#Honor Play 5 launch

[cottoncandy-cult]

Aizawa X Daughter! Reader

The 5-year-old girl skipped her way down the halls of UA, making her way outside to find her father. She had overheard that he was outside with his class, and that the students would be sparring. Though she wasn't sure what this meant, the laughter she had heard from the two teachers in question made her believe it was some kind of game.

Little (Y/n)'s hair swayed as she managed to walk out of the large building, she saw a large group of people that were in a circle. Her father had seen her but, unfortunately, he had spotted his little girl too late. When she arrived Todoroki and Bakugou were sparring. What made it so unfortunate? Todoroki had launched a series of large ice shards, Bakugou had deflected them but this cause several to fly towards the girl.

But someone else had noticed the girl as well, and in moments his large body had engulfed her. All she saw was a flash of red before she was pulled into this hug, with the help of their quirk the spikes shattered on impact. "(Y/N)!" The fight had stopped the moment Aizawa called out, he rushed over as Kirishima slowly stood up. Sure, his back still hurt a little from the sudden impact, but it was nothing he'd complain about.

"She's ok Sensei." Kirishima smiled as the little girl ran right to her father, of course Aizawa had scooped up the little girl and held her close. The class had stared in amazement and confusion, amazed by their sensei's display of emotion and confused as to who the little girl was. Even still Kirishima had been congratulated, he saved the little girl from being impaled.

"(Y/N) what are you doing out here, you know you're supposed to be in the daycare." Being a single parent Aizawa took advantage of the school's day care, many of the teachers had children that weren't old enough to be alone. "I missed you daddy; I heard you were playing a game and I wanted to see." She gazed at him with glossy innocent eyes, unaware of just how much danger she had put herself in. With a sigh Aizawa turned to Kirishima, the young man could see the raging emotions within the frightened father. "Thank you, Kirishima... You saved my daughter despite the risk to yourself."

Kirishima simply smiled to his teacher, bowing slightly. "I'm training to be a hero; what kind of hero would leave a child to die." Aizawa gave a tired smile, the little girl gazed at Kirishima before smiling and reached for him. This of course surprised her father, (Y/N) never usually let anyone else hold her. Of course, Kirishima didn't deny her, he held her close to him and chuckled as the young girl buried her face in the crook of his neck. "You smell good..."

As young (Y/N) cuddled with Kirishima, Aizawa decided it was time to confront his class, who had surprisingly stayed calm and quiet and let the tired man calm down. "Class... This little girl is my daughter (Y/N). I apologize for the interruption; she isn't usually so rebellious." He raised an eyebrow as Bakugou stepped forward, he wore his usual irritated face but there was also a hint of disappointment. "I apologize for placing her in danger, I should have noticed her and been more careful with my actions." This left the class in awe, Bakugou never usually cared for anything but himself. But those close to him know he does have a sense of honor, placing a child in danger so recklessly made him disappointed in himself. He thought he was more observant than that, how can he brag about being the best if he couldn't even see the girl in his peripheral.

"Thank you Bakugou, though it isn't your fault. You're still training, and you weren't prepared for something like this, don't be so hard on yourself." Bakugou had simply nodded then looked away, the sound of soft snores had drawn everyone's attention. (Y/N) had fallen asleep against Kirishima. The class struggled to hold their laughter and remain quiet, even after all of this and nearly giving her father a heart attack, it turns out it was all for a nap. The only fraise that could come to mind, like father like daughter.

#candy cult vault #my hero academia #shouta aizawa #x reader #x fem reader #x daughter reader #fluff #aizawa x reader

[wretchedelights]

A Spoiler-Free Guide to Dodging Marazhai's Romance Bugs

This info is based on the state of the game as of Hotfix 1.0.89. A lot of this will hopefully become irrelevant as Owlcat puts out more patches.

EDIT 10/01/2024 // 8PM ET - clarify companion quest info, correct info about post-recruitment scene, and add missing known bug info about doin the dirty for the first time

EDIT 11/01/2024 // 2PM ET - further changes to info about post-recruitment scene

I've seen a lot of people struggling to successfully romance Marazhai in Owlcat's Rogue Trader CRPG, due to Owlcat continuing their time-honored tradition of launching their games with an obscene amount of bugs.

After a lot of troubleshooting, I was able to successfully finish a sub!Marazhai romance with the "good" romance ending, and I ended up having a pretty good grasp on how the whole thing works. So I thought I'd share what I've learned to save others the trouble. This info should be good for both sub!Marazhai and dom!Marazhai.

Toybox

If you don't have it already, Toybox is highly recommended. You can get it on Nexus Mods. It will help you make sure things are progressing as expected, and fix some things if they get messed up. However, it's not necessary at this point if you're careful, the only thing you need it for is to fix some flags to get some really minor extra dialog.

If you choose to use toybox, you can see the tree + flags for the dialog you're currently in by clicking the "Dialog & NPCs" tab. You can also make flags show up directly in the dialog boxes in game with the "Preview" settings in the main tab. "Dialog Results" will show changes to flags + etudes that will happen if you choose a given dialog option. "Dialog Conditions" will show the conditions required for a dialog options to show. I kept both checked for my whole playthrough for peace of mind.

Flags/Etudes

There are some toybox flags + etudes that are important to Marazhai's romance. (flags are just values like true/false/a number, etudes are... properties set based on flags I guess? idk exactly). You can browse etudes in a tree structure in the "etudes" tab. If you need to change the value of a flag, do that in the "Search 'n Pick" tab.

Etude - Romances >> Marazhai should be flagged as "Active". If it says "Completed", something has gone wrong.

Etude - Romances >> Marazhai >> Counters >> Domination and Romances >> Marazhai >> Counters >> Submission. These determine Marazhai's attitude. If "Domination" is "Active", you get dom!Marazhai, if "Submission" is "Active", you get sub!Marazhai. You have to stick to one or the other, or Marz will be unhappy with you.

Flag - Ascention. This flag needs to be, I believe, minimum 4 by the time you get his final romance scene in Act 5 to get the "good" romance ending. It's pretty easy to get Ascention points as long as you play along with Marazhai, respect his uh... culture, and stick to your dom/sub role.

Etudes - Companions >> Marazhai >> Marazhai_States >> Domination and Companions >> Marazhai >> Marazhai_States >> Submission. You can safely ignore these, they don't actually affect the romance as far as I can tell :)

Regarding Marazhai's Companion Quest

Doing the sub!Marazhai route will lock you out of a certain outcome for Marazhai's companion quest. I don't think this is a bug, because narratively, it makes a lot of sense that this happens. However, the outcome you get locked out of could be considered the "ideal" outcome (though I also think this is debatable, and I was happy with my outcome/ending for my sub! Marazhai). You can get a good romance ending regardless of the outcome of this quest.

The flag related to Marazhai's personal quest is called TempestCounter, and you need it at 5+ for the "ideal" outcome. All TempestCounter points are based on whether Marazhai's dom or sub etude is active, outside of the points you get from the errand mentioned below. dom!Marazhai adds points, sub!Marazhai removes points. Which is why sub!Marazhai locks you out of an outcome.

Act 3 - Post Recruitment Scene

There are two versions of Marzipan's post-recruitment scene. The "Normal" version currently has a bug with dom/sub points, but you can work around it.

Normal - this is what most people see. There is an opportunity to get a dom or sub point in this dialog, but it's bugged so they're flipped. If you want your RT to be dom, pick the sub-y dialog option, and if you want your RT to be sub, pick the dom-y option.

Dogmatic party members starting drama - There's some confusion about what exactly triggers this. My recommendation to get this version of the scene: make sure you recruit Ulfar before you recruit Marazhai, and if you have Argenta and/or Heinrix with you for the Act 3 location, make sure you put them back in your party ASAP (they will get temporarily removed from it), so that they're with you for the event where you recruit Marazhai. To be safe, bring one of Argenta and/or Heinrix with you for Act 3. This dialog also has an opportunity for a dom or sub point, and is not currently bugged. ALSO it unlocks an errand that will lead to a little bit of extra dialog, and potential TempestCounter points.

Act 3 - Marazhai's Possessions

You'll get an act 3 companion quest for Marazhai where he asks you to help find some stuff he has stashed away. Eventually, you find a specific item he's very excited about. Make sure you let him keep this item. There's also an opportunity to get a dom or sub point here, but the flags are flipped again. So like last time, if you want your RT to be dom, pick the sub-y dialog, and if you want to be sub, pick the dom-y dialog.

Congratulations, this is the last flipped dom/sub flag situation you need to worry about! (at least, I'm not aware of any others)

***Also MILD SPOILER WARNING due to flag name***

I guess this is really only a spoiler if you're familiar with 40k lore but... anyways... This scene should probably start etude MarTookAgonizer, and should also probably start either PlayerTriedAgonizer or PlayerTriedAgonizerOnMar (depending on what you did). Start the appriate etudes manually for some fun little bits of bonus dialog later :)

***END SPOILER***

Act 4 - First Void Jump With Marz

In act 4, during you first void jump with Marazhai, he'll cause... problems. You'll ultimately have 3 ways to deal with this:

Let him do whatever tf he wants. Sets Companions >> Marazhai >> Marazhai_States >> Domination to active. Currently bugged, prevents completing the quest associated with this event and prevents romance progression.

Compromise? Sets Companions >> Marazhai >> Marazhai_States >> Sybarite to active. Confirmed to work for both dom!Marazhai and sub!Marazhai romance paths

Lock him up. Sets Companions >> Marazhai >> Marazhai_States >> submission to active. Immediately breaks the romance. Used to work with romance, but according to patch notes was causing Big Bugs so it just ends the romance now. It should get restored in a future patch, but for now, DO NOT PICK THIS.

Act 4 - Sleeping with Marz the First Time

There is a known bug where after you sleep with Marazhai for the first time after going for a "walk", you get dom!Marazhai flavoured dialog no matter what. The sub!Marazhai flavoured dialog for this doesn't even seem to be in the game. So... nothing you can do about it, but it won't break your romance. It will just seem a bit off if you've been doing the sub!Marazhai route.

Side Content - Equipping Super Cursed Item

This doesn't affect the actual romance in any way, but it's a bug you can experience if you have an active romance with Marazhai. There's a side planet where you can loot a SUPER cursed item, that warns you that you won't be able to take if off if you equip it. If you try to equip it anyway with romanced Marazhai in the party, you'll get a special interaction with him over it. Unfortunately, it's bugged, and as a result the item will be stuck on your character but with providing any benefits, so it effectively just removes one of your equipment slots, which is super annoying. Do recommend saving and then trying to equip the item just to see the scene though :)

Companion Quest Journal Bugs

You may notice Marazhai's optional Act 3 errand and his Act 4 companion quest not getting removed from the quest log. Don't stress it - if you've done what's required by them, you're good. The quest/errand is done, the journal entry is just stuck because it's bugged.

