#even in the final product with all the script changes you can tell that she loves Amber so so much

[autism-swagger]

I know Amber having Tara's spare inhaler makes more sense for a multitude of reasons, but god do I love that in the original script it was Mr. Carpenter's ring. The fact that Tara gave Amber her dad's ring, the only thing she has left of him, is so deeply tragic to me

[neko-loogi]

Alright, I'mma give my opinion again. This time with Hazbin Hotel..

So I saw the trailer for Hazbin Hotel a few days ago and honestly, I am so disappointed. Like, you're telling me I waited years for them to release a trailer for the series, and this is all we get??

I'm not saying it wasn't enough, no, on the contrary, I think they revealed way too much. But what I mean is, I was expecting something else, because this ain't it, chief.

***

Alright so first off, we have the voices. I'mma be hella honest with y'all, this shit sounds unfinished, as in, it sounds like Viv got confused and published the behind the scenes instead of the finished product because omfg, the voices sound bad.

I genuinely don't understand the weird obsession Viv has with hiring celebrities or broadway actors into her shitty shows, it's not like she's rich enough to afford that- plus she does this often, doesn't that mean it affects the budget of the show? (I don't know much about that stuff so bear with me).

It's funny cuz, she hires these super famous celebrities to voice characters in her shows, but she doesn't need to, like, you can be a professional, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're a great VA. It almost feels like she does that because she wants to feel important, she wants to show off like "Oh look at me, I have celebrities voicing my characters! Aren't I cool?"

But anyway, going back to the voices, I have to say this, my least favorite are Alastor and Angel Dust. I just think it's absolutely ridiculous that Viv got rid of the pilot VAs just to replace them with broadway actors, only for them to make the characters sound flat and emotionless.

Like, it's funny because she makes these broadway actors imitate the voices from the pilot, however it doesn't come naturally for these actors and it shows. It almost feels like they have no idea what they're doing. It legit sounds like they're reading the script but not putting any effort into it. (Y'know how people shit on anime dubs because they don't sound good or whatever? That's exactly how I feel about this-).

The next thing I wanna talk about is the animation. Don't get me wrong from what I've seen, in some moments the animation looks alright, but other times it looks choppy as hell. I thought this show was supposed to be more 'professional' since they literally got A24 and Bento Box ent. for this. But yeah, all I can say is, the animation hasn't changed at all, the only thing that is slightly different is the art style but aside from that, the animation still sucks.

And finally, the last thing I wanted to discuss is the plot of the series. So as we all know, in the Pilot, it was established that Charlie (along with Vaggie) opened the Happy Hotel in hopes of redeeming sinners so that they can go to heaven because Hell was too overpopulated (plus the whole extermination thing). But the whole point of the plot was that she wasn't entirely sure she could actually do it or if it was even possible, and that's what made the plot more interesting back then. But here? It's absolute garbage. Not only did the trailer basically reveal way too much information already (before the series could even come out yet), but the plot was changed entirely!

Like I mentioned, Charlie's motives were to redeem sinners, but here she's more focused on having some kind of war with heaven/the angels. And that's the thing, now that we know that heaven is a thing in this series, plus the inclusion of Adam, it just makes the series feel so predictable, because now we know that the sinners can be redeemed, which beats the entire purpose of the show. It's like, "Hell bad, but heaven is worse" and "Good VS. Bad!!", cliche type of thing. You think a series 'made for adults' would have a more interesting plot than a kids show, but nah, we get these basic ass levels of writing. I swear a fucking five year old could come up with something better and far more creative than this nonsense-

***

So yeah, I'm honestly hella disappointed that this is what the series has turned into. I had high hopes for Hazbin Hotel (since Helluva ain't shit-), but nope, it turns out, Viv is capable of making herself look even more stupid by completely butchering her own series. Hell, I actually have Amazon Prime, but I am probably not even gonna watch this shit, I'll just wait till some dumbass on YouTube uploads the first episode or something stupid like that (so that I can watch it and critique it later). Because I know that someone definitely will.

Anyway, that's all for today, thank you for reading my dumb post- alright bye!

[overlordraax]

Every now and then I wonder what it would be like if the George A Romero had gotten to make the live action Resident Evil movie. I remember finding the script for it online and reading through the whole thing (I actually went and found the original website and it still has it up along with a collection of other scripts). It has been a decade since I read it but there's still bits that stuck perfectly in my head.

Most memorable details were:

Jill was head of Bravo Team and she ends up as their only survivor after the initial attack. She actually outranks Chris.

The screenplay includes everything from the games. Everything. The zombie plant, the giant snake, giant spiders, even the zombie sharks. I doubt they all would have made it to the final cut of the film, if just for budget reason, but it's fun that they did at least consider ways to add everything they could.

Because it's clear that RE1 was the only piece of RE media at the time, some interpretations of the characters are very different to what we'd get in later instalments. For one Wesker wasn't really the Master Manipulator we get in later versions, in fact he came across as quite brash and incompetent. The screenplay also focused less on his sunglasses as his signature identifier and rather a skull themed tattoo.

He also has a very definitive death where he gets speared by the Tyrant multiple times and then gets his head lobbed off. I get the feeling if this movie had been made and that version of Wesker had become the public perception of his character then I doubt they would have brought him back as the series main villain.

Similarly Ada Wong isn't a spy but she's one of the scientists working at Umbrella (all this thanks to her being ""appearance"" in RE1 being a namedrop in some Umbrella emails so you can see how they made this extrapolation for her).

Also Brad Vickers doesn't disappear in the helicopter. He is part of the team that explores the mansion. He also gets shipped with Rebecca, the two have a little romance throughout the movie (I think Rebecca was written to be older, about the same age as everyone else on the team). He eventually he gets bitten by one of the zombie sharks and there is a tearful scene where he sacrifices himself by staying behind realising he'll eventually turn.

There we go. Those are the main things I remember. I will say the screenplay isn't --great, there are bits that often felt hard to tell quite what Romero was going for, but a screenplay is not the finished product of a movie. It's the very first stage of making one. There doubtless would have been revisions and changes if it had actually gone into production, and the final film probably would have ended up very differently. But I still wish they had stuck with this and that this had been the film we got.

The thing about it is it's fun, and cheesy, and really that's all I want from my Resident Evil movies. The biggest problem with the live action RE movie we got is that it's often dull and boring. The games always have a sense of camp, whether unintentionally, but that's all I ever really want, and it's a shame we didn't get that.

[doloresdisparue]

In some of your recent posts, you mentioned a Lolita musical? I didn't know there was a musical! Is there a place to listen to it/watch it??

- Someone who finds the book interesting, and deeply loves music

HELLO YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. If the Lolita musical has a million fans, then I am one of them. If the Lolita musical has ten fans, then I am one of them. If the Lolita musical has only one fan then that is me. If the Lolita musical has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against the Lolita musical, then I am against the world etc etc. Here's my tag in case my elaboration makes you curious

It's called "Lolita, My Love" written by Alan Jay Lerner with music by John Barry. It premiered in 1971 and promptly flopped so hard that they canned it during tryouts before it even had a Broadway premiere though it has been critically praised since.

