#I remember thinking it was fanservice and fanservice and then fanservice wasn't like this and then holy shit it wasn't fanservice

[spectres-fulcrum]

I... Am shocked that I didn't see it coming that Henry and Alex didn't meet at the Olympics in the movie.

I'm watching the Taylor and Nick interviews that were released today and Taylor mentioned in the film they first met at a climate conference and I was like "No Rio?" and I was like "... no duh. Bre, you know from YOI how they[The Olympics] are."

I know from the Yuri on Ice fandom that the Olympics are fiercely protective of their rights in non literature media(logos, mentions, etc). So you had the top male ice skater in the world but they never mentioned if he had been to the Olympics. I think they put him in his country's winter Olympics uniform in one scene to *hint* and that was the most they could do. I think I was even vaguely surprised the book could even mention the Olympics at first.

So yeah I should've known we weren't getting Rio. I wish they kept the meeting at a sporting event, like some World Championship or something. Maybe a F1 GP(that's the racing fan in me, that's literally so unlikely Bre). But they needed a reason to have both Henry and Alex there and I feel like some soccer/football game wouldn't have the same draw for both but a political event would for sure. Idk Probably was a bit easier to film.

So that's the vague reason why Rio was cut out. I know there's better posts on YOI+Olympics but it's hard to find because YOI hit the skating community very hard and there's Olympic level routines to YOI music. YOI was kinda THE thing you had to be there for. It was very surreal

#red white and royal blue #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor #firstprince #yoi was such a moment #Before the US time change I had just enough time to get pizza after english and get cozy in the lounge to watch it from Japan #No subs or anything #I remember thinking it was fanservice and fanservice and then fanservice wasn't like this and then holy shit it wasn't fanservice #It was my first semester of uni #good memories

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Kung Fu Panda 4 Review

Ok, I saw the movie yesterday and I have some thoughts. I think the film is good, but no where near the level of the first two. It's more like the third tonally. But tbf, nothing can top the second film in my opinion. KFP 2 really stepped up in its depth both in terms of its villain and message. The fourth film is very much the opposite. It's also very predictable and you can easily figure out what was gonna happen pretty early on.

What I liked: the animation is still gorgeous. Seriously, there were some very visually pleasing shots. The character models all looked great and I thought it was cool how the villain still has scales when she transforms. The music is also really nice and fun to listen to. The voice acting was also good and I thought Awkafina did a good job (major step up from Scuttle).

Po's dads were also really fun when on screen. It's nice to see them bond over Po and they do work well off of each other. They were the best part of the film, animation aside. The villain is also pretty cool with her abilities. We will talk about her more in a bit. And I did like Zhen and I'm looking forward to see what they do with her in the future. She's energetic and I did like her design.

What I didn't like: too. much. comedy. Ok look, I know this is an animated film for kids, but what made the first three films (particularly the second one) so good is that the balanced the jokes with depth. This film does have some messages, but it's intercut with so many jokes during dialogue that it takes away from it. They really needed to let this film breathe and have more serious moments to just talk and let things sink in. The villain brought back the old villains and stole their abilities (this was in trailer so not really spoiler). Why don't they do more with that? There is so much untapped potential here.

And that's my other big issue with the film: so much potential. Some of the ideas in this film are really, really good, but they only scratch the surface with it. I wanted to know more about the villain. I wanted to see our fave villains interact more. I wanted to see the villain use her powers more. But we don't get that; we only get the bare minimum. In simpler terms, there's no big "wow!" moment that the other films had.

Spoilers below (tread carefully)

Why did they bring the villains back if they were going to do almost nothing with them? The climax of the film was the Chameleon stealing the villains' abilities and fighting Po but we pretty much saw that in the trailer. Tai Lung gets to do some stuff, but I wanted more. Half of his lines were jokes anyway and I didn't vibe with it. Why did they bring him back if he was just gonna comment on things? I don't remember our favorite snow leopard being this comical. He did quip, but there was still a hardened edge to him. Idk. Maybe he got therapy in the spirit realm. Shen and Kai get crumbs, but again, they could've done so much more. And wasn't Kai destroyed completely?

With Shen and Tai Lung, I would've wanted to see more. I'm glad Tai Lung did finally come to respect Po and it does make sense. But Shen? The last time we saw him he rejected Po's help. Unless he too got the same spirit realm therapy Tai Lung did, him bowing to Po does feel very OOC. Nitpicking further, why was Shen brought back anyway? The Chameleon presumably doesn't know who Po is and Shen isn't a kung fu master. With the exception of the fanservice route, this choice only makes sense if the Chameleon was aware of Shen's actions in Gongmen and thought his level of evil would fit her vibe.

Nitpicking aside, there was so much opportunity for Po to confront his villains again and have a deep, serious moment with them. Whether either side likes it or not, they're reunited for a short amount of time. Why not capitalize on this great opportunity?

Speaking of the villain, so much untapped potential. Her design is great, her abilities are really cool, and Viola Davis does a good job voicing her. So why doesn't she get to do more? Imagine a really cool fight sequence where Po confronts her, but she shifts so much that it begins to mess with his head. Or she transforms into the older villains and Po is caught off guard? Instead, we get half the climax spoiled for us in the trailer. What was really cool about the other three was that we got multiple fight scenes with them to showcase their abilities. Thus, the final battle dialed it up to an 11 and we got a truly epic finale. Here, it feels like there should've been more, but there wasn't. Even her backstory feels lacking. It's there... but only surface level. Even Shen, arguably the cruelest of them all, had nuance and depth.

Also, why couldn't we get more of the Furious Five outside of a glorified cameo? Tigress and Po friendship is truly amazing.

As much as the jokes miss, there are some good bits. Shifu trying to deal with Po's shenanigans always crack me up. I also like the bit where Po tries to meditate and his thoughts get in the way. Because hey guess what, that's what my head is like and it's really freaking hard to quiet it down. So, there's that. I just wish the writers didn't feel like they had to insert jokes in almost every line of dialogue, you know? Li and Ping dad adventures are great except half the lines are jokes about how worried they are for Po or how not tough they are. Why not have a deeper conversation? I think it would make everything feel more natural.

I also wish Po himself was a tad more mature. I'm not expecting Shifu or Tigress levels of seriousness, but I felt that he kinda was a bit too childish. Po is one of those characters who loves to have fun, but knows when he has to be serious. However, he also likes to lighten things up with comedy. In this movie, it felt like he only really leaned into the comedy side of things. He had his moments, but I'll be honest, I really missed the "the only thing that matters is what you choose to be now" levels of dialogue. The proverb joke got old real fast, ok?

Grace Randolph from Beyond the Trailer described this movie as episodic and I can see it. The story bits are very segmented between the villain, heroes, and Po's dads. The flow and pacing of this film really needed to be upgraded.

