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fulokis · 8 months

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Honest ahsoka thoughts warning it’s long and ranty and I may be using it as an excuse to not express some of the feelings that I have in personal life right not

I’m gonna be honest I never thought I would hate ahsoka as a character, like she was my favorite for the longest time. And yeah that started to change in high school because I related more to Ezra and Sabine while watching rebels as it came out and that makes sense because I was the same age. But she was still a cool character that I liked. But I can’t fucking stand her after rebels, even in the last season of rebels she’s iffy for me. And like yes I’m watching ahsoka but at this point it’s not for ahsoka it’s because I’m nostalgic for rebels (and imma be honest the actors they chose for Sabine and hera are not my favorite) and I’m a huge Thrawn fan. But like I’m terrified they’re gonna fuck up thrawns character more than they did in rebels (honestly heir to the empire with canon Thrawn seems not like something that would happen unless he was playing an angle like he was going to the empire in the first place (my opinion clearly most people aren’t necessarily going to agree with me.) ) at the very least they have Lars playing Thrawn which gives me a little hope it won’t be totally off the mark. But also a lot of the dialogue just isn’t well written, like I know the actors are just given it but it seems a lot like most of them just kinda stuck to the script and didn’t play around with it to make it work. (I say this having only been in a few productions in highschool but like we would play around with stuff and to me this feels like they’re at a table read) which honestly is a shame because the music? the loth cat? The droids? A good portions of the effects? Are all really well done to me and it hurts because this could be such a beautiful production but it’s falling short because the writing and the actors aren’t my favorite

And don’t get me wrong I am enjoying bits and pieces but if I truly enjoy a piece of media I will go back to it and re experience it again. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rewatched the clone wars, rebels, the prequels, rouge one. Or replayed swtor and Kotor and the battlefront campaign. I know I’ve read the Thrawn 2017 series at least three times in full and the separate books at different points. I’ve read the ascendency trilogy twice as well. Death troopers I’ve read three times at least, same with annihilation (which tbh is absolute crap but the point is it’s entertaining and I enjoyed it)

And that’s the thing I love Star Wars, Star Wars genuinely probably saved my life because I had something to look forward to despite my mental health being dogshit. And I can recognize that not all Star Wars is for me. And yeah it makes me sad especially when it involves characters that I love. Like the Revan book couldn’t read that shit, a new dawn I can’t ever get past the first 90 pages (yes this kills me and I don’t know why I can’t) and I think that’s what makes me upset the most is that as much as I loved ahsoka as a character it has been ruined for me, and I’m not sure I’ll ever enjoy her as a character ever again. Cause the thing with the other two is Revan is different for everyone and that’s because BioWare let you choose who you wanted to play as back in 2003. With a new dawn I don’t know why but it isn’t vastly different than the characters I love, it’s still them and I know it’s still very much them even if I personally can’t get through it. But with ahsoka its hard to explain but I can’t stand her since after rebels and it hurts.

And I understand characters develop as they grow, but I don’t see how she made the jump from being rebels season two ahsoka to this ahsoka we have now. There’s such a disconnect to me, I don’t know how to word it other than she seems like such a bitch now and there’s nothing to me that would have made her develop that way. Yeah there’s a war and trauma and shit but that doesn’t connect to the way she’s bitchy. Like sure I can see how some of it could be a trauma response. But not all of it, like geuinely I don’t understand how she would just not wish to tell Sabine about the potential to find Ezra at all. Like I’m sorry your dealing with your personal issues cause it sounds like y’all got into a fight but you honestly expect me to believe a character who typically was mediating between people so much when she was a fucking teen that she’s going to be some bitch who holds grudges and refuses to solve her own goddamn issues? Like I’m sorry but that seems like some backward character development and as far as we know there’s been no major developments whatsoever.

Also can I just say the choice to make Sabine her padawan is fucking weird. Like they never interacted much, if they wanted to pull that they should’ve left kanan alive and had him do it.

#long #my opinion #sorry it’s one am and my brain once again won’t shut the fuck up #I also like idk it kinda sucks to litterally be saying bitch at every other line that comes out of her mouth and it’s not even like #when I say bitch for characters like Lana because it fits and it works well #it doesn’t work well for ahsoka especially because it feels like they’re just making her anakin mini rather than having her be her own chara

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anewbeginningagain · 1 year

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Huh, I never really thought about it, but I agree that Yuzuru does have a huge cult following and even when there is a huge interest on him from other fans who are not usually into skating (like kpop fans for example), it usually is related to that main group of fans themselves. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, since he obviously has a bigger number of dedicated fans than other skaters combined, and it showed in the ticket sales, but I also do think that his reach is showing its limits. I do think Yuzuru's approach to pop culture is decidedly not tailored for western audience especially in his last active years, like for example VM did Moulin Rouge FD that got the attention of Baz Luhrmann himself while Yuzuru's last few memorable programs are the tinkly piano SP programs and Japanese-themed FS programs. It was funny to see his fans complaining that there were not enough Asian representation in the award wins because I think Yuzuru actually took some final nominations that I think other Asian skaters could have had and be deserving winners (the best costume nomination for his costume did a disservice to Satomi Ito tbh, she did many better costumes last season, and most entertaining program could have gone to Kanadai RD or Kazuki or Wakaba FS from Japan, or even Junhwan with his Olympic SP or Young for her fake-ending FS), and Yuzuru himself doesn't do a lot for Asian choreographer representation as he also used Canadian choreographers until the end of his career.

I think his popularity is truly limited to his cult fanbase, like I have a hard time imagining him doing his one man show in North America and selling out like he is in Japan or China (where he has some of the most insane fans we've seen). I can definitely see him being a selling point if he joins an existing show and many will be excited to watch him, but just him coming to a mid-size city in Canada? I don't really see it tbh. And that's not saying he is not popular inside his cult following because he very much is, but that cult following is not really about skating and does not translate into a positive influence on the sport in any way, shape, or form.

I think that while it's definitely not his responsibility, it is kind of disappointing to see that it feels like he cares very little about the world of figure skating outside of his fanbase and the money they generate. Which again, he has the right to monetize as much as possible, and his delusional fans will say that the ISU were so bad to him that they don't deserve anything. But can you imagine if he actually spoke up in favor of the future of Japanese skaters, or figure skating as a sport, calling out wrongdoings but trying to make a difference for the better? His cult fanbase listens to him and he knows that, it's just a shame that when he talks he will never call them out for being toxic and hurting the sport, but only rile them up with nonsense like his PCS dropping as if he is not aware of rule changes or him making mistakes in about 85% of the programs he performed last quad. It's one of the main reasons I just can never get behind him.

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arlakos · 2 years

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11, 12, 23

11&23 (Its the same prompt basically): So I would have said Chloe originally, but the truth is half the fandom still kind of likes her, if not her canon self then at least what she could have been instead. Also, im gonna be honest... I kind of lost interest in Chloe after season 4. She's unfortunately now her season 1 self again in terms of writing, but worse than before, and at this point I think she's a lost cause in terms of characterization to the point where its impossible to salvage her from working with an actual villain.

So my new favorite is none other than Felix Graham De Vaniliy.

I know, surprise surprise. But its true.

When I was younger I used to be a huge fan of the miraculous Ladybug PV (and in many ways I still am), and really disliked that Astruc would shame the PV community for liking Felix (who was at the time the beta-version of Adrien and the original Cat Noir). So when I heard that Felix was going to actually going to appear in the show as an actual character, I already KNEW he was going to be written in a way that makes him look like a gremlin.

And when the episode came out a lot of questions were asked.

Would this affect the PV fandom?

Not really. Since PV-Felix was already a thing long before canon felix came about, we just made them seperate characters in our minds since we already called PV-Felix "Felix Agreste" and CGI-Felix already had a different last name.

But was now that Felix was part of the CGI show, the biggest questions was: was Felix Graham De Vanily written to be a brat, someone that Astruc was sure everyone would hate? Well, yes. But I love him still.

Despite how obvious it was that Felix was an annoying little turd, and thankfully being able to overlook that forced kiss scene since everyone just retcons it out of their minds (which we can gratefully be allowed to forget unlike a certain italian transfer student being talked about CONSTANTLY LIKE A PEST-), Felix Vanily easily became the best character in my mind because unlike the other characters, he actually gets stuff done.

Case and point, in his first episode:

He managed to out run 3 akumas after him

Managed to steal Gabriel's ring.

Cosplay Adrien very well to the point of nearly duping Ladybug (some might say he was made for the role~)

And that's not getting into season 4. Resisting an akuma, outrunning the collector, and apparently also being a rouge M16 James Bond style agent just meant he was upping his coolness factor every time he appeared. He did lose some points with making the deal with Hawkmoth (I felt that he should have just stole the peacock from him.), but he was still pretty smart overall.

Also, he gets extra points because the season 4 finale was just meant to be miracle queen, but with the goal of ruining Felix instead, which was probably what Astruc wanted, except that garden gnome can kiss my behind because frick him I like Felix, he's actually so freaking cool compared to other characters in the show.

Question 12

I wouldn't say there's an arc that I like that the fandom doesn't, but If I feel there should have been an arc on anything, it should have been CatWalker. Adrien becoming CatWalker should have been its own story arc. Hell, it should have been part of the finale as well. Not going to explain why since it requires it own post, but considering some of the stuff I've seen in season 4, Adrien being Catwalker should have been more than just a one episode appearance due to how interesting the idea of Adrien adopting a new alter ego actually is.

#Miraculous Ladybug #MLB Q&A #Miraculous Fandom Questions #Miraculous Salty Q&A

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crusherthedoctor · 4 years

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Crusher Elaborations #1: Thoughts on the Aesthetic of Sonic’s World

If someone came up to me and asked “Which do you prefer, Classic Sonic or Modern Sonic?”, my answer would start off with “Well, technically Classic Sonic because...”, and then I'd get cut off by the other person immediately lecturing me on why I'm wrong and why I'm the worst kind of fan imaginable. Should they finish their rant, I would then explain to them in the midst of them basking in their flock of easy Twitter likes that I didn't necessarily mean it in the way they predicted.