(Not since Carrie: forty years of Broadway musical flops by Ken Mandelbaum)

Lerner rewrote the script six times with significant changes in the different versions and you can look at most of them only through the LIbrary of Congress where his papers are preserved. In essence there are three versions. Philadelphia (very little information available), Boston (this version has a soundboard recording of the audio for the entire show on youtube from a preview show) and post-closing (this is where he cracked the code). The post-closing version was obviously never staged by Lerner BUT it was the main basis for the 2019 revival showing put on by the York Theatre and directed by Emily Maltby (one of the few women to direct an adaptation and while I don't think that is at all necessary for a good one she did a phenomenal job). It was a special event that only ran for a week and had no costume, no stage design and everyone with scripts in hand but it's the closest to a real production that has ever been done. Unlike the original 71 production it also did not cast any children and did not require them (or anyone) to be semi-nude. Dolores was played by an actress in her early 20s (Caitlin Cohn) who proved you could put on the show without endangering kids perfectly well.

The significant change between the Boston script and the Revival version (which takes small things from all scripts but is largely based on his final draft) is the (re-)addition of Dr. Ray as a framing device. To adapt the novel format to the stage Humbert is continuously telling his story to Dr. Ray who is interviewing him for his case. She (they cast a female black actress for the role in the revival) questions, interjects and overall holds the audiences hand a little when it comes to working out just how unreliable Humbert is. I like the Boston version where he talks directly to the audience but I fear we as a society have proven that we need a Lolita adaptation that holds peoples hands at least a little. Another delightful aspect is that, just like in the book, Humbert is actively using his medium against the reader/audience. Dr. Ray is always on stage as Humbert essentially directs the rest of the show to present his version of the story to her. At certain points light and music cues tell the audience that he is clearly making things up, Dolly starts moving like a marionette and talking as if she is hypnotised. Meanwhile he switches seamlessly between the interview and participating in the action, directing the ensemble, setting the scene so to speak

but sometimes the action freezes or the lights abruptly come on when she interrupts him, immediately jarring the audience to attention in case they got a little too carried away in his catchy songs.

It's also a production that has a profound love for Dolly and, to my knowledge, the only adaptation that made the conscious choice to let her survive. Erik Haagensen, who put together the script, talked about how her death was never in any of Lerner's drafts and he wouldnt have included it if it was because it was so important to him to spotlight that she was a survivor and she still had a life after her abuse and honor the pehmomenal strength it would have taken her to get to that place at all because she is NOT broken and her life ISN'T over and that was important to him. I do understand and respect Nabokov's choice to go full tragedy but it's another reason the musical is close to my heart. I also cannot talk about this show without noting its distinction of featuring perhaps the worst line in musical history ever sung by a human being (saying this affectionately since it does its job of making you scream):

I could talk forever about other choices and the individual songs but this has gotten long enough I think. But feel free to hit me up (and this goes for anyone else too) if you want to talk more about it!

TL;DR: There is currently no way to watch "Lolita, My Love" as there is only an audio recording of a preview for the 1971 show, not a video and the archive recording of the revival (which exists!) is not publicly available (presumably for legal reasons). At least 2 songs are on Spotify re-recorded by commercial artists (Going, going, gone and In The Broken Promise Land of 15) as well as a purely instrumental version of the title theme (Lolita by John Barry) which i adore. The scripts are in the Library of Congress and potentially buried in other places but I have not found them anywhere online, though you can look at all the lyrics and small summaries of the action of each song in "The complete lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner" by Dominic McHugh and Amy Asch, which is widely available.

[ordinaryschmuck]

Let's see....

Captain America: Brave New World's got that controversy due to having an alleged zionist actress playing Captain Islam (Or whatever the hell her name is). Depending how big of a role that character has, I doubt ANYONE is in the mood to watch a movie like that unless she's written out completely because...look at current events and tell me if Captain America teaming up with Captain Islam is in any way what we need right now?

Thunderbolts...I have NO interest in whatsoever. Mainly because the roster isn't really appealing as most of it is either super soldiers or spies who are good with guns. The only interesting character in the lineup was Ghost and she's not even in the movie anymore. The only saving grace this movie has left is that it's allegedly going to FINALLY acknowledge that frozen Celestial that The Eternals stopped from hatching, but other than that it's nothing really grabbing me. I'd have to at least see a trailer before I find SOMETHING interesting about it.

Fantastic Four intrigues me, though. From everything Marvel's been hinting at and advertising, this is going to be a movie set in a universe stuck in the sixties and have the Four face Galactus all with a tone that MIGHT be similar to Fantastic Four: Life Story. If that's in ANYWAY what Marvel's promising through its castings and free comics on its app, I'm definitely willing to check it out. I just want a GOOD Fantastic Four movie for once and I'm hoping this will finally be it.

I don't have TOO high hopes for Blade. This movie has been in development hell for MONTHS, only releasing TWO YEARS after its initial deadline all because the lead actor wasn't satisfied with the final product. I'm hopeful that it was all for the best and we're FINALLY getting something that everyone can be happy with, but I'm also...kind of done with new characters. Phase Four introduced too many that I just want to go back to focusing on the cast that's LEFT after Endgame. And bringing in the guy who played Cottonmouth from Luke Cage just breaks all kinds of canon because this is the first time an actor plays TWO major characters in the MCU. Others had returning roles, but usually for small things that you wouldn't care about. From the start, this always felt like a movie Kevin Fiege wanted to make to show off. Like, "Yeah, we can make a Blade movie too! And make it BETTER than the original ones!" I don't know, maybe I'm being a little cynical, but I don't have the biggest faith towards this project.

As for Daredevil: Born Again, I am on my knees PRAYING that this one will be good! I fucking LOVED the original Daredevil series, it's absolutely one of the best superhero shows of all time and I'm just so glad it's coming back in some capacity. I just also hope that it'll be GOOD because I don't think my heart could take it if it isn't. On the upside, it seems like Kevin Fiege wants that too. After leaving out most of the original cast and not letting Daredevil suit up until episode FOUR, he demanded a complete creative overhaul with Daredevil: Born Again, leading to it bringing back everyone from the original, improving Daredevil's old costume, and have everyone involved take inspiration from most things Daredevil. It's as if Fiege understands that they CAN'T screw up with this show so he wants to make sure that it's the best they can possibly make it. And I'm not too bothered with the first season having nine episodes instead of eighteen. I always knew that the change was inevitable anyways. I just want it to be GOOD.

Then there's Ironheart and I have NO interest in this one either. Her character was one of the weaker aspects of Wakanda Forever, as someone who was constantly whining or yelling and I was not all that engaged with her. MAYBE the show could win me over, but that's a BIG maybe that'll take an impressive script to do.

Oh, also:

No. No to this. After the FANTASTIC ending of No Way Home, I don't want the MCU to rush out another entry unless they've got a good plan set and ready. The problem is that they don't even have a DIRECTOR yet and that's a pretty important person to have when bringing a movie to life.