Ok, that's all I got for now. I'm sure I'll think of something else to say (aside from encouraging everyone to rewatch KFP 2 because I'll never get enough of that film).

#kung fu panda #kung fu panda 4 #kung fu panda 4 spoilers #po #zhen #tai lung #lord shen #kai the collector #the chameleon #master shifu #mr ping #li shan

[shuttershocky]

Guy who was the one who said ideally if Iori yadayada, I get what you mean. Just was throwing out an idea on 3 hours of sleep. Hypothetically, if Nasu himself came to your house, and said you have to give an explanation for how Iori is a Servant (or living person, whatev) in FGO, how would you go about it?

I wouldn't.

Like I said before, you need a sufficiently cool reason to be able to forgive completely ignoring or even retconning the original themes of a work, and no matter what Iori would appear in FGO for the sake of fanservice, and I don't find FGO's brand of fanservice to be cool at all. The very act of making him a summonable character would be stepping on his original arc, which I could probably forgive if it was for something other than FGO—a fighting game, a pseudo-sequel like CCC, I may even forgive FGO Arcade (if he has to be there for fanservice, let it be on the version of FGO with actual gameplay), but not the mobile game.

Let me give an example to illustrate my point.

One of the last servants I raised before I stopped playing FGO was my NP5 Fujino. At the time, I joked "Man it's kinda fucked up that the animations imply they gave her back her appendicitis when she became a Counter Guardian" but they really did, because it's the most obviously recognizable part of the character that can be repackaged. Never mind that Shiki choosing to save Fujino when the former was actually hired to kill the latter by Fujino's own dad was a critical part of both their character arcs. Never mind that the reason Fujino would actually be remembered as heroic is for when she would talk girls out of suicide long after she had gone blind and had learned to walk with a stick.

Fujino's noble phantasm is twisting a bridge because that was her big moment of power in Remaining Sense of Pain, even if it's kind of weird that she now (metaphorically, as I don't suppose her NP involves creating a real one) summons a bridge to twist and collapse on to enemies when they could just show a big psychic blast. It's especially a missed opportunity that FGO portrays the bridge moment as the height of her power when the whole reveal that Shiki actually saved Fujino instead of killing her is done by Shiki explaining that Fujino's only going to get even stronger as she ages. She can be way more destructive than collapsing a bridge, she just never had to when her real strength was being able to reach out to girls looking to jump off a bridge.

I think an easier one that more Fate fans can understand is Lancelot (Berserker). His NP in FGO is the chaingun he ripped out of a fighter jet in Fate/Zero, his most famous moment in the series. But his NP wasn't summoning a minigun, his NP in Fate/Zero was being able to instantly master any weaponry put into his hands. He could grab Gilgamesh's projectiles and throw them back at him. He could use modern day weaponry like automatic guns that the other servants couldn't, and he could use them with deadly efficiency.

But again when you appear in FGO it's not about the character, it's about the character's selling points. Lancelot's NP is hijacking a jetplane even if there can be no jetplane that's actually present because it's THE Lancelot moment, and FGO is a mobage with very limited game design that's unable to actually interpret Lancelot's powers within the game's scope, so a metaphorical jet hijacking is the best they can do.

But then FGO's all-encompassing popularity has knock-on effects, so when Lancelot appears in another Fate title, like Fate/Extella Link, his moves there involve him whipping out the assault rifles and the jet plane too. It's not metaphorical anymore, he's just summoning these whenever he wants to now. And while a dark knight dual wielding assault rifles like he's in a Wolfenstein game is admittedly kinda rad, I still think it's not quite rad enough to be worth having left his original concept behind.

I don't want that for Iori.

#Fate

[callmeklair]

I read your post about Ayato overhype and I 200% agree with you and appreciate you for writing it. I also read that other person's Ayato analysis and I just gotta say that that cursed fig defense is so dumb. First off that shit wasn't a thing when More Blood came out. It's not mentioned or referenced even once in any route. Because why would it be? It wasn't even thought of when the first games came out. Second even if it were a thing and Ayato truly was cursed, then why doesn't he experience the effects of the curse in any routes apart from his More Blood one (and, according to this particular Ayato stan, Ruki's)? Why doesn't he go crazy from thirst in Kou's route? Or in Subaru's? Or in Shuu's? etc etc. Also, if the curse is truly that excrutiating and debilitating then shouldn't Ayato be a complete and utter mess in the other characters Dark Fate, Lost Eden etc. routes? But he's not. He's totally fine. Because the stupid curse isn't canon to the games and you can not and should not use it to explain or justify his awful behavior in Ruki's MB route.

I'm sorry this got kind of long but I just needed to get this off my chest because it bothers me so much when toxic Ayato stans insist he is oh so pure of heart, an innocent victim and that he unlike the other characters can't be held accountable for his abusive acts 😑

(feel free to vent out in my ask box I don't mind. and sorry for the late reply, life is hectic)

the curse thing is such a loop/plot hole because in more blood EVERY diaboy gets thirsty after starting to have feelings for Yui, so yeah that curse thing isn't canon. and exactly! if that's the case, why isn't ayato suffering from thirst in other's route. okay let's not include MB considering the argument "they weren't close enough" but by the DF, all Sakamaki and Mukami boys warmed up to Yui, so Ayato should be suffering from thirst/curse in other's route????

I liked ayato, but after youngblood when I saw some people(not targeting to anyone, and I'm not just talking about Tumblr), not liking other people shipping Yui with any other boy because "they are not canon" made me slowly detach from AyaYui. otherwise they were in my top 5 a few years ago.

youngblood was just a fanservice. it was good for Ayato fans but Rejet messed it up. first the curse thing then the degrading of Shu and Subaru's character by making them "betray" ayato. which irks me because we all have read flashback scenes of these two from the VERY FIRST GAME, and we are completely aware with how sweet and gentle they were in childhood.

In CL, in Shu's route, it was shown how much he deeply cares about his brothers despite not showing it. so does it go for Subaru in Carla's route. you hear it? not in his OWN route but Carla's route.

the only difference is, because of trauma they weren't sure how to express it and always doubted/hesitated to trust or show true feelings to each other because of what happened to them. they all went through different experiences.

