#I do think Disney clips the wings of really promising shows

[dentpx]

The thing about Gravity Falls is like, I love it, I love it so much, but you really had to be there. It is a good show! But the theorizing as it was coming out was such a core component of what made it feel very special and engaging. Watching it as a cohesive unit today is just like, you’re pretty much just watching a good cartoon, which is still good in its own right but definitely not at the level it gets discussed at.

[honeys-fiction]

I was really excited to do this one when I saw it, sorry it’s late! I’m a slut for soft Dabi!

-Honey

Dabi playing dress-up with his 5 year old daughter

     Dabi is one of the most notorious villains in Japan. He'd sent many lesser villains to a violent, scorching grave, he'd fought heroes, he was the leader of the Vanguard Action Squad-

     But right now, he was none of that. Right now he was Duke of Fairies, having a tea party with the Princess of Flowers. 

     He sat on his knees, wearing his wife's flower-embroidered cooking apron and his daughter's favorite purple, glitter fairy wings. Hair ties and clips littered his hair nonsensically (done by his daughter, of course), his fingernails painted purple. His five-year old daughter sat across the small table in her room, decked out in a purple princess dress, tiara, and jewelry. On the remaining sides of the table sat Sir Frogington, her green frog; and Lady Puffalots, her very fluffy pink unicorn. 

     "Sir Frogington has run out of tea, can you please refill it Duke Glitterbum?" She spoke rather eloquently for a five year old, but that was probably thanks to the Disney movies she insisted on watching everyday.

     "Of course, Princess Chiharu," he drawled, picking up the plastic tea kettle filled with juice and pouring it into Sir Frogington’s cup. As he did, Chiharu grabbed Lady Puffalots and had her walk into the purple castle tent located behind her, under the facade that she was going to sleep. Once the unicorn was inside and the flap zipped up, Dabi’s daughter turned and spoke to him in a low whisper.

     “Did you see what she was wearing?”

     “Yellow and olive green bracelets, atrocious.”

    “Quite.”

     She broke out into giggles while he chuckled. Should he be teaching his daughter to talk behind people’s backs? Probably not. But he knew she’d probably pick it up at some point. If not from him she’d learn it in school. He wished he could protect her from all the horrors the world would throw at her, he knew she’d face it some day. No matter how hard he tried to protect her.

     He remembered when you told him the news five years ago. You had tears in your eyes, breaking down on your knees right in front of him. You were so worried he was going to leave you, Dabi never seemed like the fatherly type. And for awhile he wasn’t. But as you sobbed on your shared kitchen floor, dreading the worst, he knew if he was going to have a family, it’d be with you.

     And he was terrified. He never had a stable parental figure in his life, no one to show him what being a good parent meant, but he’d be damned if he ended up like his deadbeat father. So instead of hightailing it out the door like you had originally thought, he crouched down on the floor and cradled you to his chest. He promised he’d never leave you or your child, not ever. Not for the League, not for himself, not for the world.

     Fuck he’s so glad he did. Sure taking care of you was a bitch and a half, what with your mood swings and strange cravings, but he knew it’d be worth it. The moment his daughter was born confirmed that fact. When you handed her to him, he felt like you had given him the world and more. His own precious little star, nestled tightly in her little blanket, burbling away in her sleep. He nearly fell to the floor right there. All he could do was caress her face gently, a few tears, but he’d always deny it.

     The two of them became inseparable. No League mission could make him miss his baby’s first steps, no shot at vengeance could tear him away from watching cartoons with his little princess. For once in his life, he felt whole. 

     The stoic cremation user couldn’t help but smile as his daughter chatted with Sir Frogington about the royal ball, cakes and fairies. A small chime resounded from the small easy bake oven located in the corner of the room, his daughter jumping up and rushing over and returning with several miniature cookies.

     “Help me decorate them, Duke Glitterbum!” Chiharu jumped up and down, placing the tiny cookie decorations onto the table.

    “What about Sir Frogington?”

    “You know he allergic to frosting!”

    “My apologies.”

     By the time the cookies had been decorated, his daughters dress was covered in frosting and sprinkles, the table and his wife’s apron was surely stained purple. But they munched away happily, enjoying the tiny cookies and juice. 

    “Thank you, Duke Glitterbum. I’d say this was a very successful party.” Princess Chiharu beamed.

    “Glitterbum?” 

