#but other than that i love how true to the og this version is. even down to the silly echo in the verses. i love that they kept it

[blueofthesun]

i already know the new akuro no oka is going to be my top song of this year

#no it's not too early to say #i love the subtle changes in the guitars (esp the acoustic but also the other riffs) and drums and how they reflect their modern style #also the added nuance in the vocals is obviously a great addition #but most of all i'm still reeling over the fact that they made the guitar solo partly acoustic #also the little note change at the end of the the electric part tugs at my heartstrings #all in all the arrangement feels very well thought out and not like they just made changes for the sake of making them #imo. remember i don't actually know anything x #personal #tbd #the ONLY thing i miss from the og is the outro. i wish they kept the white noise and the guitar #but other than that i love how true to the og this version is. even down to the silly echo in the verses. i love that they kept it

[freetobeeyouandme]

Mike’s Monologue (Actually Romantic Version)

Hey y'all! So, a lot of the analyses I've seen about the monologue and things I noticed about it myself as to why it sucks ass were kind of just easily fixable things related to the editing of the scene. And because I have an editing software and thought it would be a fun way to practice...I fixed it. So here's what Mike's Monologue could have looked like if they had wanted it to be actually romantic.

Notes and process under the cut.

- Everything I used (except flashbacks) is from the original ~4 min sequence from them pulling El out of the water to her sending Henry flying (I’ll reblog with a link in a second)

-My version is ~3 mins long, shaving off a whole minute from the og. I did that by cutting out everyone else who intrudes on the scene, which is Will and Max but also shots of Lucas, Hopper, Eddie and Dustin in distress after the bulk of Mike's speech

-The ending is super interesting because El looks at Max and then frees herself, but as she does so we leave the mindscape and Surferboy’s: We cut to Max irl, getting her bones broken, Lucas beating Jason to go stand and look at Max dying, a shot of Hopper with a snarling demodog on top of him, Eddie getting eaten and Dustin calling out for him, and then back to Max and Lucas. Only then do we cut back to Mike still yelling "fight!" and El falling off the wall sending Henry flying. Which imo emphazises that this isn’t the kind of romantic love saves the day scene that it should have been if it was meant genuinely. It’s El remembering Max is in danger that pushes her to fight, not Mike, which is why we see all of her friends in danger as she frees herself. It’s not just Will between them in this scene, it’s everyone.

-Cutting all that was relatively easy because at this point Mike just keeps repeating "fight, El" so no dialogue was lost and I didn't have to futz with the audio

-Similarly cutting Will's prompting Mike was also so easy to cut, which just shows how unnecessary it was. Which, in turn, just hammers home how suspicious it is

-I simply covered Will and Jonathan's reactions to "hurt more" with a reaction shot for El, eliminating further intrusions on the scene by others

-The montage includes 15 different clips of memories, which is more than El has when she restarts Max's heart (10) and about the same as Max during Running Up That Hill (16).

-Making the montage made me realize how jarring the constant back and forth between Mike and El becomes, especially towards the end of the monologue, after that first memory: During Running Up That Hill we focus solely on Max after the boys put on Kate Bush, only cutting to them once when Max starts to float and even then Max is still in the picture, because we're in her head and need to see how she feels and how she's escaping. I tried to imitate that with my montage, but it's interesting that in the real version we get dragged back to Surferboy's and see Mike talk, making the scene not just about El and her fight to escape but also about Mike performing (when he should become just a guiding voice like the song)

-El's reaction in the montage except for the laugh after the t-shirt mention are all from after the monologue

-The most immediate and drastic change imo was when I changed the background music. Even without the montage the cut already works so much better with "Unambigious True Love" playing instead of "You're The Heart"

-I didn't have to do anything fancy to make the new song work. I simply underlaid UTL so the track lined up with the fade to black and it fit basically on the first try. The length spans the entire monologue, slowly building up and then cresting during the montage and falling as Mike calls for her to fight and the vines fall away. It would literally have been the perfect track to use instead of making up a new one and then naming it after Will's feelings.

-There are still a couple of things about the monologue that I couldn't fix, such as lighting, shot composition (Will is still visible over Mike's shoulder for example) and the actual text, which is still a bit weird, but overall doing this was very interesting because it made me think about what we should have seen if they wanted this to be genuine and the difference between what I ended up creating and what we saw on screen is stark.

In conclusion: They’re bones

#Byler #anti mileven #stranger things #stranger things 4 #mike wheeler #eleven hopper #video edits

[tzilatza]

NATLA Review - spoilers

Woke up today still feeling annoyed after finished the Netflix ATLA remake last night, and I think I've figured out the core reason.

It's the fact that: If they had held truer to the original source material, we could have had a truly great show. I disagree with those calling it a complete disaster. The acting was good, great in some cases. The effects were very well done, the bending looked about as good as it can in a live action media. The scenery was lovely.

But what happened in the writer's room?! The way they just reveal all the back stories up front EVERY TIME is honestly insulting to the audience. It's like they're so terrified that smartphone culture has made the public so accustomed to instant gratification that they have no faith we will stick around and keep watching if they make us wait for anything.

They're also clearly terrified of complexity. One of my biggest gripes with this remake is Jet's story. They completely took out his plans to murder a whole town of innocents in order to get a few enemy soldiers. Now, Jet isn't my favorite character, but his story is so important. Because it is real. The world is full of people who have been so brought down by injustice that they lose their sense of right and wrong, and we need to see that on screen. If Jet is too complex for them, how will they handle Ba Sing Se in the second season.

This goes along the same lines as removing Sokka's sexist moments. They felt they had to do it to make him more 'likable.' Yet the writers themselves went full sexist on Katara's character. They've taken out so much of her spark, her righteous and justified anger, and they've done it because even in 2024, people expect women to be more passive to be palatable. Enough people have already commented on them removing Aang's choice to run away. Heaven forbid the main character not be an absolute paragon. Did y'all notice that they even made Hahn likable? Hahn?! What reason do you have for making Hahn likable Netflix?! His role in the narrative is to be an example of toxic masculinity that is clearly the bad choice compared to Sokka who has learned and grown out of his own.

Don't even get me started with what they're doing with the fire nation family, I'm not ready to tackle that. In general, I have no problem with Azula getting a little more backstory and humanizing, but why season 1? Throwing in all these extra scenes just sacrifices screen-time where they could've actually fleshed out the real season one plots instead of rushing through things at breakneck pace. (ex: Aang escaping Zuko's ship in about 2 minutes flat)

At the end of the day, the scenes I most enjoyed were those that held true to the original like the Blue Spirit sequences. They could've easily done more of this, held onto the important plot points and even more important character complexity, while maturing it for an adult audience. I'm not disagreeing with every change they made. Go ahead and take out the silly Nickelodeon gags, add cussing and more realistic violence to get your mainstream viewers. Go ahead. They could've easily made a darker more mature version of the show and still held onto all the old fans in my opinion. But claiming that you're making a 'more mature' version and then removing the complexity and subtlety because they didn't think viewers could handle it...

What makes me most sad is that there are a lot of people who will experience ATLA for the first time through this show. There are a lot of adults who are not willing to watch original ATLA because they refuse to acknowledge an animated series can be anything other than a kid's show. Those people will watch this and think it's the real deal, and that just makes me sad.

If you've read this far, a very sincere thank you for listening to my rant. If you're an OG fan who enjoyed it, I have no problem with you. It was a fun watch, I was just hoping for more. If you are a new viewer who has never seen ATLA before, I sincerely want to hear your opinions. Is it a great show to someone who isn't holding it against the context of the original? And do you plan to watch the original now?

#natla #natla spoilers #live action atla #live action avatar #netflix avatar #netflix avatar review #avatar the last airbender #atla

[beloved-cat-gremlin]

To all of us hoping that Gregory will be the protag of HW2, I have found a bit of info that might help fasten that theory.

I'm not sure if anyone else has pointed these things out before. So keep that in mind when reading.

Theory rambling incoming from here on out.

So a few weeks ago I got myself this lovely book here.

And while it is just a general cookbook with some fancy recipes in it, we all know that in true FNaF fashion there is more going on here than it seems.

And boy there sure is, even if some of these are rather obvious. Because throughout the entire book there are added pieces of paper with small notes that contain info on them.

And these little straps of notes are written by none other than Gregory himself. With the notes themselves indicating that these are post Security Breach as evident by these specific notes right here:

These are very clearly written by Gregory and all tie into the events of Security Breach.

(There are a few more notes mentioning how you should always keep your eyes on the Endos, grab an Ultimate Pass from Bonnie Bowl, Chica eating from the garbage, that you should grab a Party Pass for Fazerblast and use the blaster to stun animatronics, how Moon is and I quote "a nightmare animatronic" and to keep away from the Staffbot flashlights)

But there are even more notes in the book that do not follow the events of the game but rather talk about older versions of all the characters we all know and love. And not just that but Gregory is flat out describing mechanisms from previous games. Like this note:

Not to mention the note itself is attached to an image with the FNaF 1 office.

