#catch me replaying all the episodes trying to get 100%

[nagichi-boop]

So I finished Sonic Frontiers...

For me, it took about 30 hours to complete the game, which is above average I believe, but I'm also not the best at video games. I completed every aspect of the game - everything from catching all the fish to completing all the missions on every level - and played the entire game on Hard Mode without switching once.

I've never really written a video game 'review' before, but I have a lot of thoughts about this game, so I figured I'd write them all down while I have things fresh in my mind.

Please note that there will be spoilers under some of these headings, but I have marked where in the post I begin talking about them, so if you're just looking for a non-spoiler review (perhaps because you wish to purchase the game), don't scroll passed that point.

Overview

I know generally these are put at the end of reviews, but I'm putting mine here in case people are reading this to decide whether to buy the game so they don't have to scroll through the spoiler sections.

If you're a fan of Sonic, I'd definitely recommend this game. You could watch the cutscenes on YouTube if that's more accessible to you, but personally I'd suggest playing it yourself to make the most of being able to experience the open world aspect of the game. If you're unsure, you can always do what I did and wait for it to go on sale.

The game plays smoothly for the most part, has wonderful visuals and beautiful music. The character voices are hit and miss to me, which I'll explain in more depth briefly. The combat and navigation can be off, but I'll also elaborate on that later.

The story is a lot more sombre than other Sonic games, but I personally enjoy this sort of story. By the end of the game, I genuinely wanted to cry. Personally I found the story to be quite confusing at times, but I'm not sure if that's just me. There are some weak points to the story, but I personally found they didn't damper my overall enjoyment of the game. I'm very curious to see if/how the story will be elaborated on in the updates.

Gameplay

Most of the gameplay to me makes sense. I do feel that the game isn't always the best at explaining the controls, even despite the constant training simulation pop ups. In stage 1-2. there's a section towards the end of the level where you have to swap between rails, but from memory the game doesn't explain how exactly to do this, at least not at that point in the game. I know I'm not the only one who got confused by this - Arin from the Game Grumps struggled with this part of the level when he played this level in the first episode of his gameplay. Rail swapping is a lot easier once you understand that you need to use the dodge buttons to switch, but it was definitely confusing at first without that direction.

I also found that they didn't really explain how to defeat the bosses. It took me forever to beat the first boss, which was in part my fault for not going in with enough rings. Even despite that, I found it frustrating that I kept getting blasted back without making much of a dent in the boss's health., It was only until I watched a video on YouTube that I realised I was supposed to parry the attacks and the boss was much easier once I understood that.

The levels themselves also baffled me. I understand if later levels become harder, but I found that wasn't the case at all, and based on Google searching, I'm not the other one who struggled with certain levels. In particular, 1-2 and 3-6 come to mind. To an extent, I can excuse 3-6 being difficult (though it was so difficult for me personally as someone wishing to 100% the game that I ended up looking up a speedrun, which led me to discovering the air dash exploit and using it in order to achieve S rank). But the fact that the second level of the game is so difficult confuses me. If you are not concerned with 100% completing the game, this may be less of an issue, but I spent around 45 minutes replaying the level over and over in order to try and achieve S rank because the time constraint was so unforgiving. It made me very nervous about the rest of the game, but was thankfully relieved to find that the rest of the levels (excluding 3-6) were a walk in the park comparatively.

The open world aspect of the game worked well in my opinion for the most part. I enjoyed dashing around, completing the challenges and being jump scared every time a guardian appeared out of nowhere. One thing that did frustrate me is that because the maps are littered with rails and dash pads, you frequently end up in a platforming sequence you didn't want to be in, and some of these sent you far in a direction away from where you perhaps intended to go. The most frustrating of these were the '2D' platforming sequences because unlike the others, you couldn't really cancel out of these and were stuck following a path you didn't want to.

The momentum for the most part was fine too. I did find that on the final island I was struggling with some of the platforming sequences as my speed was quite high by that point, but it wasn't so intense that the sequences became impossible.

The rest of the this post will contain spoilers - please stop reading if you wish to avoid them

As I mentioned before, I played the game on hard mode, so I had to do both final boss fights. The boss battle against Supreme was honestly underwhelming to me, but I'm not sure how much of that was to do with the fact I was fully upgraded (I had max strength, defence, speed and ring capacity, so I entered the battle with 999 rings). Comparatively, the following battle with The End was hell for me. I was remarkably disappointed to discover that the final boss was just a bullet hell space invaders fight, especially because this format had only been used in the game for the mystery challenges. For games like Undertale, this makes more sense because that is the entire game, but it felt very out of place for a Sonic game final boss. I also just found this boss hard because I had a really hard time following everything that was happening on the screen, especially towards the end of the fight. Thankfully the hit boxes for the bullets are very forgiving, but overall I wouldn't say it was a particularly enjoyable final boss.

Audio

This won't be a very big section, but I wanted to talk quickly about the music and voice acting.

I think that the music on the islands is absolutely gorgeous. Perhaps not what you'd expect from a Sonic game, but I really like the calm but melancholy feel to the music, especially given the context of the game. The boss battle music was also amazing, though I found the music for the final boss(es) underwhelming in comparison.

I think the biggest complaint I see about the voice acting is Sonic's now deeper voice. I personally think that Sonic's normal voice is better, but I did find that I got used to Sonic's deeper voice and it wasn't too bizarre after hearing it for a while. Amy's voice, however, seemed very flat to me. Usually Amy's voice is very full of life, but in this game it just felt too dry. I'm not sure if I am the only one who feels this way, but I expected her to be a lot more animated, especially given how enthusiastic she was supposed to be about helping the Koco.

My biggest complaint with the music would probably be in the end game. The music for the final boss fights felt very subdued despite it being such a high-stakes fight, especially the music for The End. The other boss battle songs were very high energy, so it felt odd that the final boss battle tracks weren't. I also found that it was very difficult to pay attention to the dialogue for The End boss fight. Not only was there a lot happening on screen, but the music was pretty loud and so I found I didn't really pay attention to what the voice was saying.

Story

I found the story very good. I really liked the darker tone of the game - it was dark enough to give a sense of urgency to fix things, but not so dark that it wore you out. This is likely due to Sonic's optimism throughout the game, which did sometimes come off as a bit inappropriate for the situation, but I only really found this to be the case in one specific instance, which I will touch on shortly.

I found it nice that every island gave each character a one to one exploration of their feelings and goals. I do wonder what they plan to do with this though - whether we will be able to play as these characters in an update or a new game. It was also nice to see Sonic be supportive of his friends. He struck a nice balance between playful teasing and sincere pride in his friends.

I feel like a have a decent grasp on the story, but I'll admit that some of it got confusing, especially towards the end. I didn't fully grasp what the voice was meant to be. I understand it was a threat that the Ancients locked in Cyber Space to protect themselves. But what is the Supreme? It attacked the Ancients in a flashback, but Sage used it in the final fight and Sonic spoke to it like it was the Ancients, telling them to fight back against the voice. Did the voice hijack the Evangelion- sorry, the titan in that flashback fight? Anyways, enough of my stupidity.

I really liked the story with Sage. I will admit I found it comedic that she kept telling Sonic to leave the island, that terrible things would happen, but equally she refused to elaborate on any of it. At times it felt vague for the sake of being vague, but I definitely found it more funny than annoying. Her and Eggman's relationship is honestly the most wholesome thing ever and I want to see more of them. I almost cried at the end, especially because the credits gut punched me with a song from her perspective. To me, the relationship somewhat parallels that of Shadow and Maria. One gave their life to save the other.

I know Eggman won't ever become a good guy, but the Shadow stan in me desperately hopes that at some point, there is some acknowledgement between Eggman and Shadow about losing someone they considered family, though given that the post credit suggests Sage is alive, I doubt this. On the topic of Eggman and Shadow, I am also kind of desperate for Shadow to discover Eggman's feelings on Maria, either by finding the Egg Memo or by Eggman speaking it aloud, but I recognise that the Egg Memos are likely just easter egg collectibles. Still, I somewhat hope that the idea of Eggman's jealousy over Maria is explored some day.

Anyways, enough of my rambles on Shadow.

I feel like the weakest point of the story is the part just before the end. The whole game builds on this tension over Sonic taking on too much cyber energy, to the point he becomes immobile. In the actual game, this conflict is resolved quickly and in a way that didn't fully make sense to me. Sonic's friends - Amy, Knuckles and Tails - simply form a ring of friendship around him, seemingly absorb into his body somehow, and he regains consciousness, completely freed of the influence of the cyber corruption. It takes less than five minutes for this huge point of drama to be resolved, and then Sonic immediately returns to his chipper self. It just feels very weirdly paced to me, especially since after this, you spend time exploring the island and having casual conversations with Sage about the Ancients. It feels remarkably relaxed.

I think this could've been resolved in a more creative and impactful way, Perhaps you have a sequence where you play as the other characters, doing puzzles or levels where you collect items to save Sonic (maybe his own memory tokens?), maybe even in replacement of Sage's. Or you could have an internal battle within Sonic where he fights the cyber corruption, perhaps having points in the fight where you feel the presence of your friends like they're fighting by your side. If this happened just before the final fight, it would also help to continue this feeling of urgency that makes sense given the scenario as opposed to having such an intense moment just to immediately run around an island finding collectibles again. I think it also sucks because after hearing some of the unused audio clips, I feel like this moment could have had a lot more drama and impact than it actually did (e.g. Sonic forgetting who he is).

One small, final point that isn't directly story related, but I find the little comments Sonic makes when exploring the environments nice. I didn't get to hear most of them in my gameplay, but it's nice that Sonic thinks about his friends so much. Personally I liked how many references to team dark there were. It's nice knowing that Sonic views them in such a positive light (apart from maybe Shadow), though it does make me a little sad knowing that they've not been a proper team in the games for ages (especially since making Shadow the way he is). And it's especially cool to hear references to characters like Tangle, who aren't in any of the main series games.

Summary

I know it probably sounds like I hate this game given all my critiques of it, but I actually really enjoyed this game and it's one of the more fun games I've played in a long time. It's important to remember that you're allowed to have some issues with the things you enjoy. (For example, I find some of the canon portrayals of Shadow to be terrible, but he is still my favourite character.) I think Sonic Frontiers overall is amazing and I am glad I took the time to complete it fully. My issues with the game are far outweighed by my enjoyment of it.

I think if anyone ever asked me if they should play it, I'd recommend they do. It's an incredible step up for Sonic games and I am curious and excited to see what's next in store for Sonic and his friends.

Thanks for reading!

#sorry if this is a bit all over the place lol #sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers #sonic frontiers spoilers #nagichi talks

[asterbi]

so I finished sally face

SALLY FACE SPOILERS (INCLUDING EPISODE 5) AHEAD

I played through the entire game two days ago (i had already watched both jacksepticeye's and gloomgames' lets plays for the first four episodes) and yeah, I know I'm a week and a bit late late, but I have some thoughts

Also I’m so sorry for how long this is, I know no one cares but I just started rambling and I couldn’t stop

First of all, criticism:

I'm getting real fucking tired of "ooOOooOOOoo a native american myth so scary and otherworldly" like dude shut the fuck up that's disrespectful as

Also (and please correct me if I'm wrong) I'm like 99% sure that the native american myth in question isn't real which. is somehow even worse

He buried his gays (tbh I wasn't that annoyed at this one because 1) at least one of the gays lived and 2) he buried pretty much everyone else too but I feel like it had to be said)

Now. Let me preface this by saying I loved travis' redemption, which I'll get more into later. However, I really didn't like the fact that travis' character played into the whole 'homophobes are gay' thing, which is a uhhhh vaguely problematic trope

The ending was unsatisfying. I'll get more into it in a sec

Larry was one of my favourite characters, and I know he's a fan favourite too. Considering the fact that he is a main character and he's been given a lot of attention and development, having him disappear at the end without any explanation and barely a reunion or a goodbye was an asshole move.

I would have loved to see some more worldbuilding and lore, especially getting into what exactly the red eyes plague did, why the cult wanted to summon red eyes, how the whole replacement thing worked, what happened with charley, and what exactly the whole mother tree thing was with larry

Ash's extremely triggering and graphic suicide. I understand this is a horror game. I understand that this sort of thing is expected and normal in horror games. But showing players imagery like that without so much as a content warning? That's not okay.

Some of the characters were left really underdeveloped. Sal and larry were great, and ash saw a lot of development in the last episode, but todd, neil, and travis, who were given a fair bit of attention as well, were pretty 2d (not so much travis, but still)

And now for things I enjoyed:

The entire game

Despite everything I said earlier, this is still one of my favourite games, and I really really loved it

Sal was a f a n t a s t i c character. 0% toxic masculinity, 12/10. I love the fact that he was so kind and calm towards everyone, even those who were rude to him, but still knew where to draw the line and wasn't a total pushover. I especially love the fact that even though he likes feminine things and wears pigtails and whatnot, he is a cishet guy. While more lgbt+ representation (particularly trans people and wlw) would've been great, I also like that the game shows that you don't have to be lgbt in order to be gnc, especially since the gnc person is both a man, and the main character, which is really uncommon. Also disabled representation!! That's really fucking awesome

Larry was also brilliant!! Loves metal, loves art, has a criminal record, cries during sappy movies, does drugs and dabbles in illegal activities, wants to go to college, is openly and unapologetically affectionate towards his friends and unafraid to tell them he loves them

Ash was not one of my favourite characters but I really love how she developed from sceptic to believer and the way she changed and faced her own problems, and to some extent had her own story (although it did rely fairly heavily on sal’s, which was :/ but then again everyone’s story relied on sal’s)

Okay so back to travis - I loved his redemption arc so much, because he was a redeemable character. I see so many characters who get redemption arcs that absolutely do not deserve them, but travis was a good person born into a horrible situation, and I’m glad they explored homophobia and abuse (although I’m not happy about the homophobes are gay thing like I said) and made him a hero at the end. I’m also glad that we got foreshadowing that it would happen, and it didn’t come totally out of left field

Speaking of which, props to steve gabry for not pulling an endgame and just throwing things in for shock value. Sal coming back in ep 5 was hinted at, travis’ redemption was hinted at, and of course the events of the first four episodes were hinted at because they were memories. Even ash and neil’s involvement in fighting the cult despite being a sceptic and someone totally ignorant about it respectively made perfect sense, and though the parallel universes thing and larry’s reappearance was a surprise, it still sort of fits with how the lore of the game works

The different game styles in episode 5 were absolutely out of this world. All of them were fantastic (although fuck you 3d sal you were Not fun to play), and I thought that was a really cool interpretation of the parallel universes thing

The writing was consistently really good throughout the whole game, and it genuinely makes you so attached to all of the characters, which makes the ending all the more upsetting

This is more personal but I really loved like. The Aesthetic of the game? It was so grungy and out there, and little things like the necrolight guitar and the super gear boy just added to this whole vibe of teenagers-trying-to-do-good-in-a-messed-up-world and I can’t explain it but it was great

The game really didn’t shy away from any aspects of horror, but it also did it in a really well written way that creeped you out without relying on random jumpscares, which was awesome. I mean they had e v e r y t h i n g - mass cannibalism, demonic rituals, cults, prophecies, murder, human sacrifices, suicide, nudity but in the creepy way not the sexy way (the random gory scene in ep 5 where neil and maple were hanging naked and dead upside down really startled me because I just didn’t expect it from this game and it just freaked me out more), aliens, creepy puppets which reminded me of dhmis, the list goes on

The main part in episode 4 where larry and sal are working together in different dimensions?? Poetic, amazing, 12/10

Final opinions: I absolutely loved the characters, the story, the general aesthetic of the game, and the art style and writing. Episode 5 was probably my least favourite episode, because I found the ending really vague and unsatisfying, although I absolutely loved all the different game styles. I also found that a lot was left vague and unanswered, and not really in a good way???? Also the representation and stuff was great (especially disabled rep, because that’s rare), but there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way :/ Still, sally face is one of my favourite games, and I’m so sad that the series has come to an end :(

#i know no one cares #and i'm so sorry this is really long #but i just needed to rant #and none of my friends play sally face #i just sort of #started rambling #and then couldn't stop #but yeah i love this game a lot #i have a lot of thoughts and feelings #i'm really sad it's over #and that it ended the way it did #but anyways #catch me replaying all the episodes trying to get 100% #sally face #sally face episode 5 #sally face episode five #sal fisher #larry johnson #ash campbell #ashley campbell #todd morrison

[goth-albino-angel]

Yugiri's smile is everything. She has so many of them and they all mean different things. When she's relaxed, when she's excited, when she's confused, when she has no clue what's going on but everyone else is happy so she's happy, when she's relieved, when she's proud... She has so many different smiles and if Tumblr didn't have the 10 image rules, I would absolutely gush about every single one of them in detail. Unfortunately, if I do that, all of those posts will probably be eaten out of the tag, so instead, here are my top 10 favorite Yugiri smiles so far, images included. (Pre-Revenge episode 9)

10. Season One, Episode 2: The First Smile/ 9. Season One, Episode 10: The Sentimental Smile

Episode 2 is the first time we ever see Yugiri smile. Before this, she seemed relatively nonplussed or generally disinterested in pretty much everything going on. Even though she was in a different time period with complete strangers and a madman demanding her to be something she has no knowledge of, she was fairly calm. Then the first time we see her smile, it's when she sees something completely familiar. Her own face. Not only that, but she directs that smile toward the character that is going to become basically her little sister. The first one means so much and it's so important.

