#I've been working on this since the trailer was announced here we go

[fencecollapsed]

An Expanded Criticism of Perky’s Buds

Tomorrow is Nightmare Time day! I’m about to get negative but I’m gonna try to do it in a reasonable, genuine way, and then I’ll stop talking about it I promise!

If you follow me you know I don’t like Perky’s Buds very much. I think it’s the weakest Hatchetfield story overall. I don’t care who does like it, to each their own and good for you, enjoying things is great! There’s stuff in there I like, too. I’m not gonna say you’re wrong for liking it, not at all.

But seriously, once it goes live tomorrow, if I see more people making all critique of it out to be a feminist or shipping issue I will lose my fucking mind and that’s a promise. Thankfully this is a pretty small fanbase so I haven’t seen a ton of this, but I’ve seen enough to irritate me, and it’s enough to write this post to try and genuinely discuss it so. I hope y'all will hear me out.

The reflex to be defensive of a woman-led story that doesn’t feature her love interest is a fair one. It’s easy to see paulkins fans taking issue with Emma’s character in PB, or having been bummed that Paul didn’t make an appearance, and take it in bad faith. Baseline critiques don’t always expand on that kind of thing, it’s easy to see it as bitter shippers who wish Paul was around and don’t think Emma can hold her own in a story without him. I’m not gonna say there aren’t people like that, maybe there are. And yeah, that’s dumb. If your only problem with PB is that Paul wasn’t there, and thus there was no paulkins, that’s an issue. Think on that.

However, as someone interested in genuine analysis and critique, who took the time to think about why I didn’t enjoy Perky’s Buds and discuss it with multiple people, I want to make a genuine argument and explain what I and others really take issue with when it comes to Emma’s character in this story. It’s not about Paul. Emma is fully capable of carrying a story on her own, and Paul’s presence wouldn’t have made this story or Emma’s portrayal in it any better. I’ve talked to people who like Emma and don’t like paulkins who agree that PB is a bad story, and a bad Emma story particularly. It’s really not a shipping thing.

I’m not gonna talk much about the actual story writing here, because although I didn’t really like the story as a whole either, I find those things more preference based. I’m generally not a fan of The Animals Are Evil type stories, I wasn’t entertained by the nighthawks as villains, I would’ve preferred a story with the Metzgers as the central threat. A story just like this with a different lead probably wouldn't appeal to me regardless. Those are all me things, and I don’t particularly care about any of that in comparison to what I’m actually going to discuss.

The story itself isn’t the real problem, the lore isn’t the problem, the other characters aren’t really the problem, and Paul being gone isn’t the problem.

Emma’s wasted potential is. Hear me out.

Emma Perkins is a really compelling character. To me, she reads as someone with a history of running and avoiding things, being distant, being lazy. She skipped her hometown to get away and live for herself, and she avoided her family for a decade. She came back because her sister died and in her grief and regret was motivated to connect with the roots she had left, and build her own form of stability. Emma came back to a town she hates with an unfavorable reputation to live down, particularly with the family she has left. 

She’s a hard worker, willing to do what she has to even if she hates it, and when she can’t take it anymore she’ll find another way. She’s snarky and sarcastic and she doesn’t take shit. She’s driven by a goal she’s passionate about and has real emotional investment in. She cares more than she lets on. When caught in hardship she’s tenacious, she keeps going, even when she’s physically incapable she contributes to the solution. Even when it doesn’t work, Emma tries.

At the base of her character, Emma has a strong, emotionally driven motivation, and interesting, established relationship dynamics to play off and expand on that haven’t been explored much yet (particularly with the Houstons). There’s a LOT of potential for her in a story not focused on her romantic relationship.

Perky’s Buds wastes that potential.

By conceit, PB was clearly never going to be a character-focused story. It’s a stoner horror-comedy with violently murderous psychic birds blasted on weed that ends with Nick Lang looking right into the camera and saying “damn that was fucked up, huh?” That’s the tone it’s going for, the focus is the absurd premise. And that’s not inherently a problem, that kind of story can be fun, stoner comedies can be fun! There are really fun story-focused, more comedic episodes of NMT, they’ve shown they can do it well. It’s about the execution, though, and this was a poor execution, and a detriment to the character at its center. 

The lead of a story like this kind of has to be flattened out, just by nature of how writing works. Emma isn’t the right character for that kind of thing. She deserves to star in a character-focused story that actually explores her and the relationships she’s trying to build. PB isn’t that, and was never going to be that, and that’s what the real problem is.

Admittedly, I think saying Emma is out of character in PB is a bit of a stretch. She is fairly consistent with her other appearances, (almost) nothing she does or says feels out of line with what we’ve understood about her previously. Her tenacity and refusal to take shit especially is on full form here, just adjusted for the situation. I love that! I particularly like that her and Ziggs’ ideas to deal with the birds are mostly really stupid, because they’re stoned the whole time, but they don’t stop trying! That tracks, that’s Emma. Her ideas backfire when she’s sober, too, and she keeps pushing as long as she can. It works.

The problem is really that this is an incredibly flat version of her character. She’s hollow, drained of her emotional core - because it’s not being explored here, so what’s the point? We learn almost nothing new about her outside of rudimentary info like she’s a dog person, she likes donuts, she’s a feminist. She goes through no change. Her motivation is stripped down to it’s barest form - the farm is basically all she cares about. It’s the focus of the story, so that’s a reasonable choice on the surface, but when certain writing decisions present Emma as explicitly not a hard worker who didn’t do much to earn the farm in the first place, it’s a massive detriment to both her character and the viewer’s ability to invest in the conflict.

Let’s talk magic soil. I’ve talked before about how much I hate the way PB handles this bit of lore, particularly in this post. Emma bold-faced admitting that she and Ziggs are terrible farmers and rely on the magic soil to make their weed good not only paints her as lazy - which as I’ve said, she is not - it makes me, the viewer, not really care if they lose their magic farm. They make a point to have Emma say multiple times that this farm is her dream, she spent her 20s working on non-magic farms, we’re supposed to see her as passionate about this. Farming weed is a big interest of hers, she should take it seriously. She should not be as bad a farmer as she was a barista if the viewers are supposed to believe this, let alone invest in the conflict.

I don’t buy that Emma’s been growing and selling weed since high school, has had this passionate dream for over a decade, and has experience working on non-magic pot farms, and never improved at her craft and doesn’t care to, because she can let the magic soil carry her slack. I don’t like that this story wants me to buy that. In terms of active character decisions, that’s what feels the most wrong to me, and it could’ve been so easily fixed by just making her unaware the soil was magic at all.

The land inheritance plays a little into this too. I don't mind it on its own - she still worked through college to unlock it, and we know that Emma’s family had ties to the Metzgers (which is a very compelling bit of lore they could’ve done something interesting with and didn’t, but I digress). It makes sense, though it could've done with some expanding. Combined with the magic soil pulling all the weight for Emma and Ziggs, though, it serves more to paint Emma as spoiled and lazy and that’s not engaging. The conflict feels hollow because Emma doesn’t come off as a pulled-herself-up-by-the-bootstraps farmer protecting the dream she fought for, she comes off as entitled, not wanting to lose what she got largely through chance and minimal effort.

My problems here are exacerbated because there’s not a single mention of Jane.

Prior to PB, the farm never felt like Emma’s primary character goal to me. Maybe I misread it, but it always felt more representational - something concrete for her to work towards that makes sense as her version of stability. Emma’s character to me has always felt more focused on her self worth and her grief, her goal to connect with her family, make something of herself and make Jane proud. That’s what the pot farm represents - Emma’s not Jane, her dream isn’t a run of the mill job, a husband, and kids. She can change course, put down roots and work for something stable without giving up who she is. It’s her version of a steady, stable goal. And Jane’s death is part of her motivation.

With no mention of Jane at all, and Emma’s motivation reduced entirely to her farm, the emotional core of her character is wiped out. Looking at this story on its own, it almost feels as though, if Jane hadn’t died, PB!Emma would have eventually come back to Hatchetfield anyway. For the magic soil, because that’s the only way she’s capable of growing good weed, apparently. We know the context so we know that’s not the case, but these are standalone stories. It’s still important to keep that tone of her character consistent. 

Even though these are different timelines and things will play out differently, there has to be and has been consistencies between appearances. The characters wouldn’t be recognizable otherwise. Emma hates Hatchetfield and came back because her sister died, that’s a big part of her character, and it’s not remotely present. Even if she’s supposed to have “grown” to not hate the town, that should be acknowledged, it should be shown somehow. That’s a big enough part of her that it can’t just be dropped, that kind of growth shouldn’t be done offscreen. 

Jane is a big enough part of Emma’s character that she can’t just be ignored. Jane’s absence is the detrimental one. Not the love interest. And Jane’s never even actually appeared in a story with Emma. I think that says something.

Cutting Emma off entirely from her established character ties (Jane and the Houstons most notably) and dropping her in the middle of a story full of brand new characters - a few of which were name-dropped before, but in relation to another character - makes her feel disconnected. 

The only positive relationship she has in this story is with Ziggs, and like my pal @andie-cake said once, it’s not really any stronger of a relationship than “employee with a really chill boss”. They could do something more interesting with their dynamic going forward, but for the time being there’s really not much to it. As a comedic duo they're.... fine? They have good moments but nothing really standout, excepting tig 'ol biddies. Their personalities aren't defined and different enough here to have a really strong comedic chemistry. It all just adds to the feeling of this story being completely drained of emotional or social connection for Emma. 

And this is admittedly nit-picky, but it’s a little odd to me that both Ziggs and Grace Chasity, whose establishing name-drops were in relation to Alice, were not introduced in a story with Alice. It makes them feel disconnected, too.

To compare, Witch in the Web is another story with one familiar character mostly surrounded by brand new ones. Pamela and Webby, however, were both previously established with connections to Hannah, and the notable absence of other strong ties Hannah has (Lex and Ethan) was acknowledged and explained. It felt less jarring, and it added to the tone. In Perky’s Buds, Emma’s just. There. Surrounded by people we’ve never seen before, and didn’t even know she knew, without a single mention of the people she’s established to know. Again, another thing that’s not inherently a problem, I just don’t think it was done very well here.

Another quick comparison, Jane’s a Car is interestingly similar to PB on a few story levels, although JAC is character-based. That’s why it’s good, because it uses its premise to explore Tom and his grief and his relationships with his family. 

That’s what PB should have done. If they’d given Tom a story with the focus more on its premise than how it could use said premise to explore his character, and additionally cut him off from his family with no explanation, the problem would’ve been the same. It would’ve been even more jarring. Tom’s not as comedic a character as most of the others, he doesn’t belong at the center of a story that would reduce him to his most basic archetype, he needs to be explored.

Emma is more comedic a character than Tom is, for sure, but it’s the same thing. She’s compelling, she deserves exploration. She’s not Hidgens or Ted.

As much as Hidgens and Ted are popular characters, I think it’s safe to say they’re examples of more comedy-based ones. That’s why Hatchetfield Ape-Man works, because those two are already more simplified. That doesn’t mean they can never be explored in greater depth - Frank read as purely comedic before Daddy and that story expanded him well - it just means they lend themselves more naturally to comedic and story-based plots than, again, Emma or Tom. 

What I’m saying is, Perky’s Buds - by necessity of the kind of story it is - flattens Emma’s character into a one-track-minded, lazy stoner archetype version of herself. It touts itself as being an Emma story without Paul, but doesn’t bother to actually explore her character or do anything interesting with her. That’s the problem myself and the people I’ve talked to have had with it.

The portrayal of Ziggs is affected by the nature of the story too, though it’s much less bothersome to me since this is their first appearance. There’s room for them to be expanded, whereas with Emma her existing, interesting character is shoved into a box to make room for the story. It's still worth noting, though, because if you ask me, a story co-starring a woman separated from her s/o for the first time and a nonbinary person isn’t as progressive as it sounds on paper when they’re not allowed to really... be interesting, y’know?

