Vinland Saga

Oh boy. Where do I begin.

Welp, Lets start with the Rating (Refer to my Artistic Scale)

6/5

ITS A MASTERPIECE

Now then. an introduction:

Vinland Saga is an Anime produced by Studio Wit

It follows the story of a Young boy: 

Thorfinn, Son of Thors

Who grew up in Iceland and had a peaceful Childhood.

He hated his boring life and wanted adventure. He wanted to be strong and tough so he can experience the world and kill his enemies.

His flair hit a critical mass when armed ships arrived at his home village and declared that the Kingdom of Denmark was at war with the English, and that they need volunteers.

Caught in this, Thorfinn wanted to go but his Father was against it. He volunteered to go himself, as he was forced to, so Thorfinn snuck on his ship and accompanied him. 

So the anime actually starts with Thors beating the absolute crud out of some people along ships and then sinking into the sea and running away. 

When the armed ships came, a decade had passed and it turns out Thors is leader of the Jomsvikings 

An order of Viking Warriors in service to the Nordic Pantheon that served the King of Denmark.

It is the Iron Centry (966 - 1066 AD) and it was this time when the Scandinavian Danes absolute HAM on England. They conquered it and instituted a rule of Law known as the Danelaw, it would be a long time before England would rise up and be independent once more (before being conquered by the Normans under William the Conqueror)

So the Jomsvikings were at the center of it. They had the strongest Warriors in the North, and Thors was their best. But Thors decided to retire after having a Family

Now Jomsvikings only retire when they die, so Thors deserted instead.

Thors was married to the Daughter of the Leader of the Jomsvikings and led a peaceful life in Iceland away from the War.

Now Folki, the new top dog at the Order, is in charge and he found out where Thors is hence he paid him a visit via Armed Ship. Thors refused to return to the Order so Folki forced his hand when he announced to his village of the War. 

Now SPOILERS but this stuff is a dead give away from the start so call em Soft Spoilers

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

THORS DIES

Highlight it to read it

.

.

..

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

..

.

.

ahem..

Now Folki had paid a mercenary, Askellad, to ambush and kill Thors. Thors was undefeated and unstoppable, but one of the guys took Thorfinn Hostage. Thors challenged Askellad to a duel, if he won then Thorfinn goes and if he doesn't then the Victor did as he wish.

Thors won, and as the deal went Thorfinn was let go. In exchange, Thors gave his life in payment of a guarantee that the Mercs won't go after Thorfinn or the others he was with.

Askellad, Son of Olaf, honored it. Thorfinn however saw his father killed and saw Askellad as responsible (even though Folki hired him to do it)

Now here comes 

The Actual Protagonist of the Sto-

*blast*

ahem..

Nuff said but the Story follows Thorfinn and Askellad, but while Thorfinn seems to be stuck in time trying his revenge on Askellad (which he wants to do in a fair straight duel instead of assassination) so Thorfinn kept following him. Askellad is the most cunning man in the world, I kid u not, so he promised Thorfinn he would honor a duel if he works for him and earns it. So Thorfinn, surviving by himself, joins Askellad and works to earn his duel (by taking the head of the enemy commander or by doing something huge or even saving his life)

ANOTHER SPOILER

.

.

.

.

..

..

.

..

.

.

Jk I aint ruining this XD.

.

..

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Hence he continues in servitude until he can get his duel and win.

The story follows Askellad as he goes about plundering as a Company of Mercs.

This goes to a head until the Siege of London where the English have Thorkell the Invincible on their side in a losing war.

The King of Denmark was there with his younger son: King Canute

who is Christian and quite literally a Wimp coddled by his Retainer Ragnar.

CANUTE IS THE NEXT PROTAGONIST 

and oh boy he gets his development

absolutely Crazy

.

.

.

.

So anyway that's enough about the Anime

Lets discuss why its a Master piece

1: It isn't focused on a singular character. The 3 Characters: Thorfinn, Askellad and Canute drive the story but all the side characters are also developed.

Thorkell the Invincible, King Swyen of Denmark, Ragnar, Thors, Haelga, The Two Brothers in Askellads crew, Askellads Best Friend the Giant Gorilla dude xD

Yea, the names escape me cuz I'm bad with remembering names

Anyhow.

The Characters are well developed and the entire cast gets you engaged into the series and how the world and setting will treat them

Which brings me to the next point:

2: The Worldbuilding is BREATHTAKING. It develops the world like a History book, like this stuff is real. This stuff happened, yes its dramatized with fictional elements for the sake of story telling. But historically this stuff was happening

The World is build wonderfully and feels lived in. We have English, French, Danes, Icelanders and what not going about their lives and how the Iron Century Vikings changed everything and how life was. It is truly a treat to see amazingly matured characters in a World so clearly built and made, it truly made this anime larger than life.

3: Ideology

The idea of Vinland is painted as an escape for the endlessly hopeless masses from the Invincible Thors down to Slaves and Peasants, and all in between. Everyone is simply taking a strike at their fortune, and not many end up lucky. At the end of it, people just want to go to Vinland. A place far beyond the Horizon where there is no war or famine or slavery or cruelty.

There is also the Mortality of Life, Whereby most adventurers are in it with their lives at stake. Either they strike rich and live well or die and be forgotten. It's a cruel world where nobody lives forever and where the Strong rule over the Weak. Hence those who grow old often look towards life itself. Askellad mused over this as a prophecy of the end times, King Swyen thought of his inheritance and the fate of his Kingdom after he goes.

In contrast there is Value of Life as well, where we have Thorkell who doesn't think about it and lives in the moment by staking his life and enjoying the thrill of the near death and fighting tough opponents. Thorfinn is in it for revenge, Vengeance who swore on the one who murdered his father. Canute only ever wanted to be a merry child leaving a quiet and loving life with a loving family and Ragnar.

However, one has to Facing the Ramifications of Life

King Swyen through his plotting schemes sought to sort out succession to his preferred son: Harrald instead of Canute

Thorfinn eventually is forced to face the question of what he is going to do after he has had his revenge from Askellad

Askellad sees his twilight years come close and ponders over the Prophecy of his ancestors and of the Promised King of Britannia

Canute matures into a King through one of the Greatest pieces of Development I have witnessed (Other than Eren Jaegar from Attack on Titan, he currently wears the Crown for the Greatest Character Development of all time)

Which brings me to my final piece, My absolute Favorite 

4: The Theme of Kingship

Kingship, Monarchy by Divine Right. For the longest time, man has known to rule itself through a Divine Mandate given to a Select individual: The King.

The King is Chosen by God to lead his people, and after him his blood flows through his Children who take the mantle by inheritance. This timeless concept has existed as long as man has, thus an exploration of this is warranted.

Too many pieces of Entertainment Romanticize or Criminalize or Politicize this in media. Especially since after The Great War (WW1) Monarchies faded from the World as the new World Super Power: The United States set the precedent for Democracies to be the norm through Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points involving Self Determination of a peoples nation state.

Hence, few media look at the subject of Kingship properly in a Philosophical and Holistic aspect. 

When they do, they take parts that suit their needs

King Arthur and the Camelot Mythos is the greatest example of this.

Canonized by writers over the Centuries, there are many interpretations.

Most glorify Chivalry, Set the Precedence for English Kings, Knights and can be seen as a Microcosm of Medieval Europe in its Fantasy.

Yet few realize that King Arthur does not have concrete Historical Evidence that proved he existed. We have evidence that suggested those that match the Legends of Camelot, but they are all pointing at different people and sources.