Within the same vein, her smile to Kotaro in episode 10 is one during an emotionally heavy moment. It's the first time he's hit an actual snag in his plans. Sakura's singular focus on the Arpino show rather than on the bigger picture of the group as a whole would have been a massive roadblock had she not realized her mistake.

Yugiri is the only one who properly realizes the reason they were sent into the mountains in the first place. Instead of simply sitting on the information, she's proactive about it and actually goes to discuss the problem with Kotaro. She wants to understand his reasoning so that she might be able to help him. And when she turns toward him, she also gives him the observations she's witnessed throughout her new life. This smile may be low on my list of favorites, but it's still unbelievably important.

...Also, when they released the preview image of this smile, my brain short-circuited for ten minutes, so it had to make it onto the list regardless.

8. Season Two, Episode One: The Professional Smile

This smile isn't much out of the ordinary for what we've come to expect of Yugiri, but it's on here because this was our first look at Yugiri after basically two years of very little. None of us knew how the group would come back, how the writing team had incorporated the unexpected pandemic, how things would play out, or what would be happening. The Promo showed Tae's hand flying off to knock off Sakura's head, but as 2018 displayed, the promos can't always be trusted. This showed that, even in this new world where she's only been awake for a year, she's putting her skills to use and working just as hard as the others. Thanks to the conversation from Episode 10 of the first season, we know she was trained as a geisha which would make service work much easier than it would be for the other girls.

I don't have too much to say on this one, to be honest. I do like that she's in softer lighting, as opposed to the others who were all surrounded by harsh lighting on their season two introductions. The softer lighting lends itself well to the lack of pigment and coloration in the girls' makeup, allowing Yugiri to look like she has some color, even if she still looks somewhat pale and tired. It doesn't give her quite the same sickly look the others have at their jobs. The red dress? 100/10. Perfect decision.

7. Season One, Episode Five: The Proud Smile

SHE. DOES. GYMNASTICS. She has every right to this smile! I did the math for this specific part of the episode and Yugiri got third place. The judges liked her rope aerobics so much, they shot her all the way to third place even though her distance was zero meters. It wouldn't have gotten her interviewed, but it would have at least put Franchouchou at the forefront. I still applaud Tae snagging first place, but Yugiri deserves some praise. She really did go face first into the mud on a bike and said, "Never again." She's so proud of herself. I'll be gushing about the actual gymnastics part in a different post a little later, too, but she definitely deserves to be proud of herself. I'm really gay...

6. Season One, Episode Four: The Cute Smile

Originally, this was just going to be me doing some keysmash version of a squeal or something, but there's something I'd like to draw attention to. I'm pretty sure that, by this point, Franchouchou only knows two songs. Yomigaere, which was supposed to be performed in episode 2, and Mezame Returner, which is what's being performed here. Of these two, Yugiri has more experience with this one, but from what the audience had been shown, it wasn't good experience.

Memorizing the lyrics would have been the easy part for her. It's that a good portion of the dance practice was also spent helping Lily get the steps down and potentially calming her frustrations. Then the performance itself would have been a complete disaster if Junko and Ai hadn't gotten over themselves at the last minute to finally help.

This is the first successful performance of Mezame Returner we're witnessing and it's clear the group's had more practice since then. You can see how excited and happy Yugiri is here because this one is actually going well. They had a bit more time to prepare, the two lead roles were actually involved this time, and the audience also was clearly enjoying the performance. She's so happy and it's just so heart-warming to see. Yes, even with the CGI. Don't @ me, she looks adorable.

5. Season One, Episode Seven: The Sassy Smile

This one also was just going to be a squealing keysmash thing, but again, I have something to point out. Look how much more confident she is now that Junko and Ai have, once again, gotten over themselves. Yugiri sees the effect that Junko stepping in had on the others and just like the rest of the group, her movements are more relaxed and free.

It's more obvious, actually, if you look at the way the other girls are moving directly after Junko helps Ai up in comparison to how Yugiri is moving. She did a spin while waiting for Sakura and Lily to finish their segment, and she could be cheeky during her own. She sensed that the tension had mostly dissolved and because of that, she allowed herself to relax and could properly throw herself into the performance. When she throws out this smile and wink, it's not actually directed at the audience. It's Yugiri telling the others that they've got this without breaking the performance.

4. Season Two, Episode Four: The Gentle Smiles

I put both of these here because Yugiri's just... so... caring? So much of what she does is passive that you don't realize just how much work she puts into relieving the stress from the other girls until long after the problem has been resolved.

In the first, she's speaking to Sakura. No doubt, Yugiri probably noticed how worried Sakura was about Junko. Even though Sakura was trying not to let the others catch on just how anxious she really was, Yugiri still knew that something was bothering Sakura as well as Junko. Yugiri knew that the key to easing Junko's mind lay in placating Sakura first. She's seen what happens to them all when they fall apart and she wants to avoid that at all costs. So, Yugiri lifts Sakura's spirits and gives her back the fire and determination to make a great performance.

In the second, Yugiri is watching Junko eat. Unlike the others, it's clear Yugiri knows that Junko is in much higher spirits than when last they saw her. Junko would likely have still been a stuttering, quivering mess otherwise, but she wasn't stuttering and her actions were purposeful and self-assured. Yugiri is very observant. She would have caught on that something had happened to make Junko feel better. What makes this smile even better is that she's not the least bit disappointed. The reason she made dinner was to help Junko, but she doesn't view the meal as a waste of time. She's so focused on other people, that she's happy Junko is feeling better at all and even offers her different platters to help keep her mood up.

These are high on the list for two reasons. One, they're a show of just how much Yugiri does for her girls. Two, YUGIRI COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS HEADCANON CONFIRMED BITCHEEEESSS!!! I GOT ONE RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!

3. Season Two, Episode Six: The Affectionate Smile

I will be completely honest, I have no idea why this one is as high as it is. I admit, I did spend three hours replaying this single thirty second scene because it's really sweet and Yugiri and Tae don't interact very often, so seeing Yugiri not only be worried for Tae, but also be immediately reassured that Tae would be fine was just something my heart didn't know it needed until it had it. The sheer level of affection Yugiri shows toward Tae is too adorable. Especially since Yugiri usually only has moments like those with Sakura and, to a lesser extent, Lily. This smile's really cute, it's in the middle of a wholesome scene, and it made me love both Yugiri and Tae that much more.

2. Season One, Episode Three: The Excited Smile

Once again, an entry that was going to be a simple squealing keysmash until I realized there was something to point out here as well. This is the first smile we ever see from Yugiri that's genuinely enthusiastic. She has plenty of them, especially during her performances, but this is our first time seeing her fully incorporate herself into the group as an actual member and actually look excited to do something with the others. This was an omen of adorable things to come and damn did it deliver.

Honorable Mentions.

I'm only going to touch on each of these briefly because to be honest, there are a LOT of smiles I could've picked.

The first one is from episode 6 when the group is talking about their very first meet-and-greet. Lily asks Yugiri if she's keeping up okay, and Yugiri remarks that she's taking things as they come. This was a small look into the kind of character she is. As I mentioned before, she's very passive in the way she operates, but that's to the benefit of those she cares for. This is her admitting that she doesn't want to be a problem and it's just sweet that even though Lily is worried about her, Yugiri's still highkey thinking about everyone else.

To the right is a shot of Yugiri during Electric Returner. This one is just the squealing keysmash because she looks so genuinely ecstatic, it's contagious. She's NO DAMN CLUE what happened or why they sound so different, but she is absolutely living her best second life.

The next shot comes from the beginning of Yomigaere and is somewhat of a repeat of the above. She's excited to perform for such a big crowd, she's glad Sakura finally agreed to actually participate, and she's living her best second life. Whoever animates Yugiri's CG model? I love you. I want to send you a gift basket. She's always so happy during performances.

Then comes her smile after the group finds out Sakura's memories are back. She's just glad Sakura, her Sakura, has come back to them, that she accepts her crap luck and is still willing to stay. For Yugiri, this goes under the list of Best Possible Outcomes. Her family is whole again and she's so relieved.

Last in the top row is the first full frontal shot we get of Yugiri in the Saga Jihen music video. She's so unbelievably adorable here. I wish I could've gotten her first expression, but the curtain was still rising and without photoshop, I'm not editing an image to the degree needed to get her whole face lightened. Point is, she's cute and everyone deserves to see her adorable face on the first song she got to be center for.

First on the bottom row is Yugiri looking apologetic from episode 8 of Revenge. She's so cute. It was an honest mistake and she had no way of knowing the paper belonged to Kiichi. No doubt, that was probably why she offered to help him rewrite them later.

Next is how cute she looks in big sister mode. She's wiping the mud from Kiichi's cheeks and is taking such care with him. Throughout the entire episode, she treats him like a little kid and it's likely because her role was big sister for so long that she doesn't know how not to treat him that way. It really does shed light on just how kind she is to everyone, though, that she doesn't even think about her dirty kimono and focuses on cleaning him up a little first.

Then we have her smiling at Kiichi as she remarks on how beautiful his dream of reviving Saga is. She even says she hopes it comes true. His dream means something to her. She can't even fully see it, he can't even fully see it, but they don't need to. What Itou didn't understand this whole time is something Yugiri understood immediately just from listening to Kiichi talk. They don't need to see it in their minds, all they need is to feel it in their hearts, and that's something Yugiri knows.

And lastly on the honorable mentions, because this post is already super long, Yugiri smiling while she's cooking for her guests. It was a tossup between this or the pinwheel because it's just really nice that Yugiri can simply enjoy mundane things. I chose this one because it's a direct contrast to how she was at the beginning. Before, she ate with a disinterested expression, but now, she's cooking for guests rather than just for herself. The lift in her mood is obvious, and it's something so small but so heartwarming, I couldn't resist.

I would've put the pinwheel moment anyway, but unfortunately, as a com major, formatting and design are everything and an extra picture on the top or bottom without a balancer would've thrown the whole thing off. Maybe next time.

NOW FOR NUMBER ONE

1. Season Two, Episode Eight: The Softest Smile

This should have been expected. There's something genuinely touching about the fact that Yugiri really does give her everything, even to complete strangers. These girls barely know her, everyone in town barely knows her, but because her dance students suggested Yugiri go out and actually experience, Yugiri gives it actual thought. She doesn't dismiss them, she doesn't deride them, she doesn't make them feel foolish or anything like that. She treats their suggestion the same way she would if it had come from a close friend. And she does actually take them up on it.

Later, we see her come into contact with Kiichi to demonstrate that even full-on strangers aren't exempt from her kind heart, but this means more. All we know is that these girls take Yugiri's dance class, and from the way they speak when we first meet them, it's clear Yugiri has a professional wall between herself and those she instructs. But she still treats them as she would the girls back in Shimabara. It's proof that, even in the past, Yugiri really was just as kind-hearted as in the present. It's a show don't tell kind of thing that just speaks so deeply to the writer in me. I love this smile. It's everything. Her smiles are everything. She's everything.

#Yugiri #Yuugiri #Zombieland Saga #Zombie Land Saga #Zombieland Saga Revenge #Zombie Land Saga Revenge #Angel has spoken #rip mobile users #I'm sorry but I needed to do this #also sorry about the slight passive aggressiveness for entries five and six #I'll do better

[meimae]

Look at me, not being on time for my April Immersion Overview as is the usual. (・w・;

First, little blog updates to get out of the way:

I reached 100 followers! Got an influx of people checking out my 1 year update post, and got plenty of nice compliments on my data collection.

For those of you wondering just why I keep up with so much data, it's mostly because it can get really hard to notice how much you're improving in a language especially with something like immersion learning that for people who don't get it feels like a waste of time or a time sink.

Graphs showing consistency, improvement in reading speed, increasing vocabulary counts, and generally just seeing numbers grow turns language learning more fun and motivating for me, and if as a bonus, it encourages someone to try immersion learning then that would be cool!

With that said, whether you're here as a fellow language learner, graphs enthusiast (笑), or just want some Japanese media recommendations, ようこそ! 

Also, made a tiny DP change - it’s チト from 少女週末旅行. Pretty sure it’s the first manga series I ever finished in Japanese (not the first one I started since ちはやふる is still ongoing), and I always felt a bit of a ☆connection☆ with  her - between her book-loving personality and being a no-nonsense kind of person, there was no way for me not to enjoy her character. Great beginner anime/manga if you’re not into most beginner recommendations.

-☆-

April has been a pretty good immersion month, as I was able to dip my toes in a variety of media. A bit competitive, too! The club I joined has been pulling all the stops to get to the Top 20 Immersion Leaderboard in it’s first month. I was able to snag the 9th spot among a bunch of people of different comprehension levels (the majority being N1+ since they’re able to comprehend much more and in turn stand longer immersion hours). Lots of tiny complaints though of potential “whitenoising” content (”listening” and “reading” but not comprehending very well just to get a large number to post), but really what can you do? People lie all the time on the internet. Besides, it’s internet points that doesn’t do anything beyond being a little shiny I guess.

Enough about that, let’s get into the nitty-gritty details you came here for!