     Damn it…

    “Uncle Hawks!” Chiharu squealed, running over to the Number two hero and jumping into his awaiting arms. “I thought you had a business trip!”

    “You didn’t think I was gonna miss my favorite Princess’ ball did you?” He snickered, gently tossing her into the air above her head, catching her with ease. 

    “How was the tea party?” Your head peaked around the door, causing your daughter to squeal with joy.

    “Mommy! Your back!”

    “I managed to sneak out of work early, business was slower than usual.”You took your daughter from the winged hero, hugging her to your chest. “Also, love the names. I thought the frog was Grigorts?”

    “Only on Wednesdays!”

    “Alright kiddo,” You laughed, handing your daughter back to Hawks with a pat to her head. “Why don’t you go with Uncle Hawks while me and Duke Glitterbum clean this up.”

    “C’mon chickadee, there’s an ice cream cone with your name on it.” Chiharu was whisked away down the hall to the living room, where her favorite princess movie was already starting.

    “Only one!” You called after them, then turning to your dolled up husband. “That’s a good look for you, Glitterbum.” 

   “Shove it. You know I make anything look good.”

    “Damn straight,” You purred, sliding into his chest and pressing a kiss to his face. “Alright handsome, lets clean up. Wouldn’t want to keep the Princess waiting.”

    “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

[romancingromanoff]

What Happens At Disney.... Part 2/3

youHe: 

Just a bunch of Disneyworld fluff! Also more one-on-one time with Nat in this one; you get a makeover and her and Ariel compete for best redhead.  

Part 1 here//Part 3 here

Tony coughed, “So now what?” The rest of the crew is standing around awkwardly in what Cap calls their “civilian clothes.” He’s sporting a plain white tee and a blue baseball cap (of course, because America) while Tony has opted for a more business casual look with a fancy short sleeved collared shirt and a tie. That’s about as casual as he gets but you just hope that he can try and relax and have fun today. There’s nothing that Thor could wear that wouldn’t make him look like a super granola California surfer guy. His man bun is attracting a lot of female attention, but then again, you suppose that that happens most of the time anyway. Bruce, of course, manages to look awkward in whatever clothing he’s wearing. He has a lot of purple shirts but he’s decided to go with the one you got him for Christmas with a small pocket over his left breast that you told him was where he was supposed to put his matching pen you also had made. You think it’s sweet that he’s wearing it today. Clint is also wearing some shorts and a tee along with some actual worn in sneakers; he probably blends in the most with the crowd.

Then there’s Nat- your girlfriend. She could pull off anything of course but today she’s just wearing some shorts, a black tank, and some combat boots. She’s quite the opposite of yourself in terms of the color palette she prefers but you secretly love that her neutral-toned basic pieces allow her red hair to shine and frame your favorite part about her- her face and those green eyes. Her hands are casually in her front pockets and she would almost seem relaxed if not for the fact that she was perpetually scanning the area around her and moving her eyes around to check for potential threats wherever she goes. You sigh and grab one of her hands into your own and pull her towards one of the stores and motion for everyone else to follow behind you.

“Well, me and Nat are going to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique so can you boys wait for us nearby? Thor, I think they sell giant turkey legs at that stand over there,” you see his face perk up at the mention of huge slabs of meat and he’s gone before you can blink.

“Aw, c’mon Thor! You can’t just push the kids out of the way like that!” Bruce groans and goes after him followed by Clint, Steve (who has entered reluctant babysitter mode) and Tony because apparently he just coincidentally wants to “go in that vague direction.”

“Okay, but I am not allowing them to touch my hair,” Natasha warns and you just give her a peck on her cheek before dragging her into the store. It’s like what you imagine Princess Jasmine’s salon is actually like as there are golden chandeliers, giant mirrors, and long silky curtains and drapes of all different colors decorating the giant space. Two of the stylists greet you with great big smiles and start giving you information on all of the different packages they offer.

“Of course not,” you smile. “Remember, this is my makeover, buddy. And I don’t want you stealing away my thunder anyway when you’re already a billion times prettier than me.”

“Get in the chair, you dork,” she snorts as you take a seat in the styling chair and the ladies begin their work. You decide to go with some simple makeup (just a little bit of blush, neutral eyeshadow, winged eyeliner, some lipgloss in the shade that Aurora wears, and light mascara with only a tiny bit of sparkly highlighter) and a giant Elsa-braid.  