Ayato is Ruki's rival, just like how Subaru is for Kou, and Shu for Yuma. Ayato just came to take away Yui as a prey. "his thirst wasn't controllable and was locked in a dungeon. it was definitely the curse."

the curse didn't even exist at that time. it was just Rejet's plot to progress Ruki's route because if we remember, Ruki asked Ayato, before he took away Yui, if he had feelings for her and ayato replied with, feelings??? that's nonsense, the only value she has is her blood. It was a scene of confirmation to make Ruki realise his feelings and stop thinking "Adam is what she needs and not a snake" so that he can finally betray Karlheinz for Yui and run away with her, free her from this hell.

in conclusion, we have seen every diaboy saying how unique and special Yui's blood is, also a very rare thing (i guess?) so because of instincts as a vampire, Ayato only wanted to find Yui to drink her special blood.

the curse thing can never be canon because everyone gets thirsty in their route, EVEN SHIN in his BRUTE ending in DF. so are they cursed too??? no they aren't 😭

some actions can never be justifiable, I'll even say that about my own fav characters like Shin, Subaru, Carla, Reiji, etc.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #yui komori #komori yui #diabolik lovers fandom #ayato sakamaki

[kanmom51]

Hi! I've been following your blog for a while. As a longtime ARMY and someone who (wants to) believe that jikook is real, your posts never fail to give me the flutters.

Did you get a chance to see Jimin's choreography practice sketch yet? (spoiler: jk shows up hehe)

Whenever I see jikook interacting (and especially in recent years), it always feels and looks like it should be something kept private. Idk. I'm parasocializing third-wheeling lmao. The way they can't stop smiling at each other. The way their hands reach for each other like second nature. The way jk speaks to jm; I know little about the nuances of korean informal/formal language, but even then their tones are what make the difference to me. Language barrier or not, it's hard to miss how jk speaks to jm, which is so different from how he speaks to the other members. And all this, out of a less than 1-min interaction between the two (maybe I'm also projecting lol)

Ever since jk's suchwita live, I've plunged neck deep in jikook feels. Jk didn't have to make a live centered around jm, but he did. He didn't have to watch 2 diff versions of set me free pt 2, nor watch the bts teasing jm compilation, all in front of us; but he did. He did, and it's been wreaking havoc on my heart ever since. That must mean something, because jk doesn't do this for the other members. It goes beyond fanservice because as you already mentioned, he wasn't paying much attention to ARMY during the live. We weren't the focus; jm was.

I'm not delusional - at least, I don't want to be delusional. I've said this to myself many times since 2015. I enjoyed their dynamic together, but as time went on, the dynamic began to shift. Each year it became less funny and more real. Certain moments, like hickey gate and rosebowl, seemed straight out of fantasy. And even looking beyond them, the reactions of the other members are also very telling.

I don't remember why I wrote this anymore lol. I'm just glad I don't seem to be alone in thinking they're real. And thank you for your hardwork and content! I always enjoy reading your thoughts on our favourite black and white + sun and moon + 5813 + you-are-me-i-am-you couple💜🌙☀

@theblindjassassin I do apologize for taking such a long time to get back to you. But I didn't forget you.

Everything you wrote is just IT.

You are not delusional. We here, us, are not delusional.

Those parts of the fandom that love calling us that, they are either colour blind (can't see the rainbow), or delusional themselves wishing upon a non existent romantic relationship between either JK or JM and another member (never happened, ain't happening, and ain't ever going to happen).

I'm happy you did put your thoughts to paper, so to speak, because it's lovely to read these kind of posts every once in a while, helps us refocus, remember, reminiscence.

#ask #jikook #kookmin #minkook #jungkook #jk #jimin #jm

[melonteee]

When I watched most of your one piece videos and before I ever saw your real face I thought you'd be someone around your 30s or 40s. 😁

One reason was your voice and accent. I'm not that familiar with Australian accents except for OzzyMan (I'm ESL).

Another reason was your One Piece Women video. The way you talked about fanservice and women's body types was, not gonna lie, not sth young people in these times say that often because they've been infested by radfems and their rhetoric and espouse them constantly.

I saw the beginning of a video essay recently where the YouTuber straight up said that female characters who have been "sexualized" whatever definition he used there, don't count as good female characters at all and in any sense.

In other words, a female character who in some way shape or form appeals to men in a sexual way doesn't have any worth as a female character. Popular radical feminism on the internet.

When you started talking about the OP women without going into that direction I breathed a sigh of relief. You said that sexy character design for the women wasn't a big deal but that the lack of variety wasn't good.

And that was, at least where I was, the mainstream talking point in the early 10's about anime/cartoon characters. So, yeah, I thought you'd be older. 💕

Haha no I'm afraid I'm in my youthful mid 20s! That radfem rabbit hole was one I remember being in when I was 13-18 on Tumblr, but I avoid that kinda stuff like the plague now because radfem beliefs tend to be a dog whistle for terfs. And I'm saying this because if anyone reading this falls prey to the whole "women are biologically superior to men" rhetoric, I really need you to be careful, as that can and will nosedive into terf territory.

As for the sexualisation stuff, the whole "characters who have been "'sexualized" don't count as good female characters at all and in any sense" is ridiculous, because no matter what kind of female character you make, they will be sexualised in some way shape or form by men who find them attractive.

BUT honestly the biggest thing for me is like, this demonisation of sexuality and sexyness? Because, as a gay woman, I am also sexualising characters like Nami. Just because I'm not a man doesn't mean it's automatically redundant that I also find Nami extremely sexy and stare at her tits waiting for them to bounce. There's literally nothing wrong with Oda enjoying women, or enjoying tits or ass, he is allowed to make a female character that embodies his desires. But, as you said here, and as I said in my video, the problem is he's doing that with EVERY woman. I personally don't have any grudges for how Oda draws Nami and Robin, I just truly wish it wasn't every damn woman in One Piece lmao.

Honestly I'm in such a weird place with it because, again, I like women. I like looking at tits and I like looking at women. My unpopular opinion is I also find Nami's design very sexy and very pleasing because...I like tits too LMAO and I always feel like us gay women are forgotten about in the conversation of One Piece girls and their bodies. I'm not going to pretend I HATE the girl designs in One Piece because I really don't, but of course there is a difference when a man does it compared to when a woman does it.

My view on it will always be...the issue isn't men looking at fictional women in any kind of sexual way, it's that WOMEN are demonised when they do the same thing back for fictional men. If women draw fictional men being sexy, being objectified (although you can't objectify a fictional character really but you get what I mean), they seem to be swarmed by men who find that gross and detestable. But when men do the same thing back to fictional women... it's fine and natural?? So pointing at the one piece girls, saying it's too sexual and demonising it, is counter productive in my opinion.

As an individual, you are allowed to be uncomfortable with it, you are allowed to wish they looked different, but I don't think anyone has any right to say they SHOULDN'T look like that. Because that creates this air of "Well we can't put our own desires in fictional characters full stop!" and then this weird guilt is felt amongst all parties.

Equality to me is not taking away the bikini armour from a female character, it's allowing both the male AND female characters to be able to wear that bikini armour. Everyone is allowed to have their sexual desires and sexual preferences in fictional characters.