Thus, it is assumed to be Fiction by most. This Fictional Piece is often the lens used to view Kings through. Those who did not fit this bill were scrutinized through Politics and Institutions such as Republics and what not

Therefore, a Good Investigation would be one that not only looks into Kingship as a System yet also investigates the Figure that is to be King. One that aims to define and characterize the Archetype: King

Shakespeare has wrote Tragedies on Kings, Songs sing of Great Deeds by Kings, Literature arguing for the removal of Kings and the institutions they represent are endless.

Yet a look at What makes a King Great, or What is a King meant to be are often Questions that aren't properly tackled

What does it mean to be a King?

This is by far my favorite question in History. 

For most Religions it is agreed that Man is Imperfect, hence any Man Made institution is rigged to fail due to its imperfections.

Monarchies, Republics, Plutocracies, Technocracies, Dictatorships, Autocracies, Socialist Nations, Democracies, Theocracies and Chiefdom's

All have been attempts by Man to find a way to Live with one another.

Social Structure and Hierarchy are inevitable in a World of Inequality, and that is true for man and life itself. 

Therefore, it is argued that only a System approved by God, or The Divine can work for Man for God is Perfect

throughout history this has given Theocracies and Monarchies the Thumbs up.

From Babylon's King Gilgamesh, to Ancient Israel's King Solomon, to the Great Kingdom of Egypt, Alexander's Hellenic Empire, to the Roman Empire (blessed by the Roman Pantheon), to The Great Empires of China in the Tang, Qing and Ming.  The Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne, The Islamic Caliphates, The British and French Empire and Finally the United States.

All Great Powers of their times have one thing in common, save for the exceptions, they all instituted a Divine Mandate of a Sort into their Ruling Structure.

The King of Babylon was given the Blessing of the Babylonian Pantheon to be crowned, and the President of the United States is sworn into Office whilst keeping a Hand on the Bible.

While that dissuades from the point of Monarchies, my argument here is that it is often the case that a System favored by the Divine is most likely to succeed through History.

Nowhere has this been more true than it has been with Monarchies which have dominated most of the World's History from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the World Wars.

So, when a piece of Media attempts to answer this Question. It is truly an appreciation. And one that is done well, is not only rarest of the rare but a Spectacle to Behold!

So Moving to Vinland Saga

How did this approach the Question: What does it mean to be a King?

Drawing other examples:

Fate Series has tackled it as follows

The King of Knights: "A King is He Who Protects His Subjects no matter what, Hence a King is a Martyr and a Servant to those His Subjects"

The King of Heroes: "A King is He Who Owns His Subjects like they are His Property, and will do whatever it takes to elevate Himself for the Subjects work for the Glory of their King"

The King of Conquerors: "A King is He Who Dreams the Greatest. His Ambitions are Greater, Larger and Grander than the Hopes and Desires of all His Subjects Combined. Therefore, a King is not Alone. For His Will is that of all of His Followers Combined and then some. He is the Culmination of everything His Subjects want to Achieve"

Magi has tackled it as follows

The Wise King: "A King is He Who is the Wisest, and the one Who completely Understands His Subjects, and thus Acts in their Collective Interest"

The King of the Seven Seas: "A King isn't just anyone, He is one Born to Rule. One Born above others, and thus the King is responsible for Leading those beneath Him"

The King of the supposed Rome: "A King is He who represents God's Will, therefore He must Act to carry out the Will of God"

The King of Man: In Magi the Djinn choose their own Candidates, so each Djinn has their own Philosophy like:

"A King is He Who is Undefeated, The Strongest"

"A King is He Who Loves, The Kindest"

So How did Vinland Saga Approach this?

Canute's development from one who rejects his lot his life, to one who embraces it with complete Fluidity and Duty shows us an insight:

"A King is He, Who Shall Build a Heaven on Earth. One who shall sow only Love among-st Man. A King is He, Who Gives Meaning to the Life and Death of His Subjects"

In my years of reading and investigating this myriad concept of Kingship 

I found an answer that can perfectly explain a Good King

So, What makes a Good King?

A Good King is He, Who Gives Meaning to the Life and Death of His Subjects

Vinland Saga not only developed to this, it build and executed this.

Among the Greatest Kings of Mankind, King Solomon is regarded as the Greatest King of Man

He had the Super Natural at his Command, Beasts, Spirits and Man all bowed to Him. He was graced by God to wield unparalleled Wisdom and sense of Justice.

By making him a model to sketch by would mean a Ruler is Wise is a Good ruler

The Problem is, Wisdom is judged by Hindsight.

What might appear to be a foolish decision might pay off and end up as Wise:

Winston Churchill urging the Allies to Fight on against the Nazis

And What might appear to be a Wise Decision might end up back firing and hence goes down as Foolish in History:

The Hindenburg (Hydrogen filled Zeppelins) and Titanic (The Unsinkable Ship)

So judging a King to be Good or not based on Wisdom is not easy especially in the Now.

Being Just does not equate being Wise, for being Just simply means carrying out Law. What is Lawful isn't always Wise (Punishing Criminals for Crimes rather than addressing the Core Concern of what led them to it) (Tbh, History shows that not doing latter is costly like how the American Revolution Exploded) and because it depends on how Perfect the Justice System is and what culture it is from.

So what else?

King Solomon had vast Knowledge that earned him the Respect of everyone.

So being a Smart Person means you are a good King?

Having a lot of Knowledge but not knowing how to use it Properly is a Text Book Example of an Incompetent King

So what is left?

If we delve into the Philosophy 

we see that King Solomon did something that lines in with our definition

He gave meaning to the Life and Death of His Subjects

He never squandered Lives, not without a meaning meriting the value of their Life. (such as going to war to quash Injustice and Cruelty abroad) 

This applies to a great list of Successful Rulers

Augustus Caesar gave meaning to the Deaths of His Legionnaires by pushing Rome to its greatest Extent. He used the Tax paid by the Citizens, not on Himself but to build Aqueducts and Infrastructure to enrich the Realm. He Build Roads and Developed Rome and by Extension Europe.

Akbar the Great gave meaning to His Subjects Life by instituting Meritocracy, and gave meaning to their Deaths by formalizing Pension Systems and Waging War not to Subjugate or Enslave but to Pacify and Stabalise external threats that wished his Domain Harm.

Napoleon Bonaparte did something Similar. He gave his Subjects meaning by spreading French Culture and the Principles of Enlightenment far across Europe. He Built the Grand Army and French Nation State so the people would toil towards something they believed and were proud of during their Life. Even in their death he sought to settle for Peace that would ensure later Generations would not have to suffer the same Hardships and Tragedies

The Rashidun Caliphate is an example as well, for how they sought to give meaning to their Subjects Life by Establishing an Empire where the core tenet was what the said Subjects believed in: Religion as in Islam. They fought the Romans to the extent of Securing themselves, they Fought Persia in Response to their aggression. They gave meaning to the Deaths of their Subjects as well by Ensuring that in their stead a Golden Era would be left for those that Follow.

Don't get me wrong

I am not here to debate who is right and wrong, you are entitled to your own opinion (as am I)

but what I have observed that 

A King Who Strives to Give Meaning To His Subjects, is Most Likely to be a Successful Ruler. Therefore, what makes a Good King is His Stride to Give Meaning to His Subjects

And Vinland Saga has developed, and Portrayed that perfectly

Through Canute

and Through Askellad.

Askellad grew up believing the Prophecy of King Arthur

That He Would Come back from Avalon and Save England when it is in Despair

You can argue, that the Idea of King Arthur is what Drove him to do what he did towards the End of the Season.