ANIME

フルーツバスケット

Might need to rewatch this one. Felt like I didn’t connect with the characters the way the rest of its fandom has. I’m kinda sad about it, since I normally love Slice of Life and Fantasy, and I know this is one of my friend’s diehard shows.

ラブライブ! School Idol Project S2

A filler anime to watch tbh. Nice and easy enough to follow for beginners. Pretty good songs. With regards to it being a show about music and moe, I still 100% prefer K-On! if I’m going to be honest, but for a show about non-toxic idols, it’s good!

魔法少女まどか☆マギカ

First read this as English translated manga when I was 13 or something. Mistakes were made. Let’s all just agree to throw キュウベえ into a pit of fire and never talk about it again. Great ending and a show that really reworked the magical girl genre. But seriously, I was traumatized by マミ’s death then and now, help.

四月は君の嘘

Already knew what was going to happen even before watching this so I didn’t ugly cry like I was expecting. Still got that awful sinking feeling though. 10/10 would recommend for a good cry. Also, I’m planning to read the manga, might enjoy that more, because I’ve always liked it more than anime actually. *shocked pikachu face*

ホリミヤ

Watched before I even finished the manga which felt like a mistake at first until I realized that it perfectly stops where I stopped reading. Nice and comfy anime, the kind I would have loved as a teen. Fun animation too, making parts very dramatic even though it wasn’t really that deep of an issue even in the manga. Just teens feeling feelings. Still salty that we lose bad boy styled 宮村, but I get why it had to happen.

AUDIOBOOKS

氷菓

Second re-listen. I understand it fine, but it’s very easy to drift off when you can’t catch all the words so I had to replay often. Will have to mine more from the anime/book.

君の名は

I mined from the anime, and was really pleased to be able to follow all 6 hours of this audiobook perfectly fine. Will need to read the book, because I realized just how seamless reading it would be after listening to it with hardly any issue.

BOOKS

キッチェン

Completed! Read my thoughts about it and see my stats on this post.

君の膵臓を食べたい

Still trudging on with this one. It’s not a bad story, it’s pretty well written actually, I just made the mistake of watching both the anime and live adaptation first, so I know exactly what’s going to happen and it’s killing my motivation to keep reading. I guess reading the book first before watching the movie still applies in any language with me. Really need to 頑張れ and finish so I can move on. 

三日間の幸福

Started reading towards the end of the month, mostly because I realized that every chapter is only 5000-15000 characters long, and I was able to read up to 40k in a day with Island most days. Only two chapters read so far though because I got distracted by manga, but it’s shaping up to be a really good plot and potentially a really sad one, too, so I’m interested.

DRAMA

花ざかりの君たちへ イケメンパラダイス

Heard this was a classic so I gave it a try. Loved 生田 斗真’s character in this one the most especially all his internal dialogue acted out. Also, 小栗 旬 in anything is bound to be a good watch. Simple and fun watch. They dragged the ending so much though lmao 

ごくせん

Look, I see 松本 潤, I click. Definitely the kind of show you should watch for some great life advice. Planning to watch the 2nd and 3rd seasons even if there is a terrible lack of 松本 潤, because I love my strong female protagonists, and man, ヤンクミ is such a great character. Need to read the manga, too, if I can find it.

極主夫道

Oof, this was kind of hard. The yakuza talk was throwing me off, but the rest of it was enjoyable. Not really plot heavy as I thought it was going to be. The comedy side of it was fun and predictable after the first few episodes. Overall, pretty good slice of life, family story with a twist.

MANGA

Read a bunch of manga this month, mostly because I am struggling to find the next vn to read.

おやすみプンプン

Read a couple of volumes (6-7). This manga is so good, but it’s so depressing I need to stop to take a breather every once in a while. Please don’t leave any spoilers. The club has been reacting to me reading this, and it has mostly been a lot of crying emotes. It’s both been enjoyable to see and really worrying. 笑

チェンソーマン

Club recommendation. Only read the 1st volume so far. I really need to get into more 少年 anime/manga. That’s currently my 苦手 genre which is awful because literally all the top anime/manga is 少年 help. I just can’t enjoy it much still even though it’s comprehensible to me.

ちはやふる 中学生編

Read Vol. 1, chill read to me at this point after reading 45 volumes of the regular manga. Look, it’s my favorite 幼馴染 manga in baby format, of course I’m going to read this! 太一 has been a flake way before season 3 confirmed. Don’t come at me たいちはや stans bc I also like his character.

約束のネバーランド

Volume 7. I’m taking my sweet time with this one, because I heard the anime for season 2 sucked, so I’m avoiding it like the plague. This is 少年 how am I enjoying this and not everything else what.

ヲタクに恋は難しい

Enjoyed the anime hated the movie why did they make it a musical that sucked (ps i normally love musicals hated this one) 

The オタク jargon is kinda hard to read suprisingly but I do enjoy this ship very much. It’s a lighthearted take to otaku culture which is great because seriously it’s scary out there.

ツバサ -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-

It’s my childhood ship, obviously I will read this again (read in English several years ago). Still as plot twisty as I remember it being (now at a bonus hard level reading it in Japanese 笑). Really enjoyed reading this one (I finished it this May).

-☆-

I’m starting to really dislike furigana in manga. It was a great help as a beginner, but now it’s like training wheels that you can’t take off. I feel like the gains I’m getting from manga is much lower than it was when I first started which makes me both proud of how far I’ve come, but also sad because I love manga. Sad that I might have to start choose VNs over it, because it’s not going to challenge me as much going forward. I mean it didn’t stop me from reading a lot of it this month, but you get the picture.

VISUAL NOVELS

ISLAND

Completed! See my stats and read my long spoiler filled post here.

ファタモルガーナの館

Picked up this VN and finished two doors (15 hours) before stopping. On the fence about it, because it has been kind of predictable so far, and I don’t particularly enjoy the horror genre. That said, this is more psychological than anything, so it’s probably not that that’s putting me off. The language is not exactly difficult, too - maybe some oddly specific words because it is after all historical fiction (which is one of my favorite genres, btw), and 敬語 is definitely interesting to read for once after encountering so many お嬢様 characters in anime/drama so far. 

I think maybe it’s the conversations that are kind of dull - dots (silence) every few clicks that keeps breaking the flow of reading. Probably judging it really harshly too early, because it’s rated so high everywhere, and I just have high expectations. Definitely not dropping it yet though, just taking a break and testing a couple of other VNs before I settle with whatever I end up choosing. It is, after all, going to be another 50+ hour read, and I just don’t want to not enjoy the process, because having fun with the process is a huge part of immersion learning.

Let me know if you’ve read Fata and if I should continue! 

-☆-

That’s it for this month!

If you have any suggestions on what to watch and read next, please send me a reply, especially for VNs because I’m struggling over here.

#language learning #japanese language #language acquisition #study blog #langblr #studyblr #japanese #japanese studyblr #nihongo #anime #manga #books #audiobooks #visual novels #jdrama #oyasumi punpun #chainsaw man #chihayafuru #wotakoi #the promised neverland #tsubasa reservoir chronicle #fruits basket #love live #mahou shoujo madoka magika #horimiya #shigatsu wa kimi no uso #hanakimi #gokusen #gokushufudo: the way of the house husband #island visual novel

[then-be-a-warrior]

Just finished season 2 of Glitch Techs SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT YET

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Okay so this season was AMAZING. The animation was as smooth and beautiful as the first season. The humor was pretty good too. I laughed and replayed a couple of parts which is rare because most cartoon jokes are corny.

I wanted some Five angst because I have to see my favorite characters suffer (I dont know why😀). We got more of his backstory than thought we were getting this early. How his birthday was ruined and his whole relationship with his dad. I like how his father isn't evil (so far) or dead. It's a nice spin on things.

And he kicked ASS this season!

On episode 7 (I think) when he climbed the HUGE fighting glitches to try to contact Miko? When he showed his genius all throughout the season? *chef kiss* beautiful.

Miko made me a little mad occasionally but nothing too bad. I DON'T THINK SHE'S A GLITCH ANYMORE. The fact that there was an episode even about that topic this early on seems like the writers KNOW what it looks like and are trying to nip it in the bud. I could be 100% wrong though so 🤷‍♀️ I don't know lol

Ridley is a genius but she got on my nerves a little.

Mitch is showing some progress. I'm waiting for the moment when someone he cares about is in SERIOUS trouble and he really shows that he cares. This kinda happened in episode 9 but I need more!

And finally....

THE PLOT THICKENS

So Young Phil was starting to catch on to some pretty shady stuff going on with Hinobi but before anything could be done about it, they wiped his memory. However, he managed to make a recording and vaguely informed Old Phil that something is going on.

And Young Phil hid that recording in an extremely well place. Not only was B.I.T.T. unable to delete it but he also had to go through a lengthy process to get the 'ingredients'. The only way anyone was going to find that recording was if they either knew/saw Phil hide it there or a complete freak accident like what happened in the episode. Phil is lazy sometimes but he's SMART. I want to see more of that next season.

SETTING UP FOR SEASON 2 (or 3 idk) BABYYYYY

Our job isn't over yet, people! Keep spreading the word about Glitch Techs! Although we're not trending like I hoped we would be I feel like we're gaining a fandom! Cartoon Network is known for story-driven shows that SKYROCKETED their ratings (Steven Universe, Adventure Time, etc.). Nickelodeon can't let this one go or they lose what little bit of respect we still have for them.

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Alright I think that's everything. Good night everyone!

P.S. Phil saying "my kids" gives me serotonin

#glitch techs #glitch techs season 2 #netflix #nickelodeon #miko kubota #glitch techs miko #hector nieves #hi five #high five #five

[costellos]

LOL A 401K IM DEAD but honestly...... tru

all that tax stuff, retirement plans.... nanami’s got it covered. and then there’s gojo, committing tax fraud 🤧 i’d compare gojo to salt as a seasoning but that’s kinda mean, he does have some flavor. like, sugar probably suits him better?? sweet, can be addicting, but bad for you if have too much of it 🙈 AND THEN NANAMI. man’s the whole spice rack, he wouldn’t have it anything less since he loves food so much 😤 he is, as we say, umami personified 🤌

yeah, it’s unfortunate lmfao but oh well. i do occasionally have them in a smoothie though, like you said!

alsjfhsha it’s def time consuming.... like i’d be sitting down w my family and when i’m finally done picking it all out, they’ve finished eating welp 😭 and yeah, the rational part of me knows that, but i’m that person someone has to go up the service worker for and be like “excuse me she asked for no pickles” (except i didn’t 🙈) i’m much better in restaurants bc the language barrier isn’t as intimidating so i will tell them to leave out an ingredient if it’s something i can’t easily take out

mmmmm i can see that! he’d be the guy who’d eat pizza with a fork and knife wouldn’t he lol. and dab all the excess oil off w a napkin. he probably only goes to the Legit pizza places too haha but i think if he likes you enough he can be convinced to eat almost anywhere

ofc!! ask games are more fun if it goes both ways 😌 and ooooo tsumu! interesting...... 👀 those are honestly such good date ideas w a guy like atsumu! that’d rly be smth he’d enjoy and ngl the moment i read ‘something physical’ i immediately imagined y’all racing LMAO. he’s a prime example of how competition can be good for you w the right person, so i can see you filling in the space osamu left after he decided to focus more on his food aspirations. like imagine making cute lil bets w him and the loser having to do what the winner wanted hehe. omg a double date w the miya twins would be sm fun tho??? from my impression of you so far, i definitely trust you to keep tsumu in line lmfao so catch me there. me and osamu are the ones spectating and judging your guys’ competitions and cheering you on to beat atsumu like we’re olympic commentators or smth LOL

aaaaa i’m honestly p shy but if anything can get me to come off anon, it’d be nanamin 😂 (it’s like we’re todo and yuji bonding over their shared type but w nanami skdjfjsjsjs) let me know if you prefer to keep it here or on discord and i’ll give you my account, whichever platform you like better! also congrats on 1k! much deserved!! 🎉

cut for length!

A;LDSKJ GOJO WOULD COMMIT TAX FRAUD. lmao salt is a lil mean!! sugar is more fitting <3 sugar is also used for more fun foods, and I feel like it matches him bc of his sweet tooth. but Nanami........ o lawd. definitely the whole spice rack yes. 100% agree. pls I would use him in everything. wait was that a weird thing to say?

ah I totally understand! well, u got this friend. the next time u go out for Mexican food, I’ll be there cheering for u in spirit!!

and yes.... ugh... I don’t think he’s particularly picky, he’ll try anything. he just doesn’t like foods that are excessive, if that makes sense? like what you were saying with the grease. I think he’s more the type to like subtle flavors. an obnoxious meat lover’s pizza from The Hut would be a no go, but he’s down for a, quote, Legit Pizza Place. the kind of Italian restaurant that’s authentic! but let’s admit it, by that point it wouldn’t even technically be “pizza.” authenticity comes with a price :’)

ty friend you’re far too kind 🥺 AND PLS YOU’RE MAKING ME BLUSH OVER MY LAPTOP HHHHHHH. I would love nothing more than to fill the Osamu-shaped hole in his heart once they both go into their separate careers. and god..... don’t encourage him. or me. I would definitely make bets w him. and I would win. but thank you sweet anon, I would do my best to keep him from annoying the shit out of you!! it would be an honor to have you and Osamu comment on our tomfoolery. 👉👈

MY GOD I WAS ABOUT TO KEYBOARD MASH AGAIN. we’re definitely Todo and Yuji.... u like Nanami and so now I’m obligated to imagine a whole life we coulda had together in high school together. even tho I graduated five years ago. and I’m assuming you did some time ago too since you mentioned you’re old...... lordt. anyway! thank you for the congrats!! I would love to discuss more headcanons and such w you over Discord! dm me and I’ll add you so that we can sob over Nanami’s absence in the anime <33

nanamin date anon said: me, rewatching eps 9-13 on replay until the new episode comes out: hahaha i love all the jjk characters equally! nanamin and *looks at smudged writing on hand* the extras

lol i love them all rly, it’s just super refreshing to have an adult like nanami in a shounen

haha yeah, i’m definitely glad i’m not the oldest (bc that’s way too much responsibility for me, idk how they do it) so being player 2 as a younger sibling isn’t too bad, especially since it’s the story that i’m usually more interested in rather than the gameplay itself. i don’t have to worry about remembering which buttons to press in a fight when i can just watch the plot play out lol. (it’s definitely a good game, i just suck at the controls 😅 my brother let me play a bit and i couldn’t get the web swinging down i was struggling so bad aslfjjfsjak) what sort of games are you into? 👀

even if it’s boring to some ppl, watching is a good way to experience the game for yourself as well, esp if it’s a single player game! ofc i do tend to prefer multiplayer games, but it’s not too dissimilar to watching someone play a sport tbh. AND NO KENMA IM PRO-SIDEQUEST LIVE OUT YOUR COMPLETIONIST DREAMS. if we gotta fetch that dude a super rare item to unlock his backstory we MUST do it ok

YEAH! mikorin is also voiced by noya’s va! it’s honestly a shame gsnk didn’t get a second season, it’s so good 😔

me: lol does that mean kuroo’s your tomoda

kenma: ok this date is over

LMFAOOOOO not my fault the popular choices are the ones that get you the good end 😤 and it’s all good, i’m also guilty of replaying to see how the other choices impact the story haha. if there’s no save system tho, i’d make him switch out w me every time we replay bc i’d zone out at all the repeat stuff (bless games that have a skip option 🙏)

UGH TELL ME ABOUT IT!!! ok so I love the other charas too but.... Nanami’s so good. so good. iono about you, anon, but I went back and rewatched his episodes from the dub and it made me Feel Things. and I agree, it is refreshing to see an adult like him in shounen. esp since he treats the kids like kids. and he makes it clear that their being kids is never a bad thing. I will reiterate: he’s so good.

ahhh friend that’s so nice!. your brother sounds really chill. plus it sounds like a good balance: you get to watch the story, and he gets to dick around!! win-win. and as for my fav games, I’m up for anything! I try to avoid co-op games like Overwatch bc I get too competitive and I’m a sore loser lmao (but they are fun!). the last games I played were the Last of Us 2 and Persona 5, two very different games, but stuff that’s a good time nonetheless. tbh as long as I can immerse myself in the story and there’s tons to explore, I’m down. what about you?? you’d kind of mentioned otome games and Animal Crossing, but I’m curious!

hm. interesting. that’s a nice way to look at it. I guess if it’s a really good game, it’s no different from an interactive movie! also Kenma would love that omg you’re going to save so many villages in the rpgs he plays w you.... gotta max out EVERYTHING. every side quest! every mundane task!! collect literally every feather!!! but I feel like he would pass the time by making idle conversation. like some dumb shit Lev had mentioned earlier that day. such a nice way to unwind at the end of the day, shit talking Lev w his fav person 😌

anyway! going back to completionist stuff: Kenma would have such a blast going back and replaying games w you! and yes bless games w a skip option hhh. thankfully he’d remember all your previous choices together, so he can help navigate where to go next. he has no qualms handing the controller over, I think he’d love to curl up next to you and analyze how you play! but I also feel like he’d be giving unwarranted suggestions....... thanks, Kenma.

also, about Mikorin’s va: WHAT. OH MY GOD. so many things to learn..... pls. indulge me w your trivia.

