#i guess it serves as a reminder that references are a-okay!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

It's rather interesting that each of the Yuus so far in the manga have been foils of sort to the overblotter in question (disciplined vs strict, competitive vs lazy, seemingly okay in body image vs puts up a mask, in order). Makes me excited to see what future Yuus will be like!!

Yes, it seems that the pattern for the manga!Yuu is that each serves as a foil or a “mirror” to the Episode’s respective OB boy. The idea is super interesting, but I hope they go further with it and actually let the Yuus engage with the OB boy of their Episode in a meaningful way. There’s both similarities and key differences between them, and I think that would make for an excellent opportunity for them to learn from each other, but also for Yuu to have a more active role in the OB boy’s steady, gradual change of heart and character. The way things are currently set up, the manga!Yuus don’t seem to have character arcs of their own or develop in any significant way from start to end; they’re just there to be the “good” example of what each OB boy struggles to attain.

For the Episode of Heartslabyul, I think the distinction between Yuuken’s discipline and Riddle’s strictness is an important one to make. At first glance, you might think being “disciplined” and being “strict” are the same thing. They’re actually not! “Disciplined” refers to control and restraint of oneself. That’s what Yuuken is! He is stoic but knows when to step forward and get serious. Meanwhile, Riddle is “strict”—demanding that both he and others obey the rules to a staggeringly stringent degree. Riddle isn’t “disciplined” because he forces his ideals on others and does not control himself when his temper flares. He is serious all the time and unrelenting in his pursuit of upholding the rules. In this way, Yuuken is actually the kind of person Riddle works toward becoming post-OB: someone with good control of his words and actions, while also observing the rules within reasonable wiggle room.

Another thing!! Yuuken’s style of leadership also greatly contrasts with Riddle’s. Throughout the Episode of Heartslabyul, we see that Yuuken is thinking about his kendo team mates, which spurs him to act or to comfort other characters because they remind him of his teammates. This was the case during the scene when Deuce confessed to his past as an ex-delinquent and Yuuken encouraged him in his endeavors to improve—just as he encouraged his kendo kouhai at the start of the manga. In spite of his stoic face, Yuuken is compassionate and considers the people around him. Meanwhile, Riddle rules with an iron fist and it’s always his way or the highway. He never once considers his classmates, their POVs, or their circumstances, always holding up his own interpretation of the rules as absolute and remaining unwilling to compromise.

For Yuuka, I wouldn’t say the contrast between her and Leona is in competitiveness vs being lazy. From what I’ve seen of her, Yuuka isn’t particularly competitive or lazy. She’s usually the one keeping people (mostly Grim) out of competition or squabbles, and she’s not exactly eager to compete (she steps up when people challenge or threaten her). I would hesitate to slot Leona (based on his actions in book 2 alone) as one or the other as well. Like… how is he lazy if he’s putting forth the effort to enact this whole scheme? And how is he competitive if the point of his plan is to get Diasomnia out of the tournament? Wouldn’t it be truly more “competitive” if he wanted to square up against them anyway?

I would say maybe a more apt point of mirrored traits for Yuuka and Leona are in terms of morality—or, I guess, how far they’re willing to stretch the definition of “playing fair”. Leona is the one that plays loosely, willing to resort to dirty tactics and skirting the rules if it means getting what he wants. Yuuka, however, is more morally upright. She’s keeping her friends out of trouble and stepping up to fight Savanaclaw mobs only when they pose a threat to her. In these ways, she “plays by the book”. As a fellow athlete as well, Yuuka would be able to understand Leona in the struggle to perform and to be seen. Not only that, but they share scars. The reasoning for Leona’s is left unexplained, but Yuuka’s is from a sporting injury. They could totally relate not only in their lived experiences, but by their physical markers.

We’ve only just met Yuuta, so I don’t know if we can draw any definitive conclusions as to how he’s a foil to Azul. However, we can deduce some parallels from his one chapter appearance so far. Both Yuuya and Azul come from restaurants that their respective family operates. Furthermore, Yuuta is and Azul was, overweight. For Azul, this became one of the sources of shame for him. His peers underestimated his competence in part due to his size, and this would later lead to Azul changing a lot about himself to appear “stronger” (including a more restrictive diet in order to maintain his new body). This is not true of Yuuta, who still retains his extra weight and happily chows on food. In fact, I don’t believe weight is even brought up by Yuuta at all. He’s content with his life the way it is, much more chill rather than stoic.

I think another HUGE point that helps Yuuta serve as a foil to Azul is their attitudes on gratitude. Yuuta is thankful for such little things like having food—he even gets mad at Grim for not being thankful for it!! This is a departure from Azul, who, despite running what is basically a wish-granting service, is never satisfied with what he already has. He is always concerned with getting “more”, be it money, influence, information, or abilities robbed from other students. The insecurity especially shows in how he desperately tries to protect his valuable golden contracts with a clever ruse. He keeps collecting and collecting, viewing those physical signifiers (the things he collects) as proof of his “success”.

My prediction for book 3 is 🤔 Azul will definitely see bits of his old self in Yuuta. His old self, whom Azul personally deemed as a weak and inferior version of himself, a version which he has a hard time coming to accept. I don’t think Azul would hate Yuuta or something that extreme, but Azul would feel pity for him and think him pathetic. Going hand-in-hand with the events of book 3, I believe Azul will underestimate Yuuta’s capabilities in the same way that Azul’s old bullies underestimated him when he was little. It would be such a cool parallel because, in this way, we’d get the sense that Azul has become no different than his bullies, pushing around the weak and (arguably just as bad) taking advantage of them for his own gain. And it would ultimately be those traits of Yuuta’s that Azul may have deemed weaknesses of his old self that save the day and get Azul to recognize he’s been living in denial this whole time, thus helping him to better appreciate his old self.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst manga #twisted wonderland manga #Leona Kingscholar #Azul Ashengrotto #Riddle Rosehearts #disney twisted wonderland #notes from the writing raven #Hirasaka Yuuka #Yuuka Hirasaka #Yuuken Enma #Enma Yuuken #Mito Yuuta #Yuuta Mito #spoilers #episode of savanaclaw #episode of octavinelle #episode of heartslabyul #episode of heartslabyul manga #episode of octavinelle manga #episode of savanaclaw manga #twst analysis #twisted wonderland character analysis #twst character analysis #twisted wonderland analysis

[wen-kexing-apologist]

By god do I just need to scream into the ether about the Heart and co. confrontation scene.

First, the tension, incredible. Gemini and Fourth are phenomenal actors. Heart and Li Ming know they are walking in to a very emotionally fraught situation and their hesitation is palpable.

It's scene breakdown time babyyyy! Let's start from the beginning

For a boy who admitted last episode that he has no idea what he is doing, he sure keeps doing things right. He's letting Heart know he's going to talk. Now, granted I don't know what he is saying here precisely if he is just simply saying "I'm going to talk for us/first", "I'll interpret," or if he's saying "I'm going to talk?", I don't think his face moves in any way that would imply a question, but his face is partially obscured. Either way he is at the very least keeping Heart in the know, and at the most asking for Heart's explicit consent to lead this conversation. You can't see it from pictures, but I appreciate the fact that before they cut back to the wide shot, Heart nods, so we as an audience, and Li Ming as the speaker here knows that Heart is okay with the power dynamics at play, with Li Ming talking for both of them.

It's a blink and you'll miss it moment, thankfully I'm obsessed with this scene and therefore have been looping it endlessly, but I feel compelled to point out the way eye contact in this moment goes a long way in conveying how Heart's Mom and Li Ming view Heart. When Heart's mother points to her son she doesn't even look at him. The most she does is cast a downward glance at his bandage, and that's before she even points. And you can argue all you want that she doesn't look at him because she's specifically talking to and addressing Li Ming. But I call bullshit on that because Li Ming is specifically talking to and addressing Heart's mother, and he's looking straight in to Heart's eyes when he refers to and gestures towards Heart. I'm sure that both of these characters believe they love and care about Heart, but of these two characters which one actually recognizes Heart's personhood?

But uh oh! Li Ming stood up for himself and for Heart, and talked back to not just an adult, but a powerful adult. And now she's mentioning past debts, and now there will be more to pay as a result. And Li Ming can only work so much with school and life and everything. He clearly doesn't know what he's getting himself in to, or what he has gotten himself in to. Li Ming and Heart's Mom are both getting angry, tensions are rising, something needs to happen to de-escalate the situation or this might go wrong. Uncle Jim absolutely must intervene (I hope you can hear the sarcasm in my voice). Interesting note: Guess who else doesn't look at their child when making a decision for them. Jim does look at Li Ming directly after this though, but it's to ask him why he did it. It's to place the blame for the accident on Li Ming. "You Li Ming, why did you do it?" "Heart asked me to." "Stop saying that."

Jim is scared, Li Ming is pissed. "He was bored at home" "I said stop!" Jim is used to the way powerful and wealthy people can control and punish the poor. Jim and Li Ming have had conversations before that indicate this very mindset. Jim has mentioned power to Li Ming before and Li Ming's response has always been "what, so we just let them?" "He's a police officer so he can just do anything he wants to us?" to a young adult like Li Ming, this is an absurdity, to an older man like Jim, this is a reality. "he can just do anything he wants to us?" the answer is yes. Which is why Jim is so desperate to get Li Ming to stop talking here. But it just serves as a reminder to Li Ming that Jim thinks he's a child, and that he needs all his battles fought for him. If Li Ming doesn't keep pushing, nothing is going to change (social and political commentary anyone?)

"There you go again," Heart's mother says, and this is Li Ming's initial reaction. This moment of annoyance and anger that this woman who doesn't even know him is once again accusing him of something he didn't do. This woman who is pointing once again to her son without even a glance in his direction "You know that he's mute, so you can say whatever you want?" First of all, even people who are mute have ways to communicate, so it's not like even if he was mute Heart would be helpless. Hell, even if Heart was mute he still has fucking sign language.

The face of a woman who was, in fact, not aware that deaf people dislike being called mute.

GUESS WHO FINALLY LOOKS AT HER SON AFTER THAT!!!! Please please if the writers are kind and merciful, this will be the point in the show where Heart's mother does so deep deep introspection and realizes how much she has fucked up. "He's just deaf," Li Ming says, loudly, and he steps forward, to try to engage Heart's mom in further conversation, in more dialogue. And what does Jim do? Pulls him back, takes him off his even footing "I said stop,"

The face of a man who is very scared for the trouble his nephew might be getting himself in to, and the face of his nephew who is very disappointed that his uncle keeps not only backing down, but forcing him to back down as well. Who keeps asking him, in these small ways to lie instead of tell the truth. To remain quiet, to take the blame, to stick to the status quo.

And then the part I hate (emotionally) begins. Heart asks Li Ming to tell him what they're saying. And I hate it because Heart's parents refusing to learn sign language does not only hurt Heart but it hurts everyone around him, themselves included. But specifically here, it hurts Li Ming, because he has to be the one to look Heart in the face and repeat the words his mother said, knowing that to do so will hurt Heart. Knowing that he has to be the one to hurt Heart.

And this moment is also a great reminder for the audience as well that no one else knowing sign language creates really uncomfortable power dynamics between the person who is able to interpret and the Deaf person. Because Li Ming is hesitant to repeat it. Heart has to repeatedly grab his arm, repeatedly ask Li Ming to tell him what was said. Li Ming has absolute power over Heart right now, to refuse to say it, or to flat out lie. He doesn't, but it also should not be Li Ming's decision whether or not Heart knows, accurately, what was said. Even after we see it in his face that Li Ming agrees to translate, he still hesitates for a few seconds to move, to reach for the notepad, to have to write it down.

And once he writes it down, Li Ming's eyes do not leave Heart. He is honed in on Heart, on Heart's face, on his shoulders, hell even on the back of his head until Heart asks him to translate. And god as much as I hate this moment in the scene for the pain that it causes Li Ming, I hate it even more for the pain that it causes Heart.

He is fucking livid. Rightfully so, because HE'S NOT FUCKING MUTE, HE'S HAD LANGUAGE THIS ENTIRE GODDAMN TIME. He just wants to live his life like everyone else AND HE HAS TO TELL HIS PARENT'S THAT USING SOMEONE ELSE'S VOICE. Because they have refused to use his own. GOD. I'll be surprised if anyone makes it this far down in the post but I just...AHHHH I have no coherent thoughts about this moment, I just....Heart's parents do fucking better. Damn. And the worst part of this scene is yet to come because his Mom tries for like 0.2 seconds, but it looks like she's going to start signing something and Heart just looks SO surprised.