You can look it up yourself but it is a MAJOR SPOILER FOR THE SERIES 

I strongly recommend you don't google it, and watch the series yourself and then Judge.

I have said my Piece.

Vinland Saga is a Thematic and Artistic Masterpiece for the Work and Effort it has put into Develop Characters, World-Building, Narrative and Thematic Focus.

A STRONG 6/5

And now Finally, I would like to end it with my Usual Explanation of each of the Stars

Enjoyable: Vinland Saga was thoroughly enjoyable. I admit it was largely due to the fact that I am a History buff and an Anime on Vikings with amazing Fight Scenes and Narrative set in the Iron Century was something that had me hooked.

BUT DAMN

The Developments in the Story and THE ABSOLUTE FIRE OPENING SONGS and the most Calming and Soothing Ending Songs ever. I couldn't skip a Single Second of this start to finish

Opening 1: Mukanjyo - Survive Said the Prophet

Opening 2: Dark Crow - Man With A Mission

Ending 1: Torches - Aimer

Ending 2: Drown - Milet

Artistic: This is probably my biggest rant ever where I have explained the Artistic Genius of Vinland Saga in the realm of Narrative Strength, Character Development, World Building, Ideological Discourse and Pacing as well as Tension Handling and Climax

This is an Absolute Masterpiece of Art

Recommended: I RECOMMEND THIS TO EVERYONE, ANYONE, EVERYONE.

THIS THING HAS NO FAN SERVICE, it only has blood and gore and some Dark Themes. Which means its fine if you watch it with fam, they won't see no Hentai Here. Just Muscular Men going through Life's Horror

Re-Watching: Oh Hell yes. This is the Best Example I have of a piece of Entertainment doing Justice to the Ideal of a Good King. I will be watching this again and again for years to come

Perfect: ABSOLUTELY, at first I had my own ideas on how it might have been better. But after what happened in the last Episode of Season 1, I have no doubts. I can't imagine the series executing this any better than how they did it. I find it flawless. Everything you might hate about it:

The Toxicity of Thorfinn

The Absurdity of Thors

The Rampant Craziness of Thorkell

The Actions of Askellad

Trust me, ALL OF IT HAS A MEANING 

Its there for a reason. It's all planned out for a Big Payout.

Simply put its there to make you hate it, which makes the events later on MUCH MORE IMPACTFUL

An Example is of how Thorfinn is eventually going to end up following His Fathers Path of how He Became the Greatest Warrior. But First, he needs to be the most hated Toxic Piece of Crap in Existence, and then slow burn that over the course of an entire Season

Masterpiece: YES YES YES YES YES

Conclusion: 6/5 -> All 24 episodes stay on my Hard Drive as a sort of Hall of Fame Decoration. A testament to How Good Season 1 of Vinland Saga is

Now Note this was all for Season 1

We don't know if Season 2 will be as good, but have Hopes!

If you have read everything thus far, I thank you. I thank you so very much for being the most amazing Audience.

If I might say, I hope I made this Article worth your time by educating you on the Ideal of a King and who it is inexorably linked with the Human Condition and Mankinds History.

THANK YOU!

Nicknames

So I have a lot of friends, I would give them names so they are easier to mention now xD
Ill update this as we go

Melt: Pakistani, played CK2 (Count of Northampton) and Borderlands 2 Assassin. Also plays DoTA and Fate Grand Order (although his phone is busted so TBD)

Not-Melt Kela: Pakistani, played Borderlands 2 Assassin
actually you know lets call him Kela instead xD He is notorious for ditching us in between plans
He also Plays DoTA

Pathan: Pakistani, played Borderlands 2 Assassin and FarCry 5

Sis: Mein Sister, Masters Degree in Games Development

Haka(i): Omani, played Borderlands 2 Assassin

UmU: Turkish, played CK2 (Count of Cornwall)

Shaheen: Syrian, watched Jumanji 2 with me

MZ: Omani, he was due to join me in Round 5 of Borderlands but had work, expect him later on!

Daddy: American, a True Chad who's studying Computer Science and Political Science at GeorgiaTech. He plays DoTA with me.

Meth: Pakistani, He's a Math Genius. Hence the Meth being derived from Math except its like a Drug. He plays Fire Emblem, Smash bros and Pokemon

Buu: Pakistani, We call him Pikachu cuz hes the biggest Pokemon fan in existence (probably) hes also quite chubby, but be warned that you will invite his fury if you say that in his presence xD We call him Buu cuz he devours food

Deku: Pakistani, A My Hero Academia Fan who is involved in every sort of debate you can imagine and more. A hella nice guy, except he can be quite uncompromising when he takes a position xD He plays DoTA with me as well!

Dr.: Pakistani, A cool and chill guy. A Dr.Who Fan, Trekkie, big fan of Robert Jordan's: Wheel of Time Series

TiffanySlayer: Malaysian, This guy is absolutely Rad. He loves anime, he loves Aimer, he loves Goblin Slayer. He is throat deep into Otaku culture! XD

Q: Malaysian, Meet the Professional Mobile Legends player, Q-TRON!

Mr.Curtin: Qatari, The name says it all. This guy is an absolute Legend. He is also my colleague and plays alot of games from League to Rise of Nations and more! Plus he is hella ripped! like absolutely shredded gym goals

That's pretty much everyone who you can expect will pop up for now

To be continued...

Borderlands 2 feat. Claptrap and Friends

Alright
Borderlands 2

I really can't get into this game if I'm playing solo. (Probably because I have other stuff to play like Skyrim or some JRPGs)
BUT
This is The Go To Game for coop imo

You can pick 1 of 4 classes:
Commando Axton

His special ability is deploying a Turret that attacks enemies in a 360 degree radius

Gunzerker Salvador

Imagine Dual Wielding Guns, now imagine Rocket Launchers Muahahahah this guy is Crazy fun with Guns!

Siren Maya

She can trap her enemies with her Charm ;). Which is a Psychic force that basically lift stuns any enemy for a length of time, which makes them an easy target for the entire team to attack!
Plus shes damn fine

Assassin ZERO

Meet the most popular one of the Squad: Hes a Ninja, like an actual Ninja. He has a Katana and can go Invisible plus he is great with Snipers!

They all have their own special abilities but the game pretty much let's you play however you want!

You can coop with upto 4 people which makes it really fun with friends!

My favorite is the Siren (naturally)

I like Siren Cuz she's a damn fine girl xD plus the fact that her abilities allow me to basically Stun lift literally everyone in the game and she can play support to heal others (I have an affinity for playing support)

And I play with her all the time xD
I tried Assassin but I like Siren more

I have played a lot with my friends, but
Mostly everyone I have been with has picked the Assassin xD hence the Popularity
He's cool, he has good skills in melee and Snipers
And his ability allows him to go invisible which is great for getting behind enemy lines and one shorting em



So anyhow
As of late
I am playing this with my Sister and my friends

My sister runs another siren while my Omani friend runs the Assassin

My Pakistani friend (the one from Crusader Kings 2) also played as an Assassin in this!

The furthest I got was with my sister on the Firehawk mission.