There is also notes on how you should watch Bonnie's every move, to never take your eyes off from Foxy's hook and how Foxy's eyepatch doesn't seem to stop him from hunting intruders.

But the most fascinating, and most random note to me, has to be this one:

A note from Gregory describing Ballora. I could kinda understand that Gregory might have gotten info on the classic four animatronics via searching stuff up, but the fact that Ballora is mentioned here, and only her from SL, makes me think that this is way more important than a random little easter egg.

Because let's take a look at the HW2 trailers again? We know for a fact that the three main games featured in this new one will be Security Breach, Pizza Sim and Sister Location.

And that is the important part, because Ballora was only and only in SL and nowhere else. Heck she was even the first animatronic teased in the first HW2 trailer.

Some people theorize that Cassie could be the one we play as in HW2 because of the Foxy ride shown in the second trailer, and with Cassie mentioning that she had been on this ride before, but here we have a game that includes Ballora and could be a potential GGY prequel where we play as Gregory.

Now we have a book with notes written by Gregory, mentioning Ballora. And not just that but HW2 could be where Gregory got all the info for the older animatronics from.

We do see that the new Foxy ride attraction includes the FNaF 1 office, which could be how Gregory knows Chica's specific attack pattern and also knows more about Bonnie and especially Foxy. Because outside of cutouts and references and images in SB and RUIN there is no way that any of these kids should really know much about Foxy.

Sure Cassie might know stuff from her dad but Gregory? There is no way he could have known most of this stuff. Unless he played a game prior to SB where he did get to know about the old animatronics.

And all of this isn't even me mentioning how Gregory, somehow, managed to dig up the old news paper articles from FNaF 1, 2 and 3 and put them into the cookbook.

Heck the first note you see from him is of the first location threatened to be shutdown because of the weird odor and mucus from the OG animatronics after the first MCI! Followed by the MCI report itself:

Other articles that were included are of the original help wanted ad in the paper where they are looking for a night guard. The article about the OG pizzaria closing down. The second help wanted poster from FNaF 2 which talks about the grand reopening in 1987. And the two news articles about Fazbear's Fright opening and then eventually burning to the ground.

Not sure how or why Gregory managed to get a hold on all of these and why he decided to include them in the cookbook. But they are there.

And that's kinda all the info I found myself. I'm not the best at doing these theory things but I'm trying.

Am I maybe digging for hints where there might not be any? Possibly.

Do I however feel that this could be important clues to figuring out more about Gregory? Oh absolutely.

#five nights at freddy's #fnaf #fnaf: help wanted 2 #fnaf gregory #fnaf ggy #long post #rambles #no art

[crisiscutie]

Mother dearest...

JENOVA. The Calamity From The Skies. The "Mother" of Sephiroth.

A wonderful ramble/rant/analysis/whatever by C.C. about hers/its truly...

I've always found this lifeform to be so fascinating, and it's not because I am fond of monsters, okay my bias may have played in a role in it. Yet, what frustrates me is the lack of definition for it. The abilities of it seem so boundless, but obviously, it has some limits, which is why it was eventually defeated by the Ancients, right? But what exactly are those limits? The range of its powers is INSANE. Besides the obvious shape-shifting, it can read the memories and thoughts of almost anything, spawn monstrosities, and grant immense strength, healing factors and heightened senses to those who possess its cells, surpassing human and most other beings by several levels... How the hell was JENOVA defeated!? Then again, you might as well ask why the Black Materia exists while you're at it.

And then there are obvious questions like if JENOVA was controlling Sephiroth during the Nibelheim Incident, or if it is still sapient around the time of OG FF7/Remake even through Sephiroth at the helm...

I'm really hoping that the 7R trilogy will expand on its history and its species (if applicable). We need answers. Plenty of them. The more we learn about it, the more we learn about Sephiroth...

I'm especially hoping for the theory of JENOVA being an Omega Weapon from another planet is true because that would make a lot of sense... And I'm especially curious about how they will handle JENOVA's single line in the FF7 series in Rebirth.

This happens not long after THAT MOMENT... So how it will be portrayed? Will they get another voice actor? Use a distorted version of Aeriths voice? I will be annoyed if it's rewritten as a Sephiroth line.

Another aspect that I find interesting is how Sephiroth's perspective on it contrasts with everyone else's. Despite his intense disdain for human-like attributes such as emotions and sentiments, Sephiroth humanizes JENOVA, while others perceive it as nothing but a monster. Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm fairly certain that the only people who even refer to JENOVA with feminine pronouns are Sephiroth and his remnants.

Now, on the flip-side, Sephiroth objectifies everyone else, only using their names when necessary and discarding them like tools once they have served their purpose. When he treats someone more than a tool, then they're just a parasite waiting to be executed. It's interesting how JENOVA is ALSO a tool for him. A special one, deserving of his love and praise. It serves as an effective weapon for the obvious reasons given in the first paragraph. It also satisfies his unmet need for a maternal figure, something he had craved pretty much his whole life. He's really putting the "everything and anything" abilities of JENOVA to the test, huh? And in a twisted way, it holds some truth, just like there is always an element of truth in Sephiroth's web of deceit. And I bet he empathized with it too when learning of his "origins". Being a monster that was used and locked away, similar to himself...

But anyway, Ignoring JENOVA would be like ignoring Sephiroth since it's so integral to his character. Especially when you consider he literally becomes one with at some point in the games. It played a significant role in shaping the Crisis Cutie we adore and love! It's who he is.

Also fun fact: I'm pretty sure that red-pink glow in the Rebirth logo are definitely JENOVA'S eyes.

#sephiroth #final fantasy 7 #ff7 sephiroth #ff7 #crisis cutie #jenova #ffvii rebirth #ffvii #ffviir #c.c's theories

[marine-indie-gal]

Been awhile since I haven't drawn any Tabaluga lately, not since that I've finally got a chance to watch the Kristin Fairlie version online since I first found the Mackenzie Ziegler version from it's Alternate Stupid Title, "Ice Princess Lilly" only to fool a lot of people into thinking it was a Frozen knock-off from a Regular Old Dollar Store. Though it's still not a big surprise from Me for the US to give out some CGI Movie Adaptations of Kids Shows from an Old Decade under their own Cheap Titles like "Here Comes The Grump" to "A Wizard's Tale" and even "The Magic Roundabout" to "Doogal" (seriously, the last one sucked ass. Even though I haven't had a chance to watch the British version, I heard a lot of good things about the OG version of that Other Adaptation much better than how Weinstein butchered it with their own Pop Culture references).

So I had a small talk with my Friend, @djinarocks of how we loved Tabaluga and how that Arktos is one of our Favorite Villains of Musical Theatres (compare to Von Rothbart from "Swan Lake" and even The Mouse King from "The Nutcracker") after I introduced her to this German Franchise.

While that both Me and My Friend love Obscure Media a whole lot, we both ship Tabaluga/Lilli together as a Romeo and Juliet like pairing (since these Two Elemental Kids did reminded Me a lot of that Other Elemental Romeo and Juliet Movie made by Sanrio (not to be confused with the Pixar one that is)). During in one of our conversations, we talked about on how we wondered if Lilli didn't leave Iceland and started her own New Life up in Space if Arktos did raised her and treated her as his own Actual Heir (something as if his own Mother would've liked to have Grandchildren if the Son were to pass the Whole "Dictator" thing to his own Children like a Family Thing).

If you're one of the Fans who both love the Musical and the Show other than the Movie, you'd probably would know that Arktos created Her, only to lure Tabaluga in for exchange of his Fire (in which the 2018 Adaptation did by its own self, but without the Whole "Give Your Own Fire to Me" thing and replace it into having "One Last Hero to be Killed" scenario that made Arktos into a much more Sinister Creepy Dragon Genocidal Monster as an Akin Contrast to the OG Arktos). But since Me and My Friend had this "Thought" if Lilli didn't leave Iceland, what if Arktos had a different way with her? Something like raising a Heir and make them a Future Dictator for your own Country. If anything, that could've had make Lilli give her so much more character other than just a "Love Interest" (akin to the Movie's Lilli as well).

Basically, Arktos creates Lilli through Sculpture (but it goes different than the last one than in the show through a twist), instead of creating a Trap for Dragon Bait, he actually creates Lilli as a single heir of his own so that way she'd beat Tabaluga to rule all over the lands one day. After trying to wind her up with a Wind-Up Key, Arktos thought of a better solution by breathing her into Life to make her Real. He names his own Daughter, "Lilli" because after researching through a Book about Humans, he mispronounced the name "Lilith" (The First Wife of Adam) into "Lilli" and mistaken Her as Eve (Adam's True Wife) (because that's clearly how he created her according to some of the Musical's lore from what I can remember). Although while Tabaluga was deeply in love with Arktos' Humanoid Daughter, Arktos forbid their own love and didn't want to be a Father-In-Law to his own Arch-Nemesis (whose the Son of his First Enemy).