End

Aaaand that's pretty much it! There used to be a few other bugs affecting Marazhai's romance but they've since been patched. Now it's mostly a few issues early on, and then smooth sailing once you get past those.

General, non-bug-related tips for succesfful romance:

Don't be a coward, Marazhai respects wholeheartedly embracing Drukhari culture and will break things off if you don't

Stick to your established dom or sub role

Play along with Marazhai's shenanigans

Keep in mind that you really can't be a good person while completing this romance path

If you have any questions or need clarification on anything don't be afraid to ask! I'll do my best to help.

#rogue trader crpg #rogue trader #marazhai aezyrraesh #marazhai

[jennyboom21]

It might seem strange, especially for those who only know Marshawn Lynch for his football career, to see the Super Bowl champ in a comedy about queer high school girls launching a fight club.

Bottoms (in theaters now) features the 37-year-old former NFL star in a scene-stealing role as Mr. G, a clueless teacher overseeing the feminist after-school club launched by Rachel Sennott’s PJ and Ayo Edebiri’s Josie. Even the film’s director and co-writer, Emma Seligman, admits she initially thought landing Lynch was a long shot.

“It was such a random movie for him to be in that I was so shocked that he even was considering it,” the Shiva Baby filmmaker (who goes by she/they pronouns) tells PEOPLE.

But the real reason for this unlikely casting is altogether more personal: Marshawn Lynch’s queer sister, Marreesha Sapp-Lynch, says he asked her whether to add Bottoms to a growing acting résumé that includes Westworld and Murderville.

“From the beginning when he read the script, he said that I came to mind,” recalls Sapp-Lynch, 34. “I was like, ‘Most definitely you should do it.’ I just told him, ‘It'll get you to understand, get more knowledge about the lesbian community.”

Like the characters of PJ and Josie, Sapp-Lynch has identified as a lesbian since high school. It felt easy coming out to her mother Delisa, she remembers — “She'll tell me to this day, 'I always knew you liked girls!'” — but brothers David, Marshawn and Davonte had a less straightforward reaction.

“They were understanding, but they didn't understand,” Sapp-Lynch tells PEOPLE. “Marshawn had a lot of questions and was thinking it was his fault: ‘What did I do?’ Because growing up he would always say I couldn't have a boyfriend, ‘You can't talk to boys.’ We’d go to a party and he'd be asking everybody, ‘Did you dance with my sister?’ But I wasn't attracted to boys, so I didn't dance with them!”

Her brother has accepted and celebrated her sexual orientation since those teenage years, Sapp-Lynch says. Case in point: Marshawn helped plan her 2021 wedding and walked her down the aisle.

“I asked him to walk me down the aisle because our dad passed away,” says Sapp-Lynch with a smile. “He cried the whole time,” she adds.

“He doesn’t cry — or I don't see him cry. The fact that he did cry and shed some tears, it meant a lot to me.” (Marshawn was so invested in his sister’s wedding, in fact, he urged the pair to reschedule it from 2023 to 2021. “He was very much involved in the whole planning... He called us at 5:00 a.m. talking about the cake designs and party favors.”)

But with Bottoms, a comedy produced by Amazon’s Orion Pictures and Elizabeth Banks’ Brownstone Productions, Marshawn had a bigger opportunity to honor his sister. Discussing the role of Mr. G with the footballer, Seligman, 28, remembers thinking there must have been “more of a connection here beyond him wanting to be in a funny movie or something.”

“In his words, he said he wasn't amazing about it when Marreesha came out in high school and that he felt like this was the universe giving him a chance to right his wrongs,” she adds. “He made it seem like that was really what was interesting him the most about it.”

Throughout the film’s shoot in New Orleans, Seligman says, “he kept on bringing up Marreesha.” Especially when Sapp-Lynch and her wife visited the set, she recalls, “He kept on being like, ‘That's my sister.’ In a way where it was like a proud parent [of queer kids] — a proud brother.”

And when Orion Pictures president Alana Mayo suggested Marshawn for Mr. G, Seligman says, she realized it might expand the moviegoing audience of Bottoms. “Him believing in these girls and getting to know them and getting to understand them means a lot in the grand scheme of things within the crazy conservative town that they're in.”

Plus, the story’s homophobic characters are obsessed with the high school football team, Seligman points out. “To have a legendary football player like him playing this character that's getting to know this subsection of this town, and see them as real people with valid desires and hormones and feelings — that's pretty cool that Marshawn is representing that kind of straight, male character.”

Sapp-Lynch agrees, and says seeing a movie full of gay characters like Bottoms while coming out in high school “would've helped me make me feel easier, make me feel better about me being who I am.”

“I didn't understand my sexuality in high school, so I actually think it might've freaked me out,” admits Seligman. “It would've excited me. Maybe it would've jumpstarted some things!”

Of co-writing the film with Sennott, she says, “I really just wanted to see my high school self in a stupid comedy.” She recalls a quote from Edebiri: “Being stupid is a political act.”

“Just having queer characters in something so silly and that's not serious feels subversive,” Seligman continues. “I don't think we're trying to prove anything political or have some sort of deeper message or meaning out of the movie. Other than ‘Gay people can be funny, sexy and horny, and that's normal.’ Sometimes just normalizing something is enough.”

“Marshawn in the movie,” she adds, “beyond him being a wonderful actor and improviser and a lovely human being, it is wild that it might be seen by so many more people who wouldn't have otherwise seen it.”

#marshawn lynch #bottoms film #lesbian comedy

[scotianostra]

20th October 2012 saw the twinning ceremony in Glenelg, complete with a live link to NASA, to celebrate the twinning of the village with Glenelg on Mars.

Scotland has a fine history of being the first nation to do this, or the only one to do that, and this story is no different.

The tiny Highland village of Glenelg (Earth) has the distinguished honour of being the only place on Earth to be “twinned” with a namesake on another planet!! It's a strange and unique story that started back in 2011 when NASA launched a rocket to Mars. The mission, to land the car sized rover, “curiosity” on the planet at a landing site named “Bradbury”. From there it would travel to its objective,a featured spot on the red planet they named “Glenelg”. The landing on August 6th, 2012 was like a sci-fi event in itself and eventually “curiosity” set course for Glenelg (Mars) with an estimated arrival date of October 20th, 2012.

To be honest there doesn’t usually need to be a huge reason to celebrate something in Glenelg with a Ceilidh but the then) entrepreneurial Local Development Officer Emma MacLean and a few other likeminded locals saw the opportunity to do more – much, much more!!

There were the normal simple, achievable ideas, then there were the silly ones, “lets get a USA astronaut to come over and open it”, “how about a live link into NASA”, “what about a stack of telescopes” and maybe “getting the Astronomer Royal for Scotland to come”, oh, and “what about a Martian Ceilidh?!!”

And of course they went for the silly ones – and made them happen!! Offices and boardrooms in a small village like Glenelg tend to be, either peoples kitchens or the dining room in the Inn (the preferred venue for meetings as it’s licensed!). Several people quickly lost their cooking space as laptops, printers and phones took over the kitchen worktops. Needless to say in these cases, it’s often a few people that made a lot happen but they were backed up by many more as the local groups within the community clubbed their skills together to produce the Space, Stars and Mars event.Much was done in a few short weeks but a few days before the day, things really took off.

What followed was media coverage, trucks and delivery lorries, TV cameras and interviewers. Last minute panics!! Construction of a 500 seater venue plus other marquees to host the catering, hog roast and Glenelg Geocache registration point. There were also wires, lots and lots of wires. Given that in Glenelg, like so many places in the Highlands, have very poor signal coverage for mobile phones (none at the venue) and the broadband was slooooooooow it was always going to be a challenge. The “Live Link” to Doug McCuistion, the Director of the Mars Exploration Program in NASA was finally, and very tenuously joined by a thin 300 foot cable stretched across the football pitch and childrens play park into the nearest cottage where it was plugged into a BT router – and it worked!!

The Space, Stars and Mars “opening” and Glenelg “twinning” was conducted by Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, Prof John Brown and Emma Maclean cutting the ribbon.For the main event the marquee was full as Prof John Brown, Astronomer Royal for Scotland introduced the talks. The “live link” held as Doug and NASA put on a fascinating presentation of the Mars missions, past, present and future, and included mock up photos comparing Glenelg (Earth) with Glenelg (Mars). At the end, the audience, including many of the local primary school children fired questions at Doug which he enthusiastically answered before the link was eventually closed and the floor passed over to Dr Bonnie Dunbar, a veteran astronaut of 5 shuttle flights accumulating in over 50 days in space. She gave an enthralling story of her life and how she became an astronaut and also her views on how space travel and exploration will evolve in the future. Finally a stunning sign was unveiled by Bonnie Dunbar and John Brown “Honoring the historic journey of NASA’S Rover ‘Curiosity’ to Glenelg, Mars”.

All in all the Space, Stars and Mars event was a great success showing what a group of people in a small village can achieve. And that’s how Glenelg (Earth) became “twinned” with Glenelg (Mars)!

As for the “Martian Ceilidh”, well after all that work you have to let your hair down a bit and needless to say, it was very, very quiet in Glenelg the next day!!

The specially commissioned “Space, Stars and Mars” sign can be seen on the side of the Glenelg Community Hall and the “Twinned with Glenelg (Mars)” road sign can be see when driving into Glenelg

A final poignant mention: 500 “goody” bags were filled with lots of great gifts, one of which was a flash drive which included a recorded message to the people of Glenelg from the late, great Patrick Moore, wishing them all the best for the Space, Stars and Mars day. This is one of the last recordings he made before passing away just a few weeks later.

#scottish #scotland #history #nasa #Usa #Mars #Twinning #Soace

[breadvidence]

Subjective ranking of I.VI.II versions, chapter title “Punish Me, M. le Maire”. Judged primarily based on horniness and comedy.

1. The Brick. The silent treatment. “The strength of your loins.” “It is lucky that you recognize the fact.” The long aside about accents and the evolution of names, because Victor Hugo wrote this, which somehow does not derail the vibes. I have serious thoughts on this scene but this list is not about literary analysis, it’s about how much Javert wants to be licking M. Madeleine’s boots (to the max), Valjean opposite him with actual dom energy (present), and the lol factor (top of the line).

2. ’98. No, hear me out. Rush’s Javert despairingly tries to lead Neeson’s Valjean to the right conclusion like an experienced sub guiding a vanilla top through a scene. Neeson is bewildered. Rush exudes frustrated erotic energy. I am having flashbacks to bad hookups and dying on the inside. A+

3. A hundred different fanfic rewrites of this scene in which dicks touch. Bless y’all.

4. ’78. Perkins doesn’t bring as much frustration to the table as Rush, making this less funny, but in his defense he’s opposite Jordan, who is as vacant as a beach ball. Solid rendition regardless.