I thought Maya was nice
But then came Lillith
HOLY SMOKES SHE'S HOT XD


Like damn
Ermagawd
I'm a Sucker for Red Heads, so I was insta Sold xD

Anyhow
I recently played with my Omani friend, who is an Assassin, and we got to the fire-hawk mission (but didn't complete it, as in we didn't meet Lilith yet)

This game is really fun to play
You can have 3 of your friends join you and have tons of fun just mindlessly killing bandits with no moral repercussions and just loot the absolute Heck out of everything (The weapons generation system is absolutely cathartic)

Finding a rare item or bringing down a big boss with your friends is really fun and really gets you into the spirit

Highly recommend this game with friends

Other than thst Handsome Jack is probs one of the best villains I have seen in video games along with Vaas from Far Cry 3

Highly recommend this game
Either for friends
For fun
Or the story
This game will have plenty for you to sink your teeth into before you get tired of it

Also claptrap is an amazing mascot xD


So now for some stories

Round 1:
2 of my Pakistani friends (One of them is the same guy from Crusader Kings)
Me: Assassin
CK, Pakistani Friend: Gunzerker
Other Pakistani Friend: Assassin

Ill be frank, we didn't get far xD
we reached the 2nd mission: Best Minion Ever  and then stopped. We didn't pick up afterwards

3 players is chaotic af xD
The Gunzerker kept on charging in (naturally) but he kept dying, so I was forced to keep reviving him. I really like Melee Combat, so Naturally I was ninjaing all around the battlefield like crazy. Problem with that is, if the Gunzerker dies, and I am running around invi then all the enemies focus on the other Assassin (My friend) who is casually sniping from behind. He gets overwhelmed and so rather than meleeing people, I end up being the medic running to and fro the fight reviving the Gunzerker and the Assassin xD
We weren't exactly the optimal team.

Round 2:
The Pakistani Friend from CK2
Ya know I think we should give him a name now xD
Hmmm, I guess I'll call him Melt
He really likes Meltlilith from Fate Grand Order xD
anyhow

Me and Melt
Me: Siren
Melt: Assassin

This time it went better, Melt sniped enemies from behind while I engaged up front. I prefer going in Melee (as usual) so I handle small fry and Immobilize big fish with my Ability which Melt then proceeds to tear apart from a distance with his sniper. We went a long way, we finished Best Minion Ever and even the Bullymong quest. Oh and I have to mention, this game has amazing Humor xD And the Boss Battles are Lit af.
in fact, all enemies are quite interesting and just when you feel they are easy BAM a Badass <Insert Enemy Here> appears. These guys have alot of health and deal alot of damage. They really make things interesting all of the sudden xD
I reached Sanctuary with Melt before we stopped. And ofcourse didn't continue.
Hopefully this doesn't become a trend
Spoiler: It does

Round 3:
Another one of my Pakistani friends (yes I have a lot, they are everywhere) who also studies in my Uni was with me on this one
I floated the idea of playing a cooperative game. First we downloaded FarCry 5 but we couldn't Co-op unless we bought it on Uplay. Which was Inconceivable for a Pirate like me XD
So I got him Borderlands through my other Pakistani Friend who was around in my first game (not Melt)
Hey, thats a good name for him. Lets call him Not-Melt now
Plus this new friend of mine had a fascination for the Northern Pakistanis. I believe they call them Patan? Potahn? Paitan? Pathan!
So I'll call him that now, This Colleague of mine whom we shall call: Pathan

Me: Siren
Pathan: Assassin

I swear Everyone wants the Assassin, he is just so damn popular. I actually had to google Axton the Commando since I have never really played him or seen anyone play him XD

So me and Pathan didn't go far, we finished the Bullymong Quest but then I got stuck in the map XD
after an hour of aggressively jumping around I came out!
Oh and btw, I hold the record of : Not losing a single duel in all of my games (I am not an idiot so I didn't Duel my sister. She is a monster)
So naturally I beat Pathan as well XD
After a while he got bored and wanted to play FarCry 4 so we discontinued the endeavor.

Round 4:
My Sister and me
So my sister picked up Borderlands while she was doing her Masters in the UK.
Oh yea btw, my Sister did a Masters in Games Development, how Cool is that xD
So anyway, I suggested we play Borderlands since she wanted to play more games with me.
Our first attempt was Dungeon Defenders 2 but that died out real fast.

Anyhow:
Me: Siren
Sis: Siren

This time she got the drop on me xD
My sister had a really high level Siren, she was about to finish the game with her. For her to start a new game again so we cud play together really grinded my gears.
She gave me her high level stuff (Which I couldn't use so I sold it for some $$$)
And she basically mowed through every enemy in the game
Ill be honest this was probably my most boring run in comparison, but It was entertaining since my Sister was really enjoying herself. She mostly uses Trainers and Cheats, so this was equivalent to that for her. I was enjoying the challenge of advancing the story at an unprecedented pace which often left me against high level foes xD
It was a true test of my skill which I boast is pretty damn good
I mean I have been playing FPS games since I was little. I played hella lot of Call of Duty back in the day (still do but not as much)
So This run at the same time was where I reached the farthest. I reached the Firehawk mission and met the Gorgeous Lilith. My hopes immediately dashed when I found out that leader of the Crimson Raiders was her Boyfriend
SMH
Although what was I even thinking in the first place, My character is a girl anyway. While that really adds fuel for some vivid fantasy lets not go there xD
So anyway, I went ahead and busted out the Leader from that Dam after we got a Bandit Car to get us into their Compound.
I tell you, that was absolute Hell XD
Handsome Jack's Robots are absolutely monstrous (to me that is, my sis was tearing em apart by the metric ton)
We saved the leader and then had some more quests, but I insisted to take a break xD
We haven't continued after that yet

Round 5:
Yea, I have played this alot XD and I have started a new game every damn time
But the fun part is that I can have the same character everytime. Hence I play with Siren all the way through.

This time we got my Omani Friend!
He is currently in New Zealand so Ill call him Haka(i)
Don't ask me whats with the (i) cuz I aint telling xD

Anyhow
Me: Siren (obviously)
Haka(i): Assassin

This is getting old fast, but as you can see: The Assassin is hella popular with everyone.
Haka(i) was already a bit leveled but he started a new game
This time around we both zoomed through the early game since we were quite levelled, The fun started when we reached Sanctuary
I loved Melee and Haka(i) liked Sniping, but we both compromised most of the time and got medium range rifles to mow down the competition.

Haka(i) is quite versatile in his play-style, or so I thought, turns out he had no idea what he was doing XD there you have it, he was doing fine and having fun despite having no idea whats happening. He climbed levels fast and it was a hell of a blast playing with him.
My other Omani friend was due to join us but he had a commitment so he couldn't come. So its only us 2 for now, but rest assured its gonna be a Trio after a long time now
We reached the FireHawk mission and will do that next time but we blitzed through the rest of the missions. It was quite entertaining If i say so myself xD
We made quite the pair, I rushed in with my Melee and Ability while he alternated between Long Ranged Sniping to Melee Swordsmanship and even Spraying SMGs
He was utterly unpredictable, yet I wasn't worried. It was more of a Diabolical Derby to see how fast we could do and how many we could kill and how much we could blow up in the shortest time xD
Really fun


Anyhow thats it for now
we got
Melt: Pakistani, played CK2 and Borderlands 2 Assassin
Not-Melt: Pakistani, played Borderlands 2 Assassin
Pathan: Pakistani, played Borderlands 2 Assassin and FarCry 5
Sis: Mein Sister
Haka(i): Omani, played Borderlands 2 Assassin

Ya know, Ill make a dedicated Nicknames post to track this from now on XD

anyhow, hope you liked my take on Borderlands. It's really fun and I hope I have convinced u to go play it

Crusader Kings 2

So firstly, I have been playing this game for the past 4 years now. It took me an year to get the hang of it and next 3 have been an absolute blast!