#nanamin date anon #FRIEND you are SPOILING ME #so many good scenarios and general content..... #thank u for popping by! #and I'll reiterate: I'd be more than happy to chat over Discord #if you're comfortable that is! #I would love nothing more than to yell about Nanami w you #toya slides u a note #Anonymous

[fanguuuhhhrl]

Im kinda obsessed with I-Land right now. I love 23 boys and if possible i would like them all to debut but the elimination is in 30 minutes so im going to post my top 12 picks before it airs (kind of in order, kind of not, im biased, this is based on an unsure mixture of skill and personality, could change but most likely not):

1. Sunoo- BITCH!!! WTH!!! I JUST LOOK AT HIM AND MY SEROTONIN LEVELS BURST THROUGH THE ROOF!! He is a puppy!! He is amazing. If you didnt know anyone yet and you put all 23 boys in a line up. He will draw your attention with his sunshine smile :)))) he is so heartwarming. Most people be like "i have no filter" but they just be mean, but this guy is different, he literally has no ability to hide what he thinks but it never comes off as anything negative. He says "Me! I can do it!" but it's just endearing and never comes across as trying to show off. He says "there was a little bit of friction" and when the members look at himshocked, he looks at them shocked too.... theres no dull moment when he's in frame. It's so amazing how pure a person can be. But know that i am not just rooting for personality but for talent. his voice... His Voice!!! Vocally geonu and heeseung really slayed the butterfly performance but if you ask me, "save me" had a more emotional attack. His facial expression is just brimming of feelings. His voice is so raw. Also You know that part in save me where he transitions from head voice into chest voice really smooth??? You'll know what im saying if you see it. thats so fucking satisfying that i had to replay it so much. I definitely replayed the save me performance more times honeslty. And the way he dances!!! It might not be That refined yet but that's the charm... it's so raw and full of emotions... so like him. I can see myself stanning this group long term if he debuts with them.

2. Jungwon- tf i love this boy so much. his visuals already stood out to me when they were entering i-land, then his voice stood out to me in the first challenge... he did that hard ass choreography without any audible changes to his voice that i had to rewind that multiple times (more than the editor already did) then the moment i saw him dance the center in episode 4??? BOY???? BOY!!!! that was my breaking point... i can't believe im saying this about men but i already knew i would die for him... plus he is so sweet :((( his eyes are just so naturally cute but i was so shocked in the last challenge when he was able to pull off that fierce ass look.... i am devastated... im about the same age but my parental instincts are at work here. plus SPOILER ALERT to those who plan to watch he won first place in both the first and last challenge can everybody say jungwon ace

3. Geonu- my feelings for him are much like jungwon :((( except theres more parental instincts... and i say this despite being younger than him but whatever age is just a vibe... HE IS SO LIDDOL :((( i want to be his mom :(( at first, personality wise, it's hard to notice him bc he's a little calm and laidback... but its the little things that draw you to him :((( his glasses and hoodies just seem a little bit big on him and that just makes me smile for some reason... he cries silently when people are sent to the ground and he gets along well with the people... i noticed him first together with jungwon in the first i land challenge because they had the most stable performance. but i've never been more attached to him than when he sang butterfly (favorite bts song anyone??)... i honestly thought they could debut then and there and i wouldnt bat an eye... also it's so funny that the one thing i identified him with during the early episodes was the fact that whenever the camera pans to him, he just has the dead eye stare and parted lips (think: pokerface but confused) especially with the huge ass glasses but in the end the poker face thing that stuck to me became the thing that worked against him i cri

4. Jay- hold on folks this is going to be a long one. Jay has such a powerful personality that at first made me hesitant about liking him... idk he just seemed like the guy i would not vibe with in real life, but the longer time passed, the more he became one of my favorites and i root for him now like crazy. at first it was funny when they kept rejecting him for the vocal parts, but the more it went on, i was so sure that if it was me, i would have cried and dropped then and there, but it was so amazing watching him push through that and he didnt even lie about how he felt. his unique determination is such a breath of fresh air, a little heartwarming and oh so inspiring. i honestly learned a lot from just watching him. the time he went to the ground was so crucial to his development as a person, leader and performer. it was so mindblowing when he became the leader at the ground and even adapted heeseung's teaching methods. you know that meme "improvise, adapt, overcome?" he is the exact personification of that. what i loved about him the most is that even with his steely determination, he didnt enforce or project that on the other grounders, he just shared it with them. he understands when they need rest, encouragement or massages. he was such a caring leader. Skill wise- i can't say anything. He already proved himself so many times. Great dancer and potential vocalist. The mnet specials also show how much sweeter he is than the show shows him to be. He takes care of everyone, and has more of mother duck than street gang vibes (and he knows how to cook!!). And at the end, while he seems to be mostly self- oriented about debuting, he ends up spending most of his time teaching others and helping them improve. I just love him. Debut Jay 2k20!!!

5. Sunghoon- tf this guy is so cool and laidback that i didnt even pay much attention to him during the early parts but he just keeps crawling into my heart because so many members love him so damn much??? and he just goes along with them?? they want me to do triple axel while average people can't even do a single axel on a trampoline?? ok imma give them a double axel tho. jake is challenging me to arm flexing? yeah why not? k wants me to dance?? yeah lemme just spin 50 times. jay wants to shower together?? weird but im not strongly against the idea. ej wants to scare people? count me in. someone needs a hand to hold?? ok here's my warm hand to the rescue... everyone just wants to be his friend that he birthed my favorite sunoo scene "im cuter than him [jake]" and he was just like "yeah ok i guess so" sksjsk sunoo is that how you ask someone to be your friend jshdk??? and can i just say? as a figure skating fan, he has automatic +52536 points... and when the judges said he's the most natural performer out of them??? i vibed with that hard.. he dances well so naturally and he takes your attention without even seeming like he's trying to. that dance performance with k and jungwon?? i thought at first that his energy wouldnt catch up but damn boy my eyes were just trackingnhim the entire time unintentionallu that i had to rewind and he was just as great as all of them... with the additional benefit of being a stunt boy!! and though it might seem effortless, we saw that he practiced so hard for it. overall a 100/100 boy with a naturally charismatic personality that bleeds into his performance... as a fellow 02 liner i would also like to apply as his bestfriend thank you

6. Heesung- what can i say except he's a perfect boy ok thats it why are you still reading... jk... ok lets talk about him... skill wise?? I cried during the butterfly performance. i marvel at his vocal stability. his voice is so crystal clear. his dancing is so clean. his skills are superb but most of all, theyre already so refined. there's nothing more i could ask for. personaloty wise... i also have a lot to say... despite his celebrity status, it's awesome how he can make the other trainees comfortable with him. he's kind and soft and lovely.

but because i am me, i have to overanalyze people so idk skip this if you dont like that. for someone who's experienced being an academic achiever... i sure do vibe with his personality a lot... you know when there's a group activity and you're so sure you can lead it well but you don't want to? half because you dont want to come off as a show off and half bc you genuinely still have self-doubts, and you're scared of falling short of expectations. Also, you feel that if it all fails, you'll be responsible so you have to feel that everyone approves you before you can take leadership and show your entire thing. And the moment you feel validated and take the reins, you start unconsciously projecting your perfectionist attitude on people??? yeah... i love that despite being an almost perfect person he still has issues most people can find relatable and that, in addition to the talent makes me want to root from him. (im also going to take a stab and guess that his mbti is probs ixxp) i'll be honest tho, because its like 100 percent sure now that he'll debut, im not super attached to him??? i love him tho but he's just not in any danger so i can just let my support for him chill. i think amidst this, bc most of the trainees depend a lot on him, i mostly hope for him to take care of his mental health

7. Daniel- awww danielll... i went into i-land not knowing anyone's ages so i had a brief whiplash feeling when someone said daniel is 15... it's because he's so emotionally mature?? like he's such a supportive and caring person that it barely struck me the that he might be the youngest?? he already caught my attention when they performed "any song" bc they just seemed like they were having fun and doing their best without the pressure of whether they would win ir not, and for me that attitude is something you'd see from more experienced performers. and during the second ep when he just felt the need to comfort everyone bc he's got such a high score?? i loved that an i was so bummed out when they eliminated him. the save me performance was definitely a cherry on top that i just had to love him more than i already do... he may be young but he's as ready to debut as everyone else.

8. Jake- jake is just one of the people who showcased so much growth between ep 1 and ep 2. he already had the right attitude when they performed crown and he just had to improve skills and stage presence, and improved he did. despite being one of the trainees with the shortest training time, he was the one teaching the others by the end it just supports my theory that he might have been an ace as well if he just had the same amount of training as everyone else. im also truly in love with his mischievous antics. he seemed like an introvert to me at first but he came out of his shell and i love that. also i just crave more moments of him and sunghoon's friendship (they both seemed like introverts who found someone they could be extroverts with in each other) i am 👌this close to storming i land and demand that they let me join their merry little band of 2002 children

9. Niki- dance skills= 100 he's just so good it's unreal... it's insane... everytime he's on screen i hear boss musicand i cant even imagine him being younger than anyone, let alone taki. i get why some people dislike him but honestly i think it's just because they don't see him as a child... but he is. i was honestly a bit mad for him when they kept guilt tripping him into leading all of them, and i understood his tjought process when he thought he just kept failing everyone and when he thought things just kept backfiring on him. he is held on such a high pedestal and i dont think he deserves that kind of burden. as for me, it would just be a waste of talent to let him go. his attitude could still improve, as we'd seen when he eventually volunteered to help everyone. i also felt bad when he said that he's scared he might not be voted bc some people dont base on skills and i love him and i just want him to kmow that he's loved

10. Taki- what the hell can i even say?? he's the kindest softest boy ever. he tries to see the good in people and is very hardworking... he listens to people well and actually follow them, so he improves a lot... he knows people think he's cute and he tries and tries and tries to look fierce if the song calls for it... he is amazing

11. K- i really can't say anything, he really stands out during performances. also very pro at dancing. his choreography??? *chef's kiss* and i think the younger trainees depend a lot on him, besides heesung and so he's good at keeping the team together.

12. EJ- im really hesitant about the last person to be the twelfth i lander because it could almost be anyone and i wouldnt be too bummed out bc theyre almost all equally talented... the thing with ej tho is he already gets along well with the i landers and has harmony with other members. (plus see above: im a sucker for the 2002 line) i think its a tiny bit unfair to base it on this bc the others didnt even get a chance to show what they can bring to the group so im torn.

bonus: i wouldnt feel too bad if it were jaebeom (he has great voice, the producers think he's not too stand out bc he's weak at dance, but the i land is already so full of people whose expertise is dancing, so i think there should be someone who's specialty is singing), kyungmin (i really appreciated how hard he worked during the last test and it actually paid off, i honestly noticed him there even if he was always at the back. i also loved his determination and i was so touched when he and jaebeom were talking and he said "there's really nothing to do but believe in the impossible right?" it's just that the i landers were already ahead of him in terms of skills so he failed the votings) and hanbin (i've watched his cover videos and he's really good at dancing and stage projection. like i was honestly wondering why it wasnt showing in the performances :((( and he hadnt even had too much screentime to actually See what he's capable of.

#idk anymore #do you have the same rankings and reasons as me?? #iland #lets talk #iland sunoo #iland jungwon #iland geonu #iland daniel #iland heeseung #iland sunghoon #iland jake #iland k #iland jay #iland niki #iland taki #iland ej

[thefinalkey16]

KH3 Re:Mind spoilers/Reactions

So Xemnas gave the order?? To find the box?? But why??

So did Xigbar actually lose the box? YOU HAD ONE JOB

Oh we’re starting HERE HUH

I forgot how pretty the graphics are

Why is Riku so pretty???

Nomura really went “this DLC is about SOKAI and I’m gonna make sure you KNOW IT.”

Nomura really cares about his ship and I appreciate it so much

LETS GO SAVE OUR GIRL!

Heck yeah REMIND TIME

I love the music in this game so much

YES WE GET MORE MOM

Why does MOM adopt smol children lol

It bothers me that MOM has no actual face behind the hood. It’s like Ansem’s original form

So Xehanort is where Xemnas’s confusion of the heart comes from lol

OH THIS IS PREMASTER XEHANORT

I’m sorry, Xehanort is more powerful than darkness?

I’m sorry MOM is too scared to take off the coat???

MOM is a psychology teacher who gets exasperated by his dumb students

OH THATS JUST RUDE NOMURA

LEMME KNOW HIS NAME

A lost..Master?

Well we know where Xehanort got the hands behind the back walk from

OOO A NEW THEME

OH I LOVE IT

I’m 100% sure that MOM told him his name was “Noneya,” and it took a few decades before he realized what he actually said

DID THEY TELEPORT TO LOOK COOL ON THE ROCKS

I’m sorry they have holograms??

Did they actually call him Riku Replica lol

Wait they were actually nobodies

XEMNAS AND XEHANORT WERE REPLICAS?

“Why we have assembled here,” because Xemnas and Sora destroyed your sick castle

Poor Terra got possessed TWICE?

Demyx! You get Demyx!

I’m sorry 20??

No. I

Oh so they don’t actually remember Xion

Does.. does Xigbar remember Xion?