I love Nami, I love her big boobies, I JUST wish Zoro's tits bounced as much as hers did. That is all!

#ask #melonask

[lesfir]

Tired Jokes Astarion, harsh and fun in character.

Disclaimer: I don't separate Astarion "before" and "after" the ritual - Asc it's still him, canonically confirmed. I sure that Astarion's personality is not dictated by anything other than Astarion, himself.

I thought about Neil's Mask-talk - Lord Astarion, and how Astarion had lost some of the fun, which was a "distraction anyway". I agree, that's exactly what I thought and felt. Then I remembered what Cazador said, "your tired jokes". Cazador Szarr: No, you always had a gift for words. Cazador Szarr: I fondly remember your empty boasting, your tired jokes, your endless prattle...

Casador didn't finish, by the way, Astarion interrupted him. Cazador surprisingly let him prattle on. Astarion reacts very sharply - he doesn't like to remember it. He's sick of the way he acted as a slave. (it dawned on me that perhaps "empty boasting" refers to his past before slavery - "always had" "always had" "always had" I don't let myself think about it yet, this game is still being worked on I'm talking about the time of slavery here) I don't think Astarion doesn't like, on the whole, to joke and lie about it. No, he loves it. Just not the way he did when he was a slave. But after all, he was a Magistrate (I'm sure he remembers that until Larian told otherwise) this is a man of power, and he had to be able to be formidable when required. I think he liked to be formidable early on. Narcissus (yes, always), racist (quite), from the Upper City, a Magistrate with power, harsh, given what he said about criminals, merciless. Lord hints at this a bit what a Magistrate he was. When he became Cazador's slave, he couldn't afford to be powerful, not in any way at all. He had to be mindful of his status as a slave. And all he could afford was to joke-prattle around, like a jester. Being a jester is the only way to express yourself without "subordinate status", jokes blurred that Master-slave distinction a bit.

When he became Master, he doesn't need jokes anymore. However, there's still a fun in him by his personality. That's why he's been talking so loudly since gaining Lord status, he was only allowed to jump around like a buffoon before. He wasn't taken seriously. Astarion revels in his voice, which is finally not slavish. The voice of the Lord and I think the voice of the Magistrate. Now having paid the price, he can do what the hell he wants. Speaking of romance that's why: it's time to dominate Tav\Dark Urge. He can allow himself to do that, finally, openly. (Unless of course it's a bdsm-s\d-fanservice dropped from the sky, yes, patch 6?) In my humble opinion, given that his self-esteem has been humiliated for 200 years, someone who obeys him willingly, with trust and respect, will be very precious and loved, but he would clutch a person like a dragon in his clutches.

#astarion #ascended astarion #lord astarion #bg3 astarion #Astarion Analysis #astarion magistrate

[jayflrt]

i completely agree with that anon on the fan service thing, i started liking enhypen since their debut and i've clearly seen a lot of changes. they're right about the heeseung thing, how people say stuff like he's a 'fuckboy' or a 'cheater' and while i understand that it might me alright to describe him as such in a fanfic, i don't think it's alright to think that he's actually like that. i remember seeing a post on pinterest, it was a clip of heeseung and i think he was talking about how he's changed since his debut, and the owner of the post had written about how they think he's become more mature and how he 'has definitely lost his virginity' now. and while it's alright to talk about and think how much your idols have changed since their debut, is it really necessary to make such comments about them like their virginity? And they've definitely upped their fanservice and while artists interactions with their fans do change overtime, their interactions have become drastically different and cater towards the fans more now. it's like they know that the fans want this from them, and that they think it's the only think which keeps their fans with them. It's honestly really sad if you think about it. And this might be a bit off topic, but I've come across so many posts on tumblr where there were like tarrot readings for the members. Like what kind of person they might date, their ideal type and stuff and i was just weirded out by such posts, because although i don't think tarrot readings are really reliable and stuff, it's still pretty weird to try to predict and assume stuff about someone who doesn't even know you. And you're definitely right about how jayhoon had the least fan service and as of now they've definitely started doing more. It wasn't even an overall growth in it, it was a drastic rise in the way they interact. This also comes to the fact that while enhypen might be known by many they're still quite underrated. I have seen so many people sleep on enha's skills and simply call them a 'visual group' like they are not just a visual group or just a group known for fanservice. Ni-ki is genuinely the one of the greatest dancers in kpop and despite the fact that people know him for his dance, his vocals and rap are improving day by day and they're also top tier. Yet people still sleep on them and are yet to acknowledge it. Lol sorry for the unrelated rant.

i agree !! i think just because we shouldn't assume that all idols are pure and don't date around doesn't mean we can jump to the other extreme and assume they fuck around 24/7. it's just degrading imo to assume such things when we don't know what they're like !!

and yes i agree that enha gets watered down to a fanservice/visual group a lot of the time. people really need to start appreciating their artistry more

#💌 : love notes #anon

[causesciencethatswhy]

Was thinking how we get confirmation of some of the things years later. Like in today's ep jm said him, jk (confirmed) and either one of jin and yg (jm was a bit confused who but it could also be that yoonjin both left later like jikook) were the last ones to leave their dorm and remember how we used to think jikook "might" live together cause they used to share car alot during 2019-2021. Now idk exactly when they left their dorms but i do know the news of RM and jm buying house in nine one hit the media around june 1st 2021. Also that one BTS video where the boys were interviewing e/o and jk asked jm what was the most enjoyable thing these days and jm replied "The most enjoyable thing these days is waking up and seeing jungkook" idr but wasn't it around 2019-2020 when he said that? And jikook and yoonjin used to share car, jikook the most of times so i think yup jikook used to live in the shared apartment be it dorm or whatever that is. So we were basically right.

Intersting thing is even after RM and jm buying house we still saw jikook sharing cars now idk why that. Yes when minimoni brought their houses they shared car but it was like only few times but jikook still has shared cars few times here nd there so i wonder why is that maybe they love sharing cars or their houses are near or etc etc.

Maybe as the besties they're when it comes to car sharing they just simply put these two together knowing they have shared it before too. Remember how they shared car 4 days of concerts in LV? There's another thing who's confirmation we got way later but i don't remember that now but yeah.

Also the way tkkrs be like "but jungkook don't cook for jm he doesn't even have jm's number" both got denied in this ep....i know it's only them who believed their shit theories but they're sooo many in number and they spread it everywhere so it's like thousands of them i think like 99% of them belive that shit. "Jungkook doens't have jm's number why is it a problem it happens people don't have e/o's numbers why are you blaming tkkrs for it" i remember mfkr dionysustkk tweeting this. The way i wanna bitch slap that identity crisis human. Like bitch not only he has jm's number (sounds so fking silly to say even) he literally knows jm's House password and walks like he knows the place and even cook for the two of them so you can sit in a corner and cry me some river

Thank you for this mini timeline compilation anon!