If we were talking about the games, the characters, or the character design, I'd be fairly neutral, since I like both halves equally for the most part. In fact, when it comes to characters, Modern might actually have the edge believe it or not, since the sheer number of characters introduced from SA1 onwards naturally means a lot of my favourites were introduced from that point on, such as Tikal, Rouge, Gamma, Omega, Blaze... But then again, Classic introduced Eggman and Tails, and the Hard-Boiled Heavies are technically Classic as well despite being relatively new...

Anyway, the point is, I'm not talking about any of that today. I'm talking about the world that Sonic and his multicolored chums live in. Or rather, the aesthetic of it.

NOTE: This is purely about the game universe. While I do have my thoughts on Sonic’s world as presented in other continuities, that won’t be the focus here.

If you're familiar with my blog, you'll know that as a general rule of thumb, I much prefer colorful and creative worlds in my Sonic universe, and that rings true for my reasoning here. And I know what you're gonna say: “But Crusher, isn't there plenty of that in the Modern games as well?” Yes, there is, and I appreciate them very much. But this is why I feel the need to make a post of this sort to begin with, because I'm NOT saying “Classic cool, Modern boring” and calling it a day. There's a little more nuance to my tastes here.

When I say I prefer the Classic aesthetic for Sonic's world, I don't mean it in the literal sense of disregarding everything about the Modern aesthetic. Let's put it like this: when you're asked to paint a picture of these two sides of Sonic's universe in your head, a specific image will likely come to mind. When you think of Classic, you'll probably think of Green Hill first and foremost, whereas with Modern, you'll probably think of something like City Escape or Rooftop Run before anything else. In other words, when you think Modern Sonic, you're probably imagining the more realistic kind of locations first. And between the two mental images that come to mind, I personally prefer the Classic image. Shock, horror.

I wish I could swim in a sea that’s probably radioactive.

Now keep in mind, I'm not saying that City Escape, Rooftop Run, and all similar environments in the series look bad, because they don't. Unless they're painted with the '06 brush, they generally look fine, and the locations in Unleashed in particular are undeniably beautiful from an graphical standpoint. The problem is that although I can picture this as a world that Sonic could be in, I can't necessarily picture it as Sonic's world specifically. Because when it comes to the more realistic environments, I feel there's not much of an attempt to let it branch out as its own thing.

I know that might seem harsh, especially for Unleashed, since the real world angle was the deliberate theme of that game. And Sonic taking cues from real places is a fine concept, there's no issue there. I'm not gonna complain if there's a France Zone with an Eiffel Tower in the background. In fact, Sandopolis Act 1 has one of my favourite aesthetics in a Classic zone (mainly because the background is really pleasant to look at), and that zone is essentially Egypt Zone. But if you're making a Real World Zone, there needs to be more to it than that, otherwise you don't truly get a Sonic interpretation of our world... you instead have our world as it is with Sonic characters awkwardly stapled on.

When I look at City Escape, it may not be completely unfitting for Sonic (the posters and billboards in particular are actually a really nice touch), but when I look at it, I don't see Sonic's interpretation of San Francisco. I see San Francisco with Sonic shoved in. When they morph these places to Sonic's liking, they'll add rings, loops... and that's it. They rarely take the concept any further, which is a huge shame, particularly in the case of Rooftop Run, where I otherwise do like its visuals a lot, but it just doesn't go far enough with the concept for my liking.

At least you get to murder car owners, and give G.U.N. a legitimate reason to arrest you.

So which Modern games do I feel did the best job at making Sonic's world... er, Sonic's world? Well the truth is, most of them actually do a decent job in this area, regardless of the level design quality or the game’s quality period. SA2 has Pumpkin Hill, Eggman's Pyramid Base, and... SOME levels aboard the A.R.K (mainly the “outside” ones, like Final Rush). Shadow the Hedgehog, a game that reveled in how brown and gritty it was, still had highlights like Circus Park and Digital Circuit. Even '06 of all games had Aquatic Base, which was pretty cool from a conceptual standpoint. And although Unleashed as a whole might be a touch too vanilla in the creativity scale, it still had the glorious Eggmanland at the very end. But if I had to say which of the Modern installments did the best job overall...

- For starters, I'm gonna give a shoutout to SA1, because even though it was the first Modern game, and thus it was technically responsible for the more focused angle of realism in Sonic's world in the first place, it didn't take it quite as far as later games would, and although it may not be a perfect 1-to-1 representation of the world we saw in the Classic games, it does well enough with what it brings to the table that I can still accept it without any issue at all. Some of that has to do with the fact that you still have wilder areas like Windy Valley and Red Mountain to balance things out, but even with the other half, the game's use of colour is enough for it to go a long way, oddly enough. Take the At Dawn section of Speed Highway for instance:

From innocent times, when the radar wasn’t a piece of shit.

Technically, it's really not that different to the urban environments you see in SA2 or Unleashed. But something about the sleepy morning approach gives it a subtle, almost dream-like edge to it that I really dig, and despite it being pretty similar to the likes of City Escape, somehow I have an easier time buying into the idea of this place being part of the same world as zones like Sky Sanctuary.

And seeing how I already mentioned Red Mountain, let me compare it to Flame Core:

Yes, I know bringing '06 into this discussion at all is inherently and hilariously unfair, but let's put aside the game that Flame Core comes from for a moment. Aside from maybe the purple crystal caves indoors (and that's assuming you can even see where the fuck you're going in there), Flame Core is pretty boring to look at as far as Sonic levels go. Red Mountain is vastly more interesting, even though it's basically the exact same concept, and a lot of that has to do with - you guessed it - colour. Sure, it's day time, that's one thing, but you'll also notice that for a lava/mountain stage, it surprisingly has a few grassier sections, sort of like Hill Top in that regard. A little bit of green among the brown and red, and a great contrast to the volcanic nightmare you'll experience when you head inside.

Now this might seem like a fairly minor detail... and yeah, it is, but the thing that SA1 does so well is that it combines so many of those small details to make a complete, well-rounded package. This is why SA1 meshes well with the Classic style despite not being an exact replica, because just as the Classics excelled at, it wasn't afraid to use colour in interesting ways. It understood that a fire level could have more than just red and orange, in the same way that a grassy level could have more than just green and blue.

But of course, as I mentioned, SA1 is not an exception. There are other Modern games that did a great job on the whole...

- Heroes is an obvious answer, since it's translation of Genesis-style environments to 3D is probably one of the most recurring praises the game receives, and rightly so. Not much to say here, except that Hang Castle is still cool as hell.

And plenty of opportunity to admire the not-broken-in-half moon.

- Colours is another obvious one, though something of an ironic one given that the premise of the game involved going to other worlds, and those worlds were all converted against their will by Eggman. Yet, they did an equally superb job at creating fun, unique locales, and Aquarium Park in particular remains a favourite of mine.

Gotta love that red/blue contrast.

- The Riders series has a more futuristic bend compared to the rest of the series, but even when it's not all high-tech, it's got some pretty cool environments of its own, and I feel they even do well at mixing the real world side of things on top of that. Gigan Rocks comes to mind, as does Aquatic Capital.

Reminds me of when Perfect Chaos peacefully protested against Station Square.

- Regardless of my thoughts on the game itself, Secret Rings had some undeniable winners in this depertment. You tell me with a straight face that Night Palace doesn't look amazing.

A wonderful palace for a domestic abuser.

- And lastly, they might have had an early advantage since they're already 2D, but the Advance trilogy and Rush duology deserve a mention. They had some fantastic ideas for zones, like Planet Sonata Music Plant, and they did great with the colours as well. Hell, throughout these five games, the sky was practically every shade of the rainbow at one point or another.

Oh look, another completely whole moon.

Also, quick shoutout to another minor detail akin to the grassy sections of Red Mountain: these pink tunnel sections in Ice Mountain. No elaborate point to make here, just another perfect example of how much I adore these games' use of colour and contrast.

Seriously, I could go on for hours about good contrast.

Although I do bring up these small details for another reason, and in turn, another layer to my more nuanced take on Sonic aesthetics. By this point, we get the basic jist: Crusher likey when Sonic levels unique and pretty. But this can - and has - lead to a couple of misconceptions, so I'd like to address those and then laugh at them.

“So you want Sonic's world to be exactly like Mario?”

A common complaint that Lost World received was that it was too much like Mario, in more ways than one, and part of this was to do with the game's visual style. The zones may have been upbeat, but they often consisted of a bunch of things floating in the air and not much else, ala 2D Mario. While I didn't outright hate it, it’s definitely not what I have in mind for Sonic.

Of course, all complaints about being too much like Mario suddenly turn into praise when Eggette gets brought up...

And why is that? Because yes, I like my Sonic locations to be fun and lively... but I also want them to be firmly established within the context of this universe. The Lost World approach is fine with Special Stages and the sort, but outside of that... well, Studiopolis is a perfect example of what I'm talking about:

On one hand, it's very unique when compared to other cities in this franchise, and it's full of quirkiness, great use of colour, and all that good stuff I've went on about. But at the same time, it's grounded just enough so that it still feels like an actual city that the people of Sonic's world could feasibly live in, rather than a basic and empty video game level with a tacked on city background. Studiopolis may be a level from a video game, but you can totally believe it's a fully fleshed out place from its own perspective.

Naturally, this praise also rings true with the Modern games I listed earlier, and is yet another reason for why I approve of their settings.

“So you think Sonic can't have darker locations?”

It might be easy to take my compliments at face value, and assume that I'm immediately opposed to a zone that's not brightly colored. This is... very obviously false, as even the Classic games have their share of less-than-cheery areas, such as Scrap Brain and the Bad Futures in Sonic CD.

However, when you're making a grittier location in Sonic's world, regardless of the context, it still needs to be interesting. The problem with a lot of them in Modern installments is that they're boring. Crisis City is a generic city on fire. Westopolis is a generic city with aliens firing lasers from above. The prison levels in SA2 - and the indoor ARK levels not named Cannon's Core - are just grey hallways for the most part. That shit isn't exciting, and it doesn't get my mind speculating. It just makes me want to move on.

Let the eggsperts take care of this.

