#cuz the pacing was way too fast and the episodes too short

[masonspecialist]

I need a dating reality show ala heart signal style to lull me to sleep

[justeclotilde]

Thoughts on LEGO Monkie Kid, pacing, and season 5

I’m taking this from Twitter, but basically this thread about “Say something BAD about the show Monkie Kid” came up and my biggest gripe so far has been :  The show has way too short episodes. Like, 11min30. And tries to do SO MUCH in those 11min30 that either somethings get scrapped (DBFamily but not just that) or big important elements get solved way too fast (Samadhi fire and broken scroll among other things). And it steams I think from the fact that the show went from episodic to serialised while keeping the same amount of time. 

I ramble :  I see a lot of newcomers say that they jumped s1 and 2 and really started with s3/4, and while everyone has their reasons I think that’s silly Because that format is what made me love the characters and settings in the first place. The episodes are short, so the show can only focus on a tiny thing, but sprinkled LBD being a menace throughout the season, with the spider gang being a menace. And now ? lBD is still reveared as one of the best villains, and Spidergang is still very appreciated. Same thing for DBF : Red Son was slowly developed through s1, and returned on s3 Granted he wasn’t in s2, but since he was a major part of s1, and the spider queen special, we grew to care about him and the family to an extent. Because that’s what the show is good at ! Characters interactions, character personalities, CHARACTERS !! And now, the show is going for serialised, which is great and maintains attention, but it wants to do too much with the same amount of time: - In s2 : LBD took 10 ep to build her mech. MK started slowly to grow, and his relationships were explored one ep at a time. Slowly. - In s4 : we lose SWK, MK meets Azure, we learn about Tang, Pigsy and Sandy through their ancestors, we start to question MK’s existence, Monkey MK, the scroll is a menace, Azure betrays the group, MK loses his mentor and morale, DBF is important but scrolled, the JE is defeated and BAM world explodes we have to kill God in 4 episodes now. 

Granted for the characters as well it feels rushed. We don’t have to see everything either. Of course. They have a life outside the show. And overall they did a good job in those 11 bloody minutes 30.

But

But

But.

Now that we have a bit of breathing room, maybe it’s time to have that character moment by episode we’ve been asking for instead of cramming feelings and heartfelt conversations in an episode while the world is teared apart outside. Especially since we’ve seen the characters go through hell for a whole season. MK needs to breath but he isn’t the only one. We could have an episode on Red Son and his time in the scroll, an episode on MK going monkey a whole episode, an episode on SWK and Macaque in coloc, an episode on Tang Pigsy and Sandy trying to get back to their lives since they’re the most normal of the bunch - technically (cuz apparently having episodes focused on them in s4 wasn’t enough to have conversations about it but that’s a gripe i have with the community for LATER). We could have SWK and DBF reminisce on their time together, since DBK is one of the last friend that doesn’t QUITE hate him anymore, or an episode on how Nezha starts rebuilding Heaven by himself while keeping the JE power safe, or an episode on Mei just being awesome honestly, like just Mei observing MK going insane and being the girlboss she is, especially since she went through the whole “excess power that could kill everyone you love” and is still living with that, in a way. That could answer where the Samadhi fire business went. Cuz like in real life some things are tamed but don’t disappear, she might still be struggling but has learned to live with it. And MK is going through a similar path. We could also have Red Son in this one since he’s honestly the most controlled in a way.

And through all that… discretly… the world starts to break apart again ? Tears appear and with it new monsters and ghosts of the past maybe start seeping from the Underworld ? Maybe an unmasked man tries to prevent Mk’s attemps at coming back to some normal because as long as he’s confused and scared he stays the Harbinger of Chaos ? Idk ! TL:DR A lot of critics I see sum up as « They should show this more, why did THIS disappear out of nowhere, this is wasted potential », which seeps from the show not having time to show all that happens at once. Maybe it’s time to take a breather and tackle the problems one at a time again, ep by ep, like in season 2. And then go back to « We’re all gonna die in 4 episodes » to get the panic back on track.

Anyway Please come talk to me about the show and your theories, or headcanons about what the characters are doing now that the wreck of S4 has rolled past them. I wanna talk about my babies some more...

[totaldramafan-lauri]

OK, so.....u-um......this episode was......a lot! Obviously.......and.....

I-I'm gonna need some time and multiple rewatches to sort out all my feelings, so.....m-my extended thoughts will come later, cuz I'm busy with Splatfest.....

b-but.....my first impression was.....complicated.

I-I'm just a mess of conflicting emotions right now......I really really REALLY enjoyed myself.....b-but.....personal feelings got in the way at the same time, so I can't speak objectively right now.

Fizz isn't who I thought he was. This is something I have to come to terms with. He's been my favorite character ever since Ozzie's, and I'd been waiting so long to see him again, and learn more about him, and.....I-I certainly did.......

This is what happens when you put someone on a pedestal.....You build an image of what they are in your mind, and worship only that side of them, which.....leads to.....expectations that are too....high....

I'm happy I learned more about Fizz and what he's been through. But his personality didn't live up to the Fizz I had in my head since Ozzie's - over a year ago. I-I'll get into this in my extended thoughts, but....y-yeah.....I'm gonna need time to absorb this new information. I-I'm certain that he's still my favorite character, and that much will stay the same. I adore the guy. But....th-the exact way I feel about him......I-I'm not so sure.....

It's.....different now. And that's fine.

But, getting past those personal feelings......this is probably THE best written episode of the series so far.

I-it was all moving so fast, yet it was paced so well.....It kept the story moving, yet made sure to GUT PUNCH us with emotion on the way. That backstory scene was probably the closest I'd ever come to crying while watching Helluva.....that scene was short, yet it explained SO much about Blitzo and why he h-hates himself and- Th-the way his voice was- I-it was so hard to listen to.....

And the ending is probably the best episode ending we've had so far, showing that Blitzo IS able to fix his mistakes.....

I also loved so, so many more things than I can list here...T-trust me, I'll get there.....XD I-it was just a very climactic episode, simply put....and it makes me VERY excited for the show's future.

I can't make a call on if this is my favorite episode yet (again, I REALLY REALLY FLIPPING LOVE OZZIE'S, and also Exes and Ohs - but I think this is better than Truth Seekers which is already a high bar), but it's definitely a wow episode. And....I understand if it's other peoples' new favorite.

I-I just.....have some stuff to sort out first.....b-before I can say anything....

The only real problems I have are: 1. Stolas suddenly being outta the hospital with no mention that he was ever there, and 2. The song is the worst of season 2 so far, which PAINS me to say as a Fizz fan (I really wanted something cool from him.....b-but then again, I guess "House Of Asmodeus" was more Ozzie than him, so....a-again, I shot myself in the foot with high expectations)

S-sometimes, things don't go as you expected.....b-but you get something you love out of it anyway. Monster's University taught me that.....

[britcision]

Honestly it’s entirely possible it was your post, but there were about 4-6 with similar sentiments that got me to the point of comment, so at least you’re not alone!

(And tbh I’d be so happy to have more of the world building sooner too so I’m also on-side with this one, the timeline I’m talking about was the release timeline cuz I had to go double check that too but I just realized that wasn’t fully clear - the VM timeline is tangentially related but not the point

I’m also pretty sure I saw someone mention Xerxus specifically should have shown up sooner so that will help you work out if it was yours)

Cuz here’s the other thing too - honestly, I think we all know Matt also agrees with you. It’s his baby, and he really is pushing as much into every episode as can fit, and if he could get more world building in, he would

But they only get 12 episodes a season, and about half an hour an episode. So yeah, it’s 3 seasons before we’re learning about this calamity that happened, but it’s only 26 episodes

That was only just one full season of a show in the 90s, but they’ve already had to rescript all of the pacing to hit season-appropriate arcs within that timeline

(RIP flying cows scene you were a filler session but I still loved you)

It seems like it might have been easy to fit one or two more lines in the way you’ve suggested, just to give a little more oomph, because that’s something they have been doing at all possible turns - although in the first two seasons, most of the extra lore info was about our main characters, and the world as it relates to them

And if you put it side by side with other animated shows like She-Ra and Centaurworld (everyone go watch Centaurworld it was amazing), you can see that this is where a pattern comes in:

Now that we’re stuck in short seasons, most shows are pushing back on any world building not directly relevant to what the characters are doing for at least the first season, if not longer

And the reason for this is something I find personally disappointing; the assumption from executives that they have to hook the new audience on characters, not the world. We all know how much streaming services like to randomly cancel past two seasons, and the way the money guys think you’ll succeed is by chonking heavily on the emotional core of character arcs and some attention getting sass

(Both areas VM excelled without effort tbh)

And it’s also important to remember that when they planned out the timeline for season one, they didn’t know they’d get season two, and season two didn’t officially have the green light on three

We know now that we’re getting four and five as well, so I don’t think it’s even remotely a coincidence that Matt yote Xerxus in as hard and as fast as he could!

