanted to believe that the Jon she knew, wouldn’t take up with a foreign Queen. Sansa tried to quell her feelings for the brother she thought she lost once, withdrawing from her growing affections simply because she thought it was inappropriate. Although, it ultimately was ineffective. She prayed for his safety every night, but if she was honest with herself, she stopped praying altogether after receiving Jon’s letter. And that was when she started devising a plan.

When news of their arrival reached Winterfell several moons before, Sansa had the pleasure (or obligation, a careful distinction she afforded herself) of preparing the castle as Lady of Winterfell. It was one of her many duties along with the constant placating she needed to do to keep the armies of the Vale and the other Northern lords loyal to their cause. It didn’t help that Littlefinger constantly fed her rumors about Jon laying with the Dragon Queen and that he had forfeit the North’s independence just for a night with her. It seemed that Daenerys’ beauty was not as exaggerated as Sansa once thought.

And now, here they were. The dragons were the first signals of their arrival – from afar, the scouts saw two magnificent creatures riding through the sky heading towards the castle gates. The gates opened and with loud announcement, the Dragon Queen’s party came in full force with Jon carefully walking beside her. The common folk immediately bended the knee in respect to their former King. Apart from Jon, Daenerys’ council consisted of her Hand Tyrion, her closest advisor Missandei, as well as the familiar faces of Varys the spider and Ser Davos. They were welcomed by the neutral faces of Arya, Bran, Brienne, Sam, Commander Yohn Royce, and other lesser Norther Lords. Noticeably absent was the Lady of Winterfell.

“Jon,” Arya eyed him soullessly. “It is unfortunate that we are meeting again under these circumstances. Most of us are leaving. The North will not bow to a Southern Queen”. Daenerys looked at Jon then, willing him to say something, anything, to salvage this particular development. After the initial shock of her statement faded, Jon approached his siblings with the intent of hugging them but was taken aback by the raised swords of Brienne and the other knights.

“What is the meaning of this? I am your King!” Jon exasperated.

“You are our King no more. Lord Snow, you abdicated as soon as you bent the knee. The North remembers the transgressions of the House Targaryen, the horrible things that happened to your aunt Lyanna. We will not be subjected to your Queen’s rule.” Lyanna Mormont stated as walked forward from the back lines.

“Where is the Lady of Winterfell? I must speak with her at once. I want to understand why she convinced all of you to leave.”

“Leave the Queen out of this my lord,” Brienne spoke.

Daenerys’ anger surged. “Queen?!” She shouted. “My good people, your King bent the knee and as such the North belongs to me. Lady Sansa is not your Queen. I am. No one will leave, unless they want to feel the wrath of my dragons,” She prided herself in delivering threats menacingly, inspiring fear to those she spoke them to but the Northern folk simply laughed at her.

“Your Dragons are not infallible your grace.” From a distance they saw Queen Sansa walk down the ramparts. Every Northern kin bowed. Sansa glided towards them in her dress that was outlined by red and blue, Tully colors as well as wolf patches to signify her Stark blood. “We know that you had three dragons, yet you only came with two. We know that our former King bargained the North in exchange for your help and he will honor that. But we will not stay. We will not bow to any conqueror, we will seek passage to the Riverlands where my uncle currently resides. We will start anew there.” Daenerys bristled. It surprised her that the passing of one her beloved dragons did not fail to escape her notice.

“Sansa, have you gone mad?!” Jon began as he approached her. Again, the knights raised their swords in defiance.

“I’d recommend you stay where you are Lord Snow. The North doesn’t take too kindly to traitors,” She replied. Daenerys grew impatient by the minute, she was promised the North and if she wasn’t going to get it then she would let the dead destroy them first.

“Jon, you promised me the North – if I won’t have it, including the people then I’d rather let the dead enslave us all.” Daenerys knew she was acting similarly to a petulant child but she was tired of having her birth right as the rightful ruler of the seven kingdoms continuously denied. She would not let some usurper assume the kingdom of the North when its King had bent the knee to her cause.

“Let me speak to them Dany, maybe I can convince them to reconsider,” Jon whispered. “Your Grace,” he began – referring to the sister he once entrusted the North to before he sailed. “If you would offer me your private counsel for a brief moment, I would like to speak to you so that we could consider the repercussions of your said leaving and the dangers when the Long Night will befall all of us.”

Sansa considered his words. “Very well. If you would join me Lord Snow, let us confer in my chambers. Let us leave the others to get acquainted.”

He approached her then, expecting no opposition to taking her hand and leading her to one of the many rooms in the castle. She took his arm and they silently walked inside the castle halls. The rest were still touched by the cold outside as they await the end of Jon’s and Sansa’s conversation.