You can start as a lowly count and rise to be an Emperor between the dates of 867 AD to 1444 AD in Europe, Asia and Africa!
Its Free to Play on Steam, but all the DLC's are priced, and this game is pretty dead without the DLCs. Like the DLCs make this crazy good!

So anyway, why the renewed interest?
Well I got not 1 but 2 of my friends to start playing!
I condensed my 1 year of knowledge into 1 hour and ran them through the tutorial.
Now the best way to talk about this game is to share stories:

The year is 1066 AD, The Norwegians have invaded England and are overwhelming. Meanwhile, the Normans in France, Normandy, have decided to invade England and claim it for themselves! King Harold of England stands as the last Anglo-Saxon King to stem this tide. How will the tides of fate turn?

Spoiler: Norway conquered England. Yep
So the lineup is as follows:

King of England: Me
Count of Cornwall: My Turkish Friend
Count of Northampton: My Pakistani Friend

The game starts and my two friends went about their ways managing their realms.
The Count of Northampton fulfilled his wish to get married! "I have a waifu now" and immediately got to work trying to conceive a child (Which took like an year)
The Count of Cornwall was hell bent on declaring war and expanding, and plotting and pillaging, but first he needed to conceive some heirs! He got married to some courtier and had 3 KIDS and the Count of Northampton still didn't get one, a real chad here.
Meanwhile, me being England I was getting rekt by Norway and Normandy. My opening move was to Surrender to Norway

WHAT? You might ask. Well I can't beat any of em. I don't have the DLC: Sons of Abraham which allows me to get 300 Gold loan from the JEWS (and then banish them for some more) which I could use to fund a mercenary army and beat the invaders with. I had a measly 90 gold, and I could barely afford to maintain my army. So I had to surrender ASAP and plan for the future. The Normans did not accept since they didn't occupy anything, the Norwegians were more than happy to! They only really needed the title.
So I conceded and got thrown into prison (I'm gonna be here for a while) which gave the Crown of England to Norway. Now its Norway vs Normandy and Norway defeated Normandy, just through very stupid means since the AI is terrible.
Anyhow, before I surrendered I got my affairs in order. I made the Count of Northampton my Regent, Then I go to Jail.
The Count of Cornwall wanted Devon, but I couldn't give it since my Regent didn't approve. Even though he did, he did not know how to approve of the deal. I tried giving Devon to him so he could give it to the Count of Cornwall. That plan backfired because now it seems he can't give land to other rulers.

Now while the two squabbled around trying stuff, I sat around in my prison. I even asked em to kill me but they are terrible at plots.

Anyhow, years pass and my eldest son comes of age. He is now the regent, atleast now I can give away some of my land. In this game there is a limit to how much land you can directly own, and I was 1000% above my limit literally
So I had to give out land before my realm revolted against me. I gave some lands to my sons, then by a stroke of luck. The King of Norway took mercy and released me. I retained my title as Duke of Essex and my lands so all was well. I immediately gave lands to my family to maintain it, and just as that happened. The King of Norway created the title Duchy of Cornwall, and gave it to: Count of Northampton
Now the Count of Cornwall became his vassal. This allowed him to finally give him Devon, after which the now Count of Cornwall and Devon wanted to be a Duke so he had to usurp his liege. So as repayment for getting Devon, he planned to revolt and be independent!
The Count of Northampton promptly imprisoned and executed him. His son took over, which he also imprisoned and executed, oblivious of being a tyrant.
However due to his fertile nature, the Count had 2 daughters. When The Count of Northampton tried to imprison the first daughter: Countess of Cornwall, his luck failed him and she rose in Revolt!
With Devon and Cornwall, the Countess slightly outnumbered the Count of Northampton.
A War raged, and it raged on my lands. This had to stop

I secretly plotted the demise of the Count of Northampton. Turns out being a tyrant doesn't win you friends. I got 300% plot support for killing him, naturally I did so. He perished, but before this I had my nephew married to his daughter, since the intention was to form an alliance and stomp over the Countess of Cornwall, but that failed since the alliance was formed after the war was declared. However, since that girl was now the Countess of Northampton and the last of her dynasty. With the support of the King and my Nephew, I plotted to kill her as well.
During this time, the forces of Cornwall marched to the capital Northampton but despite being more in number the river advantage of Northampton won it a Decisive Victory!
The War would no doubt be won by Northampton since they have the numerical advantage now!
Sadly they couldn't rejoice for their Countess was assassinated shortly after.
My Pakistani friend, with that, lost all of his living Dynasty and thus it was Game Over for him

My Turkish friend on the other hand continued his war, but the problem is that his liege was now the King, meaning he was in rebellion to his King!!
The King had 10 times the Size of his army, no doubt the Countess of Cornwall was poised to lose this war and with that would be sent to jail.
2 little girls, last of their dynasty holding 2 precious Counties, it would only be a matter of time before those 2 would be assassinated.

The game ends with both of my friends facing a Game Over, so we decided to call it quits and leave the game.

It was a really fun game xD
I expect to play more of this in the coming future

Fire Emblem Blazing Sword Support List

So I picked up Fire Emblem,
My friends recommended me to start with Blazing Blade
I am taking forever to finish it (If I ever will)

But well I spent my time constructively and made a Spreadsheet for the optimum support pairing!
Turns out if you stick 2 peeps next to each other, they start interacting and boosting each other XD
I made an

Excel Spreadsheet <== The Link (Open in Google Sheets, otherwise some data might appear missing)

which compares which pair is optimal

These are not the *Fastest Pairs*
They are the *Optimal* meaning if you want everyone to pair with their best possible partner then this is what I came up with.
The rates for everyone with everyone else are still stated.
The optimal rates are at the bottom.

Hope this helps!

Skyrim Early Game Tips:

So I have been playing Skyrim for a while now (13,149 hours)

and I still haven't finished it.
I blame mods, I love/hate them. Skyrim is by far my favorite game of all time. So a throwback to Vanilla Skyrim, I share my tips of getting you 21 tips for the Early game even on Legendary Difficulty:


1: Go with Hadvar. After spending more than 1.5 years worth of time in Skyrim I finally side with the Imperials. So save your self the trouble. Other than that; When you head to Riverwood and talk to Alvor you can basically take the Iron and Steel ingots he has and some equipment without having to steal. Its a great starting bonus for Smithing and get you on your way. Learn to smith from Alvor for some extra XP.


2: Talk to Sven and tell Camilla he is lying about Faendal thus siding with Faendal. This nets you an easy follower for the early game and he can train your archery. He is the easiest archery trainer to find in the game and u r gonna spam the stealth archer build the first time around, easily abused.


3: Next to the standing stones, check your HUD on the top for a mining Icon. Go there, the place is Embershard Cave. It is an easy Starter Dungeon where u can sneak archer through the entire place to get some major loot and armor to outfit yourself with. Furthermore there is plenty of Ore you can mine in there and There is a Skill book at the end called: Light Armor Forging, which gives u a level in Smithing thus making life easier.



4: Equip a Pickaxe and slash at an ore vein to mine it faster rather than boringly wait while your player does it via action.



5: Cross the River the flows by Riverwood and head South. There is a Lone Cabin ahead whose Logo can be spotted on your HUD. Kill the Witch there with a power attack or a Sneak attack if you are on Legendary Difficulty. It wont give u bounty as she will turn hostile anyway when u break into her basement. She has mages robes and a skill book called Song of Alchemists which gives u +1 Alchemy, Furthermore keep the book as you will need it for the Alchemy Vendor who lives in Morthal as she gives a quest to find the said book. Pick the lock into her basement and steal EVERYTHING. Plenty of ingredients to eat and make potions with plus plenty of ready made poisons and paralysis poisons that come very handy against bosses. Plus its like a free Player home for you with a bed, enchanting table, alchemy table and crops. Don't actually store anything here as it gets reset after 48 hours.