When every season is having to make an independent argument for why the show should get to continue, exposition in general tends to be kept to a minimum. You don’t want the audience to feel it lags, or is slow, or anything else that might make them flip to another show

You keep it quick and punchy, and in the case of Vox Machina where they already have a very clearly defined timeline of events they want to hit, they also need to make sure they’re hitting all of the beats they want to hit, and putting the focus on the moments they want to really resonate

And for some reason people assume world building will not resonate, or will make a show seem clunky or too complicated or confusing for new watchers

I dunno how true that actually is, but it is a guiding industry standard that the cast had to bear in mind when scripting out the first seasons

Now that we have seasons four and five already lined up to go, I think we are going to see a lot more of the world building this season (and ongoing, especially if they decide to tease set ups of the Nein animated show too - like a cut-away shot of Trent when talking about Delilah’s part in the Cerberus Assembly, a flash of Nicodranas when Artagan talks about going to the prime material plane)

Due to the scale of the conversion (3-hour episodes into 30 minutes), every single line and shot is still gonna be fighting for its life, but even the new audience has now had 2 seasons to get invested in this world and the people living in it; everyone who was gonna be easily discouraged by extra world building has probably left now, and those still here clearly care about this show

And, well, we’ve now had a full season of “there are DRAGONS look how COOL these DRAGONS are, don’t you fucking love our COOL DRAGONS”, so to keep things fresh and new and delicious for the goldfish streaming service execs think we all are, they do need to be doing something different to keep that level of hype up for season three

And cool new world building and Hidden Mysteries And Secrets We Only Saw Hints Of are a pretty good way to do that

A flash in season two to get people’s attention, with the reveal in season three is a little slow and frankly, if we were still in the days of 20-ep seasons, we probably wouldn’t have had to wait that long, but it does build anticipation and curiosity, and gives the new audience time to realize that this really is a fully built out world, with aspects our characters haven’t even begun to see yet

Matt’s finally got some more freedom to push non-event-critical lore into the world and as much as I (and probably he) fully agree that we wish there’d been more sooner… well, I think season three is gonna give us a really good look at just how deep and in depth the next two seasons are gonna be 😁

One and two had to find their legs and get us through the Briarwood arc, then into the Chroma Conclave, while satisfying Amazon execs (the worst and most dangerous of all execs /j) that this show was watchable and binge-able and all those other buzzwords to make them money

It’s a shame it took until three to get us Extra Extra Lore Snacks (since Matt did feed us as much as he physically could), but I think this is gonna be our pace setter for the rest of the series, and if we’re lucky, for the Mighty Nein series too

We’ve proved there’s an audience, we’ve proved we’re interested, and if we all go feral enough we just might one day see animated ExU: Calamity, so yeah. I’m gonna be going Full Feral

Tl;dr: no one agrees more heartily that there shoulda been more lore in the first two seasons than Matthew Mercer himself, but alas we must all labour under the demands and expectations of capitalism

Still genuinely baffled by a comment I saw about Legend of Vox Machina not really dealing with the Calamity in the first 2 seasons

I can only assume it’s from someone who didn’t watch the first campaign, or wasn’t aware of the timeline, because the only thing we knew about the Calamity for most of Vox Machina’s campaign was “well shit that sounded bad, made the divine gate, got cool items tho”

The Raven Queen not being one of the original gods basically didn’t come up until it was Final Boss time, and she was the most present deity in the campaign (it was a real big deal that she threw in for VM and tbh no one appreciated it the way we will now that Downfall is out)

ExU: Calamity didn’t happen until after the first season had already aired

They. Literally couldn’t have referenced it. It didn’t exist.

And given animation schedules, and that there was only about 6 months between ExU: Calamity happening at all and the season release, the scripts were definitely already finalized by the time Brennan picked up the DM screen

They really are bringing it up at the first possible opportunity, and frankly way earlier than Vox Machina really should.

Minor timeline spoilers ahead:

We’re still in the Chroma Conclave arc, the concept of the Vestiges was still brand new and they were pretty focused on how they’d be useful against the Big Fuck Off Dragons Attacking Everything

They didn’t even go to the Hells until after Keyleth finished her DruidQuest, Scanlan didn’t even go it was a Taryon adventure

(Poor Noelle Stevenson had to come back to try and guest again a week later because they got side tracked it was amazing)

(Also anyone who enjoyed the Honey Heists and wondered where Tova came from that’s her they met her in Hell)

Matt had the concept of the Calamity prepared well in advance of the campaign even airing and the reason it didn’t come up much in campaign 1 is the same reason we didn’t get even just hefty lore drops in the first 2 seasons - never mind that they couldn’t possibly have included events from a mini campaign that hadn’t happened:

It wasn’t all that relevant

The animated show isn’t just for Critters who already know all about the world and Vox Machina and they really are squeezing as much extra juice into it for us as they can

But it’s also a starting off point for people who’ve never heard of Critical Role, and has pretty faithfully followed the campaign so far

There’s really not a good place in the Briarwood arc to stop and talk about ancient history older than the gotdang vampire, Vecna has to wait his turn

And then there’s literal dragons everywhere wrecking shop and they have 20 minutes to get through multiple 3-4 hour long episodes

Matt’s wiggling as much in there as fast as he can, pretty sure the first two seasons already had more Calamity lore than the VM campaign

But

But

Can you even imagine

Animated ExU: Calamity 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

[thefudge]

since you're watching loki, what's your take on loki/sylvie?

they have a nice dynamic and i can see the chemistry, but i think it's all a little rushed. i mean, i get that this series is short, but we needed at least two episodes to establish their budding connection....it felt weird to see them jump straight into intimacy. like, sure, they're technically *the same person*, but it still felt jarring because, in this version, loki is still 2012!loki who just got finished trying to invade new york and kill phil coulson, and the show doesn't really *deal* with that, except to show him a film reel of his future self and expect him to see the error of his ways. halfway through episode 3, he's already serenading a woman he just met and giving her major heart eyes and being all soft and vulnerable and it...doesn't quite work for me. not that i don't like a redemption arc, but it's happening too fast and it feels a little artificial. and sure it's supposed to be *funny* that he's falling for himself cuz that's so in character, but the show expects us to take it very srsly, and i don't quite see it. maybe this is all some grand bait-and-switch, but so far i'm not super convinced. i *do* see the appeal of the ship and support the shippers, but if we're gonna do selfcest, i'm expecting better pacing and in-text motivations.

[boobachu]

best place to start w sonic media?

Sonic the Hedgehog's biggest strength and weakness is diversity. There are infinite takes on what Sonic the Hedgehog should be and that's part of why the fandom's so split cuz we want one or more specific aspects so I'll give you some hints on where you might want to start cuz there's really no one good starting point.

Games where holding down on the D pad makes you roll and speed up: Sonic Advance. It's not as hard as Sonic 2 and it's not as long as Sonic 3 & Knuckles. It also has one of the better special stage systems. If you liked this game I'd go for Sonic 2 next, and if you thought the game was WAY too short then Sonic Mania is for you!

3D games that focus on platforming: Sonic Lost World is in my opinion the most fun to play as Sonic the character. It has a good progression of difficulty, but unfortunately the game does a poor job at teaching you how to use your moves.

Best grab bag game: Sonic Adventure 2 no contest. It has a really cheesy action-adventure story and three really different and fun gameplay styles. Plus it has the best version of chao garden if you wanna pet some dudes and race them

Hardest 3D Sonic game: Sonic Unleashed easily. If you wanna go as fast as possible and try again and again and again to get the best ranks you play this game. Also the werehog is god of war.

Hardest 2D Sonic game: That'll be Sonic Rush, it's also super fast paced and you'll struggle to balance speed and platforming.

Easiest 3D Sonic game: Sonic Forces. This also has a very customizable character (and technically has really difficult challenges, but you'll only run across that for 100%)

Easiest 2D Sonic game: Sonic 4. The second episode has way more depth tho and there's no real bonus from playing both episodes besides Metal Sonic

Comics: the new IDW comics, I love Archie but it's very '90s superhero comic and also very much an Archie comic (love triangles and romance drama) though the earliest Archie comics are very gag driven which would never be revisited until Sonic Boom (which, the Sonic Boom comics are the best thing to come out of that side project)

So far the first 30 or so issues of IDW are really, really good and the last 20 issues are really really okay. It's the one Sonic comic I'd recommend above all else. (also read the 30th anniversary special, that likely won't be on any online sites as it's technically a different canon alongside the movie one-shot)

Cartoons:

Sonic the Hedgehog (the movie) It's probably the most Sonic Sonic cartoon, but it's also only an hour long since It's a two episode original video animation and failed pilot.

Sonic the Hedgehog (the ABC series, aka SatAM) is easily the best if you love adventure and drama and want to see Sonic the Hedgehog have PTSD

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is basically what if Americans made Sonic, it's the most like the story of the games (Sonic & Tails wandering the world and stopping Robotnik) but it's also a huge homage to early animation such as Felix the Cat (who is a big influence on Sonic's design, if you want to see Sonic's spiritual predicesor, watch The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, whom one of the directors/writers of AoStH did some episodes and designs for)

Also go for the new movies, the second one is way better but they're going for the slow decent into villanous madness for Robotnik and that's something that'd be lost by skipping the first movie.

Though, just like the '90s Super Mario Bros. movie, it's heavily inspired by Sonic's canons, it's not an adaptation of any pre-existing story. So don't be shocked if the games and comics are nothing like this (but if you turn out to like it good news Tails is getting a movie and Knuckles a mini-series so yay!)

Sorry if that wasn't helpful, I've never really had to reccomend Sonic before, most people I know either played Sonic 2 or SA2 or something at least once. It's like reccomending Mario, you just assume people'd play it already.

Though I guess it's not the '90s anymor eXD

[real-jaune-isms]

RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 2 Review/Rundown

Cr

I feel like this about sums up the general reaction after this week. So let’s dive into how it got out of hand so fast.