Teaching his own Child everything about Iceland Life, Lilli was somehow fascinated by the World of Greenland and wanted to explore around Other Countries instead invading to in which, She and Her Father have a Huge Conflict about. Unlike the Movie's Lilli, this AU Lilli has more personality than the one in the show of her single appearance; She is more Meek and Shy with a Quiet Personality but is still Curious about the Entire World that she demands to ask a Whole Lot of Questions (even if her Father dares to answer one of them). Despite their own disagreements, Arktos loved his own Daughter deeply similar to how his own Mother passed on her Son's Spoiled Love to Another (even James would still have to be Lilli's own Manny whenever his Penguin Butler would have to keep an eye on her whenever the Father's not around).

When Tabaluga got over his own crush for her after their first meeting, he basically decided on how to teach Lilli to be more "Independent" whenever she'd come and visit Greenland (either with or without her own Father), even with the help of her own Friends. Although that while most of the Greenlanders didn't like Lilli at first, the Ice Princess then expand more of her Kindness to her Surroundings as throughout her own Arc between Seasons 2-3, She and Tabaluga develop more of their Romance (instead of having a Rushed One). After the Frozen Defeat of Arktos, Lilli then decides for her own life that it is best to join her own Boyfriend and become the Rulers of both their own Lands after a Long Journey ahead of having Each of The Four Seasons be released every year as they start their own New Life together, thus, ending their own Families' hate feud.

I've probably should've had put this in my version of Tabaluga but oh well, at least this is probably from a Simple AU where if Lilli did had more Character than just being the Main Character's Love Interest. 🤷‍♀️

BTW, when I finally got a chance to watch the First English Dub Movie online, I was so Happy that I got a chance to seeing the Scene where Tabaluga and Lilli sing their own Love for Each Other from one of the Musicals and let me tell you it was sooooooo Adorable to see Tabaluga and Lilli's love for each other, which makes my Love for the Both of Them even more 🥰

And while that I still haven't checked out the Rest of the Musicals and their Songs (since I still can't understand German as Someone who wishes to learn more about Any Foreign Language for the Same Person who watches Foreign Cartoons all the time), I did try out the Original versions for "Devil In White" and "I'm Feeling You" as I still need to practice more of my own Tabaluga homework. XP

I was also afraid on how I would deal with my own first time drawing with Canon Arktos after doing my own version of Him (since his Left Arm was a bit hard for Me), but I think I nailed it after trying to draw out their own Canon Designs from the Franchise.

Arktos and Lilli (c) Peter Maffay, Rolf Zuckowski, and Gregor Rottschalk.

#tabaluga #arktos #lilli #tabaluga lilli #lilli tabaluga #arktos tabaluga #tabaluga arktos #au #alternate universe

[banterismylovelanguage]

Analyzing my ship taste recently

In the most surface-level way possible

XIAOVEN

The og, the lovers across centuries, my OTP in Genshin.

Very wholesome and angst-ridden ship, I classify it lightly as having the characteristics of “childhood friends to lovers” due to the interpersonal knowledge they (would) have of each other in this ship.

Childhood friends to lovers has always been that devoted ship, “I choose you despite all we meet and will meet, and in every hardship I will stand by you”, and the loyalty that one has for the other is the defining characteristic of this ship for me.

This is how I see Xiaoven. So, despite the fact they’re not actually childhood friends, it has that same timeframe of a long time knowing each other and utter devotion to each other.

Now let’s look at another example of one of my “old” fave ships in Genshin.

JEANLISA (…anybody think I was going for Shenjin? It works for this, but Imma put it at the end because this ship better proves my comparisons)

Jeanlisa is prob best fit for friends to lovers but it has all the same characteristics of childhood friends to lovers. (Coworkers to lovers works as well, but I think that dynamic is more flexible in what type of coworker they are—enemies? Begrudging allies? Married couple? Or friends…)

Friends to lovers feels more like the oblivious “childhood friends to lovers” version of the dynamic. Both of them act like they’re committed to the other, but it takes one moment of “Oh shit, I actually really like you” for everything to hit it off. One starts to realize they know more about that person than other friends that they start to naturally seek touch or crave touch when it isn’t given; maybe there’s a moment or two of seeing a couple and wondering what the difference is between that couple’s relationship and their friendship is—to only realize there is no difference other than the label or the intimacy (that they would be utterly okay with!).

Again, there’s a dedication there, but it doesn’t have quite the long timeframe—yet. It’s wanting to have those long years with the other person.

Jeanlisa has that vibe, but it contains a touch of angst with one life being cut short, and perhaps that’s the kicker of a moment that brings them together into the next step of their relationship.

All right, onto the new ships…

WRIONEY

I’m so stereotypical for this, but I love a good enemies to lovers ship. I was so wrong for only seeing the women (Furina, Arelcchino) for Lyney’s potential ships, only to have my mind blown with Wriothesley’s introduction. This a good ship.

Complete opposite of Xiaoven, there’s no devotion or loyalty here—there’s not even an ounce of trust! Destruction, betrayal, blackmail—everything to break down any spark of a relationship here. And yet, why is the ship so appealing?

Well, any enemies to lovers ship is about seeing the worst sides of two people, being confronted with the honesty in the hatred, and finding a weird sort of trust in that consistency—this person may hide their motives from me and their real life, but at least I know my standing with them. There’s no front of trying to make one appear to be the best version of themselves in order to impress; there is teeth gnashing and blood drawn and lots of high-tension moments of bringing someone to the edge and waiting for them to snap.

EXACTLY what we get with WRIONEY. So where does the romance come in?

It comes from the honesty. Hatred is only a coin flip from love as they say (LOL don’t take that too seriously), and I believe that, in seeing the worst of each other, there’s a stronger connection that can be built through the pain.

It takes the timeframe needed from childhood friends to lovers and cuts it into pieces with one pivotal moment that spotlights the other character’s true self—that shows everything that the other needed to know—and then it’s slowly rebuilding everything you initially misunderstood about that person into something that aligns with the true self you saw earlier.

And it’s devastatingly romantic.

Let’s take another example:

ARLEFURI

Gonna be honest, saw someone characterize this as toxic yuri and I’ve been in such a mood since I’ve been waiting for Heartbreak Studios to release The Lovers.

This is obviously enemies to lovers, but with a fascinating dynamic.

LOTS of power dynamics, high tension, and danger in this ship, and I’m really looking forward to more scenes to get a better pin on Arlecchino’s character and WHAT IS HAPPENING WHAT with everything going on with them.

The hints I’ve been given to what their dynamic could be like certainly starts as enemies, but usually enemies (in the ship dynamic) are more seen on equal footing to their hatred of each other and thus the poisonous remarks exchanged between the two should be equal (or, at least, what I’m used to seeing).

Arlefuri isn’t quite on that level—yet, or maybe you see that happening behind closed doors, without an audience in your headcanons. It’s certainly an “enemy that hates the other, and the other that hates them too but is also desperately scared of them.” You get the captor/captive dynamic that is fun in of itself to explore.

Usually, the breaking moment in these dynamics is the captor performing some action of excellent standing, either fully for the captive’s benefit or for what the captive loves.

For what changes the captor, in Arlefuri’s case, I see a moment of the captive defying the expectations of the captor.

Honestly, thinking Furina is a selfish, worthless archon is quite in line for typical captor/captive dynamics.. from what I’ve heard or whatever (LOL).

IN CONCLUSION,

I’ve taken a turn for high-strung ship dynamics with Fontaine 😏

Okay, but seriously, these complicated ships are absolutely my jam and it’s quite fun to see so much potential for exploration of individual characters in ship dynamics, and Wrioney and Arlefuri are scratching those itches nicely.

(Anybody have any interesting ships or friendships with Navia? 👀)

Anybody interested in Shenhe ships additional note:

SHENJIN falls closer to strangers to lovers with a longer timeframe of gaining that friends to lovers title, but it still holds under a more wholesome ship.

For strangers to lovers, there’s an added spice of getting to know someone you have no opinion of recently (really, any ship ever) but as adults and with Yun Jin’s interest in Shenhe’s true backstory, you have the classic slow burn with the angst being the fear of letting someone in and know the true you. Who do you trust with the most delicate parts of your heart?

In Yun Jin’s case, who do you let see the most tired parts of yourself, under the makeup and after the performance?

SHENLAN is closer to my current fave ship dynamics, another version of strangers to lovers but in very fun “let’s add some death-defying moments!”

It almost feels like it should be an enemies to lovers ship, but Shenhe doesn’t really have that vibe of creating an intentional enemy, and Yelan could make herself an enemy and absolutely push people away, but it more feels like a childhood friend you try to shake off but never do despite their dedication to you, without the years of dedication.

It gives more the coworkers/buddy cop dynamic: I have your back and you have mine, but I don’t want you to risk your life for me and I will pretend I won’t risk my life for you.”

Fun, right?

Then there’s of course the pivotal moment of “Oh no you risked your life for me and now I see we’re in it for real and can I take you on a date next Saturday and truly get to know the real you—which I tried not to do all this time since?”