“Oooh, help me pick out the perfect ears!” you squeal dragging Nat over to a wall of an assortment of glittery Minnie Mouse ears next. A pair of sparkly white ones with a red bow catches you eye which Nat notices and she reaches up to grab them for you.

“If I have any input, I’d like to see wearing these in the bedroom,” she says in that sultry voice as your face blushes and she slips them onto you.

“Shush, Nat, this is a public place with little kids,” you swat at her but can’t help but catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and you tilt your head modeling them off for her as she smiles watching. “But I do look really good in these,” you admit. “I didn’t know you were into that kind of stuff,” you say to her in a lowered voice and pray that the store is busy enough that no one can hear your private conversation over all of the noise. She just gives you a grin which tells you she’s up to no good and pulls out her phone to show you a pair of very expensive, but stunning cat ears from a website you personally would have been afraid to visit off of private browsing mode.

“I don’t know, maybe playing cat and mouse could be kinda fun,” she says suggestively and you give her a quick kiss on her lips.

“Hey, don’t make me mess up my lipstick,” you warn with a laugh.

“Not until we get home, I promise.”

You meet with the boys just in time to stop Thor from consuming half of all of the turkey legs this poor vendor has and Tony suggests that you all go on a ride.

“How about the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train?” you suggest. “You know, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?”

“I understood that reference,” Steve’s got this huge smile on his face when you mention what was one of the only Disney animated films that came out pre-WWII. 

“Well, apparently the ride is just as old as you Capsicle,” Tony mocks him and pulls up his phone which he has on a website that shows all of the times you have to wait in line for a ride. “Because the train broke down while the dwarfs must have been hi-hoing to work.”

You can’t help but get a bit sad and your sulk a little bit before Nat gently rubs your arm and shoots Tony an angry glare. “Buuuuuuuut,” he begins obviously intimidated by Romanoff. “Luckily, I am an engineering genius so I’ll see what I can do to fix it.”

Perhaps the only perk of having a super egotistical genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist for a friend is that they never take “no” for an answer and can talk their way into pretty much anything when you need a favor from them. The seven of you eventually found your way to the control room which was underground in the infamous tunnels that only workers were allowed to see. 

“I don’t know, Tony, I get kind of claustrophobic and being underground probably isn’t good for my stress,” Bruce worries as Tony is nagging him to help him with the tools. 

“Hey, it’s the happiest place on earth, so get the hell in here,” he says and you hear Bruce groan. You, Clint, Nat, and Steve just decide to awkwardly wait outside while they’re arguing over mechanics and Tony is criticizing the Mouse for “not having adept technicians” when you decide you’d rather go explore around the corner and at least look for a bathroom. You excuse yourself and head into the labyrinth that is Disney’s Underground Maze and can’t help but stare at all of the half-human half-animal creatures you run into. There’s Chip & Dale without their costume heads on so it just looks like two normal guys’ heads floating on top of the bodies of some obese chipmunks, the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland is standing in a corner cursing out his girlfriend over the phone, and someone else with Tigger’s head and a woman’s body almost bumps into you. That’s when you stumble upon what looks like another dressing room and you peak in to find that it’s full of all of the Princess character-actors putting on their makeup and wigs.

“Oh my God, you’re Y/N!” a super perky voice catches you by surprise and you almost trip over yourself before the owner of that voice manages to catch you. She’s wearing the most magnificent mint green ball gown which is sleeveless. You know it’s a wig, but she’s got the most voluptuous red curls that frame her kind face so nicely that you can’t help but stutter as she smiles at you. After all, you’ve always had a thing for redheads and though she’s a little too bubbly for your taste, you have to admit that she’s very beautiful.  “Wow, it is so cool to meet you!” Princess Ariel exclaims before she starts complimenting you on all of the work you do. “I’m such a huge fan of yours!”

“Thank you very much, it’s nice to run into someone that thinks so,” you say. “And I’m such a big fan of your’s, I mean, of Ariel’s since I guess you are her.. or.. are you? Um, what should I call you?” you feel so embarrassed tripping over your own words confused about what the rules are for breaking out of character but she just laughs it off. You had no idea that the employees here could be so nice.

“I’m off the clock right now so you can call me Stella,” she winks and you try to play it off like you totally know what’s going on. “How long are you going to be here in Orlando?”

“A couple of days. I really want to visit all of the different parks.”