All and all...2025 is not looking good for Marvel. Whether it's cast controversy or how they're choosing to adapt certain characters and teams, not much in 2025 is making me feel the same excitement I felt for the MCU in 2015-2019. The closest is probably Fantastic Four and Daredevil: Born Again. But even then, not only am I cautiously optimistic about those two, that's also two projects in a six (potentially seven) film/TV show lineup. I don't know, this whole thing is just making me wish the MCU can just wrap up the Multiverse Saga already and just...go back to making good projects again.

[maineshewrote]

I-just-started-s4e5-thoughts:

Melon is just too oblivious to be the killer is all I'm saying.

A lot of unexplained black footprints in front of the Arconia in the titles this time.

So Melon's saying it was someone on the movie and we're seeing the writer wearing disguises at home. That's shady. Disguise tells me he's hiding something. Long shot, I know, but what if he actually couldn't write the script, not even the way he pictured the characters, so he stalked the trio? It would put him usefully in the middle of everything. But if the movie is about the trio's first case (Evidence: Howard was auditioning with lines about Tim and the Hollywood trio was dressed in s1e1 attire at the party), he would have to have been there, stalking, from the very first few episodes on. Which is a bonny fine time to develop a script, considering there was a whole year between seasons 2 and 3.

All of Williams's fits this season, I can't. They're flawless.

Absolutely fabulous that that article mentioned Loretta's character's fabulous limp! What a fun throwback!

I really should have finished and posted all my Loretta-working-in-LA-post-season-3 fanfiction drafts before this season got released, because you people are not going to believe everything that I had drafted became canon. (I mean, sure, my files have time stamps, but that's too much of a hassle to prove.) The ideas involved (but not limited to) in my notes were: Loretta's character on her LA show getting a hot love interest, the fact causing some mild disturbance between Oliretta although everything is completely innocent, Loretta's character getting caught in a fire on the show. I mean, that last one! How do these things happen! How did I see that one coming?! How can it all be canon? I'm going to feel so cheap finishing and publishing those stories now.

What's with all this Williams enjoying famous men? Ain't no way they get to do a character arc where she's the only one on the show whose family gets broken up over something like that.

Lovely to see late bloomer Mabel finally feeling she achieved something professionally. Good for her!

Still deeply unimpressed with the Brothers.

I can't be the only one disturbed by how unnecessarily unpleasantly they are sexualizing Loretta this season. Could we stop now?

When Melon accused Oliver of not taking care of his body, you could just see all the dips in his life passing before Oliver's eyes.

Aside from the hip replacement stuff, I am surprised at myself for liking Melon's character. Completely unhinged but so generous.

Okay, so the footprints in the opening titles are from that sticky mat.

But notice how Howard's whole body language changed in accordance with his new job, including his gait? That's commitment right there.

I can't explain it but Glen just being there brings me such joy.

Glen, honey, don't stomp the rats in the elevator. Your actor hasn't had much luck in there historically. (It was the other elevator, but still.)

The trio really shouldn't be showing random fake-bearded writers their murder boards.

Awww! They're still using Williams's who-how-why-why-now system!

But there are a lot of those kinds of shoes. Half of the production team could be wearing shoes with the same sole.

Glen standing in for Oliver is giving, "Am I a 100% Irish?! I'll havve yu knoow, I'm Putnam through and through. And divil the man who say a word agin' me yu knoow."

How about Glen plays Oliver instead of Galifragilistic? He doesn't even need to act, he's crazy enough. And he's got the missing tooth!

I see you, Howard, I see you saying you're the documentarian and leading us into experimental episode 6 with that.

Maybe it was two people, genius and unprecedented, you know... like last season?

A very nice solution. I'd like to leave the case at that and just focus on the main trio's domestic antics for the rest of the season. Of course, it's not really the Brothers who were the killers and the shooter we were shown in the trailer was a fair hoax, because we've still got half a season to go.

Let's not forget the not-tinsel. I have a feeling that's going to have some significance.

If somebody shot Glen, I will be fuming. (Yes, I did hear Howard's, "Oh my god, you've been shot," and Mabel's worried, "Oliver!" but there is no way they can touch my leprechaun Tinker Bell, so it better be Oliver no. 2 or Oliver no. 3.)

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Winter 2023 Anime

Is it just me, or did this season of anime kind of blow? Yes, anything would be a step down after the absurdly stacked Fall 2022 roster- and in fact, two of my favorites this season were continuations of shows I already liked from fall (Blue Lock and MHA)- but man, there was just a stench of failure around so much of Winter 2023′s offerings. Not just in how many of them turned out to be disappointments, but in how many of them didn’t even get to finish in time! Barely a week went by without another show suffering long delays, production after production crumbling under the weight of mismanagement and corporate apathy that doesn’t care how many animators are worked to death for an inferior product as long as they can make some extra cash from rushing it out early. I mercifully managed to avoid all the victims of these delays (well, almost; RIP Kubo-san Won’t Let Me Be Invisible), but even existing in the same space as them felt like it took a toll on everything else. This was a rough one, folks. But there were still some gems worth highlighting, so after spilling my thoughts on Onimai, Trigun Stampede and MHA Season 6, here are my thoughts on the rest of the anime I managed to finish this season!

(Also no Vinland Saga review yet cause I’m waiting for the season to be over, but spoilers, it’s still really fucking good. You’re shocked, I can tell.)

Tokyo Revengers Season 2: 1.5/10

You know what? I give up. I gave Tokyo Revengers every opportunity to finally pull itself together and turn into a good show. But not only did it drop the ball so hard the shockwave registered on the Richter scale, it felt like it was actively going out of its way to suck as hard as it could. Every single plot thread in season 2 is bungled so horrendously, from Takemichi’s increasingly unforgivable stupidity to the insulting cul-de-sac fights that change nothing about the status quo to the truly infuriating mishandling of every female character (Hey, I know, let’s give Yuzuha a panty shot while she’s being beaten by her abusive brother! Great idea!), that there is no possible way this show can ever recover. Even if the next season is somehow a masterpiece that fixes all the series’ issues- which it won’t be, let’s be honest- it won’t change the fact that Tokyo Revengers has established a new low for lazy, intelligence-insulting storytelling in shonen. The only reason it managed to get so popular is that it keeps making you think it’s about to do something really cool and meaningful with its high concept. But at this point, it’s all but proven that it never will. Fuck this show, fuck the manga it’s based on, and fuck everyone who accepts this barely-animated hackjob slop as anything close to acceptable entertainment.

The Fire Hunter: 2/10

Between this and Mars Red, I’m really starting to hate studio Signal MD. They’ve got a habit of turning fascinating highbrow fantasy premises into some of the dullest, sloppiest, most poorly produced pieces of pretentious dogshit that think they’re high art imaginable. And this one’s directed by Mamoru Oshii! He’s supposed to be a veteran director who knows his shit! How did he turn out such a colossal flop? Almost nothing in The Fire Hunter works on an audiovisual level; the animation is embarrassing, the direction is incomprehensible, the editing is somehow even worse (I have never seen such poorly timed painterly insert stills), and the whole thing is smothered under a droning soundtrack that drowns every scene in the same overbearing, tuneless sonic dead air. Even the best script in the world couldn’t survive this cataclysmically bad production, and suffice to say, this is very far from the best script in the world. It’s equal parts mind-numbing exposition, dull narration, and pointlessly mean characters with no interesting internal struggles or worldbuilding to justify the air of arrogance about the whole affair. The Fire Hunter desperately wants to convince you it’s art, but it’s just crap. Skip it.