Anyway, hope you enjoyed these fun little thoughts.

#I swear I wasn’t a watpad girl with how cheesy some of these interpretations are #but I am a connoisseur of all things shipping tropes and thus… #surface-level lenses #it’s really just to get that feeling on them since the archon quest isn’t over yet #we’ll get into it deeper as we know more #4.1 spoilers #fontaine spoilers #arlefuri #wrioney #I haven’t looked in these tags yet… kinda scared to LOL #xiaoven #jeanlisa #shenjin #shenlan #other ships fall into this too #genshin headcanons #shipping tropes #enemies to lovers #childhood friends to lovers

[artist-issues]

Hello! It's been a while since I was last on your ask inbox. I hope you are doing very well. This is perhaps going to be more of a rant than a regular ask, but I need to say this. I know people are very understandably quite over the topic of TLM 1989 vs TLM 2023 and most would probably prefer to sweep it under a rug. I really can't blame them for letting it go, but given that it's been almost a year since it came out, we could look at it in "retrospect" (I don't think that's quite the right word hehe) and I have to say, the way a lot of its stans continue to talk about this movie like it surpassed the original and even have this slightly disrespectful tone towards it is already very irritating, but one of the things that definitely irritated and even straight-up angered me the most about its reaction was the way they, as a collective, threw OG Eric under the bus in order to prop up the LA version. They literally said that the LA version had deeper feelings and cared far more about Ariel than his original counterpart and the "solid proof" they use to prove this was the Kiss The Girl where in the animated he refused to kiss her whereas in the LA version he was very willing to kiss her and the other scene was where he let Ariel slip down to the ground in the animated whereas in the LA he held her all "protective". They used this as proof that the original was practically a "careless douchebag" compared to the LA one who is the true "romantic and sensitive guy" and that really, really pissed me off, and I know I shouldn't let things like that upset me so much, but it goes to show that none of them ever paid any amount of attention to the original movie. They were practically dragging the original Eric all across the internet for that to prop up the LA version, not taking into account the context of absolutely anything at all. Literally almost nobody viewed him as a douchebag for that and the moment this movie comes along, all of a sudden, he doesn't really care for her and is trash??? They clearly forgot about the "I lost her once. I'm not gonna lose her again" scene, which was excluded in the LA version because he DID give up on looking for her after his mom told him to forget about her because "They can't be together". So much for being such an amazingly caring and romantic guy 🙄 I know you also see through the insane nonsense that is that argument, specially as someone who analyzes classic Disney movies so thoroughly and sees things about them that the average viewer can't see. This seems kind of like a rant, but I saw something related to that and I got so mad. People (outside of the TLM fandom) have always dismissed him as "bland", but this movie seems to have provoked a level of hatred to be thrown at him because they don't find some of his reactions to be "good" and "romantic" enough, but all it shows is how little they actually appreciate and understand the original material. Forgive me for my somewhat long and heavy rant, but I wanted to get it off my chest, and I believe you will understand why this made me so mad even a year later. I'd really like to see your thoughts and feeling on this topic. I certainly let mine be known! 🤣

No, I agree! I have a very dear friend who is also fond of analyzing movies and she, too, loves the Live Action Eric more than the original. And I think people are falling prey to one really subliminal, psychological thing here—we're adults now. And Live Action Eric is handsome, and feels more adult, because he's live-action. So there's this aspect of it that we really weren't feeling or paying attention to on the same level in the animated version: it's basically just his sex appeal. I hate saying it. I hate saying it like that.

But I have to because when you realize that what you're saying is correct—there is NO sense in which Eric in the LA is more caring than the real Eric—then you have to go, "okay, if it's not that, then what is it?"

It's that he has scruff. And a British accent. And a wet-fabric low-cut white shirt on. And then suddenly a movie that was about simple, innocent, young love that you could read about in a fairy tale starts to feel a little more angsty, a little more about passion, a little more like The Vampire Diaries, etc.

I'm not saying they're just preferring the LA Eric carnally. (Sorry.) I'm saying, I think there's a difference between the maturity levels of the romance. Live Action wants you thinking about Eric in terms of adult longing. Animated wants you thinking about Eric in terms of childhood dreams. The problem isn't even that one is more noble than the other (although. yeah.) The problem is that the original movie used the relationship to symbolize an important theme, while the Live Action tries to make the relationship the theme, itself...and then like you said, it backs off on that, because the movie "can't be about a girl giving up her life for a boy," so all that's left is "wanting to date hot seaswept Eric vicariously through Ariel."

When you put something that was animated into Live-Action, it carries this stigma that the Live action will be more relatable and "deep" than the animated version, specifically for adults. So then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy; the adults just choose to respond to material (like a romance between a prince and a mermaid) that is no deeper than the original as if it is deeper, simply because they went in there believing more in the depth.

That's about as plain as I can make that, I think.

You already covered why Eric is definitely caring in the original perfectly, so I won't go into that. But I do think that what people are missing is how good Disney used to be at making sure a character did what he was supposed to do for the story. Animated Eric's whole thing was that he wasn't going to give up on his Fated Dream Girl. He didn't know it was Ariel, but he wasn't willing to give up on her and jump in this girl he found on the beach's arms until he was sure his dream was all wrong. I think people miss that. I think people see his actions as "he wasn't that into Ariel" instead of "he's a good guy who's 1) nervous about kissing a girl and 2) still thinking about Another Girl he believes rescued him from drowning."

And that's punctuated, like you said, at the end when he realizes his Dream Girl was Ariel all along. And then of course he's sacrificing himself to go after her. He was always willing to. He just didn't know what he didn't know. Remember, Eric isn't Boy Ariel. But he does have this in common with her: he really has faith in something other people don't understand. For him, it's an ideal of true love. For Ariel, it's an ideal of a good world outside the one she lives in. But for both it boils down to love. So you're just seeing Eric act accordingly, until he knows that all along Ariel has been the fulfillment of his ideal.

Anyway. You're super kind, but I don't think I'm able to see things other people can't or even won't in Disney movies. I really think everyone sees them, but not everyone feels the need to verbalize them 😅 I also think what the Live Actions do is basically large-scale gaslighting. By "fixing" things that were not mistakes, and changing major aspects of the story while standing on the shoulders of nostalgia and the original's success, the Live Actions make a meta-commentary on the old movies. So people who loved the original Ariel are like, "oh yeah, good point, that always bothered me," when, no it didn't. Not enough to ruin the story.

Anywho. I missed your asks!

#Asked #answered #live action little mermaid #the little mermaid 2023 #tlm #little mermaid #Ariel #Prince Eric #halle bailey #eric

[mrstsung]

I want this shang but only the version in my head. Only the version i handcrafted away from the narrative and the hype schlock that was mk12/mk1. The version that is his humble beginnings,freshly cursed by the gods,former warrior of earthrealm,having a falling out with his former friend and mentor lord raiden and cohersd by shao kahn to serve under him thus betraying earthrealm. The version i handcrafted and carefully made with love. Tho it can apply to any and many of the various iterations of shang tsung over the years. I feel a young shang's misadventures is long overdue or at least a proper backstory that isn't overtaken and overshadowed by corporate meddling. (I would absolutely love to have mr.tagawa's input more on this personally,and his opinions and thoughts on my backstory for shang. But alas maybe some day)

But anywho. A young shang tsung would be nice but better written or given at least a better script.

Because mr. Alan lee is such an amazing talent. And i feel he deserves so much better as shang tsung,one of THE if not THE MOST iconic antagonist of the mortal kombat series. (As with many other actors and VA for said character.)

Like this shang's aesthetics(minus the claws gauntlets tho they are growing on me but they could look better. Maybe more snake or dragon motifs?),the charm is there,the feeling,the attitude,the actor does an amazing job,but the problem is....legitimately....everything else. When your "antag" is better than everyone else,and i mean that genuinely. Better than the script and plot,better than the protags,better than the other antagonists,etc. Then....it's not good. Of course i love shang and want a win for him once. Especially now he has legitimate reasons why he does what he does,why he is how he is,and you genuinely feel sorry for him,and want to hug him,give him a friend,ffs you just go "ah fuck man, you good?" Yeah. He actually has something shown at least. Not my personal flavor. However for canon to be bold enough to do so is shocking. But what pisses me off as a fan of both mk and shang tsung. Is that...

1. It took them waaaaay too long to make that happen.

2. It doesn't feel sincere even when they did.

3. It feels rushed and plot convenient. And centering shang's whole backstory around liu kang instead of well....shang tsung. At least it feels that way. It doesn't feel like the character has agency. So it feels like a half assed apology for doing shang dirty.