By contrast, Eggmanland is a prime example of how to do it right. Eggmanland is a magnificent theme park as envisioned by the good doctor, but it's also, at its core, a giant metal hellscape fueled by the energy of a dark entity, and it only gets more ominous the further you go through it or try to before you give up because it’s too fucking long and you died at the end. So it sets the mood to be sure, but it's still visually compelling to look at, and interesting to think about.

And since Eggman is apparently the only one who can show us how it's done, here's a shoutout to Titanic Monarch as well:

Like Heavy King, but Heavier and Kingier.

When comparing the final zones in Sonic games, I especially love this zone's visual approach, because it manages to be dark and colorful at the same time, and in a strangly organic way. It's got a spooky atmosphere, with a moody moonlight backdrop to match, and the titular robot is foreboding as hell as you climb up it and traverse through it... all the while having red floors, green and yellow wires, blue and pink buildings, and stained glass windows of Eggman and the Heavies for you to marvel at. So even putting aside the unique scenario of climbing up and then through a Kaiju-sized mech, the mood of the zone alone manages to be extremely memorable.

So what have we learned from all this? Aside from the fact that I’m way too interested in this subject? We now know that when I say I prefer the Classic “style” over Modern when it comes to the way that Sonic's world is presented:

- I don't mean that literally.

- There are certain qualities that although both of them possess, they tend to be more immediately associated with Classic in the collective consciousness, even within the fandom.

- The environments that I love the most in Modern games are often the ones that would also fit perfectly in the Classic style.

So whenever I express the basic nature of this opinion in the future... just imagine a small asterisk at the end of my sentence.

#Crusher Elaborations #Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog

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pedanticat · 4 years

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Five Things I want in a new Sonic Cartoon

When it comes to animated series featuring Sonic, it has been hit or miss. There have been series that are loved, series that are hated and series that are very divisive among the fanbase for a number of reasons. However, while I did grow up watching Sonic X, I truly grew to love the Sonic franchise when I discovered the Archie Sonic comics about six years ago. While I haven’t read every single issue of the series, the majority of what I read shaped the way of how I viewed the franchise and its characters with me using the comics as an example for how I believed the characters and the game series should be handled. A series about compelling heroes and villains with layers them instead of them being them base selves, thrill-seeking, hair raising stakes and more. Now that’s not to say I don’t mind the series being goofy, after all, I really enjoyed the Sonic Boom comics and to a lesser extent the tv show, but I just have a view over how things involving the characters and franchise as a whole should be handled, especially in an animated series. So, in no particular order, these are the five things I would want in a new Sonic animated series!

Number Five: Evil Eggman

Ever since Sonic X, animated series of Sonic have opted for Eggman having a frenemy relationship with Sonic instead of the two being bitter enemies. While I do know they are Eggman fans who hate this more friendly version of Eggman, I don’t mind it too much since it does allow for some fun interactions between Eggman and Sonic, especially in Sonic Boom. However, I find evil versions of Eggman such as his Archie and IDW counterparts to be more enjoyable since underneath his goofy nature, he’s a monster who takes great joy in causing mayhem and misery. Not beating Sonic and his friends in a soccer game misery. I’m talking about putting chips into organic soldiers’ brains that will explode if they disobey him and turning people into robot zombies’ level of misery! Eggman isn’t a good guy nor does he have any good qualities. He’s a sadistic genius who shows no remorse and commits horrible atrocities with a smile on his face and that is what makes him both a great character and villain. Even when he has to team up with Sonic and the gang, he’s just waiting for the first moment to betray them. This version of Eggman comes off as a legitimate threat and can be downright scary due to how sadistic he is with him providing an actual challenge for Sonic and his friends. I don’t know why they’ve opted to make Eggman more of a joke in the last two shows and not make him an actual threat, but I would like to have a series with a sadistic and threatening version of the mad doctor.

Number Four: Action-oriented half-hour series

Now while I don’t have anything against 11-minute episode segments, the Sonic series as a whole is all about adventure and action and I think the nature of the series is what makes it perfect for a half hour series. Heck, even Sega must realize that considering how half of the Sonic cartoons are half hour shows. Furthermore, I want it to be like Sonic X and SatAM in which there’s an overarching storyline with twists and turns as all the episodes actually lead up to somewhere. I know there’s already a bunch of those kinds of shows currently airing, which you can expect me to talk about in another video, but Sonic really lends itself to that kind of storytelling because of the kind of series it is. It would also allow to give more character’s times to shine, explore the world and keep viewers engage since they would want to see what happens next in the show.

Number Three: Utilizing Sonic Characters

The Sonic franchise have a very large roster of characters with the roster only growing as the years have gone on. However, there are many characters from the games who have never made an animated debut which I think is a huge shame. Sure, a lot of them have been better utilized in the comics such as the Hooligans, Blaze and Silver, but I think having them be a part of an animated series would provide many interesting story possibilities along with fun interactions and getting more exposure. For instance, Eggman isn’t the only villain from the Sonic series yet he’s the only villain from the games that have ever been used in the Sonic cartoons. Now while I don’t have anything against new original villains being made for the shows, I think that a new Sonic series should use other villains from the franchise such as the Hooligans and the Babylon Rouges since it would serve as a nice change of pace of always having Eggman be the antagonist while also giving underutilize characters time in the spotlight. It certainly would have made more sense for Sonic speed rival who rode a hoverboard in season 2 of Boom to be Jet the Hawk instead of making a discount version of the character.

I’ve also read many stories involving the Hooligans and I found them be an enjoyable gang of villains due to their dynamic. So I would honestly love to see them make the jump from the games to an animated series. Fun fact, originally, I thought they were characters exclusive to the comics until I learned years later that they actually originate from the games. So yeah, characters like the Hooligans really do need to be used more since the fact that I didn’t even know they originated from the games demonstrates how poorly Sega treats a lot of their character. Furthermore, having those characters along with others like Silver, Blaze and Marine, yes I like Marine, sue me, appearing in an animated series would allow for them to be fleshed out more and given more character since nothing of note have been done with them in the games for years.

Number Two: Exploring Sonic World

Despite many games taking place on Sonic world, very little is actually known about it and Sega don’t seem to have any interest in properly exploring it any of the games. They’ll flesh out more of the human world then they will with Mobius. Yes, I know it’s not officially called Mobius, but I rather I call it that instead of saying Sonic World all the time. The only times Mobius have actually been fleshed out are in SatAM, Underground, and the Archie Sonic comics. I think it would be a nice change of pace to actually explore Mobius in an animated series with viewers actually getting to know about the culture and lifestyle of the planet, all the different types of Mobians that reside on it and just make the overall world of Sonic feel more alive and lived in. I want to have that kind of world in a Sonic series instead of the characters traveling to our world or having them stay on a primary spot in the world and constantly reuse the same locations over and over again.

Number One: Proper Characterization

If there’s one thing every Sonic fan can agree on, it’s that they hate it whenever a character they love is written very poorly. Now this is a bit tricky since everyone does have a personal preference for how a character, they love should but the best way to avoid that is to not flanderize the characters and have them act in a way that makes sense with the character. Like Amy having a crush on Sonic is fine and that trait has provided many funny moments in the comics and shows. However, if Amy is Sonic crazy like she was in Sonic X, that may end up annoying a lot of fans. Likewise, despite taking place in an alternate universe, Knuckles was made into a total idiot in the Boom series which many people hated since while Knuckles may not be the smartest guy in the series, he’s not an idiot. For me, I just want the characters to actually be recognizable for who they are with them being written in a way that makes sense for their characters while even adding layers to their character that aren’t often explored.

#sonic the hedgehog #dr eggman #sonic team #tails the fox #amy rose #shadow the hedgehog #Knuckles the Echidna #sonic boom #Sonic Underground #sonic x #sonic satam #Silver the Hedgehog #blaze the cat

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grahamcarmen · 4 years

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What's your ideal s3?

ideally? i have some vague beats i want the story to touch on but I more or less trust the writing team for any specific path. (kind of a boring answer i know but genuinely i’m happy that i can say that i trust...the writers of all people)

but some things i’d like to see!

PLEASE GET CARMEN SOMEONE WITH MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE OR LIKE A SIDE DOCTOR THE TEAM TRUSTS BECAUSE SEASON 1 ENDED WITH RIB CRUSHING HUG AND S2 HAD HER NEARLY FREEZE TO DEATH AND I NEED MY DAUGHTER TO BE OK!!!

focusing on her mama finding mission is just something that’s been curious to me because?? are they going to make her alive? or are we going to lean into her found family? idk but i’m glad that the show gives carmen a lot of bonds to strengthen and make. i’m just hoping that its neither underplayed to focus on her family when they left us on an empty coffin or overplayed when team carmen is finally coming to some new depths of found family

BUT A RED CRACKLE EPISODE OF COURSE!!!

and more specifically for all the links being thrown at graham to finally come to some sort of fruition and for him to get his memory back. i am just so (SCREAM) about what he’ll decide when he remembers that “OH YEAH I WAS A THIEF FOR A VILLAIN ORGANIZATION WHO MIND MANIPULATED ME AFTER I FAILED TO “TAKE CARE OF” MY FRIEND WHO I AM KINDA THINKING MIGHT MEAN MORE TO ME”

IF IT’S ACME: graham and Julia to meet literally as Julia is about to bounce (side note: Julia should bounce) and ACME is trying to take advantage of graham + interact in general. i’d be so happy for Carmen to get two new allies, allies who by the way she actually pretty fond of, and even more so if they happen to get along. i know i’m kinda vague on it but i think that graham is just a really good character in the way he’s able to show support: how he listens. how he trusts, how he’s accepts when someone is just stronger than him in whatever area, and how he can be verbally uplifting. Julia’s current connections has been just...so lacking in these areas. not just the chief and chase but her new acme partner zari too ( i was so disappointed because i wanted to love her u don’t even know). i’d really like it if her interactions with graham were...refreshing for a change. i’d like it they were friends. (and also if they try to stab me in the heart with graham is bad ending Julia is strong enough to keep him in check)

IF IT’S VILE: GIMME THE ANGST! there was a hint in the opera caper that there might be mind control going into the graham plot if its VILE who decides to use him and i’m just spazzing out at the idea of graham choosing carmen and then being sleeper agent-ed into being VILE anyway like wth. but that wacky fan-fic IMJUSTKIDDING idea aside i think that if VILE is the one to activates his memories again its a good time to reconcile with the things that graham has done while on VILE’s dime (because there is the fact that he was ...of the correct aptitude to be considered a VILE candidate in earnest) while seeing where he’s going to go from there (hopefully away with Carmen to do good deeds instead) and on that note

JULIA AND GRAHAM BACKSTORY! we get hints of Julia being into art and we have graham’s current electrician job but aside from that maybe some more details about their lives outside carmen and VILE drama to flesh them out a bit more. (p.s also maybe player focus??)