This is more of an opinionated tangent but the fact that both leads are presented so flat and archetypal makes the bits of feminist, progressive dialogue in the script feel... a little insulting to me. Not the idea of Emma being a feminist, obviously, I’m all for that, just the way it’s presented. This is part of the archetype the story leaves her as and it just feels... off. 

A story obviously doesn’t need to be about feminism or women’s issues to include feminism as a theme or a character detail, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be empowering (which PB isn’t, imo, it's jarringly cruel to Emma with very little to balance it out). I just think the dialogue about it here is unnatural and cringeworthy. Particularly the “last words” bit. If you like this moment, power to ya, fuck the patriarchy, absolutely. But to me, this doesn’t feel like a genuine or empowering final moment for Emma after the events of the story. It feels like a punchline. A mocking one. At best, it feels like the two men who wrote it patting themselves on the back for doing the absolute bare minimum.

I don’t think I’m the only one who feels that way, at least to some extent, because I’ve seen a divide on whether or not the feminism as it’s presented is meant to be genuine or not.

The take I’ve seen is it’s meant to be a commentary on “girlboss business feminism”. Hiding behind feminism to deflect harmful business practices, that kind of thing. I don't think they were going for that at all, it's not nearly a present enough theme to read that way. It'd be an awful commentary if they were, anyway. For one, Emma’s not some rich CEO. Despite the issues I have with the setup, her business is absolutely self-made, she wasn’t handed everything on a silver platter. In addition, Emma’s less savory actions are largely justified by the narrative, at least the way I’m reading it. Not all of it, maybe not the early bird killing, but once the story devolves into the birds being actively evil - and that’s the Entire Conceit of the story - I think it’s really pointless to assign morality to the conflict. My thoughts on morality in Hatchetfield are complicated, honestly, but that's a discussion for another time.

This is ignoring the total hypocrisy of the republican talk while Emma's apparently a gun-toter herself but I don't care enough to get into that honestly I just think it's weird. Like, if they weren't going for some kind of commentary why did they do that, and if they were, they don't do anything with it so it's not effective.

Regardless. We're supposed to root for Emma here, even if she loses in the end. That's how a lot of these stories go. Emma’s not even the right character for this kind of commentary regardless. I don’t remotely think that’s what they were doing, but I kind of understand that perspective, because the feminist aspect doesn’t feel genuine to me.

Again, if it does feel genuine to you, great! I wish I felt the same, and even so this point is smaller for me. It really just adds to how hollow I think the story feels.

Tangents aside, let’s wrap this up. The point is, the idea that PB is bad because Paul is absent is an incredibly shallow one. Emma has plenty of potential as a lead without him, his absence is not the detriment to her character in this story. If any absence is, it’s Jane’s. Give Emma a story without her love interest, absolutely! I want that for her, I want her to be delved into outside of Paul. But to do that, they’ve gotta give her a story that’s character-focused, and actually has the space to explore what’s compelling about her instead of reducing her to the flattest, most uninteresting archetype of herself. I love Emma so much and I WANT her to have a good solo story that actually shows investment in her and treats her with dignity and PB just isn’t that.

There’s my essay, I hope I’ve cleared up at least what my legitimate problems with this story were. Feel free to respond and discuss this with me, I'd like to hear your thoughts! Outside of this I don't plan to actively get into this story much again, though.

#hatchetfield #perky's buds #emma perkins #nightmare time 2 #nmt2 #nightmare time spoilers #I've been working on this since the trailer was announced here we go #cj says stuff

[kaiowut99]

A Special Announcement~ | Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V Tag Force Special Re-Translation Project!

I've been itching to get around to posting about this for a few months now, but wanted to wait until I'd worked on enough for it, but also had the idea to create an announcement trailer to go with it for added good measure--after recording and editing clips for a couple weeks and leveling the audio last night, heremst we are! (For some clips, I forgot to turn off the PPSSPP emulator's DevMenu option so that shows up in the top-left, buuut I didn't feel like re-recording those, lmao.)

Details worth reading below the cut here, but tl;dr work has been in progress for over a year in between things, work will continue to be in progress for a while, and the release will happen when everything's ready, but stay tuned, fun's getting started etc etc~

So, I'm sure most of us are familiar with the as-yet-unlocalized-by-Konami TFSP, the seventh and last entry in the Tag Force series on the PSP that came out early in ARC-V's run (featuring the first five series which was a cool first), as well as the current translations out there originally worked on by the guys at XenoTranslations (omarrrio and ScrewTheRules/ClickClaxer01 at GBATemp handling the card and story/etc translations, respectively) and how there are... some issues with what's out there. Everything from the DM story mode being loaded with YGOTAS references (no shade to YGOTAS and much respect to LK/Martin for his ongoing work on it still making me laugh sometimes, ofc) to the off-the-cuff edginess of 2014-2015-era internet culture and the problematic (in some cases, derogatory) language that permeated it--though to its credit, some parts do have some level of translation attempted, but taken as a whole, it can definitely turn people off from giving the game a try and seeing what it brings to the table (which is still a good amount despite the corners Konami cut here/there compared to prior TF games).

I actually did attempt a translation of my own back in 2015 (if you've been following me for a long time, you might remember it lol), tackling the GX story text starting with Judai's heart events, but eventually put it on the backburner as I focused more on my GX subbing work and beginning to finalize everything (which I'm still doing). Sometime in 2022, a friend over on NeoArkCradle (the "anonymous YGO fan" in the opening screen) was poring over the story text and patching it up the best he could to remove the references and inaccuracies with more coherent work, and after a while of seeing what he was working with in the Discord, I was a bit blown away by just how inaccurate much of it was--so alongside him, and using the better tools available since then (including some really awesome work from both nzxth2 [who did a proper re-translation of 5D's TF6 not too long ago and was kind enough to release his tools for it] and our coding helper Xan1242 who we eventually reached out to for some help), I decided to *cracks knuckles* get involved and help give everything a more accurate and professional translation, much like I do with my GX subs, working directly off the Japanese text and files. I've been taking cracks at everything in between the GX episodes I've been finalizing going back to at least last January (and I'd used my little hiatus after finalizing GX Season 2's subs to really get at some other stuff throughout the game), starting with re-translating DM's story text but also properly translating other aspects of the game, from the character names (using the original Japanese names, including those of the TF-exclusive characters, partly since Konami made a whole mess of them in English TF1-5), in-duel dialogue, pack descriptions, and more to images with Japanese text (such as localizing the in-duel cut-in onomatopoeia as you see in the video above, or other little images throughout) using some Photoshop skills I've picked up. And it's been a joint effort, as said NAC friend and I have been bouncing off how we'd like to see this go between us to stay on the same page and all, while also checking with other translators there for second/third opinions as needed.

Our plan is to release two versions of a translation--one which uses the OCG [translated] card names in Story Mode, in-duel, and other text but not in the game's card system (mainly to deal with story-relevant notes like Osiris vs Slifer with the Gods or things like not-Utopia Hope being symbolic between Yuma and Astral, akin to how I do my GX subs), and one which uses the TCG card names in everything (like how the official subs go about it). While we're mostly working with the Japanese game files due to how the Xeno team went about decoding everything, we'll be using the card-system-related files from the fixed ISO provided by FLSGaming which fixed some issues that had been present there. And Xan has helped us with a plugin that will be used to apply our translations to the system files that were hard to edit otherwise (things like the character and recipe names, as well as the pack names pulled from for the Card Description screen), but more on how that'll work once this is ready for release, lol. At some point, I'd like to also look at HDifying textures and things, but that's definitely a bonus-level thing for after the main work here is done.

SO.

Currently, Story-Mode-wise, I've gone through everything up to Yusei's events--so Dark Yugi/Kaiba/Jounouchi/Ishizu/Mai in DM, Judai/Manjoume/Asuka/Misawa/Ryou in GX, and Yusei in 5D's have been fully retranslated, though I took initial cracks at Yuma and Yuya's events to get content for this video lol (I've also been intentionally holding off on as much ZEXAL as I can until I've properly watched the whole show so I have context). I haven't tackled overworld text yet, though (like pre-duel or the tournament-related text, which is all in the same file as all the story text). I've also been handling the in-duel dialogue as I go through the character stories, so also just up to Yusei, though I did take initial cracks at Aki's, Yuma and Shark's, and Yuya and Yuzu's for the video.

Other things tackled that were sprinkled into the video, along with some other notes:

Pack names and descriptions have been retranslated, though the descriptions may see minor edits closer to release for a little variety between worlds given the different characters at the shop. Character recipe names were also retranslated, with Yugipedia's translations for them used as an occasional second opinion, though ones based on pack names had to be abbreviated in spots.

Menu text, from the Options to Help screens and stuff in between, has been retranslated, as have in-duel text strings (so, you'll see a full "Activate Effect" instead of "Activate" or "Switch to Attack/Defense Position" instead of "Switch to ATK/DEF Position", etc--also fixed the "BATTELE PHASE" graphic typo, and NAC friend created a new translation for the "Turn Change" graphic for accuracy since ENG TF1-5 made that into "Next Player's Turn").

Database stuff, such as the Sound Test, Tutorials, Duel Missions, etc., have been retranslated closer to the Japanese text; originally I retranslated the Tutorial text via hex editor, with compromises done on quite a bit of it due to the space limits, but as Xan recently updated a text extractor tool of theirs to more cleanly pull out and reinsert that text, I've been going through and fleshing out those translations more (on my commutes to/from work mostly, to be productive lol).

As mentioned, I've been localizing/translating Japanese-text images throughout the game as I come across them, like with the in-duel onomatopoeia that come up during cut-ins or images in the shop/duel/etc screens using Japanese text, to make sure the game is fully translated.

The series logos, used during the title sequence and in the Series Select screens, were updated with translated fan edits shared on Deviantart (which we'll credit in the final release) for DM and GX, while the 5D's-ARC-V logos were edited to enlarge the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" text on them that was pretty hard to see originally.

The game's original opening sequence starts on an anti-piracy message before going into the Konami logo and then a "From Yu-Gi-Oh!..." screen before the opening animation for each series logo--the original team decided to use the first image to vent their frustration at Konami for not localizing this game, and while that's valid (to some extent), we thought we'd use the opportunity to dedicate this project to Kazuki Takahashi for inspiring our love for YGO and the place it's had in our hearts for all these years.

We'll be updating the names of cards that had TCG releases after the original patch was worked on/updated by FLSG to those corresponding names.

Xan has been working on many UI fixes for us to apply with this, among them 3-line dialogue box text as is used in the ENG TF1-5 games--once implemented for TFSP, I'll be going over everything to make full use of that extra space where needed, so things might not look as they do in the video by then.

Character bios will be worked on after I've done the story stuff, though I've taken initial cracks at it for Yuma and Yuya's bios for the video, along with translating the location/affiliation names ("Domino High School," "Satellite," etc).

Currently no release date is planned, as I'm working on this between my GX-finalizing work and actual IRL work, though we'll see how later this year looks as more work gets done--but as noted in the video, all things being equal, it will be released when everything is ready. I'll try to post regular updates or rambles now that this announcement's been made, lol, but do try not to constantly check in on a release date. 🙏🏽

All that said, I think that covers just about everything I wanted to put out there with this, lol. It's been fun to work on this so far and getting to see what I've re-translated in-game is definitely neat; looking forward to us being able to release everything when ready.

Stay tuned for more; the fun's just getting started!

