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crystalelemental · 8 months

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Unit Viability Speculation - October 2023

Is it Caitlin? No.

Is it Lusamine/Nihilego? No.

Is it Roxanne? YES, APPARENTLY, WHAT?

Akari Fuck yeah, Hisui! Love this region. A bit peeved that Akari got Samurott but I can flex with it. Akari is very, very good. Dark Damage Field is set on Ceaseless Edge, and her Buddy move is equivalent to a Tech Nuke, spammable, gains 20% more damage each use up to 60% but resets if any other action is taken, and is a Field pair with the coveted Strike role. If anything holds her back, it's 376 attack. Which I don't think is bad enough to really stop her.

Akari effectively has +90% move damage for free, extension on her damage field which already lasts halfway through forever, and 150% sync damage, on top of summoning Field. Akari is, in my personal opinion, the first true test of a Field pair. Variety Giovanni is there, but most skipped him with good reason. Akari is a lot more relevant to people, and we're going to actually finalize perspectives on this move type with her. I am anticipating positive response. As I had predicted, the measure of a good Field is going to be good DPS, and Akari actually lives up to this spectacularly. I would say her DPS is more significant than her sync, though sync is obviously fantastic as well. Her main issue is going to be competition. Dark is absolutely stacked. NC Marnie dominates, SC Zinnia dominates, Akari won't really upstage them. Both have comparable damage and high flinch rates. Akari is meant as supplement to, providing the Zone, but in exchange takes first sync. I think she'll work beautifully in the NC Calem/SC Zinnia comp, but Marnie may have less use for her. Personally, I'm well satisfied.

Rei Rei is bullshit. I'm sorry, this is nutty. 478 base attack, almost a full 100 over Akari. And you get a once-per-sync buddy move...that is as strong as a Strike sync...and has sure flinch AoE with no penalty. That also always crits and hits -2 defense. Am I reading that right? His trainer move even gives him +6 speed, there is no flaw here. As a Sprint pair, he's even got a pretty natural -2 sync cooldown on his base kit, any Head Start 1 from, say, Aura Cynthia's grid, is a fast-ramp to first sync, which he then gets a -3 off of the next, and an AoE sure flinch, while dishing out obscene damage. Do I have all that right? And there are four sync damage nodes. Only 50% sync multipliers, but like...god, does he need it? This is the first time I've seen an aggravation tile and thought it was unnecessary. But even without Buddy move, he can still have 60% flinch and a guaranteed -1 defense per hit. All of this, on a rare Fighting typing, with a Strike role. EX and Role'd, his attack stat is on par with SS Hilda.

I mean...I'll say it, I think if it weren't for Zone, he'd be better than NC Hop. I say this with absolute confidence. I know, his damage won't measure up to Hop's. But I greatly value the bullshit he provides. Two fast-ramps with sure flinch AoE is just magnificent. I will say his limitation is specializing a bit too much into sync. His damage output relies on defense drops, which are easy enough to supply, but he personally does not facilitate well. I'm personally on the fence with him. Mostly because I'm trying to be more judicious about my gems. I really like this kit, but I struggle to say SC Diantha wasn't getting a job done, and he's not exactly the ideal partner she's been waiting for. He does well with the Master Fairs, and his speed facilitates dual strike more reliably for a type that plays well to that approach. I actually couldn't articulate why I'm not more hyped by him. Is it just the male protagonist thing? It might just be the male protagonist thing.

Variety Noland I...I'm sorry, Noland and Ninjask? Is Noland a Bug guy? I thought he was a Frontier Brain with a more varied team? Anyway, Bug damage. The upside of Noland is that he's a -3 sync cooldown instantly on trainer move, and his buddy move is a 4-bar move's damage in a 1-bar move, that confuses, never misses, and debuffs accuracy. The bad news of Noland is that he feels like someone without a cause.

Usually, these Variety scouts are really good at Gauntlet, at the expense of 3v3 fights. He gives hints of that with the Overwhelm focus, the boosting of evasion, debuffing of accuracy, and slow pace to set up max speed for his buddy move. But, his buddy move also cuts his defenses by 3. Which is sure death when things connect. And Gauntlet has Sure Hit. Like, routinely. He has no means of fixing the debuffs, no Endurance effect, and his only means of healing is Sync Regen. Personally? I think he's damned. I think this is a bad set for Gauntlet with too little to excel like many others in the Variety pool, and with way too slow and awkward a kit for CS. Easy skip, get fucked Bug types.

Variety Thorton Finally, someone to challenge Marnie's Steel Zone monopoly. Thorton...is interesting. He functions by applying Restrain on a target, which is a damned nice effect, and then powering up the attacks of all allies when foe is restrained. He gets 100% guaranteed free moves next and SEUN whenever he attacks a restrained opponent, and has both Steel and Electric type moves, making him fairly useful across two kinds of stages as an easy slot-in third. Or, if you Support role him, as the tank. His Trainer move does provide +2 Atk/Sp Atk, +3 crit, and Endure to a target ally, so he can offload that to someone else if needed. And with Metal Sound, he's got a nice debuff as well. Add in 100% sync multipliers, Staggering 4 broadly (which means Discharge hits all foes for flinch at a set 50% rate), and Satisfied Snarl for potential survival, Thorton...actually looks competent.

I think what slightly bothers me about Thorton, stupid as it is, is his demands. Sync is Power Hold 5, which is easily set up, but Static Shock 5 is...rough. Even with HE2 on grid, which is hard to pick up, Thorton can't ensure paralysis on a target. He needs support. And his self-buffing of offsenses is similarly impacted, requiring at least special attack, and likely speed given his stats and propensity for dual strike. I think Thorton is competent. I actually like this kit more than I expected. I think he'll do well. I just also...don't entirely care? As a replacement to P!Marnie, he's okay, but not exactly doing as much, given he has to take sync and is special, which conflicts with the mostly physical type. He'll do well with Raihan and S!Tate, but Tate really didn't need the help, so it's kinda just Raihan. It's hard to justify a pull for a single sync pair.

Halloween Phoebe There's the required Ghost trainer. I'm kinda stunned it's all Hoenn again? Anyway, Phoebe comes in with Cofagrigus, which feels like it belongs to Shauntal so I'm at least a bit salty about this. More critically...she's kinda bad.

Vigilance is nice, Potion with double MPR is nice, and her base defenses work well. But every other aspect hurts her. Ignoring the opponent's boosts to offenses is nowhere near as valuable as debuffing them, because those boosted offenses are going to obliterate you and your friends on sync. Her trainer move may give +4 to both defenses, but that's just Evelyn, who is known to be underwhelming and is largely considered worse than BP Morty because it's 1MP. Phantom Force into evasion boosting and Group Gloat is cute, but impractical outside of Gauntlet. Boosting both offenses of the team by 1 each time she attacks is incredibly slow acting, especially since it denies any progress when she has to heal or use her trainer move, or on the first turn of Phantom Force. Tech is a bad role for someone who can't buff their own crit rate. She's slow as shit, so this does nothing for her own type, thus doing nothing for High Score. And her grid. Despite built-in Vigilance and Status Immunity and Endurance, her grid is spread in such a way that getting all three effects restricts what else she's able to pick up, with Potion being a major casualty. I...don't really love this one. I kinda don't respect it at all actually.

Halloween Roxanne This is the greatest sync pair all year. For me.

Ground Tech, who got the coveted Strike role. Roxanne is coming in swinging. And swing she did, for this is...actually pretty good. Sand Tomb applies immediate Trap on all foes when she hits once. She powers up team moves against trapped opponents by 20%, which is a universal benefit. She removes all stat bonuses, and turns them into debuffs, on sync. Every sync. And even has a grid node for No Stat Increases effect on foe. With 150% sync damage, 50% move damage, and a Buddy move that debuffs Def/Spd of foes by 1 each hit then boosts her team's Def/Spd the same amount? Roxanne is excellent.

But with problems. Buddy move is fairly weak, and suffers AoE penalty. Her buddy move is a nice +3 self crit and +2 team accuracy, but her ability to boost attack needs supplemented (you know what's coming). Her debuffing is very slow acting. Fortunately, Roxanne is competent. Slo-pponent Sync 5 and Sync Power Flux are godsends on a pair that could easily have been slapped with Cakewalk, allowing her to easily set it up in one rotation. Lack of any gauge on her Buddy move more than offsets the lower BP. And Halloween Caitlin exists, providing Roxanne with, quite literally, everything she needs. And given the atrociously slow type she's in, being able to actually boost team speed? This is a godsend for High Score. Roxanne is incredibly well poised across game modes. Her Tech nuke does what she needs, and Strike role obliterates 3v3. Her inversion of buffs and persistent debuffing makes her excellent in Gauntlet. She is, to be perfectly frank, my favorite of the month. I recognize the Hisui duo are better overall. But this is my girl.

Lenora Okay guys, hear me out. What if Cheren...but good? But also! What if Lucian...but terrible?

Lenora's trainer move is incredibly reminiscent of Cheren, trading gradual healing for a 20% HP recovery on all pairs, and otherwise charging gauge. With Special Damage Reduction on entry and X Sp Def All, she skews specially defensive. This is all she buffs. As a support. Not so good, girl. She does get +1 Atk or Sp Atk depending on grid, and has Team Sharp Entry, but...it's slow and generally insufficient, and notably does not work with Leer which is a major conflict of interest. Leer is her bigger draw, debuffing both defense and special defense thanks to her passive. This is incredibly useful, but would align better with a Tech than a Support, who otherwise wants to be doing like a million things at once.

Lenora feels like a response to Lucian, who was so well optimized he remains the greatest general pool pair by a mile. I think Lenora is the power scale they want to push Lucian back to. It's the only way to make sense of the difference between them. To be honest, lack of First Aid 4 and only having Safety Tether implies she's not doing well with staying power, given the low self-healing of her trainer move. She's just...not optimized for much success in the meta.

Lodge Giovanni This is the only thing I'm legitimately pissed about. Did you know Giovanni has 5 alts? Yeah. This fuck clown has more alts than Leaf now. You couldn't even give her a month to be a protagonist considered as popular as the antagonist? Just jumped straight to the Kanto men, huh? No, I get it, it's fine.

Poison Support with Nidorino. Should've been Nidorina, but Kanto (the Pokemon region) is sexist, so can't have him with a girl Pokemon. His trainer move boosts Defense +2 and crit +1. So shades of Lodge Blue. Unlike Blue, Giovanni does nothing of value. Potion is cute, but no Endurance on a Lodge unit that has heavily lopsided defenses never goes so well. Hostile Environment 4 does not make him a reliable Poison user; that's the same rate as Janine with the weaker Poison. Team Sharp Entry is cute, but unlike Janine, he's not getting anything from it since his TM already buffs crit.

This is a pretty bad support. I struggle to find any reason to use him, at all, over Lodge Blue. Even in situations where you need Poison, you have Lodge Janine, who, by all accounts, has comparable defensive merit with the evasion, but way more relevant buffing kit. I do not respect Giovanni, now more than ever. I feel like every time he shows up it's to demonstrate the depth of his failure, yet somehow people still think he's cool.

Clemont Grid expansion. It's uh...hmm. Grand Entry 2 is so not enough. Obscuring Power 3 is hilarious, his move damage is irrelevant. Speedster Sync 5 is cute, I guess, but does nothing to help with his bigger Cakewalk multiplier. Critical Eye would be amazing if it weren't 1 and only on trainer move. I can't complain about Caitlin getting Crit Eye 2 when no one else does, but I can say it's strange. I feel like Clemont isn't going very far. This does very, very little to help him. I guess the intent was slightly stronger sync, but adding more multipliers to move damage in hopes it matters this time? I don't think it does.

Steven Allegedly, he got another grid expansion. It's not up. I feel like a mistake has been made somewhere.

Shauntal I can't believe they gave Shauntal the EX, but in hindsight, this tracks with recent decisions. At the risk of making Aera depressed, Shauntal's EX is completely and totally irrelevant. Oh, I know, four sync nodes and a 50% multiplier, surely this is something. It's not. Her sync damage calculation is still bottom of the Ghost type, and unimpressive in general. Shauntal is a common that thrives off of frankly spectacular DPS. The sync was not her approach, so this feels...extraneous? Nice to have, but there were options that I think much more desperately needed it.

#unit viability speculation

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misc-obeyme · 28 days

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to <3 anon, I was gonna say definitely play the event since you have the cheat cards, but playing through the battles can be time consuming the first time around if your team isn't built. Since you'd have to play everything one by one at least once (I'm so used to skipping the battles ajsjd). Once you get through everything once with an A or S rank (can't remember which), you can quick clear (and then you can collect AP/joker cards/other things to save up for when you're ready). You could also skip the story parts if you're worried about spoilers?

I am someone who plays both, and I can tell you it's wild. I'm stuck on OG around lesson 60, I need to build my cards more, but I'm completely caught up in NB and have full teams that are all 98+ level wise. I log in on both apps to do daily tasks every day

I do both events simultaneously, log in to collect the AP at both times (NB is priority because it loads faster), but I just quick clear the battles every night to get the prizes. NB is the one where I'll try to use up all my AP before work so that when I get home, it's fully replenished.

I love OG to death, present Mammon would have to be ripped from my hands, and I love how much more of his character we get to see in NB. But it is a little frustrating and discouraging when I can't get past battles in OG. I've been playing NB since day one, even without finishing OG, all because I didn't want to get "left behind". I've got so much uhh fomo (?) from past Mammon cards that I never had a chance to get in OG. Which has now turned into me having every single Mammon card in NB... 💀 Even memory cards that feature him (except HDD .5 charge mission memory card, I was broke at the time)

I am dedicated to this man 😭 anyway sorry that got kinda sad at the end. I have my reasons for loving both games, and OM Mammon will always have a chokehold on me. I'm gonna be old one day and using a cane that's probably yellow because it reminds me of him 💀 It's silly things like that that get me through the day, I even have a photo card of him in my wallet 😗

also apparently my store made 10k over predicted sales on Sunday. I don't know what the prediction was originally, but jesus 😭 there's been lots of wild customers and things going wrong, but I am still kicking. I run solely on caffeine and spite !!

i don't know if I rambled about it before, but I have ideas for what my mc would work as in the devildom. and I'm thinking about the dinner rotation in the HoL, but that's for another day's ask lol OKAY BYEE

- ✨ anon

Oh gosh, I am used to skipping the battles, too lol. It does depend on what your goals are, I think! I personally play through every event... though sometimes it's almost painful because the stories are often not great. (This one was especially underwhelming.) But I read them because sometimes you get good one liners lol. And I only grind for stuff if I want the cards, but if you wanted to use up your AP you might as well use it on events! Then you'll get rewards, even if you don't get the cards.

Yeah, OG is messed up when it comes to getting through all the lessons and NB is shaping up to be no better. But there are a lot more lessons in OG, so it takes longer. Back when I first started playing, I got through like the first two seasons and then didn't play the main story for months while I leveled my cards. Then the same thing happened between season three and season four lol. Then they were like NB is happening! And I was like oh hell no I am gonna finish season four if it kills me.

Yeah you got it with FOMO! Fear of missing out! I had that, too, with past cards that are just... lost to me forever. I did a similar thing, but with Barb. Every NB Barb card is belong to me! I've been spending my time getting some of the older ones from Lonely Devil in OG, too. And just unlocking everything like chats and what not.

LOL I'm loving the idea of little old you out there with a yellow cane 'cause of Mams, that's adorable!!

I have a few lil bits of merch and it absolutely brings me joy. Plus when you're old, you'll be free to do whatever you want. I feel like people tend to write it off as oh old people are so silly!

Caffeine and spite, ✨ anon, I swear I am concerned about you! I hope things calm down for you so you can take a nice break!

Hmmm I don't think I remember what your MC's job might be? But if you already told me, please feel free to tell me again!

#I am very forgetful in general #but I try to remember tidbits about MCs and such!#obey me #obey me nightbringer #✨ anon #misc answers

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snowflop · 9 months

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youtube

I ended up typing way to much so i'm putting a readmore on this bad boy but, these are the things that caught my eye most this direct (aside from the splat3 news obvs)

I think Unicorn Overlord looks incredibly cool visually and the combat looks super fun. Apparently the studio has some prestige among jrpg fans as i saw a lot of comments excited about that aspect (never heard of them before myself tho >_>)

I will say it REALLY rubbed me the wrong way how the trailer called it "the rebirth of tactical fantasy RPGs". Not exactly a genre that I feel needs to be reborn, and also Fire Emblem is right there dude. but. anyway.

Eiyuden Chronicle is a much less... ambitious title i guess? less expensive? it doesn't give the same wow factor certainly. it charmed me a lot though. I love a turned based jrpg more then anything else. it's giving a similar art style to octopath (although not quite the same level of polish). some of the characters design are SO cute, the magical girl team near the end of the trailer? yes please. so long as it's not a full price $80 title i can see myself picking it up.

both of these games also have got massive casts, 60 and 100 respectively. and i'm just so intrigued to see how that plays out. how on earth do you handle that. for UO i can see them writing 60 different character but EC surely there has to be a level of randomization there right?