To Your Eternity Season 2 (2nd Half): 3/10

I’ll give it this: the second half of To Your Eternity’s second season is unquestionably better than its first. Not a very high bar to clear, I realize, but after the utter slog that was Bon’s introductory arc, it’s good to have actually interesting things happen for a change. Unfortunately, for all the fresh air the siege of Renril brings to the proceedings- new characters, new kinds of stakes, a bonkers re-imagining of what Fushi’s powers are even capable of- it’s nowhere near enough to save this show from running itself into the ground. Whatever magic To Your Eternity once had is well and truly gone, buried under a flood of terrible production compromises and questionable story choices that have lead it down a path it can never recover from. No matter how much future arcs might try to turn things around, they’ll never escape the lesson this show has somehow forgotten it used to preach: when something dies, it can never truly return. To Your Eternity is dead. It’s over. Let it rest in piece while it still has some faint shred of dignity left.

Giant Beasts of Ars: 3/10

Did someone open a time portal to 2006? Giant Beasts of Ars feels exactly like the kind of original fantasy anime that studios were pumping out two decades ago- and unfortunately, that’s not a compliment. It gets off to a good start with a strong introductory episode that sets the tone well for a fun magitech adventure with some giant monster fighting, but the second that adventure gets under way, pretty much everything goes to shit. The characters are bland. The world itself is dull and uninspired. The action is lifeless thanks to a weak production that can’t give these fights the oomph they need. And the plot escalates from understandable low-key stakes to some of the most asinine “suddenly we’re fighting god now” swerves I’ve ever seen. Seriously, the way this story loses all sense of scale in its final episodes as it barrels head first toward a climax left me stunned in disbelief. Never mind the fact it ends on an asspull cliffhanger that’s almost certain to never get resolved because nobody’s going to want a second season of something this limp and underbaked. What a waste of time.

Kaina of the Great Snow Sea: 3.5/10

I was really excited at all the fantasy anime coming out this season. After being swamped in the isekai sewers for so long, it was such a relief to see the industry remember they could tell stories about actual fantastical worlds and not just, you know, reskinned Dragon Quest knockoffs. So imagine my how immeasurable my disappointment was when one by one, all these promising series let me down. Kaina’s Naussicaa-inspired world of snow seas, giant spire trees and steampunk skiffs navigating an allegorical prayer for co-existence with nature and rejection of militarism should have been an easy slam dunk, a new Miyazaki for a modern landscape. Unfortunately, as beautifully realized as the world is- Polygon Pictures is no studio Orange, but their impressive background art and environmental storytelling continue to make a strong case for CG anime- the writers forgot to populate that world with anyone worth getting invested in. The characters are the stockiest of stock archetypes, photocopies of photocopies of tropes that have already been worn to the bone by decades of misuse and overuse alike. If you’ve seen even one generic fantasy anime, chances are you’re already sick of these characters, and there’s nothing fresh or particularly meaningful here to make up for the lack of originality. Don’t get me started on how poorly the princess is treated, yegh. Is it too late to unplug the concept of fantasy anime for a few years and hope it recovers some steam before we plug it back in?

High Card: 3.5/10

There is no excuse for High Card being as lame as it ended up. A Kingsmen-style goofy gentleman spy action comedy written by the author of Kakegurui in which secret agents in dapper suits fight with the power of magic transforming playing cards? And the entire world is themed around cards and card games (the country is Fourland, the spy organization is Pinochle with its office on Old Maid street)? This should have been a camp masterpiece every bit as delightfully unhinged as Kakegurui. This should have been the most gloriously Anime Bullshit (affectionate) experience of the year. But instead, it was mostly just Anime Bullshit (derogatory). It takes so little advantage of its concept, wasting episode upon episode on trite plotlines and cliche developments, jumping between so many tones and focuses without ever settling on a single one. I came here to see Twink Bruce Wayne summon bazookas out of thin air with the power of Instant Interdimensional Marketplace, not slog through the umpteenth iteration of “the stoic katana girl needs to open up to her male colleagues” or “tragic little sister with an incurable illness.” The bouncy ED, which sees the main cast all singing together in the car, was the one consistent bright spot, and even that started feeling more and more like an insult as time went on. If only the rest of the show were as loose and freewheeling as those painfully short 90 seconds per episode promised.

Don’t Toy With Me, Nagatoro-San Season 2: 3.5/10

Look, I’m no prude. I’m not above trash. Nagatoro’s first season was far from a masterpiece, but it had enough actual charm and character depth that I didn’t mind coming along for the ride. But the thing about trash is that just like every other show, you still have to do it well. Nagatoro wasn’t ever entertaining because it was a shallow wish-fulfillment rom-com for masochists, it was entertaining because it found something recognizably human in spite of being a shallow wish-fulfillment rom-com for masochists. And sadly, whatever spark made that first season work didn’t survive the transfer to OLM studios. There are fun moments here and there, but the overall package is just too half-hearted to care anymore. Not even the introduction of Nagatoro’s sister keeps the proceedings from feeling increasingly mindless. What’s the point of this show, really? What does it offer that I can’t get better elsewhere? Because if the only appeal is the teasing gimmick, well, Teasing Master Takagi-san is right there, people. You could be watching an actual good show about a girl mercilessly teasing her crush instead of this flavorless assembly-line mushburger of an anime. Just saying.

The Tale of Outcasts: 4.5/10

There’s something strangely endearing about The Tale of Outcasts, despite its many flaws. Does it read like every thirteen-year-old girl’s embarrassing stash of unpublished Ancient Magus Bride fanfiction? Yes, unquestionably. But you know what? There are far worse things to be. Maybe it’s the isekai exhaustion getting to me, but there’s something so refreshing about a cringey wish-fulfillment fantasy adventure populated by stock archetypes and hacky plotting that’s actually, like, wholesome? That feels like it was made out of genuine amateurish love for Victorian splendor mixed with demon furries instead of incel resentment that the world isn’t catering to their every whim? Yeah, it’s still cringe, but it’s charmingly cringe, not revoltingly cringe. I still can’t really recommend it unless you’ve got a real soft spot for deep-voiced daddy beast people who can be your angle or your dveil, but out of all the bad shows I kept up with this season, this was the one where I never minded clicking on that next episode button, and that’s gotta count for something.