5. ’25. Faithful to the novel, but lacks spice. Best moment occurs when Gabrio gestures with open arms and Toulout looks blankly horrified, as if thinking Gabrio might go in for a hug.

6. 2012 (Hooper). I debated the ranking but this *is* a scene that launched a thousand fics, so while it seems to me that Crowe’s Javert needs aftercare more than a spanking (so wrung out), clearly fandom disagrees. Loses points for lack of comedy.

7. Stage musical. “But Bread,” you might say, “The musical doesn’t adapt this scene.” I am counting the end of “The Runaway Cart” as an honorable mention, since it still includes Javert embarrassing himself.

8. ’35. All I remember is Laughton quivering and maybe a repetition of the line about laws good, bad, and indifferent (a line which reflects such a misunderstanding of the character I can only squint). Erotic levels at 0%, not amused.

9. ’52. I have zero recollection of how the scene plays out and can’t be fucked to rewatch.

10. BBC 2018. I do recollect this scene and I wish I didn’t. I watch, I’m bewildered, Oyelowo telegraphs meaningfully into the camera, his meaning is unclear, none of the implications are derived from the source text. Oyelowo tries to look like he’s experiencing gay lust and fails. They shake hands, I clutch my pearls. -100

#les mis #Les Misérables #shitpost

[dominusrerehepf]

Traveler Rework

Despite their honorable status of a 5* character, the Traveler is currently at the level of rather unpopular 4* characters in terms of relevance, not counting the Dendro-element. It’s easy to understand why: if the standard character is already good, why do you need to get others? But even taking this into account, they must be worthy of being called a 5* Legendary. Let's look at the specific problems of each element, what are they and what should be improved so that the character become comfortable enough to play with.

Let's start with general things and then move on to each element specifically.

The very first thing that should be changed in Travelers' skills is to stop resetting the level of normal attacks with every new element. The name may change, but the level itself remains the same as when you leveled up the skill for the first time. Even from a logical point of view, this reset is meaningless. It would be justified, If with every new element came a new fighting style, but with the same one it simply looks absurd. (If this ever happens, return the spent materials, please, or just the same amount in mora equivalent)

Secondly, it’s burst costs. Make them all 60pt, like Anemo and Geo ones.

Now let's move on to skills. The order will be as follows: starting with the elements in which minimal changes are needed, and progressively to those most in need of change.

Dendro and Electro are quite good; if bult correctly, Traveler can act as a worthy support for different teamcomps. Electro is largely unpopular only because there are too many good alternatives. The only things that could be improved are the values of the restored energy using the “Amulets of Abundance” of the Electro-traveler - From 3-4 to 6-8 energy/amulet at maximum skill levels (9-10).

Anemo

The very first element that helped many beginners at the very start of the game.

In general, all skills and passives are good, except for the elemental burst.

The "Gust Surge" has one unpleasant feature - it flies in a straight line, often carrying enemies far away, and deals minimal damage to resistant enemies, as it most often flies past them.

How I suggest to fix this:

Let tornado move for a while and then stop in place, continuing the action. Thus, when burst is launched into a cluster of enemies, it will suck in all the light ones, but at the same time cause sufficient damage to more resistant targets.

Geo

The second element in Traveler's possession and one of the most ignored.

One of the biggest problems is the "barrels" created by Starfell Sword. They block not only damage, but also the movement of characters, especially when they are placed too close in the heat of battle.

I have a suggestion on what to do with this: let the passive skill “Frenzied Rockslide” deal damage not only to enemies, but also be capable of destroying “barrels” when it hits them. Together with the second constellation, this will create a fairly effective combination with good amount of geo-damage.

The second problem is elemental burst. The wall pushes enemies away, which is not always good. What you can do here: push enemies inside of the area instead. There is nothing better for a close-combatant than enemies within hand's reach, that can't escape, or for ranger to have enemies contained in one place.

Hydro

The newest and, alas, the most disappointing element. This happened for two reasons: first, there were already enough good, and even great, hydro-characters in the game and at the time of Fontaine’s release, and second, because the skills were very poorly developed and provide few advantages to the player. After dendro, hydro feels really lazy and inspired. So, let's begin: Firstly, Elemental burst. It's even more useless than Anemo one, because its entire essence comes down to dealing hydro damage. No buffs, no debuffs, no control. Just a bubble that deals damage, and also requires C2 to float a little slower.

There is a solution, but it is so labor-intensive that, most likely, no one will do it (although all solutions, except those related to numbers, are exactly like this): Let the bubble spin around the active character, dealing hydro damage. (Preferably in such an orbit that doesn't block the view).

In this case, the 2nd constellation can be changed: “Increases the duration of the skill by 3 seconds and when hitting enemies, reduces the hydro-resistance of enemies by 30%.” Hydro damage + hydro status on enemies + debuff = big win.

Secondly - Elemental skill cooldown. This problem affects not only Traveler, but also Lynette - due to arkhe, their tap and hold skill variants have the same cooldown - 10 and 13 seconds respectively. As the arkhe-aligned attacks of other characters show, such dependence is quite useless. There is Charlotte, who has a Pneuma on charged attack, that has a certain cooldown, while not blocking the cast of further charged attacks. Therefore, why not decouple one cooldown from the other and make separate cooldowns for tap and hold: 5 and 10, 7 and 13 seconds respectively, for example, but keep the arkhe cooldown at 10 and 13 seconds.

That's all I have to say. If you have anything to add or argue about, feel free to comment. Thanks for reading!

P.S. What other platform can I post this material?

#genshin impact #genshin traveler #aether #lumine #theorycrafting

[xienst]

MASTERPOST: enstars! summary project

THE ENTIRE ENSTARS! EVENT LORE SUMMARISED: for those who want to speedrun enstars! lore

here is a timeline of all the events in enstars!

this project will aim to summarise as many enstars! stories as possible so u can get the gist of the event stories without having to read through 100 eichi monologues

credits: timeline is copied from wiki

will be updated with links after every story summary!

[PRESENT DAY: year = !]

** events will be referred to by "<season> + <index>

春 SPRING: (C)

Shiny First Years

The Flag's Honor ✻ Crowned Flower Festival

Revival Festival☆Easter Night

Palace of the Ocean

Marching Band

Spring Storm! Dancing Petals, Sakura Festival!

Gang

Sweets Patisserie

Pyjamas

Mail Delivery -> spring section 1 summary

Devil's Mansion

Spring Breeze＊Iconic Book Fair

Lift the Curtains! Yumenosaki Circus

Sacrifice◆Resurrection Sunday of the Undying

Falling Cherry Blossoms＊Wisteria Purple of May

Toy Box

Angel's Wings

Card Battler

Runway

Dream Coloured Prince -> spring section 2 summary

In the Rose Garden

Fresh Green Martial Arts

Yell✳︎Sprawling Happy Spring

Evening Banquet ♪ Band Ensemble

Performance! The Tragicomedy of Romeo and Juliet

Secret Labyrinth

At Your Service! UNDEAD Cafe

Leap! Principal of the Lake's Surface

Play Your Part! Cinderella's Grand Stage

Terror! Tamayori's Haunted Dollhouse

School Festival★The Scramble of a Startup Hero

Billiards -> spring section 3 summary

夏 SUMMER: (X)

Ukiyo Air Ride

Merc Storia

Hero Show

Biblio

The Rainy Season's Blossoms

Breakthrough! The Revolutionary Live Which Heralds the Dawn

Chinatown

Nuclear Ignition ☆ A Sparkling Quintuple-Color Supernova -> summer section 1 summary

Victoria

Amusement☆The Live Party of Cats and Rabbits

Gondola

Judge! Black and White Duel

Round Game

Devotion! Brocade of Driving Away the Rainy Season

Gunmen of the Wilderness

Bridal -> summer section 2 summary

Symphony＊Magnolia of Blessings

Seven-Colored＊Sunshower Festa

Saga＊Rushing Up Rainbow Stage

Pool Opening

Comic World

Shot☆Splash Pool!

Challenge! Tanabata Festival Wishes

Dance Performance! Thoughts That Bridge the Milky Way

Facing One Another! The Celestial Globe of the Night the Stars Meet

Dance Floor -> summer section 3 summary

Dogfight

Ghost Stories

The Seven Faces of the Shapeshifting Youkai

Little Kings

Frozen Ice

Summer of Clear Skies! Summer Camp

Concerto

Set Sail! Pirates at Sea Festival -> summer section 4 summary

Kiseki☆The Preliminary Match of the Summer Live

Radiant! Sunflower Live of Smiles

Scorching Hot! The Scenery of Southern Lands and Summer Vacation

Surfing Ocean

Stars★Glitter of the Prism

Summer Flowers

Late Summer Lesson -> summer section 5 summary

Luminescence＊Summer Night Festival

Yumenosaki Restaurant

Remember! A Midsummer Night's Dream

Best Shot

Holiday

Scorching Heat ☆ A Seaside Beach Match

Buddy -> summer section 6 summary

Farewell! Festival of Memories and Quarrels

Launch! The Night Sky of the Shooting Star Festival

Carmen of Passion

Lost Star＊Wavering Light, Pleiades Night

Deep Sea Mystery

Drop＊The Far Sea and the Aquarium

Summer Sky＊Galloping Cheval Live -> summer section 7 summary

Onibi

Burning Up! Yumenosaki Academy Sports Festival

Fight! Yumenosaki Academy Sports Festival 2

Competition! Yumenosaki Academy Sports Festival 3

Cinema Theater

1001 Nights -> summer section 8 summary

Blue Filament

Cooking

Brilliant Star Air Force

Police Man -> summer section 9 summary

秋 AUTUMN (Q)

Kung Fu

Night of the Full Moon ＊ Hopping Moonlight Luna

The Coloured Flower Cards

Special Training! Mismatched Pair Lessons

Doctor

Rebellion! The King's Horseback Ride

Kiseki★Blitzkrieg Autumn Live

Robin Hood -> autumn section 1 summary

Science

Fruits Parlour

Happening◆Music Festa of Reversals

Secret Acts! The Moonlight Scroll of the Elements

Festival＊Graceful Fleur De Lis

Toryumon

Rosicrucian Story

Showtime

Howl★The Rockin' Star of the Night Sky -> autumn section 2 summary

Afternoon

Boutique

Raising Curtains! Dark Night Halloween

React★Magical Halloween

Lots of Monsters☆Sweet Halloween

Cacophony◆Whirling Horror Night Halloween -> autumn section 3 summary

Enjoyment♪ Autumn School Trip

Invitation★Black Blood Banquet

The Golden Wind＊Wishing Live of Encouragement

Teddy Bear

Colourful Autumn

Meikyoushisui

Hot-Blooded Tough Guy

BADBOYS -> autumn section 4 summary

Scramble ＊ Toyland in a Dream

The Songbird’s Song＊Soirée in the Canary Hall

Underdoctor

Autumn Forest

Discovery! Steampunk Museum -> autumn section 5 summary

冬 winter (D)

The Wolf and Red Riding Hood

Greek Legends

Philosopher's Guidance

SnowboardDream of the Butterfly

Rail◆The Cat in the Snowy Winter and the Camellia Train -> winter section 1 summary

Nocturne

Snow Globe

Agents

Snowflake❄Street Performance Of The Falling Stars

Shine! A Sparkling Starry Night Festival!