#snow blogging #video #posting this primarily so i like... remember these exist when they come out

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adhdvane · 2 years

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i just want to keep rambling about ewiyar while i continue angel halo farming bc i apparently hit the tag limit on my reblog and tags got cut off and my adhd meds kick in so i cant shut up but i’ll put under the cut

and also add tags for my own sake so i don’t have to keep looking on a different page #i did enough raids to get to like 43 and then got like 5 drops today er last night i mean still same like day like per daily reset w/e #ewiyar's beak dropped twice for me when i was farming that raid #too bad i dont really have a need for it lol #it was kinda funny to like join raids and find out everyone had fainted and be like ok ok ok i'll fuckin kill it for you guys #dont bother reviving i'll be a good guy and not leach #bc i remember when ewiyar was the scary solo quest and i couldnt do it and had to fucking farm lineage fragments #so i could get gale rocks to uncap tiamat AND THAT WAS WHEN THE TRADE COSTED 100 FRICKIN LINEAGE FRAGMENTS NOT 30 #I HAD TO FARM 300 OF THOSE FRICKING THINGS BC EWIYAR HIT LIKE A TRUCK AND WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO CLEAR #and then i got the devil full uncapped and lucifer fully uncapped and traded for ullikuumi to have as a mainhaind #and dicpicked siegfried (fire) #and now in the solo quest ewiyar is a punk bitch bc i double angi and we all got over 40k to 50k hp #ewiyar is both less scary and scarier in raid form #bc like raid form if sieg's special party buff it up and ewiyar isn't casting march whatere or dragon's nest i wont even guard

i wont even guard bc i have a lot of hp and the buff give armor and tbh elixirs are unlimited and i have (currently) 379, like i MIGHT AS WELL YOU KNOW ACTUALLY USE THEM FOR SOMETHING. so there’s less of a fear of dying bc i can just... revive without feelings bad. the scarier thing about the raid is that there’s like two fated chain cancels, YEAH dragon’s nest at 40% and 10% how the fuck do you cancel both of those and having to gaurd and take the hit sucks bc you can veil against the skill seal but you can’t veil against all your charge bar is going and that’s just annoying as fuck, especially if your joining a raid later and it can be harder to get that fated chain ready for the first trigger and its like OH BOY NO BUFFS OR CHARGE BAR FOR ME :) BACK TO STEP 1 (except like sieg’s buff not being able to be removed and the lumberjack buff. im not using anyone with dispel cancel bc :) too bad) and like okay, even after overdrive buff go away, i s2g ewiyar still hits like a fucking truck past 40% compared to the other dragons. so like first 60% of hp, even more of a bitch than solo quest, 40% and under, oh god i need to be a little more careful. but like anyways i just wanted to ramble into the void about how glad i am at my improvement, bc like even when it was the first time i cleared the ewiyar solo quest, after i had those upgrades, i still did it with a careful team, using illnot and anila bc illnot has crazy delay game i s2g. and ewiyar was still scary to me bc that bitch has 1 charge diamond. I was bring more heals and a revive. but the ones i’ve been doing the past couple days, i just did with regular fire set up. didn’t bother changing the skills, leaf burning, dappling, clear. just bright tien and izmir. heck, last time i even played with swapping izmir with vasaraga bc i wanted to see if i could... actually see his ougi for once... i did, one time on both of the runs. it’s just.... hard to get him low when the hp pool is high and lots of heals... drain, dappling, ullikuumi... and then that lumberjack upgrade, and then him casting his skill every time the foe special attacks. admittedly i think those first times i cleared it i didn’t have wilnas... and that summon really really does make those hit 20 times trivial when that summon hits fucking 15 times. that and actually using tien. yeah... those triggers cancels are rarely a problem. sdkfjhsdlkfsoirjsdf if bonus damage didn’t count as a separate hit i s2g a lot of v2 cancels would be AWFUL. tbh making ewiyar disguise themselves as a cat was the best thing gbf could do for the most asshole dragon quest/raid. but like also bc of ewiyar’s voice lines, like the most on brand shit.

gunna throw my goddamn laptop out the window if angel halo keeps dropping harps. RUSTED WEAPONS HATE ME rusted weapon totals (not counting sabers): daggers: 26 fully 1 one star - feower 5* 7-25-2020 spear: 8 fully 1 no star - anre 5* 3-27-2022 axe: 9 fully 1 one star - threo 5* 1-22-2022 staff: 7 fully 1 no star - fif 5* 9-12-2021 gun: 30 fully 1 no star - tien 5* 05-01-2019 melee: 4 fully 1 one star - seox transcendence 4-19-2021 & 8-10-2021 (& 8-12) bow: 16 fully - tweyen 5* 1-15-2022 katana: 11 fully 1 one star - eahta 5* 12-18-2020 harp: 13 fully 1 one star - niyon 5* 11-21-2021

the reason i have like 18 fully uncapped sabers and 7 no star sabers is bc like i think at least 4 different months i remember to trade for the 8 in stock so at least 8 of the fully uncapped are traded. seofon was 5* on 4-15-2021 if i subtracted the traded and combined the 7 no star i’d have 11 fully 1 two star. which for the date feels more reasonable. tien makes sense bc she was my first 5 star. yo feower what the fuck man. eahta was like less than 5 months behind you and you have 15 fully uncapped on him. anyways back the angel halo mines bc i have 40 more relic fragments i need to farm

#dumb text post #sammy be quiet #sammy no #sammy liveblogs about granblue

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majorsoapfan · 3 years

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The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Episode Titles Analysis

Now that the episode titles for season 3 have dropped, I’ve spent the last few days wondering and theorizing just what they could mean. Most of what I’ve gotten so far rests on symbolism, headcanons, potential theories and a lot of googling, but we all need some way of staying sane until season three drops, right?

Now this is just what I’ve come up with so far, I could be massively wrong in all of these, but these are just my predictions based on what I know of the characters and plot so far, previous ways of naming episodes and the very little I know of the comics.

Meet The Family

Now this one is very self-explanatory and we’ll most likely get to know our birdies very well in this episode. We’ll probably be seeing a flashback to the Sparrows as children fighting crime - maybe already being better at it than their Umbrella counterparts were when they first started.

I’m hoping that we’’ll see another montage of introducing the siblings as adults like we saw in season one with our Umbrellas - which had been so helpful to me at the time as I had started watching the show about a week before season two dropped. I had known absolutely nothing about the show when I started, I had only clicked on it because Robert Sheeran was in the card as Klaus with his pink umbrella and I thought he was pretty. I became a massive fan all because I had thought Robert was pretty and I was bored.

So yeah, I loved the initial introduction montage of the siblings as it helped me figure out who was who quickly without wasting time. And I think that doing something similar for the Sparrows will also help give a better and quicker insight into their personalities and how they work when we see them in episode one.

The World’s Biggest Ball of Twine

If you google ‘ball of twine’ it does mention that this is an archetype for an odd roadside attraction. Now if we’re going literal here, there are plenty of such attractions in the States, including one of just this in Texas, where our dysfunctional family had been last season. Maybe an indication of a road trip or even them fleeing the Sparrows and New York in order to regroup and figure out their next step without the birds circling in?

Ball of twine can also mean wrapping really strongly around something, especially as the material mentioned is usually very strong and durable. A ball of wool isn’t the episode title after all. Now this could mean maybe a family or an emotional issue that is massively at play here. Or more likely, the Umbrella’s and more specifically Five, are trying to figure out their exact steps and actions in the 60′s and just how badly they changed the past and future, both in the general sense of the world and for their own personal lives.

Ball of Twine can also mean wrapping around something tightly, so maybe a trap is being put in place or enacted. Either for the Umbrellas by the Sparrows, or the Umbrellas are trying to lure their counterparts into a trap to regain the upper hand.

Pocket Full of Lightning

Now the first thing that comes to mind when I think of this title is something like this being described or mentioned regarding a character and their abilities. Now the characters that come to mind immediately when referenced to this are either Vanya or Christopher. Or maybe it may have something to do with a team-up, more than likely the Sparrows and what can happen when they team-up and combine their powers.

But lightning also has a lot of symbolism in many different societies and periods and in all honesty, I feel like I have to mention this. Symbolism includes but isn’t limited to: illumination, destruction, punishment, inspiration and revelations. Lightning is also highly associated with the King of the Greek Gods Zeus. Maybe Marcus or Reginald?

Marcus is after all described as a natural leader after all, gaining perhaps a Zeus like image in the public eye?

Whereas Reginald on the other hand would definitely see himself as being as King and acts like it at times, using his children as his soldiers to advance his agendas. Zeus isn’t a very kind or forgiving God either so unlike Marcus maybe this has something to do with the Hargreeves patriarch?

Kugeblitz

Thank you Tumblr for having already given me the definition for this episode title when I had first found out the episode titles so I know that it means a black hole formed from radiation.

Luther and Five when I think of this title in terms of its definition a kugeblitz has me thinking of both space and science, as both topics are highly associated with these characters. Black holes have ties to space which Five who’s powers are teleportation and Luther who spent four years up in space both have ties to a title like this.

But of course we can’t forget the actual alien in the family Reginald Hargreeves. A black hole could be a reference as to what happened to his original planet, or maybe signalling a potential threat later on in the season. Will it cause another apocalypse or a warning for an alien invasion perhaps?

But it also might have links to a well known Umbrella Academy villain, Dr Terminal. I haven’t read the comics so I will admit to a lack of knowledge on this villain although I will Google him later. But as the season will be focusing on the Sparrow Academy and potentially any previous villains, Dr Terminal seems to be the most well known in the fandom and thus the most likely to make an appearance, whether in flashbacks or in person. A few people here seem convinced that this episode title will have something to do with him in some form.

Kindest Cut

When I think of this episode title, my first thought goes of course, to Diego. People can often get cut with knives and they are of course Diego’s preferred weapon of choice.

Maybe however they are referring to another powered sibling and what harm their abilities can cause. Top contenders after Diego of course, are Vanya whose power we know can cut after seeing what she did to Allison at the end of ‘The Day that Was’ in a moment of anger.

But if we go with the Sparrows then Alphonso is at the top of my list. His character sheet is mentioned as him bearing the scars from his years of crime-fighting. His power is assumed to be the voodoo from the comics and if he can transfer the injuries he obtains or inflicts on himself to others, this may be what this title means.

But, and this theory I think is the one that I’m most obsessed with right now, is that the episode title could be an adaptation of the saying ‘unkindest cut’. The definition for this is ‘a cruel or devastating injury or insult inflicted on you by a supposed friend’.

If we go by current timeline we’re in then my money is that Five may be joining the Sparrows either under duress or having worked out an agreement with Reginald that his siblings would be spared if he did. Only his family might not be aware of what Five has planned and agreed to and would only see the apparent betrayal of what they have all gone through together as a family. Of only seeing their brother join the team that probably want them dead.

But this betrayal may also be coming from the Sparrows and Sloane perhaps. Sloane is an inverse of Five in a sense in that while Five is driven by his desire to save his family, Sloane often feels like hers are holding her back from experiencing her dream of leaving. Maybe she betrays the Sparrows in some way by letting an opportunity to capture the Umbrellas flee or seeking them out as allies.

Marigold

According to what I can glean from the comics, marigold refers to the balls of light that eventually became the 43 super-powered children. So could we be getting an explanation as to how these supers came to be and why?

But like with episode three’s episode title, I can’t not mention the symbolism connected to this title. Marigolds often have conflicting symbolism today. In modern western society their bright colours often have them being associated with the sun and positive emotions and energy such as happiness, optimism and good luck. Not what I think the episode will be about.

But on the darker side of things, which is something that I do think has more ties into what to expect, is that they also refer to jealousy, grief, despair, mourning and cruelty. It is a flower associated with death and the Day of the Dead in Mexico and is said to offer protection from evil spirits. This connection with death is what I first thought of when I saw the episode title and the most obvious character associated with Death is none other than our ghost-boy Klaus Hargreeves.

Klaus as a character has a lot of ties to death naturally and I did see a post on here describing how Klaus will be entering the fourth stage of grief which is depression for both Ben and Dave during season three. This makes sense as they are now both gone in a way that not even his powers can reverse nor can he summon their spirits. Marigolds can often symbolize a despaired love and strong passion as well as well as pain and grief, so it could be a reference to Klaus’ depression over permanently losing both his closest brother and his love. But the main reason I do think that this episode does tie in heavily with Klaus is that it’s a mid season episode and so far that’s usually when Klaus undergoes most of his development. Maybe it’ll continue that way in season three.

Of course if Marigold will also represent a despaired love there are other options in the Umbrellas other than Klaus and Dave: Diego with both Eudora Patch (who is possibly still alive in this timeline) and Lila Pitts still bouncing around the timeline. Allison dealing with leaving her 60′s husband Raymond Chestnut and maybe trying to track down her ex Patrick to find out what happened to daughter Claire in this timeline and Vanya with love Sissy Cooper. Or maybe even Five and Dolores or possibly a love interest for Luther could be a reference to this title.

Explaining how the Umbrella and Sparrows came to be wouldn’t take the whole episode giving us time for some potential (doomed) love.

Auf Wierdershen

This is very likely to be a Klaus focused episode, even if Marigold isn’t.

The episode title is German for goodbye and Klaus is the character most associated with Germany. Klaus is the only character to have spoken German during the shows events so far and his name is of German origin (interestingly enough, all of the male Sparrows bar Ben, have their names tied to Germanic origin. Meanwhile, Fei’s name is of Chinese origin, Jayme has both Spanish and Hebrew roots, while Sloane is derived from an Irish surname Ó Sluaghhadáin). Not only that but it is considered fanon that Klaus was born in Germany just like Diego and Vanya’s roots are considered to be Mexico and Russia respectively.

Not only that but he literally has ‘goodbye’ tattooed on his hand.

‘Goodbye’ has many different interpretations for what this could mean especially if this is a Klaus centric episode like we are assuming. And like I mentionned above with Klaus going through the fourth stage of grief in season three, this might be the episode where he moves into the fifth and final stage: acceptance. Perhaps by having one last talk with Umbrella Ben in the afterlife or by trying to track down Dave after Vietnam and discovering he (seemingly - I do have hopes for Commission Dave later on) did live a long and happy life after the war.

Mending fences with Ben and both getting the chance to air their genuine grievances with one another and mend their relationship from the horrific state it was in at the end of season two might help Klaus find closure. Klaus and Ben both love each other but they crossed a lot of lines and hurt each other deeply with their behaviours last season and they deserved the chance to try and fix the issues as well as say a proper goodbye to one another. This could give Klaus the opportunity to say just that as well as moving into accepting Ben’s death once and for all.

And when it comes to Dave, maybe just knowing that Dave moved on can help Klaus move from depression into acceptance. He was more than fine with stopping Dave from enlisting in the army during season two even knowing that it would mean that Dave would never meet or fall in love with Klaus. He was willing to sacrifice his chance at love with Dave if it meant that Dave would survive. Perhaps if he knew that Dave had been happy and safe in his later life he could then move on and say goodbye?

And maybe by coming to terms with the departure of two of the biggest influences in his life, motivate Klaus to embrace a new outlook and control of his life and his powers?

Wedding At The End Of The World

This very clearly has ties to the very first episode of the show which is ‘We Only See Each Other At Weddings and Funerals’. Both have marriage and death connected in their titles. The characters that we know have been married so far out of our Hargreeves family so far is Reginald and Allison.

Reginald was married on his home planet when his wife died. Not a lot is known about her other than she was the original owner of Vanya’s violin in the original timeline. Maybe we’ll get information on her and just why Reginald left his home planet?

The next character married so far is Allison who so far has been married twice already (maybe they’re going three for three this time?). And judging by the episode title in season one, that event was the last time the Umbrella Hargreeves (bar Five) were all together as a family until they arrived for Reginald’s funeral. Maybe there’s a link there.

Or maybe this is referencing a whole other wedding that may be happening during the events of season three? I wouldn’t be surprised if Five reunites with Delores and decides just to get married to make it official. To paraphrase Klaus, it’s probably one of the healthiest relationships that family ever had regarding love.

Six Bells

Now this tile had me stumped for a good bit and it will probably make more sense when season three does drop and we watch the episodes, but for now I can just theories on it.

Bells have often been associated with religious services, which may tie in with the last episode, but can also be rung for important events or in deference of important people.

But what is really getting me is that the title is six bells and there are six Umbrellas left so far. Could the bells be in reference to something regarding them, some sort of trap perhaps? Which will definitely tie in in some way to the seasons finale:

Oblivion

Now like episode one this one seems fairly self-explanatory. This seems like Hotel Oblivion is finally coming into play here, meaning they are probably switching the order of stories from the comics. But the question is: if it is Hotel Oblivion, did the Umbrella’s enter the Hotel/prison out of free will or were they trapped here by the Sparrows? Anything goes at this point considering that it’s the last episode of the season.

But when it comes to the Hotel there are so many possibilities as to what happens here:

- Are all of the Umbrella’s trapped inside or did one escape and their other cell mate is a Sparrow perhaps (Sloane maybe for trying to leave the Sparrow Academy?)

- How will this set up the cliff-hanger for season four? Will all or some of the Umbrella Hargreeves be trapped in the hotel once the season ends and that helps set up the tension for the next season. Or maybe a break out of prisoners just like in the comics occurs and the Umbrella's are forced to deal with it?

-Where will this leave our Sparrows at the season end, because I know that we’re going to get attached (I know I will). Will some of them come with us into season four? Maybe they are split into two teams as the season ends, each containing a mixture of both Umbrella’s and Sparrows?

Well that’s all I have, maybe I’m right about some of it, maybe I’m all wrong, just need to wait until season three to find out.

#the umbrella academy #tua #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #marcus hargreeves #fei hargreeves #alphonso hargreeves #sloane hargreeves #jayme hargreeves #christopher hargreeves #christopher the cube #reginald hargreeves #the sparrow academy

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rjpen · 4 years

Video

youtube

My father came to me in a dream in New York City one day.