;_; i want red crackle to go the beach guys

i want a masquerade episode guuuuuuuuuuuuys

but more importantly i want carmen and graham to keep their bond. they’ve been torn apart, walked apart, drifted apart, and yet they keep coming back like they were meant to be together. i have no illusions of canon romance in this show but i want their bond to end up positive because they are a good team when they get a chance to work together and they genuinely want to be that good team. and me...please...do it for my sanity showrunners

I’m also excited for what the development with Ivy is going to be considering she’s worn the red outfit so much, she’s been shown to be the one to make the tools, and in general to be able to step up as almost a substitute femme rouge should the occasion arise.

development for chase....s2 had some crumbs but ooof he was just cut outta the middle of the season . I know i called him out on how he treats Julia but I don’t want him to stay like that. I want him to grow because i actually do like that man. he just needs to find a healthier way to deal with his insecurities (and for the narrative not to overlook his accomplishments and special skills he brings to the investigation). he’s honestly a fun character and it’d be a shame if the narrative didn’t take advantage layering growth on top of that. honestly when i started the show i thought they were going to have such a solid friendship akin to Juliet and Lassiter from Psych and it was pretty disappointing that their relationship didn’t get a chance to become more than Julia feeling undermined while downplaying Chase’s actual big breaks in the case. instead it kept escalating until in ep 9 we had a really honest conversation which i thought would lead to more honesty and growth in s2 and then adfnsalkn. NOPE! i think they still could be a strong duo since Chase DOES have skills he can teach Julia (like when he let mime bomb go so they could follow him) and Julia’s intelligence does help give Chase’s determination more direction. when its not negative they have strong buddy cop vibes. we just need ...DEVELOPMENT.

i’d also like some zack bonding? of all her friends i feel like zack is the least secure in their friendship. its shown in the {need for speed caper} where she gets mad that he doesn’t understand her as well as ivy does when he mistakes her anger as a genuine hatred for them and he’s the one to immediately consider the offer to leave. we had the whole zack is the duke episode but it was more of a gimmick than actually developing that bond and it makes me really sad. so yeah. let zack be closer friends with carmen.

THE SHADOW-SAN BOND IS AMAZING AND I WOULD LIKE FOR IT TO STAY AMAZING. WITH CARMEN AND EVERYONE ELSE ON TEAM RED

It sounds like a weird point to end with since I started with “please get ma girl a doctor” but i want VILE to have a genuine win. no ifs, ands, or buts. carmen as a show works with her always winning mostly because of the principle of {if its not important if we win or lose then the stakes come from somewhere else} and that somewhere else is her PERSONAL bonds with shadow san, zack and ivy, Julia, ACME, her past, and Graham. and all of those were fantastic and ended great or at least with some potential to end good with the exception of ACME...but i don’t want ACME to win anything. i’m honestly horrendously biased towards VILE faculty showing they’re competent. season 2 was a great season for testing her bonds with team carmen but to keep the testing of the bonds the conflict in s3 wouldn’t work so well /for me anyway/ because it would feel like re-treading ground when instead of “testing” they should instead be deepening. shadow, player, zack, and ivy now have a home with carmen. no need to make their new bond status reset to tenuous. i mean this mostly for her inner team since Julia has that little “carmen thinks i betrayed her” and Graham is a ticking time bomb of potential. looking at s2 tho a huge chunk of it was concentrated on her inner circle members being tested over us actually ever worrying if carmen was going to lose. in fact we got a longer list of VILE members who fail to deal with her which left behind some of our familiar faces like tigress, el topo, and mime bomb. the new faces were nice but they were also less impact in terms of actual menace because...carmen wins. always. so yeah...i want a win for VILE to throw in a new problem to the narrative mix.

...so...yeah XD

#red crackle thoughts #red crackle #ask #sorry to be late and winded about it but i had some thoughts #lol

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ethereal-galaxies · 2 years

Text

@magical-lollipops sent an ask. 🎁

To Dice & Gentaro // From: Ramuda and Lamda (Clone Ramuda)

From inside a smaller present box was a matching set of multisided green, sparkling die. Dice held them up in front of him proudly. “No way!!! These can be used for that dungeon game right?” he picked them up, feeling them with his fingers, the box falling into his lap.

He held them up to his eyes, each die nestled between the tips of his fingers in his right hand. “I haven’t played that game yet. I’m pretty sure Gentaro talked about it once, didn’t he? You make a character and you play a game with other members in your party, ready to bail you out in case you have to fight monsters... We should try playing that! I wanna make my character a rouge gambler who never loses!”

Holding a beautifully wrapped red gift tied with a golden bow, Gentaro raised an eyebrow. “Do you not get tired of gambling?” “Never! When I gamble, there’s this HUGE rush that goes through me, like adrenaline going down a slope on a roller coaster because of how much is at stake!” He threw his hands up into the air, fist clenching his new die.

“But wouldn’t creating a character that always wins a gamble defeat the purpose of gambling for that rush? If he never loses, then he’ll always know the outcome,” The novelist sighed.

“Hmm, that’s right... but then he’d be rich!!” Dice expressed a big, toothy grin.

Gentaro shook his head at the all too familiar excitement from Dice and smiled at the other two who gave them the gifts. He tugged on the ribbon on the present gripped by his palm. He then tore the wrapping revealing that of a vintage book. Suddenly, emerald eyes lit up and his smile opened into a breathless gasp. He stood up. “It’s the Tale of The Forgotten Sea! This book only has 1,000 copies in existence! Thank you!”

He practically hugged the book to his face, the gift giving him the nostalgic scent of ancient, musty, and aged pages.

There were two more gifts to open after that, both designed and handmade by none other than Ramuda Amemura. Gentaro sat back down and received a beautiful traditionally inspired Kimono, colors reflecting the fabrics and design of its time. He did not often dress casually, though Ramuda thoughtfully included vintage fabrics, sewn in with new. Hand-stitched embellishments really made it come to life.

Dice, on the other hand, received clothes fit for the cold weather. He wrapped a knit scarf around him and lifted up a Fluffy coat to be paired with the insulated jeans and shirt much like his go-to outfit. There were boots too? “Ah, Ramuda! This is perfect for cold nights out gambling!”

Gentaro laughed. Gambling again. “How much would you wager that you can’t go a day without gambling?”

“HA! 20,000 yen!”

“So we have a deal, then?” Gentaro inquired as he folded the kimono neatly.

“Yep!”

“It’s a shame you lost already, by agreeing to this gamble you’ve automatically lost your bet,” Gentaro laughed and shrugged.

“What- HEY THAT’S NOT FAIR-!”

#Muse: Gentaro Yumeno #Muse: Dice Arisugawa #answered ask #answered asks #ethereal writings #magical-lollipops

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norowareshimono · 6 years

Text

Gray Log’s Monochrome Gallery: Hoshino’s Chapter Covers Selection

Other DGM translations

Presenting the chapter covers that Hoshino herself has selected with her commentary! It includes the her personal Top 3 too!

First place:

Chapter 167 “Hint”

I like the balance of the whole picture and how it combines scariness and cuteness. You can feel the bond between them, but at the same time something feels off. Moreover, I think I did a good job at giving it a meaningful air.

Second place:

Chapter 193 “Friend”

My second favorite.

I drew this cover just after the last scene of the chapter, the one where Kanda destroys the rampaging Alma, and I remember being overcome with emotion. Alma had become very dear to me by then, so I wanted to give him one of his lovely expressions for last.

However, drawing him smiling was difficult to do. Regarding the letters saying “friend” behind Alma, they are supposed to be made with “blood.” Had this been a color page, I would have probably painted them in a black to red gradation, instead of pure black.

I’m sure this Alma is turning towards Yuu, a smile coming to his lips.

Third place:

Chapter 105 “A Stage in Rouge”

I adore Krory and Eliade’s tragic love.

It’s a pitiful one, but I love it (laugh) and I think this cover was able to express it well. I think it’s a shame that, due to time constraints, the rose garden in the background ended up looking so rough, but there is something in how you can only see Eliade’s shoulder that’s really sad and painful. The situation, with Krokins holding an umbrella, is cute too, to the point I feel like praising past me (laugh).

The Nominees:

Chapter 2 “Full Moon Night”

The current me wouldn’t ever come up with a composition like this, would I? There is something nostalgic in realizing that I once came up with these kinds of ideas. The resemblance to the movie “Nightmare before Christmas”, the likening of the end of the curtain to a city, the roses blooming from what appears to be a pool of blood… The me back then had some spooky yet cute ideas, didn’t she?

Chapter 43 “Laughter”

Of all the Tyki I’ve drawn, I think this one is the most handsome (laugh). Often, whenever I forget how to draw him, I give a look at this cover (laugh). It’s a refreshing image, very much like him. I like the simple background too.

Chapter 59 “White Heartbeats”

Miranda sitting with her legs crossed is a sort of refreshing sight, isn’t it? (laugh) The second uniform fits Miranda really well, so I’m glad I got to draw a full body picture of her.

Chapter 60 “The Path of Oath”

A back view of Allen and Tim, which sort of parallels the Mana and Allen cover that took first place. You ought to look at Tim’s shapely, terse butt! The tight line between its legs is especially cute!

Chapter 62 “Battle Plan”

This cover was drawn with just a pencil. It illustrates nicely the pencil’s characteristic softness, or so I think. After seeing this, I felt like drawing my manuscripts using a pencil (laugh). However, erasing the sketch seems like it would be a problem…

Chapter 85 “To Portray ‘Love’ in that Play”*

I like this one because of how well it fits the chapter’s title and how good is this composition for a cover. I was able to portray the uncanniness in Allen’s Innocence in it. It’s a good depiction in more than one sense, so I like it.