So that's why i don't like the story that shang is centered around. Now if we take the character,the concept of a shang tsung down on his luck,barely surviving off of scraps,even tho he serves a powerful kingdom and emperor with a cushy job as a court mage. That i would love to see. That's exactly how i always saw his og backstory, if you want him to rectify mistakes ACTUALLY FUCKING DO IT AND NOT BACKTRACK FOR STATUS QUO FOR YOUR "PROTAGS OR HEROES" TO WIN!!!! Like holy shit dude. Like crap,the Fanfics are better than canon writing and nrs knows it! They seem to even try to copy what we as fans to but fail so hard. But it's sad it feels so half assed when a "professional gaming company" is supposed to make this. But i feel its corporate meddling,and Hollywood greed that prevents this series,at least storywise and narratively from reaching its true potential.

Sorry for this vent. But this character I'm very very passionate about. But mostly this game series. I love this game. I love playing it. Almost all the games. It's my childhood as many others. And I'm not gonna stand for mediocrity and slander to one of my faves.

But anyways. Enough rambling. Back to shang.

Like mk12/mk1 shang tsung isn't bad at least looks wise. No more different than anyone else. But it still bothers me they all look "samey" and not in a memey,jokey,fun way. It looks sloppy next to him. Ignoring everyone else around him,looking at shang individually. Omfg he's a cutie. He's smug,he's the shang i know n love but just....younger. like in His 30s or so. Around my age. Which is cool. But....i still kinda wish his old man shang wasn't a ruse. I ignore it was a ruse tho so it doesn't count. In fact like i said. I'm rewriting the whole thing period.

Will it be kinda self indulgent? Maybe a bit self inserty,Yes. But i don't care. Because he deserves better than that.

We owe it to mr.tagawa. to shang's character. To all the voice actors and actors and amazing talent over the 30+yrs mk has been around. We deserve a good story,a better story,and even more so,a better fucking game. To play. To learn. To have fun with. Without paying and arm and a leg to even access it. Period.

Shang tsung baby you deserve better. So so so much better.

#mortal kombat #shang tsung #self ship #self shipping #💚heart and soul🐍 #shang tsung mortal kombat #mk f/o #antagonist f/o #villain f/o #villain/antagonist f/o #vent #sorry for this but srsly i deeply love and appreciate the character and he deserves only the best #apologizes for the vent #mk12/mk1 shang tsung #mk1 2023 shang tsung #my version of mk12/mk1 shang tsung is the only one I'll ever accept of a young or babyface shang tsung #i can't really ever hate any version of shang tsung this man has me in a vice grip of death lovingly of course #that's my curse of the gods tho to never escape shang tsung's little claws around my heart n soul oof

[sapphire-weapon]

I love how unlike in the original game, Leon is actually angry at Ada. In the original not only does he seem unaffected by the fact that she's still alive, he doesn't even care that she used and betrayed him. I like how Leon now acts indifferent and distrustful of her, and now Ada is the one trying to get his attention.

Another thing that stood out to me was that Ada tried to convince Leon to let Ashley die twice, and I love her disappointed expression when Leon ignored her both times lol.

I'm happy that Capcom is rewriting their canon, and I really hope they scrap Aeon if they plan on remaking RE 6. Ada is still basically treating Leon like a dog and that's disgusting and I don't understand how some people think the Aeon is a "beautiful, romantic relationship".

Their meeting in OG is so weird because it almost feels like that's not actually the first time that they've seen each other between RE2 and RE4. I don't think that that's actually the case -- but, at the very least, Leon seems to have gotten confirmation a long time ago that Ada was actually still alive. ("So it is true. You, working with Wesker.") So, it does make sense that he's not super shocked or otherwise emotionally affected to see her.

I don't think that it's fair to say that he doesn't care that she betrayed him, though. He's definitely wary of her throughout the game ("Why are you here? Why'd you show up like this?" / "Maybe it's about time you told me the reason why you're here."), and he's right to be because -- duh, Wesker.

But, he's not overly worried about it because Ada also gave him a declaration of love and a genuine, dying kiss in OG RE2, so OG Leon has no reason to believe that Ada's going to do anything to actively hurt him or fuck him over, even if she is working with Wesker.

Remake canon is a whole different beast.

Ada never professed feelings in RE2make, and the kiss she gave him in that version of the story was disingenuous and outwardly manipulative. He might not have realized it at the time, but I'm sure he definitely saw it in hindsight. And Leon doesn't have the intel about Wesker going into RE4make, either, so he has absolutely no idea what she's been up to in the last six years. He has every reason to be way more suspicious and uncertain of her motives than he was in OG.

For all intents and purposes, I would argue that Remake canon killed Aeon in RE2make, when Leon points a gun at her and tells her that he never trusted her. OG Leon would have never, because, arguably, OG Ada never deserved it.

Like, I really don't think it's fair to say that OG Ada treated OG Leon like a dog. OG Ada was honest with Leon in ways that Remake Ada never, ever was. OG Ada was also kinder and softer in a lot of different ways that Remake Ada isn't -- and, OG Ada has only ever been on Leon's side. No matter which way the tides turned, Ada always kept her lot thrown in with Leon and never went back on it.

Remake Ada does not do that -- at least, not in a way that he can see. Remake Ada actually does manipulate Remake Leon in the way that people perceive her as always having done in OG (but she actually didn't).

Like, is Aeon stupid and poorly written and badly executed in OG? Oh, absolutely. That's why we're having this conversation to begin with. It's so poorly executed that people can't even agree on what the fuck actually happened between them. But... it is internally consistent, if you pull back and look at it as a complete picture.

This might be a weird pedantic, overly nuanced thing I'm about to say but, like.

I feel like Ada's use of Leon in OG was done from a place of respect, if that makes sense? She knew how smart and capable he was, and she respected that about him, so she looked at him from the perspective of "we'll work together on shit as a team, but I just can't/won't tell him the full extent of what I'm actually doing." And Leon kind of understood that and was grateful for her help, because she continuously gave him reasons to trust her. So, his response was, "We'll work together on shit as a team, and if I don't ask her what she's doing, we can stay a team."

Remake Ada's use of Leon is a lot more malicious. She doesn't respect him; she wants something from him. Remake Ada's use/manipulation of Leon feels more like her looking at him and going "You know, I could probably get something out of him if I play my cards right." It's like that old Chris Rock bit where he talks about how girls don't fuck him just because they want to fuck him; they look at him and go "You know, if I fuck Chris Rock, I bet I could get him to pay my Visa bill."

I feel like that has the opportunity to change, though? Because it does seem like Ada has a genuine change of heart in the post-credits scene of RE4make. The question now is if Remake Leon would actually accept that change of heart or not.

Personally, I don't think that he will -- I think he wants to, just like he wanted to trust her in RE2make. But, ultimately, he didn't trust her. And I think he won't accept her change of heart, either, simply because she's given him absolutely no reason to.

And I think Remake canon could be setting up to turn Ada into a far more tragic character. Without Leon's support and without a plan already set in place when she betrays Wesker, I don't think that this is going to end well for her. She might become the type of character who learned the lesson too late and now can't be saved.

Which... like... sucks. But at the same time is really fucking awesome, because literally no one in the RE universe ever faces real, actual, tangible consequences for their actions. Most of that fucking cast should be dead or turned or both by now. And while it sucks that Ada might end up the sacrificial lamb for this, she's also the best candidate for being the first one to go through it -- because, if Capcom can pull it off with Ada, they're coming for Chris next. Because no one needs to face consequences more than that motherfucker.

And that's gonna be a whole fuckin thing, man.

#resident evil #resident evil 4 #resident evil 2 #ada wong #leon kennedy

[sketching-shark]

Wukong was always the villain? I read in a comment that he was the villain in everything and that he's like the Joker but with powers so i have this doubt now...

Ps: Sorry if this is ignorant btw

Hello anon! So while keeping in mind that I'm in no way an expert on how the Monkey King is perceived the world over, my general impression is that while Sun Wukong being portrayed as solely a villain is pretty popular in the east and increasingly so in the west, that's FAR from the only way that he's been portrayed. He is after all literally worshiped as a god in a number of places, and is even often considered to be a protector of children! It also can't be forgotten that he saved many, many individuals from everything from demonic goldfish to drought over the course of Xiyouji, and that at the end he becomes the Buddha Victorious in Strife. And that's to say nothing of his clear love of his monkey family, and that many of his actions are driven by his desire to keep them happy and safe. In any case, from the yaoguai perspective he seems to have done so much for them at one point that they were all 100% behind him when it came to waging war against heaven.

I think that perhaps a lot of the understanding of him as solely a chaotic villain is due to the fact that Journey to the West is some 1,400 pages long and a lot of it is about Sun Wukong's slow transformation from a violent yaoguai to a buddha. It probably is more exciting too to focus on the fact that he spent centuries as a literal yaoguai warlord, and that he waged his havoc in heaven as well as told Tang Sanzang that he had literally killed more people than he could remember during his warlord era. Of course, it can't be forgotten that this killing of countless individuals is explicitly said to be true as well of the lauded Tang emperor, but that's a contextual detail that can be easily missed. I personally think that a lot of Xiyouji brings up (although never specifically answers) many discomfiting questions about violence and power in the shaping of a society and to what extent religion might be able to alleviate (or even exacerbate!) the resultant suffering, and that Sun Wukong's actions are one of the main ways these questions are raised.