6: Any standing stone is fine, but there is one to the West if you swim in the lake south of Anise Cabin and East of the Standing Stones, there is another standing stone far ahead in-front of "Inilaltas Deep" Fort, "The Lady stone", While it doesn't give u an XP Boost like the first 3 standing stones the 25% Boost to HP and Stamina Regen is a big boon for a Non Mage play-through as you can pretty much run around in battle and let your hp and stamina Regen at a reliable rate before engaging thus more reliable than your warrior stone or thief stone.



7: Go to the Riverwood trader and talk to the vendor, he will tell you about a break in thus prompting you to go to bleak falls barrow. You will have Faendal with you (unless your RPing or decided to torture yourself by siding with Sven) so Bleak falls barrow will be fairly easy for you to beat (I can beat it under 3 Minutes now on a modded run at legendary difficulty with 10 minutes on the vanilla legendary)



8: Level your Stamina for the first 10 levels. Ur enemies Scale every 10 levels with you so 100 HP for the early game is sufficient as other than giants u can’t be one shotted off the bat unless you are begging for it. Stamina lets u run around more so massive mobility advantage and it also increases your carrying capacity which is a must for the early game as you are expected to HOARD EVERY LOOT. So you can sell it.



9: HOARD ALL THE LOOT



10: Don't sell your stuff at River wood trader after finishing the Quest. Head to Whiterun, There is a smelter there next to the Smithy where u can smelt all the useless gear you have into ingots that you can use to level your Smithing Skill.



11: When you finish bleak falls barrow and exit from the back there is a potion of true shot hanging by your left so watch out for it, it will come in handy against the dragon later on, also When u leave from the back of bleak falls barrow, you will see a black symbol of a cave close by. Jump your way to it, this is Brittleshin pass. Its fairly easy as all the skeletons inside can be one shotted. There are just 3 Things u need to be careful of: There is a Frost Rune in-front of the Door just when you enter so save your game or if you are on a perma death play-style then shimmy along the side or jump over it, it can instant kill u unless you are on easy mode. Next, the boss is a necromancer mage who can reanimate the dead and has frost bolts which are either extremely deadly or just a pain to deal with, but he is facing away so stealth for the win. Use the poisons if u didn't already, lastly beware the soul gems at the center of the dungeon, you will know them when you see them. They are like trip wires that trigger a frost bolt at you (it doesn’t always happen but when you are on high difficulty you can’t be certain so take care). Exiting Brittleshin pass from the end will get you an easy entry to Whiterun as it bypasses the entire round trip you would normally take. I don't normally do this as I need to go back to Riverwood for the golden claw and since u pass by anise cabin i can disenchant the weapon of the final boss to level my enchanting and stock up on a sweet enchantment. but if u r in a hurry to get into the good bit or want to speed run, Brittleshin pass is perfect to get to Whiterun asap.



12: Keep your eyes and ears out when heading to Whiterun, the Pelagia Farm has a Giant which 3 Companions are fighting. Go and help them out, it will give you a feel for fighting a giant (don't actually face one alone until end game tho NASA) and will get you a good word with the Companions who are a fighters guild that you can join.



13: Remember when i told you to do bleak falls barrow, well here u go. When Balgruuf sends u to Farengar he wants u to get the Dragonstone from bleak falls barrow, so rather than making the trip back u can just give him the stone there and be done with it. This fast track gets you to the Dragon Rising quest and also gives you both of the Jarl's weapons at the same time, a good reward for early game.



14: Now that you are in Whiterun, You might want to take the time to hunt for skill books, leveling fast in the early game is essential if u want to have fun exploring Skyrim without the fear of dying to OP bosses. So here is the lite version: Dragonsreach Jarl's Quarters top right Room: Before Ages of Men is an Illusion skill book, there is also a master level case at the bottom floor with an Elven sword inside, its a great early game item to have when u most have either iron or steel. Companions Jorvasker: Halgreds Tale is a Two Handed skill book that is lying on the table on the right side of the hall. Jorvasker Quarters the farthest room where Vilkas and Kodlak are sitting, Cherims Heart: Is a Heavy Armor Skill Book. Aela's room that u will visit if u join the companions: There is a Archery skill book locked in her display case along with a sweet Bow. Arcadias Cauldron: The first room you see when you walk in has an Alchemists Guide to Skyrim which is a +1 to Alchemy. Do note u can talk to Farengar about other wizards in Whiterun which prompts a quest to give frost salts to Arcadia, its a simple quest that can get u some neat potions from her and allows u to nick all the ingredients and simple potions from her shop so do it. Belethors General Good store: your usual squeeze for selling all your junk, he has a Skill book on the bookshelf left of him: Biography of the Wolf Queen which gives you +1 to speech, must have for bonus selling stuff. The Drunken Huntsmen underneath the counter is the Black Arrow skill book which gives +1 to Archery, self-explanatory why u will need it. Go to the Hall of the dead and talk to the friendly priest of Arkay who will send u to the crypt full of restless dead to get his amulet, be nice and do it because there is a skill book in the left room Death Blow to Aberrant which gives +1 Block. Plus the small reward is nice to have if none at all. Lastly there is in Carlotta Valentina's house if u can break in but for some reason I don't always find it, and I’m forgetting what skill book was it there. kudos if u find it, if not then its fine nothing important.



15: ALWAYS GIVE CHARITY, THE +15 TO SPEECH IS INVALUABLE WHEN SHOPPING,



16: Keep Petty and Common Soul gems as recharge batteries for enchanted weapons, Use Lesser and Greater Soul gems on the random jewelry you find to level your enchanting and then sell it for a profit, Use Grand souls on your Equipment for the best Enchantments.



17: Remember the boss at bleak falls barrow, well his enchantment is frost damage which u can stick on your weapon. Be sure to improve it at the grindstone because you need Arcane Smithing perk to improve enchanted gear which is like level 40 on the vanilla Smithing perk tree. Scale the slider to 1 frost damage per hit, right now investing in a grand soul gem is bad as u have low speech so its expensive, plus u have low enchanting skill so it won’t be that strong anyway and because its low level weaponry that is gonna get replaced real fast (When u reach Glass/Silver/Scaled/Nordic/Wolf category is when its worth investing into unique equipment because getting Daedric and Dragonbone equipment is Endgame stuff. Elven Dwarven and Orc is Mid-game stuff that u will want at this point so investing into your steel and iron is useless.) What this does tho is give u the slow frost effect on your hits. U get around 100 hits if u use a petty so a lesser or even a greater can be for a good score of hits on your weapon. It will not do much damage but the enemy is still slowed due to the frost and if u leveled stamina, u can block hit and jump away repeat against enemies as they will be too slow to counter u thus making boss battles easier.



18: There is a mammoths tusk behind Hulda in the Bannered mare and one in the Jarl's quarters in the room with the illusion skill book, steal one of em because u will need it for Ysoldas quest and she gives u some fine cash and a speech lesson. If u did everything then doing Carlottas quest to shut up Mikael will be easy as u can persuade or intimidate the guy for easy 400 septims. Also steal the Argonian ale for Brenuin the beggar as he gives u a super health potion. When u talk to Idolaf Battleborn tell him you are a Battleborn as it will make u a friend of the Battleborns and u will need this for making the quest: Missing in ACTION easier as u can go into house battle born without being shooed out, note u get this quest by talking to the Gray mane lady after she is done talking to the Battleborns. Adriannes quest for sword to Balgruuf is not very rewarding especially if u decide to go storm-cloak so its better not to do it as Proventus wears the sword, instead accept the Steel Great Sword and use it until you get something better.