I found it interesting that jimin knew for sure that jk was still with him at the dorms but couldn't confirm whether yoonjin were there too. Seems like a detail you'd recall I feel, unless you were spending a majority of your time with one person. And if we are to go by your timeline it does seem that even after moving out jikook seemed to have made a deliberate choice to take the same car on multiple occasions. I do think there was a period in mid 2021 and early 2023 where jkk were maybe not seeing each that frequently based on some of their conversations, but this docu has really made me re evaluate a lot of these assumptions.

Since 2020, we have gotten almost 1/3 the amount of behind the scenes ot7 content and that definitely had an impact on many peoples assumptions on the members relationships. It's why certain "groups" felt more confident in proclaiming that jikook were never close or only fanservice.

Tkkrs and their cult leaders will never stop in their attempts at undermining jikooks relationship with false narratives. It's something I didn't understand the need of when I first entered shipping spaces because if you believe tkk are real and in a healthy relationship, then why would assuming jikook are close friends, in any way would come in the way of that? Why did jimin need to be the villain in their theories so bad? It's only now that I kinda get that as a tkkr, they can't possibility perceive that tkk are in a 'genuine and healthy' relationship if they have to take jikook at face value. Cause the way those two interact and prioritise one another, does really throw tkkrs off gaurd. Which is why so much of their belief and foundation hinges on all of jkks interactions being fake and forced and jk secretly hating jm. Because the alternative cannot be that they're 'close friends" for them, once they start 'really seeing' jikook for the way they are around one another, it disturbs their perfect ideal.

Not saying that there's no possibility that jikook are in fact just close friends after all, but I think once you do see that underlying spark that makes one go "?" ,it's kind of hard to unsee it.

#jikook

[stormblessed95]

https://www.tumblr.com/stormblessed95/733070094082736128/the-thing-about-yoonmin-that-fascinates-me-is-how?source=share

umm does anon live in some alternative universe of army fandom where people are calling Yoonmin fanservice? Cause from my 4 yrs of experience what i know is tkkrs occupies around 80% of army fandom and #THEY love to call jkk fanservice and since they want jm to stay away from jk they ship him with yg like not even jkk posts get's so much like from armys the way yoonmin get's. There's decided ships for this fandom since beginning and that's taekook, yoonmin and namjin. These are the most popular ships in the fandom so idk where that fanservice came from.

the thing that irks me about yg is how easily he can praise jk and Th who are also maknaes but it takes special efforts for him to praise him. When someone tries to praise jm here comes my man yg saying "yeah but jungkook does it better", "yes but jm can you stop doing that", "yes but why did you have a guitar when you don't know how to play" , "yes but why were you getting emotional that wasn't the time" there's always a but when it comes to praising jm but see how effortlessly he does it for jk and TH. The whole tom and jerry dynamics being him constantly saying something to jm idk how that's fascinating to y'all.

I remember how armys were dragging that one grp which i think was seventeen or something else i don't remember but yeah they were saying that the members needs to have some sense cause they were teasing one member over his weight but yg saying "i don't why you were shirtless when you're body wasn't even that great" like yes king show us how tom and jerry works. It actually gave me a small heartattack when in today's suchwita yg said something one good line about jm. Anyways jm loves him so i have no right to feel bad or anything on his behalf.

Anon didn't say anyone was calling yoonmin (or any one else) fanservice, so 1. Calm down over THAT part. 2. There have also been jkkrs and vminners and sope (hopeminers? Lol) since 2013 as well, so relax there too. Not that it's a competition?? Because that's weird...

And 3, and most importantly.... the thing that irks me about you is that you are speaking in fact about yoongi not complimenting jimin ever, when Yoongi praises Jimin just as much as he teases him. And for all the bickering and teasing Yoongi gives Jimin, Jimin gives it right back JUST AS MUCH. SO GOD DAMM, chill out and look at the whole picture there. Like my god, the man can barely breathe without praising Jimin in some way... Jesus.

A whole Compilation for you...

Always encouraging him and believing in him

Just spoiling him

1. Question: what is Jimin to you?

Yoongi: person I want to take care of

2. Question: to yoongi, jimin is __?

Yoongi: important person

Just loving on him all the time

The other boys always making Jimin be the one to ask Yoongi for things because he always gives Jimin what he wants

The man just cannot help himself, here is a whole thread to look through!

"It actually gave me a small heartattack today when Yoongi said one good line about jimin"

Is doing nothing but exposing yourself as ignorant. Because like cmon have you watched ANY content? Not just yoonmin bickering compilations?? Lol Jimin didn't talk about how much Yoongi gives him love, support and encouragement ever since their trainee days until now for you to act like he doesn't do anything but dote on the man. The bickering is something they both ENJOY and doesn't upset them. Jimin doesn't need your protection. He especially doesn't need it from YOONGI of all people.

"Anyways jimin loves him so I have no right to feel bad or anything on his behalf"

They say after writing an entire essay doing exactly that... better luck next time I guess?

Do yall forget that yoongi is my man? My bias? Everything to me? That trashing him in my inbox is NEVER going to get your a sympathetic ear? Lol especially when you are just laughable wrong??

#antis #akgaes #imma defend all their bonds #every single time #leave yoonmin alone #yoonmin love

[khiphop-discussions]

Ok so full disclosure, I don't really listen to Yongguk's solos that much. I've heard (I think) every song he performed tonight at least once BUT I was not super familiar with any one song. I meant to listen to the setlist but this week was busy and I didn't get around to it.

So why did I go? Because I never got the opportunity to see B.A.P but Yongguk was always my bias so I wanted to at least go see him. Also, I did a review on the "3" EP and it wasn't bad.

Long story short, I had a GREAT time. Even without knowing pretty much ANY of the words! He's such a great performer and the songs are GREAT live. His fanservice is next level too! I think the only person whose fanservice matches his is Changjo from Teen Top (and probably iKon cause they be in the crowd hugging people and stuff). I'm definitely gonna be listening to those songs a lot more now.

I cried during "I Remember" I don't even know for sure why. I never really cared for that song too much back in the days. But I guess hearing Daehyun (my other bias in B.A.P; I guess it's like "main" and "lead" bias but idk which guy gets which label LOL) and it just overall being a throwback to B.A.P.

Then the above picture. he was so adorable. He gave me a side hug for the picture but when he was taking it, he accidentally turned the camera off and I had to set it back up so I got some extra hugging time LOL. He said, "Thanks for coming, have a great night". My plan was initially to tell him "You're so handsome. Thanks for coming" but I never got to say it cause I guess I got too nervous once I got in front of him LOL. Anyway, after the picture, I was so giddy and smiling so I kinda turned my head away from the people in line still cause it was kinda embarrassing LOL but I'm sure they saw me. While in line everybody was basically watching the people who just went to see their reactions. One person was crying when they walked back! Awww!