Wow they got Vexen just to get his daughter in their gang. How rude

Xehanort fell asleep while they chatted I’m cackling

Crazy old man

Now when do I get to save Kairi? :3c

YAY ITS TIME

YAY ITS CHIRITHY TIME

ITS MY SMOL KITTY

“Back so soon?”=you died again?? You’re lame

Chirithy is a mood

Sora you watched your GF get shattered

Oh so that’s why Sora dies

IS SORA SAILOR PLUTO

Oh my god he’s Sailor Pluto

Lose powers? He’s done that so many times 😂

Getting banned from one world? He had a phone and friends with gummi ships lol

ARE WE GONNA SEE EVERONES HEART STATION??

NOOO VEN That still hurts to watch

AWW SORA TRIED TO CATCH HIM

Wow he’s a ghosty ghost

Oh I love Ven’s heart station so much

Wow Vanitas really said that Ven is Baby

YAS GIMME VANITAS

Also wow Vanitas is protecting Ven’s heart and I love that

OH NO NOT THIS GUY

I beat him by using Meow Wow. meow wow is best boy

Oh no oh no it’s this pet

Gotta love Big Bro Lea

I forgot they call him Axel

ITS THE HUG

It’s Donald’s Safrifice ;-;

Donald Really channeled his inner Molly Weasley and said “Not my son you WITCH.”

WASTED

Also aw Sora got to see what Donald did for the first time

AQUA’S STATION IS SO PRETTY

Poor Aqua ;-; this is the moment where everyone hates her for

Also aww she trusts Kairi to protect them

We love Big Sis Aqua

YES WE GET ANTI AQUA FIGHT AGAIN

NAMINEEEEE

I’m literally screaming and I scared my grandma

Oh my god She lost Kairi and she immediately went to Sora cause she knew she’d be safe there ;-;

Namine’s Really here bringing everyone together

Agsisgsjdg I forgot Terra can do the keyblade whip thing lol

AND the cannon

Wow they’re really fighting in the sky

Anyone else getting Star Wars vibes

AWW HE JUST WANTS TO PROTECT HIS FAMILY

I still hate Terra’s pants

Imagine your heart crushing your body. Like really

NO LINGERING WILL

HECK YEAH SORA YOU KICK THEIR BUTT

Wow Sora you’re so cocky

LINGERING WILL NO

OH MY GOD

I forgot that Marluxia is an Ouran Host Club character

Wait, that Mickey finisher was new, wasn’t it?

Okay but I still have no idea what Xemnas did to Luxord

Cards: *Appear*

Sora: PTSD from watching his friends get destroyed from the cards in the manga

Mickey: *is captured*

Sora: PTSD intensifies

I’m really happy that we get to replay all of the Organization battles, they’re so much fun!

I’m so soft for Replinami ;-;

He loves her so much, and all he wants is for her to be safe and happy ;-;

Ven: we aren’t the same. You’re Edgy. I’m Baby

Aqua when Sora appears: TWO Baby’s :0

“If I’m a traitor, then Kairi’s the trump card.” LEA DRINKS RESPECT KAIRI JUICE

Aww Kairi’s so confused. She doesn’t see how she could be a trump card ;-;

HE STRAIGHT UP FLEXED

AWW XION REMEMBERS

Ohhh Isa’s jealous.

YES THW CHAKRAMS

LETS GO

Jealousy mode has been activated in Isa

WHAT WAS THAT RUN

OH MY GOD THAT SCREAM

YES KAIRI GO

PROTEXT YOUR BRO

“Yup” Kairi really just wants this over with so she can go home 😂

The way Kairi’s face lights up at seeing Sora gives me life.

Wow Xemnas was really hurt by Axel’s betrayal. Frankly? I’m shocked.

XION’S HAND IS SMOKING

HER HAND IS BURNING BECAUSE SHES GRABBING THE BLADE

Xemnas does NOT drink Respect Xion juice

ROXAS KEPT XION’S MEMORIES SAFE INSIDE HIM

AND SHE HAS HER FACE BECAUSE HE GAVE THEM BACK TO HER

Lea cares about the small girls he adopted as his little sisters

AWW THE THREE OF THEIR HEARTS ARE CONNECTED

NO XION ISNT ON HIS HEART ANYMORE

YES KAIRI’S HERE TO KICK BUTT

Wow Nomura really got tired of people dissing Kairi so he amped her up with cool stuff

“Oh? Tired of Kairi not doing anything?” Heres her literally overpowering Xemnas and him having to restrain her with a stop spell and magic to stop her

KAIRI IS THE SCARLET WITCH AND XEMNAS IS THANOS

Oh and in case you think she’s weak? Here’s the same thing for Sora too.

God I love Nomura

Oh my god she’s in so much pain because of the darkness

OH MY GOD SHES IN SO MUCH PAIN BECAUSE OF THE DARKENSS

SORA LITERALLY FAINTED AFTER 2 SECONDS BUT KAIRI’S HOLDING ON OH MY GOD THE STRENGTH

OOOOOOOO ROXAS TIME

The MUSIC

THEIR ATTACK IS CALLED “THINKING OF YOU” BECAUSE THEY REMEMBERED XION I CANT

I can not believe i was forced to relive watching Kairi die

SHE WAS CRYSTALLIZED?? SHES NOT DEAD??

I love Donald and Goofy so much ;-;

They aren’t gonna leave their son alone

Also wow Xehanort was just staring there forever

I FORGOT WE GET TO EXPLORE SCALA :D

KAIRI?!?!

Getting KH1 vibes with this

“The heartless that is radiating light” how is that possible??

Okay but this is such a good parallel to the first game, with him saving Kairi ;-;

Except for the fact that HEARTLESS SORA DIDNT GET BEAT UP

Okay so her heart is a thassala shell. Will we have to collect the pieces to make her wayfinder?

Oh my god I see the thing at the top of the screen. We totally are making her wayfinder ;-;

THAT MEANS SHE LITERALLY GAVE HIM HER HEART SO HE COULS RETURN IT TO HER OH MY GOOOOD

Okay so I love the puzzles they have here

XEHANORT?!

I’m sorry you hid her heart? What are you, five?

What do you MEAN almost out of time?!

OH NO KINGDOM HEARTS

Oh no not these guys again

So many keyholes

IM SORRY IS THIS WIZARD OF OZ

Oh my god Lea is so overwhelmed lol

SGAKSSGE ROXAS CAUGHT XION

Okay so for the team ups, I love how all of them were mix and matched from the trio’s

I loved Terra and Riku, the Master and apprentice

I loved Ven, Roxas, and I can’t remember who else was in it. “Thanks Roxas.” “Youre welcome. You’re not too bad yourself.” THAT WAS ADORABLE

Xion, Aqua and Mickey being mages and protecting everyone

Aqua and Lea, him trying to talk and Aqua telling him to shut up and focus

MICKEY’S STRUGGLE TO SAVE HIS FRIENDS BROKE MY HEART

We now present: Kingdom Hearts 3: connect he dots

Connect. Connect the dots. Get it?

KAIRI’S HEART MADE A FLOWER

THE KH2 THING

“SORA :D”

THEIR HUG

HE JUST HOLDS HER CLOSE

TIME FOR PLAYABLE KAIRI BABBYYYYYYY

“I can do this.” YES YOU CAN

I’m sorry you think I want to play as Sora? After waiting my whole life to play Kairi? HA

KAIRI IS THE MOST POWERFUL

Seven wishes saved me in that fight

ONE HEART

THEY HAVE ANGEL WINGS

OKAY YALL HAD YOUR SORIKU ATTACK NOW WE GOT SOKAI :D

Now we just need Rikai and Sorikai and it’ll be complete ^^

AGSKSGSKDGSJS CHIRITHY

“I was trying to give you some privacy” awwww

CHIRITHY IS CRYING

THEYRE GOING ON DATES

Chirithy has my soul and I love it

Every scene with Chirithy adds 7 years to my life

Afsjsgsajg Sora DONT PUSH THE CAT

NAMINE

THEY WERE THERE TO FREE HER HEART

Aaand he’s gone and I’m crying again

LIMITCUT EPISODE TIME BABBYYYY

GAJSGSJDG RIKU AND TERRA ARE TOGETHER

Oh my god Riku and Terra being bro’s are my favorite thing

Wait what are they gonna do

ARE THEY SEALING THE WORLD

OH MY GOD THE ARMOR

HOW DARE THEY NOT SHOW US THE FRONT PARTS

OH they’re going to search for Sora!

IS RIKU IN CHARGE OF THE LAND OF DEPARTURE

ONE YEAR???

Agajsgsjdg MERLINS HOUSE

CLOUD

PRETTY BOY

YUFFFIIEEE

AERIITH

CID

OH MY GOD THE GANGS ALL TOGETHER

THEY WENT TO THE REALM OF DARKNESS WHAT

“The Twilight Town gang” ITS OFFICIAL

OH NO WHAT HAPPENED TO KAIRI

WHY DOES HE LOOK SAD

NO WHATS GOING ON WITH KAIRI

They’re searching her heart?

SHES BEEN ASLEEP FOR A YEAR?!

Riku’s been all ALONE

DATA SORA??

Battalion oh my god lol

I’m mad about Kairi being asleep for a year though

AGSJSGS WE GET TO EXPLORE

Wow. A video game inside of a video game

I spent the rest of the day failing the Data battles and making funny Data Greeting pictures. Hopefully I’ll be better st the battles tomorrow!

#KH3RemindSpoilers #kh3spoilers #KH Re:Mind #kh commentary

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

August Picks

And so we’re back for another end of month wrap up! Looking back I feel like I didn’t watch too many new things; I finished a few shows that I talked about last month (the 100, Blood & Treasure to name a few). I guess it’s good I watched less-maybe I went outside more? 

Spoilers....

DERRY GIRLS SEASON 2

You all already know how much I love this show, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m starting with it I was SO EXCITED to hear that season 2 was coming to Netflix August 1st and I tried my best to drag out watching the episodes. But it’s really really hard when there’s only 6 of them (a half hour each) and they’re just SOO GOOD! So I finished in about a week, but I guess that’s better than a day. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I enjoyed season 2 more than season 1. I laughed so hard (and got a little teared up in the last episode-especially afterwards when it was over and I discovered that next season won’t start filming until 2020!) I LOVED the stories this season and how the adults got more of a major plot-line in each episode. At times I laughed harder at them (at the movie theater, Gerry making the sandwiches at the funeral). More people seriously need to check out this show. It’s hilarious and a quick watch that you won’t want to end. 

KRYPTON SEASON (SERIES) FINALE

Syfy’s Krypton ended a few weeks ago, but I was holding off watching it until last week. I know I had said this in my last review, but this season was tough for me to get into, but once I did then I was really enjoying it. However, once we got to the last couple of episodes I was losing interest again. Plus, hearing that the show was cancelled made it harder to finish. SPOILERS! So, we knew they had to defeat Zod and it made sense that he is now under the Black Mercy (like Lyta was), but obviously this is only a temporary fix. He’ll definitely find his way out; he’s smart. Then Brainiac and Doomsday are still an issue, so while things are safe for now things didn’t exactly get settled. Now I get they thought they’d get a third season so things would have to be resolved later, but this still feels like a lot. Of course I’m upset that we won’t see Jor-El getting rescued AND the next season build up with Brainiac taking him to Earth to create his very own “Superman” seems really interesting. But we won’t see it. Meanwhile Nyssa is off world and Lobo is back (he was funny so I was happy to see him again). Like I said, I’m not surprised the show got cancelled, but I think a third season would have been good. What do you think?

CATCHING UP 

ARROW

It might have been MONTHS in the making, but I FINALLY caught up and finished Arrow season 7. I was only 3 episodes behind, but it took me a very long time to complete. My main comments on this season was that the beginning was good and the rest was eh. I liked Oliver in the prison and while I was done with Diaz very early on I was happy to see that story-line resolved. Now, while I did take a very long time to watch this season in entirety (and that might be the main reason I feel this way), Oliver being in the prison feels like A LONG time ago (and a completely different season). When I look back on this season I really just think of him and Emiko who I was not a fan of. We lose Thea and welcome another half-sister who we learn knew about the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit before anyone else. The constant back and forth of trying to save Emiko got very repetitive and while I know Oliver as the hero could not give up on her fully, I wanted him to. I was also not a huge fan of the flash forward this year. At times I did like it, but I think the show did fine that one season when there was no added plot-line. The ending to this season was a disappointment. I was very curious how things with Felicity would end seeing as how she is not going to return for the final season. But overall it felt very much like a SERIES finale, which makes me worried for the last season. Will it just feel like a filler? How many people will return? Will we even be in Star City? Taking Oliver away like that sucked and I really hope he gets reunited with his children.

THE FLASH

As a big fan of all the CW Arrow-verse shows this past season I had a hard time getting into most of them and got VERY behind on episodes before just giving up on watching altogether. While Arrow was one that I was just a couple episodes behind for most of the year and Legends of Tomorrow I binged all at once the Flash and Supergirl dropped off my watch-list. This was sad for me because I had enjoyed these shows a lot, so now at the end of summer we’re giving it a second go! This month I began the 5th season of the Flash and am currently on episode 5? I only remembered the first 2 episodes, which shows you how long ago I stopped watching. I remember not being a huge fan of Nora West-Allen and this is mainly because they are making the actress seem a lot younger than she is. The mistakes she makes and her overall attitude feels better suited for a pre-teen/young adult rather than someone in their twenties. I’m still holding out hope that this changes as the episodes progress. I really love this idea of having Barry and Iris’ daughter in the past (because it feels very much like something Barry would do) and how they are still addressing the headline of the Flash’s disappearance. I feel like maybe as we uncover more about Nora’s past I will enjoy her character more. This season I like the return to the CCPD and Iris’ blog. Sometimes the alter-ego jobs get pushed aside and I am happy to see the return of Barry and Iris in the field as themselves. With this addition to her character plus the fact that Nora is being completely rude to her, I feel this is the most I’ve like Iris in a very long time. I love how she stands by her decision of keeping Nora’s powers a secret even though she hasn’t done so yet, and the fact that Barry is with her. I’m glad they’re finally taking her character to places outside of STAR Labs. I think Caitlin’s story-line of finding her father is really interesting as well as the origins of Killer Frost. This reincarnation of Wells will take some getting used to, but I already like his dynamic with Ralph (baby giraffe) and of course Cisco. (They are always the best.) I’ll continue watching and see if my feelings change, but I do feel that I’m getting invested again, which makes me happy. 

MOVIES

Descendants 3

Should I be embarrassed that I am putting Descendants 3 on this list and I am a lot older than the intended audience? Nope. While this DCOM came out at the beginning of the month, it has replayed on Disney Channel dozens of times already so I feel I have watched it fully or in clips many times. Out of the entire series this movie is one of my favorites. I like the songs and the overall plot. The idea of having one of the hero’s kids become a villain was genius and really said something about people’s innermost character. My main problem with this part of the movie was that I wanted more repercussions for Audrey. In the end she almost dies and they bring her back and everything is good because she apologies. But her intentions seemed real at the start of the movie. Could they vanish that quickly? (Now I know what you’re thinking...this is a kid movie. Of course she needs to learn what she did was wrong. But I think it would be even more interesting if she didn’t or struggled with it. Either way she should have had some sort of punishment. I don’t think they should have welcomed her back so fast.) I really liked meeting new characters from the Isle of the Lost, the new addition of VKs in Auradon and Hades. I wish all the new VKs would have gotten more screen time as well as Hades. From the promos leading up to the film he seemed really important and the actual BIG BAD of the movie. I would have liked to see a little more of that. But I did really like learning he is Mal’s dad. I loved seeing Uma, Harry and Gil working with the Auradon group. Again, this drove the message home about working together now matter what your background. There’s probably a lot more I could talk about but these are really the main moments that stuck out to me/my main concerns. I know I’ll be singing the songs for a very long time.  