Urusei Yatsura (2nd Half): 5.5/10

I think it takes a change in mindset to really appreciate Urusei Yatsura. True to its 70s roots, this is not an anime to watch for a constant sense of forward progression. This is a show to be enjoyed as a reliable weekly comfort, 25 minutes of mayhem every 7 days with a familiar cast of characters bouncing off each other endlessly. If you come in looking for a tightly woven narrative that’s always driving toward a forseeable endpoint like most modern anime confined to single cours runs, you’re likely to be disappointed. But if you let yourself just enjoy the chaos and don’t worry about what might come next, I think you’ll find a lot to like here. If nothing else, I appreciate Studio David sticking to that old-fashioned spirit. But I have to admit, I might’ve preferred a more streamlined adaptation that doesn’t waste a second of runtime. What can I say, I’m used to modern anime pacing. Or maybe I’m just annoyed by yet another instance of a tomboy character who wants to be more feminine. Which, you know, not Ryunosuke’s fault that particular trope has gotten so beaten to death these days, but still. Sometimes making changes for modern times isn’t such a bad thing, you know?

Revenger: 6/10

So y’all hear about this Gen Urobuchi guy? Apparently he was pretty famous back in the day or something, IDK. He’s been plugging away at his goofy Taiwanese puppets show for the past few years and slapped his name on the story concepts of a few high profile projects for extra buzz, but now at last, he’s returned to grace us with a full story and script from his own hands! ...and apparently from 17 years in the past as well, because from what I’ve heard, Urobuchi originally wrote Revenger back in 2006, well before the one-two-three punch of Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero and Psycho-Pass that would make him a household name. And boy does it definitely feel like a trial run of those shows. Not that it’s bad by any means; it’s slickly produced, the cast has good chemistry, and the Booch is clearly having fun coming up with creative ways for evil bastards to be mercilessly slaughtered. But that’s really all it is, with little of the staggering depth and emotional complexity that would later earn him a place among the greats. It’s a first draft of basically all the thematic ideas he’d later perfect: the corruption of systems of power, the failure of blind heroism, the necessity of finding hope even in the darkest corners of the earth. I still recommend it for any fans of creative edgy violence, but don’t come in expecting another Madoka. It’s a bite-sized snack of an Urobuchi show, not the main course. And I’m totally fine with that; it’s entertaining enough on its own modest merits to be worth a look.

Play It Cool, Guys (2nd Half): 6/10

Yeah, I knew this one was gonna grow on me. There’s nothing like a really good low-key deadpan comedy to put me in a good mood at the end of a long day. Really, I think Cool Doji Danshi’s secret weapon is how much it appreciates the mundane awkwardness of everyday life. I have been in many situations much like its titular characters, little moments of confusion where the pieces don’t quite line up how they’re supposed to and before I know it I’m putting my umbrella in the fridge because I momentarily mixed it up with the groceries. And also like its title characters, I’ve learned just how damn important these moments are to my life. None of us are perfect meat machines 100% of the time; in many ways, our clumsiness is what makes us human far more than our accomplishments. And there’s something so wonderfully comforting about watching these boys (and men) come to appreciate their own imperfections much as I’ve done of myself. We need more shows that celebrate that simple silliness as well as this one does. So if you’ve been looking for something to lift your spirits in this increasingly grim world, I cannot recommend this show enough.

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale: 6.5/10

Do my eyes deceive me? A non-isekai, shoujo oriented fantasy that’s all about slavery being a bad thing? Stop the presses, we’re defying all the norms over here! Between this and the new season of Vinland Saga, it feels like we’re finally starting to push back on the noxious floodgates that Shield Hero pried open, and I could not be more thankful for that. Now, is Sugar Apple Fairy Tale a perfect depiction of the dynamics of slavery? Fuck no, it’s a young adult wish-fulfillment romance about a hot sulky fairy boy falling for the woman that was once his owner, this thing’s as problematic as an Antebellum-era Uncle Tom’s Cabin ripoff. But at least it’s actually trying to say something about the effects of dehumanization on a societal scale and how it manifests, and I’d argue it succeeds more often than it trips over itself. Plus, how fucking great is it to have an actual shoujo romance again? Set in a charming fantasy world with some actual originality? Sugar Apple Fairy Tale’s not perfect, but its charms are evident of a trend I hope to see countless other shows follow. The more fantasy anime looks like this instead of The World’s Strongest Necromancer is Reincarnated With a Cheat Skill In Another World Harem (I just made that title up, but admit it, you weren’t sure at first), the better off we’ll all be.

Ippon Again: 6.5/10

We seriously need more good female-centric sports anime. The guys have been dominating the field with their shounens and seinens while the girls are forced to subside on moeblob table scraps more concerned with being cute than actually telling a compelling sports narrative, or else being handed the absolute bottom of the production barrel (cries in Farewell My Dear Cramer). Ippon Again isn’t gonna right the ship all on its own, but it’s a damn good first step. The characters feel like believable teenagers, their judo matches are given genuine weight and strong animation, and while it suffers from some tired sports anime cliches, it always executes them with heart firmly on its sleeve. At its best, it captures the same freewheeling adolescent spirit that defines the likes of A Place Further Than the Universe, and I don’t say that lightly. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s a damn good time with no caveats, and hopefully it’ll only be the first of many great lady-centric sports anime to come.

Tsurune Season 2: 7/10

If you’ve somehow forgotten about the first season of KyoAni’s pretty boys doing archery show Tsurune from back in 2018, well, I don’t blame you. As a testing ground for the studio’s rookie talent to take their first crack at putting their own show together, it was by far the studio’s most workmanlike production, an all-around solid experience but lacking the insane polish and panache that defines the KyoAni brand. But my god, what a difference five years makes. Tsurune’s second season isn’t just a massive upgrade on the production front, it’s a complete overhaul on the show���s entire look and feel. It’s sweeping and elegant, it’s vibrant and explosive, it’s as expertly poised and shimmering as a bowstring drawn at dawn right before it releases a brilliant arrow. This show has gone from KyoAni’s simplest looking show to one of its most richly cinematic, complete with earthier color tones and revamped score from Fruits Basket composer Masaru Yokoyama. Yes, it’s ultimately still just a show about pretty boys learning to shoot bows well as they overcome their issues together. But with such a massive step up in its look and feel, it’s officially become just as much appointment viewing as any KyoAni masterpiece.

Blue Lock (2nd Half): 7.5/10

Now that’s more fucking like it. Last season I bemoaned the lack of edgy death game nonsense I was promised in this edgy death game sports anime, but once we reached the second selection, Blue Lock kicked into high gear and made good on its premise at last. Betrayals! Allies turned enemies! Enemies turned allies! Overcharged homoerotic rivalries and break-ups alike! Overdramatic shonen boys trying to crush each other underfoot to grow stronger! Self-actualization through rejecting the power of friendship and embracing the power of “Fuck this guy!” This is everything I wanted when I first learned about Blue Lock’s premise, twisting the classic shonen sports formula into an equally blood-pumping tale of clashing egos and selfishness as everyone fights to become the best player by embracing their worst selves. It might have taken a hot second to get there, but now that it’s arrived, this show has become some of the most deliriously entertaining chaos you’re likely to find in the genre. Well done, you mad genius.