We open, a little surprisingly, on a shot we saw at the end of last Volume: Qrow looking at Clover’s bloody badge in his hand. We hear Robyn ranting and raving at someone about how this situation is all their fault, how all she wanted was to bring people together. She’s pacing in her cell, and at first you worry she’s turned on Qrow and hates him for fighting Clover and getting them both arrested, but no. She’s berating Jacques, and thank god someone is. He quotes his daughter in Volume 1 and claims he is a victim, but it was more endearing and memorable coming from the Ice Queen. He continues to assert his innocence, saying Watts used him and his power for diabolical purposes. Sure, he is guilty of many things, but he should not be held responsible for this. And at least his charges don’t include murder. That gets Qrow’s attention, since it was of course a dig at him. That quells Robyn’s fury rather quickly, and she does defend Qrow’s innocence. But she hops right back on the flame train and (while wonderfully insulting his mustache) says she’s not about to agree with the words of an accomplice to Watts’ sins against Mantle. Sure enough, the man of the hour is also in an adjacent cell, and he’s resigned himself to being stuck here like the rest of them. We get a look at where exactly “here” is, a 2 by 2 grid of square cells whose walls are Hard Light Dust shields. It’s a room that’s otherwise rather empty, and the Dust walls seem to be the only source of light. A very makeshift appearance, all things considered, and I worry about Watts being in a cell surrounded by Dust tech he might be able to manipulate. Then again, they took his rings, but he’s got to be pretty resourceful. Meanwhile, Jacques has all the confidence of a spoiled rich brat put behind bars for a misdemeanor. He’s quite sure Whitley will be rushing to get the family’s legal team on the case, and he’ll be out within... well we don’t know exactly how short he thinks his incarceration will last because Robyn gets pissed and punches the wall dividing them. That shuts him up rather well. And really, Jacques-ass? You’re putting your faith in a teenager to help overturn alleged war crimes? What an out of touch prick. 

All four of them are shaken from their particular trains of thought by an alarm buzzing and the door opening. Three guards file in, disengage one of the walls of Watts’ cell, and go inside to smack him with the muzzle of a gun and drag his ass outta there. Jacques cringes at the sight of such sudden violence, and Robyn looks momentarily surprised before seeming to accept this. Guess she didn’t expect Ironwood to be so ruthless so soon. She sits back on her bed, which looks like its just a hard slab, and laments being unable to do anything. But Qrow says there is something they can do: kill the man who put them here. To paraphrase Agent Washington, that has got to be the worst plan ever. Of all time. You’re already in jail on murder charges, and now you want to actually cross the line and kill THE LEADER OF A KINGDOM?!?!?! I realize that Ironwood has gone of the deep end and needs to be stopped, but this is not the way to do it. This will only lead to failure, I’m sure of it.

Meanwhile, we cut down to an Atlas news reporter doing a story in Mantle. He’s doing his thing, talking about the unprecedented Grimm hordes and Ironwood not doing anything about it yet. But just as he’s going on about the dedication of his station, the Atlas Eye, Joanna comes up and swipes his microphone to deliver her own message to the people. She tells it like it is, saying that the Happy Huntresses are here to offer aid when Ironwood will not, and spreading the word for people to gather what supplies they can and head for the crater. We see one of the kids from Jaune’s crosswalk scene, and thank goodness his mom is still alive. Joanna talks about all of Mantle coming together to hold the line against the coming Grimm, otherwise the storm at their gates will sweep in to wipe them all out. Yang’s group get into Pietro’s pharmacy, and open the door to the backroom to discover something that makes them very happy. As we saw from the promo clip several months ago, it’s three hoverbikes which we then see them riding through the streets. Yang’s a natural at it, driving up a ramp to do a cool flip off a wall much to Oscar’s panic and discomfort as some of her hair gets in his mouth. Jaune and Ren are... adequate by comparison. Noticing the purple glow of what I presume is Gravity Dust propelling them and allowing the bikes to hover, I wouldn’t be shocked if Yang gives hers a paintjob to be the new Bumblebee: Now with added shipping material! What’s far less pleasant to notice is the Grimm squatting like a gargoyle on the bridge they drive under. We see this thing on the rooftops in a few more shots and then... whooo boy. But we will get there. For now, the biker gang finds more people to protect and help on the journey through town to the crater. One of the Real Thirsty Moms has armed herself with a snow shovel and isn’t totally sure if the crater will be a safe place, but Yang puts on her bravest face to reassure her... just before the screams of people being chased by Grimm get her attention. It’s only two Sabyrs, and Jaune stops their progress by throwing a Hard Light shield spawning grenade that we can assume was with the stash of new gear earlier. Ren drops down to stab both Grimm to death and kicks the quickly deactivating grenade back to Jaune who uses the Gravity in his shield to draw it to him. Very handy with all the tools, bud. Oscar is worried the Grimm Salem has brought with her have already gotten this far into the city, but Yang rationalizes they’re stragglers from the big attack last night. Cuz yeah, we’re still only 12 hours or so removed from the climactic latter half of Volume 7. She doesn’t wanna take any chances though, and asks Ren if Jaune can amp his Semblance up so he can mask the whole crowd for the trip. Ever the realist, he gives a less than encouraging answer, but Jaune sees how badly these people need some hope and comfort. So he makes it into a reassuring promise that the trip will be totally safe and Grimm free. Good job, man. But in every crowd of people, there’s always... a Karen. In this case it’s a grandma who doesn’t want to go stay in the slums among the “animals”, she wants to go to Atlas dammit. But Yang has been waiting to berate someone after the morally grey argument with Ruby last episode, so she takes full advantage of this. This lady might want to be in Atlas, but it’s become clear that Atlas doesn’t want her or any of the other people in Mantle, whereas the Faunus in the crater are showing more kindness than she deserves and giving her a warm place to stay amid all these Grimm. That shuts her up quick, and her daughter (one of the Real Thirsty Moms!) nervously butts in to say that yeah, they’ll accept the offer and she’ll go get their stuff now. We fade to seeing the greyed out crowd walking down the street with Yang giving frontal support, Ren riding on Jaune’s bike in the midst of the crowd to mask outwards in a radius, and Oscar guarding the rear. Grandma Karen is still whining about having to go to the crater, but her daughter is trying to get her to pipe down.

Oscar laments how hard it’s been to get folks to cooperate, with Ozpin chiming in to say he’s preaching to the choir on this one, and that he’s becoming increasingly concerned about that challenge. Oscar grumbles about the unencouraging internal peanut gallery, and Oz gets right to the point. The teens all have every right to be mad at him for dipping on them in Mistral, none more so than Oscar himself, but that’s not what Oscar’s beef is about. He’s mad that he gave him false hope, that in the time Oz was gone Oscar was able to really start coming into his own as a fighter and a member of the team. But now he’s back and Oscar will go back to just being the vessel for the guy everyone really cares about. Oz acknowledges and validates that, but admits that he was never really gone at all so... the merging is still going. Oscar is gaining deep memories and what magic Oz has left, so it’s closer than ever. Neither of them want this to happen, but what can they do? Further up, Ren’s cloaking flickers for a second and Jaune checks on him. He’ll be fine, he’s just got a lot to focus on. Jaune tries to give him a pep talk, but silence is more needed here and Ren is a little snippy in saying so. Jaune seems pretty bummed that Ren is in such a state, but I can’t really say he’s mad at him. More upset with himself and his leadership. One member of his team left to do something else, and the other is in a mental funk he has no clear idea how to help him out of. That’d bum anyone out. Let’s talk about Ren for a moment, actually. I think part of the reason his semblance is working at less than 100% is the same reason he’s pissy with Jaune. He has too many emotions bottled up and he’s trying to ignore them for the sake of staying neutral and calm to be at his best. But if you force yourself to always be neutral, it becomes that much harder to shift into the zen needed for this power. He needs to let himself have emotional highs and lows so he can transition naturally into the middle ground. In other words, TALK ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS, BUDDY!!! It’s also been theorized that his semblance can work for more than just neutrality and he might be projecting his inner turmoil onto the crowd. But that’s yet to be proven. Oz appropriately closes out the scene by saying that they ALL need to figure out a way to work together, but something tells me that’s not coming for another 8 episodes at least.

Changing locales, we see Penny outside of a building with a puffing smokestack on the edge of the city. Turning around, we see where the city of Mantle ends and the slums of the crater begin, and how many people are making there way down from one to the other. But quickly look back, as Blake has just cut off the lock on the chain link gate to the building and May is leading our girl squad inside. That’s right, the one and only May Marigold is coming along on this mission so we get a chance to see her really show her stuff! Nora is grateful for the assist, but May assures her this plan would have definitely gotten Robyn’s backing judging by how much she talked about Amity Tower once she was in the know, so she’s all too happy to help get it up and running. And the Happy Huntresses can afford to be sending her for this, since Fiona has the rest of the team helping her out. The reminder that their partners are off doing a separate mission dampens Blake and Nora’s smiles though... Ruby worries about the safety of going into this place, but once inside Weiss gives the rundown. This is a subsidiary of the Schnee Dust Company that specializes in shipping packages of refined Dust from the mines up to various areas of Atlas through pneumatic tubes. And since it’s a small side business, the worker robots have no direct chain of command to Ironwood, just the Schnees. And Weiss’ grand plan for transportation up to the Atlas military base is something Ruby jokingly suggested back in Volume 2... mailing themselves to their destination. You’re becoming more like that dolt every day... and as a White Rose shipper I love it~ Blake takes this opportunity to rain on Weiss’ confident parade with a dig at the high percentage of buildings in Atlas the Schnee family must own at this rate, and Weiss refuses to comment on how many they actually don’t own. Glad to see Blake being playful like this, shows she’s really comfortable being back with the group again. Everyone spreads out to look for the tube they need, and Penny finds the one for Atlas Academy instead. It reminds her of the confrontations that were had there last Volume, and it clearly still bothers her. Ruby comes over to check on her, and incorrectly assumes Penny’s lamenting about friends fighting is regarding her and Yang. You may be the protagonist, but not everything is about you Ruby. Penny meant Ironwood, Winter, and the Ace Ops, the people Team RWBY had become such fast friends and trusted allies with in Volume 7. The people who are doing and saying such unkind things now, like Ironwood telling her people will die unless she does as she says. Maybe that’s why she’s lingering at this terminal, she’s debating giving herself up to him for the sake of others? 