#yugioh #ygo #yugioh dm #GX #yugioh gx #5D's #yugioh 5ds #yugioh 5d's #ZEXAL #yugioh zexal #yugioh arc v #arc v #tag force #tag force special #tfsp #ygo tfsp #ygo tag force #yugioh tag force #my work #tfsp retranslation #project rambling #[dunno who might've caught onto my slight hinting at this in some of my GX release posts lol but hey] #also you'd be surprised at how much text is recycled from the earlier TFs and TFSP that goes unused #maybe they planned to add more and didn't but who's to say #was also a shame they cut the unique field animations but may look into seeing if it's possible to restore 'em #but woot glad to put this out there lol

[ameliora-j]

I've been very unoriginal lately but Eddie saving your life and you finding a way to repay him.

cw: oral (m!receiving), sub!eddie, overstimulation, dom!reader, can be read as any gender!

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ

it had been weeks since the last time you’d seen eddie… in person at least. he’d been the man plaguing your dreams since he’d fought off that swarm of bats and saved your life. you saw him do it every night and you needed to find a way to say thank you. after the eighth night in a row of that same horrible nightmare waking you up, you set out on your plan.

you pulled on a pair of short shorts to go underneath your three sizes too big t-shirt and pulled on your socks and a random pair of vans. you sifted through the drawers of your nightstand untill you found the small ziplock baggie of weed. you went down to your kitchen and baked some brownies then set on your way to your car.

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ

when you arrived to the porch of the trailer and knocked, the numbers flashing on your watch in bright red read ‘3:29 AM.’ you internally cursed yourself, your why would eddie munson be awake at this hour? to your saving grace, the door cracked open. “yln?” eddie drawled out in a raspy, sleepy voice.

“sorry… i didn’t mean to wake you” you whispered, shooting him an apologetic frown. he merely shook his head and opened up the door wider for you to enter. upon entry into his trailer, you’d noticed that he was naked, save for a tight pair of boxers hugging his hips.

“sorry about that” he chuckled softly, cheeks tinging pink in embarrassment as he noticed your stare. “wasn’t expecting you at this hour.” he smiled, pulling on a robe and tying it to cover up his naked body. “what brings you here?” he smiled.

“nightmares” you answered honestly, biting your lip. “i keep… seeing those bats” you shook your head, tugging at your fingers. “they’re in my head all night and i just… i see you and i realized that” you sighed softly, gnawing at your lip once more. “i never said thank you.”

he smiled at you. he found the action heartwarming. you thought about him… seemingly almost as much as he thought about you. “so you brought me weed?” he asked with a teasing smirk.

“and brownies!” you announced, proud smile gracing your lips. “to thank you… for saving my life and all” you nodded.

“well how about you smoke this with me, hmm? seems like we both can’t get sleep” he offered, smiling as he held out his arm and led you to his bedroom.

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ

three blunts and half a pan of brownies later, you and eddie laid sprawled on his bed. his eyes were lidded and red as cherries, your’s looked similar as you laid on his hip with his hand carded through your hair. “yanno…” he breathed after exhaling the long drag of his cigarette. “i can think of a million other ways you could’ve thanked me” he smirked teasingly.

“is one of them a blowie?” you taunted. his body flushed in embarrassment, skin searing hot as he cleared his throat. “i can feel it, eddie” you whispered. “i want it in my mouth” you mumbled, cupping the large bulge.

“m-mother of ozzy…” he stammered, looking up at you in complete adoration as you kneeled over his pale, lanky form. with shaky hands, he untied his robe and shrugged it off, leaving you to get to your work.

“look at this big cock” you hummed, mouthing over it through the fabric of his boxers. “all hard and wet, just for me, pretty boy?” you taunted flattening your tongue and lathing it over his cock through his boxers.

“god please…” he gasped. “sh-shut the fuck up before i bust” he begged. you laughed at how pathetic he was, yanking off his boxers and gripping his cock in a cold palm. the boy whimpered as you spit down onto the head. you moaned, watching it slide down the shaft of his cock and pool up around his thick, heavy balls.

you flattened your tongue, licking around his balls before popping one into your mouth. you sucked slowly at it, swirling your tongue around the fat globe as you slowly jerked his cock, squeezing him from base to tip. you repeated the action, giving the same attention to the other cum-filled ball before moving up and shoving his cock into your mouth.

“mother of ozzy…” eddie whined, gripping your hair tight in his fist and shoving your down further on his cock. he pushed your head untill your nose was buried in the dark tuft of curls at his pelvic bone and your were gasping and crying around his cock.

eddie whined and stammered above you as you hollowed your cheeks and began to bob your head. your mouth made obscene slurping and choking sounds on his cock as you sucked him off, and eddie was nearly crying in pleasure.

you reached up and began pinching and fondling with his balls, causing eddie’s toes to curl and his back to arch. you pushed his cock deep into your throat and swallowed around the head, causing eddie to explode. he whined, whimpered, and writhed on the bed, tears spilling down his cheeks as he thanked you over and over.

you laughed around his cock and kept sucking, moaning and swirling your tongue around his cock. “please please please” he whined, squirming and trying to push your head off. “please i already came” he sobbed out softly.

you pulled off of his cock, mouth making a small pop as you jerked off his cum-coated cock. “and you’re gonna cum again, pretty boy” you laughed. you shoved his cock back down your throat. you doubled down your efforts, your laughs vibrating against his cock as you milked him dry.

he sobbed as his next orgasm overtook him. you sucked until he finished and his legs were shaking weekly. you slurped at all the cum that didn’t make it into your mouth, slurping untill you had swallowed it all. “good boy” you smiled softly, placing a gentle kiss to his hip.

“th-thank you…” he whimpered.

#nani’s angels 👼🏽 #fanmail 💌 #nsfw.nani #eddie munson #sub!eddie #sub!eddie munson #dom!reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson headcanon #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson drabble #eddie munson one shot #eddie munson imagine

[gunsatthaphan]

GMMTV 2024 part 1 - review

another year, another lineup, another post that no one asked for dhkgdf

But here are my thoughts on the announced shows from today (in order of announcement, BLs are marked with a 🏳️‍🌈, personal favorites are marked with a 🌟):

My Precious The Series: This project has been lingering around for 4 years now since it was announced and I'm tired lmao why are they making this into a series now??? I have many questions. I never had any desire to watch the movie, it seems like a generic coming of age drama oozing with unnecessary nostalgia so it's a pass for me. .

Ploy's Yearbook (🌟): I like this one!!!! It's giving I'm Tee Me Too but with a female ensemble cast, all of which are fantastic and also the rest of the cast is very promising and we're in for a lot of new ships - I was hoping Earth and the other 30yr olds would finally be free of the blue shorts but maybe this the last one 🤡 but anyway yes I will definitely be tuning into that one 👍🏻 .

We Are (🏳️‍🌈): I'm just gonna go ahead and assume this is the WabiSabi show because it looks terrible. Like how lazy do you have to be to just throw a bunch of BL side- and 1 mainstream couple into the same show with the most basic plot you can think of like what a joke?? WinnySatang are another side couple in this so either they're getting their actual debut show in part 2 or this has all been a scam lol. I expected a lot more, same goes for AouBoom and MarcPawin, who I was hoping would maybe get a comeback show. Also PondPhuwin going from NLMG to this is.... a choice. Don't wanna judge too fast but the trailer made it seem like no effort went into this at all. Hoping for a better end result. .

The Trainee (🏳️‍🌈): Oh look!!! It's OffGun show number 6 lmao rip. I'm not gonna comment on this matter again, I guess they'll just be around forever and that's that lmao. But anyway I'm a little confused by this show, the premise seems fun but?? I have questions lol. I'm excited to see View and Piploy though and I'll just keep an open mind. .

Only Boo (🏳️‍🌈): How did we go from Only Friends to Only Boo lmao what a downgrade. I wanted an all-newbie BL and I'm excited to finally see some new faces but I guess I fooled myself into anticipating a setting that's not highschool lmao. This is another show that I'm clearly too old for but it's also the MSP of 2024 and that ended up being nicer than expected so maybe this will be the same. We shall see. .

Pluto (🏳️‍🌈 🌟): I'm 😭😭😭 This was such a huge surprise I'm still shook lmao. Namtan and Film is not only a couple I never expected in 432 years lmao but also a very strong combination in terms of acting and I'm SO into it. They're revisiting a plot about a disability which is still something I'm dreading about Last Twilight so I guess it comes down to the director again. Let's hope they do it justice. Also the twin story could be tricky, I'm getting some Not Me vibes plot-wise but regardless the trailer looks super interesting to me, also Ciize and Kapook?? YES please. I'm so hyped for this!!!! 🥺 .

On Sale (🌟): Ghostbusters but make it TayNew? I love it lol this looks so fun, I'm very intrigued. I wasn't a huge fan of New before but he climbed up the ladder with The Warp Effect real fast because he undeniably excels at playing awkward goofy characters and this looks like another chance for him to showcase that lol. Him and Tay have always worked better as a comedic duo for me so I'm actually excited that this will be more of a bromance situation lol. Also Mook and Jan are excellent additions so I will be watching this for sure!! .

Ossan's Love Thailand (🏳️‍🌈, remake): I have very mixed feelings about this, I have not seen the original show but from what I've gathered, this does not seem fitting for EarthMix, also is it really necessary to remake another Japanese BL? But this is coming from someone who's not exactly a JBL connoisseur so I guess I'm biased. It seems that after MLC they became enthusiastic about the idea of casting EM in more mature roles which I endorse very much but aren't the people in the OG literally 40 💀 idk I'm curious to see what they make of it and also if we will ever get to see a trailer because we all know how that went with Cherry Magic lol. oh well. .

My Golden Blood (🏳️‍🌈🌟): Well well well. what do we have here. This is for sure the biggest surprise since Be My Favorite lmao I can't believe Gawin is bringing yet another retired BL actor back from the dead and this time it's supernatural kjdhgd. The vampire genre is something I never thought GMMTV would take on but like?? I'm excited?? I'm so happy to see my boy Gawin in another main role and Joss is such an interesting partner but he fits the genre very well imo lol. Also Neo and Mond?? I'm so ready. Hoping for a release around Halloween next year for obvious reasons lol ✌🏻 .

Kidnap (?): Another show another confusion lmao this looks like Double Savage 2.0 to me, Ohm is caught in another mafia situation but this time not with his brother but with someone who's either a bro or a 💖 bro 💖 lmao but this smells like bromance to me. Ohm would never. And besides that I'm not really intrigued. next. .

Summer Night: This is kinda strange because everything about this seems like a BL but... it's not? the first 30 seconds had me convinced PhuwinDunk were gonna be the new thing on the block lmao but yeah apparently not. If I squint my eyes I would think this is Hidden Agenda 2 but with more girls lol and tbh I expected another JD series but regardless the plot seems a bit generic to me so I'm on the fence about it for now. .

Wandee Goodday (🏳️‍🌈): This looks like the Walmart version of Only Friends tbh but guess what I'm on board lmao. It's AllThis Entertainment's new project which means no Eclipse Season 2 (thank god). Great and Inn are a pair I did not see coming and tbh I did not expect Great to even take on a BL role to begin with but I'm intrigued! The director has been moving on a vast spectrum of different genres lately and this is another one that's completely different from their previous works. But I'm excited. It looks kinky and violent. perfect. .

Highschool Frenemy: All I'm seeing is people beating each other up and calling each other friends afterwards so yeah. not my thing. next. .

My Love Mix-Up (🏳️‍🌈, remake): I'm not a huge fan of this, not just because I didn't like the original but because I was hoping to see GemFourth in a different setting. I'm confident they can do it justice though and deliver a good outcome, especially regarding the comedy, but other than that this isn't going on my watchlist for now. .

conclusion: this was a wild rollercoaster lol, every trailer was a stressful game of Het, Gay or Bromance lmao - The majority of this lineup was not to my liking but then again I appreciated the variety because from puppy love highschool romance to gay vampires is a spectrum you really can't complain about lmao. My 2 highlights for now are Pluto and My Golden Blood simply because they're both a massive surprise that they kept very well hidden lol, I'm also intrigued by Wandee Goodday and Ploy's Yearbook because those have great ensemble casts.