Anyway, it was a good day! I honestly regretted buying the tickets. I was REALLY tired because I got like one hour of sleep the night before and work has been so busy this month so I've been kinda burnt out and drained. I kinda wanted to just stay home. However, I'm SOOOO glad I went! I think I would have regretted missing him since I also regretted missing B.A.P. This was such a good experience!

#i think i look funny in this pic but I still cant help but love it 💗 #the days when bap was around were much simpler #i miss it but im glad I got to have this moment all these years later

[yuikomorii]

Do you think Rejet will make a new game and add a new guy?

// No thanks. <3

I don’t think a new main game is possible due to the fact that LE put an end to the story and it wouldn’t make sense for a game to follow those events, given that too much stuff changed: Laito no longer remembers the past, Ayato developed PTSD as a result of what happened in LE, Ruki's storyline already closed in LE, and so on.

Although an AU or fanservice game would be adorable, I think I would grow bored, considering that CL wasn't really that entertaining. I also don't need any new love interests. I remember that most people were complaining about the lack of characters and routes originality of this otoge with over 20 LIs, so I wouldn’t like DL to end up like that . Furthermore, it's already challenging to win your favorite character due to Kuji (lottery). >_<

#admin

[ivoncu]

× . 𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗡𝗘'𝗦 𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗦.

pairings. t. eichi/reader.

synopsis. you were someone dearest to eichi, it really is a shame it has to end this way, but you brought your downfall upon yourself even after his warnings.

content. angst, set in place during the war arc, implied suicide? (reader), dancing w him, he "executed" reader, can be read romantically or platonically?

(n) — take this shitty eichi angst while i work my way through writers block. i shouldnt have written this since i forgot most of the things that happened in the war but i cant get my grubby hands off the angst material it gives </3

Tension rose amongst you and the students of Yumenosaki—especially between you and Eichi, although it is probably one-sided in Eichi's part.

He knew although you were quiet; you were still stubborn. He had seen it before, watching you on stage all alone like that against powerful units of Yumenosaki.

You were truly an irrational idiot, but somehow he was enamoured by you.

And as he stands in front of you in the same stage he'd see you perform; all words disappeared one after another.

Why must you be so stubborn? Why won't you just back away when he specifically told you to stay out of his way?

He shouldn't even feel this sad, you brought this to yourself. Furthermore, he has already made up with the fact that he only views you as a tool to success; all like the others.

Sacrificing you is one step closer to it.

"We've come far, Tenshouin." You suddenly spoke, breaking him away from his train of thoughts.

"... Right. And to think that I'd be fighting against someone dearest to me too." He hung his head low, further trying to fight away the sadness soon envelopes his whole heart.

"And to think that you started off as a lonely boy too." Ah, how irritating. Must you really bring that up?

Nonetheless, he's still sad; this'll be the last time he'd ever hear you, no?

"But I never lied, Eichi."

Suddenly, you pulled him in closer, hands intertwined with one another. For one last time, you looked at him in the eyes. Just like this.

The crowds erupt into cheering at your sudden fanservice, but all of those entered and left his ears.

On this stage, it'll be the last time he would ever see you in an equal ground.

"Neither have I lied before," he suddenly swift you in, "—at least not to you." He twirled you around and dipped you onto the ground. Your lower half fallen as your hands gripped onto Eichi's hand for dear life.

"For an ill person, you sure do have a lot of energy to waste." You looked up to him, a smirk crawling up your face.

He knew that smirk; it wasn't your usual smirk, it seemed more nervous.

You were nervous.

"Fufu, I do want to give it my all fighting against you."

"But the promise we made, [Name]—it will not be broken." he said, letting go of your hand completely, the fall you faced was gentle; but you're sure after this fight your fall will be much worse.

For now, everybody's attention is on you. Every slight mistake you make, the crowds can see it—if not, the people you're about to fight against will.

Your mind wandered to his words before your performance. Right the promise. But do you even have the time to think about it now? This'll be your last time dancing on this stage, you should put in your all into it.

... But you're still going to be defeated completely to plump by that friend of yours, wouldn't you?

The thought made you stumble on your own feet; nonetheless, you had the perfect cover-up for it and continued performing as if nothing had happened.

"If we are to be separated, if we are to lose our way; I shall make sure we'll be connected, no matter how many times it takes." He whispered those words. You remember it vividly.

It was you who made that promise. From the corner, you and Eichi made eye contact. His smile still lingers, but you knew him well. He was sad that this has to happen.

If only you could just stay right there with him for a little longer. If only you were a better use to him to the point where he'd at least try and put in some effort in preventing you from doing this.

This feeling; it isn't love. It isn't hatred either, so what is it? Do you hate that man? Yes you do. But do you wish you'd just stay by his side forever? Yes you do.

Feelings are complicated, you wish you could be saved by this feeling instead.

Your performance ends and soon fine came out, dancing with grace and brilliance that you wish you'd achieve before you retire as an idol.

But you suppose you cannot get everything you want in your life.

The vote rendered to fine by a lot; a humiliating defeat for you, but you didn't care.

You clapped for they had stood victorious once again, your face soften as Eichi's only grows sadder.

"It's a promise. I'll wait for you, Tenshouin." Was your last word spoken to him before you went off stage.

Why is he reacting to his victory this way? Why was he sad that you didn't win?

Should he run after you? No, he shouldn't. That's a terrible idea.

"Eichi-kun? Are you okay?" A certain teammate of his asks, voicing his concern while the other had already gone offstage.

It is just the same at the end of the day.

"No, I'm fine. Let's go, Aoba-kun." Eichi replied, a rather weak smile he flashed his teammate that didn't seem like him at all.

"If only I could prevent you from leaving." Those words lingered in Eichi's thoughts as he steals glances to the seat next to him.

You are absent again for today.

Did the others give you too much headaches lately? He doesn't know. He wish he'd know what you're thinking most of the time, really.

No matter how many times he'd convince himself you didn't came to school, he still managed to find himself walking up the stairs to the rooftop.

For the final step he took and the slam of the door; he could only respond nonchalantly with a smile.

There you were, on the rooftop—orange rays of the sunset enveloping your figure as he walks forward—forward to you.

"It's quite nostalgic, isn't it?" Eichi asks, further and further getting closer to you who stood too closely to the railing. His heart beats faster and faster with every step he took.

"We... Met like this, right?"

"Correct. It is far in the past already, so it's not a surprise to see that you've forgotten about it already."

Silence overtook the two of you.