Ruby is having none of this self blaming talk though, and turns Penny around to look her in the eyes as she assures her that no, that isn’t true at all, Ironwood was just saying it to hurt her and make her feel bad enough to come back. Penny admits that she misses the days when she was just the Protector of Mantle, that she now has so much heavy responsibility and duty thrust upon her as the Winter Maiden and she wishes she did not. She was struggling enough to find an identity as a normal girl, now she has a whole other identity to grapple with, it’s all truly unfortunate and sad. Holding her hands in a very similar way to how she did back when she first found out Penny was an android, Ruby assures her that she is still very much the girl she once was. She protected Mantle by taking the Maiden powers so they wouldn’t be misused to hurt the city. This seems to cheer Penny up a bit, and she thanks Ruby for it. The two have another nice hug, before Nora calls out that she’s found the terminal they need. Blake notes that this is the point of no return, and May asserts her confidence that between Penny’s capabilities with the computers they’ll encounter and her own invisibility Semblance they’ve got this in the bag. Penny doesn’t like being referred to as a secret weapon, or a weapon of any kind, but she says nothing about it. For now, let’s praise May for being sassy and cool and doing a cute little curtsy for style. Nora asks the important question of how the heck they’re gonna use this thing, and Weiss goes into tutorial mode again. Just lie back into the tube and hit the launch button, easy enough. Except she was sitting on the edge of the tube for a visual aid and Nora got bored. So ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM goes Weiss up the tube with a frightened screech. Everyone just watches in slack-jawed shock and confusion, but Nora immediately goes giddy at what has just happened and what will soon happen to the rest of them. I can’t imagine what Ruby and Blake must be thinking, not to mention what’s going through May’s mind with this being her first exposure to Nora being... Nora.

But that’s all we get of them for this episode, so Weiss is Schrodinger’s Heiress for the next week. We go to the crater as Joanna heads into a tent where Fiona is hunched over a map coordinating over comms with someone we’ve yet to meet named Crimson. As she finishes the call and whines over how stressful this all is, Joanna drops a small crystal of fire Dust into a sort of furnace and assures her that she’s doing a great job. Fiona absorbs the map into her hand of infinite holding and says Joanna’s big display on the news makes her more qualified for this job. Joanna laughs that off and says it was necessary to spread the word, which seems to be working judging by how many folks are arriving. The group they’re now noticing come in is the one Yang and her squad have just arrived with from Sector 7. The happy lamb does a happy hoppy dance hearing that they’ve already cleared out that sector, and admits her previous doubts that they could manage this much with only half their team. This hits a sore nerve for both Ren and Yang, and the former stomps off while the latter gives a passive aggressive response. They really need to address this soon or it’s all gonna explode in their faces... Oscar wisely changes the subject to ask how they’re managing to house and provide for all these people, and the two Huntresses give a rundown. They’re doing what they can with houses and shelters, and a lot of people are trying to make old mineshafts into someplace livable, and they’ve been looting SDC refineries for Dust to keep everyone warm. Unlike our own society, no one is getting arrested amidst the end of the world. But they substitute that with the terrifying dread of not knowing when the majority of the Grimm will finally attack, what they’re all waiting for. We and the teens know they’re waiting for Salem’s command, for an opening to cause the most damage. And the longer they wait the more the negative emotions build to draw them in. Clever clever, you old witch you. The ominous mood is interrupted by the badger guy from episode 1 running up to inform Fiona that another fight has broken out among the people. He’s voiced by RT founder Gus Sorola, and apparently he’s Fi’s uncle! She seems bummed about having to go break up another fight, but Joanna’s got this one covered. But problems keep coming, and Crimson reports in that there’s a group of Grimm coming in from the east that he can’t handle while transporting civilians. Yang and co are all to ready go get this off Fiona’s plate for her, and we cut to Yang being pursued by a Teryx. We soon see she’s leading it into an ambush, as Ren and Oscar come riding in at an intersection to toss a grenade baton beneath it which presumably contains air/wind Dust because it gets propelled upwards to crash into a bridge and fall back down stunned. Yang gets out of the way and Jaune charges in for the kill. With that job done, Fiona immediately has a new group for them to clear out on the west side. The kids are getting real tired of this constant rushing around killing Grimm, but its part of the job they made such a fuss about going to do so they gotta do it. Oscar points out what I mentioned before, the negativity from everyone worrying when Salem will strike is luring in the stragglers amongst the Grimm. Speaking of stragglers, three Sabyrs come charging up the street much to Ren’s annoyance. But before they can make contact, something gets their attention and they turn tail to run. This puzzles and concerns the team, since Grimm have never retreated before. Before they can finish asking themselves what the Grimm were running from, they get an answer. A large dog-like Grimm pounces on Oscar and starts mauling him and thrashing his body around. He tries to fight back, kicking at one of its legs, but it is unfazed and keeps hitting him until his aura is gone. We see this thing has no eyes to speak of, but it soon gains apposable hands and hind legs capable of bipedal movement. All the better to carry Oscar away with, and shockingly enough, all the better to hold him in front of it as a human shield when Yang comes charging in to try and save him. She has to swerve and avoid hitting the kid, but gets grabbed by the head and tossed against a wall. Ren is the next to attack, but his bullets do jackshit to its back and his “grapple into the enemy and pull myself at it for a kick” has never worked before and continues to not work now. The Hound, as it is named in the credits and in concept art, stretches out its arm much like the Nuckelavee back in Volume 4 and swats Ren away. Jaune is about to charge in too, but Yang warns him about the Hound’s shield tactic. He’s in disbelief, because they may have seen old Grimm that have gained beastial sentience but never this kind of sapience and creative thinking. Ren grabs his guns but the Hound holds Oscar up again to stop him. Ren, naturally, yells at the Grimm to give their friend back. 

But the Hound just stretches its neck with a few cracking sounds, and says “No”.

This leaves the huntsmen and huntresses in a silent stupor of shock and fear, and I would not blame them. If all of my world’s history has been telling me that the monsters I hunt are mindless beasts of violence and destruction, nothing more, that’s one thing. If I learn they were created by a deity solely for the sake of destroying my civilization and are nothing but his avatars of darkness and wreckage, that’s a big theological pill to swallow but I still know how these things always tend to act. If I am on 6 hours of sleep vs 28 hours of being awake, just had a big personal argument over what our job should be amidst the apocalypse, and now my entire understanding of the monsters I at least thought I knew how to handle is thrown out the window?????? Yeah, I would need a goddamn minute before I could think rationally and quickly again. So you’ll excuse me for giving Yang, Jaune and Ren a pass as they just stand there and watch the Hound grow bat-like wings in a very painful and goopy transformation that gets some goo on Oscar’s unconscious face and then climbs up a building with Oscar in its mouth to fly away. When they do recover their senses they hop on their bikes and chase after the beast at full speed, giving a hasty and vague apology to Fiona for having to go handle this emergency that she wouldn’t believe even if they told her. And that’s it, we have to wait a week or longer to find out if they catch this thing and get Oscar back. Judging from the intro, I’d say they won’t and he will be brought before Salem for torture. Fun!~ This definitely opens the door for brand new possibilities of what Grimm are capable of doing or being, and lots of people are theorizing the Hound is so intelligent because Salem stuck a person in there, possibly someone we thought was dead but perhaps isn’t? Who knows, we’ll have to wait and see.

Sorry it’s so late, but hope this is a good review.

[dovesndecay]

Okay so these are all three wildly different pieces of media, so here's what I mean by connecting them, cuz tbh I wanna sort my thoughts on it a bit more anyway. :D

So, The Magicians -- I can't currently speak for seasons past 2 right now because it's been ages since I watched them but I'm on s2 right now. I love the world-building -- I like the fact that the show asks the questions that other fantasy stories are too scared to answer. "Why can't we cure cancer with magic?" because magic takes energy and no one short of a literal god can do something like that, and those guys are assholes.

While I personally think a lot of the character work in the show is deeply flawed, and I have my theories about the writers' room during production, I do very much love the way that they purposefully juxtapose characters to teach the same lesson with different extremes. We see it a lot as parallels between the "main" character Quentin [let's be real, fandom, it's an ensemble cast] and his best friend Julia. From the first episode, you can watch the threads throughout season 1 teaching them both very similar narratively important lessons. The way they mirror each other remains a central foundation of the show.