I was walking down a busy street at the time, so it was something of an inconvenience; but I hadn’t seen him in years, so I kept calm and carried on. I kept the rhythm of my steps, and I continued to avoid the fast moving obstacles of people and traffic. I began to hum to myself. It’s a thing I do to manage stress, or distress - which is an odd thing to identify upon re-uniting with your own dad, but it was present none the less - we hadn’t seen each other in over 15 years, and this was a waking dream after all.

I hum to myself in the dentist’s chair when they get the drill out. Or anything else that buzzes menacingly, but they told me they don’t mind, and I think they and the assistants are quite amused by it. It beats screams.

Though he did not buzz menacingly, I hummed to my father, there on 2nd Avenue, and he hummed back. He kind of resonated. Words rang out with great eloquence, but the consonants never formed. The words simply vibrated, and I tried to find harmony with them. Sometimes perfect 5ths, sometimes clashing 7ths and 4ths - sometimes in a uniform lockstep beat, in time with my heart or the steady pulse of unrelenting Empire State footsteps - ever forward and constant; other times in challenging cross rhythms and alternate timings that teeter on the brink of chaos, the very edge of loosing all apparent form before suddenly completing their cycle and resolving again into a perfect fractal image.

In this way, we talked.

I couldn’t tell you exactly what he said, and I wouldn’t, it was a private conversation after all - but he left me with a song.

****

Soon after, a close friend, Jack Brown, had just gotten married, and text me a series of tender chords he’d strummed out on his honeymoon (he apologized for his playing in the voice note, explaining that he was unaccustomed to the ring on his finger, and it was making him stumble over the frets. I thought that was just about the most adorable thing I’d ever heard.) He wondered if I could do something unexpected with them.

I kept humming around the streets of New York.

******

A month before the death of George Floyd, I was in London and I reached out to an old colleague, Lanre Malaolu suggesting we finally got round to connecting in the way we’d put off for years and collaborate while I was grounded on a rare trip back in the UK. I had just finished this complicated sort of anthemic lullaby about love, legacy, loss - and how men particularly, deal with such vulnerabilities - with my brother (together we go by the musical pseudonym ‘TUNYA’). Lanre’s recent work exploring tenderness within Black masculinity seemed a perfect, unexpected, and exciting match to explore the themes of the music visually.

By the time of filming in August, the world had been brought to a screaming halt by the rawest, largest, and most powerful display of Black community, pain and activism since the Civil Rights movement of the 60s. A palpable sense of communal grief had dominated every conversation, on a global scale, magnified and brought to boil by the losses and fear of a world brought to its knees by COVID-19. John Lewis had died. Colston was dumped in the sea, and confederate monuments were armed battle grounds - defended by white militias and conquered by Black ballerinas. Chadwick Boseman died. I missed my dad. A world full of uncertainty lacked leadership and compassion, and each new week brought new, unresolvable heartbreak. The core team involved in the film had been privately trying to learn how to be grieving, vulnerable, Black and publicly on display for months, and the piece grew to reflect that. The responsibility as artists to share what light and answers we’d found and contribute that back into a community fractured and isolated by social distance, thrust not only a sense of purpose on the project, but a guiding momentum. It could now only be this.

Joshua Nash is an extraordinarily sensitive performer, and his unique blend of abrasive power and overwhelming vulnerability guides the piece through a physical embodiment of his own personal journey through a universal grief. The battle for control and suppression, the desire to tidy away a past too painful to confront, and the ultimate realisation that the only escape from the trappings of an eternal fight - is to allow oneself to feel it. To accept the pain of past battles, honour it, and through that knowledge, gain the peace necessary to thrive and progress beyond it.

To a world seemingly divided into two camps, both struggling to address a painful history, a cancerous personal and public legacy, I hope the piece’s foreword (unpublished in the end, written late one night between rehearsals, trying to pin down our direction) offers a guiding light toward its redemptive resolution:

“Those who fell before you fought,

For you

Not to be bound in mourning

But to free your life’s celebration”

In the end, like them all, Don’t Wait is simply a love song. It is about finding the path through life’s necessary, good trouble, to life’s intrinsic celebration.

More love, always

Watch the video here

(Photographs by Helen Murray)

————

DON’T WAIT

Sweet, sweet sun

Shine!

I couldn’t wait

Darling

To hold you in these arms

I couldn’t wait

Darling

To keep you

Quite as warm,

Warm as I would have liked

But I’ll soft speak

On the wind

And I

Won’t let you fall apart

If you hold me

Inside

Sweet sweet sun

Please

Shine

The first time I met you

I felt that I could fall into the sun

And still feel the light

Of your eyes

To guide me home

The first time.

The first time I met you

I felt like my life had just begun

Born again,

A better man, a better man

For you

And I’ll be around

On the wind

And I’ll guide you through the night

If you

You call me out

I will hold your hand

I never meant for you to

Stumble

and fall

Without me

Oh, there’s a song in you

All that I never taught

I never thought

I’d have to

I wish I could

More than anything

I want to hear

Oh,

What a song you are

And don’t sing

Like you let me down

You couldn’t

Let me down

And don’t feel

Like you let me down

You could never

Let me down

Don’t ever feel

Like a fool

In those blessed moments

When you fall into the truth

Sweet sweet sun

Of mine

Shine.

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imaginesandinserts · 3 years

Text

Irreverent Pt. 60 - Epilogue

Title: Irreverent Pt. 60 - Epilogue

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader Rating: M Words: ~2K

Status: Complete

A/N: That’s all folks. Chapters 59 and 60 coming out together today.

For J - For being the reason I finish this.

Irreverent Series Masterlist

Aaron's been seated in his new office for the past hour, going over the new certification and training requirements for the BAU with Dave. Technically, it should've been Prentiss he was meeting with, but she'd happily passed along that piece of her new responsibilities, stating that the grouchy old men would do a much better job at it than she ever could.

From across the way, he can see through the glass walls into his old office which Prentiss now occupies. Both Garcia and JJ are sat across from her, no doubt convening there before they all fly out for your bachelorette party. It was a bit unbelievable to think he was only a week away from officially marrying you.

That is, if you survived this weekend, as you'd commented apprehensively earlier that morning. You've been terrified about what Emily had planned, especially given how his bachelor party had gone a few weeks prior. Dave had lured him away with the promise of good steaks and cigars, and then ambushed him with private dancers. He'd even gone out of his way to find one that held an uncanny resemblance to you. John had been sure to give that one a wide berth, making a beeline for the other corner of the room and staunchly avoiding any sort of eye contact with Aaron, much to his amusement. The night had culminated in a panicked text from Aaron to you, begging to be rescued. You'd arrived – his knight in shining armor – and taken him, a terrified Reid who'd been on the phone texting his girlfriend half the night, and a reluctant John who had finally relaxed enough to enjoy the company of the other dancer when you'd arrived and fixed him with an unamused regard that had the poor guy following the rest of you out with quick goodbyes to Dave and Morgan.

"You talk to Morgan recently?" Dave asks idly, sifting through the files in search of the old requirements documentation.

"Yes, he seems to be liking the transition to the academy," Aaron remarks, flipping through the file in front of him in search of the same. "We grabbed lunch last week when I did the Profiling and Prosecution seminar."

Dave smiles with a contemplative nod, and Aaron can only imagine what was going through his friend's head. Things were changing around them slowly – you'd left the team and had built your own, Prentiss was running the BAU, Morgan had retired to spend more time with his wife and soon to arrive son. Aaron himself had taken on the mantle of Section Chief, a role to which he was taking to far better than previously anticipated. Though, he supposed it helped that this time, he was only doing the Section Chief job and not also running the BAU.

It had been the right decision – for him, for you, for Jack. Both of you were home for dinner more nights than not. The three of you had settled into a routine that felt comfortable, and while he missed being directly in the field, he could see the change in him, his body. At his last doctor's visit, Dr. Robbins had commented that his stress levels appeared to be lowered and having a job that wasn't quite so hard on his body was a great help in that.

John was over every few weekends, very much a part of that routine you'd created, and the three of you had flown to New York a handful of times as well, taking Jack to a Yankees game (which he enjoyed thoroughly) and taking him on the subway (which he didn't care for). Dave had asked him half a dozen times, how he felt about John's presence in your lives. Aaron was incredibly alright with it – he hadn't been the only one who thought he'd lost you.

If he was being truly honest with himself, he was far more comfortable with John than he'd ever allowed himself to be around anyone that wasn't you or Haley. He's had time to think about it, about why that was the case. He figures it's because John is possibly the only other person in the world who understands the importance of you, the impact of you. For Aaron, in many ways, John also felt like an extension of you. The same biting humor, the forced humbleness – the way neither one of you could see anything wrong with spoiling Jack entirely.

Aaron could still easily recall the day he'd made an offhand remark about him not wanting Jack to grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. John had grown quiet, eyes fixed towards where you were finishing making lunch. Jack was sat on the countertop, mixing together a bowl of cookie dough for you, to be baked for after lunch. Aaron had followed his gaze, his heart warming gently at the sight. It was so familiar, Jack always loved helping you in the kitchen. Aaron's mouth involuntarily turns into a smile as you laugh at something Jack had said, your head falling back easily, the musical notes of your laughter making the room feel brighter.

When John had turned back, he had a far away look in his eyes. "You're right," he'd said, clearing his throat, his voice a little heavier than before. "At the end of the day you want to be sure of only one thing – that he feels immensely loved. Because kids who aren't fed love by a silver spoon, they tend to lick it off of knives."

Aaron knew, without being told, that John was referring to Julian. He found himself incredibly grateful that his son got to be fed by you, wielding a platinum spoon. With John in your lives, that love in Jack's life only increased.

*------------*

You stood at the door of Aaron's office, having walked down from your own, on the way to Emily's so that you and the girls could fly off to a weekend of controlled (hopefully) fun. Who were you kidding? Emily Prentiss was in charge of your bachelorette party. You'd be lucky if you made it back in time to meet Aaron at the altar.

It takes a few seconds for them to notice your presence. A few seconds during which you get to admire the late afternoon sun hitting Aaron's frame just right, the golden hues turning his hair a lighter brown – it made him seem younger than his age, and the white flecks (which he blamed almost entirely on you and your disappearance) would suggest. The pronounced furrowed brow that seemed to be a permanent fixture for him while he was in the office, the warm eyes turned seriously down towards the papers in front of him, the pink lips that had spent a fair amount of time between your legs the night prior, causing you to shatter around him. That had resulted in John making a few crude remarks at breakfast that morning, which thankfully flew over Jack's head. Your son was far too excited to have an entire weekend with just his dad and favorite Uncle for a "Boys Only Weekend" to make up for you missing his soccer game on Saturday.

Aaron shifts, noticing your presence, head tilting up and eyes meeting your own. At the sight of you, they imbue warmth and familiarity, sparkling against the reflected sunlight. You're struck for a moment. Your husband-to-be was remarkably beautiful.

"Hey, how's it going?" You smile at both Aaron and Dave, entering quickly to meet Aaron on his side of the desk. Both of them turn to look at you.

"You still have no idea where Emily is taking you?" Rossi's face betrays his glee at your misfortune. He's been cross with you ever since you kidnapped Aaron from his own bachelor party. In your defense, the man had practically begged you to.

"No, she won't tell me." You sigh, your voice coming out almost in a whine.

Rossi's lip twitches, though he does a good enough job at not laughing outright.

You perched on the arm of Aaron's chair, placing a quick kiss to his cheek. "Harvey sent these over," you tell him, placing the envelope you had been carrying on his desk, your hand returning to play with the ring on your finger around as you were prone to do nowadays. "Would you please sign them and make sure they get to his office before Monday? He wants them finalized before the wedding."

Aaron nods, noting how your delicate fingers caress the stone of the ring that's sat on your hand and made him – quite literally – the luckiest man alive.

He's been expecting some paperwork coming his way in light of your upcoming ceremony. He'd lightly brought up the idea of a pre-nuptial agreement with you early on – for your sake – and had been laughed out of the room. You did however, feel it necessary to make him aware of exactly what assets he'd have access to, and thus your lawyer had been busy creating a summary for him to look over and acknowledge. Apparently, it had taken a full staff to do the entire work up, over the course of a month. If the thud the envelope had made when you'd set on his desk was any indication, he was in for a long night of reading.

"Alright, I should go." You heave off of his chair and the two of you look at each other and then Rossi, who takes a hint and looks away, leaving you to bend down and capture his lips against yours. You feel his arm winding around your waist and tightening into your side briefly, before you withdraw, your tongue peaking out to lick your lips. Aaron looks just barely flushed as Rossi turns back, his lips twitching in amusement as you fix yourself and take your leave.

*------------*

The door closes behind you, Aaron's eyes following your walk across the floor towards Emily's office.

"Is that what I think it is?" Dave asks, drawing his attention back to the envelope you'd dropped off for him. There's something oddly familiar about this – the two of them in his office, an envelope related to you dropped off at his desk. Though this time, under far less confusing and much happier conditions.

Aaron nods, doing his best to hide the smile threatening to break through at his friend's curiosity. Ever since New York, Dave had been very interested in learning exactly how much richer than him you were.

Reaching for the envelope, Aaron opens it up and withdraws the large stack of papers, and flips to the first page. Disclosure of Assets – the name of the document hardly did justice to the summary that followed. Properties across the U.S., Europe, South America, and the Caymans. A plethora of divided up Swiss bank accounts, each with a balance more staggering than the last. A stock portfolio rivaling Buffets. The number at the bottom of the page takes his breath away entirely.

Aaron turns once more to look towards his old office – he can see you gathered there with the rest of the girls, laughing about something. Given the piece of paper in his hand, he has to hand it to you in that moment. You lived far below your means. To think that someone your age had access to that kind of money – that kind of freedom – and still chose to do what you did. He didn't think there were many others who would.

Before Aaron can react, Dave has reached across the table and yanked the piece of paper right out of his hands.

The noise of complete shock that leaves his friend's body was not one that Aaron was likely to forget anytime soon. He watches as Dave reads the same summary he just had, his eyebrows moving further and further into his hairline as he goes down the page.

When he finally looks back at Aaron it's with a look that couldn't quite be described – surprise, awe, a hint of envy. Aaron can viscerally see the same thought he had moments ago regarding you and your work at the Bureau flit through Dave's head as he too turns to assess you across the floor.

Quietly, he hands the documents back to Aaron. Shifting in his chair, Dave clears his throat. "You do know that you're going to be picking up the tab every time now, right?"

Aaron chuckles, nodding. He'd assumed as much.

He turns back to you, only to catch you looking towards him as well through the glass walls. Your mouth turns up into a smile as your eyes meet his. Eyes like the sunrise colliding with his, causing his stomach to flip in that torturously delicious manner that only you seem to invoke. Eyes that meet his and stay. Eyes that have followed him, mirrored his, since the moment the two of you met. Eyes that betrayed you both when you looked at one another, the sheer intensity of the emotion behind them giving you away entirely. It didn't matter what distance, what time, what circumstance separated you from one another – somehow his eyes knew to always find their companion in yours.

Aaron might have fallen first, but he is forever grateful that you'd followed.

#irreverentseries #aaron hotchner #criminal minds #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x you #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds reader insert #hotch x you #hotch x reader

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what-breaks-my-heart · 3 years

Text

Here are some brief thoughts on kdrama that started airing in 2020 that I've watched. I said brief, but those who have been following me would appreciate that this is indeed, brief.

The list is in alphabetical order.

1. 365: Repeat the Year (MBC)

Disclosure: I am a HUGE Lee Joon Hyuk stan. He is second only to Hyun Bin on my list. The fact that this drama is on the top of this list is a happy coincidence 🥰🥰

I was soooooooo excited when I knew Lee Joon Hyuk was to star in a new drama. MBC made the announcement of the drama late last year, and I was literally walking to the office when I saw the announcement on ig.

The premise of the drama was pretty straightforward. 10 people were given the chance to travel back in time exactly one year prior. Mysterious things kept happening to the people who took the trip, so our Detective Ji “Fluffy-Hair” Hyung Joo and webtoon writer Shin “Self-Hater” Ga Hyun joined hands to figure out what exactly happened.

Once they finally figured out what caused the mysterious cases, they faced a great dilemma on what to do, with our Fluffy Hair detective running as a fugitive.

The ending was really sad, and I really wished it ended differently, but the main character of the story was our Fluffy Hair detective, and him having to live on and reset the whole thing from the new past was a nice touch to the ending.

This drama was full of surprises, twist and turn, and it is certainly a drama I would consider rewatching in the future.

2. Do You Like Brahms? (SBS)

Many people criticised the second half of this drama. Apparently the year 2020 is the year when kdramaland keeps being a disappointment, and many people are quick to include this drama in the list of disappointing drama, despite having a good beginning.

I beg to differ though. To me this drama feels more of a healing drama, wherein the characters are forced to deal with their issues. And anyone who has had to go through any form of therapy knows how hard healing process is.

TL;DR: The main leads are both people who have been mentally abused by the people around them, except for Cha Young In, because she was the only reason I did not throw my remote control at my 50-inch TV.

Park Joon Young is your classic example of a ‘gifted kid’ struggle. He was seen as a young, talented pianist who had a bright future ahead of him. But people started to treat him more like a trophy than a human being, so he decided to take a sabbatical, much to the criticism of people in the music industry. Park Joon Young realised that his passion in playing the piano has faded away, no thanks to his abusive piano professor who belittled him again and again, and practically brainwashed him into being a people pleaser. You could see how Park Joon Young was not himself in the beginning of the drama once you finish the drama.