"Tenshouin—"

"I like you." Your voice overlaps with his. You locked eyes with one another, eyes widen in surprise.

Oh, how you pitied one another after the sudden confession.

Your gaze falls down onto the ground and so did his for a moment.

"—and that is why I offer you a proposal," he said, reaching out a hand to you. "Join fine with me. We'll fit great together as a team."

Your eyes widen once again, falling short to his proposal.

"I see great potential hidden deep within you; we're both the same, [Name]." He started to spoke, "—our motive, our reasoning; everything."

"You want to see this school change for the better, and so do I. We can change it if we work together, I'm sure of it."

"You can win your fans back once again, if not thousands of people more—with me, nobody would even dare bother you."

"With me, you can climb up the ladder of Yumenosaki's most powerful unit and punish those who deemed you wrong! Wouldn't you like that?"

"Please don't monologue your way through this." You immediately cut him off.

"Right, sorry." He apologized, smiling sheepishly at you. "Nonetheless, what do you say? Will you take my hand in offer?" He asks, smiling softly at you.

You were silent, replying with almost to no sound to his offer, but he still wanted to believe that there's some slight chance that you'd take it; take his hand and be together with him once again.

He really enjoys your company after all.

You took his hand, but not in a way he was expecting you to. His eyes widen as he was pulled closer to you, hands intertwined with one another.

Your gaze soften at his bewildered expression. Without any warning, you whisked him away into a waltz.

"We made a promise. We'd entrust our hearts to each other in order for no one else to steal it away." You said, waltzing along with the confused Eichi.

Eichi soon hung his head low, smiling. He can never really know just what you're thinking, can he?

"That is correct—although that was nothing more but a foolish dream instead of a promise."

"Must it be a dream? Don't you wish for it to happen? You do like me, no?"

"Right. I do like you, but it'd be better if it just stays as a foolish dream of mine; one that will never come true."

"—since you're going to leave my life sooner or later..." Was all he could mumble that day. He wish he'd reminiscence those memories with you longer.

The air was colder than usual, yet the same orange-tint light illuminates you just like the other times.

"I enjoy everything we went through together." You muttered, glancing back at him with a smile on your face.

"Laughing with you, crying with you, being with you..." You trailed off, your grip on the railing only tightens, "dancing with you..."

How much longer can we last? He asks to himself, unable to move from his spot. He wasn't sure on what to do. You didn't accept his invitation to fine, so he deems you as nothing but an obstace.

He should be viewing you as such, but he simply couldn't.

He really did enjoy your company. He really did, he never wanted all of this to happen—this'll never happened if you weren't so stubborn.

It is... Truly baffling.

So for one last time, allow him to return your kind gesture—allow him to whisk you away into a waltz, all like those times you'd do for him.

Ah, why are you looking at him like that? Well, he suppose it's going to happen considering he had "executed" you, but he did tried to help you fix your reputation back.

Your trust and admiration in him already dissolved into nothingness months prior, but nonetheless, you followed. Into the waltz you two shall dance for one last time.

He couldn't help but laugh; laugh it all away, ignoring the tears that's already forming at the corner of his eyes as he dips you.

He'll really miss you.

The waltz on the rooftop signify the end—the end of your everlasting relationship with him, whatever it is you two had between each other.

And that was the last time he ever saw you inside Yumenosaki too. There was rumors speculating around your disappearance—some say you committed suicide while some say you fled to live in another country as a normal high schooler.

He knows better than to trust baseless rumors, but the former does make more sense than the latter.

He has finally gain control over Yumenosaki completely. He does wonder, if you are here would you be happy? Would you continue to stay by his side or would it all end up like this nonetheless?

You are a true enigmatic. Wherever you are, he does truly hope that you'll find your happiness once again. As for him, he is happy now. He thinks.

#ensemble stars x reader #enstars x reader #tenshouin eichi x reader #eichi tenshouin x reader #enstars #ensemble stars #eichi tenshouin

[rorah]

Do you have any thoughts on Claude’s route in 3hopes? Your analysis of Dimitri’s run was so awesome and I share similar criticisms. I’m personally not a fan of Claude’s characterization in 3hopes, and I’m a diehard Claude fan lol, so I’d love to hear your thoughts (positive or negative! your rant was just really well written and interesting!) have a good day/night :-)

My thoughts on Claude? Sure.

Well I have to be honest and start with the fact that I still haven't finished his route lol rip but I've been spoiled enough to know that this is the route where most of the characters/deers seem a little to too much OOC (for what I have read. Tbh I can't be sure about ALL DEERS but Claude is mostly the point here). And I am a defender of "characters in Hopes are still substantially the same as the one presented in Houses" argument, just different circumstances bring different outcomes. But also seems like the writers in charge of giving nuance to the characters don't know how to do it properly without taking some neurons and mental capabilities away from said characters, aka: make them look dumb.

GW and SB are the routes where I am hesitant to look for arguments that can backup such outcome or it's just a matter of "the devs forgot about that part in the original game" issue, as it's planted in some interview that I don't have the source at hand, sadly.

But I am quite convinced of one thing. Hopes is presenting us the opposite resolution of Houses with a subtlety masked by sweet fanservice (just a certain percent of fans, I must say). What I mean by that is, Cloud in Houses is the one discovering the truth behind the mystery of Fodlan and kills Nemesis for some reason at the end of his route. And in Hopes, he is the most notable affected by this change by not discovering much about Agarthans and also kills Serios instead of Nemesis at the end of his route.

In Azure Gleam Dimitri gets his revenge and that does nothing for his personal journey. Actually, it's the opposite because he learned in houses that revenge will get him nothing but more collateral damage.

In Scarlet Blaze well… I am not entirely sure tbh.

Back to Claude. I think the main problem with his characterization is that it was not quite clear what type of person he is. I remember doing his route with the idea that he was the most relaxed, "meme" fun lord, and all positive of the three because the fandom painted him as such, and I feel utterly confused and betrayed because that wasn't what I perceived of him in his route. He has a little arc about open up and trusting others, while getting rid of his own prejudices about the lands he isn't well versed. But that's in houses. In Hopes, that part of his character is taken away because once again: No Byleth.

Let me remark that I haven't played his full route yet, so take what I say with a grain of salt. So tl;dr, we can say that his characterization in Hopes is bad because it was meant to be bad. You can see it as a mirror universe without the person who functions as guidance. And once again that brings us to another conflict when we recruit Byleth, but that's another issue to tackle on its own separately because it has tints of "devs fcked up and ran out of time/resources to properly do anything with it or give coherent resolution" issues. --- Edited because I accidentally type Azure Moon instead of Gleam lol But anyway, Claude fans, let me know your personal interpretation of Claude ~

#ask #Is it Claude time? #IT's Claude time #claude von riegan #fe3h #few3h #fire emblem warriors 3 hopes #Thank you for supporting my views of my previous post tho #it's quite appreciated #Now #let's not shit on the devs too much. Ambitious projects come with so many challenges #so I am quite understanding of such mistakes and won't judge them harshly. It's for fun an entertainment #take what you like and try to understand the rest and its purpose #thoughts and suppositions

[shuunnico]

Finished Korra S2

Rewatched it with a friend who doesn't remember much of the show, so she's basically watching it for the first time. We've rewatched all of AtLA and S1 of Korra prior.