I'm currently through my second watch-through of S1 of Ted Lasso, and where The Magicians loses me on character decisions narratively, TL utterly captivates me. I'm rooting for 99% of the cast, and when I'm not, there's a damn good reason. The dialogue and character interactions feel genuine, fast-paced without feeling falsely manufactured, and even when making bad decisions, always in-character.

I genuinely like these characters, even the kinda shitty ones because they act like real people and they make dumb, self-sabotaging decisions. (An "iykyk disclaimer": Opinions pending on Rupert and Nate, tbh, tho.)

With A Court of Fey And Flowers (a real-play D&D show on DropOut), Dungeon Master Aabria Iyengar is a dream to listen to when she gets into her groove of describing characters and movement and the atmosphere of her settings, with a purple prose that never feels overdone or understated. Her characters are unique and play well off of both her own, other characters, but also the player characters of the party.

I don't think my writing is anywhere close to hitting this particular goal tbh but hey! goals ✌😎

New writing goals: The Magicians meets Ted Lasso meets A Court of Fey and Flowers.

I have a lot of thinking to do.

[otakween]

07-Ghost - The World (Part. 2)

Episodes 11-20 of the 07-Ghost radio show. I’m really enjoying listening to this. It makes me want to investigate which other anime have radio shows. The only other one I know of is Zetsubou Sensei. Pretty funny that the lesser known shows would be popular enough to be on the radio. Links below for anyone who wants to listen (raw Japanese only). 

Episode 11

This episode kind of feels like the beginning of a new season because they got a new opening and ending theme. They’re nice to listen to but not something I would want to download or anything. They have a cheesy mid-2000s vibe to them (gee, I wonder why?) This episode was cute because they had Hakuren’s VA as a guest. It’s fun to imagine Teito, Hakuren, and Mikage all hanging out together since that never happened in the series. 

This time around they discussed “what would you do if X happened to your best friend” scenarios and read a lot of fan mail. As usual Mikage’s VA lost every game lol. I think Jun (Hakuren’s VA) said at one point that he thinks of Mitsuki (Teito’s VA) as an “ikemen” looool. I just googled her name and she does look really androgynous. 

Episode 12

More of the same, more teasing of Namikawa (one of the fanmails was just asking if he got bad grades in school lol). This time around the beginning conversation was about “who would make a good brother, sister, mom, etc. in the 07 Ghost universe?” It kinda bugs me how surface-level and basic their answers are. They never really mention side characters or manga-only characters so they really only have a tiny amount of people to shuffle through again and again. On the other hand, Namikawa never read the manga so...

They played two games: “which thing is smaller?” and what’s in “Pandora’s box?” Saiga flat out said she didn’t want to do the second game lol. She’s getting bored with the formula. I do think the show is stronger when they’re just chit-chatting or bouncing ideas off listener mail, but the games are easier to understand language-wise so it’s good to have a mix of the two. 

Episode 13 

This episode had Kuroyuri’s VA on as a guest which was a nice change of pace. They discussed grades again (you can tell a lot of the listeners are very young based on the listener mail) and played shiritori using dialogue from 07 Ghost. I feel like they’re getting pretty creative with the games they come up with. 

This episode and the previous one had a lot of ads at the end for 07 Ghost content (DVDs, drama CDs, manga, etc.) They mention the “upcoming live event” which I’m guessing is the same one that was released on DVD. Are live anime events still a common thing? I know the Tales of series has an annual festival so I guess they must be. -sigh- why can’t I live in Japan :( 

Episode 14

This episode was fun to listen to, Namikawa and Saiga crack each other up a lot and have great chemistry. I feel like I’m enjoying this radio show more than I enjoyed the entire series? Loool 

Anyway, in this episode they spent a long time talking about and giving each other nicknames (they settled on “Wada” for Namikawa and “Ouji” for Saiga). Namikawa got roasted by the listeners a bunch, as usual, and they had a “dad joke” competition. Two listeners wrote in about their worries, one was worried about his sore neck and the other’s husband was mad at her for spending too much on anime (lol). I guess this episode came out around the mid-point of the anime’s broadcast because they referenced the Frau dolls and the weird noises they make, which was funny. 

I think I need to listen to more Japanese podcasts cuz this is fun and great practice. If anyone has any reccs, please let me know! 

Episode 15

Sho Hayami (Ayanami’s VA) returns!! His voice is sooo dreeeammy. One of the listener mail’s mentioned his fan club and I totally get it lol. I would join if I could. Anyway, this episode was cute. They talked about their first crushes (Hayami’s was a boy!) and played a game where they had to read some exposition from 07 Ghost and pick out what was wrong about it. Honestly, I struggled to understand that part because fantasy world vocabulary is tricky. Namikawa lost as he always does and his punishment was that he had to talk like a baby for the rest of the episode. He did a really good job lol. 

They did a “last supper” segment again where they ate pudding (flan) with soy sauce, which apparently is supposed to taste like sea urchin...ew. 

Episode 16

This episode was decent, a little meandering lol. They had Hyuuga’s VA on as a guest and he seemed surprisingly shy compared to the character he plays. He was very quiet and didn’t contribute much to the conversation. I was a little nervous when he lost one of the games they played and had to speak “rabbit language” (basically adding “pyon” or “usa” to the end of every sentence) for the rest of the episode, but that actually was exactly what was needed to spice up his debut lol. His awkwardness plus the vocal tic was pretty hilarious. 

This episode took place after the live event because they had some fan mail about it. One girl went with her mom which is so cute (I can imagine dragging my parents to something like that lol). They discussed what it would like to be a twin and played a game where they had to read a bunch of tricky words (mostly katakana) really fast. It sounded really hard! I kinda wish I had the script so I could try for myself. I really like reading katakana 

Episode 17

This episode felt really short, the nico nico video is only 38 minutes long! Castor’s VA guest starred this time and was way more energetic than Hyuuga’s VA in the last episode. He was hamming it up a lot. They discussed sleeping positions and played a game where they got a list of 3 07 Ghost characters and had to figure out what they all had in common. I had fun playing along (although I didn’t do very well lol). Namikawa lost and had to use “zamasu” language? I’m not really sure what that is. 

At the end of the episode they read some listener mail and gave love confession advice lol. Almost made it a third of a way through the show! 

Episode 18

A nice, simple no-guest episode. This time around they discussed what pets would suit them and played family feud basically (and failed miserably). Saiga and Namikawa both got “punished” for failing the game and had to speak like the opposite gender. They both really struggled to do so lol. Masculine/feminine speech is so weird to me. I’m sure English has some, subtle version of this, but if someone told me to “talk like a guy” I wouldn’t know what to do. (Lower my voice? Say “bro” a lot?) It’s always interesting when other languages have a quirk that there’s no real English equivalent for.

This episode felt kind of lazy. They spent most of it just chit-chatting and didn’t seem like they wanted to do the regular corner. They ended up running out of time for the final fan letter reading. I’m not complaining really, it was just noticeably less professional than some other episodes. 

Episode 19

Not gonna lie, the Japanese was a little tricky for me in this one. Haruse’s VA made his show debut and I didn’t recognize his voice at all lol. Haruse barely talks in the show so I was like “???” They asked him what kind of character Haruse is and he was like “...nice?” Lol poor Haruse. Not much to say about him anime-wise. 

This definitely felt like a “we’re running out of ideas” episode. The game they played was really weird. Basically it was “what do you do when X natural disaster occurs?” with 07 ghost characters illustrating what to do vs. what not to do. Haruse’s VA lost and his punishment was to speak in broken Japanese (like annoying foreigner characters do in anime). It was really obnoxious lol. The episode ended with a “Last supper” segment but I had trouble following what they were eating :/ Almost to episode 20!

Episode 20

Another Hyuuga episode, although I felt like he didn’t talk as much this time. These episodes are really starting to blend together. This one was recorded in October so they discussed autumn and things they like/dislike about it. Practically every fan letter was about Namikawa (either bullying or praising him). I finally understand the “Wada” joke (namikaWA DAisuke), it took me a few episodes.

Unfortunately I didn’t really understand much of this episode, especially the game they played. It sounded like they had to pick a symbol to represent a character from 07 Ghost, but I’m not sure if that’s the gist of it. Namikawa lost as usual and his punishment was to speak like an old man. I thought he did a great job! Sometimes I forget I’m listening to voice actors instead of regular radio hosts. It makes sense that all of their punishments would be impressions related. 

[risottostitties]

Hi! First time here to ask haha! Any HCs for La squadra with an Otaku s/o? Like she watches anime and even buys merch in secret cuz she's scared they might find her hobby lame and immature? (Also,what will be their fave anime? And genre?)

Oh boy let me tell you I have some THOUGHTS about these boys and their taste in anime

La Squadra with an Otaku s/o

Risotto 

at first he’s gonna be kinda confused, not gonna lie. Growing up the only ‘anime’ he knew was like, Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z but at that point he was too old to really get into Pokemon, and he never considered DBZ anime because it aired next to cartoons and stuff.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t appreciate s/o and their good taste. He’s the kind of guy who wants to learn about what interests the people he loves, and he loves you. So he’d honestly enjoy late nights spent binge watching your favorites.

Comes to realize that DBZ was low key his gym goals for the early years of him working out. If you bought him a ‘Swole like Goku’ tank he’d probably wear it to lift in, ngl.

Knowing your favorites he’d probably look to merch for his go to birthday or Christmas gifts. Considering the hobbies and interests of some of his co-workers, a scantily clad waifu figure is honestly a welcome change of pace.