One thing I'm missing from the BL lineup though is a genuine romance, something that's deep and genuine and more mature. What they announced seems fun but for the most part either silly or drowned out by 32 couples at the same time lol. so I really hope we will get something a little more serious that also talks about lgbt issues in part 2; Something like Be My Favorite would be nice, maybe minus the supernatural element.

I did not expect them to announce 15 series already, considering this is only part 1 so who knows what part 2 will bring. I'm expecting FK to make an appearance as well as PerthChimon since they are the only 2 couples that have not shown up, also possibly JoongDunk because I can't imagine they would separate them just yet. Looking forward to December! ✌🏻

Don't hesitate to drop your thoughts below! 🧡

xxx

#gmmtv #gmmtv2024 #gmmtv 2024 #gmmtv2024 part 1 #review #thoughts #opinions

[the-new-pokespe-futures]

Announcement:

A Little Something to all Toxic Chain Possession Kieran AUs out there...

TC Pecharunt: "Hey Guys, so um, about a little something we're cooking up with...we're actually screwed. Not in that way, we had some screw ups here and there and uh...yeah. But anyways, I have some good news! So, who's ready for-

S&S Pecharunt: "Oh, will you shut it? We're barely getting the team together! It's pointless!

TC Pecharunt: "... What?"

S&S Pecharunt: "Have you seen ANY of our creators interacting with one another? No! Plus, some of these creators never get anything done."

TC Pecharunt: "Ok first of all, how did you get here? And second of all, what makes you think that way?"

S&S Pecharunt: "It's only been roughly a MONTH since our event was released and people have been hyping up for the leaks of us only to get disappointed by the supposed 'really good' 'Mochi Mayhem'. It's only the fanmade Toxic Chain Possession Aus, Toxic Chain pokemon and theories that's helping us.

TC Pecharunt: *grumbles* "Have you been looking at Twitter again?"

S&S Pecharunt: "You mean 'X'?"

TC Pecharunt: "TWITTER, X, WHATEVER IT'S CALLED!! Why did they even change it...But the point is, those people are just haters and enjoy being toxic. Don't you dare tell me you actually believe them!"

S&S Pecharunt: "So where is it? Huh? They have been working on their Aus for quite some time, yet some of the Aus and stories are incomplete AND some of them have improper schedules when posting their stories!

TC Pecharunt: "You do realise that these people are doing this for fun right? But they still are actual people with lives, schedules, family, friends and not dedicated their entire lives to running their blogs much less the Aus?! Those people that hate the Toxic Chain Theories or others probably won't even see the Au, much less see it in-depth themselves! You have a lot of NERVE to say all of THAT to MY face!"

S&S Pecharunt: "... But the guy writing this is-"

TC Pecharunt: "GAAAAHHH, I HAD IT WITH YOU!!!"

*The 2 soon started a fight before a figure looms over them...*

???: "ENOUGH"

Both Pecharunts: 'Huh? Oh Shit it's PV-'

PV Pecharunt: "You two are annoying me, I'll take care of this myself..."

...

"I know you are there, and you have seen us. But don't fret, because we, The Korrosion Klan. WILL get you next time, watch out heroes, wherever you are, you can't run, you can't hide, and soon, your soul will be mine...hahahahaha....."

...

...

...

TC Pecharunt: "There, now are you satisfied?"

S&S Pecharunt: "Really? The people would still be confused by what's going on."

TC Pecharunt: "Ugh, gimme a second..." *Brings a piece of paper.*

"Basically, The Korrosion Klan is a group consisting of Pecharunts involved in their own Toxic Chain Possession Aus. If any user wants their Pecharunt to join the Klan, they can reply in the comments or reblog to state if they want to join. We are open throughout the year, so you can join anytime and anywhere."

"There, better?"

S&S Pecharunt: "Much better."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've been wanting to do this for some time! A crossover between the different Toxic Chain Possession Pecharunts is something I've recently thought of. I probably won't make a sideblog about it, but just a fun idea I thought of. Also, this is directly inspired by Mario's Madness Funk Kast trailer. Adn a few things were directly copied from it but most of all, it has changed.

Also, credits to the original owners of the Pecharunts:

Toxic Consequences (TC) Pecharunt belongs to @tealmaskmybeloved

Sweet & Sour Dipplins (S&S) Pecharunt belongs to @dipplinduo

Project Venus (PV) Pecharunt belongs to @milliemuus

#pecharunt #dokutaro #toxic consequences au #the magenta fragments au #sweet and sour dipplins au #project venus au #project venus: mystery of the indigo disk #hope you don't mind me tagging your aus #The trio's just being silly #mochi mayhem

[prototypelq]

DMC DISHONORED AU

I`ve mentioned a couple of times that during answering Ember’s @dmc-questions-anon crossover ask, I mixed, purely on a whim, DMC Sparda loser twins into a Dishonored-setting-AU and truth be told, the idea has not left me ever since. A week later, I've decided to compile everything I had for this AU into one post, so here it goes.

UPDATE a month later: I went over this post again to bring up to speed some things we've thought out with @stashoflostsouls! Her help with this AU has been immense and the brainworms might have stopped a long time ago if not for her, so this whole thing is her fault now xDDD (no regrets)

This is not a complete rewrite of the original post, but the DMC3/Dishonored 1 plotline has been edited heavily and new stuff brought to light. Adaptations of other DMC and Dishonored games will be coming later too.

Big thank you to everyone who is following this monstrocity as it builds itself along!

Personal notes: I've played Dishonored games, finished only the second though, as they had not grabbed me as they do other people. Still, I am enamoured with it's setting and aesthetic. The whole AU was smashed together in my head because, in my opinion, Dishonored does not do enough work with it's characters, and DMC does not do enough to flesh out it's worldbuilding, so I mashed them together to get the best of both worlds - a super unqiue and cool thought out setting and incredibly compelling and deep characters.

Disclaimer: I am very much a DMC enjoyer, however I am not that deep into Dishonored. I've refreshed my memory with some lore videos, on the topic, but please feel free to correct/advise/give commentary on adaptation of Dishonored stuff. DMC fans too! This is very much thoughts-in-process kind of AU

With all that out of the way - as a short summary Dishonored setting is a kind of mash of royalty+hitman+humans with powers AUs together. Dishonored is a tesla-punk-ified victorian britain setting (so we got strict class division with start differences in between, helthcare is nonexsitent, and the Empire is built upon the four kingdoms, each one on their own Isle) that is built upon the whale oil and whale hunting (that is used as fuel for electricity). Setting is also magical in nature through through the Void (kind of a mix of purgatory/death/dream/eldrich horror dimension, which has an avatar/god in the form of the Outsider, his worship is considered herecy by the local 'inquisition' but it can't fuly stop the weird, horrifying or perverse rituals that are held in his name). This world is quite dark, death is abundant, and violence is quite common. Nobles play their policial games and order asassinations to eliminate their rivals, common men are exploited at industrial factories, whale hunting is the main source of income and progress, scientists and philosophers play with their deadly inventions and even human lives for the sake of their research. (for vibe purposes check out the Drunken Whaler song and Dishonored 2 trailer they sum up the aesthetic exceptionally well)

Alright, so, how can we (hopefully) meaningfully insert the DMC cast into Dishonored, and how I, with major help from Raven, see the story of the twins going on from there:

Background and general setup:

In this AU Eva Redgrave is the Empress of the Empire of the Isles, Sparda Santiago is a talented swordsman, who rose from the poor districts, climbed ranks and became the Royal Protector of the Empress (=bodyguard). Romance bloomed from there, and they had twin sons and heirs for the throne, their relationship not announced to the public, but also not a secret to anyone in court.

Twins were royal children and had a lot of freedom in their childhood. Still, they had their tutoring done by an established professor of the Academy of the Natural Phylosophy - sir Arkham. Needless to say, both boys hated their lessons, and they picked up that their father was hanging around more losely when those were held. They did enjoy fencing a lot, sparring with their dad and each other especially, and were quite good at it. (not sure where to put in so I'll insert that here) Sparda favoured using bird mail, and had a favourite crow, twins tried playing with it sometimes too.

Canon DMC Eva was able to raise her demonic sons, so I imagine she had a steel spine. In this AU I think this would mean her politics as Empress were more strict than the Empress Jessamine of thre Dishonored setting - the Spymaster was not allowed to work under the radar (as he is allowed to in canon Dishonored which causes a myriad of problems later), and she would try to manage the long list of social issues and class difference, but of course, won't be able to solve them all. Her politics were based on maintaining good trading relations with other nations and trying to improve the life of lower classes, which did earn her some opposition from nobles and 'traditinal' oriented individuals, but did not stop her. Sadly, just one Empress is one reign was able to improve the lives of common people a little, but the things mostly stayed as they were.

Since her reign and politics were not a popular choice, plus she had twins as heirs (so the chance of her sucessor continuing this course was high), an asassination was arranged.

During the outbreak of a rat plague (which happened naturally in this case), the quarantine helped prevent it's spreading, but there was no known cure. Eva tried asking the other countries for help, but received no concrete answers, and she was getting desparate. As a last resort, she decided to sent out Sparda himself on a diplomatic mission, and to conduct this search himself, he was very reluctant to part but the situation was dire.

Arkham, as he was common presense in royal court, learned of this mission, and with the help of opposing parties and the Spymaster, planned a coup to asssinate and overthrow Eva during Sparda's absence. Members of this coup were not exactly concerned about the plague, as the affected districts of the city had been quarantined in time, and posed no threat to them, plus the main casualty here are the poor. However, the plan did not exactly work out as it should - Sparda finished his mission earlier than planned, as there was no cure for the rat plague. With these grave news, he sent out his mail crow to message to Eva about this, and the fact that he was coming back earlier. Arkham was able to capture a crow with this message, caged it, and began planning for Sparda's return - with his knowledge or the arcane and acute inventor's mind he conducted a magic trap, a curse, to stop Sparda in time. Literally in this case. And so, with Sparda's early return, he was warmly met by Arkham, then subsequently betrayed and frozen in time. Frozen Sparda was held somewhere in the dungeons of the Arkham estate. The asassination took place as planned.

Eva is killed during a nighttime stroll, but the twins are a harder target inside the palace walls. Things get bloody and palace guard is alerted. However, the twins chose that night to sneak out to play in the garden, and they stumble into seeing the last of their mother. Some of the assasins stay behind to keep an eye on their escape route, they see the twins and give chase. The twins are of course, shocked and traumatised, but they did their best to give the pursuers a hard time, as both are skilled fencers. Working together, they disarmed one of them, and Vergil was even able to deal some blows, but ultimately they are just children and had to run. Twins escape to the lighthouse, which had docks with some boats that Sparda used to them swimming around. Near the cliffside, one of the asassins has had enough and, seeing as the waves will drown out any sound, shoots. Dante falls into the ocean and is held under by the waves.

Vergil has no choice but to continue running, and near the lighthouse, he gets miracuously saved by Arkham.

yes this is technically a roleswap as Vergil is saved,and Dante is forced into contact with supernatural, but if saving was done by Arkham does it really count?

Dante gets chosen by the Outsider and lives through being bestowed the Mark upon. As this was done at a young age, there will be some repercussions.

The fallout of the asassination is hard on everyone. Publically, Eva and the royal family are stated to have been deceased by the plague that they tried to prevent, and in the place of an Empress, a ruling counsil of wealthy noble houses is instated.

The curse Arkham conducted was powerful, but short-lived, so a couple of years after the tragedy he finds himself free, escapes, and finds himself displaced in time. His family dead or missing, with no trails to follow to find any of them. The tragedy weights down heavy on him, he leaves the kingdom of Gristol to try to pick up the lost pieces of himself, with no luck.