Winter Santa -> winter section 2 summary

Brilliance★Knights' Starlight Festival

Noel＊The Angels' Starlight Festival

Carol＊White Snow and the Christmas Eve Starlight Festival

Radiant☆Hot Holiday Party

Throwing! A Snowy Silver-White Snowfight

Eccentric -> winter section 3 summary

Kiseki☆Winter Live Showdown

Winter's New Year Shrine Visit

First Dream Tales (Part One)

First Dream Tales (Part Two) -> winter section 4 summary

Zodiac (Part One)

Amusement Park Show

Zodiac (Part Two)

Daikagura! Celebratory New Years Live

Showdown! Magnificent Phantom Thief VS Detective Brigade

Transparency and Masks -> winter section 5 summary

Clash of Arms! Opera of Moonlight Romance

Dance on Ice

Depart☆Blue Skies Dream Travel

Opening★The Fortune Banquet Live

Saga＊Clashing Rebirth Live

Revival☆Dream Diner Live

Shoufuku＊The Ogres and Brothers' Setsubun Festival -> winter section 6 summary

Last Period

Jewel Candy

Poison À La Mode

Tea Party

The Four Beasts of Fistfighting

Salon de Thé -> winter section 7 summary

Sincerely! Bitter Chocolat Festival

Melty❤Sweetly Unraveling Chocolat Festival

Decorate♥Crimson Chocolat Festival

Marble ♥ Heartfelt Chocolat Festival

Home Party

Onigashima -> winter section 8 summary

Yumenosaki Youth Radio♪

Military

Cunning ◆ Wonder Game

Beauties of Nature

Flutter! Chick and Emperor's Triumphant Return -> winter section 9 summary

[NEXT YEAR: year = !+1]

!+1 spring i think? (context: third years in ! are graduating)

Beasts

Memorial◆Class Live We Make Together

Noble Game

Chuunibyou Trouble

Bouquet of Desire

Chorus★Operetta of Beginnings -> !! spring section 1 summary

Every Pitch With All One’s Heart! Youthful Play Ball

Clash! Recollect--A Festival of Giving Back

Baton Pass! Repayment Festival of Tears and Bonds

Moment＊The Repayment Festival of Moving Forward Toward the Future

Requiem＊Sword of Oaths and the Repayment Festival

Link♪The Symphony that Starts from Here -> !! spring section 2 summary

!+1 post-graduation stories

Photoshoot! Warm Athletics

Puppy Mischief Picnic

Bounce! Hearts and Flowers Bloom--Mall Live

Strawberry Picking -> post-graduation summary

[BACKSTORIES: read with caution *** recommended reading is from year = enstars!]

(year: !-12)

(1) Rainbow (2) Revival - 20

(year: !-several)

(3) Gang: Midnight Gangster

(year: !-2)

(4) Zodiac (5) Meteor Impact (6) Jingle Bells

(year: !-1)

(7) Reminiscence＊The Crossroads of Each One (8) Reminiscence＊Monochrome Checkmate (9) Reminiscence＊Spring Cherry Blossoms and a Night's Encounter (10) Reminiscence＊Ryusei Bonfire (11) Reminiscence ＊ End of the Marionette's Strings (12) Reminiscence＊Gathering of the Three Magicians

-> all backstories summary

AND... THAT'S IT! THATS THE ENTIRE ENSTARS! SUMMARISED

a few things to note:

main story not included -- because it should be read before everything

CN/TW exclusive not included

timeline is definitely shaky but overall flow of stories should still be okay

-project start date: 17 Oct 2022- -last updated: 22 Mar 2023-

#enstars #ensemble stars #enstars textpost #will add the summaries as we read through the stories #completion will probably be biased towards knights and fine #will this projected ever be completed? who knows #entire enstars! summary

[twistedtummies2]

Top 5 More Marvin the Martian Appearances

In my previous list, I ranked all five of the classic Golden Age Looney Tunes cartoons featuring my favorite Looney Tunes character, Marvin the Martian. Of course, while those five theatrical shorts were the only appearances Marvin had during the Golden Age, they were not the end of the adorable (yet incredibly dangerous) little gremlin from another world. It’s hard to say when and how Marvin’s popularity took off, but the fact remains that, despite sparse appearances during that great period, Marvin became a favorite character for creators and fans of the Looney Tunes alike. They kept bringing him back, over and over again, using him in all sorts of different ways. His popularity only seems to have grown over the years, with numerous appearances in films, TV shows, video games, and so on. I thought it would be fun, having ranked all of his classic appearances, to count down some of my personal favorites that have come about since then. To keep things even, I’m once again limiting this to just five appearances (although I will note a few Honorable Mentions, besides), so let’s see if any of you recognize them! Let’s waste no more time. Get ready to launch in 3…2…1! These are My Top 5 Favorite Marvin the Martian Appearances since the Golden Age!

5. Marvin the Martian in the 3rd Dimension.

This fifteen minute short film was made as a 4-D attraction at Six Flags Great America, along with a few other theme parks around the world. It was notable for being the first CGI animated film produced in stereoscopic 3D. The short is essentially a reimagining of the classic cartoon “Duck Dodgers in the 24th ½ Century,” with references to some of Marvin’s other cartoons included. The plot sees Daffy Duck as a struggling actor, playing Duck Dodgers; in this world, Dodgers is the hero of a series of space adventure films. Marvin, who has been observing Earth, mistakes a rehearsal tape for an actual declaration of war against Mars, and thus sends K-9 to kidnap Daffy, planning to make him watch as he destroys Earth for their perceived hubris and aggression. The short is essentially one giant space-themed comedy of errors, as not only does Marvin misunderstand the situation, but so does Daffy, who believes all this is an offer for a new movie. It’s an interesting bit of Looney history, and really seems to mark the point in time where Marvin was officially being recognized as a major cartoon star in his own right: although Daffy is the true protagonist, it’s Marvin who gets the headline in the title.

4. The Man From M.A.R.S.

This was an episode of the cartoon series “Taz-Mania,” which featured Taz the Tasmanian Devil as the main character, going on a series of cartoon adventures. By far my favorite episode of the show was this one. Not just because of Marvin, but because…(thinks)...okay, yeah, actually, it IS just because of Marvin. But there’s a little more to why that is than you might think! Much like the previous pick, the plot is the result of a series of misunderstandings: Taz - who has been spooked by a radio play about an alien invasion (a parody of Orson Welles’ adaptation of “War of the Worlds”) - gets scared when Marvin comes to his homeland. Thinking the Martian plans to do him and his home harm, the Tasmanian Devil decides to fight back in the only way he knows how: wrecking and eating everything in sight, in the hopes it will drive the extraterrestrial away. However, Marvin hasn’t come to Earth planning to conquer it, but instead just to spend a humble vacation camping in the wilderness. He takes the aggressive antics of Taz as an outright declaration of war (again, sound familiar?) and thus decides to use a special bomb to destroy the planet. Unfortunately, Marvin’s plan works too well, as he gets stranded on Earth with no way to get off the planet before the bomb goes off. With their lives mutually on the line, Marvin and Taz must put aside their differences and work together to deactivate the explosive and save the Earth. I absolutely LOVE the pairing of Marvin the Martian and Taz: it’s the character among the Looney Tunes who seemingly has the most self-control, up against the Looney Toon who has the LEAST self-control. Taz is a wild, dumb brute who thinks with his stomach more than his head; Marvin is an egotistical intellectual who somehow manages to overthink everything while also missing important details. It’s also interesting to see the two together as they share similar histories: both were characters created fairly late in the game for the Looney Tunes cast, and each only appeared five times during the Golden Age. Yet, somehow, both rose in popularity and are now considered two of the most iconic and beloved Looney Tunes characters of all time. My only gripe with this cartoon is Marvin’s voice; in all his other appearances on this Top 5, Marvin is voiced by the late Joe Alaskey, who does a pitch-perfect impersonation of Mel Blanc’s original vocals. In “Taz-Mania!” however, Marvin is played by Rob Paulsen, whose impression is…not necessarily BAD, but definitely sounds like an IMPRESSION of Marvin, not Marvin himself, if that makes any sense. It’s not enough to cause any real trouble, though…unlike Taz and Marvin themselves, who ALWAYS seem to cause trouble wherever they go, but that’s another story.

3. Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas.

It’s sort of ironic that “Bah, Humduck!” is in my Top 3, because I’m actually not ESPECIALLY fond of this direct-to-video reimagining of “A Christmas Carol.” As a huge fan of both the Looney Tunes and the Dickens classic, I feel like a lot of this holiday special misses the mark for BOTH sides of the spectrum. It’s not terrible, mind you, but it’s not brilliant, either; it’s on the lower end of “meh.” HOWEVER…one thing I absolutely, positively, unconditionally ADORE about this special is Marvin’s role in the story. The plot focuses on Daffy Duck as our Scrooge surrogate; he’s the owner of a major shopping center, and works his cartoon employees to the bone. Marvin is one of these employees, and longs to go back home to Mars to spend Christmas with his family. (“I long to hang garland on the Laser Annihilator Cannon!” he says with sinister relish…I freaking LOVE that line.) You’d think they’d play that up for laughs, and, yeah, there’s definitely some chuckle-worthy things…but surprisingly, the special treats Marvin’s wish to go home seriously and sincerely. There’s this beautiful scene where he’s looking through a telescope at the night sky: it’s late, it’s snowing hard, and he knows he can’t go back. Then he sees a shooting star; his face lights up happily, and he clasps his hands together as if to make a wish…and sheds a few quiet tears. Daffy dismisses this as “cheap holiday sentiment,” but honestly, that scene - told entirely through visuals, with not a spot of dialogue - might be one of my favorite Marvin moments of all time, and my favorite scene in the whole film. This Christmas Carol reinterpretation may have gotten a lot of things wrong…but in making Marvin the Martian arguably the most heartfelt part of the entire story, I think it’s safe to say they got a few things right.

2. Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

In contrast to the previous pick, which may be Marvin’s single sweetest appearance (unless you count “Baby Looney Tunes,” which…I do not), this movie is probably one of Marvin’s most despicable since the Golden Age. I’m not sure how people feel about “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” as a whole - whether folks generally love it, hate it, or just acknowledge it exists and move on - but I personally think it’s…okay. I’d rather watch this than “Space Jam,” if nothing else, I’ll tell you that much. (Sorry, “Space Jam” fans: I don’t hate the movie, but in a contest between the two, I think this one does the toons more justice.) The film is a parody of the James Bond franchise, with Bugs & Daffy helping a pair of human protagonists (played by Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman) try to save the world from the evil machinations of The ACME Chairman (played by Steve Martin) and his many secret operatives, all of whom are classic Looney Tunes villains. Marvin is one of the most prominent villains in the movie; he first appears as a captive in Area 52 - a secret military base devoted to studying alien life. On orders from the Chairman, Marvin breaks himself and the other aliens out to attack the four. They manage to escape Marvin, but the Martian returns in the climax. There, Bugs and Daffy (as Duck Dodgers) battle the evil alien in space to stop him from finishing the Chariman’s mad plan to turn all of the Earth’s population into monkeys. It was cool to see Marvin play such a big role in a feature film, as a major antagonist, and the references to various famous sci-fi properties found in his scenes (such as Doctor Who and Star Wars) are a lot of fun. It was also cool to see him face BOTH of his nemeses from the cartoons, rather than just one or the other. Again, I don’t know what kind of reputation this movie has, but if there’s one thing I will always defend, it’s the film’s use of Marvin the Martian.

1. Duck Dodgers.

This early 2000s animated series, another reimagining of “Duck Dodgers in the 24th ½ Century,” is something of a cult classic. It’s largely forgotten by a lot of people nowadays, and, looking back on it, it wasn’t perfect: some episodes, character reinventions, and general jokes worked…others did not. With that said, I don’t think I’m alone in the opinion that, for any flaws this show had…it was, without a shadow of a doubt, Marvin’s magnum opus as a character. While he has had guest appearances and occasional spotlight or supporting roles in other films and TV projects, this series marks the only time to date where Marvin was truly a main character. As a result, the show was able to give him more attention than any other appearance of the cartoon Martian before or since. Marvin (known in the show as Commander X-2, in reference to “The Hasty Hare”) was the main antagonist, usually acting as the villain trying to stop Dodgers and Cadet (Daffy and Porky Pig) on their many adventures. However, while Marvin was still the disintegration-happy, Earth-hating alien from the cartoons, the show was able to play with more facets of his personality and his relationships with characters. We got some cartoons focused on him and K-9, saw his devotion to his Queen (who was also his love interest), and the relationships he had with his arch-enemies was a lot of fun to see unfold in all of its ridiculousness. For as much as Marvin and Dodgers try to destroy one another, you quickly realize each sort of depends on this mutual feud, like with a lot of great nemesis relationships. Meanwhile, the Martian and the Cadet seem to get along surprisingly well; anytime Marvin and the protagonists team up, it’s usually Cadet who convinces him. On that note, for as often as Marvin was the villain, it was just as often that he would help the good guys, or even show a heroic side of his own accord. He was essentially an anti-villain: not necessarily EVIL, so much as just an obstacle in the hero’s path. And considering Dodgers was hardly a flawless hero, often just as terrible as Marvin (if not worse), it was easy to sympathize with the Martian Commander. It’s this series, just as much as his original cartoons or anything else, that cemented my love for this little rapscallion…and for that reason, if nothing else, “Duck Dodgers” deserves the title of My Favorite Marvin the Martian Appearance since the Golden Age. “Isn’t it delightful?”

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

MultiVersus.

Looney Tunes Cartoons.

The Looney Tunes Show.

Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time.

Looney Tunes: Rabbit’s Run.

Duck Dodgers Jr. (from Tiny Toon Adventures).

#list #countdown #top 5 #favorites #best #cartoons #animation #tv #films #video games #warner bros. #wb #looney tunes #looney toons #marvin the martian

[daisiesandgiggles]

As I think back over the 5 years of Fuck You Monday a few special people come to mind. So today I'd like to say a special thank you to them. Each one of these people in one way or another helped launch FYM from the ground up and I'm so thankful and so appreciative to call them my Dear friends.

@metalgreg we already covered you earlier but you still made the list here too. Love ya bestie🥰

@thedangeldorpher You are absolutely amazing, and now I'm typing and wiping away tears. Thank you for being there from day one to still being here now as I say my tearful goodbye. I'm so honored to call you my friend, my Co host and my P.I.C. I appreciate all the love and support you've shown me and all my themes. You're Da best GF! Mwaaah.🥰

@dread-loxx You also played a pivotal part in getting FYM going. You're so amazing and I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you. ❤️🤗

@curvycandyyyy OH my sweet Sis.....Damn these 😭 I love you hunny and I want to say thank you for helping me and supporting me in getting FYM going. You slay me! I wish I could reach through my phone and hug you.

There are a couple of more people who I would like to thank, but they are either no longer on Tumblr or sadly we've parted ways for different reasons. But my heart is full of nothing but love and Good memories. Beautiful people and lots of fun times. 💛🖤💙🧡💚🩷 miss them!!

Now....enough mushy shit, because Monday is still lurking, and as long as I'm still here I got my girl@thattattedchic74 's back. So come at us Monday.....We always come prepared right Sis? 🖕🖕😁

#Fuck You Monday #Daisiesandgiggles #I'm such a Drama Queen #but I own thst shit# so much love# awesome folks # can someone please pass the kleenex? #Did anyone actually read through all that shit?

[satoshi-mochida]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches in early 2024

Gematsu Source

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will launch for PlayStation 5 in early 2024, Square Enix announced. It will ship on two discs.

Here is an overview of the game, via Square Enix:

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the iconic fantasy game that redefined the RPG genre in three distinct games.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth picks up with iconic heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII after they escape from the dystopian city Midgar and sees them embark on a journey in pursuit of Sephiroth, the vengeful swordsman from Cloud’s past who was thought to be dead.

In this standalone adventure, players will explore an expansive world, all brought to life with a new level of graphical fidelity, developed specifically to leverage the power of the PlayStation 5 console.

As players unravel a gripping narrative rich with mysteries to uncover, they will also witness the personal journey of each party member and strengthen their bonds to work together and face off against powerful enemies.

“We’re honored to bring Final Fantasy VII Rebirth to players around the world early next year,” said producer Yoshinori Kitase in a press release. “In the next installment of this thrilling tale, Cloud and his friends—both new and returning—will embark on a new adventure, so all players can enjoy this story, even those without any familiarity with the previous title or the original Final Fantasy VII. The entire team has worked fervently with love and adoration for the world of Final Fantasy VII to deliver an unforgettable experience for new adventurers and longtime fans alike, reaching new heights of cinematic storytelling, immersive and fast-paced combat, and rich exploration across a vast world. We can’t wait to share more details later this year.”

Square Enix also shared a number of developer comments on the game’s official Twitter account leading up to today’s announcement. Here is the full compilation:

How is development progressing on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth?

Yoshinori Kitase, Producer: “Development is progressing smoothly and according to plan. We are currently working on nailing down a release date for the game.”

How will players journey through the world outside of Midgar in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth?

Naoki Hamaguchi, Director: “Players will be able to journey across the wide and multifaceted world with a ahigh degree of freedom, experiencing a myriad of different stories along the way.”

What are some of the key things to look forward to in the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth story?

Kazushige Nojima, Story and Scenario (Stellavista): “Players will witness a chain of narrative developments that lie at the very heart of the Final Fantasy VII story while discovering each character’s destiny.”

Do I need to play Final Fantasy VII Remake to enjoy Final Fantasy VII Rebirth?

Motomu Toriyama, Co-Director: “No—we have made preparations—so that players who did not get a chance to play the first game can fully enjoy Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.”

Has the battle system changed from Final Fantasy VII Remake?

Teruki Endo, Battle Director: “In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, new comrades will join you in battle and you can cooperate with other party members in even closer ways than before.”

Will Final Fantasy VII Rebirth have new original music?

Keiji Kawamori, Music Supervisor: “Many new tracks have been created for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and we will be making some new arrangements of tracks from FINAL Final Fantasy VII Remake as well.”

Watch a new trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

Summer Game Fest 2023 Trailer

English

Japanese

#Final Fantasy VII Rebirth #Final Fantasy VII Remake #Final Fantasy VII #Final Fantasy #Square Enix #Gematsu #Don't read the site's comment section.

[lake-archive]

Track 5

Fandom: Hypnosis Mic

Series: Rat Infestation

Characters: Eli (by @watersofcamelot), Arisugawa Dice, Busujima Mason Rio

AO3 Link

Track 4 - Track List

All’s well that ends well. Or so goes the saying. And yet, the sight was something the soldier would not easily forget anytime soon if at all. He had seen so much when still in service but this was a sight Rio had not expected to take in during these days. It had happened out of literal nowhere on top of that. When making sure to secure each spot of escape would be impossible for the rodents in question he and Arisugawa heard a loud screaming from the dark. If they didn’t know Eli had been going in there they would have probably been even more startled and Rio would have launched an attack, that was how loud this was. Not feeling any effects the ears were necessary to cover as it delivered a literal headache, to say the least. And yet the sound would not fade. No, it only became louder and louder as the seconds passed, the tone more and more aggressive on top of that. 

Once the voice stopped echoing however the next thing one might have noticed would be the rats lying on the ground. They were not moving, not making a sound and not wagging their tails. They were all lying there, on their back, having fallen over at a moment’s notice. And they were not knocked out, no. They were dead. Every last one of them, killed off, by the sheer power of Eli’s voice. It was… Something, to say the least, and hard to forget. Any man would learn fear from this for sure. Rio could already see it, the respect the boy would earn… Especially when losing his temper.

He had returned shortly after, dragging the body of another boy right behind him, according to Eli, the culprit of this operation, the cause of the rodent problem. And so once upstairs he literally threw the guy into a trashcan, as if he had been nothing but a mere plastic bag filled with litter, then closed the door. It sure would leave anyone speechless, Rio and Dice sure were. 

“Th… The hell?” The blue haired male only let out, the shock more than audible.

“His instincts must have kicked in.” Rio was only able to comment, his face barely changing, yet he was at least audibly impressed. That was the truth.

“I… I had no idea Eli’s that type of dude! Heck, didn’t even know he’s rapping!”

“A soldier should not reveal all techniques up his sleeve. He has that down at least.”

“C’mon, we would’ve seen that be—”

“Ey, don’t call me a soldier. I ain’t like that. I ain’t that honorable. I was just some pissed dude.” The boy interrupted, having soon approached the other two males, looking between them. He was even about to light a cigarette, having pulled one out and close to put the fire right on it yet paused shortly before it was too late. “Right… No smoking inside. Boss’s orders.” 

“Humble much?” Dice asked yet that was met with a headshake.