Once they entered Sansa’s chambers, Sansa rushed to envelop him with a hug, one that he had been desperately craving for moons now. Jon took her face with his hands a planted a kiss on her forehead.

“You are a gifted thespian, Jon Snow.” She remarked and they both laughed.

Sansa needed to find a way to secure their claim to the North, sans the foreign conqueror. After Littlefinger’s trial she seeked Bran’s wisdom – she wanted to know if he had seen any eventuality of them surviving the war with a Stark ruling in the North.

“Bran, may I speak to you in private?” She asked as she saw him and Sam Tarly whispering in his chambers one night.

“I was just leaving my lady. Have a good night to you both.” Sam awkwardly said as he left the two of them.

“What is it?” He stoically said.

“I’m not sure if you’d seen it in one of your visions but Jon has declared Daenerys Targaryen as the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, including the North, and I wanted to know if this was the truth.” Sansa asked, her voice full of worry and concern.

“Yes it is.”

“Do you know why?” Tears were threatening to fall but she kept her composure.

“I can only see bits and pieces but the price of that knowledge will hurt you. I am sure of it.” Bran replied.

“You know of my feelings for him then? Feelings that are not brotherly?”

“Yes. I don’t know when it began but I just saw you looking at him with admiration, and then I knew. I am not condemning you for it.”

“But it is wrong! If Arya found out I was harboring feelings for our brother, she would have me killed. Her loyalty for him far exceeds any loyalty she holds for me.”

“Sansa, if I impart on you some knowledge of Jon, you have to promise me that you won’t speak of it to anyone else until Jon knows.”

“I promise.”

“Jon is not our brother – he is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen with our aunt Lyanna.” She gasped. “Sansa, he didn’t steal her away. They were in love. And they married. Jon is the rightful heir to the Iron throne.”

“Gods! Jon Snow isn’t a bastard, he’s a prince! He must know immediately.”

“Sansa… I neglected to tell you the reason why he bent the knee.”

In her scattered state, she had forgotten to ask.

“Yes?” She motioned for him to continue

“He had fallen in love.” Sansa felt her knees tremble and she fell, her legs bending beneath her as if her whole world was ending. Fat tears were rolling down her face as Bran simply looked at her offering one simple consolation. “But he’s in love with you too.”

She wasn’t happy that he had fallen in love with someone else, but Sansa knew his sense of duty was greater. She placed her faith in the certitude that his love for her, for the North was far greater than his love for this foreign Queen. She would make sure of it.

After wiping her tears, she rose and asked Bran if she could tell Jon the news through a letter, assuring him that it would be brought to him directly. After Bran agreed, Sansa hastily walked to her chamber and wrote to him. If she being completely honest with herself, she was relieved that Jon wasn’t their half-brother, a bastard born from her father’s previous indiscretion. She loved him and she had hoped he felt the same way. She thought he felt the exact same way inferring from the looks that he gave her but his letter, declaring his allegiance to the Dragon Queen complicated matters.

Jon,

I am writing to you with urgent news. Before you continue reading, I implore you that you MUST be alone while reading the contents of this letter. It contains sensitive information even to your new “allies”.

Jon, I have previously told you that Bran is now the Three-eyed raven, a magical being that can see the past, and the future. It is as if he is time itself. While training his powers, Bran has come across some knowledge about your parentage. Your true parentage. Jon. You are not the son of Ned Stark. You are the son of Rhaegar Targaryen. He didn’t steal Lyanna away, they ran away together. They married. Jon, you are the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.

As I let you sit with that new knowledge, I must know. Why did you bend the knee? Did you lay with her? Was there no dragonglass? When you entrusted me the North, I gave you my word that I will hold it in your stead. Yet, what you’ve done is an act of treason to the Northern folk. They will not accept you or your Dragon Queen. I have forged a solution but I would like to have some answers before I declare it.

Yours,

Sansa.

Sansa knew that the foreign Queen’s army was set to arrive in a few moons so she must act quickly. She took some cloth and rolled it around the parchment to prevent it from being spoiled.

“Ghost! To me.” She called and the direwolf quickly appeared.

“I want you to deliver this to your Master, can you do that boy? I want you to give it to him only when he’s alone in his tent. It is of utmost importance.” Understanding the severity of the situation, Ghost barked in acknowledgment. She motioned for Ghost to open his mouth and she placed the tiny letter below his tongue. She knew this was the safest way to deliver it.

With a gentle pat on his head, Ghost bounded out of her room and started to run towards the gates, towards his master wherever he may be.

#jonsa #actuallyjonsa #jon x sansa #jon snow #sansa stark #jon x sansa fanfiction #jonsaff #jonxsansaff #jonsa fanfic #jonsa fic #game of thrones #got #got7 #minor spoilers #asoiaf #TSIfics #Sorta nervous

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