Chae Song Ah took interest in violin at a later age (much later than professional musicians) and decided to pursue her dream by enrolling into a music programme. Her classmates were all younger than her, and it didn’t help that they all learnt music since much younger. I love how Song Ah did not give up on her dream easily and gave it her all, before she finally decided to let go of her dream to become a musician. The metaphor of her love for violin and Joon Young hurting her again and again and she just endured it though.. I cried like a mess well I am a mess but that’s a separate issue

Special shout out to Cha Young In who was there for both of them.

3. Flower of Evil (tvN)

If thriller is your thing, consider this drama. If you are one of those people who like to see your characters being tortured (physically and mentally), this drama is a MUST WATCH. And if you enjoy watching Lee Joon Ki playing a character who is put at a great distress because he is trying to run from his past, go watch this drama.

More importantly, if you enjoy a drama where your ML is sexy, attends to house chores and takes care of his bright young daughter while his wife goes crazy for solving violent crimes, a devoted husband who is attentive and a tender person but also a freak in the sheets, you are wasting every single of your breath not watching this drama.

I mean look at this man teasing his wife about his stamina.

Flower of Evil did not feel draggy at all. Everything that happened within the first 6 episodes could have been an entire drama if this was written by someone else. Seriously, this drama kept me at the edge of my couch!

The dynamic of HS and JW screams POWER COUPLE but at the same time it broke my heart how they were pushed into corners too many times by the people around them I do hope they had some sexy times while they were in the corners though

The focus on their wedding rings throughout the drama symbolised their unbreakable bond. The wedding rings were literally the very last thing that kept them together when JW stumbled upon evidences that pointed against HS.

JW, whose compass was only trusting what she saw, and not what she heard, tried to break the stigma of women being at a disadvantage in the police force. Heck, she was better than her entire team when it came to solving cases, her being the only woman in the team. Who said women cannot make good cops?

The plot twist though.. And the climax.. To this day, I still listen to this soundtrack from the drama and cry just thinking of the climax.

4. Into the Ring (also known as Memorials) (KBS2)

I didn’t even plan on watching this drama. I was channel surfing and saw Park Sung Hoon looking all depressed in the first episode and ran into Koo Se Ra. Girl was UNHINGED and determined to fight for her way.

Her motivation was initially on getting a stable pay check from being a district representative (it was only 60 million won which is like USD55k so it’s not that much) but she eventually became the district representative who fought for the benefit of the people and did not care for the political warfare that took place.

Came along Seo Gong Myung, a government officer in the local government office who was demoted from planning unit of the accounting department or something to be a secretariat to the district assembly. Seo Gong Myung sticks to his principle no matter what, which surprise surprise, is HATED by everyone in the district government.

Turns out our main leads were friends when they were kids so Se Ra kept teasing him and dragging him into her scheme of fighting for the people, which Gong Myung agreed to, not so much because he was a community-loving person, but because he was afraid Se Ra would get into trouble since she was as straight as a ruler.

Long story short, our leads fell for each other, and their relationship was HILAIROUS to watch. I think I speak for everyone who watched the drama that we had no reason to believe Se Ra did not peg Gong Myung for fun 😝😝

They were so cute together awwww

5. Kairos (MBC)

This is another drama that I stumbled into. Only this time, I saw Nam Gyu Ri and I remember seeing her ig post on a new drama so I decided to give it a go. She wrecked my heart in 49 Days so I decided to check this out for funsies. Hooo boy was I in for a major surprise.

The first two episodes got me hooketh!! I still cannot believe how the drama managed to keep me on my edge especially during the last 5 minutes of every episode. The pacing is even faster than Flower of Evil, and since this drama went back and forth between past and future, it keeps me guessing whether their efforts would bear fruit.

Will Kim “Sexy Brain” Seo Jin and Han “I-Know-No-Fear” Ae Ri succeed in fighting the evil, who at this point in time remains unknown? I know Chairman Yoo Seo Il is currently being hinted as the culprit behind everything but I know better that he is just a puppet who sold his soul to the real devil who most likely is in the higher ranks in politics. I mean he even hinted at his remorse for what happened with Taejung Town 19 years prior. My suspicion is he is trying to cover up whatever happened because otherwise his own family would be at risk, so his only option is to redeem himself by doing something about the Taejung Town. I could be wrong, but regardless of who turns out to be the real villain in the story, I can say I am so satisfied by how the story has progressed so far.

The time paradox still hurts my brain, but I am choosing that this drama does not assume that time is linear.

There is still not enough people watching this drama and I’m begging you all to go and catch up before it ends in two weeks time.

6. More than Friends (JTBC)

A little trivia: I reblog most of the posts from @kdramastuff even if I am not watching the show at the point of reblogging the posts. I had been following her posts on this drama for 3 weeks, and I finally decided to marathon all 6 episodes and joined the watching party.

More than Friends was another drama that many people called a disappointment but I had a different opinion on it. Yes, I used to be the nerd who had different opinions on many things in high school sue me

The drama is premised on Kyung Woo Yeon who is said to have a crush on her high school friend, Lee Soo for 10 years. Lee Soo is nowhere near to be the perfect boyfriend material. He is selfish, does not care about other people’s feelings, and was always a lone ranger.

BUUUUUUT, Lee Soo seemed to show signs of care and affection (even though it was not at all for a normal person’s standard) for Woo Yeon. Surprisingly, he seemed to only do it for Woo Yeon and gave attention to Woo Yeon alone, even though he could practically pick and choose anyone he liked from the swarm of girls who were chasing him.

One day, he told Woo Yeon that he had to leave to the US to study, which made our girl sad. She decided to confess at the airport, but he outright turned her down, saying he only wanted to be friends with her. Over the time, they kept running into each other by coincidence (note: her name Woo Yeon is a wordplay on coincidence in Korean). Later, it was revealed that he wanted her to always be by his side, but he has built a wall as tall as the Great Wall of China before the idea of love so he didn’t realise what his true feeling for Woo Yeon was all along.

Woo Yeon, who felt sick of the ten-year crush, decided to end the “curse” and kissed him by the beach, thinking of getting a closure on her crush.

Long story short, Lee Soo finally realised his feeling for her and decided to confess, but by that time, a young, handsome, rich CEO of a conglomerate has entered into the picture. Cue the game of cat and mouse between Lee Soo and Woo Yeon about resentment, regret and relationship.

This drama was promoted as a romcom, but it feels more like a slice-of-life drama with a mix of melo and romcom in there. Seriously, I cried buckets watching this drama, not something you’d expect from a romcom. The dialogues were well-written, with each episode revolving around a specific theme. This was such a good drama coming from a rookie writer.

This drama did not have that many viewers to begin with, and many of those few people dropped it along the way, including the one who was responsible in getting me hooked into this drama :p By the end of it, there were so few people talking about this drama in the tag (shout out to @dohyunsoo @have-yet-to-decide @starfire-s @thbn-anything for keeping me company to the very end of this drama)

This drama broke my record of screenshots per episode and total screenshots for any show. Until now, I have yet to finish posting them. I should probably upload more screenshots later tonight.

This drama had some AMAZING shots in the first half, with beautiful sceneries mostly in Seoul. It’s like what they said, “a daily occurrence for you, a trip for me”.

7. Oh My Baby (tvN)

I did not even remember watching this drama!! It was only after scrolling through my gallery that I saw I had shared some posts on my ig story about the drama.

It was in the middle of a lockdown when this drama aired and many of my memories from back then feel so distant to me.

The plot was not THAT good, but this drama is something you may consider if you like torturing yourself about the struggle of wanting to have a baby.

8. Once Again (KBS2)

Arguably one of the weekend family drama KBS2 in a while that kept me waiting for new episodes in front of my TV. Some people are turned off by weekend family drama because they tend to have slow pacing which makes viewers feel like they are being dragged to one of those boring corporate events that you would rather miss and wish you could be literally anywhere else.

Because this drama had more pairing than the typical weekend family drama, the story did take some time before it was on full momentum. It did feel like the drama could have been better with even one less sibling to worry about, but it was a fun watch in the middle of lockdown.

Will I watch it again? I’d rather rewatch House of Bluebird (starring Lee Joon Hyuk and Lee Sang Yeob as friends to enemies to friends again) because that drama spoke to me in a way that was more relatable. No hate to Once Again though. I just prefer House of Bluebird better.

Note: Justice for Song Ga Hee and her lovely son, Kim Ji Hoon. He had to grow up so much because of what happened to his mother, that it broke Ga Hee’s heart. And mine of course

9. Secret Forest 2 (tvN)

I watched Secret Forest once it has finished and I fell in love with the drama! Imagine my excitement when they announced Secret Forest 2 with my three main characters reprising their roles. No hate to Yoon Se Ah, I love her, but her screen time in Secret Forest was not enough to make me excited about her return. But I was pleased with her role in Secret Forest 2 and I hope if there is a third season, her character gets the redemption arc that she yearns for.

Secret Forest 2 was not as intense as the brilliant original, but I understood that it had to do with the overall theme of the season, and the theme required the script to be as such. Some people may argue me on this, but I still think what they pulled off was brilliant.

Too bad there was a severe lack of Lee Joon Hyuk on my screen though.

10. Tale of the Nine-Tailed (tvN)

Well. This drama went far beyond my expectation. The OTP was to die for. No such thing as miscommunication trope. This drama did not waste time on unnecessary drama. The pacing was incredibly fast, even faster than Kairos. Although to be fair, Kairos had to play with two different timelines and required time to establish the setting.

I’m sad about what happened to Lee Rang, but he did what he did, and he would never be able to erase that much pain from his memory even if the deities decided to be lenient on him because of his roles in killing off Imoogi. A fresh start as a human seemed like a fair reset to his life, and I hope he lives well, surrounded by people who love him.

I was never a fan of Jo Bo Ah (no hate on her, I was just indifferent) but this drama opened my eyes to what an incredible actress she is. I wish her a successful career ahead.

#365 repeat the year #365: repeat the year #do you like brahms #do you like brahms?#flower of evil #into the ring #kbs memorials #mbc kairos #more than friends #oh my baby #kbs once again #secret forest 2 #tale of the nine tailed #kdrama #kdrama review #kdrama opinion #personal #annual drama recap

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imnotwolverine · 4 years

Text

The marriage pact - Wavelength

Henry Cavill x OC Alice - multi-chapter

< Part 1 | Part 2 Wavelength | Part 3 >

Disclaimer: none, perhaps some beach wear? If that tickles your fancy.

Author’s note: It’s romcom weekend, okay? 😘

Word count: 1.949

(Link to my Masterlist)

[ Alice.in.writing.land ]

Dear readers.

Sometimes I wonder. Do I know you as you know me? This morning an anonymous caller called in on the radio morning show to let people know that this Durrell paparazzi craze was hurting the island. Trash everywhere. The dogs barking all throughout the night. All and all, lots of grievances.

Now I know, and I think many people with me, who called. Pitchy voice, concerned about dogs and annoyed with island guests? I’m not going to ring up any names, but.. we know her. And not wholly unimportant: we love her for her concerns, albeit that they sometimes are a bit over exaggerated.

Anonymity only goes so far. And I am rather bad at keeping it, aren’t I? You know my name, my hobbies, my frustrations and how much I love my Jersey. An island that is home to a great many colourful people, wonderful souls. I wonder if any of you readers call Jersey your home too.

And if so.

Have I ever met you?

Just a thought, a blurb, a swindle of the mind. I love you all and wish you, as usual, a splendid Saturday.

Ali

Home is where the hearth is, and in my case, where the waves hit the white sanded beach near my parents place. I remember growing up here so well and I praise myself lucky for having lived here for so long, my family and friends always eager to come over and visit.

Many a day and night have been spent here, the beach our witness as great memories were made and lifelong friendships forged.

It was, simply put, a very good beach.

I smiled into the early morning sun, a soft breezing caressing through my brown hair as I brushed past the long dune grasses, making my way to my favourite hide-out near the rocks on the far right end. A truly perfect spot for sun bathing without being sand blasted and the water just right for a swim, the sea quickly reaching swim-worthy depths.

And the best of it was: you had to be a local to know of this place.

It wasn’t particularly easy to reach and thus it was, despite the Durrell craze, desirably quiet in here.

Reaching my destination I slipped out of my simple summer dress, my sticky skin requiring a quick rinse before I would indulge myself in my two favourite hobbies; sun bathing and writing. Which in all honesty would make up most of my Saturday, as my friends were too occupied with their kids’ soccer practise, grocery shopping or any of the other very adult things to do.

I let the cold water wash away any of those concerning thoughts - how much of a non-adult I was for having reached none of that - and swam out further into the bay.

This was me, at 37. Swimming. Alone.

‘HEY! Ali!’

Okay, not quite alone. BegrudginglyI turned around, my eyes squinting in the reflections of the water. I saw a man wave at me. A dog by his side. An akita..a…hold on..

I felt my heart flutter for the splittest of seconds.

Henry? What the hell was he doing here?

With quick and sure strikes I swam back to the shoreline, the clear definition of Henry wearing a blue shirt and some airy linen pants appearing right next to the spot where I had left my clothes. Panting ever so slightly I waded out of the water, not quite sure what to say or do as I walked up to Henry.

Henry gave me a quick look up and down, then swallowed semi-awkwardly, a boyish smile turning up on his lips.

Well, that hadn’t changed.

‘Hi Henners.’ I said, filling in the silence.

‘Hi Ali.’ He smiled, still a bit unsure of what to say or what kind of face to pull. Meanwhile Kal wasn’t half so hesitant, the large akita pulling on his leash to get closer to me.

I chuckled and ruffled the dog behind his ears, then pointed at my clothes that lay behind Henry. ‘Just gonna..fetch a towel if you don’t mind.’

‘Oh yea sure. Sorry.’ Henry stepped aside and Kal looked up at him, almost as if asking his owner why he was being such an awkward dork.

‘So…long time no see.’ I grinned, wiping myself dry with the towel, Henry’s eyes now averted to the sea - perhaps to watch the waves, perhaps to offer me the slightest of privacy. ‘Yes. A whole 23 hours.’ He smiled, blue eyes gazing at the aquamarine water.

‘And now you are in dire need of some down time.’ I stated, stepping in beside him, the towel now wrapped around my body.

‘Kind of..yea.’ He looked to his side, his eyes far more relaxed and at peace than they were yesterday. Yesterday I met Henry the actor. Today it was..just Henry. I smiled and nodded at a picnic rug I had brought along. ‘You can join me if you want. I even brought cake.’

‘Thanks. I’d like that. Though no cake…unfortunately..no cake.’ He folded his lips in disappointment, then quickly turned them back up into a smile.

‘Alright then. I guess you Hollywood stars survive on salads and champagne alone then, huh?’ We both chuckled. ‘Don’t let my team hear that, or I won’t be allowed to drink champagne either.’ He raised an eyebrow in amusement, sitting down on the rug after I folded it out, moving some of my things to the side.

It was weird to say, but it didn’t feel weird at all to sit here with Henry. Sure, he looked different - older, broader and slightly more sorrowful, but the twinkle in his eyes had remained. Henry was still Henry. My bubbly, slightly chunky neighbour Henry with whom I always loved to play and make homework with, was still somewhere deep inside this man.

‘I heard you lived at your parents now, so I decided to pay you a visit. Yesterday was a bit…eh..’ ‘-Weird.’ I interjected, grinning at him. ‘Yea. I honestly didn’t know you still lived here on the islands. I always thought you’d be one of those mainlanders - living the London dream.’

I shook my head, licking my lips and moving my hand through Kal’s thick fur - the dog now also stretched out, right in between me and Henry. ‘Nope. And perhaps I should have. So far my life’s been a bit..’ ‘Weird?’

We both laughed. ‘I was going to say: different than I expected. But weird would do. At least I feel weird. Living with my parents again at 37. I mean..what’s wrong with me?!’

‘May I ask..why? I mean..I hope nobody’s ill or..’

‘Oh no. This is just me failing at finding a life partner that actually wants the same things from..’ I hesitated again, looking up into Henry’s face and seeing bitter recognition. ‘Never mind I shouldn’t unload all that bullshit on you. Hmm…’ I shook my head and looked back at the sea, my voice quiet, but my mind once more racing.

Just a few weeks ago I had broken up with my boyfriend of seven years. Chris. Whom I had thought to be perfect for me. Relaxed, fun, caring. But unfortunately also; not on the same wavelength. And that is, apparently, especially when you really want to have a family, damn important.

‘Perhaps I can lift your spirits with the knowledge that I am not doing much better. On the relationship department, that is.’ Henry sighed into the fresh morning air, the scent of hot sand starting to rise up into our nostrils.

It was going to be hot today.

‘Surely you could lift a finger and the women come swarming.’ I grinned, eyes finally meeting his again. Almond browns looking into deep blues. And once more I saw that slither of shyness cross his features. Or was it uncertainty? Sorrow?

It was clear that Henry wasn’t jumping at the fact that women would come swarming at him.

‘Too bad I don’t like swarming women.’ He smiled.

There, you had seen that right, girl.

‘Well then you do know what you want. That’s quite unique for a man.’ I said, realising a tad too late that such a thing was a bit mean to say. Henry furrowed his brow, then tilted his head. ‘I feel there’s something underlying that statement. Something happened?’ His question was honest and open, no feelings hurt. I sighed. ‘Ugh. Sorry about that. Chris, my ex, just left a bit of a sting that’s all. He didn’t want the things I wanted, after years of hesitating on his end. And you know..”the clock’s ticking”.’