Miss Austen Regrets

As a Jane Austen buff, it is probably very surprising to hear that I had not watched Miss Austen Regrets (2008) until last week. I knew about it, but am always cautious when it comes to a film adaptation of the author’s life; especially after Becoming Jane (which yes is a great movie, but not 100% accurate). It took learning that Tom Hiddleston was in the film to make me watch it. (I know, but just look at him. He’s got such a baby face.) :)

But a young and always good looking Tom Hiddleston should not be the only reason to watch this film (although it is a great reason). The movie focuses on Jane’s later years as she completes Emma. She visits her niece Fanny who is deciding who she loves and how to know what love is. In her early twenties, Fanny seeks advice from her aunt as to how to spend the rest of her life. Should she settle? Or wait for the man of her dreams? But what if he’s right in front of her? Her aunt, the author of romances, should have the answer, but in fact she believes she doesn’t. You get a little insight into some of Jane’s past loves and lots of echoes to Persuasion (one of the novels published after Austen’s death). I had just finished reading Persuasion for the second time and watching this film so closely behind it mirrored that tale of maturity, friendship and romance very well. Taken from the remaining letters between Austen and Fanny the movie feels authentic. Of course nothing can be 100% but I think Miss Austen Regrets does a very good job. 

BINGEING

THE WALKING DEAD

And so the summer binge continues on. Gotta say that I feel pretty obsessed with this show now. You know you are watching a lot when you start to have dreams where you are fighting walkers. (And yes, that recently happened to me.) Currently I’m in season 5. Just finished season 4 this week, which I think might be my favorite so far. I really enjoyed their time in the prison and while I thought the episodes with the illness dragged at times, once the Governor returned it really picked up again. (Although I didn’t love the stand-alone episodes focused on him.) Then watching the group be separated and anticipating the reunions between them all was great. Terminius definitely seemed too good to be true and I am happy that (right now at least) it seems to be resolved. Now we are heading to Washington. I like seeing the new characters that I know will be a part of the regulars. It does make me nervous about some of the originals. Losing Hershel was tough. I’m not ready to lose too many more. 

#tv shows #tv show reviews #derry girls #netflix derry girls #derry girls season 2 #Krypton #krypton syfy #seg el #jor el #arrow #oliver queen #oliver x emiko #arrow season 7 review #The Flash #the flash season 5 #nora west allen #descendants 3 #miss austen regrets #jane austen #tom hiddleston #The Walking Dead #Binge Watching #bingeworthy #what you should be watching

[fictional-affliction]

Loose Tongues

Okay so this oneshot is inspired by a post by @fruitcakefiona, that talks about the TD timeline and how All Stars wasn’t aired until two years after it was filmed which had me thinking...

Although I hate All Stars being canon, this theory would mean that Courtney didn’t see any of Duncan’s confessionals or how he kept bringing her up until years later and I wondered what it must have been like for her see that...

Anyway, this is 100% me trying to fix canon and duncney fan service lol

———

She had avoided watching it for as long as she could. Granted, it had taken two years after the season was filmed to air; so that made it easy to pretend like it never happened and move on with her life. All Stars and Total Drama as a whole was an experience that Courtney didn’t like to dwell on.

Many things had come out of her time on that reality show. Good and bad, but there was so much bad that it overshadowed the good. She had her worst fears thrown in her face, but she learned to face them head on. She made many enemies but also great friends. Most prominently, she had her heart torn into pieces, but she fell in love for the first time.

All Stars aired despite the two year delay. Her hopes that the footage would mysteriously get destroyed before ever making it to television, dashed away. The now college student avoided anything to do with the show. She’d turn the channel if it was on and refused to respond to anyone who tried to converse about it to her. It was in the past and she intended to keep it that way, until Bridgette had contacted her.

One of the only true friends Courtney made from her reality show days had reached out to her and said she should watch the latest season. At first Courtney refused but Bridgette kept insisting that there were some scenes that she thought she would want to see. Courtney doubted it. The only reason she decided to watch was because she wanted to prove Bridgette wrong.

It was as cringeworthy as she thought it would be, more so even because she had forgotten some of the events that had taken place. It was extremely hard to stomach but she painstakingly got through the episodes, and as she did she noticed a recurring theme.

“...She better not sulk the whole time or I may as well be dating Courtney...”

“I’m used to having girls yell at me, even punch me, but blank me? That’s just wrong...Uh, I mean, whatever.”

“I’m blanking her cause she’s blanking me... but let me know if you catch her looking my way.”

“Now that you and Courtney are on the same team, what does she say about me?”

“Of course Courtney talks about me! What else does she have to talk about? Scott? She’s just using him to make me jealous. Well good luck with that...”

“You know what’s most uncool about him? How he’s still obsessed with Courtney!”

The last one was from Gwen. At the time, Courtney didn’t think her punk ex even cared about her anymore. Every day she had to see the boy, that at one point in her life meant everything to her, be with someone else. Blanking him was the only way she knew how to deal with it.

The way he brought her up, even if it was to bash her, his veiled jealousy over her brief relationship with Scott, his eagerness to know if she had been talking to Gwen about him, and their breakup because of it, it all added up to something she didn’t realize until now.

He’d still cared. Courtney wondered if even after everything, maybe he had still loved her...maybe they were both too hurt and blind to see it.

That thought kept replaying in her head over and over again. If they’d really moved on they would have been indifferent to each other but they so clearly weren’t.

Courtney watched until she was voted off and then couldn’t bare to put herself through any more torture. Hours later her eyes were still trained on a black television screen in her dorm room. A textbook was open in front of her but it was long forgotten.

Her idea of what she believed to be the truth was corrupted.Was she over thinking this? Was she trying to find a way to hold onto something that she’d let go of a long time ago? Either way, she found herself going through her phone to see if she still had Duncan’s number.

It wasn’t under D for ‘Duncan’, but it was under D for ‘Don’t you fucking dare ’. Trying not to text your ex, especially when you’re drunk, meant reminding yourself not to be an idiot. Her thumb hovered over the contact. Courtney entertained the idea of texting him but kept stopping herself. What would she say? They hadn’t been on speaking terms for years but her thoughts kept cycling like water going around a sink only to inevitably fall down its drain.

Courtney drafted a text message quickly as to not lose her nerve but nothing she wrote sounded right. On her fourth attempt she groaned and was about throw her phone at a wall when it vibrated in her hands, startling her.

Her clenched jaw and furrowed brow softened and she sighed in relief. Two words had popped up on her screen, two words that held a world of possibilities.

‘Hey Princess...’

#duncney #total drama #td courtney #td duncan #total drama all stars #tdas #oneshot #fanfic

[moonbokrk]

MGA Season 5 - Episode 1 Callback Audition - Interview Mentioned: @ericxrk, @rkyoona, @rkharuto, @yuzurk, @rkxbin and @rkyeji

The adrenaline in his veins is only just beginning to return to its normal levels when Moonbok hears his name again. Automatically, he gets up once more, promising Yoona he’ll be back as quickly as he can before heading to the staff member that’s signalling for him.

For a moment, he’s a little confused, had he done or said something inappropriate while delivering his performance? No, surely they would have stopped him there and then, if that was the case. However, no sooner does the thought cross his mind does he remember what the email said about everyone being interviewed after their performances while the CEOs made their decision and Moonbok mentally kicks himself.

After having his make up very quickly touched up (he’s not even sure if it’s strictly necessary, but he’s not about to argue with the makeup noona), Moonbok yet again finds himself in front of a camera and an interviewer.

He’s forgotten how many times he’s actually done this over the past year.

“Congratulations on making it to this round, Moonbok-ssi. How did you feel when you found you you’d received a call back?

Smiling, Moonbok bows as much as possible in his seat, pushing his hair behind his ears when he straightens up.

“Thank you! And to be honest... I suppose I was relieved. I was confident in myself when I left the initial auditions, but when I got home, my mind started replaying everything I’d done, trying to find mistakes. So I began to doubt myself a little until I found out the news. It was a weight off my shoulders, really!”

In all honesty, he’d have had no idea what he would have done if he hadn’t be called back. It would have been a massive blow to his confidence that he’s only started to rebuild. To not be considered good enough to make it to a callback this year when last year, he’d at least made it to the first live show? The thought alone had caused his migraines to be almost unbearable that week.

“And what did you think when you saw the set? It’s quite different from the one you were performed on last year, isn’t it?”

Moonbok laughs and nods.

“It is! It actually reminds me a bit of Produce 101, with 100 seats all in front of the judges. Though without the ranking numbers and ability to make people get up and take their seats.” At least, he hadn’t seen anyone ordering people to move. But maybe he’d just managed to find a quiet spot.

“You're one of the few people that were in this competition last year. Do you think there will be more expected from all of you compared to the others?”

Woah. Where did that come from?! For a moment, all Moonbok can do is blink in surprise while his mind races to catch up with the question he’d just been asked. Or all the things that could have been in this interview, this was the last thing he would have expected.

“I...guess..?” He begins tentatively, floundering a little.

“I mean, yes, I’m sure more will be expected of us. We will be under a lot more scrutiny; I’m sure people will be wondering why we’ve returned and not been signed in the meantime. So they’re probably expecting us to have improved a lot since last year. Whether they’re expecting us to get far....” he chews his lip a little. Whatever about the others, he’s not sure that people are expecting him to be much different, given what he’d uploaded on YouTube and SoundCloud over the last few months.

He’ll just have to prove them wrong.

“I hope we’ll meet their expectations, whatever they are. No. I hope we’ll exceed them!”

“And how do you think you did?”

Wow, they certainly weren’t taking any prisoners today, were they? This interview made the preliminary one feel like a casual conversation in comparison.

“I think I did alright.” He’s not going to be overly humble, he’s relatively satisfied about how he performed. But he’s not going to brag too much either.

“I know I did better than I did last year. Sure, I could still use improvement; I wish I’d been able to dance to it. But the choreography needs three people to work properly, so I would have done myself no favours if I’d attempted it. But, I’m happy with how I performed; I enjoyed myself and I hope they others enjoyed it too. Of course, it’s really about what the judges thought of it, after all.”

“Were there any performances you enjoyed?”

Once again, Moonbok’s face lights up and he nods eagerly. This was far more comfortable territory, he was always happy to hype up his friends and fellow contestants.

“Yes! I’m gonna have admit that I’m very biased here, but I loved my cousin’s performance. It’s Yoona noona’s first time doing something like this, and I’m proud of her! I could tell she was terrified, but she still got up on stage and performed in front of us all. That took nerve and I’m so happy she was able to do it!”

“Also, I really liked Eric’s performance. I’ll be honest, it kind of shocked me at first though.” He can’t help but laugh at the memory. “For as long as I known him, this kid has been obsessed with girl groups and he’s always given off this cute vibe. So to see him in the outfit he’s wearing and singing a song like Killing Me, I was taken aback. But he killed it! I’m proud of him for doing the rap part too, I know he’s not a rapper, but he did his best, and that’s really what counts.”

“Biased again, but I enjoyed Choi Yena and Seo Changbin’s performances too. They’re two of my closest friends, and I hope I’ll be grouped with them at some stage, if we all make it! Any Yeji-ssi’s dance was mesmerizing, I couldn’t take my eyes off her! But in all honestly, I think everyone gave it their all, which I was happy to see.”

“So, were there any performance that you didn’t like?”

For a moment, he’s silent again, eyebrows furrowed.

“It’s not that I didn’t like it, I actually thought it was pretty cool! But I don’t understand what Haruto-ssi was trying to show us with his performance; especially when it had nothing to do with music. Or maybe I’m just too stupid to figure it out. In any case, I was pretty worried when he fell over, if noona hadn’t stopped me, I would have gone all first-responder on him. But he seems to be alright, so I’m relieved.”

“Who do you think will be eliminated this round?”

‘Watanabe Haruto.’ is the first thought that crosses his mind, and Moonbok hates himself for even thinking it. He hates this question in general, it’s cruel and it’s just proof that, yet again, Mnet is trying to create drama for the sake of drama.

“I don’t know, it could be any of us, couldn’t it? It’ll be the judges who’ll make that decision. I just hope that my friends make it through, they’ve all worked so hard to be here.”

“If you survive this round, is there anything in particular you’d like to showcase in the coming rounds?”

“Probably my dancing.” he replies with a laugh, though he quickly shakes his head. “Ah, don’t get me wrong. Like I said, I’m not a dancer yet. But I’m also not the disaster that caused so much trouble for my Team Dream teammates last year either.”

For a moment there’s a bitter expression on his face, Before the Dawn’s performance playing in his head again, Moonbok still infuriated with the way he’d messed everything up for the others. He quickly schools his expression back into a smile, though.

“Other than that....? Well, I’ve improved as a singer too, so being able to sing would be nice. But I am a rapper, after all. I’d love to be able to perform in something like Monster or District 9, something with a fast-paced rap! It would be a challenge, but I think I can take it!”

“Thank you very much, you may return to your seat.”

“Thank you!”

[Word Count: 1,349]

#rkmga5 #rkmga5callback #Arc: MGA Season 5 #wc: 1349 #(Even though this isn't as long as the audition it still FEELS long sdfjdsfj) #(Boy why do you talk too much??) #(Mnet: Who didn't you like? Bok: Suddenly I can't speak Korean??)

[avenger-hawk]

What other minor and/or major fandoms are you in? (Or what other shows/series do you keep track of?)

This might be boring to read because there are people who are up to date with manga/anime/tv shows/movies while I’m the opposite xD I’m the type of person who sticks with something they love to the point of obsession for a very long time.

Other than the Naruto one, the last fandom I joined was the MetaMoro fandom (italian singers and beautiful couple), last year. I never shipped real people in my whole life cause I don’t care about real people enough, and cause found it kinda creepy (btw I bet tumblr police has something to say about this as well) but things happen and you can’t control what you like (hi again tumblr morality police), besides, there is no fanservice in Italy for this kind of things, it’s not like idols or kpop bands or US celebrities, so..I didn’t even want to be active in the fandom tbh, but I just happened to write some comments in my tags and then I received asks and suddenly people were interested in my opinion, then in my ideas so they suggested prompts and before I knew it I was posting angsty darkfics lol ( so this is the fandom that steals my time from naruto fic writing)

I’m not in other fandoms, these 2 take too much time already, and most of the anime/shows I like are either quite old or over since a while. I don’t know most of the shows people talk about, and when I stumble on their gifs/images I just don’t feel interested.

I am a Game of Thrones fan, I sometimes wrote a few comments on episodes and with my personal blog I follow GoT blogs with gifs and edits, but I don’t read fics and I never read fan theories though.