Buddy Daddies: 8/10

Man, whoever’s making the decisions on what shows PA Works produces is really on a roll lately, huh? It takes a real genius to look at premises like Ya Boi Kongming and Akiba Maid War and see an opportunity to create something truly special. But even that pales in comparison to the brilliance behind Buddy Daddies, a.k.a. “Hey, so this Spy x Family show is about to take over the world, right? What if we made our own version of that, but mix in the homoerotic buddy-cop energy of Tiger and Buddy to make it stand out?” That’s the kind of galaxy-brain thinking that’s rapidly making this studio a personal favorite of mind. And it’s that kind of confidence and pure solid storytelling chops that make Buddy Daddies just as entertaining and endearing as its most obvious inspiration. It’s not exactly the same- it’s set in modern day, it’s more focused on the child-raising than the assassin stuff- but it’s every bit as good at nailing that specific sweet spot of deliciously entertaining spy action, wholesome family hijinks, and the bittersweet space in between trying to reconcile those two worlds. Heck, Miri’s a way more realistic four-year-old than Anya ever was; you can tell the writers really did their research on what it’s like to care for a child that young. The year’s still young, but I think this show is already a strong contender for the feel-good masterpiece of 2023. Just don’t go in expecting the hot guys to kiss, because you will leave disappointed if you do.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady: 8.5/10

We’ve done it, folks. We’ve finally cracked the code on how to make modern isekai great. Step One: Center it on a female protagonist with an actual personality instead of an empty self-insert male-patterned cooler full of stale oatmeal. Step Two: Make your story all about subverting the exhausting masturbatory self-centeredness of vanilla isekai in favor of a symbolic or literal revolution to give power back to all lovers of fantasy instead of pandering to maladjusted thirty-year-old manchildren. Step Three: As part of that progressive reinvention, make it GAY. AS. FUCK. The Executioner and her Way of Life was a strong step in the right direction, but as good as that show was, there was clearly still room to push things even further. But now, at last, that potential has been fully realized by the stunning tale of a reincarnated princess and a genius young lady coming together to revolutionize the world. Folks, MagiRevo fucking rules. The main leads are wonderful separately and even more wonderful together, the production is strong enough to carry the story’s soaring ambition, and it’s a genuinely powerful exploration of the harms caused by archaic systems of patriarchal power, and how difficult it is- but also how necessary- to change what’s been leading a society down the wrong path for so long. And while it drags a little in the midsection, it all culminates in a spectacular final act and a final episode that had me sobbing in my seat for 25 straight minutes. This isn’t just the best isekai since Re:Zero, this is a triumph of queer fantasy carving its own revolution through a genre that’s desperately needed it for far too long. So come join me and raise your banner with Anis and Euphie, because their journey deserves all the attention we can give. I promise, you won’t regret it.

[smokeybrandreviews]

Riding the Eye of the Storm

I am an unapologetic shill for Transformers, specifically Generation One. It was a pillar of my childhood. I’ve spoken about this at length because, like Spider-Man and Godzilla, this franchise shaped my taste in media for years to come. It was my love for transforming robots which lead me to Voltron, which spring boarded me to Robotech, that caused me to stumble down the cyberpunk rabbit hole and come to rest at the foot of Evangelion. Without Transformers, I wouldn’t have given Voltron a second look and probably missed out on my all-time favorite anime. Obviously, that’s hyperbole, kind of. I would have found EVA eventually, especially how saturated that franchise has become, but I would like to think my openness to it stemmed from my love for Optimus and his rag-tag bunch of freedom fighters. I’ve defended my little long form toy commercial for years, knowing that, as an Eighties product to move re-branded Diaclone and Micro Man content here in the States, there was no lore or cohesive story content to be had. I mean, there was, broad strokes of a eons long war, dead planets, Unicron, and whatever else, but not enough to really sink your teeth into. This was a kids show. No one needs character development or world building. Kids are dumb and won’t appreciate any of that. And then BtaS happened and all that sh*t changed. Transformers saw the value of narrative and gave us Beast Wars. From that point on, story and character finally took precedence. Every US developed Transformers show going forward, made it a point to build a lore around their core characters and, for a time, it was glorious. Animated and Prime gave us something really special. The War for Cybertron, with all of their faults, really put in the effort to build out that world. Even Cyberverse and Earthspark are out here, shining way more bright than they have any right to be. Hasbro has finally given proper due to the Transformers on the small screen and I am living for it. That said, theatrically? Theatrically, it’s been rough.

I hate Bayformers. Hate. Viscerally. Michael Bay is a terrible director. He’s great at action set pieces and has a brilliant eye for visual effects, but the man has no idea how to develop a character to save his life. He makes movies from the effects out. The spectacle is the point of his films, not the narrative content. So, for me, as a fan of this franchise for almost four goddamn decades, it was rough seeing the stark decline from the first to the last. Let’s be real right now, the Marky Mark Bayformers films are absolute nonsense. One of them didn’t even have the f*cking Decepticons transform, just explode into amorphous squares and sh*t. Bro, how you have a Transformers film without and transforming? Plus, they replaced the only actual character with an arc in the entire franchise, because Spielberg was offended she likened working for Mike Bay to serving under Hitler. Yo, if you knew how Megan Fox was treated on those sets, you’d know exactly why she said what she said. Ma got stories of the sexist bullsh*t she had to suffer through, going back to Bad Boys 2, when she was an extra on set at sixteen years old. The f*ck? And the way they wrote her out is just lazy. That chick Carly in the third? That was Mikaela, all day. Legitimately that’s the resolution to HER arc. After Fox got released in the off-season, Bay and his braintrust of writers just did a search-and-replace for anything that said Mikaela with Carly, and printed “revised” scripts. Lazy. Just f*cking lazy. I hate the Bayformers films so much, especially because they started with so much potential.

After The Last Knight deservedly flopped (Knights? In my Transformers movie? Really?), we got Bumblebee, which was basically the Iron Giant with our adorable, slug bug, mascot. And it was good. Travis Knight got a shot at this one and you can tell he wanted to do right by G1 and he did. I loved Bumblebee. Obviously, it wasn’t perfect. The aforementioned Iron Giant narrative is a thing but is that terrible? I loved the Iron Giant. It was dope. If you’re going to crib notes from something, make it a proven narrative, right? Avatar stole it’s entire goddamn identity from Dances with Wolves. Skyfall, my favorite Bond film, is just The Dark Knight. I can forgive Bumblebee basically lifting its entire vibe from The Iron Giant, especially with those opening scene on Cybertron. Believe me when I tell you, seeing my G1 inspired designs, mixed with the photo realism of that Bayformers aesthetic, I shrieked aloud. That one scene, was everything I wanted in my Transformers film. That was more than enough to satiate my very bias, very nostalgic, Millennial heart. I saw that sh*t three times in theaters and loved every second. I thought Bumblebee was a strong step forward in the right direction. That is until Rise of the Beasts dropped. Believe me when I say, RotB, was such a letdown after the high of Bumblebee. That sh*t was basically just a Bayformers entry without the goddamn Bayhem. The Bayhem is the point! You can’t make Bayformers with the Bayhem. Trying to imitate that sh*t halfheartedly, especially trying your best to bring in the Beast Wars fans and not alienate the goodwill you garnered from the excellent Bumblebee, was a goddamn mistake. I hate Bayformers because it’s a loud, disjointed, mess of admittedly beautiful visuals. The stories sucked, the Transformers designs are the worst in the franchise, and there story is so f*cking convoluted, it makes X-Men comics look like Emerson, but I was never bored watching them. Rise of the Beasts is boring. It takes the worst aspects of Bayformers and Bumblebee, mashes them together, and sh*ts out a very corpo curated product, with an eye toward a future cinematic universe. You can’t do that. You have to make sure your first entry is strong enough to stand on its own. That’s how the MCU did it. That’s how the Monsterverse did. That’s how it’s done. Which brings me to the point of this essay, Transformers One looks like that entry point.