He's so focused on it, he's paying so much attention to it. Is this it? Is this the moment he finds out that his mother has actually been trying? That she has learned and is ready to start using sign language with him? To talk to him, to understand him?

No.

She can't do it. She doesn't know how to. And it's just..it's so easy to see how much hope he had for just a second, how much that one millisecond of effort obliterated all the logic in his head that told him they didn't know it, they didn't care. And how quickly that disappointed anger snaps right back in to place. So Heart starts talking, in sign language, like he has been able to do for years, and he speaks his mind, and his mother still can't understand him. And we see the same dynamic here as with the "mute" comment. Heart's Mom wants Li Ming to translate, Heart wants Li Ming to translate, Li Ming knows how hurt Heart is, and yeah, probably some of his hesitation in voicing what Heart said is because he knows what Heart said will hurt her. But more so because I think it hurts Li Ming to know how much pain Heart is in.

God, poor Heart, literally having to beg to be heard.

"He said you are ashamed of him being deaf,"

His mother shakes her head and says "Heart, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say, dear," and therein lies the problem. She doesn't know what to say, she never has. She has never bothered to learn how to communicate with him since he went deaf. She has kept him locked away. And it doesn't matter if she thinks she did that to keep him safe, Heart feels like he's being hidden away. And she doesn't say "No. No I'm not ashamed. I have never been ashamed." she doesn't know what to say. Because she can't say that. She can't deny that, and it just confirmed everything that Heart has known. So he leaves, because that's too much to handle.

Bullshit 'he'll be fine, honey'. Your fucking son just told you that you never bothered to learn sign language in THREE FUCKING YEARS, and stormed away after admitting that he feels like you are ashamed of him, and you think no need to go after him, he'll be fine??? Fuck you. ACAB.

Does this...

look like...

he's fine, to you?

No. I didn't think so.

I don't really feel like I need to say much about this last shot. It stands on its own so strongly. Mirrors reflecting back, Heart and Li Ming only ever being able to see each other, to be seen by each other. Warm light at Heart's back, Li Ming in front of him, sandwiched between warmth in all of that blue, isolating coldness. All that evidence of how much time and the energy Heart has spent learning sign language. I don't know what the post-its say, I don't know that I want to know.

I don't know if they are notes Heart has written to himself when he was learning, and this is just what remains of his effort. Honestly I hope it's that, because if it is what I think it is, general, every day responses that he might have to give in reply to his parents that he can just pull off his wall and return, that is so much fucking worse. Because then its just the evidence of all the effort Heart has put in to communicate with his parents on their level when they have not put in the same effort to communicate on his. Even if it's something cute, even if it's all the notes that he and Li Ming have passed back and forth to each other over the last few months, serving as a reminder that someone cares, you still are left with the heartbreaking shot of two young men, desperate to be understood by their families, only having each other to hold on to, surrounded by reminders that they are the only two people that can understand each other. No matter how hard they try.

#moonlight chicken #mlc #mlcts #moonlight chicken episode 5 #moonlight chicken ep 5 #heartliming #heart x li ming #heart x liming #fourth gemini #geminifourth #gemini norawit #fourth nattawat #p'aof #aof noppharnach #the midnight series #gmmtv #this show is driving me insane #i have jobs i need to be applying for and instead im spending literal hours typing up analyses about this show #moonlight chicken the series #moonlight chicken analysis #seriously gemini and fourth are incredible actors #they are playing such distinct characters from their my school president counterparts

[wukong-s-only-wife5000]

Hey for LMK Mac master list can I request “you see him again” cause boy totally needs more love imo 🤌🏼 you’re writing style slaps btws!

You just gonna make me cry, thank you sm. I totally agree with you, he needs all love. Luckily for you, I was planning to post this today. ;3 Hope you enjoy!

_______

You didn't want to socialize or even leave the house, but one of your mortal friends needed you to go on a double date, which you didn't like but understood. Sisters took care of each other, and it was better to have backup to 'whoop ass', as Wukong often liked to say, than to be alone. You didn't completely pay much attention to the male you were basically on a blind date with. He was okay-looking and as interesting as any other tall and handsome foreigner. You couldn't remember much of what he told you… Like his name, how he knew your friend's date, where he was from and why he was visiting China.

You never expected they would take you both to a puppet show, though. It seemed childish and when you really looked at them, they acted the part a bit too well. He swore that it was the best show they'd seen, but you were only interested when you saw the flier your friend's date had. It was a shadow play… which was much different from a simple puppet show in your opinion. 

Ever since your meeting with the emo monkey man, you always thought of Macaque whenever you're in the dark, staring somewhere only to discover it was the shadow of something, or happened to see something that reminded you of him. Did you maybe need to see a doctor? Potentially. Regardless, it was safe to say he'd plagued your mind and, unbeknownst to you, it was just as much as you plagued his. 

Before the play started, you caved and decided to get a helping of popcorn and a drink, something your friend complained about since you'd refused when they were buying earlier. Your journey to and from the line and back was infected with Macaque and almost made you order a popcorn with Pepsi instead of popcorn and a Pepsi.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to today’s shadow play,” 

You couldn't stop yourself from smiling to yourself. You'd only heard it when you’d first met, but you knew that voice from anywhere. He seemed to be using a human disguise and since the boys liked the plays, you guessed that he did them often. 

“You like these too? You seem excited,” you didn't know if it was your date or your friend who spoke.

“You can say that,” you trailed off. 

It was a brief moment, but Macaque’s gold eyes locked onto your (e/c) ones and his smirk grew before he continued.

“For the new viewers, I will start with the tale of the Hero and the Warrior,” and he did. You were no fool. You could tell that the story was based on him and Wukong. A hero that left his friends behind after obtaining immense power… yeah, that sounded like Wukong, alright. You loved Wukong like a brother, but sometimes he got too caught up in himself that he frequently forgot about others, it was something you noticed in MK too.

“Now, I can tell you about the Goddess,” his voice broke you out of your thoughts, and you noticed he looked at you when he said goddess. 

Your heart was already beating quicker knowing he was there, but when you heard his new story of a goddess the Hero once served, and had both him and the Warrior smitten, you knew that you were the goddess reference. He didn't even try to hide that from you… your brain was then quick to notice something; Macaque insinuated that both he and Wukong were smitten with you the second you met.

“This one is so adorable and tragic at the same time,” your friend swooned, and you rolled your eyes at the hopeless romantic.

“It’s kinda boring…” Yeah, you sort of forgot he was there and his hate for romance? It was never gonna work out. Maybe you took it to heart most because it was about you… The thought almost made you want to laugh.

When the show was over, the few people that were there applauded, you included. You thought your friend’s standing ovation was a bit of an overdo, but eh, who were you to judge? You met eyes with Macaque once more before he turned and walked away. Not wanting to miss the chance, you stood up.

“Where you going?” your friend questioned you.

“I'll meet you guys outside, okay?” was all you said over your shoulder before you chased after the hooded figure,

“Wha-” you barely heard her. “Okay, then?”

When you walked behind the stage, you saw a door as it closed. You walked over to it and opened it to be met with an alley and the back of the hooded figure you knew was Macaque.

“Hey, puppeteer,” your voice stopped him in his tracks, but since his back was to you, you couldn't see his grin. He knew you'd follow him, and you proved him right… It made him oddly happy.

“Sorry, miss, but I’m not signing autographs right now,” he said as he turned toward you with a lazy smirk. You could barely see the rest of his face, only his mouth.

“You get people wanting your autograph?” you mused at the thought of him signing autographs.

“Indeed,” 

“I'd never taken you for the shadow play storyteller type, Macaque,” you said with a slight snicker, he playfully clicked his tongue at being caught.

“I never thought you'd be the type to come watch one, (Y/n),” he lifted his hood and looked down at you with a slight grin. “What gave me away, hm?”

“Your voice obviously gave you away, dude,” you folded your arms, and a small smile adorned your face.

“Obviously,” he chuckled, “wasn't that obvious to MK.”

“Yeah…” you trailed at the memory of MK explaining the time they went to one of Macaque’s shows and how it didn't go too well. “He’s kinda clueless sometimes.”

“Remind you of anyone?” he teased, which made you laugh a bit.

“Most definitely,”

“Did you like the tale?”

“I did,” you gave a nod. “I guess I sympathize with the warrior… being in the shadow of the hero is something I bet the Goddess can relate to.”

“I bet,” he chuckled softly. “Like what you see?” he asked as he noticed you kept looking over his features. 

“I like the real you better,” you confessed and cleared your throat, your words caught him off guard. “I guess 'cause I get used to seeing demons in their true form that seeing their human forms feel… wrong,”

“Oh? Why’s that?” he asked before he chuckled, shook his head and reverted to his true form. “How’s that?”

“Better,” you smiled at him before you looked away and cleared your throat again. “Ya know, since it’s the one I’m used to.”

“Got something in your throat there, (Y/n)? You seem to be clearing it a lot,” he teased. “Too much popcorn?”

“I just wanted to…” 

You didn't know what you wanted to do. Why’d you go after him again?

“There something you needed? I doubt you wanna leave your boyfriend hanging,” he tried to tease, but his cocky attitude had a change to it that you didn't quite pick up on.

“He isn't my boyfriend, and never will be either. Not with that attitude.”

Oh, the irony. 

“Your failed date, then?” he asked curiously. He didn't know why it bothered him that you were there with another human man, but it did. Regardless of the outcome of said date.

“We’ll leave it as that,” you sighed in exhaustion, he didn't need to know the details. He thought your reaction was kinda cute though… “What are you doing here?” you asked as you finally remembered why you went after him.

“Cause I wanna be,”

“Macaque,” you folded your arms, unconvinced.

“Unlike His Majesty, some of us need to make a living,”

“So you're doing shows for money?”

“Yep,” he said and looked over your features. 

“That’s shocking,”

“You work, don't you?”

“Touché,” you chuckled and rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly. “Not at the moment, though… I guess you can say I'm on vaca.”

“I never expected you to be a liar, ya know,”

“What did I lie about?”

“You told MK you’d visit, but every-” he cut himself off and continued, “he said you never showed,”

“Were you trying to see me again?” you raised a brow in amusement, but he couldn't deny that he was caught.

“What if I was?” he stepped closer to you till you were a breath away. “Why does my old pal Wukong get to be friends with you and I can't?” he asked softly.

“Hm,” you looked up at him. “You're in my personal space,”

“Does it bother you?”

“The alley is already small, it'd like as much space as I could get.”

“What if I don't wanna move?” he smirked a bit.

“Then I won't be your friend,” you shot back.

“Oh, playing dirty,” he chuckled but stepped back. “Does that save our potential friendship, plum?”

“You don't have the rank for nicknames,” you stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

“Yet,” he added.

“That might take a long… long time, ya know,”

“I have nothing but time, you know that,” he leaned close to your face. “See you soon, plum. Maybe without a boy toy.”

“Would you rather yourself as my boy toy?” you had no idea where that came from, but you were internally screaming at what had just come out your mouth. Where'd that confidence come from?!

“Definitely,” he leaned back and looked away as you did as you both blushed. “Later, goddess.” with that, he fell back into a portal before you could say anything else.

“Why are the cute ones always so irritating?” you said to yourself in annoyance, but your undeniable smile said you definitely weren't complaining.

Friends. Yeah, you could both work with that… For now.

#request #x reader #lmk #lmk x reader #lego monkie kid #lmk macaque #lmk six eared macaque #macaque lmk #six eared macaque #lego monkie kid macaque #monkie kid macaque #macaque

[bleachbleachbleach]

[Bleach 080]

I think about these panels literally ALL. THE. TIME. I have thought about these panels in a thousand ways. Still, they baffle me. And I still have basically nothing to say about them.

I steadfastly believe that Renji is the kind of guy who would know who all the Captains and VCs were, both because he's a people person and because he'd see knowing who holds these ranks and speaking/acting in accordance with these ranks as a professional requirement. And if Renji calling Aizen 'Aizen-san' isn't going to change this, nothing will--not even Renji not knowing who Matsumoto's entire captain is.

Even if the current state of the Gotei is such that the divisions are highly fractured and there is very little inter-squad cohesion or communication, which I absolutely believe, there are still only thirteen of them. They are numbered! And assuming every issue of the SC is fairly similar to the one we see in Colorful Bleach, at least one magazine is actively attempting to cultivate cults of personality around these dumb captains, so it's not as though they're commanding their divisions entirely from behind green curtains.