‘Well. Same I guess.’ Henry shrugged, making me snort. ‘You’re a man Henry, you can children way into your 60s!’

‘No! No..Not really. I mean..I don’t think I could have children that late. I want to actually be there for them. Be there when they’ve grown up.’

‘Always so considerate.’ I smiled, then sighed again, seeing him return my smile, his eyes holding a pensive glint. That was, until he shook his head, laughing at his own thoughts.

‘What?’ I asked, chewing the inside of my lip.

‘Nothing.’

‘Mmmm..You’re an awful liar Cavill. The lot of you actually. Only your mother could ever keep a straight face.’ We both laughed. ‘Might have to take up some acting classes then.’ He winked.

I rolled my eyes, then continued: ‘Remember when you and Charlie had baked that terribly dry cake? UGH. And then you put so much icing on top it was like the titanic all over.’

‘ALI!’ He exclaimed, embarrassed at the memory of presenting this cake for a local baking contest - which of course went miserably.

I chuckled. ‘What?!’ I smiled with playful innocence.

‘Well I practised in the mean time, just so you know.’

‘Good for you.’ I laughed, earning myself another one of his discerning looks, which made me laugh even harder, louder, snorting as his face melted into one of full-on exasperation.

‘You!’ Henry growled, his long arm reaching out for me and pulling me effortlessly into his chest, making Kal quickly get up and move out of the way - the dog could feel this was not a good place to be right now.

I squirmed, wiggling in his arm, trying to get away from him before he could launch some tickles in my sides. Like the old days. Though now it was so very different. We were grown ups now. Grown ups didn’t do this, right?

‘Hen Hen! Hen! What if people see us? What if..’ My breath was short, chuckles still escaping my lips as he stopped his assault, his arm remaining locked around me, refraining me from going anywhere else. ‘Like I care.’ He laughed. ‘We’re old friends. Heavens. We were toddlers together. Besides, we still have that pact, remember?’

I looked at him incredulously, then blinked, a blush creeping over my cheeks. ‘The.. pact.’ I mumbled, licking my terse lips, quickly looking back out over the water, not wishing to look into his eyes now he suddenly was so very close. Now his musky scent reached my eager nose.

He smelled so good.

‘And we’re way past 35 Ali.’

‘I know. We’re getting old Henners.’ I sighed, the last of my chuckles melting on my lips, my head quite naturally leaning into his shoulder.

And he felt nice too.

Ugh, it was nice to touch a man again. To be around Henry again. The sweet, chubby boy had turned into a gentle hearted hottie. It left me wondering how it came to be that a man like him hadn’t found a good woman yet.

‘You’re thinking very loudly Ali.’

‘Mmm..then indulge me. What am I thinking about?’

Henry chuckled. ‘Me.’

General tagsquad: @harrysthiccthighss @tumblnewby @magdelen69 @thereisa8ella @mary-ann84

Fluff lovers squad: @star017 @perhaps2remember @pterodactylterrace @witchersqueen @desperate-and-broken @toomanyfandomsshreya @deliciouslysassyarcade @pamacs-macs @cavilladdict @scorpionchild81 @lebguardians @sofiebstar @amberbabem @mis-lil-red @aestheticqueenb

Want to be added or removed to the tag list? Shoot me a message!

#henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill fluff #henry cavill x oc #fluff #henry bear #kal #wavelength #the marriage pact #jersey island #beach #romcom

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squidproquoclarice · 3 years

Note

Hey Squid 👋🏻 Regarding your Sunrise AMA, what is one of your favourite moments from the story, or favourite thing about Sunrise in general? Was their a line or paragraph that stands out to you as one were you were like yes, this is good and just flowed easiest? Did you have any things that you knew straight away that you needed or wanted to write about? Also I was wondering what inspired you to have them join the Circus? And what do you think their kids jobs would be when they grow up? (I probably have a dozen more but I will just leave it at that for now 😊 ty!)

Heya! Let’s see. Since we’ve got multiple questions, I think I’ll leave the favorite moment(s) question for someone else to ask. Favorite thing about Sunrise: I started it a few days after finishing the game. From the savefiles and my chapter 1 posting date, it was only four days. Obviously Arthur touched something emotional within me, like he did for a lot of people, and seeing Sadie so cold, alone, and fatalistic in the Epilogue hurt too. I wanted to see if I tried to write what could have happened after that fight on the ridge where it might lead. So I guess my favorite thing about Sunrise is that it debunked the assumption that Arthur had to die for the story to work or matter. I wrote a journey for him and for Sadie that a lot of people connected to and told me that meant a lot to them to see them thrive and heal. Characters don’t need a tragic ending to be deeply meaningful. Characters don’t have to die for redemption. It’s not somehow more artistically pure or daring to kill someone off. I didn’t break RDR1 by writing Sunrise, and I made the plot beats of the RDR2 Epilogue work. So Arthur’s death also frankly wasn’t necessary for plot integrity towards the events of 1907 and 1911. A line or paragraph that I really enjoyed writing: I’ll go with one early on, from chapter 6, “Death Is A Woman”, that actually gave the chapter its title. He managed a low, dark chuckle at that, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees. His lungs gave a bit of a grouchy hitch at it. “Newsmen are a different breed of confidence men and liars, that’s all. Anyway, I’m sure Death’s got to be a woman, Sister, cause it seems even she won’t have me.” That one made me feel like I really finally nailed Arthur and his character and state of mind in the weeks right after he’s had his entire life and identity knocked out from under him. But of course he has to couch it in a self-deprecating quip. Also kind of a funny line in retrospect because I hadn’t planned anything with Death/The Strange Man cropping up in the story at this point, but apparently Arthur’s wrong and Death is not a woman in RDRverse. ;) Things I immediately needed or wanted to write about: Giving Sadie a voice and POV to show what was going on in her head. Beyond that, giving both of them the respect of acknowledging their PTSD, but doing my best to let show what trauma recovery really looks like, and showing that it’s possible. I didn’t want to either shrug it off as inconvenient to a happy ending, or else treat them like permanently broken things. I wanted it to be a journey. When it came to Arthur’s TB, I also wanted to write something realistic and accurate to the period in terms of his recovery rather than just sort of handwaving it. Historical medicine’s an interest of mine, so this was a good chance to explore some of that. Joining the circus: This is one of the rarer instances where the tail sort of wagged the dog and I had to make something fit to an immovable future plan. I had them in 1904 having claimed a homestead up in Canada that needed to be settled and improved within three years. And I knew for 1907 Team Griffith needed to be in the five-state area of the RDR2 map in order to be involved in the Epilogue. I could have had them go back to Chuparosa and continue eking out a living, and debated pushing them back on the bounty hunter path to put them being sometimes in those American states that would let them cross paths with the Marstons somehow. Didn’t really like it. Given how averse they were to bounty hunting together with two very young children at home, how Sadie absolutely wasn’t going to be the little wife sitting at home and letting Arthur go alone into danger as an alternative, and how much they both liked the idea that they no longer needed to live that sort of life, it felt like I needed something else. And it needed to be something that they could walk away with no offense taken from in three years. In retrospect, I could have had them hire on at MacFarlane’s full time rather than seasonal and developed that bond even more, but I ended up coming up with a circus that folds in 1907 as a good alternative. Given they’re ace riders and crack shots and pretty fair actors, that Arthur was very used to a nomadic lifestyle, that circus folk are great actors and can deal some mild well-meaning trickery as part of the delight, that they were fairly egalitarian for the time, and that traveling circus folk sort of existed as a quasi-disreputable and tightly knit “outsider” group, it felt like a neat chance to mirror the gang, but in a positive way. So with the circus, I got to write Sadie and Arthur getting to live the best version of that kind of life, and sort of coming to peace with more of the past by it. Proving the things they missed about the gang weren’t the robberies or Dutch’s antisocial philosophy, but the people they loved and the freewheeling lifestyle. Also proving that while they enjoy that life, they do both really want to have something more settled and put down solid roots. Sadie misses that, and Arthur yearns for it as something he’s never had. Also noting I hadn’t planned at all on Arkady Rudenko when I wrote Sadie and Arthur performing as the “Cossack Karolovs”, and I only realized that connection after I’d written the final chapter. Guess my unconscious brain knew more than I thought even back then, though I’d only earmarked a few months before that final chapter trying to possibly work in the interesting fact of Ukrainians being a very prevalent immigrant group to the Canadian prairie provinces at the time. But yeah, as an actual Cossack kid, Archie’s probably going to laugh his ass off. Kid’s jobs: So I actually have a short scrapped bit that I didn’t include as an extra document at the end of chapter 88, though I debated it. I like the piece, but I wanted to leave it with Sadie and Arthur’s journal entries and the circle of things being sort of complete. It’s a preface to a book called “Red Dead Redemption” written by Jack--who’s become a writer of a fairly famous radio play turned TV serial--in the ‘60′s once all the OGs are finally gone and he feels safe to tell that story. It mentions that the illustrations were done by his wife, Bea. So yeah, Bea got Arthur’s artistic talent, and by submitting her work as “B.M. Griffith”, she managed to get some illustration jobs that would have been denied to her as “Beatrice”. Mattie (Matt as he grows older), becomes a doctor. He’s already got the caring heart and desire to heal and help people. He’ll likely end up helping Felipe out as a teenager and learning some of the ropes there before going to college. Susie ended up becoming a teacher. There were definitely still strictures at the time against married women working as teachers, so if/when she got married (and I think if so, she did it later in life) she’d have been expected to retire and effectively become a housewife. But she’d still keep teaching as a tutor. Andy, with his energy and love of horses and the outdoors, actually shows a passion for farming and ranching. So he’s the one who ends up running the day-to-day of Paradise Run as the next generation. Feel free to keep up with the AMA with those further questions! Might be better to send them in individually, though, as this one got pretty long. ;)

#rdr2 #may the sunrise #sunrise ama #writing #fic from the parking lot #foundynnel

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destiny-smasher · 3 years

Text

My personal 2020 GOTYs

1) Hades

This game, dudes. THIS GAME. A fraction of the budget, a fraction of the dev team size, reportedly HEALTHY development schedule and management...and imo it offers at least some of everything I want out of a single player video game. I have poured over 60 hours into this and I see myself putting in some more over time and ALL of the time I have spent has felt rewarding and edifying. Clever design, smart writing, organic voice acting, sharp gameplay, and all done at a fraction of the resources of these big budget, bloated games. You love to see it.

2) Final Fantasy 7 Remake (Part 1?)

I went into this year not caring much about this game at all. FF7 was a game I played as a teen, enjoyed, respected, and moved on from pretty easily. This Remake, so far, has done more than I could’ve expected in terms of actually REMAKING a game. It’s literally a new adaptation, and I as pleasantly surprised at just how hard it went. From realizing the world of Midgar into something so full of detail and plausibility, to reiterating and doubling down on its postmodern anti-corporation themes, to making Barret the character I loved the MOST somehow?? Combining everything I love about real-time RPG action with a tactical strategy element long missing from the genre, reimagining and fleshing out characters and concepts into something deeper and more meaningful...I’ve never considered myself a huge FF7 fan but this game was really something, and I absolutely cannot wait for more (and praying they do my girl Yuffie justice). I’ve been super skeptical of Nomura as a director given...the mess that has become Kingdom Hearts, but as it turns out, when he has others to reign things in, some surprisingly nuanced stuff for an anime game can come out of it. It has its flaws, to be sure, but it’s still the most enjoyable experience I had with a big budget game this year.

3) The Last of Us Part 2

I feel conflicted over this one in particular - I feel Neil is not longer a director I respect the way I did back with the first game. I feel Naughty Dog is falling victim to all of the late capitalist issues plaguing big budget game dev. But I also love this game. It’s much more flawed than the first, but that’s mainly because it’s more ambitious and complicated. It’s THE most flawed game on this game, honestly, but overall as a game I am compelled to respect its writing, its gutsier decisions, its art direction, acting, presentation, etc. It’s an impressive game and the most technically impressive game I played all year if not all generation. Props where they’re due, but at the same time, I think this game was poorly directed and I love it in spite of issues with its production, rather than because of some strong vision. That’s the big Sony bucks, I suppose, matched with a dev team willing and apparently somehow able to fulfil what they want to create. I still get the impression there was a bit of ‘design by committee for a mainstream audience’ kind of shit going on - how could there not with something this big? - and as a result I think the game is a bit bloated. Shave off about 3-5 hours from a few spots and it’d be a more focused game, and maybe I’d feel more edified and satisfied rather than weirdly conflicted. Even so, a huge accomplishment and I hope to see more games tackle premises as ambitious as this down the road.

4) Bug Fables

This game technically launched last year but it debuted on console in 2020, and I didn’t play it until then. This is as close to a follow-up to old school Paper Mario as it gets, while simultaneously doing a lot to forge its own identity and even improve on the formula presented in the previous games. Its rough around the edges but that’s mainly because it’s an independent game, and it’s amazing just how well the dev team was able to reproduce the scope and details of this specific subgenre of RPG, all while continuously implementing new game design elements and multiple features that make it feel more modern in its direction. Fantastic stuff, I’m still not even finished with it because I’ve been taking my sweet time, though I intend to finally finish it this month, and I have to say, it’s quite a special game in my opinion.

5) Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

Absolute banger of a multiplayer game, really love the presentation, the concept, the overall execution, the way the team has been updating the game every month or so in response to feedback and implementing new content. So good to see the battle royale genre FINALLY pushed beyond just...arena shooting. Can’t wait to see where else this game can go over time.

6) Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Somehow this one slipped my mind when I first wrote this up, despite having poured well over 100 hours into it this year. I think part of it is that New Horizons did a lot of things I’ve wanted the series to do for so long, and yet is still far behind in terms of so many other things I wish they would do. Quality of life things prevent me from really re-investing into it, and yet despite that I have to admit it REALLY sucked me in for a solid few weeks and I continued to play off and on for months. It was the perfect game we collectively needed right when it came out and graphically I can’t think of how to really improve on that style. A really relaxing getaway I needed earlier this year, though like with previous AC games, I don’t find myself going back to it as much as I’d think I would.

7) Going Under

A surprise hit for me, this rogue-like swooped in from ‘heh that looks amusing’ to ‘oh wow this is legit just a great game.’ Its weird visuals, funky 3D gameplay, and surprisingly sharp storytelling make for a rogue-like unlike any other and one totally near the top for me.

8) Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Squeezed this in just this past week or so, and this one also satisfied me greatly. I wish we’d see more big budget open-world games like this -- laser focused, not wasting any time, and not being repetitious aside for completionists. So cool to see another team’s take on Miles after how much I fell for Into the Spider-verse, and very glad the team both homages that movie while subverting some expectations fans of the film might have, all while continuing to adapt Insomniac’s take on Spider-Man from a couple years ago.

9) Demon’s Souls (Remake)

As a big fan of FromSoft who never got too far into this one originally, it’s been great to visit it as if it’s a new Souls game with an alternate art style. And a very clean art style it has. This was a good pick to be remastered because many, even FromSoft fans like myself, missed out on it, and it feels unique from its predecessors while still showing a solid foundation they’d go on to build from.

10) Crash Bandicoot 4

An amazingly well done follow-up to the original trilogy, this game GETS what makes old school Crash games good, and it improves upon things in a number of ways, from making Coco the alternate hero, bringing back old faces in new lights, going ham with the visuals both in raw art and unique filters when replaying stages, and giving incentive for completion with so many great costumes. Well done, great old school platforming with modern design sensibilities.

Honorable Mentions:

CrossCode

This also technically launched before 2020 but I didn’t play it until this year, and I don’t think it hit consoles until this year. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect going in, just remembering that I had enjoyed the demo well enough. This game delivers in most ways you could want from an indie game, with an expansive world of sidequests and RPG growth, a flexible combat system that can be nailbiting and engaging, and old-school dungeon designs with lots of environmental and elemental puzzles that really ask a lot of you. All of this capped with a surprisingly great narrative with characters I grew to love, including a much needed protagonist with a unique identity unlike any in games that I’ve played, as well as extra bits of detail and production values invested at JUST the right moments where the story needs it the most. It feels a bit tedious at times and part of me wishes more of the sidequest content involved direct interactions with the named, recurring characters, but it’s still one of the most impressive and well-done indie games I’ve ever played.

Katana ZERO

Razor-sharp game design, this one. It’s a brief but intensely focused experience that feels like the video game equivalent of a slick, experimental indie film. Could do with some more replayablity for those who want it but what’s here is just damn good and I gobbled this game down like a fantastic, hand-cooked meal at an atmospheric dive bar barely anyone knows about.

Necrobarista

Haven’t quite finished it yet but this is definitely one of the best visual novels I’ve ever experienced just due to how hard it goes on presentation and pushing for a more cinematic and thoughtful vibe than any other VN I’ve ever experienced. The characters and writing feel ripped out of an early 2000′s webcomic, for better and for worse, but all the same, it’s some fantastic stuff and it’s so refreshing to see a game set in Australia tackling a well-worn genre by giving it a new spin.

Slay the Spire

Another personal pick since this released in 2019, and I’m not quite sure which consoles it hit or when, but I didn’t get into it until early this year, and was totally hooked. Fantastically addictive, probably the most well-design deck-building rogue-like I’ve seen, certainly one of my favorite deck-building games in general. Apparently I’ve sunk 50 hours into it this year, more than most on this list, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that number spikes up again at some point.

#personal #GOTY #long post

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morepokemonimagines · 4 years

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Starved lanky boy anon here!! From the fluff of please!!