I bring this all up to say that the neat thing about Sun Wukong is that he is a very complex character who nevertheless does a lot of heinous things, but then again he's doing that in the context of a lot of other beings, both yaoguai, human, and even god, doing the same in the name of pursuing their own desires and ambitions. But this complexity often means that retellings--which by their nature of their length have to be a LOT shorter than the og classic--won't balance all of the parts of the Monkey King's character out because to do so sufficiently honestly requires a lot of context. So in the end we get a lot of flanderization of the Monkey King into either a cheeky and loving SWK or an ultraviolent unrepentant SWK (or the retelling will veer off into another direction of a quite popular brooding asshole SWK lmao). In the west specifically, however, this sort of simplification and flanderization seems to often translate into a "uwu dumb chaos monkey" version, so that even if SWK is well meaning he'll just commit one doofy blunder after another or go ignoramus murder on the situation. Hence the association with the Joker, who if my understanding of that character is right just does what he does because he wants chaos.

In all honesty though, I think this association is a big misreading of SWK's character. Besides Xiyouji making it obvious that SWK rarely starts any of the fights he gets into (never mind starting fights just for shits and giggles) and that he is very content to live in relative peace with his monkey family, he pretty much always has a very clear reason for committing the violence that he does, even if that reason is sometimes some version of "I want the thing and will beat you up if I don't get it." To give but a few examples: SWK commits his first murder in the book because his opponent the Demon King of Confusion had been brutally attacking the Mt. Huaguoshan simians and kidnapping their young; he DID steal a lot of stuff from heaven but only goes to war with them when the deities are literally breaking down the Monkey King's door and threatening his home; he murders over a thousand human hunters because they had been relentlessly hunting his monkey family; he burns down a Buddhist monastery because the monks conspired to kill Tang Sanzang and steal his robe; and he kills the Lady Bone Demon because she wanted to eat Tang Sanzang. These are just a few examples throughout the course of the work, but you can see how in each one it isn't a case of the Monkey King crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war as it is someone trying to hurt or kill someone under SWK's protection and him responding in like. There is no doubt that SWK can be a very destructive and impulsive monkey, but he also seems equally if not more likely to have thought a situation through and gone with violence anyway because the situation wasn't going to resolve itself any other way, and indeed he often only goes ahead with violence after giving his opponents the opportunity to stop and give up.

That said, I'd be willing to bet that an awareness of Xiyouji Sun Wukong's very deliberate decisions to kill and threaten are one of the main reasons behind the popular presentations of him as solely a villain, especially since the context behind his reasons for violence can be very easily lost. As it is, the Monkey King has been described by some as Xiyouji's first villain, and there are numerous reasons for thinking this is true. After all, no matter your reasons killing so many people you can't remember them all is still killing so many people you can't remember them all.

I hope you find this useful anon! Again I'm no expert, and if I'm missing something people should definitely feel free to point that out. And as always it needs to be noted that @journeytothewestresearch has kindly provided FREE pdf copies of the Anthony C. Yu English translation of Journey to the West on his website, so if you have the time and desire to do so you can flip through that and come to your own conclusions on what's going on with the Monkey King.

#anon answered #xiyouji #journey to the west #jttw #sun wukong #monkey king #huh #interesting how people seem to turn to the Joker when it comes to comparing him to other villains...

[spinningbuster98]

I love this game

I REALLY love this game

If I had to choose a favorite game of all time then I feel it would come down to either Sonic 3 & Knuckles or this one, the former shaped my gaming tastes during my childhood while the latter did the same for my adolescence

I have a lot of great things to say about this game, but also some negatives as well because no game is perfect and this is very important to remember especially in the case of games that have become so universally beloved that people have come to believe they have no flaws or areas to improve, which is never truly the case

I think the first thing to note about Super Metroid, and one of its most beloved aspects, is its atmosphere and general aesthetics

It's often said that Metroid has a dark and foreboding atmosphere and nowhere is this more evident than in Super Metroid

This game's spritework is detailed, grotesque at times. Its locations dark, eerie, grimey, organic. The colors are dark yes, but not washed out, in fact I'd say the color pallette is rich just enough to keep the game from looking dull while not compromising the element of general creepiness and darkness

The music is booming, melodieìc, creepy, cavernous, everything in this game is meant to make you feel like you really are going deeper and deeper into the inner bowels of an alien planet

I especially love how the overall artstyle feels like an evolution of Metroid 1's: the old Tourian looks like an SNES upgrade from the original, as does the beginning of Brinstar and the returning enemies from that game, though of course guys like Ridley and Kraid have been given massive redesigns. It really drives home the idea that this is Metroid 1 but MORE, it tells you "hey remember this place on the NES 8 years ago? Yeah here it is now like you remember it but looking better than ever". It truly is SUPER Metroid. Just compare this with how Zero Mission just completely altered the artstyle for something much more stylized and cartoony

The beginning acts are just a masterclass in atmospheric setup: from Samus narrating the prologue while mostly encased in shadow while the game's unnerving theme plays, to the Ceres Colony being all dark and lifeless with only the low humming of machinery keeping you company, to how deserted and foreboding Crateria looks at first before springing to life. A true masterpiece

I mentioned before that no other game after the original trilogy managed to truly recapture this kind of atmosphere and I believe it's true: no other game feels this ominous, so foreboding, so cavernous, so....dark. All the other 2D games after this usually go for a more....generic kind of atmospheric feel, the kind that checks a box off a list

Fusion can be creepy and unsettling yes...but the actual areas themselves are pretty standard

Zero Mission barely even tries to feel atmospheric, mostly just being really energetic and adventurous

Samus Returns and Dread, again, are a bit generic in the atmosphere department, save for specific moments such as the EMMI zones.

The Prime games on the other hand are indeed very atmospheric, even more than Super, but they mostly go for a different kind of atmosphere than that of the OG trilogy, which is all fine of course

I think a good way to illustrate what I'm saying is to compare the various versions of the Theme of Super Metroid that have been made over the years: they're all good versions in their own right, but none manage to capture that sense of pure menace, of sheer foreboding that the original has, rather mostly focusing on the more upbeat parts of the track

To change the subject: poor Kraid. He was the toughest of the two main bosses in the original game but now, despite having received a literally colossal redesign and looking more menacing he's actually much easier now and has been reduced to "first boss bitch". Unfortunately for him this is only the start of his misfortunes :P

#metroid #super metroid #my gameplay #Youtube

[eshtaresht]

aaaaaaaa this episode.... it caught me off guard, I have lots of feelings and hopefully a couple of coherent thoughts

SPOILERS FOR EP 8 UNDER THE CUT

tbh I'm really excited about the changes (to the manga) they introduced in this episode, I like the direction so far

turns out vash and naï had different abilities from the start, and it's quite likely that vash felt lesser that his twin even during their time with rem (naï says that making food for him is "a waste" and vash uses the same sentiment when he was rescued). I'm guessing that vash's ability is to give away energy (but he's not self sustaining), while knives can only take from others (but he's eco friendly), which was already touched upon in previous iterations, but very briefly

plant lore! one of the things I didn't like about og anime is how vague all the plant stuff was, I had to read the fandom wiki to understand what they were. very based of stampede to go all hard sci-fi on us

the way vash refuses himself basic needs when he feels guilty.... and how this continues well into his adulthood.... his ass is not coping!!!

sequences after the fall were the most emotional, man! my boy vash got so much trauma from seeing all the dead and dying and feeling like it's all his fault... give him a hug now!!!!! but at the same time he actually was complicit and daaamn I can't wait to hear the full story there

idk if I got the vibe right (maybe subs were a bit misleading), but luida made up that rem saved them? it seemed as if she only said it to give vash a reason to live, and it's partially true (rem did try her best to save everyone), but ship three and a bunch of others survived mostly because they were lucky and not because rem managed to break the code. please correct me if I got it wrong. although I kinda dig the idea of vash glorifying rem while she was just as helpless as any other human in this situation

hair darkening confirmed... we were right to be worried all along. it's interesting that even in the earliest flashbacks he already has darkish eyebrows, hmm... what did this kid do? 👀

once again, wish there were more side characters, but luida and brad were pretty wholesome. wonder is they're still alive and how old is vash in this version (probably younger than 100 if luida is alive)

a bit sad that we didn't get to see the gang interacting while vash was blacked out, I was really looking into it. but at least we saw him with that clunky shoulder piece removed. from the teaser it seems like his new hand won't be all that different tho

love all the slutty outfits people were theorising about.... but that turtleneck? yep thats peak slut fashion and transmask swag. nothing will ever top the manga version but I still support it

next episode is gonna kill me.... and something tells me that the time vash spent unconcious is gonna be all the rest he gets. DAMN. still manifesting scar reveal

now to predictions: after ep 6 I thought that we'll visit the seeds ppl this time around and we kinda did, I just didn't expect for a flashback to last a whole episode and more. ep 9 is pretty obvious from the teaser and in 11 vash should already be in july so that the season finale can happen in at least two episodes. then 10 is probably gonna be all about getting to this final destination. could be that the gang gets separated by that time ('cause vash will push them away), but they'll all still be in july when shit hits the fan

#I might be forgetting smth but this post is already too long for “brief analysis” #I might sound sane but in fact my brain just goes LITTLE VASH SO PRECIOUS MUST PROTECC MUST HUG #please let knives be a compelling antagonist and not just an evil baddie please please pleeease #trigun #trigun stampede #vash the stampede #trigun spoilers

[artsartblog]

Last post of art for now ^w^

This is a redesign I made recently of my RC9GN oc Clarissa Knowles. I decided to give her a more goth look than she had before since I felt like she really wasn't hitting the gothic mark I was going for. Her clothes do have a hint of purple in them because I chose colors that were more on the purple side to pay homage to her original design. I even gave her makeup this time since I really wanted to before, but never did. I pretty much kept everything but her outfit the same with the addition of makeup and accessories.