19: Lastly, be sure to buy the "CALM" Spell from Farengar. At level 10 some Alik'r dudes will come knocking for a Redguard woman, the Woman is Saadia in the Bannered Mare, so for the most profitable outcome u need calm. i advise u to wait until level 15 for this quest unless you are playing a mage. The Lite version is: Talk to Saadia, talk to prisoner and pay his fine, go to swindlers den and talk to Kematu, agree to lure out Saadia, Take your 500 gold bounty from Kematu, Kill Kematu, yes just outright attack him, You should have a follower to back u up but be warned this guy is tough as nuts, especially on high difficulty and he uses 2 curved swords. I recommend climbing the stable house roof and sniping him and come down often to bait him out of cover. Loot 500 gold from Kematu now u have 1000 gold. Saadia will wake up now but she will be hostile to u for ratting her out, this is where your calm spell shines as u cast it on her and talk to her telling her Kematu is dead. She will give u 500 gold as a reward, u can kill her and get 53 gold off her which totals to 1553 gold against 500 if u had decided to side with either one. Be warned the Alik'r will still be at swindlers den so don't go back there unless u have serious help. Speaking of which u can climb the rocks at the start of the swindlers den to reach Kematu by bypassing all the bandits for an easy quest.



20: Yea, this is a lot xD. Anyhow 2nd last tip: You probably had Faendal for most of the early game now. By level 20 you are Mid-game material so its advisable to ditch him. If u complete dragon rising u can get Lydia but she is a pack mule who is more effective than trumps wall at blocking you so i advise not to get her as her stats aren't that good either. In the drunken huntsman u will meet a Dark Elf Beauty quietly brooding in the corner: "Blade and Shadow, these are my arts, for a modest fee I can make great art for you" cough up 500 Gold and this will be the best investment you make as Janessa has excellent stats, is a mad archer and a sneak skill good enough that you won't get caught by enemies because your follower is a terrible sneak plus shes waifu material if you use mods. She will make for an excellent follower for the mid game and arguably till late game but by then you probably have: Aela, Serana, Cicero, as your follower because they have the best stats, progression and kit in the game. There is also Farkas, Vilkas, DB initiates, and a couple of dozen others but these 3 are the best ones in my opinion. If you level your smith and enchant kit well then u can even have Janessa scale into late game with you.



21: Finally the last tip: Keep a torch or a flame spell on you or a follower who can use it, because when u head up to High Hrothgar to meet the grey-beards the most vicious creature in all of Skyrim pays you a visit: THE DREADED SNOW MONKEY (Frost Troll). This thing lives at the canyon on the way to the throat of the world, he has massive health and regenerates real freaking fast. Unless u came prepped with very good equipment or are playing on easy difficulty, this dude is gonna wipe the floor with you. You can speed away and outrun him but your follower is definitely gonna die because they will face him alone. Fortunately, a Trolls Weakness is Fire as it does bonus damage, makes your attacks deal more damage and Stops Regen for the Troll. Have your follower tank hits and attack while u fire your flames from the side, or use the shield bash with your torch with a hit and jump away repeat tactic i mentioned to chip at the troll and kill it. It will save you plenty of trouble.



That should be it, everything you need to know to set up a perfect Skyrim Early Game with excellent progression into Mid game. Mid game usually starts on or after Skyhaven Temple quest or when u hit level 20 and arguably is the best time to start exploring Skyrim as u will be strong enough to face bosses and challenges while your enemies won’t be a pushover so it’s not boring. You are also set to spend your days Smithing iron daggers to max Smithing to get Daedric armor by level 30 rather than the usual level 40 ish and dominate the mid game.



A final bonus tip, if u do the dark brother hood quest-line: go to Windhelm, talk to Aventus Aretino, join the brother hood. U will reach the quest line to kill Victoria Vicci where Astrid gives u a very potent poison to use. If you are playing on easy difficulty, this poison lets you Oneshot Alduin in the final battle so my suggestion is to rush the quest until u get this and then speed run the main quest-line without leveling up to finish Skyrim ASAP. And that's it, oh and



before I leave: If you crawl jump your way up from Valtheim Towers, north east of Whiterun, you reach Shearpoint where u find Krosis. A light armor dragon priest mask that gives u 20% Archery, Alchemy and Lock-picking. It is advised to do this before Dragon rising as this is a dragons nest. Killing the dragon priest is no easy task either. Unless you are ready to sink HOURS AND HOURS of your time, Tone the difficulty down to easy and make sure you don't have trash like Faendal. Any of the Companions or Janessa will suffice, just give em plenty of HP potions and stock up on arrows and just snipe the dragon priest all day. The Mask is worth it because Stealth archer IS the easiest and most Broken build.



That's all, "Some parting advice: Women love Sonnets"

Now Imma return to my ultra modded Skyrim.

So I watched Jumanji: The Next Level

 Jumanji 2 was awesome!

A rare case of a Sequel that is not a cringe cash grab

For those unaware:
The movie with Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Dwayne the Rock Johnson

Before you read, here is the Tl;Dr = I give it a solid 4.5/5  (refer to my Artistic Scale)


Now then, by audience type:

For kids:
It was fun & enjoyable. Plus the flashy color and spectacle is something to leave them in awe. There is plenty of comedy and flavor to keep the young entertained

For teens:
It has the teen drama, and a brief investigation on Escapism, University Pressures, The Monotony of Daily Life along with all the difficulties one faces in day to day life. Explored through Teens transitioning into Adult Hood.

For Adults:
It has deep themes and a strong narrative in the back to read into. Also all the Innuendos that fly over the heads of kids are hilarious for the adults to enjoy among-st themselves.
As for the deep themes, it explores the mortality of life and of Life after work: Retirement. It explores Friendships and the concept of betting your life on something. 

Overall, it has a little something for everyone and above all quite enjoyable.

The movie isn't complicated, and I feel It doesn't need to be. The plot device is plausible and sensible:
There is a video game console that throws you into the world of Jumanji where you must use the Characters to finish the main quest, which involves stopping a bad guy and getting the McGuffin back, to get back home. You have 3 lives, and the game is highly dangerous with each character having their strengths and weaknesses and have to encounter enemies, challenges and puzzles. Our Protagonist finds it and tinkers around with it until it traps him and his 3 School friends into it (That was the first movie) but thats all you need to know to watch this.

If you haven't watched Movie 1, this alone is still enjoyable as it walks through everything using the 2 New Old Guys who don't have a clue of what video games are. If you did, then you will enjoy the call backs and new features this time around!

The action adventure and thrill is spot on:

• It doesn't over stay (It doesn't drag out or side tracked, its a full blown sprint with a few break moments in between)
• It isn't anticlimactic (except when it needs to be for comedic purpose)
• The pacing is great (They speed up during tense moments so you stay in the action)

So now to explain why I gave 4.5/5 -> Refer to my Artistic scale

Enjoyable: Jumanji was thoroughly enjoyable. I watched it with a friend who isn't into Superhero films or Deep stuff; He prefers Comedy and Adventure. He loved the Jokes and Comedy along with the acting of each character. He was amazed by the Spectacle and Exotic features of the Movie. It was enjoyable from start to finish

Artistic: While it is comedy, it boasts some amazing Character sketches which makes the character feel lively and their world lived in. Along with the Background Narrative on Mortality and Life itself. Jumanji 2 is as Artistic and Deep as it is Enjoyable Comedy.