Sure thing! Not even gonna lie, I’m starved for the lanky emo boi too. I just wanna snuggle him! (and do other less wholesome things)

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?: (So many different things this could mean… I’ll probably do more than one scenario for this one.) While I wanna say he does it by singing some cheesy love song he spent weeks or even months on at a show he was unusually insistent that his love interest attend, I’m not sure he’d actually have the confidence for that. If it were done on stage, it would be a spur of the moment thing. He’d be running on pure adrenaline from the crowd’s energy, which boosts his confidence immeasurably, when he sees someone getting too handsy with them while they’re looking SUUUUUPER uncomfortable and trying to get away. He’d see red and stop mid-song to be all “Oi, wanker! Hands off my girl/man!” He’d start to blush the second he realizes what he just said, but the train’s already left the station, so he might as well blow the whistle. He’ll go off on a tirade about how disrespectful they were being to his love interest and that they’ve got another thing coming if they think he’s letting them get away with it. He’d then have the offending person removed from Spikemuth entirely (something he rarely does) while Team Yell keeps anyone else from getting too close to his love interest. He finishes his set while looking directly at them, though he does look away from time to time to give them a chance to slip away if they so choose; he’s happy but nervous when they don’t. After the set is finished, he hops off of the stage rather than walking off to the side like normal and asks his love interest if he can talk to them. He’s takes their hand and pulls them to a more secluded area so they can talk in private; he’s probably a bit more forceful than intended when leading them to said area because he really wants to get it all out before the last of his adrenaline and endorphin high can wear off since he’s kinda banking on it to help him through this. He’d take a deep breath and tell them how much he likes them and why: they’re nice, funny, interesting, easy on the eyes and he just feels more relaxed around them than most others outside of Marnie. He’d then ask them how they feel about him and his feelings about them. If he gets a positive response, he will ask them to be his s/o.

He could also do it in a less abrupt manner, but it would take A LOT longer to happen because the poor guy gets so down on himself all the time that he’d be convinced that his love interest could never actually return his feelings. They would likely have had to have formed some sort of friendship-type bond before this as well. Marnie will have to put her foot down and give him a pep-talk/lecture to get him to stop pining from afar and take the leap already. In this situation, he’d invite them to come hang out at his and Marnie’s place to watch a movie or some show they have a mutual interest in, something that they’ve done dozens of times before so they have no idea that anything is different this time around. Marnie won’t be there, but that’s normal since she’s busy with gym leader duties. At some point, he would either pause the movie or wait for a commercial to ask them if he can talk to them. From there, it goes about the same as the first scenario.

Now, as far as saying “I love you” to them, it would probably be a spur of the moment thing. They’ll do something that just makes his heart feel like it’s going to burst and he’ll think “Arceus, I love you so much….” Yeah, that wasn’t in his head like he thought it was…..

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?: It’s not really something he thought about much before; it just never really crossed his mind. But, after being with his s/o for a while, he’ll find himself thinking about it more and more. Sure, getting the government involved in one’s love life is weird when you really stop to think about it, but having the title of husband instead of boyfriend and them having the title of wife/husband instead of just girlfriend/boyfriend just starts to feel more and more special to him. He’ll talk to his s/o about his feelings on the matter and get their opinion on it. When he feels like his intentions and their feelings are clearly known, he’ll make his move. THIS is where the cheesy love song at the end of his set would come in. He already knows that they love him, and he knows their feelings on the subject of marriage, so he’s confident as hell and is chomping at the bit. Once the song is over, he’d pull them up on stage and pop the question.

Depending on what he knows about them, he may present them with a ring or (as he would prefer) a choker that matches his; the chokers are a family thing, after all, and they would officially be family at that point. If he had gotten them a ring, it would either be a simple band with some sort of phrase that is special to them engraved in it, or a flashier ring with either a round cut or heart cut. The center stone would be his s/o’s favorite stone because it would be more personal and shows that he pays attention to that sort of thing, and because diamonds are a literal scam and everyone knows it (he may allow a few small diamonds to be used as accent stones if it looks better, but that’s for aesthetics and not because the ring is “supposed” to have diamonds in it). If he were to get a ring for himself as a symbol of their union, it would be a simple gold band with a special phrase and/or his s/o’s name engraved in it. While silver would match with his usual style far better, he would want the ring to clash because that would make it stand out more. He’d let his s/o pick what they want for their wedding ring if they choose to have one. Something that would appeal to him would be the idea of wedding ring tattoos instead of traditional rings. They’re more permanent, they’re less cumbersome, and they just fit his style more.

The wedding would mostly be up to his partner’s taste, but he would have a few requirements. 1) Marnie is the flower girl. 2) Obstagoon is the ring bearer if they use physical rings. If they get the tattoo rings, then they’ll just get the tattoos beforehand and kiss the other’s ring tattoo when they would normally exchange rings; Obstagoon will be his best pokeman in this case. 3) Team Yell is invited, but they’ve had the fear of Arceus put in them by him, so they’ll be on their best behavior. 4) No media. This is their night and no one other than the ones they want to have there have any right to be there. 5) He is absolutely going to want to have a say in the music that is played.

Bonus! N icknames - What do they call their s/o?: He sticks almost exclusively with “love” as a nickname, but will give them other endearing nicknames that allude to some funny/embarrassing situation or inside joke over time, but he uses these more sparingly. (Example: my grandma calls my grandpa (both on my dad’s side) “Bunny Butt” because once while camping she got drunk and pantsed him, and my mom said he had a “cute little bunny butt” because he’s a thin dude and I’m sure that particular area has never seen the sun in the 60 some odd years that the man has been alive so it had to be whiter than a real full moon.)

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?: This pasty mofo can’t hide his blush to save his damn life! When he’s in love, he’s blushing constantly whenever his love interest is around, or sometimes if they’re even just mentioned. When talking to them, he may stutter quite a bit too, which is something he never has trouble with otherwise. Also, he’s tugging on the ring on his choker constantly and avoiding eye contact. In short, he basically becomes a flustered pre-teen and you’d have to be dense not to know. His main way of showing his feelings is by paying really close attention to the things they say and do in order to find their likes, dislikes, things they need, things they’re going through and so on. He will use this information to make sure that any gifts he gives them (normal expected gifts like birthdays and holidays) are special and so that he can help them whenever he can. It will become pretty apparent that’s what he’s doing because why the hell else would he remember an offhanded remark about some random thing they said more than three months ago?

#piers #piers pokemon #pokemon piers #gym leader piers #pokemon swsh #sword and shield #fluff alphabet #sfw #fluffy #headcanon

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huesofblue · 3 years

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An Amateur’s Eye at a Game for the Spry

If you’re like me, I would assume that you are also just a casual fan of sports, and though you watch some games or are acquainted with its presence, you aren’t particularly well-versed in the ins and outs, the DOs and DON’Ts, and just the overall way of how the sports should actually be played.

Well, you’re just in luck because in this blog post, before we review and analyze the Volleyball Opener played by the Philippines’ women team against Vietnam at the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, we will be diving into the needed information to be known about the sport volleyball.

In general, volleyball games tend to stretch between 60-90 minutes, composed of 20-25 minute individual sets (Maddock, 2020). In one game, six players from each team will play, with six extra players waiting by the sidelines to serve as substitutes if and when deemed necessary.

Moving on to the next needed information: the court dimensions. In the articles written by Bryan Maddock and by Sports Imports, a typical volleyball court will measure 9 meters in width, and 18 meters in length – or in inch measurements, 29.5 inches by 59 inches. Inside the court are multiple zones with varying measurements as well. The entire playing area in general measures 161 m2. The attack line is the line that separates the front players and the back players, and it measures 9 feet and 10 inches, starting at 3 meters away from the net. The back free zone or the clearance from the back measures at 3-6.5 meters, while the side free zone or the clearance from the side measures at 3-5 meters. There is also a minimum measurement of area with clearances which is 360 m2, whereas the large area with clearances measures at 589 m2. Volleyball courts are made with a variety of the materials, but the most common and most used kinds are: wood, synthetic urethane, rubber and vinyl.

The net measurements shouldn’t also be forgotten. Since there are varying ages and heights coming from players, there are corresponding net measurements to accommodate their build. According to the Sports Imports article, the regulated volleyball net heights are as follows:

Men’s = 7’11.625” measured at the center of the net, 8.375” measured at the antennae;

Women’s = 7’4.125” measured at the center of the net, 7’4.875” measured at the antennae;

Boys’ and Girls’ Juniors = 7’ measured at the center of the net, 7.75’ measured at the antennae;

Boys’ under 10 = 7’ measured at the center of the net, 7.75’ measured at the antennae; and

Girls under 10 = 6’6” measured at the center of the net, 6’6.75” measured at the antennae.

The equipment used in volleyball are actually quite simple. Generally, all you need is the volleyball itself, and the net and its two poles. However, in non-casual games, the players should have their own safety equipment to play as safely and as protected as possible.

Apparently, the balls in this sport have varying sizes and are made of different materials for different purposes. Nevertheless, as stated in the piece written by Michele Howard (2010) about volleyball equipment, the balls have to be 25-27 inches measuring their circumference, 9-10 oz for their weight, and inflated to 4.26-4.61 psi.

The shoes designed specifically for volleyball should also have a gum rubber sole because it creates more traction against the material of the court, which in turn, would support the players’ movements.

The protective gear includes knee and elbow pads (to protect the players’ elbows and knees against floor burns if and when they dive for the balls,) mouthguards (to protect the teeth, lips, cheeks and tongue,) athletic supporters and sports bras, ankle braces (to reduce the risk of the players hurting their ankles,) and gloves (but this one is more utilized by beginners than professionals.)

And last but not the least, volleyball players should also wear proper jerseys that represent their team as well as proper sports shorts that can give them more room for movement.

Next on our list are the technical and tactical skills of volleyball.

Every volleyball player should learn the basic technical skills of the sport, which include but are not limited to: serving, passing, setting, attacking, blocking and digging (Human Kinetics, 2011). In the volleyball terminologies article by Gold Medal Squared, it was stated there that serving is the skill of the first contact. A serve can either be an open-handed overhead swing or a closed-handed underhand one. The passing or the pass is what comes after a serve, and it is done by hitting the ball with the forearms. The setting or the set is the second contact after a pass. It can either be a usual set which is done with two hands overhead or a bump set which is done with the forearms. The attacking or the attack is typically the third contact and so on; it is usually the way the players pass the ball using techniques that will cause the other team to lose contact of the volleyball. The digging or the dig is basically the defense; it is how the players defend their team by using techniques like diving or sliding to make sure that they can pass the ball without sacrificing a point. The blocking or the block is how the players prevent the ball from coming over to their side after it is passed by their opponents; it is done by extending both arms above the head with open hands and usually executed near or by the net.

Working hand-in-hand with the technical skills are the tactical skills. Though they are often overlooked when the sport is being taught to beginners, they are still equally important because the tactical skills support the technical skills in a way that ensures utmost quality of play. In the same source as the technical skills, it was stated there that the tactical skills can be approached by the tactical triangle. This approach touches on the three critical aspects of playing volleyball: (1) reading the play or situation, (2) acquiring the knowledge needed to make an appropriate tactical decision, and (3) applying correct decision-making skills to the problems at the correct time.

Like any other sport, there are also rules in volleyball that govern the games. For the sake of beginners (including yours truly,) this blog post will only be touching on the basic rules of volleyball.

The following rules were taken from the article by The Art of Coaching Volleyball (2018), so full credit goes to them:

6 players on the floor at any one time - 3 in the front row and 3 in the back row

Maximum of 3 hits per side

Points are made on every serve for winning team of rally (rally-point scoring).

Player may not hit the ball twice in succession. (A block is not considered a hit.)

Ball may be played off the net during a volley and on a serve.

A ball hitting a boundary line is in.

A ball is out if it hits an antennae, the floor completely outside the court, any of the net or cables outside the antennae, the referee stand or pole, the ceiling above a non-playable area.

It is legal to contact the ball with any part of a player’s body.

It is illegal to catch, hold or throw the ball.

A player cannot block or attack a serve from on or inside the 10-foot line.

After the serve, front-line players may switch positions at the net.

Matches are made up of sets; the number depends on level of play. 3-set matches are 2 sets to 25 points and a third set to 15. Each set must be won by two points. The winner is the first team to win 2 sets. 5-set matches are 4 sets to 25 points and fifth set to 15. The team must win by 2 unless tournament rules dictate otherwise. The winner is the first team to win three sets.

Along with the rules are also the violations that warrant a point in favor of the opponents which can be committed within volleyball games, and here they are as follows:

When serving, the player steps on or across the service line as while making contact with the ball.

Failure to serve the ball over the net successfully.

Ball-handling errors. Contacting the ball illegally (double touching, lifting, carrying, throwing, etc.)

Touching the net with any part of the body while the ball is in play.

When blocking a ball coming from the opponent’s court, it’s illegal to contact the ball when reaching over the net if both your opponent has not used 3 contacts AND they have a player there to make a play on the ball.

When attacking a ball coming from the opponent’s court, contacting the ball when reaching over the net is a violation if the ball has not yet broken the vertical plane of the net.

Crossing the court centerline with any part of your body is a violation. Exception: if it is the hand or foot. In this case, the entire hand or entire foot must cross for it to be a violation.

Serving out of rotation/order.

Back-row player blocking (deflecting a ball coming from the opponent) when, at the moment of contact, the back-row player is near the net and has part of his/her body above the top of the net. This is an illegal block.

Back-row player attacking a ball inside the front zone (the area inside the 3M/10-foot line) when, at the moment of contact, the ball is completely above the net. This is an illegal attack.

Making sure that the games are properly, fairly and safely managed are entirely up on the officiating officials’ shoulders, but it doesn’t hurt for spectators to know how volleyball games are officiated, not only so they can help spot misses and violations, but it also helps enhance the experience of watching the game because as spectators, they’ll also be able to know why certain calls were made or why this became that and so on. To know this, we have to know who the officiating officials are in a volleyball game.

April Bamburg and Laura Williams wrote in their articles that there are, at minimum, 6 officials present in a volleyball game: a scorekeeper, an assistant scorekeeper, at least two line judges, and a first and second referee.

The scorekeeper is responsible for keeping track of the scores all throughout the game and for signaling player substitutions when team coaches deem it necessary. They are also responsible for utilizing the buzzer as a way of notifying the referees for any disparities, irregularities, lapses and calls for time-outs. Next, the assistant scorekeeper is also called the libero tracker because while they assist the main scorekeeper by being in charge of updating the scoreboard, they are also responsible for keeping track of the liberos from each team. After the scorekeepers are the line judges, and these are individuals who are situated at either ends of the court where they are responsible for calling when a ball is in or out, as well as assisting the referees in making judgment calls. At minimum, there should be two line judges, and at maximum, there should only be up to four (at each corner of the court.) With the line judges done, we now have the referees left. Both referees have a general responsibility of calling out violations and overall ensuring a fair and quality play within the game; however, there are differences between the jobs of the first referee and the second referee. The first referee is basically the main referee – they will have the last and final say regarding the game. They control the play, inspect the equipment and the players’ uniforms, and point out scoring issues and violations. On the other hand, the second referee assists the first referee and will serve as the substitute if a situation arises wherein the first referee is unable to make a sound judgment call. Moreover, the second referee is also responsible for all the substitutions and timeouts, and additionally, the actions of the scorers.

Now that we’ve hashed through the required background information about volleyball, we shall move on to the main event of this blog post: the review regarding the Philippines’ game at the 2019 SEA Games versus Vietnam in the Volleyball Women’s Opener match.

For the sake of all the beginner readers, including me, this review will only be making analyses by each set of the whole game – not on each action nor move executed by both teams, but on the sets they play as a whole until the end, and in my words, I will not be able to use much of the technical terms as they are and will merely describe what I am seeing since I am still unfamiliar with the moves associated with those terms. In other words, when the technical terms of the sport show up in sentences but were not used according to its meaning in the sport, then please assume that they were used in their regular and literal meaning.

For reference, we will be watching this video through this link: https://youtu.be/Gm4kGC_d-i8

The first set of the match began with the Philippines serving the first ball, courtesy of Number 19, Rhea Dimaculangan. Right off the bat, defenses were displayed strong and solid by both teams, executing a variety of attacks and defenses that made the game all the more exciting. Not knowing the ins and outs of volleyball, the play they presented would seem ordinary for seasoned players, but for unknowing spectators, the beginning would already be impressive. Where the Philippines would attack head on, Vietnam would defend with their might. But to the Philippines’ delight, PH-Number 6 was able to acquire the first point for both the game and the team, jumping high and striking the ball hard in a way that Vietnam was unable to defend themselves against.

From then on, the match became even tighter. Defenses built up and hits kept coming, but what definitely caught my attention was the feint technique that the Philippines repeatedly took up. I didn’t expect for them to use a tactic like that - having one player hit the ball up high and another who will pretend to hit it but lo and behold, a player unlike the first two will actually end up spiking the ball into a point - but nonetheless, it definitely caught my attention and benefitted them a few points too.

The next thing that definitely caught my eye during the first set was the challenge that Vietnam raised regarding the Philippines’ supposedly 6th point at around the 12:24 timestamp. Bearing in mind that I’m quite unaware of the common things that take place in a volleyball match, I didn’t know that challenges towards a point by the opponent could actually be done. Truthfully, it is one feature of the sport that took me by surprise, but it is also one that I could understand fully because it presented justice for the team who raised it if the point was indeed invalid.