“No, ain’t that. Really. I’m just no soldier.”

“I would like to disagree. Wasn’t this a deed for the greater good?” Rio brought up, earning himself the gaze of the soup kitchen worker, an irritated one even. 

“I’m working here.”

"Precisely. You are helping and protecting those in need.”

“What’s this gotta do with anything? I’m on my job.”

“I think deep down you know what I mean.”

“Again with that nonsense…  Goddamnit.” Eli rolled his eyes, putting the cigarette into one of his pockets for a while and pulling out his wallet and five one thousand yen bills. “Whatever. Anyway, I’ll keep my word. Here ya go, payment.”

Not even hesitating and questioning it Dice took the money right on the spot, suddenly grinning. “Oh, thank you! Heh, I can hit the gambling spots again!”

“Maybe save it up instead?”

“Not if I get a chance for this money to multiply!” 

“Hah, fine. Whatever. None of my business anyway. Now scram.”

“Yes Boss!” And with that Dice had left in a hurry, the intent all too obvious. Eli then faced Rio again, though a little irritated. Yet he tried to play it off as if it was nothing.

“Anyway, wanna clean up the rats? Thought you wanted them.”

“Oh, right! Of course! Maybe you want to ke—”

“No, get them out. I don’t wanna see those things anywhere ‘round here. Plus the Boss might faint if she sees any of ‘em.”

“Of course. Then excuse me.”

“Sure sure. Enjoy your treat.”

Even if he didn’t say it nor admit to it… Eli is not as bad as he believes. Today he had proven it yet again after all.

Track 4 - Track List

#Nimue's Lake #fanfiction #fanfic #fic #hypnosis mic #hypmic #hypnosis mic oc #hypmic oc #dice arisugawa #arisugawa dice #hypmic dice #rio busujima #busujima mason rio #hypmic rio #rio mason busujima

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Rick McKee, Augusta Chronicle

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 5, 2023

Heather Cox Richardson

In yesterday’s election in Wisconsin, the two candidates represented very different futures for the country. One candidate for the state supreme court, Daniel Kelly, had helped politicians to gerrymander the state to give Republicans an iron lock on the state assembly and was backed by antiabortion Republicans. The other, Janet Protasiewicz, promised to stand behind fair voting maps and the protection of reproductive rights. Wisconsin voters elected Protasiewicz by an overwhelming eleven points in a state where elections are usually decided by a point or so. Kelly reacted with an angry, bitter speech. “I wish that in a circumstance like this I would be able to concede to a worthy opponent,” he said. “But I do not have a worthy opponent to which I can concede.” Yesterday’s vote in Wisconsin reinforces the polling numbers that show how overwhelmingly popular abortion rights and fair voting are, and it seems likely to throw the Republican push to suppress voting into hyperdrive before the 2024 election. Since the 1980s, Republicans have pushed the idea of “ballot integrity” or, later, “voter fraud” to justify voter suppression. That cry began in 1986, when Republican operatives, realizing that voters opposed Reagan’s tax cuts, launched a “ballot integrity” initiative that they privately noted “could keep the black vote down considerably.” That effort to restrict the vote is now a central part of Republican policy. Together with Documented, an investigative watchdog and journalism project, The Guardian today published the story of the attempt by three leading right-wing election denial groups to restrict voting rights in Republican-dominated states by continuing the lie that voting fraud is rampant. The Guardian’s story, by Ed Pilkington and Jamie Corey, explores a two-day February meeting in Washington organized by the right-wing Heritage Foundation and attended by officials from 13 states, including the chief election officials of Indiana, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. At the meeting, participants learned about auditing election results, litigation, and funding to challenge election results. Many of the attendees and speakers are associated with election denial. Since the 2020 election, Republican-dominated states have passed “election reform” measures that restrict the vote; those efforts are ongoing. On Thursday alone, the Texas Senate advanced a number of new restrictions. In the wake of high turnout among Generation Z Americans, who were born after 1996 and are more racially and ethnically diverse than their elders, care deeply about reproductive and LGBTQ rights, and want the government to do more to address society’s ills, Republican legislatures are singling out the youth vote to hamstring. That determination to silence younger Americans is playing out today in Tennessee, where a school shooting on March 28 in Nashville killed six people, including three 9-year-olds. The shooting has prompted protesters to demand that the legislature honor the will of the people by addressing gun safety, but instead, Republicans in the legislature have moved to expel three Democratic lawmakers who approached the podium without being recognized to speak—a breach of House rules—and led protesters in chants calling for gun reform. As Republicans decried the breach by Representatives Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson, protestors in the galleries called out, “Fascists!” Republican efforts to gain control did not end there. On Twitter today, Johnson noted that she had “just had a visit from the head of HR and the House ethics lawyer,” who told her “that if I am expelled, I will lose my health benefits,” but the ethics lawyer went on to explain “that in one case, a member who was potentially up for expulsion decided to resign because if you resign, you maintain your health benefits.” The echoes of Reconstruction in that conversation are deafening. In that era, when the positions of the parties were reversed, southern Democrats used similar “persuasion” to chase Republican legislators out of office. When that didn’t work, of course, they also threatened the physical safety of those who stood in the way of their absolute control of politics. On Saturday night, someone fired shots into the home of the man who founded and runs the Tennessee Holler, a progressive news site. Justin Kanew was covering the gun safety struggle in Tennessee. He wrote: “This violence has no place in a civilized society and we are thankful no one was physically hurt. The authorities have not completed their investigation and right now we do not know for sure the reason for this attack. We urge the Williamson County Sheriff’s office to continue to investigate this crime and help shed light on Saturday’s unfortunate events and bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. In the meantime, our family remains focused on keeping our children healthy and safe.” The anger coming from losing candidate Kelly last night, and his warning that “this does not end well….[a]nd I wish Wisconsin the best of luck because I think it's going to need it,” sure sounded like those lawmakers in the Reconstruction years who were convinced that only people like them should govern. The goal of voter suppression, control of statehouses, and violence—then and now—is minority rule. Today’s Republican Party has fallen under the sway of MAGA Republicans who advocate Christian nationalism despite its general unpopularity; on April 3, Hungarian president Viktor Orbán, who has destroyed true democracy in favor of “Christian democracy” in his own country, cheered Trump on and told him to “keep on fighting.” Like Orbán, today's Republicans reject the principles that underpin democracy, including the ideas of equality before the law and separation of church and state, and instead want to impose Christian rule on the American majority. Their conviction that American “tradition” focuses on patriarchy rather than equality is a dramatic rewriting of our history, and it has led to recent attacks on LGBTQ Americans. In Kansas today, the legislature overrode Democratic governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill banning transgender athletes who were assigned male at birth from participating in women’s sports. Kansas is the twentieth state to enact such a policy, and when it goes into effect, it will affect just one youth in the state. Yesterday, Idaho governor Brad Little signed a law banning gender-affirming care for people under 18, and today Indiana governor Eric Holcomb did the same. Meanwhile, Republican-dominated states are so determined to ignore the majority they are also trying to make it harder for voters to challenge state laws through ballot initiatives. Alice MIranda Ollstein and Megan Messerly of Politico recently wrote about how, after voters in a number of states overrode abortion bans through ballot initiatives, legislatures in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oklahoma are now debating ways to make it harder for voters to get measures on the ballot, sometimes even specifying that abortion-related measures are not eligible for ballot challenges. And yet, in the face of the open attempt of a minority to seize control, replacing our democracy with Christian nationalism, the majority is reasserting its power. In Michigan, after an independent redistricting commission redrew maps to end the same sort of gerrymandering that is currently in place in Wisconsin and Tennessee, Democrats in 2022 won a slim majority to control the state government. And today, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law a bill revoking a 1931 law that criminalized abortion without exception for rape or incest.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Voting Rights #voter suppression laws #Wisconsin #Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #minority rule #Rule of Law #gerrymandering #abortion rights #human rights #history #LBGTQ

[shootingstarsandsilvermoons]

2. Top 5 games of all time

8. Most anticipated upcoming game

9. Most hours you’ve put into a single game?

21. A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving?

35. Do you own any gaming themed memorabilia? (e.g. collector’s editions, posters, prop replicas, statues, clothing, etc.

39. What’s something you want to see in the future of gaming?

2. Top 5 games of all time

Control, Bloodborne, God of War (2018), Zoo Tycoon 2, and Super Mario Galaxy. Honorable mentions to Nioh 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Elden Ring.

8. Most anticipated upcoming game

Definitely the Elden Ring dlc 😅 But if that doesn’t count, I’m also really looking forward to Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen!

9. Most hours you’ve put into a single game?

Nioh 2 and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey are probably tied. I know both are well over 500 hours. Though Zoo Tycoon 2 probably is the true winner since I played that religiously for YEARS. I have no idea how many hours I’ve logged in that, but I’m sure it’s probably closer to 1,000. It was literally all I played for so long.

21. A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving?

Control is the first thing that comes to mind. I’m not super into sci-fi, and I was unsure about the slight horror elements. But I’m so glad I ended up giving it a shot. It’s probably the game I’ve recommended the most to people.

35. Do you own any gaming themed memorabilia? (e.g. collector’s editions, posters, prop replicas, statues, clothing, etc.

I do! Most notable is my Malenia helmet. But I also have the Malenia statue from the Elden Ring collector’s edition on my nightstand. I also have a bunch of art prints and art books and game guides.

39. What’s something you want to see in the future of gaming?

I really want studios to truly take the time to make games good before launching. I’m sick of bug filled launches. Also, quality > quantity. I’m all for big, long games. But the content needs to hold up from start to finish. I’m also really excited to see how graphics continue to improve!!

Thanks for sending!!! ☺️

#asks #video game asks

[sotwk]

Greenleaf's Day Out, Chapter 6: Last Little One (young Legolas family fic)

Completed Work: Chapters [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Summary: At the end of his exciting day, Legolas is tucked into bed by an unexpected arrival. (brief OC character profile in end notes).

Word Count: 1.7k

Content: G-rated, fluff, family, comedy

To Read on AOC: Link

Divider credit: @firefly-graphics

Greenleaf's Day Out

Chapter 6 - Last Little One

Third Age 250

The Woodland Realm, Greenwood the Great

“Little Greenleaf, come out!” Legolas clapped two hands over his mouth and held his breath as his mother’s laughter, fair and clear as a silver wind chime, rose over the whispers of the swaying beech boughs. Mirion had advised him that surprising their Ammë would certainly be futile, that she would discern his presence on instinct if not by sight. 

Nonetheless, the elfling insisted on having his game, and jumped off his horse right before their party came within sight of the Queen’s procession. He ran to hide in the undergrowth several yards from the riding path, staying close enough to still see the riders’ progress down the road. 