Dante is picked up drifting in the sea by a ship. With no resources, stranded and alone, he has nothing to back up his claims of being a royal heir, and no help in sight. When the news of the royal tragedy reach him, there is no point in even trying anymore, and he is forced into the life of a street urchin. He hides the Mark he received, and slowly gets used to it's powers... and the consequences of having them. With his wits, and the advantage of the Mark, he makes the best of this situation - avoids the gangs to the best of his ability, travels by stowawaying in some caargo crates on different ships, then manipulating the crewmen to teach him sailing. He makes contacts, deals, gambles and grows street-smart and cunning. Dante is known at Enzo's bar, is a common sailor in Morrison's trader ship crew, and even dealt with some contrabandists/pirates like Lucia. When not sea-faring, he spends his time in fighting rings, or investigates anything Void-related in exchange for favours. This payment system makes his services available to locals, but he does those secretly, protected by an alternate look and a mask.

Note: this background negates some of the issues the canon twins have, most notable - their demonic-human nature conflict, and in both cases the twins grow up almost properly socialised, who would have thought. Basically what I am getting at is that there is more free space and opportunity for twins to get to know someone. However, neither me, nor Raven are really interested in going down those alleys, so there won't be shipping notes here. I just wanted to point out that in this seting, relationships are not half as complicated as they are in the canon DMC. I would not be opposed to hearing some Lady/Vergil or Dante/Lucia headcanons tho

Vergil is raised in secret by Arkham in his estate, which goes as well as you might have expected. Vergil takes very badly to everything that has happened, he growns up only slightly paranoid as the result of recurring nightmares, half of the time - not his own. Arkham trying to force himself into a father figure for Vergi was not helping matters in any way, and only made Vergil fight back against any sort of control more. Vergil spends a lot of time training his physical and fencing skills (to never be taken by surprise again), studies a lot of different science fields, as any competent heir should (heir to the throne of the Empire, an heir to Eva Redgrave, not in any way shape or form did he want to be controlled by Arkham. the only reason he even tolerated Arkham and his behavior is because Vergil had nowhere to go to, and if he wanted to reinstate himself and his family name later in life he needed the jumpstart Arkham's resourches, libraries and teachings provided). He starts attending high class events like balls and such, as a special guest of some imaginary rising noble house under the name of Paul Southworth.

-------------------------------------

As a treat, have a DMC3/Dishonored1 plot adaptation:

Twins are in their twenties.

Arkham, in all thess years has been unsuccesfull in all his attempts to 'mold' Vergil into a manipulable figure, and he tries to go for another approach - starts forcing Vergil and Mary (lot Lady yet(?)) interactions. Both are of course, aware of what Arkham wants from them and appropriatly hate each other on these forced meetings.

Somewhere, around this time, during one of the masked balls, a woman takes great interest in him, and he feels frustrated with his life and rebeliious enough to indulge her.

Probably after a screaming match or two between Lady and Vergil, they actually find a connection in this mutual hatred for the situation Arkham is forcing them into and bond instead. Lady ends up taking some fencing lessons from Vergil from the whole ordeal, which they conduct in secret, of course. They grow closer and are on their way to becoming friends, which Arkham actually sees as his plan working.

Everything changes after the mysterious death of Kalina Ann.

Mary is taking her death extremely badly, she is practically inconsolable, and wouldn't leave her room. Arkham, the wonderful parenting figure he is, and who needs his daughter for future plans, makes the best decision possible - buys her a doberman. For some reason, Mary is not thrilled at this idea at all, she hates then dog and he is not well-behaved at all, which means there's now an uncontrollable and uncared for doberman going loose in the estate. Vergil and the dog met a couple of times, but the dog left him alone because he recognised this man's authority, and Vergil himself was uninterested in bonding with it. His opinion shifter when he saw the dog harassing some estate staff, and poor person retaliating back, which almost ended badly for everyone if Vergl hadn't intervened. He berated the person for being unable to take control of the situation, and the doberman got his own share of it too. The incident did prove to the dog that Vergil was the leader here, so he accepted his 'second in command' position and started diliggently following Vergil everywhere. Doberman is not clingy or overly affectionate, so Vergil was okay with his, and also he welcomed the company a little, because the death of Kalina affected him a lot too. She was the only person in the whole estate he felt comfortable around, and while they did not spend much time together, it reminded him too much of his childhood trauma. But this time Vergil was older, more competent and decided to take control of the situation himself - so he starts researching everything he can get his hands on about the Royal Tragedy, and secretly goes vigilanty-ing at night, masked, to gather the information in other private soures or anywhere he can, really.

The trauma and the doberman dillema between them, Vergil and Mary grow distant in their hurting at this time. Mary, when she is feeling more like herself again, decides to look into the death of her mother, which was too sudden to be anything natural, and was covered up quickly by Arkham and the public. She can't say for sure, but has a hunch this is related to Arkham's private Void studies (which are publically banned), and thinks there is something very fishy going on. She finds a contact and meets a person, who is claimed to be known to help in these situations. During a metting, the person is wearing a mask, so she doesn't recogise his face. He starts looking for information on Arkham, and finds some very very messed up things on him.

On night of another big noble ball, he decides to go to the source - Arkham estate and take a look through there.

That same night Vergil decided to use this opportunity to venture out himself, he got ready and was almost out, before he notices Ceberus, the name he gave the doberman, spotting some shadowy figure on the nearby rooftops heading in the direction of the Arkham's estate. He intercepts the breaker-in and they start fighting. The fencing match is at a stalemate, neither opponent able to break another's guard, untill the intruder freezes for a moment, which was all the opening Vergil needed. He goes in for a stab, only for the intruder to teleport away and make a run for it. Vergil can't let a Marked asassin get away, not after his childhood tragedy, he commands Cerberus to alert the guard and chases after the intruder. On the rooftop they catch up to one another, and lo and behold, the breaker in was Vergil's long lost brother.

It was @stashoflostsouls' wonderful headcanon that when the twins touch for the first time, it is then that Vergil himself is visited by the Outsider and Marked.

Just as in DMC canon, the twins' goals are actually the same here - both Vergil and Dante are looking for the conspirators of their mother's asassination and for anynews on their father. Unlike in DMC canon, there are less pressuring circumstance here, twins have more breathing room to actually talk to each other, and this is why here they band Together to reach their goals.

From this point on the story goes pretty much same as Dishonored 1 story - the twins investigate different noblemen that were plotting against Eva Redgrave, and it is revealed that Arkham was in the middle of it all, which was also the reason why Vergil's search has been so unsuccesfull - the evidence has been right under his nose the entire time. This is also happening during another outbreak of the rat plague, which this time, as Dante learns, originated inside the country, and is definitely not a natural occurence is it claimed to be.

This second rat plague outbreak is the Spymaster's that worked under late Empress' rule idea of 'ending poverty' (so some Dishonored 1 canon events are mixed here as well). Twins will find this out and deal with him, and the other 'royalists' during their investigation, which ends with Arkham. In his dungeons they also find the crow Sparda favoured, the message of his early return in the midst of other papers. Arkham ignored the bird after the initial capture, but staff of the estate kept it fed in the cage, he is quite old already but the twins are happy to see him nonetheless.

This plotline ends with Vergil publically reinstating himself as Redgrave, Dante keeping himself away from nobles, perhaps with a sailing trip or two, and very supportive of his brother's cause. Vergil won't be pushing for the throne just yet, in the moment he will be satisfied with getting the Redgrave estate back, but the throne is his end goal in the future.

-------------------------

Void abilities!

Vergil: professional swordsman. Has a cane-sword with him on all times. Cane-handle can be replaced without screwing the balance of the blade, so he goes with his favourite sword on missions when he expects trouble and keeps his wristbow (=compact crossbow). Vergil grew up in company of sharkes, disguised as nobles, so he prefers the ghost stealth approach so the target is not even alerted to anything happening, but for the same reason he will not hesistate to draw blood (that's not to say he likes killing, just that it is acceptable under pressing circumstances or to clear an objective)

Void Abilities: Displace (teleport, but requires a mark to be placed beforehand to teleport to, is a great tool for planning your approach beforehand or preparing an escape), Foresight/Shadowwalk (allows the bearer to explore ahead in a form of a summon that can scout ahead and take form of black bird, cat, or amorphous shadow creature, user is stationary during this ability and summons can only knock down enemies, but not kill them), Doppleganger (not new to DMC fans, works the same here - a controlled clone summon) and Bend time (allows user to stop time=gain amazing speed for a couple of seconds, user is able to freely move and act during this ability)

Dante: professional brawler. built like a brickhouse/sailor and not for show either. Keeps his wrists bandaged and always ready for trouble. Uses assasin's blade - shortsword with broad blade, stylised after fish scales, but has a modified crooked-up guard for catching blades and for easier disarming moves. Uses pistol for ranged combat. Prefers a stealthier approach, will absolutely brawl if a chance is presented and knock some heads down. Won't kill unless absolutely no other option is presented.

Void abilities: innate Rat hearing and rune/bonecharm sense (= Dark vision), Blink with the time-stop-before-use upgrade (a little more useful than other teleports for combat as you get time pause to think the encounter through, can't act or move during use, just stops time to looks around/think through before teleporting), Wind blast (a wind blow strong enough to literally plaster enemies if thrown into a wall... strenght of the ability is controlled), Pull (pickpocketing and eldreich-horror levitating bodies to the user), Semblance (lets the user make a void copy of a person's face and wear it around, does not alter voice or manners just casts an illusion over the wearer), and Doppleganger.

Twins's mutual connection to the Void, and with their souls attuned to each other, gives them some unique abilities too. They can establish a connection with each other through the Void dimension if in close proximity, share visions (for ex. Vergil scouts ahead with his powers and Dante will be able to see it too), and even share their abilities if in direct contact. Their souls connecting was always thing, it is why Vergil had so much nightmares in his childhood - he had been forced to see Dante's too.

Now, for Dante's early life Void contact consequences - he is sensitive to the Void. He has a sense for finding and locating any Void artefacts and he can hear and understand rat thoughts. Thankfully, the latter ability he somewhat learned to controll later in life, because let me tell you, Dishonored rat speech is Messed Up. (Gnaw, gnaw. Set teeth to hard wood, soft plaster, stone. Past it, a path. Rooms of delicious sea-scent, fish flesh. A feast for us! Soon, soon. First, we gnaw.) It did help Dante survive on the streets a lot, and he took advantage of many opportunities thanks to this. Rat speech is also how he learns the new rat plague outbreak is not natural. Whales and whale bone affect him too. In Dishonored, whales seem to be very intricately connected to the Void, once stated to even exist in both dimensions simultaniously, so to a Void-sensitive person this is going to be a lot to handle. This is one of the reasons Dante stays clear of whaler ships - he will hear loud and panicked whale screeches and whails and he won't be able to deal with that, this is an ability he cannot damper. He will grow used to it, but going near whale meat can factory or sailing during a whale migration season, when they are hunted in great numbers, is a very very big no no for him. I am absolutely not going to force him to go through something traumatising like this ever, surely not through a canon whale meat factory level from one of the DLCs, no huh, especially not with Vergil for company to literally carry him through this

Thank you for your time and I hope you like what I and Raven have been cooking up here! Next update we will have: Trish showing up to overthrow government, Dante going solo and bonding with Cerberus, Patty and her pet rat, Vergil deciding to kill God, and Kyrie being a witch.

#THE UPDATE IS DONE #now only to write another update an undetermined amount of time later.... #ry to count how many self-indulgent headcanons I stuffed into this one AU. I realized the power I have and decided to give out as many pets #NOBODY COULD HAVE STOPPED ME AHAHAHAHAHA #please listen to Honor for All #Gold Dust woman #and Drunken whaler #they are awesome and very atmospheric songs #dmc dishonored au #dmc au #dante sparda #vergil sparda #dmc eva #dmc sparda #dmc lady

[kireshai]

Current Watchlist Game

I was tagged by @iamdarthbader, and honestly I took too long to get this done because I had the stupid idea of giffing things and that takes me forever. Here we go!