Depending on the style or aesthetic of the anime (ie, is it goth) he would be down to couples cosplay, although he wouldn’t be comfortable with you posting pictures of his face or any identifiable features of him online

His fave is probably the original Dragon Ball Run, followed very closely by DBZ for the nostalgia bit. Something deep like Full Metal Alchemist (Brotherhood and the original) would also appeal to him

Is also a big fan of Beserk, disappointed by the anime. And Vinland Saga, not disappointed by the anime.

Partial to Princess Mononoke as well. He likes some Ghibli films, isn’t afraid to admit it. Thinks the score for Spirited Away is bomb af.

Prosciutto

Prosciutto doesn’t really get it at first either. Honestly? He probably didn’t know the difference between cartoon and anime until you explained it to him.

Unlike Risotto he might be a bit more judgey if you try to get him to watch some with you. So you gotta hit him with the real classics. 

But similarly to Risotto, he at least makes an effort to try and indulge in the things you like. He might not be as patient, but he tries.

Probably wouldn’t do cosplay himself, but would hunt down exclusive seasonal merch to gift you. He’d take careful stock of your collections and do some research to pick out only the finest figurines and posters for you.

Would buy that hella expensive premium bandai apparel for you too, might even pick something subtle up for himself if he really liked the show it came from.

Also back on the cosplay note, if you agreed he’d find the highest quality cosplay possible and have you model some of his favorites for him.

(In particular if you were comfortable in fem clothing, Faye Valentine gets him going)

He loves Cowboy Beebop. 100%, wants to watch it again as soon as it ends. Everything from the characters to the story to the music and the fliud animation that has aged like fine wine appeals to him. Prosciutto is a man who likes the finer things in life. He oozes class. Cowboy Beebop oozes class and prestige.

Also likes Maasaki Yuasa. It was his idea to go see The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl in theaters.

In general his tastes tend to lean towards arthouse type anime or bona fide classics.

Pesci

Pesci knows anime and has been doing his absolute best to keep it a secret from the rest of the gang because they already tease him enough.

He’s one of those secret weebs, you gotta know where to look. Your best bet is to look at his accessories. Is there a watch with a certain symbol from an anime you recognize? A lanyard with a familiar print? Something subtle that isn’t immediately noticed by people not looking for it.

He has a secret box in his room full of blue rays from his faves. He watches them sometimes when he’s home alone. There’s nothing X rated in there obviously, he just doesn’t want people to know.

Thank god he has you.

The two of you probably bonded pretty fast over your mutual love of anime. Hell, you being such an open and proud Otaku probably gave him a bit of confidence in expressing his interests too.

Yall are the weeb couple. Yall definitely go to conventions together. Couples Cosplays, the whole thing.

He’s a sucker for Shonen just as much as he is for the really good heart wrenching painful ones. 

He watches Boruto because he loves Naruto so much.

He would also tear up at Clannad.

Dango Daikazoku triggers almost a pavlovian response of heart ache.

So does Secret Base.

Ano Hana is probably his favorite, although even you’d need to pry it out of him. Its one thing that Prosciutto gives him shit for liking anime, its a whole different ball game if he found out Pesci liked girly anime

Fromaggio

He knows what hentai is. That’s about as far as his knowledge went before yall got together.

He thinks its pretty interesting though, so he’d be down to watch some with you.

Turns out he really likes action shonen. He got really, really into One Piece. Like, instantly. He likes the fact there’s so much to watch/read before he’s caught up too.

Another boy that would couples cosplay and be really into it. Especially if it continued into the bedroom.

He’s pretty go with the flow, so he isn’t picky about what y’all watch. Even if it isn’t his cup of tea he’ll sit through a few episodes on a night with you.

Fromaggio can’t tell the difference between a high quality figure and a shitty one. Its a crap shoot what he buys for you. Its more a process of ‘oh, so likes this character’ rather than checking the seams and paint quality and how dynamic the pose is/interchangeable parts. 

Definitely buys way too much in the dealers room because of this.

He tries his best.

His fave is probably One Piece, liked bleach a lot but never read the manga, Yu Yu Hakusho is another one he really enjoyed. The Dark Tournament arc had him at the edge of his seat and hype as shit.

Illuso

Had a passing knowledge of anime before dating you. Knew what it was, saw a few of the mainstream ones, thought they were enjoyable, moved on with his life.

Your dedicated interest in anime would surprise him at first, because he always figured it was kind of a niche thing.

Would snoop around your collection of manga/figures/plushes in the mirror world while you sleep.

Winds up reading a lot of your manga like that (he’s good at reading in reverse because of his stand)

He finds he appreciates the art style of 80s-90s manga a lot more than he does the modern stuff. He really got into Ranma 1/2 and thinks Rumiko Takahashi’s artstyle is excellent.

If you asked him to watch Inuyasha with you he wouldn’t say no.

Probably wouldn’t want to do couples cosplay, but he definitely has an appreciation for you in cosplay.

You could talk him into going to a con if you caught him in the right mood. It’d be a hard sell though.

Has a surprising enjoyment for J-Rock. 

Inuyasha is high on his favorites list, as is Ranma 1/2. Also a fan of Ghibli movies although its pulling teeth to get him to admit it.

Melone

This man has watched so much hentai in his life.

He probably actually knows them by title honestly.

He enjoys anime too, and is not ashamed unlike Pesci. Everyone already knows he has unconventional tastes there is nothing to hide here.

Melone enjoys traditionally feminine anime, especially Sailor Moon. That one has a special place in his heart as he has memories of his sister watching it with him when he was much younger.

Its more of a decompress thing than anything else, so he doesn't tend to favor heavy anime with dense plot and more mature subject matter.

He likes Maid Costumes. On you, on him, it doesn’t matter.

Doesn’t know a whole lot about merch and what makes something higher quality but he learns fast. Between you and him the Dealers Room at cons won’t know what hit them.

Is the type to preorder a figure he knows you’d like. And maybe one for him.

Buy him this and he’s putty in your hands for a month straight (SFW don’t worry) https://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Sailor-Moonlight-Memory-Locket/dp/B00UA9XB48

Sailor Moon is his favorite as I’ve said before, his favorite sailor scout is Rei. Is also a fan of Ano Hana, Violet Evergarden, and Toradora although he needs to be in the right mood to watch them.

Ghiaccio

He went down the Fate rabbit hole and we haven’t seen him since.

The gender bending grates as his soul but he is addicted regardless. There’s just so much dense lore that he can’t seem to stop going.

But also seeing how much care and attention is paid to the historical background of a lot of the servants is intriguing to him. Its the perfect blend of accurate and harem trash that infuriates him but also leaves him needing to know more.

He hasn’t played every game but he has Grand Order on his phone and has sunk an ungodly amount of money into the gacha trying to get his favorite (Its Jeanne Alter, in case anyone was wondering) and has seen all the anime (His favorite is the cooking spin off because its surprisingly calming to watch)

Fate Zero is probably his favorite ‘serious’ Fate adaptation. He enjoys the gravitas of the Holy Grail Wars (and hates how it was tossed out the fucking window in UBW/Stay Night/Heavens Feel) and the ritual aspect to the summoning and foreshadowing of future events as well as hints at a deeper magical lore in the universe hit all the right spots in his lizard brain.

The fact every fate anime has a different version of Saber (or a Saber Clone) pisses him off too.

He really loves Fate. And will scream about it for hours at you.

Getting him to watch or talk about anything else is like pulling teeth but he eventually relents because he loves you.

Its difficult to get through a single episode without him grumbling about something or another, but he tries once he sees its important to you. He does his best not to outright insult your favorite anime.

Can appreciate high quality merch as well, probably collects Jalter Figures himself.

If you’re comfortable in fem clothing, Cosplay Jalter for him and he will literally ascend then and there. Keeps pics on his phone. Would probably make it his background. He’s weak

Outside of Fate he finds he enjoys high fantasy shows. Historical fantasy pisses him off too much, and straight up historical drama would also have him grasping for inaccuracies.

Full Metal Alchemist is a non-fate series that he really loves because of the world building. The movie Maquia was one he enjoyed as well. Likes every Miyazaki film, don’t tell anyone. Cried (and raged) when Ushio died in Clannad.

In general he just likes really good world building. It has to be good otherwise he’s going to spend the whole time picking it apart.

[jade4813]

Now that S3 has passed, what are the things you loved about this season? Didn't care for? Hated?

