date night! Barnaby planned. well. "planned"

bug i am trying to image an ugly non-binary outfit you referenced, pls can i have an example. i can't accept the Macklemore outfit, that dude was kinda fashionable unfortunately😔😔😔😔😔😔😔

The secret cool option is that I'm too sexy and alluring, like a male bird of paradise that can use it's feathers to become some sort of hyper-attractive UFO shape that the Ladies just Adore™, for an outfit to ever truly be considered ugly, but bare with me here. Instead of shorts I am wearing Men's Underwear. Rainbow Toe Socks with matching rainbow sandals like if the Lucky Charms Mascot had kids and couldn't be arsed to put on the little pilgrim shoes even one more day and succumbed to Dad Socks. A tank top that is just barely holding itself together because of how worn it is, and an Ugly Christmas Sweater Themed Cat Onesie over that whole outfit tied around the waist like I'm the sleepiest mechanic in the Whole Wide World. If I have to go out or happen to just feel Zesty™ I wear my Rainbow Pride Snapback and some huge grandma sunglasses. Usually the only makeup I have on is my super glittery lip gloss that smells like Birthday Cake. If I don't feel like going the Fuckboy Snapback Route I'll wear Cat Ears because you can't buy groceries if you aren't feeling ✨Cute✨ yaknow? My hair is super duper long so I usually either have it in a high messy bun on the top of my head, or braided. Scrunchies in my hair, on my arms, in my food, around the house, under the sink, in my soul, Hellfire, Dark Fire-. I Love Scrunchies. They don't rip your hair if it's a messy day and I really appreciate the texture, especially because you can color coordinate them. I will always-always choose comfort over fashion, but lucky me, I make it work. I can look nice and presentable, at which point I usually go with an all black outfit and some combat boots, but it's so much easier to just roll out of bed and eat spoonfuls of peanut butter straight from the jar in an outfit that should be considered a cry for help but is, in fact, just really soft and doesn't have Seams that will touch my skin in a way that makes me want to skin myself like the Lindworm. #Swaggie

You know what, I'm glad they use the extended time of the "Remake" (because it's not a remake, you know what I mean, you get me) to develop the characters and their relationships more

Of course it sucks if they miss and miss hard, but as long as the highs are high, I'm happy for you <3

THANKS <333

And yEAH honestly

like, they extended the game a lot and i'm glad when those are for characters' studies. When they really want to spend more time with the characters so that their development feels here and earned, and you really feel how close they become. For all the way the game isn't a straight remake, it really manages to highlight the big points of each characters' journeys and give a thoughtful build up in between.

There's also sometimes where they add stuff, like Tifa feeling conflicted about what they're doing is not really in the OG, at least not at this point, but it works, it plays on what we know of her personality as well, so it's nice they expended on that. Or even actual backstories and characters for Jessie Bigg and Wedge helps a lot also building their point.

I've seen them fumble some characters later on, but at least the straight extentions that exists out of it being a remake, are generally pretty interesting

the problem is really the whole plotline that makes it "not a remake", once you see it you can't stop seeing it Sephiroth shouldn't be there, and i hate how many scenes that are touching gets interrupted bc of that. (Aerith and Cloud's first meeting, that is genuinely charming in the original, being made almost entierely about the Specters and Sephiroth is one of my villain origin story, they didn't need to do that like holy shit dude.)

and i do think the remake is a lot less subtle than the OG on points that *are there* but are kept lowkey for a reason in the OG. Like Cloud being mentally unstable, which is far more focused on in the remake (+ his new visions from the future), is kept more lowkey in the main game in a way that gradually gets worse in worse -- the first time Cloud blacks out you're like huh. that's weird. anyway. And then the more it happens the more worried you get. But i think the Remake, with all the flash effects and adding more triggers than Cloud had eend up lampshading it too much. And also he shouldn't have visions from the future but yaknow.

The remake also goes a little too hard to really show just how much Shinra is making things worse to make Avalanche seem bad, while also constantly undercutting the branch we're in by saying we're not as radical as the other branches. It's hinted at in the Original game, but since you're limited to Cloud's perspective (which itself is unreliable), you don't actually see, like in the remake, Shinra make things worse on purpose. and it kinda bugs me because this ambiguity is the core of a character conflict between Barret and Cait Sith later on, which personally i find really interesting. But considering they're also NOT subtle about Cait Sith in the remake the whole thing feels handled in a very bizarre manner.

Personally i think the Propaganda machine in the OG being this uncertain, also reflects ultimately Cloud losing grasps on reality as well. When you only have the infos Cloud really has, everything can be questioned, and in a sense the propaganda lying ends up being in this same nebulous area that, say, Sephiroth's later manipulation will be, of taking the truth and just twisting it just enough that you end up doubting yourself about it. Aka "the game is working hard to gaslighting you as well as it gaslight Cloud". And i feel that by lampshading it because it comes with the "not remake" angle of "well you know what's up with Cloud anyway so let's just show you more", you lose a big part of the plotline.

and maybe i'm just a purist but i think we would need proper discussion on how propaganda have you question your own grasp on reality more now than we did in 1997, but what can i say.

I ended up complaining while i was being positive for once Nooooo

So yeah i mean, the game has a lot of good strength especially if you're a fan of the OG because it does give deep dives where it's needed. It's just wild that the "bad" stuff are just also stuff that feels so disconnected from the original game as well.

But i AM having fun and i do feel a lot of feelies over how i love and care for those characters.

so at least it's nice <3

In spirit of summer coming, take this so it’ll leave me alone. So idk about you but I miss going to rivers and creeks to swim and at least enjoying the outdoors in solitude during summer, being with crickets and lightning bugs and stuff yaknow. It was great in childhood and idk, I feel like it’s something Brett wanted to show Reagan once, that whimsical part of childhood and summer I doubt she really kinda had, and idk, those types of nights mean a lot. Plus it’s aesthetically pleasing okay

this is so sweet and i’m kinda illustrating it but i have the mindset of a gnat

i grew up ALWAYS in the suburbs/countryside in tx and ok, and oklahoma has lots of pretty nights, humid but calm with choruses of crickets and flickers of lightning bugs. i grew up all around it!

so i can imagine both tamiko and rand neglecting irl nature trips for reagan but brett wants to take her on a special date!!! so when they’re driving out into the nature side of maryland, he finds this little secluded place near a freshwater river and guides her down the rocky path, she’s complaining it’s dark and is like what are we, teenagers?? and brett is like just wait!!

and pushing past a little alcove and a corner, he welcomes reagan to a nice open night sky filled with stars and a bright moon, dark grey fluffy clouds moving fast in the sky. she looks around and there’s little flickering lightning bugs, the crickets singing in the bushes, the soft and calming brush of wind against the leaves and her cheek. the moving river reflects millions of rays of moonlight. she’s almost stunned!! <333

and brett is like let’s go swimming! :D and strips his clothes to his briefs, stepping into the river. reagan laughs and is like no no that’s dirty and but brett’s charm works on her and next thing she knows she’s in her underwear, being swung around by brett while splashing around in the river!!

it’s an experience like no other. reagan has never felt so safe, she has an infectious smiling glow with brett. they dry on the rocks and share a lil kiss <3