Before Naruto my favourite manga/anime were Gensoumaden Saiyuki (I wasn’t into it anymore but they published the Gaiden prequel volumes in my country and I almost cried reading the end for how beautiful and sad it was) and most of it all Bleach…I loved it so much, I read fics, searched for doujinshi and fanarts, saved screenshots. It was in my heart for years, and it still is even though I didn’t follow it that much, so when it ended I wasn’t as angry as for Naruto, for example. But I periodically think (more like obsess) about it again, when I stumble on stuff online. And I do periodically think, more like, replay, the scenarios I would think about, my ‘bedtime stories’ lol, as back then I didn’t even consider writing a fic.

I recently read the Psycho Pass manga for the first time, as I had watched the anime already. Then I rewatched the anime and I liked it even more than the first time, so much that I obsessively sought fanarts and fics, too bad that my fave ship is popular only in the reverse top/bottom dynamic compared to the one I like

I’m deeply into Noragami which is the latest manga I’ve been reading, I want to watch the anime but I haven’t yet. Also I haven’t looked for fanarts/fics, even though I really love Yato, and I am very intrigued by the angsty parts like when he cried getting to know his shinki’s past, or when he’s stung and blighted when his shinki has bad thoughts &co. Or the way his father manipulated him, or when he was bitten by Hiyori gone ayakashi…This kind of things is my kind of things, so I’m all in for the dark side of it, but I’m afraid I’m a minority so I don’t even bother looking for stuff. (maybe this was better in the other ask about crack ships lol)

Also because I often drop shows/anime when I disagree with the plot, and especially with tv series this happens a lot cause they keep them going on and on season after season and annoying shit happens, like, I was a fan of The 100 (and I shipped Claire/Lexa and Lincoln/Octavia) but after Lexa died and there was the season finale/cliffhanger for the next one I stopped watching cause I disliked it. Or Vikings but same, I didn’t like it anymore after the first series, it’s like certain stories go out of hand and become ‘too big’ and I can’t put up with that kind of absurdity. And I have an open mind, my favourite stories are those that question reality, so my concept of absurdity is related to unbelievable because it’s badly written imo. Same for Mr Robot, I watched it all but I didn’t like certain things and I’m afraid I’m gonna hate the next season. Or Sense 8, but that was canceled and I even managed to quit it before the forced ending lol. I’m a huge fan of Star Trek The Next Generation and BattleStar Galactica, I bingewatched the latter on a summer, like when I bingewatched LOST with my ex, who was addicted on series more than I. He was an ass*ole but he made me watch good stuff lol. Like cute Pushing Daisies. Older series are more interesting imo. It’s like the popular ones are like videogames, each season with a bigger ‘aim’, while others are canceled without even trying to continue and see if people get to like them. Some stories grow on people more slowly, but they don’t get it. The latest show I tried to watch was American Gods, its concept seemed interesting and I like the many different cultures and mythologies it refers to, but I found certain things disturbing/triggering so I stopped.

I also liked Death Note but for the story more than the characters. I was reading Tomodachi Game cause it’s quite similar for certain things but I have to catch up. Oh and I never finished Nabari No Ou, even though I liked it. Why didn’t I finish? I forgot. Same for Gintama. Like pretty much anyone else I read manga with an app and I watch anime/shows on my laptop and I decided to read more paper books instead, and use devices less, so I follow my favourite musicians/bands, and ofc my 2 fandoms and mostly I write my fics. Or, well, I try to.

#Anonymous #thanks for asking! #I feel like I'm forgetting something tho #replies &co

[biscuitreviews]

Biscuit’s Favorite Games

When it comes to a great game, there are a few factors at play. “Is the gameplay good? Is the story great? What cool memories do you have associated with the game? Did the game leave an everlasting impression?” All of these I feel are what help create a favorite game for a person.

Now normally people would countdown to their number one game and although I do have a number one game. There are many other games I enjoy as well and have left impressions on me that I carry with me to this day. 

With that I’m not going to do a “traditional” countdown, but rather give my favorites before going to my all-time favorite (which for some of you shouldn’t be a surprise because I’ve gone on record with it a few times already). With that, let’s go over some of my personal favorite games.

Halo: Reach

I love the Halo series. I love the setting, I love the idea of you being a badass super soldier, and  I love the soundtrack. I have more memories with the Halo series playing online with my friends and Halo: Reach for me has the best memories.

We would often get large groups going into big team matches and when we couldn’t get a large group we would go into the small team games and have tons of fun with either matchmaking or custom matches. There are many times we would stay up until 5 or 6 a.m playing Reach. Reach also spawned off quite a few inside memes with my friends, memes that we still quote to this day. With Microsoft’s recent announcement of Halo: Reach being re-released on PC, we’re looking forward to remembering the good times as we exchange teabags with a new generation of Spartans.

But aside from multiplayer, Reach also had in my opinion the best campaign. It was emotional, it had some amazing epic set pieces, it was challenging, and most importantly Noble 6 was your Spartan model from multiplayer which gave a more personal attachment to the story.

Pokemon Silver/Gold/Crystal

I was on the ground floor of the Pokemon Hype in the 90s. When the follow-up to the amazing Blue/Red/Yellow came out, many of use were ready to embark on a new Pokemon adventure in a new region eager to catch the new Pokemon.

It made great improvements from the original game, adding additional Pokemon types, a story with Team Rocket trying to make a comeback, and the biggest surprise of them all, going back to Kanto and fighting the Kanto Pokemon Gym Leaders. This made the world of Pokemon feel much larger and connected. Ever since then, it’s been a highly requested feature to have a previous region in another version revisited or ot have a nice dense post game. Although, revisiting regions has yet to happen since Silver/Gold/Crystal, each Pokemon game has been released with a good sizeable post game adventure to embark on.

The remakes HeartGold and Soul Silver are just as fantastic.

Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening

There are games that we complete at 100%, then there are games we complete until there’s nothing left. Devil May Cry 3 was the first game that I ripped apart inside and out in terms of content. I completed every single difficulty as both Dante and Vergil, acquired every skill, every alternative costume, and every challenge.

I did it because I had a lot of fun with the game’s combat and it was also my first Devil May Cry game. How I got the game was interesting as well. A friend of mine had Devil May Cry 3 and a relative of theirs gifted them another copy of the game for their birthday unbeknownst to them that my friend had the game already. They asked if I wanted their extra copy and that’s how I got into the Devil May Cry series. One day Devil May Cry 5, one day.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The Metal Gear Solid series is one of my favorite game series of all-time. The first entry of the series for the PS1 taught me so many things. In fact, the original Metal Gear Solid also greatly influenced my playstyle, which is emphasis on stealth.

Metal Gear Solid 3 was a great game that challenges your stealth skills. Not only did you have no radar, but you had to be more aware of your surroundings. Not only could you encounter guards, but you could potentially encounter wildlife in the jungle that could and will also harm you. You would also have to eat to keep your stamina up, wear the proper camouflage for the environment for optimal stealth, and you would have to heal injuries through various methods. All of these considerations added a new challenge to the stealth game to where the systems served as an extra layer rather than an annoying chore to keep up with.

Mega Man X4

This game was actually my first exposure to the Mega Man X series. I was already familiar with the classic series and I was eager to play this particular game and learning what the deal with having the X in the title was. It was then I learned that you could play as two different characters, the ever familiar blue bomber, which my 8 year old thought, “Ok, that must be a new model of Mega Man.” However, Zero was what immediately caught my eye, a robot using a lightsaber (which I would later learn it was called Z Saber) as an attack, sign me up!

The gameplay was super fun and there are slight differences in the story depending on who you play as. Granted it’s clear that this entry was catered for Zero rather than X, it’s still a really fun game no matter which character you picked. Similar to its predecessors, the game has also aged really well graphically.

Skies of Arcadia

To me, this is the perfect summer adventure in gaming. You’re a Robin Hood-esque air pirate who comes across a woman from a thought to be lost civilization. This was a turn based RPG where you had use the correct element on your weapon to effectively fight in battles. Not only that but there was also ship battles where you can engage in fighting other Airships.

It’s also a game that I feel constantly gets forgotten by Sega whenever they do Dreamcast collection releases. Skies of Arcadia is great and is one of the few games that I will 100% buy whenever it finally gets the HD remaster that it deserves.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

As far as the Legend of Zelda series goes I love every entry. There are a couple that I don’t like as much, but they still have qualities about them that I find enjoyable. Although Link to the Past was the first Zelda game I played, Ocarina of Time was the first one I would ever own and complete to 100%. At the time of its release it was a open area for you to explore with tackling temples and finding secrets. It also had a neat time travel mechanic with the story having some areas that would have effects on the future.

Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season One

This is a title that revived the the point and click adventure as well as popularize the episodic format. I got into this game during my Walking Dead craze and this game touched me in an unexpectedly emotional way. So much so I got teary eyed on the season finale and if a game manages to invoke such an emotional response within you, you know it did something right. I got attached to Lee and Clementine and the writing for the season was superb. Choices were respected and although there were many events that still happened no matter the choice, it was more reflected in the dialogue and for what Telltale was trying to accomplish, I thought it worked well.

Borderlands 2

Everyone that loves Borderlands 2, loves Handsome Jack and he’s an amazing video game villain. However, I do have a personal connection that cemented this as a favorite. This is a game that my wife and I would completely co-op with no handicap of any kind. What do I mean by a handicap. When it comes to playing co-op games on PC I am hopeless with a mouse and keyboard, where as my wife is completely running the show. Similar to consoles, my wife is hopeless with a controller and I’m taking point.

I used to not be much of a PC gamer. When I got a Windows 10 laptop my wife and I decided to get Borderlands 2 as Windows 10 allowed you to plug in a Xbox One controller without having to download any additional programs or anything. My wife was mouse and keyboard on her PC, and I was plugged in with a controller on my laptop and it changed everything. We no longer had to babysit one another, we could go into a camp of enemies and come out with barely a scratch on either of us. We even got to better understand one another’s playstyle and it complimented each other very well for an amazing co-op experience. Now I have evolved more into a PC gamer and have started playing so more co-op games with my wife.

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt

This is a game that I’ve been replaying and going back through since I played it in 2016. The detail of how character dialogue reacts to your decisions is just amazing. Also the way you go about fighting monsters is amazing as well. You have to study them, research them in your bestiary, drink the appropriate potions, apply the proper blade oil, use the propers signs and bombs in the fight. It gives you the sense that you are preparing for a fight.

CD Projekt Red used a branching story writing program called Articy Draft. It’s a program I myself actually use in my day job. I’m constantly going back to this game and studying it to try to imagine how the writers wrote certain decision points and how it branched out within Articy. Making different decisions and doing quests in a different order are just some of the things I do to further study this game in how they approach it in dialogue with Articy.

All Time Favorite - Final Fantasy X

As I mentioned in a few of my posts Final Fantasy X is my favorite game. I love everything about this game: the story, the setting, the characters, the combat system, the sphere grid progression system and the soundtrack. The way that Square had the player go through the world and learn more about it was genius and allowed for a deeper connection between Tidus and the player. There have been other games that have done this method of relaying plot information to the player, but to me Final Fantasy X was the one that got it right.

One day I will review this game, but I have no plans to review it for a good long time.

Those are my favorite games! I’d love to hear some of your favorites as well!

#Biscuit reviews #Biscuit's favorite games #favorite game #favorite video games #video games #gaming #Final Fantasy X #Witcher III #Borderlands 2 #skies of arcadia #Telltale's The Walking Dead #Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time #Megaman X4 #Devil May Cry 3 #Halo: Reach #Pokemon Silver/Gold/Crystal #Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

[rigelmejo]

me discovering japanese musicals and plays:

well i guess i really DO need to learn well now ToT

---

some april notes as the month is getting closer to the end:

i have read 2 full graded readers (butterfly lovers pleco reader, chinese short stories ebook). i’ve read also part of the 500 word Sinolingua book (and looked through the vocab index and know every word in it). And part of Journey to the Center of the Earth Mandarin Companion (I should finish it today as I know all the words in it ToT its one of those cases where its so simple its almost boring). 

i watched through the about 2 hour japanese Dracula Musical - no subtitles, and the first time i’ve ever braved either japanese nonstop that long OR japanese audio with zero subtitles in any language to rely on. i feel really ;-; accomplished compared to what i’ve done before aha

i watched 20 minutes of a japanese Persona 2 Innocent Sin last night (japanese subs). i do actually think with lets plays combined with subs and my chinese hanzi recognition, i could pick up some new words if i just did it More Often. Anyway this is just notable since the Dracula Musical made me brave enough TO try this with a game i have no context for lol.

i watched 25 episodes of a show in chinese this month (Two Souls in One). Depending on when it ends i might have watched 30 by the end of the month, since its about to finish.

i’ve read a bit over 20 chinese chapters this month - i probably won’t get where i wanted with hanshe, but i’m doing a good amount and that’s what matters. i got distracted with graded readers (which i do think are helping me).

i studied about 350 common words in the nukemarine memrise course this deck, along with the grammar and kanji i already had done. i’m hoping i’ll get this number up a bit more before my japanese games come in ToT (my ideal would be at 1000 words but... i’m trying to be realistic and my motivation just is NOT there to cram that many right now probably). Still, 350 in a month is pretty good progress!

just in general both chinese and japanese are doing better than expected right now. chinese has been doing how i’d like it - the show i’m watching never requires me to lookup words to follow or enjoy the plot, just some replaying scenes to catch more details sometimes. reading wise: reading these graded readers is giving me a REAL sense of accomplishment - seeing what was once super hard for me take only 30 minutes to read, seeing a book full of unknown words now be full of words i completely know, seeing myself speed read over a book that i used to have to slowly glance through and re-read to grasp. i HAVE made progress in the year since i last tried to read these and it shows. i am super excited to see what reading the little prince will be like since i have memories of struggling through it before (and when i watched the youtube video reading recently it i realized i knew all the words in those videos). also - i am reading Guardian right now. I am reading my print novel of Guardian! that’s been a goal since i started! And as of now it IS something I can do right now, no dictionary (as long as i’ve read the english translation at some point prior). The reason i’m not doing it more right now is my reading speed for it is SO slow. So hopefully a bit more practice will speed it up. I’m seeing now with graded readers how much my reading of THEM has sped up, so there’s hope. 

I also read a info page for the bilingual Dracula today and it mentioned a 26-29 hour reading time and that makes me feel a lot less bad about my reading speed? Last time I calculated how long it would take me to read hanshe at my current speed (roughly 15 minutes per chapter), 55 chapters left was going to take me 26 hours to read. Now... unfortunately the chinese novels i read tend to be 100-150 chapter long beasts. But - to see that a french/english book of about 800 pages would take me about as long makes me feel like i’m not reading so slow as it feels. i think i am reading chinese slower than english, but not dramatically slower. I need to actually MEASURE my reading speed sometime soon. But I’m pretty sure its like ‘slow speaking speed’ to ‘normal speaking speed.’ it unfortunately is not faster than speaking speed, but i do think for the most part its usually at least that fast. 

update read 2 japanese graded readers (but they are Very Easy) - Tadoku Graded Readers: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1yr867g4mSoMJ0WKXVRdZf07tSyC7LMB1 . Level 0, Volume 1, on book 3 now.

update: just l r method chapters 1 and 2 of A Brief History of Human Kind. Will maybe do chapter 3 tomorrow. I have the files all emailed to myself so its super convienient to do. I think what helped? Its actually paragraph by paragraph, lots of numbers in text about years so I can catch my place if I get lost, and the audio file is very gratefully split into chapters that actually COINCIDE WITH THE ACTUAL CHAPTER START AND ENDS. so many chinese audiobook chapters just end whenever and do NOT correspond to text start/ends so this is fantastic. also its all history and i’m a nerd, and i don’t have to think too hard about it.