* Translator Note: I’m not 100% sure about this one, but I think this title may have a double meaning. The first, as seen above, being “to portray ‘love’ in that play” and the second “to portray ‘myself’ in that play.” アイ (pronounced ai) is in katakana, a strange choice if you were talking only about 愛 (also ai, meaning love). The only other option that makes sense in context is the English “I”, which is also written as アイ in katakana. Both are very fitting, so I think this was intentional.

Chapter 99 “Debt Crisis”

I was in a real hurry when I drew this one. I can clearly remember myself drawing in a rush with the calligraphy pen. The detailed parts, like the buttons or the hair, were made using a normal pen, but everything else was drawn with the calligraphy one.

Chapter 103 “An Unruly Child”

I like a lot of covers depicting Krory, don’t I? It’s the same pose I gave Allen in chapter 14, but it’s a good fit for Krory as well. I like it. The gentleman look is a good match for Krory, don’t you think? He’s tall too, and that gives him the air of a fashion model.

Chapter 119 “La + vi”

If you were to use only objects, I think this picture would be the only possible metaphor for Lavi’s character. The small objects within the coffin are all the things he has recorded in his travels. This represents that Lavi is empty inside, that he’s filled only with information. There is also a reason for the birdcage to be empty, but that’s still a secret!

I was able to cram a lot of information about Lavi in this one page, so I’m quite fond of it.

Chapter 123 “Voice of Darkness”*

I drew this as my idea of how Allen’s “Crown Clown” would look if it took human form.

* Translator Note: The furigana says こえ, voice, but the kanji is 吟, which means “recital” or “lament.”

Chapter 124 “Black Carnival”

This cover doubles as a panel of the manga, but I drew it so Allen and Tyki were the picture of “eeriness” and “fear.”

Chapter 130 “Eyes of Hatred”

I’m satisfied with how I drew Allen’s eyes here. Back then, that made me so happy. The smoke trail and the frills in Cross’ hand are lovely and well done too.

Chapter 132 “The Musician!!?”

After lots of worrying about this cover, I thought "let's include every element associated with Allen!" and this is how it turned out. This page took an unusual amount of time.

Chapter 138 “But Time Goes On”

Drawing this cover was fun. In Allen’s drawers there are only sweets (rations) and detailed debt accounts (laugh). The room is so small there isn’t enough space for two beds, that’s why Link is waking up an a futon.

Chapter 195 “Ripple”

I managed to draw a good pose here. There is no other character in DGM that could pull this off (laugh). At the time, my assistants thought that the flashing light over his head was hilarious (laugh), but I wanted to add it for the symbolism!

Chapter 198 “The Truth of the Barren Flowers” & Chapter 190 “The Garden of Barren Flowers”

After drawing this, I was filled with satisfaction. This cover marks the first appearance of Alma in a cover without a smile, I think. It’s an image of Kanda and Alma once they learnt the truth of the “Second Exorcist Project.” My goal was to liken them to lotus flowers, and I think I was able to convey that idea here. The cover, title included, forms a set with the one for chapter 190. They are standing outside the lotus at first, all to get inside at the end. The idea was to use these two pages to represent the beginning and the end.

Chapter 208 “We, Who Live Lost”

Those who depart and those who return. This image left a huge impression in me, as it was the first time I drew something with that kind of concept. It was really fun to do. Johnny’s pose is absolutely uncool, yet for some reason it makes me want to cheer for him. I like that about it.

Chapter 209 “In Search of A.W. – Travelling Companions”

I like this Reever. I want you, readers, to imagine who is in the photo he is looking at. Ehehe. What’s bringing out that smile?

Chapter 214 “In Search of A.W. – Awakening”

This was my first time drawing a full body picture of Nea. Just as the theme of “Kanda and company = lotus flowers” exists, the same goes for “Nea and company = the wind.” If you can perceive that more or less in this scene, that’ll make me happy.

#dgm #d gray man #d.gray man #d.gray-man #dgnetwork #dgm translations #gray log

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silver-elysium · 6 years

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Hi :) I'd love to hear about your thoughts on the season so far. And also if possible your Worlds experience. Also very cool that you've been skating seriously since you were 7.

Hi! I’m so happy to receive this from you because you’re one of my favourite blogs out there and I’ve been visiting it since way before I created one of my own :)

Thank you :) Skating has been an absolute roller coaster through all these years but also incredibly rewarding and I am so grateful for it.

I will make a separate post about my Worlds experience because it’s also going to be really long and to separate these two subjects, but I still have to edit that one, so it’ll be up sometime next week :)

Apologies for the late reply, it had been a while since I’d logged in last and then I wanted to write a semi-coherent answer to this because I have a lot of thoughts. I still think this is a mess of a text but didn’t want to drag it out even longer. Also wanted to wait until Cup of China to be able to cover more or less all top skaters. And wow, sorry this turned out so long.

First of all, I hate how many recycled programs we have this year. I think it’s unacceptable when it comes to top senior skaters and especially medal contenders, because it sets an example of staying in your comfort zone and generally feels like they know they’ve come up with something good once and don’t think they can do it again.

Now, I think ladies is pretty much clear. Medvedeva will most likely win everything she enters. I don't quite get her crushing Mao and Yuna's records, especially her very high PCS, but this is figure skating. I don't get her hype, but that's a whole other topic. I am interested to see Medvedeva vs Zagitova at Russian nats and (probably) GPF, though I don't think Zagitova can quite dethrone her on her first attempt if Medvedeva is clean (or falls once), I see her as the most likely challenger, especially next season. Kaetlyn Osmond is my current ladies love, and I am very excited because it looks like her mental game has become very strong and she looks very confident, which I think is the most crucial part to her skating, because she has lovely technique (swooning over her jumps every time). So if she's clean, she can definitely be top of [the rest of] the field (I consider Medvedeva currently untouchable, but personally, I would put Kaetlyn ahead of her). I am glad she went back to Piaf because she makes it magical, although I'm always against reusing programs when you've been a senior on a high level for more than a couple years. I think the American and Russian nationals will be the most interesting ladies competitions before the Olympics. I would not bet my money on any one of the American ladies to make the team right now, which is why this season is going to be very interesting in that regard. They all look a bit shaky at the moment? Then the Japanese ladies is also a very deep field. I am very impressed with Wakaba Higuchi, she's been beautiful and very consistent this season. I think she should have beaten Zagitova at CoC. While being only 16, she has very strong skating skills and relatively mature interpretation (I think she lacks that abandon but it'll come with experience I guess). I am also looking forward to every of Carolina Kostner's competition. She is one of the most beautiful skaters in history whom I've loved for years and I love her FS this year. I am also really looking forward to her getting that 3Lz on board and seeing what she could do vs Osmond if both are clean.

The men's field this year I think is going to drive me out of my mind. Quads left and right! Yuzuru's 4Lz I think is going to only get better and better, and if the others (like the jealous type 4Lo lol) collaborate, he might be unbeatable because he is probably the only one who gets PCS equal or even higher than Chiddy's? Don't quote me on that, because I haven't looked at protocols in a while. Nathan Chen looks to be getting more and more consistent and artistic, which makes him such a huge threat. Then there's Shoma Uno, who is probably the most beautiful skater after Patrick to me, and his speed across the ice and especially during spins is out of this world! Also, quads galore. So these three (in no particular order) so far seem the front-runners to me. Shame about Javi now not having a chance to make the GPF, but at least it's not a persistent issue he's been battling (from what I've heard he had a stomach issue in China?) Then my baby Chiddy I'm really worried about. I hope he can go out there at the Olympics and lay down two skates he's content with and handle the quads. I have been thinking that maybe the ISU should reconsider the factoring of the components scores now that the base values have gone up like that? Because the technical now outweighs the artistic, and I think they should be at least equal. Also, really want to see KRey's quad loop!! Hopefully he can land it the next competitions. Super happy for him at CoC FS. Boyang Jin I feel is the black horse that'll shine through if others falter? Because of his technical base, because components wise, I prefered his last year's programs. I don't like his SP this year yet but I do like the free. I just felt like PCS wise, he was not the same skater I adored at CoC last year?

When it comes to the pairs, Sui and Han look like the current favourites. I loove their SP and their FS has this great build up of energy, which is always good. I expected to love Savchenko/Massot's programs more? Especially after their last year's programs were such favourites of mine. Nevertheless, I have been a fan of Aljona and Robin's for so so many years and looked up to her, and I really think she deserves that Olympic gold. Therefore I hope Bruno finally gets the citizenship because I'm getting worried about them being able to go at all! Tarasova/Morozov seem to be scoring high with their elements, so if consistent, they could place really high (not sure if they could beat S/H right now, guess we'll have to see more competitions). Duhamel/Radford I still look at carefully, because last season they also had a really strong SCI and it went downhill from there. Just feel like their programs this year are not bringing anything new (well obviously, when one is recycled). James/Cipres' programs also look like replicas of what they did last year (which makes sense, because it brought them success, but is a bit disappointing). I wonder if she'll land that quad throw this season? Because she seems to be double footing the fully rotated one just like she did one year ago. Speaking of what, SO MANY teams are doing quad throws? I am really interested in this, to see whether it is landed or scrapped.