When I heard we were getting an origin story for Transformers, roughly following the IDW and Prime origin of the Megs-Prime conflict, I was hesitant. That story is so good, and has been told excellently several times, but never in the theater, never in “serious” media. Then the cast was announced. Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax? Bryan Tyree Hill as pre-despot Megatron? Word? The only one that made any sense to me was Scarlett Johansson as Elite-1 because of course. I figured Hasbro f*ckded up again but then something happened. I saw the character designs. They reminded me of that first five minutes from Bumblebee. Then a trailer dropped. It WAS the first five minutes of Bumblebee, mixed with a little bit of Beast Machines, and a whole lot of Transformers Prime. There was humor. There was levity. There was pathos and characterization. You can tell there is strong chemistry within the cast, something that wasn’t necessarily a thing in Bayformers, RotB, but was definitely there in Bumblebee. There was color, life, enthusiasm, and genuine warmth. That short three minutes, sold me immediately on this film and I need so much more. It felt authentic to Transforms, an extension of the very best the franchise has to offer, and really hammered home how this theatrical franchise should have been full CG from the very beginning. I mean, the theatrical continuity for Transformers is an absolute mess now, but this origin film has the potential to clean that up. As long as it’s good. So far, I am loving what I’ve seen. So far, I have hope. It’s weird to say, but I have optimism for a good theatrical Transformers film again.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🦇 Thieves' Gambit Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫

❝ "Knowledge is control." ❞

❓ #QOTD If you could have one wish, what would it be? ❓ 🦇 Ross Quest is a master thief at age 17, specializing in escape plans and keeping anyone outside of her family at arm's length. A plan to run away for a short break from her legendary family goes haywire when her mother gets caught, leaving Ross to gather an impossible sum to save her. Desperate, Ross enters the Thieves' Gambit; an international heist competition that promises the grand prize of win wish to the winner; a wish she could use to save her mom. With the stakes higher than they've ever been, can Ross bring herself to trust another thief, or will she con them all?

[ Read my review below or on Insta | Storygraph | Goodreads ]

💜 Thieves' Gambit is fun, action-packed, and thrilling; everything you would expect from a heist. Kayvion Lewis keeps readers on their toes with twists and changing alliances, ensuring the pacing never slows. The story is plotted out like a film, leaving very little space for filler scenes (great for the pacing, but unideal for development). Each character is well-written, interesting, and dynamic, their hidden agendas and backstories adding to the intrigue. Even with the stakes so high, the heists are engaging without seeming too childish. With every heist, Ross learns a little more about herself in the process (though her character development isn't quite as strong as it could have been). There's also a light romantic element, though it never overshadows Ross's motivations or development. The dialogue is full of quick wit, moving just as quickly as the plot. Lewis manages to balance the coming-of-age issues (namely, trust, friendship, and self-identification) typical of most YA novels without abandoning the action-packed plot.

🦇 Though the novel is categorized as YA, the prose feels a little too juvenile at times. It also lacks strong descriptions that could have grabbed readers and dragged them through the thrill of a heist. With so much going on at such an intense speed, it's difficult to linger on small details that would have amplified the intensity. Unfortunately, that also makes it difficult for readers to empathize with the intense emotions Ross experiences during the game. A little more focus on "show, don't tell" would have bumped this up to a five. In a way, the story felt like it was written from a script, focusing more on dialogue and action than on imagery or emotions.

🦇 I'm also a bit disappointed in the heists themselves; namely, Ross's final heist. As a huge fan of the heist genre, I've read and watched enough media to know you should have a plan A to Z (Hardison usually dies in plan M...if you know, you know). You should always assume the plan is going to fail (to quote Leonard Snart, "Make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan."). Ross and the other competitors always seemed shocked when a plan went haywire. Some of the plans were too simple, while the final plan felt too easy (this big bad organization has safeguards throughout the entire competition, but allowed a bunch of teenagers to derail them?). The excitement of a good heist is watching savvy characters get themselves out of a domino effect of messes, all while stealing their score without the mark or audience realizing it. Instead, the final act felt rushed to get us to the cliffhanger (likely to hook readers before Netflix's production is released).

🦇 Recommended to fans of Six of Crows, Little Thieves, or the Inheritance Games.

✨ The Vibes ✨ 💎 Ocean's Eleven / Leverage Vibes 💎 YA Mystery/Heist Thriller 💎 Betrayal 💎 Slow Burn Romance 💎 Soon-To-Be-Movie 💎 First of a Duology

🦇 Major thanks to the author @kayvionclewis and publisher @penguinteen for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

The Unfaithful

Warner Bros. tried to pass off Vincent Sherman’s THE UNFAITHFUL (1947, TCM) as an original script, but anybody with half an ounce of film literacy can spot it as a remake of William Wyler’s THE LETTER (1940), albeit one made by people who didn’t understand the original very well. That’s not to fault the cast, who do what they can with the reimagined material. Both films deal with a woman who kills a man and lies about the circumstances. In 1940, that gave Bette Davis the opportunity to deliver one of her greatest and most restrained performances, a burning portrait of sexual hypocrisy. Ann Sheridan plays a nicer lady, who strayed while the husband (Zachary Scott) she wed quickly was off fighting World War II. Nonetheless, when she kills her former lover in self-defense, she lies to protect her husband’s feelings, even when lawyer Lew Ayres advises her to tell the truth. In place of the original’s depiction of racism and the colonial mentality, this film offers some cursory considerations of class and a more persuasive comment on the war’s effect on marital relations. By the time the script gets to Sheridan’s trial, it’s almost persuasive, though the last scene twists itself into pretzels trying to shoehorn its plot within the confines of the Production Code. Sheridan has some very good moments until the final scene, which I don’t think even Davis could have saved. Scott is OK as the husband, though playing a decent man robs him of a lot of his sexual mojo. Ayres works well, though you may wish they’d dropped the other shoe and made his character gay (forbidden under the Production Code, of course). You also get John Hoyt as the police detective on the case, Jerome Cowan as the apoplectic prosecutor, Steven Geray as a blackmailer (in this version instead of an incriminating letter it’s a bust of Sheridan made by the dead man) and some great views of Los Angeles in the late 1940s. The real performance honors, however, go to Eve Arden, whose role as Scott’s cousin has the most intriguing character arc in the film. I’m tempted to say she’s the only one with an arc. She starts out as a flighty society type, dropping one-liners as she tries to pick up all the dirt she can on the crime at her cousin’s house. But the case changes her and reveals a serious, reflective side Arden rarely got to play on screen. If they’d really wanted to transform the material, they’d have made a film about a wise-cracking gossip who grows up when her cousin’s wife is accused of murder. That’s a movie I’d like to see.