Well, that's a good question. I really liked a lot of the ideas for the season. The execution occasionally fell short of the mark, however. I liked the idea of Flashpoint. I know that, given the medium, it couldn't last long. I still liked the IDEA of mixing things up a bit. Not sure they did as much as they could have done with it, though.I liked the idea of two villains doing mini-arcs over both halves of the season. I think that COULD have worked better than one villain over the whole season, which is hard to sustain. Sadly, there were things they just didn't think through as well as they could have, leaving plot holes. And, more, they didn't pace Savitar's story out very well. There wasn't very much of evil Barry, and by the time of the reveal, most everybody knew who it was gonna be (and even more didn't care by that point).I liked the idea that the headlines could give them mini benchmarks to hit before the big bad, sort of bridging a gap between a Monster of the Week and the season (or half season) long Big Bad. But, again, I think those could have been more effective. Perhaps if it hadn't been approached as "this is how we save Iris" (so we know Barry has to fail or at least it has to not work) but instead as Barry now knows about these things so feels a duty to try to help and/or stop them. Then you could have small but material victories along the way to celebrate.As for the characters...Barry: I ADORED happy Barry and want more of that. I loved him as mentor to Wally. I thought there were moments he really shone and was allowed to be brilliant. I hated that they would have him be brilliant one episode (phasing an entire damn train) and then regress him the next to justify the existence of his team by having someone have to tell him, essentially, "have you tried running? Maybe try running." He did have to do a few tricky things with acting this year, playing various Barrys, and he handled all of them very well.Iris: I was THRILLED at how much she was a part of the show. After last season, when she was practically a recurring character for half of it, having her be such a big presence was WONDERFUL. I disliked that they didn't utilize her presence as well as they could (with things like journalism), and as much as I like her heart-to-hearts with Barry, they sometimes turned the conversation to him when they should have kept the focus on her (like Iris telling him she wants her life to matter as a person and he tells her he wouldn't be Flash without her. Is that an admission I'm glad he had? Yes. But not RIGHT THEN. Right then, they should have focused on the role SHE has in the world as a journalist, etc. Her legacy will always be in part that she is Barry's wife and the Flash family matriarch. But she isn't JUST that). I HATED that they so rarely let her death be ABOUT HER. (On the other hand, she did save the day in the end. So there is that.)DO.BETTER.BY.YOUR.FEMALE.CHARACTERS!I did love Westallen, even if it was occasionally frustrating. The one breakup was TV stupid but even when they did it, it was obvious why. So whatever. And I WANT THAT LOFT!Cisco: Okay, I liked that he was allowed to be angry at Dante's death being due to Flashpoint. I didn't like seeing him so dark, and it did rub me the wrong way that they made the change for him SO dire and SO permanent when I knew after the mid-season finale at BEST, it would all be forgotten and never mentioned again. I did love his relationship with Cynthia for the most part, though there was one episode that I think they didn't handle as well as they ought in that respect (Abra Kadabra). I adore him, but he doesn't have to be Barry's brain to justify his role on the show, so they could really stop dumbing Barry down on occasion to have Cisco tell him what to do. Let both characters grow out of that role please, show.Caitlin: She wasn't as MUCH about a guy's story this year as she's been in the past (though they dipped a toe in those waters). So that's a plus. And I actually think the story about her trying not to become Killer Frost and eventually becoming her anyway had potential to be interesting. It was, however, poorly handled. There are too many questions left unanswered, they had her be cavalier about her powers at times (Christmas snow, not wanting to be INCONVENIENCED by having the charge the bracelets that were presumably the only things stopping her from becoming a murderer) when they also wanted us to buy that she was terrified...they also didn't bother to give her a motivation to join Savitar at the end. She was just like "oh, cuz." And I'm afraid they won't bother giving her actions actual consequences with the team, any more than they did with the stone fragment. So.Joe: Loved him. Could have used more Joecile.Wally: I liked his journey to be a hero. Not sure I was super keen on the way he got his powers. Didn't hate it, but wasn't my favorite.HR: I guess he was funny at times. Did I care that much about him? Nope. At this point, why get attached to his characters? They'll just be gone at the end of the season and he'll play someone new the next one.Tracey: Had potential. Written way too much like a flake and came in waaaay too late to care.Jesse: I think the actress is adorable. I still think the character is a twit. Julian: I actually loved his initial antagonism with Barry. I think that's what they should have done with Patty, given her backstory, to be honest. I was disappointed he was Alchemy because it was just so obvious. His transition to team member was...eh. Maybe a little fast, but okay. They kinda did the reverse Caitlin with him, in that his story became sort of all about her, to try to make an emotional connection for the audience so we'd care when she went bad. On the one hand, that wasn't necessary - we've known this character for 3 years; if we don't care she turned bad on her own merits, a romantic subplot won't help. But on the other hand, they keep making her story about a man, so for them to make a man's story about her is at least a novel twist.

[kingoji]

I’ve been giving the Godzilla ‘Millenium era’ movies a bit of a binge rewatch in order this past week, since we finally got a blu ray player in the house that they work on.

It was quite an odd period of movies. Seems to be the selection that opinions are most varied on as well. I’m gonna share mine on a film by film basis.

For the benefit of anyone who’s just happened upon this and doesn’t know the history, the Millenium series is the name given to the Godzilla movies from Japan that were made from 1999 to 2004. Initially they came about as a reaction to Tri-Star’s 1998 attempt (the one with Ferris Bueller and Leon), but the dwindling ticket sales of their previous series of movies, the Heisei era, also encouraged them to rethink their formula some. What was decided was that three standalone movies would be commissioned with different takes on the franchise, and the most popular would be the direction they embraced going forward. This largely fell by the wayside, and all but two of the films of the era ended up becoming standalone features. Naturally, as a result the reactions to the films varied as the tones and themes of the films themselves did.

Godzilla 2000

This is my personal favourite of the Millenium movies, and not only because it was the first one made where I was aware it was being made at the time and, thanks to publications like G-Fan, was able to follow along with updates periodically. I didn’t get online until around 2006 or so, so this kind of niche news was extremely hard for me to get ahold of. Godzilla 2000 had a radical redesign for Godzilla. It may well have been an effort by Toho to show Tri-Star that you *could* be extreme in redesigns while still honouring and being recognisable to the original (I am a fan of the Tri-Star design as a monster, but as Godzilla it was a failure), but it was also a solid way to visually differentiate this series from the previous one. Production values were higher across the board, and it was much more experimental in its special effects, often integrating the suit-acted Godzilla into panning or otherwise in-motion real-world shots. Before this, the technique was only ever used to add Godzilla into static shots or the far background. It doesn’t always hit the mark, but you have to respect that they aimed for something and took a shot. The miniature city sets were actually the largest ever constructed at the time, and the decision to reduce Godzilla’s height by half meant that they could be made larger and more intricate. In other words, the city sets looked more realistic and expansive, meaning they matched the real-world shots better and would be demolished more convincingly. The lighting work was stellar for this film, too, with crimson skies replacing the blue-tinted spotlights of the Heisei.

The human cast here is probably the most realistic and likeable of this series as well. All too often people dismiss the human element and act like the monster stuff is all that matters, but I cannot stress how much I disagree. Having a human cast you care for makes what happens with the monsters more urgent. My favourite character in this one is Katagiri, the director of the Crisis Control Intelligence bureau. He is considered the villain of the piece, and the film supports this by making him needlessly dickish to the main character and dangerously glib as to whether he lives or dies, despite the man posing no threat to him, his company, his position, or literally anything else about him. Thing is, despite this overplayed animosity, Katagiri’s behaviour and personality are actually fitting to his position and responsibilities. If it weren’t for his chafing attitude, he could have been the hero of this film quite easily. He reminds me of ‘The Colonel’ from Akira, only less stoic and serious.

In fact, I’m not sure there is a villain in this film. Godzilla is immediately established as a natural threat, but at the same time there are two equally valid points of view voiced about him; that he is a danger that has to be stopped, and that he is an animal doing what he does and should just be contained for study. Katagiri is next to be introduced as someone we shouldn’t like or trust, but see above. Then there is the alien life form which takes longer to fully understand the motives of but is no less destructive in the meantime. The alien, which for the most part is always hidden within it's vessel, had been stranded on this planet for millenia, and for whatever reason cannot leave. So it does what any living creature would do and tries to survive. It engages Godzilla because his DNA contains the key to surviving this new environment, but when things don’t go it’s way the life form resorts to learning what it can about Godzilla from our internet data first. This hacking and absorbing of data is seen as a hostile action and humans treat it as such. Then it faces Godzilla again and gets what it wants, only for things to go wrong again and Godzilla’s DNA mutates the alien from it’s natural state to a grotesque monster which then has to fight for it’s life before being destroyed. Next time you watch the film, pay close attention to how Orga acts when it is revealed. It looks at itself with horror, and when Godzilla advances on it it backs up in a manner which seems to say “Whoa, whoa, time out!” and only really gets into the fight when it realises Godzilla is not going to stop. It’s outmatched from the go and knows it, and everything it does seems born of desperation rather than aggression or strategy. Orga is one of the most tragic creatures in the Toho stable; a creature of genuine intelligence trapped in a brutish, cumbersome form, killed before it can try to do anything about it. Of course, for most of the film the alien is an ass to humanity, so it’s hard to feel too sympathetic to it. Then when Godzilla has “saved the day”, he proceeds to lay waste to Tokyo himself anyway, reminding us that while he may not be the villain, he’s sure as shit not our hero.

Actually, I think that’s the only universal source of contention for this film; after evrything has gone down and before Godzilla goes on his rampage, the human cast wax philosophical about him. One notes that humans created him, and ever since have tried to kill him. another than asks why he then keeps saving us. A third postulates that maybe it’s because “Godzilla is inside each one of us”. Which makes no sense. The first statement is correct, but the question asked is wrong as in this movie’s timeline Godzilla has always been the threat, and only got into this fight for personal revenge. I don’t speak Japanese so I don’t know if this is a bad translation, but I personally choose to interpret the real meaning of the discussion as something closer to the second person asking if we deserve Godzilla, an the final replying that we all carry the weight of responsibility for him. That’s how I’d phrase it if I ever adapted it in some way. It would also lead in better to Godzilla setting the area on fire than the actual “cuz we bros, man” that we get.