Honestly, in dance, no one should come 30 points or less in the range of Tessa and Scott. Because they are giving the term GOAT a run for its money, and I honestly have no words to describe how I feel about them. Every littlest nuance, from turns and steps and speed, to interpretation and chemistry and musicality is out of this world. I might be a little biased, but I've shown their programs to completely non-skating people, some random, some professional dancers, and they all said the same thing. I am adding the turns bit from myself because oh my gosh nobody will ever have cleaner turns. They can do a three-step and it'll cover the whole width and half the length of an Olympic sized rink? PC are nowhere near them and everything is unfair and sad. I mostly hate the part about their "artistry" because she is literally making so many faces and it's pretty disgusting to me that people have the gut to call that good interpretation. It's very novice-like to me. Also, Papadakis should learn to straighten her knees. And also x2, what on earth is that sd lift?!! It looks so awkward and easy and it's not even that musical and makes me want to rip my hair out when I see their scores. Their SD makes me cringe so hard (especially the attempts at artificial chemistry) and their FD puts me to sleep. I will never get them. I was a little surprised with 2nd and 3rd place score at SCI. Hubbell/Donohue look so strong technically and constantly improving. I think if clean, they can be real challengers for the bronze. I want to see Weaver/Poje skate abroad to see how they're scored. I like their SD, but Je Suis Malade just doesn't do me anything and I wish they'd stuck with Spartacus because I felt like I was going to love that program as the season progressed (but it could be my bias against the music, they're beautiful skaters). Now this is my most unpopular opinion ever, but I love the Shibs. I go weak in the knees for their technical abilities to be honest. Whilst I am disappointed with them doing the same thing (even down to the costumes) for the third year in a row, I think that Paradise is a very Olympic program. The music is highly audience-friendly and they have a great cut. The build up in energy and music during their twizzles is so powerful. I think this program could be (not counting Moulin Rouge in this because bias lol) a fans' favourite and by fans I mean once-in-four-years viewers lol. I also will praise Marina as a choreographer every opportunity I get, because I'm crazy for how she uses every nuance of the music on either the man or the woman. I really really love her creations haha. I expected a different Imagine cut from Chock/Bates but my silver lining is that they left a few lines of John Lennon's voice in it. I like their SD sans the costumes. I am cringing over Bobrova/Soloviev's FD because of the quintessential Russian pantomime choreography, but I love some of their lifts and they're great skaters, so interested to see where Russia's top team plays into this season. Stepanova/Bukin have really grown on me and I loved their FD at Rostelecom. Hawayek/Baker are my babies and I love their Latin and their FD is beautiful. Really interested to see how the American dance nats will play out with all the newly turned seniors and H/B (and the top teams). It's gonna be a popcorn kind of event. Loved Cappellini/Lanotte's programs, can't wait to see them at NHK (add them to the list of skaters I have a soft spot for).

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auburnfamilynews · 4 years

Link

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

How low can you go?

Oh boy, this ought to be a hoot. Auburn got trucked in Athens, with very few players bringing the effort necessary to win a game against the most talented team per capita in the country.

Some position groups might not have even been there with the way we played, while others showed that they indeed wanted to play Auburn football. How did we grade? Read along:

QUARTERBACK - R (for RUN FOR YOUR LIFE)

Bo Nix was not great this past Saturday. Now, a lot of that had to do with a game plan asking him to be a hero against the best defense in the country behind what might be the worst offensive line in the conference. He was not put in a position to succeed and it resulted in catastrophe for the Tigers offense.

But that doesn’t mean he was a passive participant in that, uh how can I put this nicely, “poopshow” of a performance. Elite quarterbacks raise the play of their teammates. Elite quarterbacks make big time plays even in less than ideal circumstances. Elite quarterbacks still lose but they elevate their offense anyway.

Bo Nix is not yet an elite quarterback. He might still become one but he’s not there yet. There were chances for Auburn to land some haymakers. It’s unlikely any would have left UGA on the mat for long given the Dawgs dominance along the line of scrimmage but there were some chances where Nix could have given his team some confidence. Two deep shots to Anthony Schwartz jump out, especially that 2nd quarter miss where Schwartz had a step on his defender and a touchdown would have made this a 17-7 game.

If you are going to be a championship calibre quarterback you have to hit those shots when you get a chance. Nix is still not doing it. He has to get better and do a better job capitalizing on big play opportunities especially against elite teams. We saw these same misses last year in College Station, Gainesville and Baton Rouge. Until that changes, there’s a firm ceiling on this offense that will prevent this team from winning anything meaningful in the next 2-3 years.

RUNNING BACKS - A-minus

DISCLAIMER: This ranking is solely predicated on measuring the effectiveness of those who played, which was few

Auburn probably found the back of the future on Saturday night in Tank Bigsby, who got his first real extended action with Shaun Shivers’ injury and D.J. Williams’ apparent lack of speed. What we saw in Athens was the only player who 110% wanted to be there, win, and wasn’t afraid of Georgia. Everyone else played scared or tight. He finished with 8 carries for 31 yards and 7 catches for 68 yards, a couple touches consisting of heroic efforts to negate plays that would’ve otherwise been huge losses. He honestly showed the kind of wiggle and strength that we saw out of his position coach in Sanford Stadium in 2001, but we had less help on Saturday. Georgia was also better than they were eighteen years ago.

The position group is given an A- because of D.J. Williams’ ineffectiveness (no carries, 1 catch for -4 yards), and because there’s still room for improvement from Tank in spite of his great night. Tank can become the absolute start back at Auburn, but we have to figure out how to use him and reward him for being the only guy leaving everything out there on Saturday. An offensive line wouldn’t hurt either.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS - D (for Drops)

I will say, there weren’t a ton of opportunities for the receivers to show out in this one. With a lethal pass rush from Georgia, and Bo being lucky to just get the ball in the air near the intended receivers, any production from them would have been a gift. That being said, this group gets heavily penalized by a severe case of the drops. Sure, Seth Williams’s drop would have been a highlight real touchdown if he had reeled it in, but we also saw Shedrick Jackson drop two balls as well (one of them ended up being called for targeting, but my point stands).

The highlight of the night certainly goes to J.J. Pegues, who only recorded three touches for eight yards, but the big man converted third downs on both of his carries out of the Wildcat. Props for that I guess.

OFFENSIVE LINE - L (for Lost.)

The next time you hear someone defend Herb Hand and JB Grimes, show them this:

This is one of the most pitiful efforts in the history of Auburn football. No I’m not talking about the game. I’m talking about how vastly under-prepared this position group is from a personnel/roster management standpoint. After having 2 transfers start in 2017, the regression of offensive line play at Auburn from 2018 - present has been the root problem of this football program. We have not been able to run the football since Kerryon Johnson got hurt against Alabama and now in 2020 we cannot protect the quarterback. What’s so damning about this is that SO MANY PEOPLE SAW THIS COMING.

I can’t even blame Jack Bicknell for this because I think he’s the first offensive line coach Auburn has had since Jeff Grimes (should’ve been retained after 2012 by Gus) who understands how to recruit offensive linemen at Auburn. But he’s probably unable to fully fix it until 2022 at the earliest! And yet, none of these issues are new! None of this is a surprise!

The identity of any offense is based around its offensive line, which explains at least in part why we looked so completely lost as a unit Saturday night. But as bad as the line looked, the real shame is on whoever it is on that sideline who insists upon rotating offensive linemen 2 games into a season. Sure, this group didn’t have this summer to build cohesion thanks to COVID. That’s tough for any group. But you are extending this problem out by continuing to rotate guys. And I don’t think it requires a lot of thinking to see that the most ideal starting group right now probably looks like this:

Left Tackle - Austin Troxell

Left Guard - Brandon Council

Center - Nick Brahams

Right Guard - Keiondre Jones

Right Tackle - Brodarious Hamm

Even with that group, the grades looked abysmal Saturday night based on what was said by the PFF folks. But this position group cannot get better without playing together. Run with these 5, and let them take their lumps and grow. In the meantime, the unit looks lost. I will say that it sure doesn’t help that it was abundantly clear that we were tighter than the Fat Man Squeeze at Rock City thanks to a group of coaches who don’t appear to trust their players and go into a turtleshell each time we play a competent football team away from Jordan-Hare Stadium. You could see that in the opening drive with penalties.

So yeah, the offensive line, and whoever is on that sideline refusing to trust his players and doing this rotation BS deserve a grade worse than F. They deserve to be called out for being LOST.

DEFENSIVE LINE - H (for How?)

I think we all expected this defensive front to regress significantly from last year. Nothing about that is a surprise when you lose a generational talent like Derrick Brown, who friend of the program Justin Ferguson swears is the greatest defensive player in Auburn history. Certainly an argument can be made. That being said, how in the hell do you get blown off the ball this poorly? How in the hell have several of these guys, who have played a significant number of snaps in this defense, not improved since the first year they stepped on campus?

This is the first year that we haven’t had a sure-fire NFL defensive lineman on this team since Gus got to Auburn. And that would be enough of a reason to be upset but also understand why our backs broke in the 2nd half...if that had happened. Instead, this group was dominated from the start, letting a walk on quarterback keep his jersey clean for the majority of the game, and let Georgia bully you in the run game all night. This score could have been 21 points worse, but Georgia was having too much fun pushing our defensive line into the belly of our linebackers.

I expected a regression, and I have confidence in Rodney Garner. Really I’m more angry at the offense since 2016 for wasting 4 years of championship-level defense than I am a bad night at the office without the NFL talent of a year ago. But none of that should make you, me, Gus, Rodney, or anyone associated with this program any less embarrassed by the utter domination by the Georgia offensive line.

LINEBACKERS - D (for Dreadful)

I understand that it’s difficult to make plays when offensive linemen are hitting you, but when you engage a running back (even a five-star one) you don’t need to be getting pushed back every single time. K.J. Britt, Owen Pappoe, and Zakoby McClain again combined for a ton of tackles (28 total), but they came several yards downfield almost every play. McClain had the lone tackle for loss of the group (a sack), but the group lost contain when blitzing, couldn’t hang with the backs out the backfield on short passes, and gave ground on run plays up the middle.

Refer to the guide below, from Harry Potter. These guys were still in the right place a lot of the time, but they didn’t make the plays necessary, and the middle of the field was a place where Georgia got a bookoodle of their yardage. 28 total tackles is nice, but we’re throwing them a D for Dreadful anyway. Be thankful it’s not T for Troll.

DEFENSIVE BACKS - C (for Coverage Optional)

This secondary had a range of performance on Saturday. Roger McCreary for the most part shut down George Pickens, allowing the star receiver just 26 yards on two catches from five targets. One of those catches (and 21 of the yards) were from a touchdown, but the coverage wasn’t necessarily bad there. It was just a perfect pass and catch from the offense. Jordyn Peters and Jamien Sherwood proved to be just fine at safety, with the pair combining for 27 tackles. Generally you want your front seven picking up most of the tackles when the opponent is running the ball down your throat, but nevertheless, that isn’t the safeties’ fault.

Now comes the part that was... not good. At all. Georgia was able to pull a page out of Alabama’s playbook and just abuse Christian Tutt, with Kearis Jackson picking up nine catches for 147 yards. Nehimiah Pritchett struggled mightily as well, although it’s hard to blame him as he was filling in for an injured Jaylin Simpson.