Mirion was right, of course. Legolas could tell from his brother and mother’s happily exchanged greetings that she knew he had come along. But the Queen immediately dismounted and played along in searching for him in the darkness of the brushwood, waving off the guards who attempted to follow her and spoil the fun.  

The search did not take long. Cries of surprise and delight intermingled and broke the peace of the woods as Legolas, sensing inevitable defeat, leapt out of hiding. They grabbed one another at the same moment and nearly toppled to the ground in a heap. 

“Oh my dearest,” Maereth gasped through her laughter, hugging the elfling tight. “What a special welcome this is! I have missed you so!”

“I missed you too, Ammë!” Legolas declared stoutly. “And I could not wait to tell you about everything that happened whilst you were gone, especially today!” With barely a pause for breath, he launched into a detailed account of the day’s experiences with his brothers. 

The two escorts joined together to flank the elven royals, and they left the Forest Road to cross the last few miles south to Bar Lasgalen. Riding in between his mother and brother, Legolas filled the silence with his exuberant narrations, going uninterrupted nearly all the rest of the way to the palace grounds. Legolas failed to even realize they had arrived home until horse hooves began to clatter against the paved path to the courtyard. 

Despite the lateness of the hour, a retinue of servants waited with lanterns by the palace steps to welcome home their Queen. Among them was Ninniel, who came forward to lead her young charge inside and finally get him ready for bed.

“I shall be in shortly, meleth nin,” Maereth called out to her youngest. Legolas tarried long enough to see his Ammë take Mirion aside to speak with him privately. Mirion bowed his head to better hear her whispers, which Legolas could not perceive over the distance. The Queen drew out a small roll (a scroll or letter?) from the folds of her cloak and slipped it into his hand, and that was the last Legolas saw of their exchange.  

But something about what he had witnessed stayed with him, so he brought it up to his mother when she later came to kiss him good night. “What did you and Mirion talk about after I left?”

Although she smiled at his question, the Queen was silent for a long moment, and Legolas thought perhaps his inquisitiveness had gone too far. “If it is a secret between you two, then you need not tell me,” he added meekly, hugging his knees to his chest where he sat on his bed. “Arvellas said secrets should be honored like oaths, even amongst family.” 

“That is sound advice, but I do not wish for you to think that your brothers, or your father, or I, habitually keep secrets from you.” She reached over and tucked a thin braid of hair behind his ear. “There are a great many truths in this world for you to uncover, and some of them take years to understand in full. You must first grow in body and mind, to prepare yourself to receive them. But you will learn all things in the proper time, I promise.”

“Perhaps tomorrow?” Legolas said hopefully. 

“Perhaps tomorrow,” Maereth agreed with a laugh. “As you seem to have learned today, you never know what discoveries may cross your path each morning you wake.” She pressed a kiss on his forehead. “Now your day has been long enough, dearest, but I do have one last surprise for you. But you must promise not to let the excitement delay your sleep any longer.”

The elfling nodded vigorously, his blue eyes alight with refreshed eagerness. Maereth nodded towards his chamber door, which Legolas had not realized still stood ajar. The tall, silver-haired figure that swept inside from the shadows of the hall was immediately recognized. 

“ ADA!!! ” sounded the expected cry, followed by a blur that zipped from the bed and threw itself at the bemused Elvenking of Greenwood. 

“Well, there shall no longer be any need to announce the news of my early return. I believe the whole wood must have already heard.” Thranduil knelt to embrace the one remaining person in Middle-earth he would bend the knee for. “Mayhaps you have a bright future ahead of you as the Crown’s herald.”

Legolas laughed and grabbed the king’s much larger hand in both of his own. “They said you would not be back until tomorrow or the next day! Or even the next!”

“If ‘they’ were unable to name an exact day, you should not be surprised when their predictions prove incorrect,” Thranduil teased. He allowed Legolas to tug him further into the room, and when the child scrambled back into his bed, he sat on its edge next to him. “No one ever fully knows the King's mind,” he continued, raising his gaze to exchange smiles with his wife. “None except his Queen. I have not succeeded in surprising your mother in many centuries.” 

“But were you able to visit all the villages and outposts that you meant to?” Legolas pressed. 

“Yes, I did my duty as king as well and speedily as I could, so I could return to my duties as father--that which I love best and above all.” He patted the soft blankets. “You were out so late on your adventure that I arrived home before you did, just waiting for a little prince to tuck into bed.” 

“I would like to hear stories about your travels, Ada!”

“The hour is too late, ion nin. For you, bedtime remains an important discipline, in the way fight training is for Turhir, or archery practice is for Gelir.” As Legolas’s face turned crestfallen, Thranduil chucked him gently under the chin. “The time will come, and very soon, when your body will be so strong that it can withstand the toil of days without growing weary. But first it must grow all it can, and hearty sleep is required for that. My stories will keep till tomorrow, and I have many to satisfy your heart’s content.”

As Legolas reclined and his father pulled the blankets up over him, Maereth bent down to kiss the elfling’s brow. 

“Good night, my Greenleaf,” she whispered, and watched as the lids fluttered closed over those weary blue eyes. 

Arm in arm, the King and Queen exited their son’s room and started down the hall to their chambers in the opposite wing.

“You have been gone for nary a fortnight, and I for much less,” Thranduil mused. "Yet he lights up at the sight of us as though we have been parted for an age."

"Time still flies swiftly in his eyes.” Maereth sighed and rested her head on her husband’s shoulder. “The fear of fleeting moments has not faded for him, so he tries to keep us all close whenever he can. But soon enough, he will recognize the countless years of life that stretch out before him. He will change, as they all have done.”

“And that thought saddens you.” Thranduil stopped their progress and gently turned her to him. He raised his hand to her fair cheek, stroking underneath her ear in the soothing way only he knew. “My love, Legolas will be our little one for years still.”

“Yet surely he grows, every day stronger, and taller, and wiser,” Maereth smiled even as her eyes shone with tears that would not spill. “Until he is a lord of high renown like his brothers.”

She kissed the strong hand that offered her comfort. “Pardon my soft sentiments. A mother’s heart cannot help but indulge in longing for the past. But in truth, I cannot ask for better sons.”

“Bereth nin…” Thranduil’s voice trailed off, and in the silence and dimness of the palace corridor he studied the face he loved beyond measure. “I would give you another child if that is your heart’s wish.” 

His wife’s answer was quick and resolute. In matters involving their sons, she was always decisive in choices, always certain in declarations. “No, my king. Eru’s gift to us is five. Legolas is our last.” She touched Thranduil’s face with a tender caress. “The season has passed for you and I, and the joys of begetting more is their inheritance.”

Her words of a season gone stoked Thranduil's own melancholy that he refused to admit and sought never to show. But he could never hide from the one who held his heart, the one to whom his very being was bound. And so he simply spoke no more of it. 

“You rode hard to make an early return,” said Maereth, breaking his long silence. “Perhaps you too require rest.”

When she resumed walking in the direction of their chambers, he reached out and caught her hand. “I am home, and I am at your side. You are my rest.” He kissed her deeply, afterwards slipping his arm about her and guiding her out to the nearest terrace, where a staircase led down to the sprawling palace grounds. 

“Let us walk in our gardens and dream of the future under Gilthoniel’s lights. Tomorrow is one more day we shall have to enjoy and spend with our last little one."

The End

Thank you for reading this story! For more of my works, you can check out the links here: Intro to SotWK

#thranduil #thrandaddy #thranduil oropherion #thranduil fanfiction #lord of the rings #legolas #legolas brother #tolkien #sotwk story #legolas fanfiction #thranduil wife

[fourseasonsfigs]

I Have Caught You (Kiss of the Century)

The fig maker's original listing for this fig set was so wonderful I saved it (poorly machine translated, as usual):

I Have Caught You - mystery figures, wearing red and blue concert robes. The 5.3 concert was the beginning of all fate. I played the rps of the two of them, met a group of excellent and lovely friends, and did some interesting things. Occasionally, when I feel that I can't persevere, thanks to their encouragement, I can persevere all the way. It was not easy for them to catch each other.

The fig maker didn't make it easy to catch this set either - it was a small run limited to 500, and required proof of purchase of at least 164 yuan (each) of endorsements to prove support for each actor, and Gong Jun's endorsement purchase had to be after 5/4. While I had come late to the party and unfortunately never bought any of Zhehan's endorsements, I had made a donation in his honor for his birthday, which counted. For Gong Jun it was much easier since I had already bought some of his 361 products (which I really like btw, all very nice).

This is such a beautiful set - I love it so much. Of course because it's from the SHL concert, which is always an instant shot to the heart, but also it's just a delightfully done pair.

But first, a few pictures to go back down memory lane, on that first day of the concert on 5/3/2021...

HELP I'm feeling emotional! What a great night. Or you know, early morning Pacific Standard Time, it was 2000% worth getting up at 4am for.

I was going to keep going with the concert pics but I have to stop myself because Tumblr's 30 photo post limit has no remorse, and I need to save some bandwidth for these figs!

These arrived safely, thank goodness, tucked away in their polystyrene cases. I found (to my horror) that this, my most recent sea shipment, had a ton of resin figs I had forgotten to get bubble wrapped before I shipped. AND I shipped these with a literal ton (ok not that literal, but close!) of acrylic fig stands, which sure don't weigh much individually but add up when you buy 300 at a time. And when the warehouse puts the pounds and pounds of them right on top of all these figs in the box. The look on my face when I opened the box and came face to face with the sins of my youth. And I would have only have myself to blame, which is always the worst. But miracle of miracles, all these figs escaped unscathed.

Now I know I've said in the past that I can't stand to see figs cry, and I can't! But I will make an exception for this set, because tears of joy at the end of that concert was entirely acceptable and very welcome.

Their little hands! So cute.

Yes my husband just looked over at my screen where I had the enormous photo of two figs kissing up on my photo editor, and he just shook his head. I just started laughing and laughing! Yeah, I don't know how I became this person either (at my age!), but I have NO regrets! NONE.

[Side note - actually, I know exactly how I became this person. And it's this concert, together with the joint Happy Camp episode, that started launched my hyperspeed journey down the Couple Fan Junzhe road. Before this concert, I would have told you definitively, like I would have bet cold hard cash that there was no way I would ever be so crazy or this delusional. Like I've been around, you have to be pretty tough and cynical to survive in today's business world, and I'm not in the habit of believing in much of anything these days. And yet fast forward and here I am (at my age!), watching Gong Jun post vacation photos from Yunnan and swearing up and down these two are in love and married. I am the tinnest of tin hats and I have NO regrets! NONE!]

I think the hair is beautifully done - look at Lao Wen's beautiful guan (which should be gold instead of silver, but not quibbling here!).

The costumes are just beautiful here. I know fig makers despair over Wen Kexing's gorgeous red costume because it's so incredibly ornate that it's hard to replicate, but this looks wonderful.