So anyway, I'm like, okay, how could I see this working? I've chosen two options to tl;dr about.

Option A: We get insane with grammar

Option B: We method act

Option A: We get insane with grammar

In Matsmoto's line, the person she can't find is ウチの隊長さん (uchi no taichou-san). "Uchi" is a pronoun that has a variety of usages. One is a feminized form of speech, and, well, Matsumoto is a woman. But うちの (uchi no) can also be used by anyone to refer to things that belong to "the house"--or the family, the company, the farm, etc. So if we get insane with grammar, maybe we could argue that the captain Matsumoto's referencing is non-specific, is the Gotei's captain, and is simply *a* captain in the Gotei she had business with. Why Renji wouldn't just assume it was hers, given that we just talked about the fractured nature of Gotei governance, idk, but I mean, it could be Kyouraku. They know each other. [In the anime] people seem to give a lot of reports to Mayuri, too, so I guess it could be him, too. Yes, I think this is nutballs. Yes, it makes 90x more sense that she'd be talking about her captain.

The question Renji asks Matsumoto is: 乱菊さんとこの隊長って誰でしたっけ?

Again, I think the Viz translation makes sense here: "Who's your captain again?" In the Japanese line, my understanding is that he's talking about Matsumoto and this captain in conjunction with each other, and is trying to remember who the captain is. But I guess there might be some room for ambiguity? Like, "You and this captain--remind me who you were talking about?" At least in Japanese for Illiterates 101 (my lifetime enrollment), there are other more elementary ways he could ask who Matsumoto's captain was. So maybe we could read this situationally and say, well, Renji doesn't know who Matsumoto's trying to work with right now. Could be any captain! Which one are you talking about, Rangiku-san? Again, I don't actually think that makes sense, but WE'LL THROW IT OUT THERE.

Did you say "give it up, B3?" Hmmm. After some consideration... Nah!

Option B: We method act this.

Renji is standing around with Iba, Hinamori, and Matsumoto. They're all VCs now, but he definitely knows them better/perhaps more immediately in contexts other than their being VCs. Iba was his superior in the 11th, and Hinamori is his bff/classmate. (Or his douki, as Hitsugaya would say, LOL.) I don't know that there's any reason Renji and Matsumoto would know each other particularly well at this point, except that they're both loosely affiliated with Hisagi (though this is more true for Matsumoto in the anime and in omake paratexts than in the straight manga) and, having served under Ichimaru, Renji probably has some very vague sense of there being some connection to Matsumoto there.

I do think Renji and Matsumoto know each other socially, as two of the few extroverts in all of Soul Society. (Sidebar: Renji speaks politely but still casually to Matsumoto.) But I would be willing to believe that if that's the context in which one knows Matsumoto, she probably doesn't spend a lot of her downtime talking about work. Matsumoto is the work/life balance advocate the Gotei needs! I say this with acknowledgement that we definitely do hear Matsumoto canonically talk a lot about Hitsugaya in social contexts, whether complaining or disseminating random private information/photos, but I still feel like that's probably the exception rather than the rule--the exception we get to see because as the audience we don't care about the other stuff. (Well, we care. Here on Tumblr, the normal people website, where we definitely think about this series in a normal way.)

It's not like Renji doesn't know who Hitsugaya is, as a general person who exists in the world. Renji's friends with Hinamori, but Hinamori probably doesn't talk about him in a 10th-specific context, either. Renji's also not talking to Hinamori right at this moment, and I imagine it's hard to bring all these threads together on the fly when it's not something you really think about. Actually having out-of-context information about these people probably works against him for this, honestly.

Let's say we're Renji:

We're standing in a hallway with people we know in wildly different capacities. We're wearing our VC badge for the first time and it's all kind of official, but the information we've memorized about the Leadership Structure of the Gotei 13 is somewhat academic outside of divisions where we've had actual practical dealings, and isn't part of our fluent thought patterns and information recall.

Even as "which division are you!" is a normal thing to shout at some guy in the streets of the Living World, we haven't historically thought of Matsumoto as being attached to a division or a captain, because we've interacted with her superficially and socially far more often than the one or two times we have in a work context. If we gave ourselves enough time and were so inclined, sure, we could pull up our latent knowledge of the Leadership Structure of the Gotei 13 and superimpose that over Matsumoto and put together which division she was from and who her captain was.

Or we could just ask.

And once Iba answers, "Hitsugaya," we think, ohhhhhhh right right, of course.

Renji's line is あー例の天才児か.

例の (rei no) gives the phrase a sense of like, that thingy, the whatchacall. That 天才児 (tensaiji) one. (NB: 児 = child, which is information I would want to preserve in the line, since this detail will make it really obvious which captain we're talking about when they all show up in Chapter 81.) So I'd translate the line as, "Ahhhhh. That boy genius one."

Renji knows, he just doesn't necessarily actively know, if you know what I mean.

This matters and is interesting to me mostly for the mind mapping, and just thinking through what this world and information feels like to the characters themselves, rather than from our readerly POV. I THINK IT'S SO SEXY.

#bleach chapter 80 extended edition #matsumoto rangiku #abarai renji #bleach language #bleach headcanons #shinigamiology #bleach manga #bleach カラー #no brain just bleach

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Francis Drake Main Story

Translations may not always capture the exact nuances or tone of the original text. Expect grammatical errors.

The woman behind the door was just an ordinary woman.

(Heh? She's got nice eyes.)

Drake: "I'm Francis. Francis Drake."

Drake: "I just stumbled into this place out of nowhere and have no idea what's going on, so there's no need to be scared, little fawn."

The woman who introduced herself as Mitsuki was trembling like a cornered animal in my arms.

Nevertheless, her gaze as she looked up with determination wasn't all that bad.

Drake: "Haha! Being caught and surrounded like this reminds me of when I was ambushed at sea."

I laughed at my miserable situation as they tied me up with a rope.

When I was still a low-ranking officer on a pirate ship, I was tied up and almost thrown overboard after an altercation with an enemy ship.

Compared to that, being allowed to sit in a quality chair like this was far better treatment.

Drake: "Mademoiselle, sorry for pointing a knife at you earlier. I was on guard, so it just happened. Are you okay?"

Mitsuki: "Y-Yes, I'm fine."

The woman who had been trembling in my arms earlier blinked in surprise as I talked to her casually.

But...

Drake: "I promise not to harm you guys."

(There's no way they'd trust me even if I said that.)

Unlike the woman, there was a tense atmosphere among the men surrounding me.

(The ropes are tied tightly. They also took my knife, so untying them would be impossible.)

(Before that, if I make any suspicious moves, they might attack me first.)

A man with dark hair and a man with an eye patch on either side of me stood guard, as if they were watching over a prisoner.

Aside from the sword at their waist, their demeanor suggests they were used to fighting.

(In fact, that Napoleon guy is quite skilled.)

I glanced around at everyone present and noticed that there weren't many others used to fighting. However, the ones with golden and amber eyes caught my attention.

(Those two shouldn't be underestimated.)

My intuition told me so.

Napoleon: "Now that we've all calmed down, let me ask again."

Napoleon: "Who are you?"

Drake: "Okay. I guess I should start by introducing myself."

Drake: "I'm Francis Drake. Well, you could say I'm just a simple sailor."

Sebastian: "Francis Drake!?"

The man standing at the edge of the room, who looked like a servant, raised his voice.

Sebastian: "That famous Captain Drake!?"

Drake: "I don't know which 'that' you're referring to, but the 'Captain' part is correct."

Mitsuki: "Is this guy also a historical figure?"

Sebastian: "Yes. He's an English pirate who rose to the rank of navy admiral."

I was surprised that he knew so much, as he politely told me about my title and achievements.

Vincent: "So, he also crossed over time?"

Theo: "Just because he calls himself Francis Drake doesn't mean he's the real deal."

The man with the same piercing as the man with fluffy blond hair replied with expected skepticism.

Drake: "I can't argue with that."

As I pondered what to do next一

Mitsuki: "I think he's telling the truth."

Mitsuki: "He doesn't seem like he's lying, and it's also strange for someone to pretend to be a historical figure."

(Ooops? A backup support from an unexpected person.)

Drake: "Heh? You believe me, mademoiselle? That makes me happy."

Drake: "But is it okay to trust someone that easily?"

Mitsuki: "---?"

I casually said something to test her, partly because I wanted to be a little mean about her defenselessness and kindness.

(If she doesn't know how to doubt people, she probably has never been betrayed by anyone before.)

She probably lived a life free of conflict, intrigue, and deception.

Shakespeare: "I guarantee he is the real Sir Francis Drake."

Afterwards, the playwright Shakespeare served as a witness and finally confirmed my identity as Francis Drake.

Drake: "So, is this the lodging for Shakespeare's theater company or something? Are you all members of the troupe?"

Shakespeare: "No, Sir Drake, that is not the case."

Comte: "Will, let me take it from here."

The man with golden eyes approached me.

Comte: "Drake. This is neither a theater company nor England. Furthermore, to put it more clearly, we are in a different era."

Comte: "This is France in the 19th century."

Drake: "Ha?"

I looked at him, speechless and wide-eyed at what he just told me.

After that, he asked me how I came here, and when I told them that I'd walked alone through the hallway full of antiques, Count Saint-Germain frowned even more, and the other men looked confused.

Mitsuki: "Could it be that Drake, like me, also ended up here from his original time?"

Leonardo: "That's a possibility, but rather than being like you, it might be more accurate to say he's like Napoleon."

Napoleon: "Huh?"

Comte: "I can feel both a human and a vampire presence from you, Drake."

Mitsuki: "Are you saying he's like Napoleon? A half-vampire!?"

(Half...)

My own existence seemed to be causing a lot of confusion after they mentioned the topic of half-vampires.

As thoughts and speculations started spiraling out of control, I raised my hand to put a stop to it and bring everyone's attention back to me.

Drake: "Hold on."

Drake: "I can accept that this is the 19th century, but all this talk about resurrections and vampires is getting crazy. Can you at least tell me more about what's happening?"

Napoleon: "I understand how you feel."

Mitsuki: "Me too…"

The lady understood and felt the confusion I showed.

Mitsuki: "Comte, I think we need to explain the situation."

Mitsuki: "And since he doesn't have a place to go, why don't we let him stay at the mansion for a while?"

Drake: "........."

(It'd be inconvenient if I got thrown out like this. I need to play my cards right.)

(That young lady over there seems kind, huh?)

Although there were voices of caution coming from the men, they still undid the ropes and allowed me to stay in the mansion.

It was a fortunate turn of events.

Drake: "Anyway, sorry for the terrible first impression. I'll be in your care from now on, so let's all get along."

Mitsuki: "If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."

Drake: "You..."

She wasn't scared anymore and was now genuinely smiling.

Drake: "You're really kind."

(I hope that kindness doesn't lead to your downfall, little fawn.)

On a night when a full moon was floating in the sky, I became a member of the mansion where vampires and "one girl" lived一without me believing in their smiles and words.

Previous Part ╎ Masterlist ╎ Next Part

#ikemen vampire #ikevamp drake #ikevamp #ikevamp francis #ikevamp jp #ikevamp translation #cybird

[cursedvibes]

Just read a very upsetting meta calling Yuuji a decoy protagonist and megumi the true protagonist. Man I'm just so sick of jjk fans especially gojo, megumi and yuuta fans saying these things about Yuuji. It makes me want to cry I'm so tired. It's so hard being a Yuuji fan with all these awful negative takes and sometimes I really start believing them. I don't know how the manga's going to end but I hope what this person said won't become true. I honestly felt so happy and vindicated when gojo died since there's no chance of gojo vs Kenjaku happening now but the fandom won't even let me have that because they're now clamouring for yuuta vs Kenjaku. God I hope yuuta dies and megumi suffers character assassination. I want their fans to seethe just like gojo fans just did, just like how Yuuji fans have had to endure all those jokes and mean comments all this time. Suffer as we did. Only that'll help me feel somewhat good. The meta writer also thinks that nothing will come of Yuuji and Kenjaku's confrontation, Kenjaku's obviously moved on from Yuuji and yuuta vs Kenjaku makes more sense since it was foreshadowed. Not if yuuta dies by Sukuna's hand I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I hope the meta writer is also proven humiliatingly wrong. But no use in hoping and wishing it'll only lead to my disappointment. I'm so tensed over how the story's gonna unfold now.