“Well,” she reaches into the dressing room and grabs what looks like a sticky note and a Mickey Mouse pen. “Let me know if you’d like someone to show you around, you know, after hours. I can give you the secret tour; get us a dinner reservation somewhere nice,” she winks at you again and then you finally catch on to what she means after she hands you the note which you see has a phone number on it. 

“Oh, uh-”

“Thanks, but my girlfriend knows I won’t kiss her if she’s been eating seafood,” you whip around to see Natasha standing there looking like she’s death itself about ready to take this poor girl away to hell. 

“I, uh, I gotta go,” Stella hurries into the dressing room closing the door after her and you’re left with an angry assassin with her arms crossed just waiting for an explanation.

“Natasha, I swear, I had no idea she was flirting with me.”

“I know. That’s exactly how she took advantage of you,” she almost darts into the room but you block the door before she can go kill anybody.

“Hey, she was not taking advantage of me,” you retort. 

“I saw how you were mesmerized by her hair and that stupid starfish clip.”

“It’s a wig, Natasha. You know I like my women to be naturally redheaded... even if they get a little green sometimes,” you playfully push her understandingly taking her two hands into yours and pulling her closer. “I only have eyes for you,” you whisper and she rolls her eyes trying to resist the puppy  eyes you’re giving her.

“Okay, but if she flirts with you again then I’m ripping that wig right off.”

Natasha won’t let go of your hand as you find your way back to Tony and Bruce who have finally finished repairing the ride. Coming back up above ground, the sun’s glare kind of blinds all of you and you notice Clint looks especially bothered.

“Hey, save that perfect hawk-vision of yours,” you pull out a pair of sunglasses from your bag and offer them to him.

“Thanks,” he says slipping them on over his squinting eyes before Thor, Tony, and Nat erupt in laughter. Clint just stands there confused for a second as his eyes readjust just before he realizes that the sunglasses you’ve given him are from the Pixie Hollow collection and are bright pink with tons of sequins all over the winged-shaped frames.

“You know what? My eyesight needs protection more than my masculinity, which I am completely comfortable with, so you guys can just go blind. Have fun staring at the sun,” he proclaims trying to block out the sounds of Tony struggling to breath from laughing too much and Thor’s giant belly laughs.

“Hey! I will expose you!” he threatens. “Security! Security?! Yeah, this guy has a giant weapon on him! Yup, the hammer guy? That's him. He’s right here.”

Thor turns around so fast with his hammer up to Clint’s chin. “You be silent right this instant, Barton, or else I shall smash you fairy princess glasses with my hammer right here and now.”

“No! Those are mine!” you scream as Natasha just keeps recording everything happening on her phone. 

To be continued...

[bstormhands]

TTS Rapunzel’s Return Reaction

Just a record of my reactions as I experience Rapunzel’s Return.

They kept the season 2 opening backgrounds

I’m expecting us to start right where we left off. 

Ah, starting behind the door, I’m okay with that.

Who is this transparent little girl? The ghost of Christmas past? Not sure if she can be trusted.

Nice cozy place. And Cass phased right through that door! So not real?

Aw. Toddler!Cassandra is so cute.

WHATTT!!!? Gothel!? MOther! ARGHhhhh! Who the hell mated with her?

Waiting in the Wing reprise, more like rip my heart out! Pause for tissues.

Young Captain! 

Wow, Gothel that was harsh, even for you.

Even if Cassandra is Gothel’s daughter, so what? That doesn’t make her Gothel.

Rapunzel isn’t wrong, sisters of a mother that didn’t love either of them.

Cassandra was never outshone by Rapunzel.

What is Cass afraid of? Why are you hiding?

They both have no idea yet, and neither do we.

Nice back scabbard.

She just runs away? And it looks like her hand is still effected.

Rocking song but why is she running away?

And Max knows cross species first aid because, of course, he does. 

Oh dear heaven’s how much does Rapunzel hurt? Oh.

Nothing suspicious about a balloon just showing up.

Ulf, I mean we knew this from the clip but still.

Best line so far: “I can be of some incontinence.”

That was not the smoothest goodbye ever but yeah.

“Corona’s the other way.” Not that you can actually steer a hot air balloon but whatever. 

Owl is still on Cassandra’s side I see. Good for him. I will not hold loyalty against someone. 

Nice use of a map to show what happened so far. We get to the clip and we are only 15 minutes in. Boy howdy, this is galloping along.

Oh good, Feldspar is still around. And everyone else is mining crystals…

Frederic what’s up?

Saporia and Andrew, oh joy. Not exactly a surprise, but it is nice to know we figured it out correctly. 