This is actually my most recent piece (literally finished it yesterday/at 12am this morning), which is of the Secret Trio. I added my ocs for the different fandoms (Clarissa, Beth and Kamala) because I wanted to kinda show the friendship dynamics between my ocs and the protagonists. I will say Kamala is going under a redesign because I forgot what her og design was so this is now her current design. She is monkey demon that is inspired by the Monkey King (like she herself is a fan of the Monkey King and has kinda based her personality around the idea of being a mischievous monkey that does whatever the fuck she wants, despite being a teenager). Kamala is usually using magic to hide her true form to be able to exist in society, but at home or when she really just doesn't feel like using magic she will be in her monkey form (which isn't much different from her disguised form). Also the reason why Randy is in the ninja suit is to show off that Clarissa knows he is the ninja and helps out with the stanked monsters (mostly by keeping others safe with her own magical powers).

Lastly, we have Yumichika Norisu (who is named after and based on one of my favorite characters from Bleach). Yumi is an oc I made to be related to another RC9GN oc, named Sayuki, who acts as the surrogate love child of Sayuki and Gorou (basically @quirinah oc version of one of the norisu nine that has become one of my favorites because Q just makes the best characters I swear). Sayuki's cousin ends up taking on the Norisu name because of how much the Norisu Nine for their village and because only one of the nine survived (basically trying to keep the norisu family alive without actually being apart of the og family). Yumi actually doesn't feel he deserves his last name because he was raised learning about the true history of the Ninja and the Norisu Nine. He's still a wip oc since I'm still figuring him out, but basically he's the love child of Sayuki and Gorou (who I assume never have the chance to actually start their own family considering how things go for the Norisu Nine and the ages Q came up for the nine).

So yeah. Feel free to send in any asks for any of my ocs. Likes are nice, but reblogs are more appreciated. As always have good day and stay creative!

#my art #my oc art #my drawings #my digital art #my ocs #oc art #rc9gn oc art #rc9gn ocs #rc9gn #secret trio art #secret trio #american dragon jake long #danny phantom #danny phantom oc #danny fenton #randy cunningham 9th grade ninja #randy cunnigham #jake long #adjl oc #adjl #beth karton #clarissa knowles #kamala (oc) #yumichika norisu

[fireemblems24]

Did Rufus Get Ret-Conned in Three Hopes?

All of the below examines what Three Houses told us about Rufus and what happened to Dimitri between Duscur and going to the monastery and comparing it to what Three Hopes tells us. My goal is to see if there's any ret-conning, or if this is filling in blank spaces left by the original narrative. I hope that, through writing this, it'll help me (and possibly others) figure out how much these stories could co-exist or not and how "cannon" (if such a thing is even possible in a story with so many branching paths) all the new information we learn is. 

Unrelated side note. Don't these writers just love bullying Dimitri? I never expected to do a write-up about Rufus, let alone make him the center of my first Three Hopes' analysis, but here we are. For better or mostly worse, Rufus got a huge villain upgrade in Three Hopes. Or did he?

Three Hopes early on dumps some surprising (but also unsurprising) information about Rufus and Dimitri's life post-Duscur, pre-Byleth. Revealed in the first few chapters of Azure Gleam is not only that Rufus put Dimitri essentially under house arrest and had him spied on (going as far as monitoring all his letters), but also attempted to assassinate his nephew and helped organize the Tragedy of Duscur. 

While it seems like this information is too important to exclude from Houses, it lines up surprisingly well with what we knew and goes a long way to explain some of the unexplained. It's also hardly unsurprising for Houses to leave stuff out, as we never learned Claude's true name despite the writers wanting to include it in the OG game. This new info in Hopes could very well have been written in older versions of script but got scrapped for time or as the story changed. Let's see how well it all lines up.

Most importantly, this new information explains Dimitri's distance from his friends. Originally, it seemed like trauma alone separated them, which made sense, but the distance didn't seem just emotional but physical. It always felt like Sylvain, Ingrid, and Felix hadn't physically seen Dimitri in years, which always seemed at odds with the "childhood friends" backstory. It's all but confirmed by Dimtiri's statement that he hadn't seen Rodrigue in years, which, unlike Dimitri's friends, seemed to share a warm relationship from the get-go and is an adult with the means to travel. Rufus refusing to let Dimitri leave and blocking any attempt anyone made to reach out helps explain this. Each side likely thought the other was uninterested rather than organized by, well, an evil uncle. 

It also explains why Dimitri and Dedue are so attached while being so de-attached to everything else. Again, it did make sense in Houses, but this adds more context. They were, apparently, literally all they had since Rufus got in the way of anyone else. Dedue witnessing (and likely help stopping) and Dimitri enduring multiple assassination attempts would push two people to become more protective and loyal to each other to the point of co-dependency. Dedue was likely "allowed" because he's consistently overlooked by others - Cornelia and Edelgard especially never anticipating his actions (breaking Dimitri out of prison and infiltrating the Enbarr/providing vital information on Enbarr's layouts to Claude/Byleth/Seteth, respectively - we stan a badass, guys). 

This new information also gives better context for the rebellion Dimitri and Felix participated in putting down. Originally, it seemed simply like two young nobles from a warrior-like country starting to get their feet wet. But why so young? Why before going to military school? Why only Felix and not other noble children? And why risk Dimitri needlessly like that after Duscur? If the point the whole time was to try and get Dimitri killed, that answers a lot of questions. And if Rodrigue sniffed out what Rufus intended, it explains why he and Felix would go (and it seems their presence is credited for Dimitri's survival) and no other noble Faerghus children experience something similar.  

It also just makes a lot of sense. Most of Lambert's supporters would've died in Duscur. It's always been implied Dimitri lost a lot more than Lambert, Patricia, and Glenn that day. That he would've been largely unprotected and targeted for assassination by anyone who didn't like Lambert makes more sense than the unexplained absense of such actions. If surrounded by enemies who disliked Lambert - and by extension Dimitri - it also explains how Cornelia could get away with imprisoning and scheduling an execution for a prince and heir. 

Even Dimitri's own negative self-image lines up with what we've learned in Hopes. Rufus uses the exact same language to describe Dimitri that Dimitri does - flat-out dehumanization as a violent, mindless beast. Originally, Dimitri's trauma in Duscur seemed the likely culprit (and likely did still cause this), but continued abuse under Rufus would only make it worse and reinforce it. It also lines up with Dimitri's tendency to parrot what he witnessed or endured, especially something he does concerning violence and other negatives. It also can't be good for your mental health to get cut-off from everyone alive that still cares about you (sans Dedue, see their codependency discussed earlier) and to suspect your step-mother and uncle tried/are trying to kill you.

Hell, it even goes a long way to explain why Dimitri wears armor literally everywhere if he expected more assassination attempts. 

As for Rufus' involvement in Duscur? Why not? Houses infamously didn't give a whole lot of details about Duscur, just vague implications about Patricia, Klineman, and TWSITD's involvement. Why not add Rufus to the "party"? The motivation is already there with him getting passed over as King for Lambert. He was dead by the time AM touched on Duscur, and Cornelia wouldn't have used his name to taunt Dimitri because they had a bad relationship. 

One unanswered question, though, is why wouldn't any of this have come up in Houses? You'd think Dimitri would mention house arrest and assassination attempts. But you'd also think he'd talk about his lack of taste or headaches or insomnia or voices in his head or how he lost his eye or - I think you get the idea. Dimitri almost never mentions his own horrible experiences. Every time we do learn something, it's someone else observing it or an admission out of guilt. Even the bit we learn about Duscur from his POV was focused solely on what happened to Glenn and Lambert. It's through a flashback between Gilbert and Rodrigue that we learn another surprise - Dimitri was so badly injured that he almost died too! Something he never tells anyone. Also, Dimitri hates admitting when his family works against him. He doesn't really ever address that Patricia likely tried to have him murdered and turns a blind eye to his suspicions about Edelgard until he absolutely can't deny it anymore. It seems almost too perfectly in-character to have an uncle who tried to kill him that he never tells anyone about.