Thank you for providing a safe space for Yuuji, Kenjaku fans and fans of other underappreciated characters. You're the first person I met in this fandom who liked Yuuji and Kenjaku. You've no idea how happy and grateful I am for that. Reading your blog truly makes my day. Thank you so much❤️. And sorry for the vent post, you don't have to publish this if you don't want to.

I'm happy you find some enjoyment in my blog as a fellow fan of Yuuji and Kenjaku. It is very annoying to see basically every week someone complaining that Yuuji isn't enough of a protagonist just because he's not the focus 24/7 or that he needs some insane power-up to matter or accomplish anything. We already have Yuuta, Maki and Hakari, he doesn't have to be on their level, he has other skills they don't, particularly when it comes to Sukuna.

I think I know what post you are referring to. I like that meta writer, particularly their takes on Gojo and Hana, but we just don't agree on Yuuji and Kenjaku. As far as I know they're more of a Megumi fan and I can understand that those two aren't on the forefront of their mind. I didn't finish reading that post because I knew I would disagree. No hate to that person, we just disagree.

Okay, I can agree with some arguments that Gojo is the main character. I think he's A main character, since he is a big focus in the story, but I don't think he's the central main character. With Megumi and Yuuta that makes less sense to me. I'd say Maki has more relevance and focus in the story than those two. Definitely when it comes to Yuuta. Yuuta has entirely been a supportive character. He's had no arcs that focus on him, just that short fight in Sendai and even that was more about Takako's backstory than him. The only time Megumi was in focus and a major influence on the plot was in the initial phase of the Culling Game and I guess kinda now, but now he's possessed and as we saw, with the exception of characters like Yuuji and Hana he's not even a major concern to most. Sukuna is the one this is really about, not Megumi.

Even in the focus he did get, it ultimately served to propel Yuuji's development. Megumi convinces him to join the Culling Game and help him save Tsumiki, but the purpose here is to remind Yuuji of his original goal after the trauma of Shibuya, helping people, and setting up his motivation, saving Megumi, once he loses his "purpose" with Sukuna switching vessels. All Megumi's goals accomplished was get Yuuji into the Culling Game and then get possessed, so Yuuji could have more character depth and be forced to evolve beyond his martyrdom. Megumi entering the Culling Game and getting possessed was to give Yuuji breathing room to be more than Sukuna's vessel and to give him extra conviction to face Sukuna and in the physical realm on top of that. Sukuna is now a real opponent Yuuji can phase and not just some ambiguous force imprisoned within him. Hell, it even served to push Yuuji to learn more about the soul and cursed energy to be strong enough and have the specific skills to not only kill Sukuna, but also save Megumi (if he will be successful is another thing). Megumi doesn't have the presence or goals to be the main character of the story currently he's barely a vegetable, but he is a very good motivator and support system for Yuuji.

Onto the Kenjaku thing. I've seen a lot of posts and theories about how Kenjaku and Yuuta totally have to fight and that will be the final fight for Kenjaku....I'm not denying that they probably will fight, but really? Yuuta the final conflict with Kenjaku? Over Yuuji? What connection is there between them aside from Yuuta wanting it to happen and Kenjaku once being kinda dismissive of him? From Kenjaku's side there is zero investment. And you want to tell me that's better than Yuuji facing the one person responsible for all his problems including the ones relating to Sukuna? Kenjaku clearly cares about Yuuji. I don't mean they love him or anything (maybe but that's very up in the air), but they are still interested in seeing him develop and grow past his initial role as Sukuna's vessel/cage. They said as much in Shibuya. Sukuna was never meant to be inside Yuuji forever or Kenjaku could've never used him properly in their plans, Yuuji's too strong of a vessel for that. Yuuji becoming a vessel is what kickstarted everything, including Yuuji's own growth, so that much is true from what they told Choso. The rest is clearly just there to aggrevate Choso. It's pretty basic actually. Kenjaku calls Yuuji an object they don't care about anymore, but openly admit to an unaquainted party (Sasaki) that they have parental feelings for him. We see the exact same thing later with Tengen. Kenjaku dismissively calls her a thing and takes a lot of time out of their day to insult her, but when they are alone, they call her their friend. Not everything Kenjaku says, particularly in front of opponents, reflects their true feelings.

I think Yuuji is very similar to the merger curse for them, just with a less defined goal. Yuuji is clearly a very unique creation of theirs that only continues to evolve further the deeper he gets engrossed into the world of jujutsu. He's a living cursed object capable to absorb other cursed objects and use their CE for his benefit or possibly also some of their abilities. A little cannibalistic Kirby. Sukuna was what awakened his potential, but I highly doubt that's all they ever hoped for from him.

So beyond the family drama that Yuuji continues to try to ignore and suppress, there's also this connection between them. And I personally think it will be even worse for Yuuji when he realizes that he's not only Kenjaku's experiment like the Death Paintings, but they still see him as their son as well. There's a personal connection, but they still put him through all this trauma "for his own good". Don't see how Yuuta being angry that Kenjaku was mean to him can live up to that. Yes, he lost Gojo and some other friends, but so did Maki or Shoko, what makes him special? I don't expect Yuuji to face Kenjaku alone, just how I don't think he'll do that against Sukuna and Yuuta will probably help, but he's not central to the conflict playing out here or even the story as a whole.

#asks #kenjaku #itadori yuuji #jjk spoilers

[pinkandpurple360]

Okay, so for some reason when I started reading your post about octavia and Fizz being opposite but similar 'n' all, I instantly thought about Blitzø and Fizz adopting her, and quickly scrolling down it appeared that it was ALSO the point you were getting at!

And, like, gay dads adopts late-teenage girls from unknowing, bad, families, is a Trope that sound awesome.

And then you got one of those girls becoming hitman while the other becomes librarian/writer or something, and they're besties and spend lots of time together excepted when one got a contract or the other has a tense moment with her publisher or something, but sometime having a hitman bestie is quite useful, and sometime having a decent writer that looks like an ordinary person too.

And you got big sister hitman always here to help, with little sister writer/librarian always here to listen.

And two sad dads that could not believe their girls will end up their lives with another girl. (I don't know enough of octavia to ship her, so I make her aro, but not ace.)

I’ve created this semi dysfunctional half goth half clown family in my head and now I’m so attached to them I can’t undo what is done.

Gay clown dads with unresolved “something” between them adopt sardonic goth girls who have a friendship? Sign me up.

Octavia is sooo writer-coded, she has so many opinions, and I also love the idea that she does digital art on her tablet. If you ever annoy her she draws you really ugly and posts it on her blog, then if you try take it down she threatens to sue and serve you with a subpoena, cites her right to artistic expression (guess where she learned that from)

Via having tension with her publisher could be such an interesting avenue, it reminds me of the scenes in Little Women between Jo and the book publisher Mr Dashwood. Her book is only released on the condition that it end in the main character having a romance, because it was seen as improper for her to be a “spinster” —- it’s misogyny but also, something else called amatonormativity

This way of thinking values romantic, monogamous pairings above all else, and elevates sexual relationships as higher in value than platonic ones when this is rarely the case. It makes people feel they have to endure even toxic relationships just for the ‘normalcy’ of having a monogamous nuclear family. It also encourages attitudes of running off with some romantic interest and leaving platonic relationships behind. Since to some, romance and sexual relationships can save you from your troubles and is the ultimate goal.

Sound familiar?

It’s because this is the crutch of what happened to Stolas, the attitude of what made him maintain the lie, force the toxic relationship to stay together, and seek out sexuality as a way to escape it all. Because he thinks it’s the answer to his unhappiness.

Funny enough actually, Frozen is one of the most famous animated films to criticise this idea and stomp it out. Anna realises her love for her own flesh and blood Elsa is worth much more to her than any romance either with Hans or Kristoff. And this is incidentally where they based much of the Goetia themes (allegedly) especially with Andre being a walking Frozen reference…

Soooo yeah Octavia is now a massive Greta Gerwig stan because I said so, her favourite actresses are Winona Ryder and Fiona Shaw, she is scathingly critical of amatonormativity. Fizz had told her about the Barbie movie and how it “changed” his entire worldview and is deeply personal to him for some reason that he won’t say. Something to do with the dolls theme. She didn’t believe it at first, and was repulsed by saturated feminine colours, but then it awakened something in her as well. Feminism, and more critique of romance obsession.

She is someone who is now valuing friendship honesty, consent, and trust above all else. She and Loona are finally exploring social events together. Making friends. At a party she’s the one she goes to when she’d like to get home, and Loona always does even if she’s having fun.

I don’t want to imply that she became aromantic because of the trauma, so maybe she has always been on the aroace spectrum, which was why she could see through the rose coloured glasses from the start. She doesnt centre her life goals and self esteem on any type of love or male approval anymore, and it would take a significant amount of trust and mutual independence between her and a partner before she’d enter that type of relationship. She might not ever want to marry, and I don’t blame her.

Also she’s a lesbian because. I say so. This show has no lesbians yet and if she’s basically Janis from Mean Girls, that makes her gay. Don’t tell anyone but she has a massive celebrity crush on Glitz from the Twin Glam sisters and can you blame her. Fizz isn’t very happy about that poster in her room but he doesn’t comment.

To be fair I don’t think it was a surprise to anyone that she likes women it was a kindve “that’s great sweetie do you want pancakes or sliders for breakfast?”

So so so cute 🥺 and who knows, maybe there are times where Loona and Via break stereotypes and it’s Via who keeps Loona protected as the “muscle” while Loona becomes more interested in education

Text exchange:

Loona: it’s kinda funny how nobody expects you to be the muscle of the two of us.

Via: well, you know the most powerful muscle is the brain. And I make sure to exercise mine daily.

Loona: “The most powerful muscle is the brain” 🤓

Via: HEY! Well it’s true!!

#helluva boss #Octavia

[ideas-on-paper]

Monster Hunter Tri Diary, Part 2: Day cycles & Nighttime hunt in the Moga Woods

For previous entries, search for #monster hunter tri diary

Disclaimer: Text is paraphrased from my localization and might slightly deviate from the English version.

Moga Village (night)

Yay, we have day cycles! This is actually a feature that got scrapped in MH3U; while there were day and night versions of each map (probably a leftover from this mechanic), it was always day in Moga Village. In Tri, however, time advances in the village too, and you actually get to explore Moga at nighttime! (I believe the only previous time they tried something like this was in MH Dos, with the seasonal cycles.)

And look, fireflies! Or are those Thunder Bugs? (Given that this is Monster Hunter, probably Thunder Bugs.)

Also, there is a nighttime version of the village theme! I've never heard it before, due to there being no day/night cycle in 3U. It's a tad softer and more tranquil than the daytime version - I like it!

Chief's Son: "To restore the base camp, we need to dig new latrines, rebuilt the tent, cover the old latrines, delouse the bed..." Sounds like a really pleasant job. Might be easier to just throw the lousy bed into the trash and get a new one, though.

Okay, so the Chief’s Son tells me I have to report to him what I hunted in the forest, since he’s responsible for keeping tabs on that. Makes sense, since you kinda need to keep an eye on the monster population to prevent an imbalance in the ecosystem if you want to ensure a sustainable economy.

Actually, this reminds me... I remember there's an in-lore explanation that the Guild keeps records of the monster population in each area, to prevent certain species from going extinct and others from growing too large in number. (I think the only time they integrated this into the gameplay was in MH Dos; there was some kind of "bounty system", and the more often you hunted a certain monster, the less money you'd get for it.) So, are the reports I give to the Chief's Son sent to the Guild as well? (I suppose that would be like constant surveillance; but maybe, that's the exact intention behind it.)

At first, I thought the Jumbo Pearl might be a reference to MH Dos (since the village from that game is called Jumbo). However, after checking the Japanese item name, the kanji indicates that it's just an extraordinarily large pearl, rather than a pearl found near/associated with Jumbo Village. (Pity, though; that would've been so cool.)

Chief's Son: "Go report to my dad, will you? He LOVES reports." Okay - well, at least that shows he's taking his job seriously.

Chief: "There are no hopeless causes... Just lost confidence!" That's actually a damn good motivational quote right there.

Gossipy Lady: "It's obvious whenever the Chief is in a pensive mood. He stands at the left pier and gazes out at the sea." I wonder if there's a story behind this habit...

Guild Sweetheart: "The good news is that the Guild apparently has completely forgotten about us. So, you're not missing out on anything!" Well, I guess that's the bright side of it... xD Still, a bit odd if you consider the Guild is technically responsible for protecting the village - all they do is send one rookie hunter here and that’s it. They don’t even bother helping the villagers repairing the damage in any other way.