It was BAD. We actually believe Korra S1 is better written than S1 of AtLA, even including the love triangle and deus ex machina airbending. She hoped the trend would continue when I knew it wouldn't.

My friend got so dejected by, I think, the first Wan episode she just wanted to get the season done with as soon as possible to get through it.

The Problems We Had

Korra's character reverting back to the start of S1 for some reason

Mako being an absolute shitheel regarding romance

The fights being more brutal, but characters not getting injuries (mostly happens in the first half of the season)

Basically all of Episode 13 and 14 because NONE of it makes sense

The fog disappearing because Tenzin defeats his insecurities

The animation was notably worse (I know it's because Studio Mir wasn't available for the season, it's still poorly animated)

Way too many callbacks/fanservice. Wan Shi Tong, Iroh, Zhao. Would've been neat if they were reserved about it but in such a poor season, it feels like they're using it to compensate.

Why didn't Desna and Eska turn on Unalaaq sooner?

The judge spilling everything to Korra, even things not directly related to her questions, which just gives her all the answers she needs

Problems Other People Have That We Didn't

Korra is not at fault for losing her past lives. Unalaaq is.

Korra was not an idiot for trusting Unalaaq. She was entirely reasonable to trust him until the point where she turns on him.

Korra was entirely justified in being angry with Tenzin and her father.

The Wan episodes do not destroy the Avatar lore like people say it does. The reveal of bending's origins actually plugs a lore hole in AtLA.

Aang was not 'assassinated' because he was not a neglectful father and his choice to give Tenzin special attention was reasonable.

What We Liked

Basically all of Bolin's side story, especially the final payoff

Everything to do with Varrick

A lot of Tenzin's story in the season

Intelligent/Innovative use of bending and technology

Overall, despite thinking S1 is pretty well written until the finale, S2 was the worst written season out of all 5 we've seen so far.

Yes, we know the writers were caught off guard and told to write the season on short notice. That's the reason and it absolutely sucks they had to do that. But that's not an excuse, the season is still terrible.

Hopefully, S3 will be better because that was really hard to get through.

#Avatar #Korra #legend of korra #AtLA

[hawkepockets]

mr hawte pocket, may we ask your thoughts on the expansion news, since you mentioned in that recent post you have mixed opinions (@commanderhorncleaver)

ok i'm just gonna go point by point

👍 standard price for the expansion size. pleasant surprise! i was put off at seeing only a $5-10 discount from prev expacs, but i also wasn't expecting 3 maps and such sweeping changes to combat. if it includes living world unlocks, i think $25 is very fair.

👍👍 mounted combat PLEASE. YEAH

👍 if i'm understanding the rune changes right, they sound solid. while certain stat sets may be collapsed together, i think that moving the current 6th rune perk into its own distinct slot will lead to more build customizability, not less, while cutting down on tp costs as a barrier of entry to endgame group content.

👍👍👍👍👍 MESMER RIFLE‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

👍 adding a new path to unlocking skyscale, while vet players who went through the tedious collection already are rewarded in the mastery tree. i’m glad their efforts aren’t gonna be totally thankless, and that the mount will be more accessible to the rest of us!

👍 "silent surf" is a gorgeous & highly vertical map. i'm sure the new zones will look and feel good.

👎 i have worries, based on the gyala episodes' failure to strongly tie the new oni threat to the end of the dragon cycle or the commander's canonical interests/motives & the amount of goofy filler, lore fudging, & fanservice in "what lies within," about the story's ability to follow up on itself. i think upcoming story releases will try to appeal to new players who haven't played the aurene storyline live and have less loyalty to the existing cast of npcs, while appeasing vet players with sloppy gw1 tie-ins and lazy answers to long-memed-about fan questions like "where's zojja" and "kessex wizard tower????" and that it’s likely to hurt itself in its confusion.

🥴 i hope that i'm proven wrong here, like i was by core eod story, and don't get me wrong i'm into wizards & demons, but after the false promises of "what lies beneath" and IBS i'm feeling... hm! well.

👍 i'm glad we're seeing more of cantha! 🫶 cantha...

🤨❓ decoupling elite specs from their signature weapons. here's where i get complicated.

IT WILL BE FUN. like. let's just get that out of the way it will be fun. i'm very excited to see all the new playstyles that become possible, a broadening of the endgame instanced pve meta, a big bang of rp builds tailored to character lore, new animations!! IT WILL BE FUN.

but i have some bigtime problems with it. first, i think anet has always fallen short of paying back vet players who've invested the most time, energy, and money to a game that gets continuously cheaper, easier, and more accessible. cheap and accessible are good things! high difficulty should be opt-in! and i don't in any way resent new players for having a better experience getting into the game. that said, the elite specs & their associated new weapon proficiencies were a major selling point of the prev expacs, right alongside story, maps, and gliding/mounts. it feels scammy for anet to now say, "remember when you preordered heart of thorns, full price, as soon as it was announced because you were THAT excited to play a guardian with a bow?? silly." the value loss here is not insignificant, and not reimbursed in any way.

& if access to the signature weapons is no longer an incentive to unlock and play an elite spec, there needs to be another incentive. those trait lines need to be powerful, individual, and on-point with lore and personality. that's the trade off. and right now, that is not at all the zeitgeist of gw2 balance patches. for a few years now, balance has been homogenizing specs, spreading out q/alac and heal capabilities while methodically deboning what's unique, potent, and vexing about the devs' least favorite classes: chrono boon support, mirage evasion, berserker dps, etc. without their signature weapons, what do these specs have going for them? what's their appeal? what's their vibe? where's their place in the world lore or the meta? opening up weapon selection, without reversing the trend of 2022-23 balance patches, accelerates the specs' decay into sameyness, and may make some completely obsolete. i'm not okay with that. keep guildwars weird.

however, i am hopeful that the change will address another of my beefs with balance, which is that in the current meta many elite specs are expected not to use their signature weapon at all. my feeling is & has always been, if i wanted to play D/D thief i wouldn't have trained specter, a spellslinger class made for scepter. if i didn't like axe, i never would've been attracted to mirage. so i hope the new armory system will put some of those back into play.

👍 hey. look at me. mesmer rifle.

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