I like the motion on the robes too, the sweep of it out behind them.

You can just barely see Zhehan's boots here, which is pretty accurate since his outfit is shorter, and given that WKX's red robes are really, really long.

Coming back around - I love the fig maker's choice to have Zhehan's eyes open and Gong Jun's closed, it's a beautiful call out to the Century Hug in the following day's concert.

Here's an extreme close ups of the beautiful costumes.

And from the top...

...and the bottom! These figs are decently stable on their white booted feet, and their interlocking hands actually holds them together really nicely.

One last close up of the Kiss of the Century!

Material: Resin, and a whole lotta love

Fig Count: 262

Scene Count: 19

Rating: Pure romance

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

#junzhe #cpf #lld #1640 #51129 #word of honor concert #word of honor cast #woh cast #shl concert #shl cast #zhang zhehan #gong jun #i love them #I may be cynical #but I'm still a sucker for something honest and beautiful and pure

[averydavery]

The Good, The Bad, and Everything Inbetween of the Playstation 2

Intro

To me, the Playstation 2 is the best video game console ever. Period. Its catalogue is undeniably strong but I am definitely very biased as well, not to mention that the dualshock remote looks almost exactly the same from PS2 to PS4... But mainly, there is a reason many iconic titles from famous series are from this system and era of video game history. The PS2’s time in the spotlight (1999- 2011) was the real start of the hayday of video games.

So, in honor of my love for the system, here is my rankings for the games i’ve played so far and why!

***I will only be judging games that originally launched on the system, including bridge games, NOT PS1 games that are backwards compatible. So sorry MGS1 and FFVII

From Top to Bottom

1. Shadow of the Colossus

5/5 stars. One sentence review: I’m sobbing.

2. Metal Gear Solid 2

4.5/5 stars. One sentence review: “No, that is NOT the real Solid Snake!”

3. Resident Evil 4

4.5/5 stars. One sentence review: Fixed camera and gun controls making me want to get the Las Plagas fr.

4. God of War

4.5/5 stars. One sentence review: I don’t know what’s more unforgiving: the game itself or playing it on the PS2.

5. Bully

4.5/5 stars. One sentence review: I really wish people gave Bully more attention than GTA.

6. GTA Vice City

4/5 stars. One sentence review: For some reason my PS2 had a hard time running Vice City and this game is significantly smaller than others on this list.

7. Onimusha

4/5 stars. One sentence review: I really enjoyed this story and I would’ve loved it a lot more if the controls didn’t feel like I was committing a felony.

8. Devil May Cry

4/5 stars. One sentence review: “I should’ve filled yoUR DARK SOUL WITH LIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!”

9. GTA III

4/5 stars. One sentence review: Just didn’t do it for me story wise as much as the others, i dont know.

10. God of War II

3.5/5 stars. One sentence review: Least favorite God of War game besides Chains of Olympus, not that it’s bad it’s just okay.

11. Crazy Taxi

3.5/5 stars. One sentence review: Very fun but only for about ten minutes.

12. Yakuza 2

2/5 stars. One sentence review: I’m a diehard Yakuza/RGG/Like A Dragon fan but I stg this is the worst game in the series, I never even beat it.

13. Devil May Cry 2

2/5 stars. One sentence review: Bad mechanics and bored me.

The Superlatives

The Best Title in a Series

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

An easy pick for this category and a game that is second only to Shadow of the Colossus, is Metal Gear Solid 3. It is a fantastic game as much as it is a great entry in an amazing series. For those who don’t know, MGS3 is a prequel for the entire series and takes place even before the old 8-But Metal Gear games. MGS3 follows Naked Snake who becomes the infamous Big Boss, the notorious antagonist for the rest of the series, and is the first game in the series to really perfect the stealth combat with the addition of an over the shoulder camera and new camouflage mechanics. Other notable aspects of MGS3 are that graphics for the game still hold up today, the characters are some of the most memorable in the series (I LOVE YOU BOSS!!!!), and the boss fights are engaging. Not to mention that if I had to guess, you’re probably humming “Snake Eater” to yourself right now.

MGS3 is such a good MGS title that I believe it sort of set Kojima up for failure with every game that came after it.

The Best Game You’ve Never Played/My Personal Favorite PS2 Game

Blood Will Tell: Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo

The only reason Blood Will Tell isn’t number one is because I felt bad putting Shadow of the Colossus as number 2. I fucking love this game with my whole heart and soul, I really don’t know where to begin. The title of “the best game you’ll never play” isn’t one that I came up with myself, many people refer to Blood Will Tell by that superlative and you’re probably wondering why that is. Blood Will Tell was released by SEGA in 2004 and flopped in the Americas despite many looking back on the title fondly, as a result of its recent popularity (largely due to the 2019 Dororo anime and rise of the collector’s market) and little supply, it became an incredibly rare game with the highest selling price for a PS2 game I have ever seen. Blood Will Tell goes for anywhere between $400 to $700 USD, for reference: Silent Hill 2 goes for about $100. Which is why I don’t give this superlative away lightly, even the copy I own isn’t legitimate. There’s no way I’m spending that much money on a game without playing it myself.

So this brings to the second superlative I gave it: my personal favorite PS2 game. It’s the best game you’ll never play for a reason, there is a demand for it for a reason. While the dub is laughably bad, the game itself is incredibly rich. The goofy voice acting adds to the game’s charm and, in my opinion, makes a fantastic game more enjoyable. The gameplay is addictive and one of the most fluid for the 20 year old console, Blood Will Tell is a hack-n-slash that feels like a mix of Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima to me —which is funny because both of those games came out the same year and fought for the GotW award. You play as Hyakkimaru, a boy with swords for arms who is cursed after his father gave away all 48 body parts to demons in a deal for power. Now it’s your job to get your body back, piece by piece. This plot allows for incredibly unique visual story telling that is astounding for the time it came out in. For example, in the beginning chapter Hyakki is blind. They show this by making the world entirely black and white until he gets his sight back in which color floods your screen in a beautiful way. Since he can’t speak he has a filter that makes it sound like he’s talking in his head… etc. Even some of the 48 bosses are hidden and optional, something I didn’t expect to see in a game this old. On my first playthrough, I missed some bosses because the map is deceptively big. I think my only critiques besides the silly voice acting (personally, I like it) are that Dororo’s sections of the game aren’t great but they don’t drag on either so I don’t mind them and that the music is stale and repeats.

All in all, I can yap about this game all day because I love it so much. If you are unwilling to spend $700 on Blood Will Tell, I highly recommend that you buy a cheap repro or emulate it on your computer. If neither of those are options for you consider watching a playthrough on youtube or, better yet, reading/watching all the other adaptations of Dororo! Blood Will Tell is based of the 1963 manga Dororo by Osamu Tezuka (the mangaka of Astroboy and Black Jack) and there are many versions of this story!

The Best Adventure Game

Okami

I like to call Okami “the game that raised me” because it pretty much did. I first remember playing it in sixth grade and have played a run through of it probably once a year since. I’ve played it on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 5, and Playstation 2… and I’ll honestly say that it plays best on Switch. When Okami came out it originally launched on the Wii, which is why it plays so well on Switch as well. The reason for that is because of its unique, never before seen gameplay. Okami’s premise is that you play as Okami Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun in the form of a white wolf, who is resurrected in order to save the world from darkness. Ammy’s special ability is that she can manipulate the Celestial Brush, which has 13 different techniques that allow the player to literally play God by painting onto their surroundings to summon things like wind, water, fire, and vines or to literally stop time or cause nature to bloom. This Celestial Brush is why it plays so well on Nintendo consoles, which is actually why I recommend playing this game on one instead of on PS2. Okami has been remastered and really has no reason to be played PS2. In addition to why it isn’t fantastic on the PS2 is that Okami is most known for its visuals. The entire game is done in a painterly style with cell-shaded brush strokes that outline everything decoratively to aid it’s themes of traditional Japanese mythology… And one thing that makes that style look even better is when it is not played in low poly on the PS2.

So to put the kebash on this one, Okami was the best adventure game on the PS2 despite not being suited for the console itself. So please, play the remaster to enjoy the story even more!

The Best Fighting Game

Yakuza

I know a lot of you might disagree with me on this but please know I am only going off games I have played and that I also don’t care about what others think. I love this series. There are 8 Yakuza games, 10 if you count Like A Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth and Gaiden, 13 if you count Ishin, Ishin (Remake/Remaster), Kenzan!, and Dead Souls, 15 if you count Kiwami 1 & 2, and 17 if you count the Black Panther games… but it all started with this one game. Yakuza is a beat ‘em up that was advertised as “Japan’s GTA” which I think is an apt description only for the street fighting you do. In actuality, Yakuza is a game that follows the ex-yakuza Kiryu Kazuma as he fights to save the people he cares about and struggles with his loyalty to his former life a made man. The combat is fun and engaging with its use of combos and cinematics, however the controls are a bit finicky but nothing that will drive you up the wall. Another drawback of this title is the voice acting for the same reason as Blood Will Tell, it is a horrendous English dub. But I think it’s enjoyably bad, Mark Hamill and John DeMagio jumpscared me when I first heard their voices.

Although, I don’t necessarily recommend Yakuza to anyone who doesn’t have a PS2 at all, really, and that is because Yakuza Kiwami exists —which is a remake for modern consoles of this game with a million new things, better graphics and combat, and no English dub. This remake highlights everything that was so good about the original.

The Best Horror Game

Silent Hill 2

I think I can keep this one short because Silent Hill 2 is a game that needs no introduction. It practically invented the psychological survival horror genre as we know it be today and still is an amazing game that manages to always unnerve me. From its multiple endings to its atmospheric environment, Silent Hill 2 sets the bar for what should be a good horror game and inspires many series still. But above all else, Silent Hill 2 has the best soundtrack out of any game that I’ve mentioned so far. Akira Yamaoka is a genius songwriter.

The Worst Game I’ve Played So Far

Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir

I love Fullmetal Alchemist (if my account was any clue into that haha) and I thought that my love for that series was going to help get through this game. But I was so wrong and I should’ve listened to my gut. FMA works really well as video game if you actually try to make it one or else it doesn’t work, the ingredients are there you just have to follow the recipe. But Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir takes this way too seriously. Not only does it harp on the most boring episodes of the original series, it does so in the worst manner possible. The game itself looks like plastic, it’s cellshaded blandly. The music is loud and at times annoying, the fighting is stiff and uninspired when alchemy could be so much fun if done right, and it follows a clunky visual novel style in cutscenes for no reason. Even in the menu you can see that it was trying to be an RPG but never committed and I think this game could’ve shined if it was one, instead of the lame fighter it is now. The only benefit I see in this game is that the voice acting is all the original cast. So that’s nice… everything else? Not so much.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for me to play!

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