Recommended: I recommended all my friends, those who have watched the 1st one and those who haven't to watch this so that checks out

Re-Watching: I can totally see myself watching this again with my other friends or family and enjoying the entire thing all over again.

Perfect?: While I enjoyed the movie and recognize the depth and quality of it, It is not a perfect product and I have some nitpicks for the movie on how to make it better. Hence I gave it an Upper 4 score.

I can't call it a masterpiece (5/5) because I have a few nitpicks (SPOILERS AHEAD)

1: They don't use the Venom Weakness of Ruby Roundhouse this time, so essentially her character was essentially Perfect. Fridge, who has a disdain for losing his fitness, conceded the opportunity to have this character. He might have fought for it, but a short cut of him understanding that he is the best zoologist might have cleared it up. 

2: The map guys weakness is heat and sand but it isn't lethal like a weakness should be so its more comedy which takes tension off from the weaknesses. That said, the map guy should have fainted the moment they saw his weaknesses. Hence leaving em stranded and discover the value of the map guy who is insult throughout the movie while adding comedy too.

3: I felt they rushed it a bit and recklessly lost lives to introduce tension faster

4: The Taichi moment where our Walker Dude gets Destroyed by Eddie Brave-stone is ridiculous since Walker is out of character and he says their thing is settled after that when it clearly isn't. It felt. Like a cheap way to reduce his life.

5: Switchblade should have been a weapon, not a character. And that weapon should have been with the Final Boss.

The lesson our MC shud take away is despite having super strength and all powerful

It was his wit and cunning that made him who he is, so he uses that to outsmart the final boss and defeat him

Thus restoring faith the Main Couple had in each other of how they know each other

And that was my take on Jumanji 2! Hope I have convinced you to go see it! Later!

My Artistic Scale

So I'll be reviewing stuff quite often over here.

To get it all standardized, I have set some ground rules:

• I rate stuff out of 5
• So like 1 to 5 stars. If you want out of ten then you can multiply the score I give. 
• I can define High or Low for each Star
• So a Low 3 means it was good enough to barely reach the 3rd Star (meaning ill recommend with hesitation in this case)

Now ill explain each star (Examples are Western Shows/Movies & Anime respectively):

Enjoyable: 1/5 -> I sat through it all, but it wasn't enjoyable OR it was enjoyable but had 0 Artistic innovation. As in it was a run of the mill copy paste that didn't even try anything original or explore something in debt.

E,g: Pacific Rim 2 or GATE

Artistic: 2/5 -> I quite enjoyed it, and it had an Artistic spin in it, E.g: It showed how Video-Games connect people on an emotional level and explored the said theme. However, I don't think i'll recommend this to anyone 

E.G: Netflix Witcher Series or Domestic no Konojo

The Action Scenes and Henry Cavill's Acting were breathtaking

However the adaption of the source material was weak, and even its own Narrative felt flat and uninspiring plus the Pacing was off and thematic tension was inconsistent.

Recommend: 3/5 -> I enjoyed it, It added something to it's artistic medium or was a good adaption of existing forms. I would definitely want to tell others about this!

E.G: Netflix Castlevania Series or Darker Than Black

Re-watch: 4/5 -> I loved it!, It is a piece of art! I'll not only tell others about this, but I can imagine re-watching this some day in the future

E.G: The Orient Express or Bungou no Stray Dogs

Perfection: 5/5 -> I absolutely love it!, It is deep and artistic and had a lot of thought put into making it. I will recommend this to everyone! I also plan to re-watch this in future, In-Fact I'll download/buy this and keep it on my machine so I can watch it again whenever I want! 

I don't know how to make this better, but I don't feel it has that spark to be a masterpiece, that makes me want to burst into tears or Shout out in absolute joy and ecstasy.

E.G: Netflix The Irishmen or Kuroko no Basket

Masterpiece: 6/5 -> A Masterpiece. All of the above, Cannot make it any better and it Roused my emotions and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it!

E.G: The Darkest Hour 2018 + Brooklyn Nine Nine OR Steins;Gate + Haikyuu!!

Introduction <============ CLICK ME

Hello Dear Reader!

Thank you for coming to my Blog!
Or rather stumbling upon it as you may, A Short intro about my blog, me and the content is in order:

Firstly Me:
Muhammad Hamza Ali! Pleasure to be your host.
All you need to know about me is:

1) I'm a big History buff, My favorite is World War Era History but have delved into Ancient History, Indian History, American, Bronze Age, Asian and what not. Talk History and I'll hear ya with interest

2) An Anime Fan! Give it whatever name ya want. I like to watch anime produced outta Japan and after watching it so much (As of now I have 200 Titles under my belt) I even made my own rating system and Judge anime as pieces of Art.

3) Also watch movies, read comics, manga, books, novels whatevs. While I have a soft spot for Anime growing up, its not without merit. I extend my knowledge to whatever pieces of art I fancy and thus give my take on it too!

4) G A M I N G , I have been a gamer since I was a kid. Starting out with Prince of Persia, Doom and later Virtual Cop, Cricket 07, DoTA, XCOM, Minecraft, Europa Universalis, Age of Empires, Witcher Trilogy, Assassins Creed (All of them tho Ezio Trilogy is my fav), Borderlands, Just Cause Trilogy, Call of Duty (all of em from even 1). My favourite is Elder Scrolls V Skyrim which I have modded to an insane degree (around 350 mods which I have merged to fit 250 so my Skyrim works). I pretty much enjoy playing all sorts of games. Tho note that I am a stronger supporter of PC Gaming, I find consoles too expensive for my take. So expect that stuff here too

5) Philosophy,  Adam Smith on Wealth of Nations, Sun Tzu on Art of War, George Orwell's 1984, and pretty much content involving Nietzsche and Robert Greene really Pique my interest as well. I love discussing how things are, why they are and what they mean.

Anime combo: FATE FRANCHISE
I personally love the works of Kinoko Nasu and most predominantly Fate/Stay Night stuff.
You can look it up but what got me hooked is how it approached the Philosophy of the Ideal Hero, The clashes and contradictions it has with reality, The ramifications warranted as a result of said Ideal Clashing with Reality, and best of all: An Immensely complex yet interesting World and Magic System.

Animated Series Combo: AVATAR
firstly, Legend of Korra was a miss for me, but I adore the original Avatar the last Air bender on the basis of Character growth, Narrative handling, Ideological Struggles and whatnot


So that was big. As you can see, there is a ton of stuff I am interested in. I'm a mixed bag of treats and deets so you never know what I might throw next.


That basically covers who I am, what this blog is and what is the content about.
Now to address the elephant in the room:

"Whats with the name?"
>
Arturia -> Arturia Pendragon, a Character from Fate/Stay Night who is basically King Arthur but female. My most beloved Character, so get used to seeing her around

Makise -> Makise Kurisu, a Character from Steins;Gate who is a Super Genius Scientist at Viktor Chondria University who is the lead in the making of the Time-Leap Machine (yes there is a difference)















Itsuki -> Itsuki Nakano, a Character from The Quintessential Quintuplets, The youngest of 5 Sisters of the Nakano Household.
Yep, that's it. I love her for her endearing Character and Personality.

With that over with, I hope you get a chuckle out of my content or at the very least find something interesting to explore!