Great burn Eugene, great burn.

New Saporia?

Varian. I didn’t think you were old enough grow that much of a goatee, but that seems to tell me that you’re still idolizing Flynn Rider. Looking kinda HoneyLemon too.

The Wand of Oblivioum. I hope you kept a copy of that book you found in “Rapunzel Day One” that suddenly seems a whole lot less than filler now. 

Yeah, Varian you didn’t think that through.

It’s Lore’al.

Do you look regretful Varian?

Hiding in Xavier’s forge, good, lots of wide open spaces in there. Ugh.

Shoes of Equine Oppression? How did they ever get together enough to take the kingdom?

AhHa! Xavier and the Secret tunnel.

Aw the Captain is out looking for Rapunzel. So even more of the guard is missing then usual.

Xavier, Monty, Atilla, BigNose and Freidborg. Not the worst team possible. 

The people of Corona are very, maybe overly, honorable and I am okay with that. But yes the game has indeed changed with Crown Princess Rapunzel back.

Nice lab Varian. Good job with those calculations, but did you just do that on purpose?

That is not how you make a cast iron frying pan. But you can make a steel frying pan that way. 

And finally someone said it, Rapunzel you need to deal with your emotional baggage or you are not going to be able to help anyone. 

That’s some impressive painting skill since all you did was squirt paint into the pan.

Rapunzel taking back the kingdom on your own might not be the best plan.

Cass’ room, and in you go. What will we find in here? Focus princess, oh great.

Varian, forgiveness doesn’t work like that. 

BAthbOmb!!! REallY!?? Brave but…yeah.

Rapunzel needed that Varian, you did more good then you know. 

Eugene, Lance and Max, alright!

Fake goatee, figures.

Hairstripe, appropriate nickname, but really.

Now that is a very serious airship.

“Spire”

Why didn’t the blades break?

Nice landing but that’s rough on the knees. 

Instant rust bomb, much better. 

Darn. Good save, Disney. But Andrew should have kept falling. 

“Do you enjoy tea?” It looks like they took their all memories away. We knew that but that’s something else to see. 

Aw, self-sacrificing Varian is so good boy.

And THAT is why she’s a Princess!

Don’t say that! You said it. Oh boy.

Whew, I was worried that the hair shield wouldn’t work at all. BUT DON”T TURN IF OFF HALF WAY DOWN!!!

New Dream!

She’s going use IT! She’s been getting better at it, maybe she’ll control it this time. But where is everyone else? Why just Varian?

Kid, you have no idea what’s coming. Huh. Gloves actually did something. But not enough for her. 

Whoa. Faith again. How does that magic work?

That note said a lot more then that I think.

Bopping song and new outfits.

Balloon parade is cool but those take a long time to make, does Corona had stuff like that just lying around?

But its just the two of them leaping, no Cassandra and I miss her.

I love they are taking the time to foreshadow the ring hijinks from Tangled Ever After. Most wouldn’t bother but in a few years it will make more sense when it is watched in chronological order. 

They caught the Saporians, good.

Surfing lanterns is cool, physically impossible but rule of cool.

Braid girls!

Yeah. Talking about Cassandra!

Wow, that was some episode. I am not sure how to process it all and things are moving fast. This answers some questions and raises even more. But you know what, I am less worried now. They do love Tangled and it shows, I wonder about the ending but, I am pretty sure it’ll be okay now. Though it feels like it’ll be a race to the finish in more ways then one. No wonder Disney is having such a hard time figuring out how to market it, this is some sophisticated storytelling. I thought it smelled like Avatar: The Last Airbender early in season one but it keeps getting better. I will savor it for a long time as long as it ends as well as it is promising. 

[zerochanges]

Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative - One Night Movie Premiere

If you told me ten years ago that I would be able to regularly watch anime movies on the big screen in theatres I would have surely not believed you. Besides maybe a few Pokemon movies or an occasional film in some mega franchise I don’t particularly care for such as Naruto, the prospect would probably seem alien to me even. So it’s funny how times have changed and how anime screenings in theatres is becoming increasingly more common in North America. Just last month I was able to watch the phenomenal Dragon Ball Super Broly film in a packed theatre with a ton of other nerds and it was a delightful experience. Before that I got to see the fun anime version of Die Hard known as My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, and before that a love letter to Go Nagai known as Mazinger Z Infinity! Now only a month after Broly I get to watch an honest-to-God Mobile Suit Gundam motion picture in a theatre too? I feel like the luckiest guy alive. 