Outfitter: ""No weapon is perfect. Every one has its strengths and weaknesses." Maybe grandpa was right after all..." Well... A fault confessed is half redressed, or so they say. xD

The shy kid tells us about a goblin with a mask living in the Moga Woods (his older brother also says he's "constantly talking nonsense about an elf"). If my memory serves correctly, that has to be Cha-Cha.

Blacksmith: "I'm gonna to tell you - but just this once!" Except when you cycle through the dialogue by repeatedly talking to him, you can select "yes" again. xD

The Bowguns are completely different in Tri. Instead of the usual two classes (Light and Heavy Bowgun), you have to assemble your Bowgun out of individual parts (stock, frame, barrel), each influencing the stat values and overall performance. I guess this was done in an attempt to make the Bowguns more customizable, so you can have a sort of in-between as opposed to just light/heavy. I'm not a Gunner myself, but I think the idea is kinda cool; ultimately, they didn't stick with it, though.

Btw, there are some weapons that are completely missing from Tri: Dual Blades, Hunting Horn, Gunlance and Bow are all unavailable in this game (despite being available in Freedom Unite).

Also, the Switch Axe and the Long Sword are not available from the start; you have to unlock them later on (you have to do the 3-star Urgent Quest to hunt a Gobul to get access to Long Swords). I was a bit confused when I saw that I couldn't make any Long Swords, since I was sure I heard they existed in Tri. However, the selection of Long Swords in this game is very limited: Minus the weapons from online events, there are only seven Long Swords you can make in the game. That's right: seven. A bit of a bummer for me as a Long Sword main, especially since there are not even blades for every element. (There isn't a single Ice Long Sword you can forge offline.)

So, seems like I'll have to get a little creative here - I think I'll make myself a Great Sword when I get the chance, since that's a weapon I'm at least moderately accustomed to. I also might try out a Switch Axe against Gobul, since you already unlock these after the 2-star Urgent Quest. (Can't say I'm looking forward to it, though. xD)

Btw, I don't know if it's just a translation error in my localization, but when explaining weapon sharpness, the smith says orange is sharper than yellow which is sharper than green. Of course, it's the other way around, with yellow being sharper than orange and green being the sharpest. So, this is a small pitfall for anyone who might be new to the game - just wanted to mention it.

"Fuel for the furnace, chemicals for forging... All of that costs money, so you gotta pay something." I think this is the first time I've seen it mentioned that the smithies in MH are using chemicals to make weapons/armor. Guess that makes sense, since a lot of the equipment pieces are composed of both organic and inorganic materials, so it probably wouldn't hold together otherwise.

"My life's goal? To forge a weapon beyond anyone's imagination! I've tried again and again, but failed. One day, I'll succeed - just you wait!" Well, as long as you have a goal and dedication, you can achieve anything. Better luck next time! :-)

I really like the smith in general - such a lively and spry guy. ^^

What the?! How did the smartass kid get into my house? Who let you in? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY SWAMPHOUSE?!?

"Did you know you can skip conversations? That way, you can skip boring conversations with people you don't even want to listen to. Very handy!" I wish this was a feature in real life.

"But some things you'll get to hear only once. And then you'll say: "Oh no! Why did I press the cancel button? Now I can never hear this again! Buhuuuu!" Unironically me every time I want the text to scroll faster and accidentally end up missing dialogue. xD

"Oh, some conversations you can't skip, like important village info and lectures from your mom..." Pity - I'm sure everyone would appreciate the latter. xD

"Do you believe there is life on the moon?" I dunno, kid - I've never read sci-fi literature from the MH universe myself.

"Why don't hunters use their huge airships to fly to the moon? Did no one get this idea before?" Well, maybe they did - I just doubt they got very far. xD

Yay! I can actually give my Poogie a name! (Actually, I think this is the first time in the series you can do this.) Though it's curious that the list includes both male and female names - is Poogie's gender just whatever you want it to be?

The cuddle timing for the Poogie is WAY more lenient than in Freedom Unite (seriously, that was hardcore).

Moga Woods (night)

"Hello, it's me, the Chief's Son! Not Junior! Nobody calls me that!" Yep, definitely daddy issues. (Nice to see the Chief's Son inherited his dad’s telepathic skills, though.)

"Oh, nice attack! Maybe you're not such an inexperienced hunter after all..." Shit, they've caught onto my ruse - they know I'm too good to be a noob! xD

It will never not be funny to me that the "So tasty!" when you make a Well-done Steak is the only voice line they ever bothered to record for the old games. In fact, it was so important that they even recorded it in different languages. xD

I appreciate how there's a brief display of "MAX" at the end of the stamina gauge - that way, you know when you're at max stamina.

Okay, so the monster list also works differently in Tri. Instead of buying the books with the info at the item shop, you have to gather the infos yourself while being out in the field. It feels a bit like a spiritual predecessor to MH World; I guess they did this to add more to the "exploration" feeling. It's a little tricky to do though, so I understand why they got rid of it. (You have to open the monster list in the menu, point the Wiimote at the monster and then add the info to your list via drag-and-drop. I can imagine this is going to be rather difficult with large monsters, since you kinda have to pay attention that you don't die while gathering data. xD)

Honey: "Full of nutrients, but indigestible in this form." What? Last time I checked, honey was a perfectly digestible type of food. What makes MH honey different?

Okay, so I've picked up an item called "Firedouse Berry". It increases fire resistance, apparently. The logical conclusions would be that there are other berries in Tri to counter the other elements (water, thunder, ice). Either way, I've never seen these in any MH before.

I’ve always wondered what the "houses"/windows carved into the cliffs of Area 7 are. I suppose this is what the Head Farmer meant when he was saying that the statue in the cave had something to do with the "forest ruins". Is this where the ancestors of the sea people lived? If so, why are these great buildings in ruins? What brought about their demise?

You see, it's the little things that always kept me fascinated in Monster Hunter. You can find these ancient ruins in all of the old MH games, but it’s never explained who built them. It's like a dark mystery of the past, constantly looming over you - and perhaps, a silent threat that this might happen again.

It's funny how the Jaggi were my literal introduction to Monster Hunter. If I hadn't read an article about there being "raptors" in MH4U - despite the Jaggi looking more dilophosaurs with their frills (which is ironic, since they're the bird wyverns that don't spit poison) - I probably wouldn't have picked it up. xD

After playing Lies of P for so long, I have to get used to MH combat again. Although I adjusted the controls of LoP so it was basically the standard MH controls (because I literally can’t play with anything else xD), the combat itself feels very different. MH’s is a lot more mobile in comparison, involving lots of dodging and repositioning; since there’s no target lock-on (targeting for large monsters only got introduced in MH3U if I remember correctly), you can’t just lock onto your target to circle around them.

Also, I don't think there’s a pause button in Tri? A bit strange since Freedom Unite had one, but I guess you're supposed to use the Wii Home button for this.

There was a young Aptonoth in Area 1, probably the one who fled from Area 3 when I killed its parents (cool that the monsters move to other areas, though!). I briefly contemplated to let it live, but then I told myself "well, it's probably not gonna survive without its parents anyway" and did the mercy kill. (I'm such a cold-blooded murderer, guys. xD)

One thing that never fails to make me laugh is how there are wooden struts sprouting from the ground if you place the BBQ spit on uneven terrain. xD (That BBQ spit is so important, it even gains the magical ability to support itself if need be.)

So, in summary, I killed 15 Jaggi, while also gathering some stuff along the way. I would've needed 30 resource points at minimum, I delivered 90 - so, thrice as much. Well, there's no kill like overkill. xD

Moga Village (day)

As far as I know, 3rd Gen is the first to have its own kinds of fertilizers for mushroom and insect farming spots on the farm (Shroom Germ and Funky Pheromones, respectively).

Dung: "That's right: Monster poop. The odor reveals (too) much about the monster's diet." Must be really pleasant to carry that around in your pockets (or store it in your item box). xD

The item description says you can only sell Pittance Fangs for "pocket change" - that "pocket change" being 180z per piece, which is quite a lot by early game standards. (I've been wondering about the name, though; could it be that monster parts like fangs, teeth etc. are used as currency in some places in the MH universe? Is it custom to give these kinds of fangs to beggars so they can buy themselves something for it?)

Okay, the smith now wants me to bring him some Iron Ore to prove that I’m “worthy” of being his customer - at least he was so kind as to lend me his Mega Pickaxe for it. (Remember, kids? The time when you still had to carry pickaxes and bug nets with you to gather ore and insects?)

Village Chief: "All wyverians are hard to please. And this one is the worst. I know him since my early youth. I got into more brawls with him than the sky has stars!" Sounds like the Chief and the smith were best friends. xD It's charming to see the Chief reminiscing about his youth, though.

Chief: "My son still has a lot to learn... But you have to overcome barriers to grow." That's true - ngl, the Chief does have some pretty deep quotes.

Guild Sweetheart: "Drum roll... The Guild says: absolutely nothing!" Man, they sure are taking their time... Okay, how about this: I'm gonna go out to get some Iron Ore for the smith (and for myself), and you see if you can get through to the Guild in the meantime, alright? Don’t worry, sweetie - I’ll be right back!

To be continued

#monster hunter #monster hunter tri #monster hunter tri diary #gaming diary

[koostarcandy]

hi i have a req if thats okay !! could you pls write something with jungkook based off of the song could cry just thinkin about you by troye sivan?? angst/fluff preferably, thank u !!!! :)

you & i - jungkook x reader [ 1/3 ]

genre: angst, happy ending

pairing: idol!jungkook x songwriter!reader

wc: 346 words (its a baby 🥺)

a/n: im not really in the mood for an angsty ending today so I made it sliiiightly happy. pt 2 should come out soon-ish? pls wait ^^

it's been 2 months.

two whole months since you had the worst argument with him. the unwrinkled pillow by your side goes to show how grey life has been. your tear soaked one shows how much you've been thinking about him, contrary to what he thinks. your open laptop and reference books on the study table serve as a reminder of one of the main themes of your fight.

"you're so focused in you, i'm pretty sure you haven't thought about me in a minute!"

he doesn't know how wrong he is. he doesn't know how hard it is on some nights, finding yourself stuck on a major block while working on your lyrics. he doesn't know how everything you write all comes back to him. you and him both know how hard it can be for him, hence why you keep quiet. what you didn't know was that your silence could be translated to indifference, selfishness and the worst, you not caring about him.

it got so ugly, so quickly, so bad. one minute you were trying to get some sense into him, pleading and begging him to listen to you but he wasn't having it that day. "get your priorities straight," he seethed, "not in a fucking mess." those words were akin to a stab in the heart, like continuous poking at your weak spot. before you could retaliate, tell him he was wrong again, when you know he wasn't, he walks away and comes back with a big black bag, packed with his things.

"you and i, we need a break." he says it's long overdue, that he was losing himself in your daily, small arguments and that both of you not finding a grey area was frustrating him to wit's end. "you can't go," you say shakily, fingers turning to shaky fists, willing to stand your ground and not break down. "i don't know who i am with or without you, hell, we both don't know that!"

jungkook looks away, downcast eyes and halfway out the door, "guess we're about find out."

pt time: @lvoekook ; @joondiary ; @soobhyun ; @shatzkrinslinzki ; @highly-functioning-mitochondria

#jungkook angst #jungkook x reader #jungkook imagines #jungkook scenario #jungkook fanfic #bts x reader #bts imagine #bts scenario #bts fanfic #bts angst #hmm this was tough. #but i promised a happy ending #and a happy ending is what we'll get here in starcandyland #chaenelcore

[professorspork]

u should like!! toootally drop blake and yang outfit references for ur newsbees au. for like. research purposes

!!! okay I can't tell if you're asking this for fanart reasons (EVERYONE SHOULD FEEL VERY FREE TO DO THAT) or for spank bank "my thirst requires an accurate theater of the mind" reasons (VALID) but

this makes me UNHINGED and i plan to be SO THOROUGH so THANK YOU FOR ASKING

i have put this under a cut to spare you all but i think you should click on it and admire the gilded age urchin chic

first of all, let me say that Newsies Are Beautiful. They have never met two clashing patterns they didn't want to combine and I think they are perfect in every way

that said

the classic Jack look could certainly use some tailoring before it's truly ready for the Yang prime time

these numbered fellas give us a better place to start when it comes to I WANT MY NEWSIES TO NOT BE SWIMMING IN CLOTHES TWO SIZES TOO BIG YES I KNOW THE VERITAS OF THEM SCROUNGING FOR WHATEVER BUT ALSO. THIRST.