Currently Watching (Somewhat in order of enjoyment)

Love In The Air - I'm here for messy, toxic and epic romances. The show is insane and so giffable, it is just a ton of fun for me. I've also enjoyed a bunch of the background music, there are some real bangers in there.

Vice Versa - I've been enjoying this since the first episode, and it's been pretty solid if not great throughout. The visual design - sets, costuming, post-production - have been fantastic and the colour theming is so well done.

The Eclipse - An intriguing mystery with amazing production design and UST through the roof? This is shaping up to be an amazing show with really important messaging regarding non-comformity. Khaotung not playing a softboy is also new and interesting.

Unforgotten Night - Possibly the most unintentionally hilarious show I've seen in a while (or maybe casting Yoon after his history of crack was intentional). I have so much fun with the bizarre choices in this show, and I do not regret my decision to re-use the shitty tigger tattoo gif for this post.

About Youth - It's only 2 episodes so far, but I'm digging the vibe and style of the show. Got some great music, and I will not be taking questions about why I chose to show the second couple in the gif.

My Only 12% - I started this one a little late, but I've caught up now. Earth's ability to convincingly play a high schooler is criminal, and I'm a big fan of the potential for an uno reverse pining plot. Chomping at the bit for the timeskip already.

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun - This reminds me so much of the heart-rending high-school shonen-ai I've read for years. Sweet and simple, the actors are obviously a bit new to things, but they're doing an admirable job for newbies.

Currently Rewatching

Triage - I will probably never stop rewatching Triage. The plot was so strong, I loved so many of the performances, the medical scenes were really top-tier (except the CPR, lol), and there was some really amazing camerawork that elevated the material.

Manner of Death - I have ascended to the role of Sammon simp. It definitely helps that Max and Tul are such strong actors, especially together. The murder and human trafficking show has become a comfort watch for me, please don't ask why.

Love Mechanics (2022) - I have loved this new version so much more than the original attempt. I'm really glad they got a redo and that Yin and War returned. War is just a really strong actor and Yin has come so far since the first time around.

Fish Upon the Sky - I actually love me some wacky comedy BLs, and while not the strongest, I have a lot of fun with this. I was brought back to it by watching the trailer for Pond and Phuwin's upcoming show.

Looking Forward To...

Never Let Me Go - Pond and Phuwin's upcoming show looks super angsty and dramatic. I dig it. Also, why do all the shows this year have mafia, lol?

Moonlight Chicken - I took way too long to watch 1000 Stars and Cupid's Last Wish, but I was so glad when I did. Earth and Mix work really well together, and I'm interested in seeing them in something a little less sweet and innocent this time around.

Manifesting an official announcement for... Transplant - Please, I want this so much. Please, please, please, please... You cannot be surprised by this.

I have no idea on the etiquette of who I should tag, but I'd like to ask @queersouthasian, @gillianthecat and @thequeenofsastiel to have a go.

#bl drama #triage #manner of death #fish upon the sky #love mechanics #the eclipse series #vice versa #love in the air #unforgotten night #takara kun to amagi kun #about youth #my only 12%

[myaoiboy]

Hi I saw that you answered an ask* the other day and I wanted to know if you continued with your analysis or if you could continue. I was really interested and curious to know more about it. I really wanted to know what you had to say, seriously, I could read a bible of Death Stranding reviews!

*https://www.tumblr.com/myaoiboy/739740134244794368/death-stranding-gender-talk-you-say-count-me-in?source=share

Hi! I totally can keep talking about Death Stranding forever (I know it's a very divisive game but imo on the whole the writing is like a well-oiled machine in ways that MGS just barely started to scrape askdjfh)

For the most part I haven't talked a *ton* about it at length because the series is just getting started and I feel weird making assertions that are likely to be fully subverted within a year or two. MGS has like. well, now, 25 years of shit going on. Sequels, prequels, fanon, etc., that Death Stranding...hasn't really had time to grow into yet.

I also tend to intentionally only post for dead series because the fandoms tend to be chiller lmao

Plus the fact that I got into DS right around the time that DS2 was announced, so I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs knowing that there's about to be more content and context that I just don't have access to yet. I already feel like there's a lot more to be learned about the first game, just from the latest trailer drop.

Honestly I think the thing that really gets me with DS is that despite the borderline insanity of the setting, to me, there's a lot of dramatic irony and meta knowledge that makes DS pretty easy to follow compared to, like, any single MGS game. Maybe I'm just the exact target audience that the writing was intended for, but most of the big reveals felt less like a sucker punch and more of a dramatic swell.

Some reasons for this (please be gentle i am taking cutscene SCs from youtube videos, they're gonna look like shit):

First of all, this is basically frame 1 of being formally introduced to Amelie, we see...this lens flare. Look familiar?

...how about now?

We are introduced to her instantly with a sign of danger. A pretty one, but a sign of danger nonetheless. The fact that it's an inverted rainbow is important! It shows up around timefall because of chiral air disturbance. We don't know that yet in-game, but if you know about how light works you know that there's something Wrong(tm) about this.

A regular lens flare shouldn't be causing an inverted rainbow if it's causing one at all. I think in this cutscene Amelie's presence is causing that inverted rainbow. Throughout the game, people come up with various theories of their own to excuse her connection to the beach. Little do they know at the time how right they are...

She's also heavily backlit, which hides her features in an unsettling manner. In fact, I really can't think of anyone else that this happens to throughout the game (if anyone knows of another example PLEASE let me know!!!)

She gets pretty damn close before that rainbow disappears, but this is where I very quickly lost my initial trust in her (as the player).

I jokingly called called this her "Fox News reporter look," but it's very much constructed in a way that made me suspicious.

Let's talk about that red dress.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Kojima fucking LOVES using color language, especially red, blue, and gold. It's been super obvious and explicit since like 2012.

The fact that we meet her wearing a red dress is not a coincidence!!! It's a great big flashing warning sign! It says "hey, this person is going to betray you! Do Not Fucking Trust!!!"

Compare Amelie's name card to Paz's from Peace Walker:

The art styles are different, but there are a couple of main throughlines. Namely, both have an emphasis on the color red, both are young (looking) women who are lying about their identities in order to ask the main character a favor. Characters vouch for them, from trusted advisors, to the main character himself in DS. And then they try to bring about armageddon.

Basically what I'm saying is that they're both the embodiment of white woman tears a wolf in sheep's clothing, if the sheep's clothing was still dripping in blood. We (characters, and maybe the players) believe that she's on our side because we want to believe she's on our side, and because other people that we ostensibly trust tell us she's on our side, while the extremely dissonant narrative and imagery of the scene are SHAKING US BY THE SHOULDERS TELLING US TO SNAP OUT OF IT.

Add to that the fact that we kind of vaguely, through that intro cutscene post-central knot explosion, know that the beach is connected to dying somehow, and that amelie seems to be on it, doing very stereotypical little girl in horror things there, like singing nursery rhymes slowly while walking into the ocean.

So we've basically been told that Amelie is Not Good, but we have to spend the game piecing together what kind of Not Good she is. The first hint is (surprise!) also in this cutscene!

I don't recall off the top of my head if I knew at the time how heavily egyptian mythology plays into DS, but I do remember this cutscene giving me a bad gut feeling about the concept of the West.

Very few Big Concepts in these games (the West, strand(s/ing), patriotism/nationalism, etc) are only symbolic of one thing. That's also true across the board in basically all art, but I feel the need to point that out in public posts because I don't want someone to eg, think that I say something means one thing, and then back that up, and then people think that means it can't mean something else! It can (and often does) mean both! and sometimes that additional meaning is super important!

Anyways, Die Hardman refers to Amelie going West. We don't really use that phrasing much, so it stuck out to me as euphemistic. Especially since we saw her after we died, and there's so much euphemism going on from the bridges team anyways. I mean, cufflinks "symbolize our connection?" Girl, you locked me to my bed with them. You drain my blood with them to turn into weapons. Call 'em what they are.

You'll even notice in the same cutscene that Amelie says "we made it to Edge Knot City" and Sam replies with "all the way to the Pacific?" Not "all the way to the west coast," or even a single question about why she was on the/his beach.

If you know anything about egyptian mythology, you might know that west is considered the direction of death and the underworld. ancient egyptians buried dead people on the west side of the nile river. Osiris, god of death and mummification, and king of the underworld, is referred to as "foremost of the westerners" among his epithets.

So the vibe that I got instantly was "Amelie is already dead, she led her team to die, and they are basically sending Sam on a suicide mission" though I didn't realize exactly how I was right at the time.

The other big thing I recall setting off my alarm bells as the game went on was the fact that nobody you meet has ever met Amelie in person. It's a very slow reveal, especially since most people seem to see online meeting and in person meeting to be mostly the same, and we're told that she set out with bridges one. That she went west. Turns out that...also wasn't literal.

I don't remember exactly when I started wondering if *sam* had ever even met her outside of the beach, but I do remember thinking that there was something off. For a little bit my guess was that she was entirely fictional, some sort of AI (pretty influenced by all the "dead person brought back by AI/hypno bullshit ngl), or maybe that Higgs could somehow disguise himself in the Beach in ways i didn't understand yet.

But I didn't feel *worse* for being able to figure things out ahead of time, I felt clever that I could piece together all the little hints and have a good idea of what was going on. It made death stranding feel more like a coherent sci fi narrative rather than a cheesy action story that's expected to follow certain strict genre conventions.

Not that I'm saying mgs or action in general are bad, but rather that imo Death Stranding feels...more mature and confident in some ways (and also isn't bogged down by 20 years of previous work. which. i don't even like my own shit from a year ago half the time, i cannot imagine having to write within the constraints you created TWO DECADES prior kjhksjfh). Maybe it's that it feels like less of a genre subversion and has more genre utilization? dunno. Now I'm thinking too much like an english major lkajshdf

But yeah anybody who wants to talk about anything totally feel free. Or if you want to give me prompts to write about. I will always be willing to talk about things for way too long on the internet. I just don't always reply quickly because I start rambling....Like This.

#oops this got long #death stranding #samantha america “amelie” strand #amelie ds #analysis or something #anon ask

[monkey-d-momo]

My thoughts on the One Piece Live Action after that first trailer

After I could settle a bit after all my excitement after that trailer and see few reactions here and there, here's my honest thoughts on the live action.

I admit, when they first announced it, I was disgusted. I knew I would have still watched it, but I had very low expectations for it. Then it got announced that Oda was heavily involved in the process and later on the cast was revealed and I started having a little hope. And the more and more news we got about and seeing everyone involved just being in love with One Piece made me excited for this live action.

Don't get me wrong, I know it won't be perfect. Hell, the anime isn't perfect! So why would the live action? I know people will point out everything that isn't the same or things that they don't like, and even if it is just a small thing, they will criticize the live action badly, but why? Nothing can be perfect and not everybody will like it, but just because you don't like it or don't like live action in general means the live action will be bad. Some people will like it, and that's okay.

Also, we need to realize that even if there's now a live action of One Piece, the original manga is still there. Even if the live action is the best thing ever, it won't replace the manga. This live action is just another way to get people into One Piece and for old fans to rediscover this world and this story. I know some people are against adaptations, and that's fine, but that doesn't mean you should ruin this for other people because some really like to rediscover stories they liked, over and over again.

I've also seen some people complaining about how scary Buggy looks. Honestly, I'm not and I've never been scared of clowns. I grew up with a professional clown in my family so I'm really used to them. So I can't really judge that. But to me, this reaction from some people just shows how those people never read the manga. And that's okay, reading isn't for everybody. But before making a complaint about it, know that first, the manga, especially in the beginning, is way darker than the anime, and that in the manga, when Buggy is first introduced, he is indeed scary. So it works perfectly. It's my opinion, of course, but yeah, I'm already in love with live action Buggy.

As for the small changes, like Usopp's nose or Sanji's eyebrows, I don't mind them to be honest. The characters are so much more than their character design.