If I am being honest, I actually hate going to the cinema most of the time, and spent many years avoiding doing just that. I was always the type of person that was happy enough to rent a movie once it released on DVD/BD and that was the extent I would need out of cinema at large. The only exception I started to make was when Disney purchased Star Wars, and that was more out of fear that ravenous fans online couldn't keep their mouths shut than it was about anything else. Over the years however I started to develop a greater appreciation towards movie theatres at large and a lot of that has to probably do with anime. As I began to become a serious collector of anime and made the transition from my old DVDs to crisper BDs I realized I was at the point where as a fan I wanted the most out of my all time favorite movies--because these were not just my favorite anime movies but my actual favorite movies, and that’s when I realized I truly wish I could have seen them the way they were meant to be; on the big screen, with an insanely powerful surround sound system, with fans all gathered around cheering at the best moments. I will probably never get this experience for Akira, or Galaxy Express 999, or the many other films that mean the world to me now, but I can get the experience for future movies, so I don’t want to miss out ever again.

Gundam is one of my favorite franchises from my childhood. As a young kid I fell in love with the amazing robot designs and was blown away at the prospect of an anime that just felt so different from DBZ, which besides Pokemon was probably my only real understanding of anime at that age. As a teen and young adult especially the franchise became increasingly important to me and left a lasting impression on my psyche. I can’t tell you my favorite Gundam series nowadays because the answer will probably be different every time. Maybe I’ll say the original Mobile Suit Gundam, warts and all, it’s everything I love about anime from the 1970’s and to this day I still love the original Ocean Group dub from Canada. This dub while wooden and showing its age terribly will forever be etched in my mind as the definitive voices for most of the Universal Century characters despite Shuichi Ikeda buttery smooth, ecstasy inducing voice in most of the Japanese series. Maybe I’ll say Zeta Gundam as Kamile was a character my younger self identified a lot with and the series as a whole left a very strong impression on me. Maybe I’ll say Turn A Gundam, a beautiful psychedelic series that displays some of the best writing from series creator Tomino. 

So yes, having a chance to see any Gundam film in theatres was something I couldn't miss. Even if said film ended up just okay it wouldn't matter, as not in my wildest dreams did I actually think I would get this opportunity. I figured the closest I would ever be to seeing Gundam on the big screen would be if I happened to be in Japan for some reason around the time a new Gundam OVA or film was being screened. When Gundam Narrative tickets went on sale for North America I bought them the day online orders were opened and was even the first person to buy a seat at the theatre (thanks to reserved seating I could see nobody else had bought a seat yet). It didn't matter to me that I had to drive 45 minutes to the cinema, nor did it matter to me that I honestly knew nothing about Gundam Narrative, I just wanted to experience Gundam this way at least once in my life. And so last night I made the trek across the city and finally got to see Gundam like I never have. Now I have decided I want to share some of my thoughts and impressions about it. This won’t be a formal review, nor is it meant to be, as more or less I’m just expositing some of my thoughts, off the cuff.

First a little background information. Sunrise’s current "UC NexT 0100" project that tackles the next century of Gundam’s UC (Universal Century) time-line as well as their ambitious promise to deliver a new theatrical Gundam film every 1-2 years from 2018 onward is something to behold, so it’s no big surprise to me that the first film to kick off both of these initiatives would be a sequel to the highly acclaimed Gundam Unicorn OVA series. Saying Sunrise is kind of on a Unicorn kick right now would be an understatement after all. I actually don’t mind this so much however like a lot of people seem to, as Unicorn deserves all the praise it got and there is no two-ways about it being a pivotal factor behind Sunrise’s returning commitment to the UC time-line again after releasing nothing major in it for nearly a decade. Gundam Narrative serving as a sequel to Gundam Unicorn is something I am totally neutral about. 

My greater concern going into the Gundam Narrative film was more that Gundam and films have a pretty rocky history. Honestly most Gundam movies tend to be more on the awful side. If I had to rate all the ones I've seen I would probably only say Gundam Thunderbolt: December Sky and Gundam Thunderbolt: Bandit Flower are fantastic, the original Mobile Suit Gundam film trilogy is an excellent compilation movie series and a good enough replacement for its own television version, the Zeta New Translation films are incredibly disappointing and omit too much, Char’s Counterattack is a hot mess that barely makes a lick of sense, Gundam F91 would have been a fantastic TV show but as a movie it makes me sad, A Wakening of the Trailblazer is okay but also undone by its own weirdness, Endless Waltz is what you would expect out of Wing, the Turn A compilation movies are pointless, and G-Savior sure was … a thing that exist.