It doesn't all line up well, though. 

For starters, this runs counter to Thales claiming he wanted to use Dimitri against Edelgard. Though, this never made sense in just Houses either, as TWSITD tried to kill Dimitri in Duscur, before the time-skip, multiple times in AM, and never lifted a finger to help him survive long enough to kill Edelgard. So if the line doesn't even make sense in Houses, it seems unfair to seriously consider it a knock against cannon in Hopes.

One thing, though, that really does seem possibly ret-conned is Rufus himself. In Houses, he was painted as a worthless womanizer, disliked by basically everyone. In Hopes, he's ret-conned into political savvy person who has many supporters . . . but even this can work. It's not like someone can't be both a womanizer AND politically intelligent. 

We only hear about Rufus in Houses from people who don't like him and would've supported Dimitri. Rufus' supporters seem limited to corrupt nobles against reform and TWSITD. Commoners seem to support Dimitri more, which does line up with "everyone" wanting Dimitri to rule instead, just "everyone" here unfortunately being mostly unpowerful nobles and less. Rufus' "political acumen" could also be Cornelia's, who's time and time again demonstrated she's (?) the only member of TWSITD with two brain cells. 

To create a version of Rufus that fits both stories isn't hard. He's a man with some level of political acumen, who gained the support of nobles who hated Lambert, which now make up the majority of the powerful as many of Lambert's supporters died in Duscur. However, the majority of the populace and people we visit in the Monastery prefer Dimitri. Rufus dealt with his guilt over Duscur and treatment towards Dimitri by drowning in women, earning his reputation as a womanizer, used as an argument by people who dislike him and support Dimitri. As for people calling Rufus an idiot while others acknowledge his political intelligence, well, you have seen how people treat the political figures in the opposite party, right? 

Overall, there's really nothing in the new information in Hopes that runs counter to Houses, outside one line in CF that never made any sense in Houses in the first place. So I think we can accept the new info we learn as valid across both stories. That they take place in the same universe, but once the lords run near Remire, different paths start branching into seven different "cannon" endings.

#fire emblem #fire emblem three hopes #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #three hopes #azure gleam #azure gleam spoilers #three houses #fire emblem three houses

[marine-indie-gal]

So if you're one of the Many People who follow Me, you'll know that I've created my own Personal Bully Character for my own Rudolph Adaptation Project. Welp, here he is. Just as I've been doubting on what the Son of Blitzen would even look like but after sketching it out and even coloring it, so far, this is the True Concept on how I imagine my own Antagonistic Reindeer character would be.

Meet Storm, one of the Yearlings of one of the Reindeer of Santa Claus (Blitzen) as well as an Arch-Rival to Rudolph. Inspired by the Character from the 1998 Version, Arrow. Those who have seen the Famous Rankin Bass version might very unfamiliar towards the Underrated Goodtimes version (to those who haven't seen nor never watched the 90s version), specifically being very unfamiliar on who this "Arrow" is that I speak of that this Character of Mine is based on within Another (yet, Obscure) Adaptation. 

If you're "Half" the kind of Christmas Movie fan that's unaware of the Lost Media of Christmas films out there or to those who have a Lost Memory in case if any of y'all have at least seen the Goodtimes version in your own Childhoods, I'll give you guys some brief info of where my own Character draws from;

Arrow is a Cousin to Rudolph (specifically in that version where Rudolph is Blitzen's Son, Cupid, Comet, and Dasher are Rudolph's Uncles/Blitzen's Brothers as Arrow is the Son of Cupid). He basically constantly bullies his own Cousin because of his Red Nose at School just to ridicule Rudolph, but only then that it's confirmed that there's a Love Triangle between The Two Cousins over one Doe that being Zoey (not "Clarice" like in the R/B version). In addition to this Original Character's lore, at the Reindeer Games, when Rudolph's Nose glows (only to cause Arrow and the Other Reindeer to go blind and lost the game), Arrow is crowned champ & for some reason, Zoey breaks up with him after all of these years somehow (causing his own Cousin to go off on a Lost Journey where his Ex-Girlfriend had to find him).

Now while I do think that the idea of a Love Triangle for a Character within the Trope of The Ugly Duckling sounds very Interesting, the Writing behind the OG Love Triangle is such a confusing mess that I personally think it could've been done better. I don't wish to spoil every much detail of that version but given on how that Goodtimes Entertainment is a Dead Company, only to be infamously known that their own personal Adaptations are only infamously known to be "Bootlegs", I don't personality understand nor why people would randomly call a Non-Disney adaptation of a Famous Old Story a "Knock-Off" just because of the Cheap Animation that almost looks similar to your average run-of-the-mill Decade 2D Animated Film. Though, one thing that I will have to admit is how some of their adaptations can be poorly written or just left explain as the '98 does have a lot of its problems than the '64 one.

(Seriously, you need to look up on how that their Movies are so comparable to Disney's).

Granted, I KNOW for a fact that the '64 definitely didn't aged well either, but in regards, I wouldn't even want to come close as to wanting to call the '98 version "Problematic", it's just suffers from most of Goodtimes' writing and so many Interesting concepts were left out on what could've been.

Without any further, here is some brief info about my Personal Rival Character;

Storm is the Son of Blitzen and Pele, as well as The Youngest Brother of Lighting.. He is a Braggart whose shown to be Misogynistic, Arrogant, Overconfident, and Narcissistic whose shown to be within of a more "Bad Boy" type as he tends to prove willingly that he's strong enough to pull Santa's sleigh someday in order to follow and take over his own Father's hooves. He's also very envious as he shown to be very jealous of Rudolph. Deep down, outside of his Mean-Spirited Nature, he's shown to be passionate and loyal enough for his Father in order to improve himself that he can be complex when it comes to his practice towards his Flying Skills. 

He somewhat holds an Platonic Interest towards Ava as he likes to tease her just for giggles (though No Romantic Affection is shown as to why he likes her), but he desires to have her and other yearlings be on his Future Team for someday when they fly the Sleigh as The Next Generation of Santa's Reindeer to gain his Father's legacy and prove that he can actually be the lead Reindeer of his own herd.

When Rudolph came to class for the very first time, Storm recognized his Red Nose as he began to make fun of it (causing the Other Yearlings to ridicule him), making Poor Rudolph to cry. However, when Ava came and took Rudolph in her own Friend Group, Storm somewhat became jealous of Rudolph that he took one of the Yearlings off his own future team. Although He didn't seem to care about Ava's own herd anyways, since the Reindeer Bully had to look for New Yearlings for Special Teammates in order to produce a "Friend" Group of his own Herd to start a Bully Posse.

When the Day that the Reindeer Games came, Storm and his own Group rivaled against Other Yearling Teams (including Rudolph's) as The Reindeer Games only had about 5 Teams of their own Herds. But Storm and his Herd were a Match against Rudolph's, beating every level that the Naughty Reindeer Posse could just so that they could afford to win an award of their own. During the Final Showdown, when Storm was about to beat the Very Last Level of the Games, Storm instantly threw dust into Rudolph's eyes, causing his Nose to blast a huge glow (which made Storm's final award to be ruined) as everyone else was very shocked to see Rudolph's shining nose.

This huge level failure caused Storm to be angered and even more envious for he wanted to get revenge on the Reindeer for doing so on what he did to him in the Games.

On a regular basis of a day, He and his Group pretends that they've completely reformed for themselves as Storm (lyingly) apologizes to Rudolph of what he did to him of all these years of ridiculing. Believing in Storm's lie, Storm then leads Rudolph the way (along with his troops) into a long walk through the Forest away from Christmas Town. Confused about where they're at now, Storm instantly pushes Rudolph off of a small cliff as he lands on the Ground hurt which soon reveals the hidden dark truth as Storm and his Gang leave him to rot alone in the Forest.

Throughout the Story, Storm sures himself not be worried about anything if his Father were to find out the Truth about Rudolph or else, he won't get any presents for Christmas as he keeps his own Truth to be hidden while Rudolph and Ava (who are split apart by their own Groups) are still out there looking for each other.

Near the end of the Story, when everyone found out about where Rudolph was all along throughout that Crazy Snow Storm, Blitzen was extremely pissed and disappointed in his Son for not telling the truth all along that he left Rudolph out there in the Woods, when Storm tried to convinced his Father not to ground him and swear that he'll change for the better, he was then punished to be on the Naughty List as he was not allowed to get Presents this Year as Storm would then for now on have to face his own actions for his consequences after when Christmas was over.

In an early concept when creating this Character, I was originally going to name him "Spike" (to try rhythming it with "Blitzen") but then I realize that the first name itself had absolutely nothing to do with the common nature of Blitzen (but I also realize on how stupid the name was and how it was often more of a Dog's name rather than an Reindeer name), so I instantly switched it to a much and more fitting name to suit within of a Spawn of a Particular Folk Figure's Meaning behind the Name itself.

Storm (c) Me Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (c) Robert L. May

#rudolph the red nosed reindeer #storm #reindeer #reindeer oc