We have to keep in mind that this live action will be different from the manga, and that's okay. One of my other fandom is The Maze Runner. If you don't know, The Maze Runner is a book trilogy that got adapted to cinema. The books have a lot going on inside them and so the movie made HUGE changes to the story. The second and third movie aren't even the same story as the books, they changed that much. Still, a lot of people in the fandom love the movies and even some prefers them to the books. I personally prefer the books, but I like having two stories with the same characters.

And as for the CGI and the overall looks of the live action, I'm not too concerned. I don't really mind if it's not perfect, I think the characters and the vibe of One Piece is more important than that. Let's remember after all that a lot of people never read/watched One Piece because they didn't like the art style, but still, One Piece is the best-selling manga of all time.

I will be surprised if the live action goes for more than two seasons, but even if it doesn't, it's fine by me. It's not like we don't have the manga anymore. It's gonna be fun will it last and it's gonna bring attention to an amazing piece of media that is dear to my heart. So it works out for me.

Also, one point that makes me very happy about the live action is the fact that Sanji's actor, Taz, has been trained in ITF Taekwon-do, which is a martial art I teach and that I've been doing for 18 years now. And I'm just so happy about it since Sanji is my favourite character.

#one piece #one piece live action #opla #one piece la

[mad4turtles]

THE ONE PIECE LIVE ACTION IS GREAT!

As someone who, since Disney ran it into the ground along with so many companies currently struggling with creativity, generally dislikes live-action adaptations of shows/movies, I was very, VERY sceptical if not downright abhorred when I heard they were making a live-action version of one of my all-time favourite anime/manga series. Not even the involvement of Oda himself could convince me.

Fast forward a few years since the announcement, and we get a first look at the cast. I was impressed and pleased by what I saw, and cautiously optimistic. Then the first trailer dropped, along with my jaw, because suddenly I was 100% onboard (no pun intended) with the show.

As of writing this, I've just finished watching the entire 8 Episode season. And when I tell you, as a long-time One Piece fan, I loved EVERY MINUTE of it. It managed to condense dozens of my favourite episodes and moments into just 8 1 hour episodes. And yes, some things were a liiittle rushed, and some things got somewhat brushed over which I was a little disappointed about, but the good so far outweighs the bad that even the 'bad' I would hardly consider 'bad'. Just could've been done better.

The characters and casting. It's. SO GOOD. You can tell this cast and crew LOVED this story, the set pieces and the music, the lines and camera work, the ACTION, the drama and the humour--It ALL hit. You feel EVERYTHING with and for these characters. And the humour isn't FORCED like it is so often in modern media. It stays within the bounds of the world, no wink-wink-nudge-nudge 'reference to popular thing right now' to horribly date it. It's the same way I felt about watching the Avatar movies; while not outstanding storywise, there's a genuine-ness about it with the lack of forced humour and stupid references.

There's so many references to the source material, and yet so many NEW things that I NEVER would've thought would fit with the One Piece world or characters, but here, the new things WORK. The way they tell this story WORKS. And by god, I'm so happy to see something REAL, and made WITH LOVE, rather than another stupid, passionless, desperate cash-grab from a multibillion-dollar corporation. I've not been this moved since watching Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles last year. Spider-Verse moved me with its rule-breaking, breathtaking animation and compelling storytelling of course, but it just. MEANS something to me when a Live-Action adaptation can move me the way animation has ever since i was a child.

I LOVED this show. i love this crew, this cast, this story and all its characters. As of writing this review, I have no idea if we'll ever get a Season 2 or beyond, but I pray we do. I want more projects like this than another Disney knock-off, a passionless regurgitation of beloved classics. At the same time, I do acknowledge what's currently going on with the strikes, so these CEO's or whoever better wake up and pay up what creators like these DESERVE.

TL;DR: The live-action One Piece is freaking AMAZING, please watch it, and I pray for more genuine projects made with love in the future!

#one piece #one piece netflix #one piece live action #long post #I love it so much you guys #i legit cried

[littlehen]

life stuff update. writing this in the middle of the night and I’m buzzing, so if I do this braindump then I might be able to sleep :)

we are definitely adopting both the mum-cat and the kitten!!

the fosterer is provisionally calling the kitten 'Sienna', which is a beautiful name but a bit posh for a cat, I’m not sure I could live with it for ~15 years, so we've decided to call her Susie (I said we could call them Siena and Florence, I wasn’t serious but that would be so cute) After arguing with Dad for weeks about what to call the mum-cat, I was happy to go with his first suggestion for the kitten. It’s a sweet name and it suits her, let’s go

Dad suddenly announced that he doesn't mind the name Phoebe for the mum-cat, but he just doesn't ‘have any associations with it. Isn't it a rather sloaney name?' I said, most people probably associate it with Phoebe from Friends, although that's not why I like it, I just think it's pretty. He said, 'oh I've never seen that.' Possibly the only human on planet Earth who missed out on Friends. So I thought amazing, we decided on something. Then later in the day he said he wants to call her Mimi (Susie = Marriage of Figaro, Mimi = La bohème). I despair

(I wonder if he'd go for Midge? as in Midge Maisel and Susie. Probably not. He reckons Mimi would be easy for a 1yo cat to learn because she could almost say it herself)

but we need to decide by Tuesday next week, as they're all getting microchipped and mum-cat is being spayed. After she has recovered, she's free to come and live with us. I am not ready at all! where are they going to sleep and eat and what’s the litter tray situation? I've known this new cat was coming for so long and now the time is almost here! but I can never do anything before the eve of a deadline. The kitten changes everything of course. We’ll figure it out

I am applying for a new job, the application is very involved and taking a long time. I’ve already had one meeting with the boss and I think I'm in with quite a good chance. I'm not 100% sure I even want it, but I am dead certain I want to quit my current job

On the digital form I have to include all my work and education history since age 16, it calculates gaps and you have to account for them all (‘August 2003: this was the summer break between school and university’). It’s hard trying to remember the dates of everything I’ve ever done. Years ago, I read the advice that after you have a degree, you should take your school qualifications off your CV because it’s irrelevant and gauche – once you’re a professional in the workforce nobody cares that you got A* at GCSE Drama 20 years ago. So I haven’t had a list of them written down anywhere since 2007. ugh, I’ll include info from my A-levels up to my MA and they can just assume I got decent GCSEs. Even if I don’t get this job, at least it will have been quite useful for the future to have done this detailed exercise in autobiography

I'm also excited about new Ghosts and new OFMD, but I don’t have time to be on tumblr for all of it. I need to focus on this application because there’s a submission deadline, and the OFMD trailer is out soon (!!!), but I can’t be like ‘oops I missed out on a career opportunity because a tv show aired a trailer and I was busy reblogging gifs’ so I need to not get totally distracted by the dopamine tsunami that’s coming

Sleep?

#🐱💭

[louisupdates]

SEVENTEEN

What We Know About Louis Tomlinson's Upcoming All of Those Voices Documentary

We're going to see the artist through a whole new lens.

BY SAMANTHA OLSON PUBLISHED: FEB 9, 2023

In 2022, Louis Tomlinson released his sophomore album Faith in the Future which leaned into an alternative pop-rock sound as a departure from his boy band days. The former One Direction member opened up about solidifying his signature sound in an interview with Alternative Press, saying, "I knew who I was in One Direction, but I'd never thought of who I am on my own as [a] solo [artist]. I was so in love with being in the band that I never really had those thoughts."

The 31-year-old singer also revealed that he had filmed the process of creating Faith in the Future, which would ultimately become a documentary that also serves as a love letter to his fans. "I know every artist says this, but I've got a deep f--king connection with my fans. I think of it as one entity," Louis told Alternative Press. "I was 18 when I was first in the band, and we've grown up together." In moments of doubt, he turned to his fans for words of encouragement and support that inspired him to go after what he truly wanted while making his second solo album.

On February 8, 2023, Louis announced that the documentary, titled All of Those Voices, will be released in March. "This has been something I’ve been working on for years, I’m really excited to finally put it out into the world. I’ve said it a million times but I’m lucky enough to have the greatest fans an artist could wish for, and as you always go above and beyond for me, I wanted to share my story with you in my own words," the former 1D member wrote on Instagram.

Here's everything we know about Louis Tomlinson's All of Those Voices documentary, from its release date, trailer, and more.

When does Louis Tomlinson's documentary come out?

According to his initial announcement, All of Those Voices is set to release on March 22, 2023 in theaters.

How to watch Louis Tomlinson's All of Those Voices documentary

For now, the documentary is releasing exclusively in theaters, which means you'll have to snag tickets to a screening. In his announcement, Louis shared that ticket sales will begin on February 22, a month before the film's release, on AllofThoseVoices.com.

Is there an All of Those Voices trailer?

There isn't an official trailer for the documentary just yet, but you already know we'll drop it here once it's been released.

What is All of Those Voices about?

The Charlie Lightening-directed documentary will show fans an "intimate and unvarnished view" of Louis' journey as he created his second solo album, Faith in the Future. The film's official website includes the following synopsis:

All Of Those Voices takes a refreshingly raw and real look at Louis Tomlinson's musical journey. Ditching the typical glossy sheen of celebrity documentaries, this film gives audiences an intimate and unvarnished view of Louis' life and career. Through never-before-seen home movie footage and behind the scenes access to Louis’ sell-out 2022 World Tour, All Of Those Voices offers a unique perspective on what it's like to be a musician in today's fast-paced world.

From the highs of superstardom to the lows of personal tragedy, Louis' story is one of resilience and determination. The film explores his journey from a member of One Direction to a solo artist, capturing the challenges and triumphs that defined his path. Since the acclaimed release of his debut album ‘Walls’ and documenting the creation of his chart topping 2022 album ‘Faith In The Future’, the film shows a side of Louis that fans have never seen before, as he grapples with the pressures of fame and the weight of his own voice.

Directed by Charlie Lightening, the filmmaker behind the award-winning As It Was, All Of Those Voices is a story about the power of self-discovery and the courage it takes to be true to oneself. With a focus on honesty and vulnerability, this film is a refreshingly down-to-earth take on the life of a musician, capturing the real-life struggles and triumphs of a man who refused to be silenced by anyone else's expectations.

#louis press #all of those voices #louis tomlinson #9 february 2023 #Youtube

[thisselflovecamebacktome]

I've been meaning to make a post on the new legends game since the announcement, but have continuously had stuff come up so finally getting around to it now. Noting now that I've only seen very little (I'll mention what beneath the cut) about it so if any of this has been proven/disproven, my bad I guess lmao. But yeah, with that in mind, these are my very late night thoughts/predictions for the game.

So starting off I want to say that the only things I have seen on this game is the trailer and that apparently the whole game happens within Lumiose City. My kneejerk reaction to it happening purely in Lumiose was disappointment but then I took a step back and remembered that this will be Lumiose before it becomes the city we know from X and Y. Realistically I cannot see them making the areas of the game either 1. any smaller than Legends Arceus or 2. if they are smaller, have any less areas than Legends Arceus. Like with all the work they've done since Sword and Shield with bigger areas, I have faith that the sizing won't be an issue here.

Plot wise I am a little nervous, but I think a lot of that is just because there's so much that is unknown for now. Like tbh we don't even know if it'll have the same elements as Legends Arceus. Like for all we know it's a level by level game that once you finish a level, you can't go back because that part of Lumiose will have been built. Like I doubt that's the case, I imagine it'll be similar to Legends Arceus because they know that works, but we just don't know for sure yet.

Much like everyone else, I do hope Zygarde gets a proper story and tbh I don't want the A in the title to be another legendary (I do have a theory that instead of a new one, it may be Arceus but we'll see), but as long as it's written well, I will be happy. I also do wonder if the swords of justice will play a role given them being based on the 3 musketeers and feeling like they should be in Kalos.

More broadly plotwise, I am also super happy that Kalos was picked because tbh it's one of my least favourite games given how many missed opportunities I felt it had (likely due to the lack of a 3rd game) so I am excited to hopefully see those gaps be filled.