Fella 1 is a pretty bang-on Yang and you can tell that was his intention because he's growing out his hair, bless. sleeves rolled to show arm, shirt unbuttoned scandalously to show cleavage, open vest, neat cap, high socks. the lower half does lose points for the striped socks that remind me of the Wicked Witch of the East's feet sticking out and the fact that he's clearly in tap shoes as opposed to work boots like his friend Fella 3

Fella 2 gets EXTRA sock points for the argyle and the vest-but-no-collar combo which is very Nora. He also has a neat cap, which Blake always does because she's hiding her ears.

Fella 3 has a sloppy cap but is otherwise a bang-on Blake; kempt and tidy in ways Yang never is even though they are essentially wearing the exact same thing. Blake knows how to button buttons and Yang pretends she forgets every day

Fella 4's rocking the henley and suspenders combo which serves any member of our cast, a fucking classic

Fella 5 is wearing a tie he is trying so hard he wants to look nice at work, 100% a Jaune move

sir that-- that's not how crutches are supposed to-- SIR--

this Crutchie exhibits excellent Newsie styling in a very Yang color palette. high socks, mixing of patterns, rolled sleeves; excellent. the slightly fancier waistcoat, actually buttoned, isn't something Yang would go for but certainly wouldn't be amiss on Blake, Ruby, or Velvet

Ruby also, of course, wears a signature red scarf instead of her cloak:

like her scarf and hat just absolutely dwarf her, she's WEE SMOL

above we see our previous example Crutchie not leaping through the air, and his outfit remains exemplary but for the backwards cap, which I shan't abide. the Jack to his left-- what with his WIDE open shirt, tight undershirt, rolled sleeves, and suspenders, is very Yang.

good Yang looks can also mean THE SHORTEST SLEEVES EVER, TO SHOW OFF THE GUNS:

both excellent choices, and of course our lower fella (TURN THAT CAP AROUND YOUNG MAN) has got his bandana going, which is Quite Yang

all the guys in the background there are gold too tbh

look at this king in this fashion pose but also YEAH WHY NOT BANDANAS ON THE ARMS BANDANAS EVERYWHERE the yang xiao long story

^^ this outfit, on the other hand, is pretty exactly spot-on for Blake immediately post haircut/makeover

Weiss, I'm sure you've already guessed, is a Classic Katherine:

she's buttoned-up, she's fancy, her shit matches and she's the only one in a skirt.

the only thing where my brain gets REALLY SPECIFIC is the finale so uh. spoiler warning I guess for screenshots of the Newsies film and vague references to a plot resolution if you're reading the AU without having watched it

but the finale looks are ICONIC and non-negotiable

button shirt OVER henley OVER bandana and nothing's buttoned? suspenders on but hanging loose from the hips? hell yes.

i actually even managed to make that dirt smudge on David's tummy plot-relevant to Blake and that was completely subconscious and I didn't realize I did it until looking up these screenshots but there you have it. and by this point Weiss gets to be a little more loose and dressed-down, a la Sarah

in conclusion they're in love look at those heart eyes oh my god

#newsbees au #fic what i wrote #rwby

[spacedhead]

HOMESTUCK REREAD #17: END OF HOMESTUCK (act 6 act 6 act 6 and act 7)

this is it!!!!!! this is the end of homestuck!!!

the song setting the scene for all of these battles that are about to take place concurrently is called creata, and it has leitmotifs from MANY songs in homestuck, as do all of the songs in this 18 minute sequence! also check out this fortnite squad....

the second song is called oppa toby style... oh man this is gonna be sick.

GOD LOOK HOW STRONG SHE IS SHES BEATING UP FOUR OF THEM EFFORTLESSLY

roxy my son is fighting so hard actual goat of this section btw no cap you will see later

of course this part is.... not as important but still certainly something i suppose.. karkat and jake are giving it their all as the weakest members of the squad

here come the striders and terezi!!! they are about to mix the shit out of these jacks

side note but not really its kind of crazy how owned dirk gets in this fight he dies like three different times and is saved by dave terezi and jane a bunch . talk about an unlucky break

meanwhile jade is struggling with her dog friends/ enemies and caliborn is fighting his denizen yaldabaoth ( wrdgaf). also vriska is fighting hussie? (WRDGAFX2)

okay so caliborn beat his denizens ass. so called strongest denizen is weaker than caliborn who was beaten by john fucking egbert.

anyway the current song is eternity served cold but only the second half.. its very good. variation on johns theme for a bit, then into lord english theme.

ive always loved this shot

davepeta makes an undertale reference.... which i guess was topical at the time. my undertale phase is long gone though. so . cool reference anyway !

last song. heir of grief is starting. VERY good song. love this shit!!! pic of one of the squads... theyre getting roughed up

oh my god... the four original kids and the pictures of their houses from the beginning of the story really reminds me how far they have come... ive been reading this shit only for a few weeks but man it feels like it really has been such a long time since things were that simple.

cool ass shot of these guys

oh no!!! theyre getting fucked UP dude shes beating their ass... but who is that back there...?

to be honest. i am not sure what jade was trying to accomplish in this sequence. she seems to just be teleporting her and the dogs around.... like to get them to stop fighting maybe? idrk but either way they kinda just fight anyway. or at least PM does

i think this moment of dave chopping dirks head off is not really significant for dave as much as it is for dirk. he finally relinquished control for once!

anyway, PM FINALLY gets jacks ring off, and now he is no longer a threat. its been so long. wow . goat much?

roxy being the one to finish the condesce is deserved. great job. my goat. props to all of these crazy kids they fucking did it they won!!! holy shit good fuckin job!! but we arent quite done yet.

this is beautiful art that is the rest of the comic basically until act 7. i just love these panels so much. one of them has actually been my background for about a year and a half!

its this one . i really love this one it shows so many of my children look at them all god im so proud of them they did it.... YES!!!! i knew this would happen but im still so happy for them.

look!!! the mayor and pm reunited once again. its been since before cascade since they saw each other last! and serenity too!!

this one is a real standout as well... so good i love all of them. am i repeating myself? surely not.

:))))

it is time for act 7. the finale of homestuck, essentially. it has been a long and winding road.... only a little left to go :)

LOOK AT JOGN EGBERT I WANT HIM TOBE HAPYP FOR ALL ETERNAL

a lot of this animation shows the new universe being formed, like the tadpole turning into the frog and stuff. it is very cool, and visually stunning to be honest, but i like to focus more on the characters with my limited images per post. but trust me, act 7 is very beautiful the whole way through :D

LOOK AT MY CHILDREN IN STUNNING HD QUALITY

THE LOT OF THEM. I SIRED THEM ALL? INCREDIBLE

do you see how fucking beautiful these kids are and how much they mean to me. i would do anything for them

holy shit vriska is serving like crazy here. i mean they all are but... okayyy vriska

look at these two. leaders of their sessions. coming together. finishing. it all makes me tear up a little i wont lie. also this music called overture is fucking beautiful.

oh man okay yeah. i am really misty eyed here. this never happened before?? god i fucking love this story

IM GONNA START CRYING DUDE FUCK

well here it is. first view of the idyllic earth c. they did it. they won . they created their universe and they got to live in it

heres one last squad shot of them all being goated and fucking awesome maybe? ever think of that

it started with him and ended with him. my son john egbert i love you so much

okay. its actually over. it feels weird to say but i have indeed completed homestuck yet again. this time was maybe my favorite reading of it other than probably the first time. maybe it was cause of the blogging it? i did genuinely love blogging my thoughts about it. even if no one is paying too much attention, its cool to get it out there :D

overall thoughts? the first part is a little slow to get going, but once it does get going, it's so fun and just a blast to read. things are incredible up until right after cascade where it slows down a lot. which i get. introducing a ton of new characters and essentially a new main villain into the plot can be a lot. i would say that the first half of act 6 is like... a definite decrease in quality? but it starts picking up again when they actually arrive in the new session. and me personally, ive always loved the ending. i know some people were like oh they just win and their plan goes smoothly. like, yeah i get that, but also things did NOT go smoothly when game over happened, and that was definitely the everything goes wrong moment. everything after that is cool and fun and very entertaining to read. i just love this story guys i love it so much there is a reason why it is my favorite piece of fiction and why i constantly come back to it . it is just so good i love the characters i love the concepts the plot is sprawling and self referential and just plain cool . of course it has flaws, namely its villains are a little weak. sometimes i love villains who are just plain evil but sometimes in a story like this i may have preferred a villain who has a little more motive than just being evil and wanting to destroy and kill things... but its alright. the heroes were the main focus anyway, so its not like it ruins the story or anything. i think homestuck goes from an ironic shit post story that makes you feel like an ass for reading it to a heartfelt tale of empathy and self improvement and self actualization. its characters go from asshole kids to pretty good adults. and you can see the writing grow up too. its honestly great and if you know me you probably already know lots of bits and pieces about it and/or i made you read it. but if you dont you should give it a shot. it has NOT aged well i will say but if you can manage to ignore the usage of slurs and probably other bad things i can honestly say it ends as a story about growth and acceptance of the self and others. that is all.......

thanks for reading this to all my friends i had tons of fun

p.s

im reading the epilogues. FUCK

#joff hs reread #my children will win this war #they deserve to win #i love them all #im so proud of them #should i wait until 413 am to post this #i might as well

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer, Scrapnik Island Issue #2: Scrapnik Island (Part 2)

Welcome to the second part of Scrapnik Island, where we are greeted by the amazing cover featuring Mecha Knuckles. It looks so amazing!

We also have another cover, serving as foreshadowing for the events to come in this Issue.

We start off with a flashback sequence of a beat-up Sigma awakening on Scrapnik Island and dragging himself towards the Death Egg.

There, he starts fixing the Badniks, turning them into Scrapniks, which all appear to be more than happy to have a new purpose unrelated to Eggman.

One day, another Scrapnik alerts Sigma to having found a Badnik washed ashore, that Badnik being none other than Mecha Sonic.

Honestly, I really love this little backstory.

We cut back to present day, with Sonic waking up from his nap, resting his injured leg. A few Scrapniks approach him, with Sonic greeting them, only for the Scrapniks to greet him back. Sonic is shocked, wondering what is going on, and Tails explains how he made a translation module to decrypt the Scrapniks’ communication signals and converting them to rudimentary speech.

Sonic doesn’t appear to be really comfortable with the idea, wondering if they can talk now, but Tails replies how it happens only through his speakers. More and more Scrapniks start to approach Sonic, greeting him, while Tails is overjoyed with his achievement. Sonic figures that he shouldn’t have been surprised by this.

They are greeted by Sigma, who has finished assessing the damage on the Tornado. Tails shows him his translation module, with Sigma being quite impressed by the achievement.

As Sigma examines the Miles Electric, we also see Mecha Sonic observing it, only for him to glitch out again. This is not good.

Sonic then draws everyone’s attention, reminding Sigma how he wanted to tell them about the damage to the plane. Sigma replies how he has both good news and bad news. The good news is that the plane can be easily repaired.

The bad news is that the integrated drive generator is busted and needs to be replaced. Sonic has no clue what it is, but Tails explains that Sigma meant the device that generates electricity for the plane. Fortunately, Sigma knows where to find it, but they will have to go to the Death Egg. Sonic is all up for it, but Tails points out how Sonic’s leg had been taking a lot of punishment lately (so, would that mean that this is taking place after The Overpowered Arc or is Tails just referring to the time of them being on the island?). Tails notes how it would be better for Sonic to rest (which I agree with), but Sonic replies that he’ll be fine and if he keeps on sitting, he’ll go crazy.

So, like this?

Yeah, I guess Sonic really needs to keep moving or he’ll get crazy.

Sigma then walks over to the two, telling Tails not to worry and how he and Mecha Sonic will make sure Sonic is safe.

Sonic then glances at Mecha Sonic who just stares back, and I gotta say, this is kinda funny. You know they have a bad history between them, but now they’re allies and they still need to process that.

Tails is still worried, asking Sigma whether he should come along, but Sigma points out, noting how it will be better if Tails starts working on the plane and how his assistants will help him. Cut to three Scrapniks who agree to do anything for Tails and bring him whatever tools he needs.

Sigma, Sonic and Mecha Sonic then leave for the Death Egg, with Sigma telling Sonic how Mecha Sonic wants to make a quick detour. Sonic is obviously confused, but agrees. We also see Mecha Knuckles observing them.

We then cut to Mecha Sonic tending to the sunflower from the previous Issue, with Sonic asking Sigma about what it’s deal is. Sigma explains how the sunflower washed ashore some time ago and Mecha Sonic had been caring for it so he can plant it in real soil one day.