Well I am happy to say Gundam Narrative is among the rare films for the franchise that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish! A lot of this has to do with the scale being relatively small versus the usual scale in Gundam films that are way too big for their own good. Narrative’s laser focus on chasing after the missing Unit 03, the Golden Phoenix sibling to the two Unicorn and Banshee units we've seen in the previous Gundam Unicorn series allows it to tell a story largely separated from politics and the world at large--and let’s the characters become the main focal point of the film like any good movie should. 

This aspect alone is missing from so many other Gundam films and is partly why so many fail at being a good viewing experience. I’d say the few that do find that focus, mainly the Thunderbolt series of films and the original trilogy of movies made from the 1979 TV series are the best in the franchise’s filmography. A ton of other Gundam films tend to be bloated as well with rather boring middle sections, so the brisk fast pace of this 90 or so minute runtime for Narrative was a welcome relief. There are some awkward cuts to the film sure, but honestly I felt this beat sitting in the theatre for two and a half hours bored at the long winded middle section that goes nowhere like some previous Gundam films are especially guilty of. This was just enough time to tell a story of this scope properly. Of course the characters and scope of the story isn't enough to carry an entire film so the fantastic soundtrack from returning Unicorn composer Hiroyuki Sawano helped to sell a lot of scenes in the film as well.

The biggest factor that made Narrative for me however had to be the film’s focus on the more metaphysical aspects of Newtypes. Despite my disliking of a lot of Char’s Counterattack I still find the more psychedelic (so to say) aspects of it to be fascinating, just as I always have when such spiritual topics have shown up in prior Gundam works by Tomino and the many teams at Sunrise. While far from perfect I always enjoyed this kind of kooky spiritualism to the Gundam universe, a sort of new age 80’s science fiction interpretation of the soul would be the best way I can describe it but there’s no real way for me to do it justice nor to make it not sound ridiculous. Since Tomino has left a lot of Universal Century Gundam series have focused more on everyday soldiers instead and not so much on Newtypes, the future evolution of mankind, and the soul. In fact I always felt Sunrise somewhat shied away from a lot of these aspect to Gundam since then, so when we got to see this aspect return near the very end of Gundam Unicorn it was a nice treat to me personally. Having it permeate almost the entire runtime of Narrative’s story had me over the moon. A lot of people disagree, and more power to them, but I just can’t get enough out of the spiritual aspects seen in Narrative. 

Gundam Narrative being a modern UC time-line production means it of course has references and lore connections to a ton of other classic Gundam series and moments. I really enjoyed most them even if they were just silly fan service moments. I love that we got to see the famous Colony Drop drawn with modern day high budget animation and it wasn't just reused old footage. Getting to see clips of the Psycho Gundam ravage Hong Kong City was a joy on the big screen even if it lasted only about 10 seconds. I loved that we got to hear some of Char’s Dakar speech again in Narrative--this gave us an opportunity to hear Keith Silverstein, the modern English voice of Char since 2010 handle this legendary speech of his from Zeta Gundam. 

Speaking of the English dub my favorite performances were definitely Griffin Puatu’s portrayal of the protagonist Jona Basta that had to carry a lot of the emotional weight of the film and Stefan Martello’s portrayal of the off-the-walls insane Zoltan Akkanen who was just a pure fun villain that ate up every scene he was in. The Narrative Gundam itself being a reworked prototype of Amuro’s Nu Gundam from Char’s Counterattack four years ago was also a fun way to fit another Gundam into this time frame and I love it gave us such a classic looking Gundam in the Unicorn era of the franchise.

I had almost zero expectations for Gundam Narrative, and all I really wanted was the big screen experience for Gundam. As someone that loves the psychedelic spiritual aspect of Tomino’s old works, and someone with zero expectations that a Gundam movie can really be all that good anyways I walked away from that theatre last night loving what I saw. Gundam Narrative has me personally excited for the future of Gundam films, especially if it means we may see more theatrical screenings in North America for said films. This is probably not a film for everyone, and is definitely heavy on both your love of Gundam Unicorn and your love of some of the craziest stuff Tomino would whip out in his heyday of working on the franchise, but if you’re like me I think this one will be a lot of fun, even off the big screen. 