There was, however, one thing that I couldn’t understand. Around the 13:08 timestamp, the Philippines had used up the available 3 contacts on the ball in their attempt to successfully throw back the ball to Vietnam’s side, which they were able to do. However, even when PH-Number 18 didn’t touch the net in her haste to pass the ball to her team-mates for an attack, the point still went to Vietnam. The same thing happened in the 20:47 timestamp, with Vietnam doing almost the exact same thing as the Philippines did, but it wasn’t stopped then. I’ve already asked people I know about what the violation was or what exactly happened for Vietnam to take the point, but unless I’ll be able to contact more experienced players in the sport, I guess I’ll still remain wondering about it.

What I am proud to have been able to point during my watching, though, was the violation that VIE-Number 11 had made at around the 17:15 timestamp, in which she had passed her two whole hands over the net as she jumped to block the ball that was coming their way even when it hadn’t passed the vertical plane of the net yet.

Finally, it was a close match near the end of the 1st set, but the Philippines was able to snatch the win for the set at 25-21.

Now, on to the 2nd set. After the teams switched sides on the court, Vietnam began its serve with the Philippines on the receiving end of it. And just like the first set, the Philippines also takes the first point for this set.

The digs, close saves, spikes and other attacks during this set were really a sight to behold. It may not seem special to some, but it is still incredible to watch for others.

I don’t really have much to say about this set, just that I think the Philippines’ defense during this part of the game wasn’t as successful as they had played hard for it to be which is why they lost the win for this set. Nonetheless, not all hope is lost since there are still more sets for them to take the win for.

Nearing the end of the second set though, the Philippines really did pick up their game and tried their best to turn the game around with a twist, consistently racking in points to catch up to Vietnam’s 24 points. However, even with their commendable offense that made the set a good, tight one, Vietnam had still snatched the win at the end, finishing the set at 25-23.

The 3rd set began with the Philippines’ serve after the teams switched sides, and just like in the past two sets, they were also able to take the first point for this one.

It was in this set that I realized how good PH-Number 19, Dimaculangan is as a server. She served first for the team in all of the sets, and every time, the Philippines always took at least the first point up to the second or third. I don’t think there is any concrete explanation as to why this is, especially since it wasn’t even her serves that got the point but the attacks that Vietnam weren’t able to defend themselves against, but I do still find it interesting that it happened.

In this set, like the others, there wasn’t a consistently big gap that remained between the two team’s points. In this case, it shows how solid the offensive approach that each team has because they are able to catch up to their opponents’ scores – it might not be much of a critical analysis on that part, but personally, I used to think that points were hard to catch up to especially in this game. Granted that it is a professional game between professional players, it is still a new thing for me to see how fast they are able to catch up to each other’s points and lessen the gap, making the sets a close and worthy match each time.

Even with the concrete defenses and the substantial attacks displayed by the Philippine team, Vietnam still took the win for the 3rd set at 25-19, raking the game up to 2-1 sets, in favor of Vietnam.

In the 4th set, Vietnam had served first, but the Philippines, again, took the first point. It wasn’t long, however, before Vietnam tied the game at 1-1 early on, not letting the Philippines take the first three points again without Vietnam at least having one point, just like they did in the past sets.

I’m not sure what it was, but I felt that something was different in the Philippines’ play during this set – maybe a newly fired determination to even out the game? I assume that may be it, but if it wasn’t, then I’ll leave it as it is and continue to fawn over how powerful the Philippine players were especially during this set, quickly building up a gap that got them closer to snatching the win for the 4th set and leaving behind Vietnam to tie out the game.

As the set progressed nearly halfway, Vietnam was able to catch up to the gap that the Philippines built. However, what they weren’t able to do was take the lead since the Philippines always managed to stay ahead of them point-wise and didn’t let the tied scores remain for too long.

Unsurprisingly, the Philippines took the win for the 4th set, finishing at 25-20.

It is now the 5th and final set. The game has been evened out at 2 sets per team. This set is one that most, if not all, people are looking forward to the most because it will dictate which team, the Philippines or Vietnam, will come out the victor for this entire match.

The Philippines served first, but Vietnam took the first point for the set this time.

Since this set required only 15 points for a team to win, it can obviously be seen how powered up the players are to win. Blocks were coming in more frequently, and the two team’s scores never strayed too far away from each other until near the end.

Halfway through this set, the teams switched sides for the last and final time. It was Vietnam who served first after the switch, but the point from it went to the Philippines as a result of their successful spike.

Notwithstanding, in the last five minutes, Vietnam was able to build up a significant gap that placed them more likely to win compared to the Philippines. And when the scores were excitingly at 14-8, in favor of Vietnam, and PH-Number 2 made a mistake in her haste to hit the ball back over to Vietnam’s side after it was blocked by the red-uniformed players, the win was secured for Vietnam as the ball ended up being an out.

Vietnam snatched the win for this set at 15-8 as well as the victory for the whole game at 3-2.

Like the countless times it has been mentioned, as a beginner-spectator for volleyball, watching a big game like this really keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I couldn’t exactly keep track of how many there were, but my amazement always peaked through the roof every time a failed block, dig or spike was done by either of the teams. The reason why is because I just haven’t fathomed completely how fast their reaction times and reflexes are to be able to move as fast as they do to either save the ball from giving their opponents a point or to defend themselves against their counterpart’s attacks. The failed spikes and blocks, especially, were my most favorite parts because it really kept me on my toes by showing how good both teams are at blocking (the literal meaning, not the volleyball terminology) the ball.

One of the main takeaways that I was able to gather from watching the game is that utilizing the space is EVERYTHING. While it is not possible for all the spaces to be taken up and guarded by the six players, it is still important for them to know when and how to move fast enough to defend the unguarded space.

Additionally, I can positively say I’ve gained a newfound respect for volleyball players – to the liberos, especially, because seeing them dive and slide across the floors to receive the balls thrown by their opponent – it made me think of the courage it takes to unhesitatingly do so while also reaching to pass the ball to their team-mates in order for them to be able to attack back and gain a point.

This whole experience definitely left me some lasting knowledge about the sport that I can use in the future once I find myself in a situation where I will be playing volleyball. And while I am still relatively new to this world, it didn’t hurt to analyze and review the gameplay, techniques and skills, and mechanics exhibited by the seasoned players – even if there were times that I found myself a little behind on what they were doing.

That is all for this review post about the Volleyball Women’s Opener between the Philippines and Vietnam at the 2019 SEA Games. If you’ve reached this far, thank you for reading, and see you in the next post! 😊

References

Gold Medal Squared. (n.d.). Volleyball Terms and Definitions. Retrieved February 9, 2021, from Gold Medal Squared: https://www.goldmedalsquared.com/coaching-resources/volleyball-terms#:~:text=of%20the%20third.-,Serve,underhand%20with%20one%20closed%20fist.

Howard, M. M. (2010, June 17). List of Equipment Used to Play Volleyball. Retrieved February 9, 2021, from SportsRec: https://www.sportsrec.com/list-equipment-used-play-volleyball-6636370.html

Human Kinetics. (2011). SMART VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS KNOW BOTH THE TECHNICAL AND TACTICAL SKILLS. In A. S. Cecile Reynaud, Coaching Volleyball: Technical and Tactical Skills (p. 256). Retrieved from https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/smart-volleyball-players-know-both-the-technical-and-tactical-skills

Maddock, B. (2020, November 29). Volleyball Courts. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from Dimensions web site: https://www.dimensions.com/element/volleyball-courts

Sports Imports. (n.d.). Volleyball Court Dimensions. Retrieved February 9, 2021, from Sports Imports: https://www.sportsimports.com/volleyball-court-dimensions/

The Art of Coaching Volleyball. (2018, November 23). Basic Volleyball Rules and Terminology. Retrieved February 9, 2021, from The Art of Coaching Volleyball web site: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/basic-volleyball-rules-and-terminology/

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vroenis · 4 years

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Lost Legacy Exemplifies Naughty Dog’s Cultural Crisis

There’s a discussion about Ocean’s 8 that positions its existence around whether or not it's necessary as a counterpoint to the Ocean’s reboot - the Ocean’s Cinematic Universe - if you will (what a world we live in) - that it was only made as a gender flip of the reboot that spawned two sequels, three films in total cast almost entirely with men.

My perspective is that as much as I generally enjoyed the Ocean’s reboots for what they were, Ocean’s Eleven should have been a cast entirely with women in the first place.

The heroes we both need and deserve.

Massive spoilers for the original 1960 Lewis Milestone version and the Steven Soderbergh one in 2001 of Ocean’s Eleven - Soderbergh’s flip is of-course that they get to keep the money at the end so that they have to potentially give it back in the sequel he knew he’d be able to make, whereas I doubt Milestone knew he’d ever get a sequel back in the early 60′s so the rub for film-making back then is to burn the money at the end. Nevertheless even for the early 2000′s, the boldest of moves would have been to cast it with women, not to be progressive but also to be progressive, tho that’s still an absurd thought that to cast women is progressive - but to be smart. Ocean’s 8 is a fantastic film, deftly written, paced, acted, shot and edited. Would the world have responded to it in like-kind? I know how *I* would have responded to it, I think you can answer for yourself how societal cultures may have responded at any point from 2001 thru to now. In any case, I have Ocean’s 8 on blu-ray. I love it.

A reader asked me whether I’d played Uncharted: The Lost Legacy after kindly reading through my bludgeoning of Uncharted 4, and seeing as they were patient enough to endure that blood-letting, I felt I owed them and probably Naughty Dog the time of day to give Uncharted-And-A-Half a chance, and I’m really glad I did. Fair warning, there’s a lot I didn’t like about Lost Legacy, and there’s going to be some more pain - a lot of pain. I don’t think any of my tumblr audience is quite on the rest of my socials, but anyone who’s connected to me anywhere else on the Wire was subject to my frustrations as I played thru the game on Saturday, including the blurred image of my Google Keep notes I took while playing the game in preparation for this journal. I keep notes now.

Nevertheless, I can say that on the assumption that the Uncharted series is wrapped, or at least in the narrative arc with these characters as we know them, that Lost Legacy is easily without question my favourite Uncharted game by far.

On that assumption that Uncharted is more or less done, now’s as good a time as any to take a top-down look at the franchise as a whole. I know I already did a fair bit of that in the last piece, but some broader thoughts on what the series does and says have solidified while playing Lost Legacy, and I’ll discuss them as a lead-in to my thoughts on the game.

Again - this is going to be riddled with spoilers for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and most likely the entire Uncharted series, so if you’ve not played them and are interested in doing so, or don’t want to see them heavily critiqued, please stop here.

The first game was released in 2007 and was apparently in development for roughly three years. What was happening up to and around 2004 to 2007? September 11 had happened in 2001, the world was at war in the Middle East in Afghanistan and second invasion of Iraq had begun in 2003, Hurricane Katrina happened in 2005 - the same year the IRA ended armed conflict in Northern Ireland, 2005 saw the outbreak of H5N1 Avian Flu - topical right now. There are so many more, I can’t list them all here - lots of momentous events that in some way or another highlight community awareness in some way - that’s probably a bit of an obtuse statement but hopefully it’ll string together in a sec. What struck me and a bunch of my friends odd about the first, then the second and then somehow every Uncharted game since, is that Naughty Dog seem to choose an ethnicity for their antagonists and scratch the surface of “what if this element of their cultural violence is bad”, but then leave it so shallow that it remains a caricature and comes off as casually and carelessly racist. The first game frames the theme around Nazis, but the actual enemies are anything but. Yes, they’re intended to be mercenaries, but they’re hardly nondescript, they’re absolutely of very specific ethnicity.

From the second game onward, Naughty Dog seem to want to make use of real world settings and do some nuanced research on actual sociopolitical conflict and I always feel uneasy about how its presented. Lost Legacy begins much the same way and I worried about the tone going in. An active war-zone in India as gravitas to your setting that is then almost completely abandoned until the very end? This is my problem with how the writers treat setting in Uncharted. They use very real conflicts that have real-world consequences for people in which actual lives are lost to inject gravity into their narrative and then quickly discard it for the sake of shenanigans once the wise-cracking starts when the tone shifts gear and the characters themselves take centre-stage in the foreground.

Here’s the thing.

The character’s are enough. I *love* these characters. Their story is fantastic. Nadine’s and Chloe’s story was the best and most cohesive of the entire series. Also it only took me roughly six hours to play thru and I only feel like half of that was wasted! That’s still probably being too generous but I’m grasping for positives, here. Still - I don’t know why the senior production team has never had confidence in the core of their product which is the charm of their characters and the play dynamic - Uncharted is primarily about *seeing* and *doing* - for the most part, unfortunately, separately.

The dialogue between Chloe and Nadine is extremely interesting, it is absolutely the best thing in the game, yet it keeps getting interrupted by stupid gameplay beats due to poor timing of rolling up on level locations. Uncharted 4 was supposed to have locations hidden around levels where you could engage in dialogue between characters but I barely found them - why hide such interesting content in your game?? It’s completely absurd. Then the only few I did find were between Elena and Nathan altho I really don’t think those were meant to be hidden, and they were so poorly written and I hated them so much, I didn’t care to discover any more. Again - no disrespect at all to Nolan North and Troy Baker whom I absolutely adore and respect, but I didn’t find anything engaging or interesting *at all* about the brother narrative. I didn’t care one bit what that nonsense was about. What about Sully? Where’s Sully’s story?? I’m just so - so glad we got a story for Chloe, and that at least Nadine got some great screen time too as a part of it and that it all presented so well.

Before I continue to praise what went well, there are a few things I can’t let pass. While the driving has thankfully improved and controls quite well now, the exclusion of a minimap or GPS HUD element is interesting. I’m fairly certain it’s intentional as to not detract from the game’s clean, cinematic look, to not break immersion, but this just generates a horrific breakdown in actual player experience for me. Without any navigational assists, I constantly got lost and stopped every 20 meters to check the map, frequently driving into dead-ends, off cliffs and past where I wanted or needed to go. The game isn’t a 30 hour open-world experience with distinct and varied landmarks the player will familiarise themselves with and learn to navigate by, for the most part the level is fairly homogeneous in object geometry.

Some of the puzzles take far too long to mechanically execute, in particular the smashy-slashy statue block jumpy stupid whatever it’s called one and the sliding shadow motif. It doesn’t matter that neither actually takes too long once you know the solution, it’s that they feel long and then are actually over-long and also not interesting to mechanically execute. This is due mostly to clunky character animation and animation smoothing, and part of Naughty Dog’s overall obsession with being cinematic which is something I’ll return to towards the end of this piece, something which has been a strength but will ultimately be to their detriment. While cinematic visuals might be a benefit for traversal, it’s something that absolutely does not suit puzzle-solving. In the example of the statue-block puzzle, the hard reset each time the player is hit means laboriously jogging all the way back to the beginning and starting again - it’s just poor puzzle design having to begin again from a full reset. There’s no satisfaction in having to remember the whole thing and while I didn’t look up the solution online, I’m willing to bet many people will have just dialled up a clip on YouTube and copied it without figuring it out themselves. This is a failure of connecting what’s satisfying about moving in your game and what’s satisfying about solving puzzles, something Crystal Dynamics understood far better in the Tomb Raider reboots, in particular the second outing (Rise of) with their much more environment-centric puzzling.

The sliding shadow puzzle just simply takes way too long to jog around the space, then clip onto the hot-zone for each lever, wait for the animation to lift it, wait for the animation for the pieces to slide, rinse, repeat. Once you know what you have to do, it’s overly frustrating actually having to do it.

It brings me to a weird quirk of design where the puzzle designers perhaps don’t understand something that the environmental designers do. Maybe they didn’t get the same little notes in the Slack channel, or Trello board or Teams pin or whatever. Uncharted level-design has almost no back-tracking, less in each successive game, and it’s almost entirely absent from Lost Legacy - you’d have to look closely to realise you’re navigating the same area you came in thru and almost always moving over it in a different way that’s been modified - now it’s flooded, now there’s a bridge, now you’re swinging or leaping or climbing where you weren’t etc. I feel like this is the Hidetaka Miyazaki Souls/Borne effect of level design in which environments are designed to be both realistic and practical.

Great! Good for the level designers. Did the puzzle designers not get that note? Maybe they did. I need to stop thinking that every poor optimisation is a symptom of ignorance - that’s bad form on my part. What’s more likely is it’s a symptom of either bad leadership, poor tool implementation, lack of time or too narrow or strict an observation of representative vision - by which I mean - they can’t change the way the characters move or animate just for puzzles, because it has to be consistent with the cinematic representation of the game as a whole - and that sucks lemons. It means the overall play experience suffers for the sake of the overall cinematic experience except executing a puzzle isn’t cinematic unless it’s expansive...

Like the positive example I’ll give of the light reflector room. Shoplifted from Uncharted 2′s giant knife that has Nathan climb all over a giant knife, Lost Legacy’s light reflector room has slightly less climbing but is a much larger space, more impressive and a much better example of good puzzling in Uncharted. It’s not difficult to solve but again (I think again?) I’ll argue that you don’t come to Uncharted for difficult puzzles - you don’t come to Tomb Raider for difficult puzzles, either.

The puzzles in these games should be mostly environmental because they feel good solving them, and solving them should be more about the doing - the playing - and the playing should be moving - running, jumping, climbing etc.

Both the giant knife and the reflector room are a joy to execute because they’re fantastically realised - large cavernous environments that aren’t annoying to navigate, that give you time to appreciate both the scale of the spaces and the details the designers and artists have put into them. Lost Legacy’s is more impressive because you do a lot more puzzling and spend much more time in its vastly larger space, culminating in combat that usually I would be ho-hum about, but I guess exhibits more animation and destruction tech which while scripted, is still impressive nonetheless given how extremely difficult it is to have interactivity still occurring.