#rant #april #april progress #yes im considering buying that dracula book just to see wtf it looks like

[dipulb3]

Yamaha RX-V6A review: The future sound of entertainment

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Yamaha RX-V6A review: The future sound of entertainment

The waters around AV receivers drift rather than rage. Compared to TVs and soundbars, change comes slowly to these big black boxes. The Yamaha RX-V6A ($600 at Amazon) is a refreshing splash in a pool that has stagnated in recent years. With rounded good looks reminiscent of high-end brands like Classe, paired with a laundry list of futuristic features, this is the most forward-looking receiver I have seen in a long time.

Like

Outstanding looks (for a receiver)

Sounds engaging with music and movies

Up-to-date feature set and connections

Don’t Like

LCD display can be hard to read

No built-in Chromecast

Looks aren’t anything without the performance to back it up and the RX-6A served up great sound quality in my listening test. This midpriced receiver RX-V6A offers Dolby Atmos playback and plenty of music replay options too, making it as comfortable with an episode of The Mandalorian as it is with impromptu dance parties.

It’s got some quirks — the speaker outputs are arranged in an unusual order and that LCD display is harder to read than an LED — but overall this Yamaha is simply more fun than its competitors. I’m hopeful that the RX-V6A is the spark that ignites a rethink on AV receivers and helps bring the category back into the mainstream.

CNET TVs, Streaming and Audio

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Connect all your stuff

The RX-V6A is a 7.1.2-channel receiver with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X playback, and 100 watts per channel. But the specification sheet isn’t the first thing that catches the eye.

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

The Yamaha RX-V6A’s rounded, glass-like fascia is a real departure from the black shoe boxes of Sony, Denon and Onkyo. The edges are curved in a way I’ve never seen before, but it doesn’t look ostentatious. The front houses a centered volume control and high-res LCD display that looks smart but isn’t all that bright. It’s off-centered so if you’re sitting off to the left it’s even more difficult to read even at maximum brightness. I prefer the LED readouts found on competitors.

This receiver couldn’t be “the future” without a thoroughly up to date spec sheet and the RX-V6A doesn’t skimp. It includes seven HDMI inputs, three of which are 8K-compatible HDMI 2.1 ports ports designed to support the full output capabilities of sources like the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 and PC graphics cards such as the Nvidia RTX 3090. Yamaha claims this is more 2.1 ports than any other brand, and they offer such goodies as auto low latency mode and quick media switching. The receivers also support longer HDMI cable runs with a bolstered power supply. 

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

Yamaha also made changes around back. Most receivers, including past Yamahas, place the L/R speaker output at the left of the panel, which is followed by the center and then the rears. For whatever reason the RX-V6A places the front pair in the middle instead of the left, which could be confusing — especially if you’re bent over it in a darkened theater setting. It won’t take long to remember which output is which, and once you get your speakers connected it’s not a big deal.

The RX-V6A may not be as fully loaded when it comes to Wi-Fi streaming support when compared to our current Editors’ Choice winner, the Onkyo TX-NR696, but it still offers something for most people. Yamaha’s MusicCast multiroom system is one of the best integrated systems, and it also enables the use of Yamaha smart speakers as rears. The receiver offers AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth too, although it lacks Chromecast built-in. IT can be controlled via Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri-enabled devices, but the commands are mostly basic — mainly volume, input and next/previous track controls.

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

The receiver comes with a remote control that offers a variety of functions, including a dedicated Bluetooth button. It’s bright and cheery plus offers a zone 2 control switch for more flexibility.

Though the aesthetics have been soundly improved, the on-screen display is a small step back. The interface features blocky white and blue icons, whereas competitors such as Sony offer more user-friendly interfaces with bigger icons and better hand-holding for newcomers.

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

This is the future of sound

I compared the Yamaha RX-V6A against another new receiver, the Denon AVR-S960, and found myself returning to listen to the Yamaha more often. While the Denon is relaxed-sounding, the Yamaha offers more home theater thrills and pep when listening to your favorite tunes. Simply put, the Yamaha sounds more fun.

I started my testing with an underrated classic — the Iron and Wine/Calexico collaboration EP, In The Reins. When streaming via Roon to the Oppo UDP-203 ($3,999 at Amazon) and then letting the receivers decode, the Yamaha had a solid, three dimensional sound. Through it Sam Beam’s voice was more firmly rooted in space, and the backing vocals a little easier to discern than on the Denon. 

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

Receivers that are tuned for movies are rarely good with music — they can sound overly harsh and tiring — but the tambourine-forward sound of Spoon’s You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb sounded fuller on the Yamaha than the Denon. The song’s chugging bass underpinned the percussion in the hands of the V6A and the entire production sounded less thrashy and more composed. The Denon was a shade subtler but didn’t make me sit up in my seat in the same way.

Turning to home theater with Avatar, the Yamaha driving a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 603 S2 speakers sounded bigger and more effortless than any soundbar I’ve heard. The opening dialog of the Thanator chase scene was more intelligible too, and certainly better than the JBL Bar 2.1 Deep Bass ($300 at Amazon) soundbar, for example. It may not have had the same booming effect on the creatures’ footfalls, but this was easily tweaked via the Yamaha menu. 

After that tweak the Yamaha had bass effects I could actually feel with my feet and, compared to the Denon, I found it sounded more atmospheric, but the bass still wasn’t as impactful.

Should you buy it?

If you’re trying to decide between the Yamaha and the Denon, both sound quality and features come into play. The Yamaha offers an extra HDMI port than the Denon and more 8K-compliant 2.1 ports too. The RX-V6A also looks better and sounds more entertaining. 

The receiver didn’t get everything right — that LCD display is a misstep — and I still prefer the Onkyo by a nose because of its superior streaming options and better display. While there are more receivers coming in mid-2021, if you want something that offers a degree of future proofing and high-quality sound right now, the Yamaha is an excellent choice.

[peachdaydream]

GOT7 Dark Past

*Gif is not mine

HOO BOY HERE WE GO. ARE YOU READY. LET’S GO.

Mark

you found the ‘A’ teasers by pure accident

it popped up on your suggested videos by accident and you’re like ???? then you clicked on it

RAMYEON HAIR MARK

you couldn’t believe t h i s was your sweet, cute boyf

you had to replay it a couple of times, cringing just as much w/ each replay

no clue how to reveal you finally knew what his fans meant by noodle hair

everyone else’s teasers had distinctive lines whilst his was just 'come with me’

THEN an idea hits you

you’re p close with his stylist, you talked w/ her when you were on set and mark had to go for his shoot

so you hit her up and asked her for a favor

and she DELIVERED

next time mark took you to a photo shoot set, you told him you’d meet him there

he doesn’t see you when you first walk in with his exact outfit from the teaser on

everyone knows what you’re up to n they can’t hold in their laughter

jackson almost blows the surprise by squealing real loud but jinyoung shuts him up

when it’s mark’s turn to be photographed you’re the one who gets him

he doesn’t up from his phone when you walk in

then you grab his wrist and tug,

“A...Come with me...”

he looks up, sees what you’re wearin

falls out of his chair n onto the floor, wigglin his feet as he laughs in disbelief

can’t look at you the entire shoot or else he bursts out into laughter and goes red

Jaebum

refuses to see any evidence of his dark past

in such denial abt it and thinks you’ll never find it

lmao........he tHOUGHT

one day one of the IGOT7′s tweeted @ you like ‘hey what do u think about JB’s dark past’ and linked you to the cursed video itself

....you knew they had a dark past of some sort but damn........know you knew why they never mentioned it

ofc you don’t tell him right away that you found the videos

you don’t until one day you’re out w/ all of them.....at the park..playing basketball 

jaebum’s sat out to catch his breath for a bit and you see the opportunity

you take the ball and the boys still on the court stare at you like ?? hey where u goin

jaebum watches as you saunter over to him with the ball under under your arm

all of the boys’ eyes are on the two of you, tryin to figure out what’s goin on

the scene is vaguely familiar to him then it suddenly clicks in his head n before he can stop you-

“A~ You like me, right~?”

silence as you turn away, trying not to fall over laughing

jaebum_cannot_compute.exe

and then jackson starts screaming

mark’s on the floor doing his chicken laugh

jinyoung has gone pale

youngjae has cringed so much it looks like he’s trying to curl into himself

bambam and yugyeom are speechless you jUST DID THAT

jaebum stays shook for a solid hour afterwards

makes you promise to never mention it again

u don’t but everyone else does

he gets war flashbacks every time it’s mentioned

Jackson

you actually already saw the ‘A’ teasers but just forgot about them bc he never mentioned it

then you watched their episode of Weekly Idol and the videos of them recreating it

all the comments suggested that you should recreate his teaser w/ him and video his reaction

your twitter blows up soon after the video airs with the same requests

and you’re like damn they smooth bc they know full well jackson won’t see bc he doesn’t have twitter

bambam himself tweets @ you to do it

finally you give in “aight seems fun, i’ll give the people what they want”

you get mark n jinyoung involved and they’re 10000% on board

the others know n wanna watch so you let them sneak around with jinyoung who was in charge of filming the whole thing

fast forward to the destined day

you and jacks are on your way back to their dorm after a lunch date

the group have been following you on the way back

somehow jackson hasn’t noticed them

he suspects nothing as he wraps his arm around your shoulder and you wrap your arm around his waist

then you hear mark on his skateboard behind you

it’s time

you quickly use your grip on jacks to turn him away from mark zooming past

he recognizes what’s going on and freezes, staring at you wide eyed n you can see he’s beggin you not to do what he thinks you’re gonna do with his eyes

“A! I told you to stand by me!”

you’re not sure what’s louder

his shrieking or the boys’ screaming as they run around the corner, jinyoung with the camera in his hand

you post it on twitter and it blows up, to the point where interviewers ask about it when mentioning the groups’ dark past

Jinyoung

yugyeomie was the one who showed it to you as revenge

knew you’d do something w/ it

he was 100% correct

but you had to be slick as hell 

if you acted a lil off then jinyoung would know something was up

he knew you too well

so you didn’t plan anything, you just waited for the opportunity

your patience was rewarded, it didnt take too long for the moment to come

you were at your place, having a movie night with home made food and wine

got7 finished promoting so jinyoung could relax and drink a lil more

didn’t take too long for him to get tipsy

you knew this was your ~chance~

so you placed your hand on his shoulder to bring his attention to you and you just-

“A~...Jinyoungie, you’re drunk, right?”

suddenly jinyoung's sober

he’s sat up lookin like not a drop of alcohol has entered his system

he’s just staring @ you, his expression unreadable

inside his head ‘what the fuck what the fuck i made sure you didn’t go anywhere near those videos what the fuck who the fuCK-’

you begin to get nervous and think........maybe.......this wasn’t.......a good idea.........

he asks you who showed you, voice flat n lookin grimly serious

you sweat...........but don’t say anything

you ain’t no snitch

but then he’s on you and tickling you

and you break

he says thank you before pressing a kiss to your lips and texting someone on his phone

pray 4 yugyeom

Youngjae

happened during a v live he was hosting when the two of you were taking a walk with coco down the han river

will never live it down

no one lets him live it down

you watched the teasers when they came out n forgot about them bc it was before you began dating your sunshine boy

it popped back into your head when youngjae suggested getting ice cream on your walk with coco

you agreed and went to the nearest store

he waited outside with coco and talked to the fans

not even the IGOT7′s watching knew what was gonna hit them when you came out of the convenience store with two ice creams in hand

with a happy smile you took his phone to video him and handed him his ice cream, asking brightly

“A~ This is the one you like, right? Mm~ Delicious!”

youngjae damn near dropped his ice cream on coco

your sunshine was just looking at you like you just told his worst secret

(；゜○゜)

the v live chat was freaking out in different languages

he was getting progressively redder as seconds passed

you were laughing, trying not to choke on your ice cream

coco was happily eating the ice cream youngjae dropped

by the time he snapped out of it you were almost in tears bc of laughter

gets ‘mad’ @ you

you didn’t take him seriously bc he was still bright red

stays pouty even after you buy him a new ice cream

refuses to forgive you until after the stream when you’re able to say sorry with kisses and hugs

Bambam

anytime you saw baby-faced bambam you squealed with delight

you look at your dabdab BAMBAM now and wonder

damn.......what happened

juST KIDDING

more like

damn how’d this boy get so wild™

so ofc you knew the ‘A’ teasers existed

whenever you were sad and bam wasn’t there you watched his video to simultaneously laugh and cringe at him

such day came when you were watching the teasers out of pure boredom

but then......you realized.....

they had a fanmeet today......

the idea popped into your head and you never left your place faster

donning your makeshift disguise (face mask + snap back...genius)

you entered the fanmeet venue, sure that you were gonna surprise bam

didn’t even make it to the stage to say hi to the boys when bam tripped over one of the chairs on the way to his seat and almost slammed into the damn table

this was your moment

so you stood and screamed from where you were in the audience, the stupidest grin on your face

“A~! YOU’RE SO CLUMSY!”

IGOT7′s lost it

boys were laughing

bam looked shooketh

bambam’s eyes zoned in on you so fast

wasn’t hard to spot you since you were wearing his snapback

you became as famous like that one fangirl who threatened to sue min yoongi

i c o n i c

Yugyeom

hooman

yugyeom knows better than anyone that his teaser was by far the most cringe worthy

boy was so damn extra to make sure you didn’t see it

comes up on your suggested videos?

“HEY BABE LETS GO OUT I FOUND A NEW CAFE WE HAVENT GONE TO YET”

jinyoung tries to show you?

sprints from wherever he is to slap the devise out of his hand

bambam tries to directly tell you?

“BAMBAM I THINK I HEARD JAEBUM CALL FOR YOU BYYYEEEE”

so

damn

extra

doesn’t know you already watched it

you don’t let him know until he takes you out again to try and hide the teaser from you

you decided that this is it....this is the day....

you’re talking and feeding each other cake when you take in his unsuspecting face eating the piece you fed him

“A~ Yugyeommie, how do you like me?”

he cHOKES

you leap out of your seat to make sure he’s okay

everyone in the cafe is looking at you weird as you try to save your boyfriend

neither of you know whether to laugh or cry

at the moment it’s leaning toward cry

you’ll laugh at the memory............someday

still doesn’t let you watch the video in his presence

also still extra abt it

#i had to refresh my memory of the teasers #cringed to hell and back #got7 scenarios #got7 imagines #got7 writings #got7 x reader #mark scenarios #mark tuan x reader #jb scenarios #jaebum scenarios #jaebum x reader #im jaebum x reader #jackson scenarios #jackson x reader #jackson wang x reader #jinyoung scenarios #jinyoung x reader #park jinyoung x reader #youngjae scenarios #youngjae x reader #choi youngjae x reader #bambam scenarios #bambam x reader #yugyeom scenarios #yugyeom x reader #kim yugyeom x reader #my writings