[walkingnorth]

How did you pick the colors for text boxes in Always Human? It seemed to be somewhat linked to the hair color of the character speaking? And what font was that? It isn't quite Comic Sans, but it's similar (and better) looking. (your art+music is amazing btw!)

Hello! This is going to be a giant ‘reply to asks’ posts, sorry for how long I”ve been keeping you all waiting.

Yep, it was roughly the hair colour of the character speaking, but lighter and shifted a bit to fit in with the colour schemes of the scene. I mostly just winged it? The font is Komika, which has a lot of variations and is a very handy lettering font.And thank you very, very much

More asks under the cut

Anonymous said:I really really wanna start making comics, you’ve inspired me a lot! Do you have any advice for story telling, and character backgrounds?

Hello, I hope you enjoy making comics!

Please check out my webcomic advice tag, and my how I write tag (these are only viewable on a desktop, I think.)

Anonymous said:Hey Walkingnorth, I saw that you use DAUB Brushes on clip paint studio, Do you have a tutorial about how to use the DAUB's watercolour brushes by any chance or any way how I can learn to use them?

I don’t have a tutorial, but I’d suggest playing around and having fun! Find out which brushes you like best, then go into the brush settings and play around with the settings too, until you’ve found a way to make the brushes work exactly the way you want them to. I think tutorials are never quite as useful as messing around and seeing what happens :)

I’ve had a lot of people ask about my art process, so I’ll put together something for how I work on Aerial Magic panels (and maybe upload it as part of the Q&A episode that will happen I promise XD)

Anonymous said:I just wanna say your art gives me the happy tears. Always human was the webtoon that got me into webtoons and im glad to see you working on new things bc i love it all. I hope one day i too can make something that others will coment on and think "wow i made that forever ago glad it still makes people happy"

AHHHHH thank you so much ; - ;It’s really amazing to me that people still occasionally talk to me about Always Human, it’s such an incredible feeling. People are so nice!Good luck with your own works - storytelling is such a wonderful thing to do and I hope you have fun with it :)

Anonymous said:Question, How did you take the first step to moving to a new country, Cause in Always human, You were in Australia and now the United kingdom, How did you feel about taking that step and how did you manage to cope with a new country, Also bonus question if you feel up to it, How did you and your husband first meet?

Actually, during Always Human I was also in the UK :)I’m Australian, but my then-boyfriend-now-husband (who is also Australian) decided to study over here, so we moved. He moved first and got everything settled, so I didn’t have to do much organising beyond my visa, which was a relief. When I came over I was working as a substitute/casual primary school teacher, and I signed up with some teaching agencies before I travelled over, and they gave me e an idea of what to expect and what work would be like. Having them helping with bank accounts etc. definitely made everything much less stressful :)

Overall living in another country has been a great experience, I’ve learned a lot and I’ve had fantastic experiences. I’m glad I did it (though I’m also looking forward to when the two of us move back home - some time next year we think.)

If you get the chance to work overseas, I definitely recommend it!

Aaaaand my husband and I met at a mutual friend’s birthday party. He was funny and kind and he talked to me about books, and then he made an excuse to get my phone number by offering to lend me a book which is 100% the way to my heart :)

Anonymous said:Hey there! What are your primary artistic inspirations for the writing and art of your webcomics? What are your thoughts on Jack Kirby as an artist? Would you like to do a sports story some time in the future? Sorry fir being rambly😅

mmmmmm Kristin Cashore and Umino Chika are probably my biggest inspirations writing wise. Always Human was very shoujo manga inspired, Aerial Magic is very iyashikei inspired.I’m not sure I can point to any one particular influence on my art - obviously I’m very very anime/manga inspired, I’ve been inspired by other webcomics, I’ve been inspired by anime-esque Western shows, I’ve been inspired by Disney etc.(Mostly though I’m anime/manga inspired, I love the big eyes, small nose, small chin aesthetic it’s so pretty!!! Though not very good for facial diversity.)I’m afraid I have no thoughts on Jack Kirby, sorry. I never got into US comics (partially because I don’t particularly enjoy the aesthetics of the art style, partially because I prefer the more cinematic paneling of manga.)I love sports anime/manga a lot, and I’d be keen one day to do a story about a girl’s sports team :DBy the way, please let me recommend to you the webcomic Champs and the visual novel Butterfly Soup :)