SPECIAL TEAMS - B (for not Bad)

Congratulations, boys. You’re not the reason Auburn lost. There’s probably only one other position group that can say that. Carlson hit both of his field goals. Punt coverage was good. Kickoff coverage wasn’t great on the first one to ding it back to a B. That’s about it.

COACHING - D+

Auburn’s coaching was suspect Saturday. Down 3 scores late in the first half, Auburn elected to kick a field goal, to make it a...three score game. The decision to keep rotating the offensive line is not one I understand. And some of the offensive playcalls around the goal line were...well, they were blah. Auburn couldn’t out-talent Georgia Saturday. Ultimately, that’s on the coaches for recruiting. And if you can’t out-talent an opponent, you have to out-execute and out-scheme. Auburn did neither of those things. I won’t fault the coaches for in-game execution, but Georgia didn’t look surprised by anything Auburn threw at them.

Credit to Kevin Steele (I sound like a broken record) for impressive halftime adjustments. Holding Georgia to only 3 second half points is the only thing saving the coaches from a failing grade. This team didn’t totally quit.

FANS - F

They were Georgia fans, so they probably barked at strangers and were generally lacking in self awareness. Also, their student section didn’t seem to follow any COVID restrictions.

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/10/7/21503374/position-grades-4-georgia-27-7-auburn-6

#IFTTT #Blogger #auburn #auburn fast #wareagle #AuburnFamilyNews #war eagle #sec #football news #aubu

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minijenn · 6 years

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MiniJen’s Fic Recs!

So I said I was gonna do it and here it is! One big huge list of fics I love the hell outta for ya’ll to read. These are mostly GF fics, but there are a few SU fics and maybe like several LoZ fics near the end, maybe a few others from other fandoms but still, I can promise they’re all pretty good! And nah I’m not reccing any UF based fics on here, cause if you want to check those out, you can do so here. And with that outta the way, let’s get started, in no particular order and with very little rhyme or reason under the cut! (fyi all the titles are links to make your life easier, even if they dont show up as links on my blog, but you can still click on em and it’ll take you where you wanna go)

All the World’s a Toybox by Straightjacketd Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Incomplete Ok so I fucking LOVE the hell outta this one because its angsty as fuck and dark. Like fucking dark, like if ya’ll think UF has gotten dark ahahah UF is like child’s play compared to how far this one goes. But that’s honestly one of the things I love about it. I feel like there aren’t enough GF fics out there about what might have happened to our beloved characters had Bill won during Weirdmageddon, but this one puts all ten of the zodiac characters through utter hell and back but the good news is there are spots of hope here and there as the story goes along, so totally go check it out if you wanna cry a fucking LOT because I certainly have with this one!

Monster Falls by Queen Flara Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Incomplete A pretty cute take on Monster Falls. We get to see how all the various characters deal with their new monster forms and there’s a bit of angst but a lot of fluff too so I like it and I’d check it out if you just want some cute Monster Falls stuff.

Ain’t No Cure for The Cervitaur Blues by Krista Perry (also on Ao3) Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Incomplete? I think? So I recently reread this one over Thanksgiving break and I remembered how much I ADORED this one! Its chock full of one of the things ya’ll know I’m infamous for in UF: Dipper angst! Which is honestly a kinda common theme through several of these fics but whatever, its all good, don’t worry about it. But yeah this one’s a beautifully written angst storm with really high stakes, great tension, and immense amounts of awesome creativity packed into things! Plus its kinda Monster Fallsish, which is always a good time, so for reals, check this one out cause its one of the ones I recommend the most on this entire list, no lies.

Time Trapped by Polachew Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Incomplete So if you’re like me and love some Timestuck AU angst, this one has got plenty of that! The ways Young!Stan and Mabel and Young!Ford and Dipper play off each other in this are so great and there really are a lot of sweet moments in here. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t something of an inspiration for a future chapter of UF I wanna do with a Timestuck premise... But yeah go check this one out its pretty great!

Silent Knight by Split Infinitive Fandom: Legend of Zelda Status: Incomplete This was honestly one of the first really good Breath of the Wild fics I managed to find after the game first came out and its honestly so good. It fulfills my inner Zelink shipper so much imo I died because of how cute those two dorks are but this one also has a pretty damn intriguing plot, one that I am totally down for reading more of whenever the author decides to update it. So go check it out if that’s your thing!

We Had a Deal by freakyanimegirl Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Incomplete This may be one of my favorite fucking fanfics of all time because of mere premise alone. Also feels, this one gives me INTENSE feels every time I read it because of how absolutely, soul crushingly angsty it is. But yeah its a super neat idea in here, one that I won’t dare spoil to any of you. Suffice to say its copious amounts of Mystery Twins angst and Bill being a complete and utter asshole, so what else is new imo like I said its great yet so simple and idk I just really, really like this one so go read it!

Deerperfalls by Deerper Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Complete (for a fucking change) Oh damn another Monster Falls fic with a fuck ton of Dipper angst in it what else is new that seems to be my fanfic taste for some reason imo but yeah this one’s a good one. Really sad and angsty but really good. Like Augh I remember the first time I read this over the course of a sick day from school and I was so fucking engrossed in it that I forgot to actually fucking try to get better so ahaha you know its good if that be happening. Check it out and enjoy the angstssssss

Nothing a Little Sleep Can’t Fix by AkitaFallow Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Oneshot Heyyyyy its one of those angsty post Sock Opera oneshots that kinda might have inspired the angst aftermath of Sock Opera in UF! Ya’ll can’t blame me for that you gotta blame damn good fics like this. But for as angsty as this is, it also has is lovely moments of fluff, which are much appreciated so yeah, check it out!

A Different Way by Seasoned Writing Fandom: Steven Universe Status: Incomplete Bout time I rec an SU fic. And while this one doesn’t have a lot of chapters, it does have a pretty interesting AU concept, so *shrugs* idk I like it, not a whole lot else to say about it though.

Tourmaline by Phantomrose96 Fandom: Steven Universe Status: Complete Goooooodddddd this one is just a fucking ANGST storm but its a damn good angst storm, one that really, REALLY makes you hurt for Steven and pre-redemption arc Peridot. Like I legit cried over this one because DAMN its something else. Go check it out like WOW

Ancient Roots by RandomButLoved Fandom: Legend of Zelda Status: Complete Gooooosh this one is absolutely GORGEOUS and it hurt me so much but I love it so much too! Such an incredibly crafted, heartwrecnhing AU of Skyward Sword, one that made me rethink pretty much the entire game! Its rare that roleswaps between Link and Zelda work so perfectly, but this one is as close to perfection as anyone has ever gotten before and I simply adore it.

Dreamscarring by AnneriaWings Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Oneshot Another angsty post-Sock Opera oneshot, and again, probably one of the ones that unconsciously influenced UF Sock Opera. Still, really angst, pretty brutal, but ultimately sweet and comforting and that’s what I like in my post-Sock Opera angst storms if Do It For Them was any indication of that.

Heartbreaker by Queenie Z Fandom: Legend of Zelda Staus: Twoshot Yeeeee boi love me some HW angst involving Zelink and onesided Cialink. And this one’s honestly so beautiful, balancing the angst out with fluffy adorable romance and I simply love it.

Finally by Kibasgirltsumi Fandom: Legend of Zelda Status: Complete This is honestly one of my faovirte fanfics of all time like for reals its so damn beautiful and so damn painful and so damn perfect and it strikes me in all the right places and my ship is so damn strong in it and so much happens and its just AUGH oh god I could go on forever with it its so fucking good

Tainted Tale by Flying.Penguin.97 Fandom: Legend of Zelda Status: Complete I’m a sucker for dark rouge protagonists fics, and I’m also a lover of Link angst so this one fucking did it for it. Also it has copious amounts of Ghirahim being a fucking fabulous asshole, so that’s fun and everything. This a good read.

Convictions and Captivity by realfakedoors Fandom: Steven Universe Status: Incomplete AUGHGHGHG FUCK I haven’t even finished fully reading this one yet but DAMN SON IF IT AINT SOME OF THE MOST ANGSTY STEVEN UNIVERSE SHIT I”VE EVER READ again in an example of a fic that puts UF to shame with how damn dark it is this one goes fucking HARD and it HURTS ME but I love it and I really need to finish it because AUGH FUCK

Ask the Right Questions by AceFace98 Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Incomplete So the idea behind this one is a lot of fun and tbh this has quite a good bit of fluff and humor in it and hey I’m always for Mystery Twins bonding so yeah this one is neat check it out

Three Days by LynnLarsh Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Oneshot And in an example of something from canon that will also turn incredibly angsty in UF when we get to Weirdmageddon, we get, what else, more Dipper angst! But yeah this one is sad like damn this poor kid wandered around a fucking desolate apocalyptic wasteland completely alone for three days and everyone seems to forget about that but this fic doesn’t and it HURTS and I like it a lot for that

Come Together by Winter_S_Jameson Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Incomplete I love zodiac centric fics so this one I really enjoy a lot, in large part because it focuses on Ford realizing “oh shit maybe working with others can actually save the day how have I never thought about that before”. Its not super far along yet, but we get some Pines fam angst in there which is always good angst if ya ask me I’m down for that and I like it so ye ye ye ye

Anyway, I’ve Been There by Caleb Nova Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Complete (but still updates occasionally) Strange how Dipifica is one of my primary OTPs but I’ve recced so far fics centered on those two in this list, huh? Well no more because this one has one of the best developments of the ship I’ve seen thus far. Its kinda slow burn and lowkey but in a really nice way and everyone feels so great and in character and Dipper and Pacifica are adorable together and ahhhh its so cute imo

A Conspiracy of Minerals by CompletelyDifferent Fandom: Gravity Falls/Steven Universe Status: Complete Waahhhhhha? A GF/SU fic writer reccing a GF/SU fic??? Tis madness! But yeah I read this way back before I even started writing UF anf loved it. Its mostly just a bunch of cute little oneshots but I do enjoy the few that are there. They’re pretty cute if ya ask me and the character interactions are sweet enough.