Okay, honestly, this is really wholesome. Seeing Mecha Sonic being so caring and dreaming of planting a sunflower on the mainland is adorable. It may not feel like a big deal, but I’m sure that this is everything to him and I’m fully supporting him in that.

Sigma continues to explain how it is everyone’s dream to get off Scrapnik Island. While it may be their home, it is also a prison, reminding them of being Badniks. They want to escape this place and no longer live under Eggman’s shadow. Honestly, this is such a heavy topic and I seriously want the Scrapniks to live the best of their lives. We can even see Sonic feeling dejected, obviously understanding the Scrapniks’ yearning for freedom.

He then elbows Mecha Sonic, noting how the latter might look scary, but he’s just a big ol’ softy and how he hopes they’ll get away from Scrapnik Island one day. Unfortunately for Sonic, we see that Mecha Sonic glitched out again, even if it’s just for a brief moment. Sonic then steps back, smiling nervously as he gives Mecha the thumbs up. He is then surprised when Mecha and Sigma just leave without a word (or some kind of gesture in Mecha’s case), probably wondering if he said something wrong.

Sigma and Mecha Sonic then show Sonic the island’s crown jewel - the Scrambled Egg Carrier, explaining how this is their plan. Basically, once the Scrambled Egg Carrier is fully restored, they can get off the island. Sonic gets a bit nostalgic, noting how he never got a great look on it since they were scaring the scrap outta him. Not a joke I’d laugh at, but hey, Sigma loves it.

Then, the sensation of horror returns, as we see Mecha Knuckles right behind them, his eyes glowing red in the dark. Honestly, it is really creepy.

Meanwhile, Sigma continues how they should split up to find the device, giving Sonic a flashlight and off they go. We see that Sonic and Mecha are searching for the device together, with Sonic turning to Mecha. He looks a little troubled, turning to Mecha again.

Sonic then approaches Mecha, who just stares back, probably wondering what his old enemy wants from him. Sonic extends his hand, wanting to apologize for the mix-up earlier. He notes how he knows they have a history together, but he saw that a lot has changed, as Mecha is taking care of plants and rockin’ a cool cape, and he realized that Mecha wants to move forward, which Sonic is all about. He adds how he wishes Metal Sonic would learn from Mecha Sonic, and asks him about having a fresh start, right here, right now.

Again, for those who criticized Sonic, it is made clear here that he will forgive enemies if he believes that they have the potential to change. Considering how he mentioned Metal, I believe that Sonic was distrustful of Mecha because he feared he might burn himself again just like what happened with Metal, but after seeing that Mecha has truly changed, he wants to be friends with him. It is just that simple.

Mecha Sonic actually extends his hand, wanting to take Sonic’s offer, but he is suddenly alerted by something.

He grabs Sonic, dodging an attack from behind, the attacker being Mecha Knuckles, with Sonic groaning in response and wondering how many more robot doubles are stashed away here (no offense to Mecha Sonic). Honestly, I think it would be hilarious if the Tails Doll also popped up just to mess with Sonic. While Sonic and Mecha Knuckles glare at each other, Mecha Sonic turns to something, then grabs Sonic and dashes off.

We check in with Sigma, who has found the device they were searching for, only to get startled when Sonic and Mecha Sonic emerge, chased by Mecha Knuckles. Sigma catches Sonic, holding him like some kind of oversized doll, commenting on how they met Mecha Knuckles and describing the latter as a spirited fellow, with Sonic angrily responding how this is now how he’d call the latter.

Sonic wonders what Mecha Knuckles’ deal is, and Sigma explains how Mecha Knuckles’ original directive was to protect the Master Emerald and how he couldn’t purge it, so he changed it to him protecting the Scrambled Egg Carrier. I assume that this is also what Mecha Sonic was staring at a moment ago, realizing they were basically on Mecha Knuckles’ territory and tried to get Sonic away from the Scrapnik.

Sonic figures he’s just as much of a blockhead as Knuckles, while Sigma, who handed Sonic over to Mecha Sonic, tells Mecha Knuckles to stand down and how Sonic is their friend.

At first, it appears that Mecha Knuckles is listening to him, but then he glitches out and punches Sigma, knocking him over. This literally triggers Mecha Sonic...

...who grabs Mecha Knuckles by his head and slams him into the ground! All right, we’re getting a Mecha Sonic and Mecha Knuckles battle! Mecha Sonic then throws Mecha Knuckles against the wall, leaving Mecha Knuckles beaten and scrambling to get up, wires open and sparks flying all around.

Mecha Knuckles manages to get up and score a hit on Mecha Sonic, followed by another one. Mecha Sonic lands on the ground... and the scene suddenly changes.

We’re on what appears to be Angel Island, with Knuckles, who is missing his face, fighting Mecha Sonic. It looks like everything is digital, glitching out, and I’m assuming this is Mecha Sonic’s memory of what happened in Sonic & Knuckles, specifically the fight between him and Knuckles at Sky Sanctuary Zone.

Mecha Sonic tries to get up, and not gonna lie, it is unnerving to see Knuckles’s face being a void, half of his body glitching into Sonic.

The memory of Sonic appears, but it is all distorted, with Sonic also missing his face and his teeth razor sharp, giving Scourge and Fleetway Sonic a run for their money. He talks to Mecha Sonic, repeating Sonic’s earlier words, but replacing them with insults, like calling Mecha Sonic trash and how he’ll bash his brains in. Mecha Sonic is triggered by this memory, swiping at Sonic.EXE, and we see the rust returning to half of Mecha Sonic’s body, and with a full body reveal, he’s back to his old self.

But then, the nightmare gets worse, as we see a dark figure resembling Eggman, with Knuckles and Sonic attached to his body, looming over Mecha Sonic, telling him how he is complete and how he is the greatest creation of Eggman’s (wait, isn’t that Metal Sonic?; and no, Sage doesn’t count, she hasn’t appeared in IDW, yet). Also, what is up with Sonic IDW and giving its characters psychological trauma and hallucinations? First Surge with HaluStarline and now Mecha Sonic with this horrific creation! Sheesh!

Mecha Sonic holds his head, clearly trying to escape this horrifying nightmare, as Eggman’s hands morph into Knuckles’ fists and Knuckles appears, punching through Mecha Sonic’s torso, calling him trash.

Mecha Sonic falls, the voices in his head calling him trash over and over again, and then, he wakes up.

We see Mecha Knuckles about to attacks Sonic, who obviously cannot fight properly due to his injury, with Mecha Sonic behind him getting up.

Mecha Sonic then grabs Mecha Knuckles by the head, spin-dashing right into his back him like a buzz saw. *shivers* Ouch! That has to hurt!

Mecha Knuckles is no more, as Mecha Sonic stands over him, his eyes glowing red. Honestly, he looks quite badass like that. However, given what we saw, things are going take a grim turn.

Sonic calls out to Mecha Sonic, noting how it was a nice save, if a bit overkill, looking clearly nervous regarding what Mecha Sonic just did and goes for the high-five.

Mecha Sonic then looks at him, with Sonic lowering his hand, realizing that things are not good.

Suddenly, Mecha Sonic charges at him, grabbing Sonic by his chest and slamming him against the wall, with Sonic guessing how there won’t be a high five.

Now, that was a turnaround. Mecha Sonic is clearly not only suffering from some kind of error, but also from PTSD from being defeated by Knuckles and Sonic, as well as having to deal with being Eggman’s pawn, and he is never truly free of that nightmare. He also has an inferiority complex, evidenced by the “trash” comments he kept hearing, despite being Eggman’s “greatest creation”, and now he has finally snapped.

Let’s just hope that Tails will be able to save Sonic in time.

Links:

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#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer #sonic idw #scrapnik island #sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #e-117 sigma #mecha sonic #mecha knuckles #dr eggman #knuckles the echidna

[adultswim2021]

Metalocalypse #27: “Dethwedding” | April 1, 2008 - 1:15AM | S02E07

Hey it’s been a little while since we got to watch Metalocalypse. In this one, Pickles brother Seth invites Dethklok to his wedding, which already advertises the fact that the wedding “features” Dethklok. His video invitation is hilarious. Seth is dressed in his Sunday best set against serene backdrops while he brags about his sobriety. Pickles is mortified to the point of despondency. The other band members just think it’s very, very funny. 

The tribunal explains what American weddings are during one of their meetings. These scenes can be a pointless reminder that there is such a thing as the tribunal, and it also lends a false sense of gravity to the plot of each episode. It also serves what might be an accidental function of supplying future-proof context; let’s say there comes a day when the once-standard American wedding becomes an obsolete curiosity.

Or, let’s say this episode is being shown to a species of aliens who have no idea what a wedding is. You know the type of aliens I’m talking about: the kind that mock our god, oppressively holding up the Holy Bible and remarking “HUMAN PROPAGANDA”.* Just by satirically describing what a wedding is brings all those weirdos up to speed, even though it seems gratuitous. The tribunal actually declare that they will not intervene. Why would they? Dethklok’s just going to a wedding, for fuck’s sake. 

*I am actually making a very specific reference to a circa-early-2000s episode of The Outer Limits, where a robot does this. I don’t know the title of the episode, but Heather Graham is in it. 

Things are tense between Pickles and his brother. Seth immediately starts drinking again. He has scumbag friends who suck. Seth constantly asks for money. Dethklok perform a song with a little music video accompaniment (for us watching on television at least) featuring a married couple decaying and then eventually mutating into one another, getting all Cronenbergy. Dethklock get Seth a blender, which is just an item on his wedding gift registry. When Seth chews out Pickles for cheaping out, Pickles beats his brother up. Later, he feels bad, so he installs Seth as the head of Dethklok Australia, whose leader was recently assassinated by the Revengencers. Over the closing credits we see Seth thriving in his new position at the absolute expense of Sydney, Australia, which is practically in ruins while he surveys his land, doing a big smile like a tyrant would. 

This one is very good. Metalocalypse’s misanthropic sense of humor really shines. The show will often show spectacular examples of gore and mayhem, but nothing is treated with grim incapability like family is...treated. With. Fuck. You know what the whole not ending your sentence with a preposition thing is lame and bad. It’s not that I’m bad at writing. I’m taking a stand.

The show has been taken down from HBOMax since the last time I watched it. It’s currently streaming on Adult Swim. At a glance it seems like it’s streaming in its entirety. It may or may not require a cable log-in. Actually, I’ll check in a private browser. Hang on. Okay. I did it. It played! It’s also on DVD, which is nice, but my copy’s digipak has shattered disc hubs so the discs are not fully secure in the box. Not good. Is there a way to fix this? Wait. Let me google it myself. Okay. Huh. I found something called “adhesive-backed spider DVD/CD disc hubs” that literally might be the exact thing I’m looking for. Wow. Well, you learn something extremely important like that every day, don’t you?

EPHEMERA CORNER

Robert Zunes In (2007)*

Remember when I was asking about the Robert Osbourne host intros? I’m guessing these are what that wiki was talking about! Either whoever wrote that got confused (these were taken from a ZUNE that Adult Swim gave away I guess with select episodes of select shows loaded onto them), or they repurposed some of those intros for the April Fools stunt. Neat! Thank you Kon for finding this and showing me them. Thank you.

*JOKE STOLEN FROM LONDON ARBUCKLE BECAUSE I DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO ASK IF I COULD USE IT

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #metalocalypse

[lokisasylum]

Just gonna leave this here for the wanna-be dietitians, the fake concerned anons (we know ya'll are antis looking for validation, Martha, stfu), the ones that "get triggered" about these topics ONLY when its about Jimin.

[In case you're wondering which variety show OP is referring to. I do think they are confusing "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" where JinMin went together---and the BS&T diet was brought up---with Baek Jong Won’s Top 3 Chef King (both shows happened in 2017), where Jin and apparently Jhope? went together, and Jin confessed to having this diet where he ONLY ate 2 packages of chicken breasts (each package had 2 servings) per day FOR A YEAR in order to loose weight until he gave up since he didn’t feel well.]

Another not-so-gentle reminder that Tae mentioned that he was told to loose weight before this recent photoshoot and showed pics on IG of what he ate. But armys weren't concerned, instead they praised him "for his efforts" & "working hard".

JK only drank water for a couple of weeks & worked out like crazy prior to some of the last concerts to the point that RM was worried and talked about it on vlive, but everyone just said "aw, poor kookie" and moved on. Not to mention that RM got DRAGGED for even daring to talk about "JK's weight" when its "none of his business". (don't even get me started on Butter era and that one diet that none of the members knew about and found out during vlive also...)