I have a few things I want to mention before I begin to wrap up, given it’s going to be a very long wrap - I’d say I’m taking cues from Joseph Anderson but I’ve always been this verbose.

The medallion puzzles were excellent, in part perhaps because they felt like the closest thing to the Tomb Raider reboots’ challenge tombs. Some of them were silly and lazily implemented, the worst offender being you just had to shoot mans and get the medallion from the lock-box that the mans had put it in (pfft), but the best ones were integrated into the environment such that you may well have walked past or thru areas that were puzzles before you knew what they were. This brings up one of the most interesting things I’ve been turning over for quite some time now. Ben Croshaw aka Yahtzee aka Zero Punctuation may have first mentioned “chest high walls” in his first Gears of War video, but it may well have been an Uncharted game. I don’t remember but he will have thrown in mentions of all the generic cover-shooters as a catch-all for how the environments immediately telegraph that Combat™ will happen. It’s a particularly astute remark and speaks volumes of video game design - developers always seem to have very specific design language to separate traversal, combat and puzzling. While I clearly don’t care for combat most days, and yes - I do acknowledge there are some practical concerns for combat that can’t be avoided, I always envisaged design that blurred the lines between puzzle and environment so that you never quite knew what was and wasn’t a puzzle. Everything should be the puzzle. In some senses, Cyan’s old Myst games were a bit like this but in a very rudimentary and crude way - sure, they’re quite old now, but even those had very clear not puzzle areas. It’s a complex and subtle subject, but something of a study of games like Fireproof Games’ The Room would be in order. Understandably smaller scale, but the thinking behind it is definitely adjacent.

Final notes - the young Indian girl in the prologue has amazing animations that you’ll miss entirely unless you swing the camera yourself. A whole team of people or a single animator has spent hours on those animations - that a director or team leader hasn’t forced the player to see and appreciate them is a disservice.

Every section where you have to do something under pressure like run from mans shooting at you or dash through a lengthy section of crumbling cave network etc. is a horrible play experience of not knowing where to go. They’re trying to inject excitement by applying pressure but there’s no clear guidance and no dependence on player skill, so you end in bizarre fail-states due to going in completely the wrong direction that glitches cameras or scene time-outs resulting in check-points and the whole thing just doesn’t scan as a cinematic experience. I hate hate hate them - you’re subject to the same musical swell that’s supposed to be like a movie only to fail again and it comes off as b-grade and pathetic. Every game has had this problem and it is just straight bad design.

Three? Four? Games in a row, Naughty Dog have recycled;

being pursued on foot by an armoured vehicle crashing through level geometry while you have to run and occasionally shoot/fight mans,

driving down a shanty-town on a hill pursued by an armoured vehicle - perhaps the same one as previous scene

a big chase scene of lots of vehicles jumping from vehicle to vehicle shooting and/or punching mans that may or may not include...

a train combat sequence where you start at the back of the train and work your way to the front of it shooting mans as you go

This lacks creativity at this point. I think duplicating these once each - so you do them twice total across the franchise is fine, but they hit the same beats in the same way - exactly - every time they appear. It just strikes me as Naughty Dog just not knowing what else to do. At one point, I think it was in Uncharted 4, when driving down the shanty-town on the hill, I literally had a brain-fart not knowing which game I was playing because I swear we did it in 2 and 3. Did we do it in 3?? Look, I don’t know. But it’s getting old. At least we didn’t do it in Lost Legacy, but we did the train and I’ve had enough. I’ve had enough of doing the same things in the same way. It could have been a train but it should have been in a way that just wasn’t just another Uncharted train. It hasn’t worn thin, it’s worn out.

Overall, the games look great... but playing them feels like they’re stuck in PS2 and early PS3 era philosophies, like Naughty Dog haven’t evolved and don’t realise that people’s brains function much quicker and can process more, or that the media we consume, the games we play function at a higher level and we can digest more, we’re capable of processing higher functions. I’ve been playing Ubisoft’s The Division 2 and enjoying it more the more I play, much to my surprise. I understand the intent behind the gameplay is extremely different to the single-player experience of Uncharted, however there are some parallels in what it achieves animation wise;

The Division is also a cover shooter but of-course as a multiplayer, open-world live-service game, its intent is to telegraph to the player that the entire environment is a permanent play-space in which to always be playing. It utilises an information-rich GUI that is an always-on system with button icons telling the player what button to press over what surfaces to snap to, vault over, climb up, run to (and snap to cover), open and loot, interact with etc. I don’t know if these can be turned off but I like them on. It’s a pretty amazing feat that almost every environmental object has been mapped as a snap-to-cover and/or climbable object. For this reason, the character movement in Division is pretty quick and snappy, however it still manages to have a decent degree of natural human kinetics in the character rigging which is amazing. This means if you move-off from standing still, there’s a slight delay as your “weight” shifts, same if you change direction. When I say “snap” to cover, it’s not actually instantaneous, your character makes a movement and takes time to do so, yet it’s still not sluggish. Somehow the developers have worked at fine-tuning a balance between not-instant, but not too slow.

This is something that even in Lost Legacy, I feel Naughty Dog simply can’t do. The animations are decent during play - they’re outstanding during cutscenes (we’re getting there), but character models have a really awkward relationship with the environment. They clip awkwardly with ladders and buttons and wheels - with puzzles and levers - getting the grappling hook to prompt is again better than Uncharted 4 but still not ideal. I had far fewer glitch-outs than 4 too, which was a significant improvement, but I still had to animate back and forth a few times to get into hot-zones appropriately and with character kinetics not quite right, it wasn’t exactly easy.

And again to be fair, this stuff is suuuuuper difficult. I don’t mean to talk about this stuff like it’s cooking instant ramen. It’s so freaking tough. Rigging and mapping interactive character models has to be one of the most stupendously difficult things a developer has to do - making it work with all that scripting, getting it to play nice with all those assets and lines and lines of coding for the full experience. I have so much respect for game developers and what an astronomical task it is. So when I say I prefer one development team’s product over another’s, I don’t mean to say that the other team is absolute garbage - there are so many things that might contribute to that final product and we have no idea what’s been going on at Naughty Dog. If the team leaders and producers say they’re happy or even if they don’t, and the decision is made to ship, there’s nothing more they can say or do.

If there was one thing I absolutely loved about this game, it was the two main characters and the story that was told about them. I can excuse the main text as the catalyst that brought them together - even to the point that it’s a story about Chloe ultimately deciding what’s important to her. My issue with this comes full circle with the setting being in a real world conflict. There’s a bit of white savour complex in there in that Asav might be the narrative’s antagonist, but he at least is local. It’s not clear exactly what Chloe’s ethnicity is and I’m not here to judge what her stakes are in it because clearly her character has a sense of home and place in India, but she certainly also has a complex sense of being an outsider. So the point is not to judge, but the game also is unclear on its positioning other than she’s the heroic vehicle of deliverance. See what I mean about theme? This is what I mean by you could have just as easily written almost an identical story about Nadine and Chloe, with very similar interactions, tension, redemption and resolve - even with an antagonist, conflict and a happy ending, but either treated real sociopolitical issues with better care or not set your game in them at all. I’m all for setting games in the real world, but if you’re going to do it, do it right. I’m not the person to ask.

I need to be careful not to direct that criticism at the base-level developers nor at Claudia Black who is the manifestation of Chloe’s voice because she does an amazing job of bringing her to life. The casting of Laura Bailey voicing a black South African Nadine was much more awkward given Nadine’s ethnicity wasn’t decided when she was cast - again that’s on Naughty Dog’s leadership, but I won’t knock Laura Bailey for it. It’s easy to say she should have resigned, perhaps she should have, that’s an economical question only Laura can answer and I’m sure it’s not an easy one. Suffice to say, VO work isn’t lucrative.

What a side-track.

I don’t think I ever cared about Nathan. I think I always cared about Elena, and not because WAIFU and also not because WHITE KNIGHT or whatever other bullshit reasons stupid alphagamerz will spit from their frontheads. Elena’s just more interesting, probably because Nathan is written like a design document and Elena’s written like a human being. Naughty Dog want to create a game about adventuring with lush expansive environments, shooty mcshooting and light puzzling. They want it to be cinematic and unrivalled in its quality and they have the smarts to build the tech around it, with Sony’s help. Backed by Sony money, they take VO seriously and do a great job at creating that cinematic experience, coupled with some above-par for video games narrative writing. The problem this introduces for me is Nathan’s raison d'être has to justify everything - action, tension, stupidity...

Nathan Drake really is the design document.

I feel like he’s just the unfortunate side-effect of being central to the game, and it’s typical of my character to just not dig the focus of things and get into subtexts a whole lot more. Often I get into things in the periphery, things adjacent - I don’t love or hate Shakespeare or for that matter Baz Luhrmann but Romeo + Juliet ‘96 is an amazing film and not at all because of the eponymous Romeo and Juliet and again, not for Leonardo di Caprio (spit!) or for Claire Danes (she can stay) but the absolutely divine cast of supporting characters (John Leguizamo will live in my heart forever oh baby).

That Nathan makes stupid decisions is already something that turns me off. That he makes poor decisions because... he’s an orphan? Because... he was bullied? Because... his brother left him? This is why he’s not transparent with his wife? Actually, he’s quite realistic. Except the people like him I’ve known in my life aren’t heroes - they’re pathetic or unreliable or abusive or dangerous. Elena is an adult. She’s not perfect either and that’s also great because neither am I. As a side character she has the conceit of being more nuanced, but as the contra to Nathan, she’s also mature versus his childishness. OOOOAAAAH EVERYONE LOVES A LOVEABLE MANBABY OOAAAH COMEON LIVE A LITTLE EVERYONE’S GOT A LITTLE CHILD STILL IN THEM SOMEWHERE yea fine, I get it, like I’ve said before, yes - he embodies the recklessness and playfulness in us, but that’s a confusing position for a game that frequently tries to ground itself in real world conflict to be taking. You’re reducing him to that but injecting complex and nuanced characters like Elena and now eventually both Chloe and Nadine? I’m telling you now - any male that doesn’t know when it’s appropriate to grow-up, when the time to set aside the playfulness and be TRUTHFUL AND TRANSPARENT WITH HIS PARTNER is a dangerous person and FUCK THAT NOISE. Nathan, as much as I do absolutely - make no mistake - adore Nolan North’s voicing - ends up being another Homer Simpson - as long as you laugh at his stupidity, you’ll excuse it, and you’ll excuse the hurt that’s done by it, and that shit doesn’t fly with me. His redemption was not earned. I say again - Elena should throw him into the sea.

Nadine ends up being a fantastic character, even if she’s given less narrative time, she’s a great example of her behaviour telling more story in contrast to Chloe getting to reveal her past and it’s nice to see them play off one another. I feel Nadine and Chloe as characters hit great story beats in ways Nathan didn’t get to with pretty much any of the other characters in four games - not Sully, not Elena, not his brother, not even Chloe - all told, we never actually get any back-story on Nathan and Chloe and I think we’re better off for it because I don’t care.

Having a quick squiz around tumblr reveals the obvious and rampant shipping of Nadine and Chloe and I couldn’t be happier. I think Naughty Dog knew what they were doing. There were so many moments. Those moments were for us. I think they were subtle enough that the fragile manbabies would have missed them but there’s no fooling us. Some of the babyboiz would have been seething thru their mouthbreething hairmouths and I’m sure probably took to the internet but that’s OK, they can remain unfucked incels for the rest of their lives or worse, serviced by whatever unwashed creatures want to dare fondle them in the dark. The elephant ride and that whole conversation was almost enough for me to forgive the absolute disaster that was Uncharted 4. It was given enough time to breathe, it was absolutely beautiful, and just when you thought they were going to terminate it and apologise for making things too awks, it concludes just perfectly and you get a phone picture that doesn’t have Nadine in frame, yet her presence in that picture is definite, pervasive and emotional. Again, some people may have completely missed it and maybe it chalks up to life experience, but as completely contrived as an artefact of complete fiction as that whole sequence might be, it was one of the most wonderfully tender moments ever created in a video game and I wonder if it makes the whole affair worth it.

In the Uncharted 4 piece, I threw in a few barbs about the most meaningful interactions, and in Lost Legacy, what I really loved was Chloe taking photos of things she thinks are beautiful and interesting on her phone, and feeding the elephant - these were the most meaningful interactions in the game. I love that the photos on the phone didn’t serve any gameplay utility at all, they were there because her character wanted to document her travels, because she thought what she was seeing was cool, and any time in the game, you could pull out your phone and look at what you’d seen. It was such a good and important decision to have the very first picture to be the Indian girl in the market, as that rather than the local conflict, does more to ground you and Chloe as a character in the setting. The game never forces you to look at it as a reminder, but you know it’s there.

I did steal these from the internet, sorry - so if they’re yours, let me know and I’ll be happy to take them down - this one in particular, seeing as it’s a photomode capture. I should have taken my own but I don’t do photomode caps on my first play-thru and there’s no-way I’m replaying this ever again.

It took five games for Naughty Dog to finally get some decent character writing, but a part of me still feels they couldn’t have existed without all the dross of the other games. There’s this immense amount of back-story and labour both the developers and the players had to slog thru to get to this point, and I feel as tho we get here and there’s just too little to show for it. I still really enjoyed the story that was told, the sense of character I felt, but a lot of that was contingent on the Uncharted universe in situ. Lost Legacy feels like a combining of all of Naughty Dog’s narrative motifs - the earnest redemption, the moment of tenderness and connection centred around peaceful animals - it’s a greatest hits of Naughty Dog in the best way possible because each narrative beat hits perfectly. I’m glad I played it with two characters who endeared themselves so much to me, that I truly cared about.

I’ve spend a lot of time praising the strengths of writing for at least Lost Legacy, but for each thing I’ve enjoyed about at least these two characters, there have been so many things I’ve been critical of. I feel like in order to get to the tiniest bit of enjoyment, I had to suffer thru so much. Honestly I don’t know if it really was worth it. It’s hard to know given that who I am now and where my tastes are and have developed as a consequence of my experiences, and I definitely would not replay any of those games again - so where does that leave me? I can’t go back and play The Last Of Us and I absolutely won’t play the second game, I just can’t do Naughty Dog games now, I don’t have it in me.

Naughty Dog have spent the better part of two decades developing tech for visual fidelity specifically for the Playstation hardware platforms (PS3 and 4). They’ve also been doing it by overworking their staff, many of which have left out of frustration or necessity. The problem they face is that as industry tools in general improve, there will no gap between games developed by Naughty Dog and any other contemporary studio from a visual perspective. Make no mistake - the Uncharted games are absolutely chock-full of objects, geometry and animation - somehow miraculously so on the Playstation platform in comparison to other games with the exception of other first-party and exclusive games receiving similar support from Sony such as Guerilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn and Sucker Punch’s forthcoming Ghost of Tsushima. There are probably other similar examples for the previous generation on PS3.

Yes, there’s a certain style of game Naughty Dog create as far as narrative goes but because it’s becoming more cinematic, that style is judged more and more by cinematic standards and at best it’s barely semi-professional aside from the outstanding voice work. There are few striking visual motifs that set Naughty Dog games apart from a design perspective, and the gameplay and mechanical constructions that once distinguished them at least a little from others are ever diminishing at increasing rates - more-so as their work practices make the level of quality they set out to achieve ever more unsustainable.

Lost Legacy encapsulates a lot of what I feel about video games as a whole at the moment - as an industry and as a culture. It’s a snapshot of a culture that’s achieving wonderful, beautiful things that are in ways huge - immense, yet somehow can feel so small in comparison to some of the challenges it faces. It’s an industry and culture experiencing a period of great upheaval, where after years upon years of malpractice, terrible things somehow still endure. It’s a space where sometimes it feels like a battle to find the tiniest shred of beauty buried in the dirt and ash, and there doesn’t seem to be an end to the frustration that working thru it brings about while grass-roots labourers continue to be burned.

Like many things in life, both at my age and at the level I guess a person gets to at the exposure rate of a thing, I’ve cut back a great deal on my engagement time with video games, so I’m a lot less patient with the functions and mechanisms of a game. There’s a labour element of video games that I feel developers might think is somehow necessary and there’s a component of that which is true, just not quite in the way they think it is, and it takes a unique frame of thinking to break out of traditional design to understand it. Again I’m not saying there’s anything special about how I understand games - there’s nothing at all original in my thoughts - I’ve shoplifted them wholesale from a hundred other people back from when I used to read Gamasutra and even now when I read designers and the people I follow and talk to on Twitter etc. There’s also absolutely nothing wrong with traditions and the people that enjoy them - just because they’re not my thing any more doesn’t mean they’re bad. It just means I’ve moved to something else and I shouldn’t engage with them.

That, I think, is what I’m waiting for. Kentucky Route Zero, Howling Dogs, Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, a whole bunch of others - these are the games I feel are pushing past the boundaries of tradition. Then the moments Uncharted takes itself out of its traditions - Nadine and Chloe’s elephant ride, Chloe’s phone pictures, Elena and Nathan’s house tours especially as Cassie - that’s when I think now you’re running! Run with it! Look, I’m still playing The Division - I’m still moving and shooting and enjoying it.

But we can do so much more. Many developers are doing more. We as an audience need to play more All of us together need to do and play more.

(The epilogue is me figuring I talk a lot of shit about AAA games and nary a word about KRZ, Howling Dogs, Dear Esther and the rest and I get it, but oooooo howdy is it really difficult for me to talk pragmatically about games I actually love)

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