Let Me Clarify by carpenoctem22 Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Oneshot Bunch more Dipifica cuteness, only this time a little aged up. Not a whole lot to say about it except for that its completely adorable.

Twin Telepathy by blueechofreak Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Oneshot What can I say but more post Sock Opera angst, only this time with a bit more Mystery Twins fluff added in so ya got that good old hurt/comfort in there, which always makes for a good time.

Host by Neelh Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: Oneshot Some pretty artsy Pines family angst all around in this one, so yeah, good stuff. Pretty short, but still good.

Lull by carpenoctem22 Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: oneshot Hey look, instead of Sock Opera angst we got post the Last Mabelcorn angst! As if that makes any difference imo its still angst no matter how much you cut it and that’s why I like it.

Swear by carpetnoctem22 Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: oneshot Another take on those three days Dipper was wandering around during Weirdmageddon and also pretty fucking heartwrenchingly angsy so you know I like if if its that lol

Enough by Inkblot9 Fandom: Gravity Falls Status: oneshot A really sweet little bunch of fluff focusing on one of my favorite bonds in the entire show, that between Dipper and Ford, which is sadly not utilized enough in GF fics but here its done so adorably and sweet and such good family fluff and I love it

And yeah that’s about it for now. These were all the best ones I could find in all my lists. I’ll be sure to add onto this whenever I find new good fics. But yeah hopefully ya’ll got hooked up with some good fics here! I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, so I’m glad I finally got it carved out. Enjoy!

#fanfictions #fic recs #gravity falls #(mostly fuckin gravity falls imo im weak)#steven universe #legend of zelda #jen rambles #master lists

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blazehedgehog · 6 years

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i used to think a lot about what if they made remakes for the two sonic adventure games, but nowadays when i think about it, all that comes to mind is how would they even fix the bad stuff without making it too unfaithful of a remake to even be a remake? for SA2 i could see them fixing the radar for knux and rouge, and other stuff to make the non-sonic/shadow stages more fun, but for SA1? what can they even do with big the cat other than removing him? (not enough room for last sentence, nextask)

(continuing) its a shame too, because the adventure games didnt age well and right now ive been seeing quite a few remakes of other games that didnt age well either like metroid 2 and fe gaiden and it almost makes the adventure games(mostly the first one) look un-salvageable

I don’t think you could avoid changing it. I think keeping the core structure of everything as close to the original game as possible would be good, but there’s some rough edges that need to be reworked.

Like, Station Square is supposed to be this huge metropolis but it feels really small based on the tiny section you get to see. There’s gotta be a better way to create the feeling of a large space without making it tedious to get around, right? Because you go from Station Square to Speed Highway (which, presumably, is also part of Station Square) and it feels like two different universes, you know?

And the same goes for Angel Island. It was this huge space in Sonic 3 & Knuckles but it feels incredibly tiny in Sonic Adventure. That feels like a hardware limitation. The boundary between Angel Island and The Mystic Ruins could be more obvious, too.

And what about the jungle surrounding Lost World and Final Egg? That could be reworked so it wasn’t just this big ugly narrow maze.

The boss arena for Chaos 4 could be reworked so it actually looks like it takes place in the same space as the regular Mystic Ruins adventure field.

It’s just these changes need to be made delicately. You don’t want to end up with a Turtles in Time: Re-Shelled or Earthworm Jim HD situation on your hands, where it’s ugly, sloppy, and ill-conceived.

Unfortunately, that means budgeting a project like this like it was a mainline console release and not a downloadable HD “remaster,” which I think is probably one of the key things working against it.

#questions #sonic the hedgehog #sega #sonic team #sonic adventure #Anonymous

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drink-n-watch · 4 years

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Genre : Fantasy, adventure, action, mystery, romance

Episodes: 12

Studio: Passione

Piena is a land of uncertainty and strife. Sure it’s enjoyed a few decades of peace, prosperity even, but in a land constantly threatened by the potential return of the demon king, a devastating monster that could wipe out humanity in its wake, no one can truly be at ease. The Goddess may have defeated him years ago but she’s long gone. Luckily her strength and legacy lives on in the braves. Every generation or so, six young men and women are chosen as heroes and saints, some granted extraordinary powers, to go forth and protect the world from fiends until the demon king is defeated once again. But as time passes and the braves become weaker, will this be the to e the braves finally fail. Even self proclaimed “strongest man in the world” Adlet made it, and he’s nothing special at all….

My synopsis is both entirely accurate and fairly misleading. I did that on purpose. It’s been a very long time since a series has surprised me as much as Rokka – Braves of the Six Flowers and I want to keep that going. I’m going to try really hard not to spoil anything but I am going to mention the generally unique elements of he series. So if you want to watch it without any expectations at all, I encourage you to do so. There’s a lot of fun to be had in the discovering. Maybe you can come back to this review after. Otherwise, let’s dig in.

This is Nachetanya (it will make sense later)

I should say that I picked up Rokka Braves of the Six Flowers entirely due to the character designs. I had seen a few images floating around, most notably the cover art and I got fascinated by them. Specifically by Nachetanya (I helpfully added that screencap for you!). That’s all I knew of the series though. In fact, I may have been way too focused on the Bunny girl (Hans and I are alike in many ways…) as I had somehow convinced myself that Adlet was a girl and spent a good five minutes trying to reconcile myself with the fact that he is supposedly “The Strongest Man in the World” (get ready to hear that a lot).

I’m happy to report those wonderful designs are in fact present throughout the series as well as lush environments and beautiful backgrounds. I’m less happy to notice that the monstrous fiends were rather dull looking and the art style was visibly inconsistent at times, even with nothing much going on, which is a real shame.

Then again, the budget may have been poured into the actual animation which is both generous and impressively smooth. There is a lot of action going on in Rokka so making sure movement is enjoyable to watch is a good investment if you ask me. Sure the Saints’ CG powers don’t always blend in perfectly but who can say magic doesn’t always look a bit uncanny? Not me, and it didn’t bother me one bit.

Rouges are overpowdered

I should also mention the score. Rokka Braves of the Six Flowers doesn’t have the type of soundtrack that you’re likely to listen to in the gym or something. It’s not full of great tunes. But once I noticed it, I realized that it actually has a pretty impressive classical cinematic type of score with grand orchestral arrangements to go along with the action. It really made everything just a bit more grand and epic!

In many ways, Rokka seemed to delight in not being what I expected it to be. For instance, right off the bat, the setting seems to resemble ancient south America both in Aztec inspired architecture and lush tropical jungles. This is really not what comes to mind when I think of high fantasy. In fact, I don’t think I can even recall another fantasy adventure in that particular setting. I loved this touch and I think they should have emphasized it way more in promotional material. Granted it’s almost entirely cosmetic as far as I can tell but it does create very unique visuals that go a long way to giving the series a distinct personality.

Second and to me more amazing is that the series pulls an entire genre bait and switch a few episodes in. It really starts out as a very traditional fantasy epic with a well-developed universe and context. Six heroes coming together to fight an immensely powerful for through with swords and magic! And then it takes a sharp left turn and becomes an Agatha Christie-style whodunit! 10 little Indians Agatha Christie, not Hercule Poirot! After getting trapped in a confined area out heroes realize that there are 7 and not 6 of them and it becomes a matter of figuring out who the imposter is before the all fall prey to foul play. I can’t express how excited I was by this. Not only is the genre subversion really well integrated into the story but the mystery and tension are so well sustained that I suspected absolutely everyone at some point. I was beginning to think that maybe I could be the 7th! For a lover of mysteries, this was nothing short of a delight!

can’t wait

Not saying the show was perfect. In fact it has one HUGE flaw in my opinion. The dialogue is really weak. This is a bizarre thing to reconcile for me. The writing as a whole wasn’t bad. The mystery plot was fantastic and although the fantasy plot was more cliche it remained engaging and we’ll established. I would have happily watched that story as well.

And the characters are actually quite good when you take a step back. All well developed, beach with unique personalities, histories, motivations and reactions. And each quite consistent with their character all of which is impressive. But because part of their characterization is made through exposition and therefore dialogue, they actually seem much more shallow than they are.

Because the dialogue is often blunt, clumsy or cheesy. I honestly found myself wondering if I wasn’t losing most of it in translation in fact and I have a feeling that this is what’s likely to discourage most viewers. That’s not to say the dialogue is insufferable but it’s not on the same level of everything else and I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered that before.

I say they should show environments more then pick zero screencaps of backgrounds…

This said, the big reveal does, in fact, explain a lot and it makes certain situations and conversations seem a lot smarter in hindsight. In case it’s not clear I loved the reveal. There’s even a final twist that had my jaw drop while simultaneously making me grin like a moron. If some of the later episodes dag a bit, Rokka Braves of the Six Flowers really sticks the landing with one of the best finales I’ve seen. In fact, that conclusion was so perfect I don’t even want another season. But I would watch it if it comes out.

Despite its flaws, Rokka Braves of the Six Flowers managed to surprise and delight me at every turn and I can’t help but recommend it, for the novelty if nothing else.

I feel like I haven’t gotten across that it’s a pretty good looking show

Favourite character: though call Hans and Nachetanya (great name by the way)

What this anime taught me: You can’t trust anyone!

Life is not a fairy tale. If you lose your shoe at midnight, you’re not a princess, you’re drunk!

Suggested drink: a Mother Flower

Every time Adlet blushes – take a sip

Every time they settle on a vegetarian diner – get a snack

Every time Adlet mentions his master – Raise your glass

Every time anyone says “The Strongest Man in the World” – switch to water

Every time anyone mentions the number “six” – take a deep breath

Every time Goldov yearns – take a sip

Every time anyone calls Adlet an idiot – quietly agree

Every time the camera spins around the room – hold onto your drink

Every time Nachetanya has an exaggerated reaction – take a sip

Every time we see Hans’s eyes – take a sip and get ready

Every time there’s a twist – GASP!

run…

I’ve decided to only stick to Pinterest from now on. I hope you like these extra caps!

Rokka – Braves of The Six Flowers : well that was Unexpected! Genre : Fantasy, adventure, action, mystery, romance Episodes: 12 Studio: Passione Piena is a land of uncertainty and strife.

#adventure #anime #blonde bishie #Fantasy #fun!#Mystery #Rokka #romance

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