Jhope didn't eat or sleep properly before Lollapalooza due to stress, too much pressure and whatnot. You could literally SEE how bad he looked in many of the photo updates he put up on ig and weverse. But guess what? No one cared about that "cause he was gonna KILL IT at "Hobipalooza", "The FIRST and ONLY bts member to do so", "What a LEGEND". (And if you look at pics of him a week or two AFTER lollapalooza he STILL looked so skinny you could make out the bones on his arm. Just look up the pics of when he and RM went to see Billie Eillish’s concert).

Even after he himself talked about it on his live and how he only came to eat his first meal when Jimin went to support him. AND EVEN THEN, all you saw in the comments & social media was:

"Aww Jiminie is such a good friend."

"Such an Angel"

"Jimin the best brother"

"Jimin the best human being"

"Be good, be like Jimin".

Oh but when Jimin is the one talking about loosing weight ('cause he gained a bit during the summer). THAT is when the narrative changes to:

"Oh he has an ED."

"He's always SO insecure about HIS BODY."

"Damn those fucking Korean beauty standards are BRUTAL--"

"He's falling back into bad habits."

"I wish i could shake him and scream in his face that he's perfect no matter what."

"Unbelievable, can he STOP?"

"Will somebody PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN??"

Okay so explain to me, how does he have an eat*ng d*sorder when we've seen tons of videos of him (and i'm only gonna count the fancams) since he went to Chicago for Lollapalooza all the way to LA, eating, drinking, feasting, having the time of his life next to Staff members, celebs, producers all summer long.

(The ONLY time we actually saw him "holding back" on eating too much was during the VHopeMinKook live and it was because of Jungkook since allegedly they were gonna eat together after JK came back from working out-post-concert)

Oh no, but suddenly he has a non-existent ED for wanting to loose the weight he gained during the summer. (because he DID mentioned earlier that he gained a bit back then, but like.... that's all of us? We all gained weight during summer lol Even I'm trying to loose the 5 pounds I gained).

Bottom line is... he's a grown ass man (almost 27 was it?), its HIS body, he knows what he's doing and WHY he's doing it. This isn't 2016, the circumstances are NOT the same compared to back then and we need to let that shit GO!

FOR GOOD.

If you really are this easily triggered by someone else actions about THEIR image and body, then maybe its time YOU stood away from social media and get REAL HELP, for YOURSELF.

#bts #jimin #park jimin #bantansonyeondan #bts vlive #weverse live #jin #jhope #v #jungkook #rm

[spicyicymeloncat]

What do you think s11 of Ninjago should've been called instead of "Secrets of the forbidden spinjitzu"?

I mean in my rewrite i actually rewrote the season to fit better with that title since the scrolls are a pretty uniting factor despite not really being explained well in canon. I’m not that great at naming things anyways. At least the canon name is in keeping with how Ninjago has named other seasons. The “xxx of the xxx” naming convention is the same as s1 and s2, which is cool because those seasons parallel s11

I’m happy to pass this question on if anyone else reading this has any good ideas on alternative names for s11 but I do like the canon one lol. Sorry I didn’t really have an answer!

(Oops I start to just info dump about my rewrite version of the scrolls and why they are relevant, here. You can stop reading here if you want)

The secret of forbidden spinjitzu (in the rewrite) is written in the scrolls which is a riddle about how long winter lasts in the never realm. The full story of the scrolls in my rewrite would ideally be inferred through different clues in the season and people could peace it together, but there is hard truths about it in my head. The scrolls were made as response to the grief the fsm had in the never realm (who had lost someone there), and are basically just god’s unhealthy coping mechanism materialised. They’re completely plot devices and metaphors for how characters in the story cope with issues. For example Wu stole the scrolls as a kid as a way of assisting his pride/hero complex, aspheera as a kid, nearly overthrew the serpentine with them after being ridiculed for being seen as weak. And then we have Zane who literally uses the scroll as a crutch for the fact that he’s in another realm and he’s falling apart. The riddle “how long does winter last for in the never realm” is first answered by the ice emperor with “eternity” which is a reference to the fairytale The Snow Queen, in which the character Kay, who was abducted by the snow queen, spends most of the book trying to complete an ice puzzle that ends up spelling out “eternity”. That answer is a reference to the never realm’s supposed eternal winter, but also it’s a pessimistic and hopeless answer, implying there isn’t an end to whatever issue the answerer has. This kind of mindset traps the holder of the scroll from being able to get passed the corruption of it, because if the problems never end then the user will keep using the scroll and destroy things forever. The real answer is “until spring” which is kinda an anti climatic answer but it serves as a reminder things won’t always be bad. It’s like a secret because the characters like Zane don’t realise that it’s the answer, and I guess if you knew that then maybe you’d be better at spinjitzu?? Okay I’ll admit that last part didn’t make too much sense but I tried.

#ask #ninjago #Ninjago s11 rewrite #Ninjago s11

[momobani]

P1Harmony Harmony: Set In album review

Unsolicited album review (p3!!)

I’ve been a p1ece since debut and I just get so excited about new music, no one asks for these nor cares, but I have fun doing it, so there. Hope everyone’s enjoying the album!!

Warning: long post [1.4k], I got carried away lmao.

Note - this is the first time P1Harmony has done the showcase first, then dropped the MV and then the rest of the album, the order does feel a little funny but it was actually really nice to hear two of the songs yesterday (they sang Better Together at the showcase as well as the title).

As always, I did keep up with the teasers, so it definitely won’t be a total surprise listening to the album. I feel like instead of spoiling it though, I got so hyped so I guess the teasers did their job alright. I also watched the showcase yesterday and heard both songs and I really liked both. 

Bonus: Jiung helped write Better Together!!! Intak and Jongseob always have their rap writing credits but to see a composition credit is just such a joy, especially because we know how much Jiung likes writing music and how much pride he takes in it.

Back Down (+MV)

Alright first things first - holy shit the visuals!!!!! I loved the underground idk ‘lair’ or whatever you can call the hang out spot since they dropped the prologue. It’s amazing, the detail, the decor is perfect. I immediately thought of the Ninja Turtles when I saw it, and I had a good look around on the bird app and found other people had a similar thought so I guess maybe FNC was going for it? If it’s so obvious lol. But I love it so much; the guys said this album is about friendship and I totally see why there’s a sort of reference to the ninja turtles - they’re a cute bunch (of brothers) but also friends and they go on cool missions and stuff so the vibe is perfect.

Okay the song: I could tell from the few seconds we got as teasers that this was going to be a bop but omg it’s so much better than that, it’s a whole banger! (Keeho’s intro, sir, do you have something to say?) There’s something so satisfying about Jongseob’s hard ‘rr’ sound and I love the bass boom in the instrumental. (also the MV - they got super powers or something from getting electrocuted? fun!) Intak’s “bro!” took me out (actually his whole verse did but yea), then the MV transition where they jump up from the sewers to the metro was just so neat omg. I love the sort of New York setting they’re emulating, it really keeps up the reference to the Ninja Turtles. Keeho with those glasses and earrings, he actually looks like he time travelled from the 90s lol. The backpacks make them look like turtles I’m sorry I said it but I find it adorable.

RA TA TA TA!!!!!!

Tag yourself I’m the pizza person looking down in the sewer.

Jiung is out for my life, he serving too hard this era, everyone say thank you to the stylists. But also the styling is as usual so incredible and everyone looks amazing!!

Soul throwing the pizza at us, the trio against the moonlight and standing on top of the buildings? So very Ninja Turtles, my heart is happy haha (i love the ninja turtles, can you tell?)

Omg the little captions too, comic book feel, it’s fun. BUT THEN

Jiung driving (Jiung driving me insane, p1eces sound off if you’re alive)

SOUL LINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY

The pre-chorus is so long, what a build up, it’s like 3 different phrases? It’s dope.

The suits the suits the suits the suits also the little video game style thing when they’re “fighting” each other is so cute

Also I had this thought when I saw Keeho with this hair at the showcase yesterday - it really reminded me of something then I got it: he’s in his Rockhopper Penguin era, duh

Keeyang bridge - I love the way the instrumental gets so minimal, like yes, please we want to hear the vocals (ft Jiung losing his mind around the table lmao).

Intak’s ‘time to change it now’ - change what dude???!!! Also he looked like a cute school kid with that backpack lol I feel like I’m taking my kids to school when I see them with those massive bags haha.

The chorus of this song is so full of energy it’s definitely one of their biggest hype songs and that’s saying something.

I just checked how long the song is and it’s only 2:48?? It feels so much longer than that not just cuz of the video but like so much happens in it? anyway, interesting since it’s their shortest title track (all of the others are at least 3 mins long)

BFF

The instrumental touched my soul for a second. Speaking of which, SOUL LINES???!!!!!! YESSSSS my kid getting something after how long omg. The build up is beautiful. This is Yes Man’s younger, more playful sibling. That guitar? riff is ingrained in my heart now, no going back. Jongseob’s shimmy shimmy ah haha cute! This song is an instant serotonin boost I’m smiling so much. It’s so short though I need more!! So I’ll listen to it again sskskskskjdn

The ‘by your side’ harmony!! I want to dance, it’s so fun and cute omg. Jongseob’s singing yesss.

Secret Sauce

The intro????? i’m-

Beat is sick omg, the build up too. “future’s coming” interesting you should mention that.

Chorus took a totally different turn then I expected lol. The adlibs!!!! The gang vocals!!!! The whispering in the background behind the rapper’s verses holy shit, that’s cool.

Shimmy shimmy count x1000 aosfousduf

Taeyang please, have mercy, also that little ‘sauce’ adlib (i think it was actually Soul for some reason) before Keeho’s lines. What is that noise?? It sounded like an electronic xylophone or something wtf that was so cool

(in conclusion shimmy shimmy has me in a chokehold)

One and only

What????? The teaser didn’t do this song justice I say that like 20 secs in.

BOOM!

Funky lil instrumental, my beloved. Okay if BFF was related to Yes Man, so is this one, it’s like the funky cousin that is so loud but you love them anyway. Life of the party type of thing. BOOM! ZOOM! (i promised I’m not possessed by the music). SOUL LINESSSSSSS I’LL NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT THIS, KID’S DOING SO WELL!! The bridge, there’s so much going on in the instrumental holy shit. NANANANANANAANANA - you know a song is good when it has that.

Look At Me Now

(I really liked the Korean title, it’s something like “the child who swallowed the sun”?) just from the teasers I thought this might be one of my super all times favourite in the piwon catalog, let’s see if that’s true lol.

Jiung I’m on my last straw

THE GUITAR RIFF! INJECT IT INTO MY VEINS RIGHT NOWWWW

DRUMS HOLY HOLY HOLY OMFG

THIS GENRE IS SUCH A GREAT BLEND, ESPECIALLY FOR PIWON

Jongseob pop off my child :’)

“I’m on the top floor” - I’m somewhere in space, speeding toward the sun while listening to this song wbu (this is going to be my new 3am psychosis song lskdjosidsds)

SOUL LINES!!!

This is p1eces’ boxer/WWE theme song, y’know when they announce the contenders and stuff, and they come out to epic music? This is the song

Better Together

(heard this yesterday watching the showcase, it was lovely as a performance)

I love the rapper’s vocals!!

I feel like Taeyang really owns this for some reason - like in the chorus especially.

Piwon’s medium pop ballads are always top notch, they all have that softness and upbeat chord progression that’s like sunshine on a rainy day.

I want an acoustic performance for some reason - I totally see this with a bunch of guitars and maybe around a camp fire?

SOUL LINES!!!!

Piwon harmonies!!!!!

*

In conclusion, Piwon have a god tier, no-skip discography and when kpoppies find out about them it’s over for everyone. I don’t know how they do it, like every album they put out is consistently brilliant and they manage to stay fresh and do different things while keeping that distinct p1harmony flavour, I really wonder what they put in the fish cake water.

I’m not a person who likes the obsessive fan culture with voting and streaming but honestly I would hope that there’s some way to give piwon a win, they more than deserved it for this whole year, every album/title was incredible and they’ve done so much, I’m so proud of them.

I really hope the guys can have some time off since they really had such a busy year, 3 albums, a tour, extra performances and all the harmony forest stuff too, holy shit, it’s really insane, but it was also so amazing and I hope they’re proud of what they’ve accomplished so far.

anyways, I love p1harmony and I hope you do too <333

#p1harmony #piwon