Takayuki Hattori is the composer of the score for this film. His only other Godzilla score was 1994′s Godzilla Vs. Space-Godzilla, but in the west probably his better known work was on the anime series Martian Successor Nadesico. I loved his work on that show, and as such am fond of his work on Godzilla. It certainly has a flavour distinct from other Godzilla composers that I’ve often read as “sounding more like Hollywood”, but I actually think it carries over conventions of anime scoring. You have very strong and individual sounding ‘hero theme’, ‘villain theme’, ‘battle theme’, ‘comedy theme’ etc. which you could easily imagine being attributed to an episodic show, often short and punchy. Whereas Hollywood movies are mostly scored to match exactly what fits on screen at that moment, and while you may get repeated cues added into different scenes, rarely is an entire piece applied wholesale to multiple scenes. I think I preferred Hattori’s work for G Vs SG than here, as that was in general a more fantastical film and as such a better fit for his “animated” style. Despite the overt sci-fi elements of Godzilla 2000, it is still comparatively a much more grounded film (there are no maser cannons here, and this film’s idea of advanced military arms is a new missile which is better at piercing armour than anything before). That said, this score is still strong and suitable, and to me feels more complimentary to Akira Ifukube’s traditional Godzilla theme than other scores have been. When it plays in this film it’s fitting to the overall sound, which seems to enhance it’s effectiveness as the familiar “shit, you know what this means” piece to build the anticipation, whereas in the next film it’s a more jarring difference that just makes you go “Cool, they’re using his theme after all”.

As a final piece of trivia, this was the first Japanese Godzilla film since 1984′s The Return Of Godzilla to get a western theatrical release, and the last until 2016′s Shin Godzilla. The trailer for the American release used Rob Zombie’s fast-paced song ‘Superbeast’ as accompaniment, which tickles me to no end given that this film was a response to Tri-Star’s Godzilla and the repeated chorus is “Hey yeah, I am the one that you wanted! Hey yeah, I am the Superbeast!”

Next up: Godzilla X Megaguirus!

[yuzivert]

Christian: Business Man w Blood On His Hands.

SBS Interviewer: So introduce yourself.

( ` christian cleared his throat and adjusted himself in the hot seat. the words he practiced over and over again on his way here today seemed to skip him all at once, but maybe it was for the good )

- I’m Christian Yu, but most people know me as Yuzi. I’m the creator and founder of DPR, which is a small company where I make music videos.

Interviewer: As I’ve researched, DPR is a newer company, isn’t that right? Congratulations, by the way. Could you tell us where your nickname, Yuzi, came from?

( ` he nodded in perfect timing to her questions, even silently mouthing thank you as she showed her gratitude. a small grin crept up on the corner of his lip at the flooding memory of how his nickname came to be )

- Mm.. In middle school, I went by my second name, Barom/Rome. I dropped it when I moved to New York. One day, an ex of mine jokingly called me Lil Yuzi Vert and it just stuck. So now I go by Yuzi. I liked it and I’m a fan of Lil Uzi so I found it fitting.

Interviewer: Similar to Uzi, you just dropped a SoundCloud track called, “Fatal Attraction”, about your recent heartbreak. You also deleted it after 24 hours. Why was that?

( ` christian never really tied the similarities together. however, it was now sitting on him heavily. speaking about his past was always something hard for him, but now was the time to lay it all out )

- I deleted it because I felt like I just needed to get what I was feeling off my chest. I just wanted everything out there so I could let go of the anger that I had against her, yknow? I didn’t put it up there for her to hear it, but it was for people to relate to.

Interviewer: Are you going to put put another one? Or at least put this one back up?

- Nah, music isn’t really my thing. It was just something I had written and wanted to get off my chest. I couldn’t sell the song to anyone because it was too personal. I think I’ll just stay focused on the music videos.

Interviewer: I see. So, there was recent news about a incident that took place in America. The media has a bunch of different stories out about you right now. Could you clear the air and tell us what really happened?

( ` at that very moment everything in the room became so suffocatingly silent for christian. the night playing over and over again his head as he sat with his eyes glued to the floor. it took him a while to gather himself before he could begin to respond. he scratched his head and shrugged, finally ready to tell the uncensored truth )

- Ah, damn. Can I tell the full story here? From the jump to the landing? Alright so, when I was 16 I joined a gang. I had been in New York for quite some time before all this happened. It wasn’t supposed to go down the way it did.

- I met this guy, Dom, at school. He and I were like brothers for the first two years after high school. The summer of 2012, I’m fresh in my 20s cuz it’s my birthday, right. My boy says we’re gonna do something big and celebrate my 21st birthday. The night starts off with girls and alcohol all over the place. People start pouring into my apartment all at once with their own bottles and whatever. My buddy had been hooking up with this dudes girlfriend, right? It had been going on for a while year before it escalated to that night.

- It’s around 2 in the morning. The party is still going. I’m hanging out with some girls by the pool downstairs when Dom calls me. I could tell he was angry by the bass in his voice, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I got the gist that he wanted me to come back upstairs and help him with something. I’m not thinking too much about it, right? I’m chilling and enjoying my birthday, yknow?

- I get upstairs and my apartment is a mess. Cups spilled, tables flipped, girls drunk and passed out on my couch. Dude calls me into his room, right? So I’m walking down the hall and as I’m walking.. I start to notice the blood on the carpets and on the wall. I look into the living room and there’s a big ass hole in my wall. He pulls me into a room. I’m asking him like, “what’s good? you good? what’s going on?” but he’s still mad and going off. Finally he hands me this bag and.. let me just say.. this bag was heavy as shit.

( ` he sighed, rubbing his sweaty palms off on his jeans )

- I had never seen a gun before in real life, so when I took it out of the bag I didn’t know what to think. It was a bunch of confusion at first cuz everything was good before I went to the pool. I guess that girls boyfriend ran up in the party and started fighting. My guys against theirs. Most of the party took off, except the ones who were too drunk to move off the couch. It got out of control and the guys said they would come back for him and that they had something waiting for him.

- Keep it real, It was something out of a movie honestly. I didn’t know what to do or say, but I knew I trusted him because he was the only friend I had made. He took me into his home and showed me how to live on my own in a big city. Now he was teaching me how to survive.

- I took the gun and tucked it away without hesitation. I knew what I had to do to protect my brother. We didn’t even have time to throw proper clothes on before they came back into my apartment causing commotion in the kitchen. Dom ran out first and started shooting…

- It was loud then it got real silent.

- You could smell the powder everywhere.

- I’m still sitting there with this big ass gun in my hand. Practically shitting bricks now. I didn’t hear anything from anybody for a minute and I sure as hell wasnt about to go investigate that shit all by myself, but I couldn’t hear Dom anymore so I knew that I had to.

( ` the cameras cut just as he choked up. he requested brief intermission to collect this thoughts and calm down. with his eyes his eyes brimming with tears, he took a deep breath and began to speak again )

- I make it to the hallway and see two bodies laying in the middle of my living room. I didn’t assume either body was Dom until I started calling out for him and I didn’t get a reply. Once he didn’t answer me, I already knew what happened.

- He was dead and I was standing there with a gun in my hand and dead bodies all around me. I didn’t know what to do. My adrenaline was going so fast that I pacing back and forth. A dude came out of my kitchen, but he was from the opposing side. Like I said, my adrenaline was crazy fast, yknow? I shot him. I actually shot him twice because I was afraid that he would wake up and try to kill me.

- I called my mom back in Australia to tell her what happened and she told me to call the cops. At first, I took my time hiding all the weapons and drugs I had around the apartment. I flushed a bunch of shit down the toilets, threw most of the stuff away in dumpsters across the way. I didn’t know if what I was doing was illegal, but I thought I would go to jail anyway so it wouldn’t matter.

- The shit was crazy. It was like a movie. One of those First 48 episodes I used to watch as a kid.

- It was ruled a home invasion homicide since they came into my house. The DA dropped charges and I was free to go.

Interviewer: Let’s run back to how your apartment was full of drugs and guns? How did you manage to acquire so much?

- My boy, Dom was heavily into that gang life. I wasn’t, but he was. The last two years of his life were spent selling drugs and doing all kinds of crime.

- But like I said, it wasn’t supposed to go down like that. I told him to stop messing with that girl when we were in high school, but I guess he loved her.

Interviewer: Is his death the main reason you’ve moved to Korea?

- Well, obviously. He was all I had in New York. Once I lost that, I quickly realized that lifestyle wasn’t for me anymore.

Interviewer: What changes have you noticed in yourself since his death?

- I’ont know. I just know I’m doing better out here than I was out there. I can’t be the same person I was a few years ago. I have a kid now. I gotta show him what life is really about, yknow? His mom keeps him out of trouble. He’s only two, but I’m going to raise him up the way my father should have raised me.

Interviewer: Can we talk more about that? I saw a comment that your mom left under your recent Instagram update. What’s the relationship with your parents?

- My mom, I call her LJ. It’s short for Lady Jane. she’s my world. The typical tiger mom, but she loved me with everything she had. As for my father? Ain’t much to talk about. He left my mom when I was 14 and I haven’t seen him since.

Interviewer: Ahh… Yuzi, you’ve come quite a long way. I hope you keep this promise to yourself and to your son. As always, it’s been a pleasure talking with you. Do you have any last words or advice for viewers?

- I will, thank you.

- Last words? Uh, don’t wear a white sweatshirt to a gun fight.