But yeah, overall I will say though, with Legends Arceus being my favourite pokemon game, it does have a lot to live up to, and that makes me anxious.

As I'm sure is the case with most people, my main hope for this game is that there are new mega pokemon (and regional forms). And tbh, I hope that any pokemon that already has a mega doesn't get a new one... maybe with the exception of Blastoise and Venusaur because it'd be nice for Charizard to not have the special treatment lmao. I don't really have any hopes for specific pokemon to get a new form or mega, maybe something I wouldn't usually use. Like I had never used Muk before Sun and Moon and now Alolan Muk is a top 10 pokemon ever for me.

Starter wise, my first guess is that they will pick all 3 from ones that aren't generation 6 or generations that were picked for Legends Arceus. Sprigatito, Sobble and Torchic were the first to come to mind, but I also have a nagging (affectionate) feeling that Squirtle may also be picked. If I'm right, I will likely pick Sobble because I've never done a runthrough with it, but if it is Squirtle and not Sobble, I really don't know because I've used all three of those pretty evenly. Then again, Lavender specifically came from another region iirc (did we ever talk about the implications of this? Like the 'Hisuian' starter forms may not actually be from Hisui if he brought them along from where he was from. Like I know pokemon says it's the area that determines the form but it takes years/generations to adjust so there's likely another region that had at least similar if not the same final forms as the Hisuian starters) so they could use that as a reason to finally give the generation 6 starters a mega and/or new final form.

And there is probably more but it's 1am here so those thoughts will have to wait for another time.

#pokemon #pokemon legends za #pokemon legends z to a #did we get confirmation on which one of those is right? because i've seen both lmao

[sege-h]

Thoughts on the State of Play reveal

Under a readmore just in case

1- I know I said I'd keep the Son*dow tag blocked for a bit after Prime ended but I think I'll keep it blocked till the end of the year now lmao

2- I know the rumor has been going around since yesterday but I took it with a grain of salt since it's. Yknow. A rumor. But even when I let myself think 'what if its real tho' this is SO FAR FROM WHAT I EXPECTED. A!!! I thought at most we'd get is a remaster that'd also make Shadow playable! As soon as I saw the new level I was like WAIT WHAT. WAIT WHAT!!?!? and it just kept going from there!!!

I'm so happy we'll be getting a HD biolizard fight! He'll no longer be contained to the 3DS! Also from what little we saw Shadow will get to have some dynamic posing in the boss fights, like Super Sonic did in Frontiers. Good! I loved those!

3- Ian Flynn has #KnowingSmile'd the announcement and I'm hoping this means he got to write for whatever new content there is.

And speaking of Frontiers! I'm hoping that this ends up being Shadow's 'Frontiers' moment. In that his writing and character get what Amy's, Tails', and Knuckles' did in Frontiers.

4-I had the stream off to the side in another tab since I wasn't interested in most of what was shown. And then I heard the first few notes of the Generations music and i immediately switched tabs and I just!!! Feel like I did in 2011 except my computer/internet is way better, and you tube is shittier!

5- I'm excited for this for such Me reasons. For those new here- I live in a country that had no Sonic stuff for...well, never, really. Not until about 2022. The second movie did what I'd hoped the first movie would do (but then the pandemic happened) and brought over Sonic stuff here. For the first time in my life I went to a toy store here and it had Sonic stuff. I got to buy physical Sonic comics for the first time. For the first time in my life I can go to a video game store and actually see Sonic games there. It's been wild

That being said, 2011 had Nothing. Sonic Generations came out. And I didn't want to pirate it because a friend of mine had worked on it. I was determined to find it. And I only saw it irl one time- for the Playstation. A console I've never had. It was pretty upsetting! I remember posting about it here even....I've been on tumblr too long SHDGSHDHS

Later I'd find that there was a 3DS version. I have that! So I looked for that version of it alongside the PC one

So, for almost a decade, I looked, to no avail. And for this whole time I refused to look at any playthroughs! Any knowledge I had on whats in the game came from the trailers we saw

And then in 2019 my best friend helped me buy the 3DS version. I had 9 dollars on my 3DS and whenever the game went on sale it'd be on for 10 dollars. So he gave me a dollar and helped me get it SHDGSHDH

So I finally experienced Generations! It was surprise after surprise in that one, because I knew it was different but I didn't know how. I didn't expect a Rush level in it, or for the Biolizard to be in there!

And then in late 2020 when I got my new computer and could finally get steam, another close friend got me Generations for the PC! I'd somehow managed to dodge spoilers on it all those years so all I knew about it was: Theres Green Hill, Chemical Plant, City Escape, and a Silver boss fight.

I got to play modern City Escape for myself- which is the level that inspired the current iteration of my main OC, Storm. It was a joy

All this rambling to say...it's wild to think that once this remaster comes out, I'll be able to get it day 1, at least I hope I will. Still-it won't take me almost a decade to get to it

And if there's a physical release? I'll be able to go to a store here- HERE, not in one of our neighboring countries, not from somewhere else, but in a store here. Right across the street. And I'll finally have a physical copy of Generations. That was my final goal with the game-- I love it, I have two versions of it! And the plan was always that even though I'd gotten to play them now, if I ever ran into a physical copy of the game, I'd buy it. And now I'll really get to do it

6- Bonus thought of me being silly: Wowow my OC was shown at the State of Play--

#Personal #Sonic spoilers #Generations #Sege rambles

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Batwheels

or How to Stop Worrying and Ride with the Punchline

I remember watching the surprisingly kino Teen Titans GO! movie and getting to the scene where they have the trailers for Alfred Pennyworth and then the Batmobile. I of course snickered poshly and then continued watching the film. It was the year after when they premiered an Alfred series set in the Gotham TV universe and I went "Cool." I didn't care for either so I chuckled robotically and moved on. Then in 2020, they announced a Batmobile kids cartoon and the joke stopped being funny. First, the world descends into madness faster, and now we were getting BATWHEELS?! COMING VROOM?!?!?! Felt like I became the joke because I had to know what it would be like. So it's the current year and this was finally released on Cartoonito. What do I think of it? It's actually pretty fire.

Didn't think we'd get two nickels worth of good cars content this year

To preface, yeah this is more for preschoolers but thankfully it's more family-friendly since it's just entertaining you with crime-fighting adventures. I say it's like a Hot Wheels show that has the vibes of Batman: Brave and the Bold. It works like it feels stupid at first but they run with it; it's like 60s Batman or the Lego Batman Movie where things can get serious but it doesn't have to be serious. It's best to watch the first episode to get the origin story which explains how the cars become sentient. Otherwise, the titular Batwheels work like the Batfamily and it's an enjoyable romp about teamwork, leadership, and getting tricky. Speaking of which...

This series looks amazing like hell yes Neon Gotham

The coloring, character designs, and animation of this are phenomenal. I love the use of 2D particle effects and how the vehicles are able to be expressive. We don't reach Pixar levels of uncanny but aren't just static either. Some goofy ass nerd'll go "Oh, this is just to sell toys" and I'd honestly say "Fuck yeah" because the human and vehicle characters look on point. If you're gonna sell a product, make it worth the purchase. I don't know if this'll go beyond a couple seasons unless they expand the roster but I can see kids loving the look of all this. My only issue... is Joker. He looks zoomerfied, dressed like a bedazzled goober, and is the worse looking out of everyone.

This ain't Joker bro, this is The Jickler #NoJoke

I like how this is both about the vehicles finding their place as heroes and the human heroes you know doing their job. We get a surprisingly diverse cast like it's the first time seeing Duke Thomas Robin on screen. Ethan Hawke works well as Bats, though he's not Will Arnett I'm sorry. The show's probably limiting since it's about cars, but they knew better than to just make this Batman��� except everyone's a car for some reason. The cars don't upstage the heroes and villains, it manages to be a great introduction to the Batman universe. I dunno, something goofy like this surprises me in being a competent, fun-loving action cartoon that makes me forget the turmoil I've been having lately about superhero content. Just saying, the last time I said the word "capeshit", ten angels cried and this series is like the fresh air I needed since Peacemaker.

Takes me back to the Bat Credit Card days anew

This and Hamster & Gretel do good in being superhero shows that work more than expected. I admittedly am tired of Batman being everywhere like when will Green Lantern have his turn again? At the same time, this is cooler than I figured. If you told me in 3rd grade we were gonna have a Batmobile cartoon, I would laugh in your face. If you told me this before 2020 happened, I would still laugh. Now that we're here... I have to kneel. I was gonna point this a 7 or 8 out of 10 cuz you know it's a simple, fun time; good for Saturday mornings. You know what though? For actually sticking the landing and proving me as a naysayer wrong...

9 out of 10; A Motorized Marvel

#Batwheels #Batman #DC #DCAU #cartoon network #cartoonito #cartoons #animation #reviews #Good Stuff

[idontbeatgames]

I've been wanting to discuss this in a video for a long time now but starting 2024, I think DC Studios should consider bringing back the DC Fandome and it should become a yearly tradition going forward.

By all accounts, DC Fandome was a resounding success in the past. It lived up to the exact expectations it set: being a hype event for DC fans where DC got to announce projects, both big and small, while also giving us updates on things currently in the works. And while I understand that right now Warner Bros isn't in the best financial position in the world, I do think this is something that needs to be done. 

There's always going to be New York Comic Con and there's always going to be Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, though Hall H is typically associated with Marvel and their grand reveals. However, DC unintentionally made a statement with DC Fandome and that was "we can announce a ton of things, give a ton of stills, behind the scenes footage and full-on trailers without having to hide it away from our fans at home" and that resonated so damn much with DC fanbase, post-DC Fandome. 

I think having a yearly event where James Gunn along with other directors working on DCU projects and actors involved with the DCU come on screen to talk to us, the fans, about what's going on with their projects, giving us new stills of people in their costumes, new pieces of concept art and teaser/regular trailers could go along way to reestablishing what DC Entertainment is all about on the big screen. For a very long time now, we've gotten that with Marvel and its cinematic universe. We've gotten to see actors come on stage and talk to fans after Kevin Fiege himself announces some projects, and it's always worked and done enough to keep people invested into the MCU all these years later. If DC Studios continued pushing the DC Fandome as a yearly event while also continuing to make it creative enough so it continue to stands out and keeps things refresh in the long run, that'd be such a win for the DC Cinematic Universe and its hopefully growing fanbase as the years go by, assuming Superman: Legacy sets a high bar.

The biggest thing that would come from this, though, is it can help rebrand the image of and morale surrounding the DC Cinematic Universe. Right now, people simply aren't happy with the state of DC projects. They're not happy with the lack of communication from DC Studios, since you know, they're kind of just sending out 4 projects to die this year with very little fan fare. Though, they did bank on The Flash and that went incredibly poorly for them. However, the point I'm trying to say is that DC Studios allowing the DC Fandome to become this new form of communication for DC Studios to speak to the fans as we start our journey into this new era of DC films rather than everyone having to rely on James Gunn continuously responding to questions on Twitter, Mastodon, or whatever social media platform he's using these days is the best way to go about rebranding the image surrounding DC. DC Fandome becoming the home to all of the biggest and smallest announcements while DC Studios also acknowledges they hear the fans, know what the fans want and are here to deliver on the things people thought they'd never do while surrounding it with smaller fun tier stuff like mobile games, new comic stories getting published or pieces of merchandise like cool figures getting announced would continue to build upon the new image of the DCU. It's an absolute win for everyone involved, at least, in my opinion.

If you've gotten this far and read this post, feel free to let me know if you agree or disagree. I'm curious to see how folks feel about wanting DC Studios to bring back DC Fandome.

#dc comics #idontbeatgames #dc studios #dc fandome #dc multiverse #dceu #james gunn #warner bros #dccomics #dc universe #dc extended universe #dc movies #wbd #wb discovery #dcu