[history-and-consciousness]

I was probably asking or assuming too much to hang promises on something that wasn't mine, in hindsight

MIL had let me borrow the xterra freely in the past, but I should have made absolutely certain she was ok with it in this case. R tells me MIL didn't want to be so long without a vehicle. When I had been borrowing it in the past, only a few hours would pass on two consecutive days of the week where there was not a car in the yard she could take if she had to get her boyfriend to the hospital immediately. A risk she could live with, as opposed to me having more or less a reservation on the car in the event I needed it for the breakfast or afternoon shift. I was being greedy to take that for granted.

So I was a little more upset than I ought to have been about the car, but I think it just manifested in me waiting so long to call my boss to update her. Certainly, it added weight to the tangled everything, but I don't perceive the freshly unroadworthy xterra as being the foremost driver behind my behavior.

I suppose now may be a prudent time to mention that I was freshly medicated on adderall. 20mg when I wake up, 10mg later on in the day was what I had gone up to by this point. Ironically enough, I believe my prescription had been adjusted to the extended release version by this point but by some stupid bureaucratic fucking dispute between the pharmacy's supplier and my particular insurance I hadn't been able to fulfill the script. So I was getting a burst dose of a medication known to agitate. I'm not attempting to excuse myself, but maybe offer some explanation?

I feel the need to minimize hard details for the sake of privacy for some reason? It feels like gossiping if I talk about exact events. "Spilling the tea" as is the phrase down here.

Let me establish upfront: MIL (who is now D) has, despite some bad history with me, opened her house to R and I when we had literally no where else to go and asks for not a whole lot more than help when she needs it. D has gotten better since we last lived together. Nothing at all like the last time we lived together. She made an effort to change for the better and let go of the past and has shown us incredible generosity. So I'm trying it too. To change for the better and let go of the past. I try to give her grace, because she's giving me a lot of grace. We can both be difficult people (mirth.)

I'm aware that we all talk shit about "oh I'm gonna beat the fuck out of hypothetical" or "I'm gonna kill fictional" and so on. Hell, I was doing plenty of that alongside MIL's boyfriend when I saw the xterra. We all vent like that. D, as R has to remind me, tends to exaggerate hard (or lie) when she's having moments where she feels powerless and without control. Knowing her history, I can understand that. I don't like it, but I could take it less personally. Recent events were heavy on my mind.

So D says she did something very foolish (way the fuck more complex than mere homicide). I'm the first to clue in as to what she's alluding to and its implications. What I'm pretty sure I was trying to do was establish a common understanding of scope? I was trying to talk about it with her, at a basic level. And she kept refusing to engage with me. Told me to keep my voice down when I got a bit loud, not to talk about this with anyone.

I went into the backyard to call my own mother for the first time in who the fuck knows how long. It's not that bad, we text back and forth and she even visits sometimes, but there's always that...trope? Stereotype? "When's the last time you called your mother?" So the first thing my mother ever hears when I finally initiate a phone call, let alone a conversation: "Hi, got 10 minutes?" I rant about the situation, both the car and foolish thing. R joined the conversation, it became productive. R and I decide to get out of the house for a bit.

So at this point, we've pretty much established that foolish thing was most likely a fabrication, D's version of "I'm gonna invert his ribcage" except it was plausible and had severe consequences if true. Consequences I really wanted to address. After addressing them with my mother and talking through the everything, I go inside and the first thing D asks me is "were you talking to your mother?"

I affirm that I was. D proceeds to get sour at me and walk out of the room. Before I leave, or maybe it was after we got back I don't really remember, I hear from R that D is upset with me. What confuses me is that she's upset with me for snitching as if there was absolutely no way her alleged actions could splash back on all of us. Whatever, we separate and move on.

It's past my bedtime

[smokeybrand]

Riding the Eye of the Storm

I am an unapologetic shill for Transformers, specifically Generation One. It was a pillar of my childhood. I’ve spoken about this at length because, like Spider-Man and Godzilla, this franchise shaped my taste in media for years to come. It was my love for transforming robots which lead me to Voltron, which spring boarded me to Robotech, that caused me to stumble down the cyberpunk rabbit hole and come to rest at the foot of Evangelion. Without Transformers, I wouldn’t have given Voltron a second look and probably missed out on my all-time favorite anime. Obviously, that’s hyperbole, kind of. I would have found EVA eventually, especially how saturated that franchise has become, but I would like to think my openness to it stemmed from my love for Optimus and his rag-tag bunch of freedom fighters. I’ve defended my little long form toy commercial for years, knowing that, as an Eighties product to move re-branded Diaclone and Micro Man content here in the States, there was no lore or cohesive story content to be had. I mean, there was, broad strokes of a eons long war, dead planets, Unicron, and whatever else, but not enough to really sink your teeth into. This was a kids show. No one needs character development or world building. Kids are dumb and won’t appreciate any of that. And then BtaS happened and all that sh*t changed. Transformers saw the value of narrative and gave us Beast Wars. From that point on, story and character finally took precedence. Every US developed Transformers show going forward, made it a point to build a lore around their core characters and, for a time, it was glorious. Animated and Prime gave us something really special. The War for Cybertron, with all of their faults, really put in the effort to build out that world. Even Cyberverse and Earthspark are out here, shining way more bright than they have any right to be. Hasbro has finally given proper due to the Transformers on the small screen and I am living for it. That said, theatrically? Theatrically, it’s been rough.

I hate Bayformers. Hate. Viscerally. Michael Bay is a terrible director. He’s great at action set pieces and has a brilliant eye for visual effects, but the man has no idea how to develop a character to save his life. He makes movies from the effects out. The spectacle is the point of his films, not the narrative content. So, for me, as a fan of this franchise for almost four goddamn decades, it was rough seeing the stark decline from the first to the last. Let’s be real right now, the Marky Mark Bayformers films are absolute nonsense. One of them didn’t even have the f*cking Decepticons transform, just explode into amorphous squares and sh*t. Bro, how you have a Transformers film without and transforming? Plus, they replaced the only actual character with an arc in the entire franchise, because Spielberg was offended she likened working for Mike Bay to serving under Hitler. Yo, if you knew how Megan Fox was treated on those sets, you’d know exactly why she said what she said. Ma got stories of the sexist bullsh*t she had to suffer through, going back to Bad Boys 2, when she was an extra on set at sixteen years old. The f*ck? And the way they wrote her out is just lazy. That chick Carly in the third? That was Mikaela, all day. Legitimately that’s the resolution to HER arc. After Fox got released in the off-season, Bay and his braintrust of writers just did a search-and-replace for anything that said Mikaela with Carly, and printed “revised” scripts. Lazy. Just f*cking lazy. I hate the Bayformers films so much, especially because they started with so much potential.

After The Last Knight deservedly flopped (Knights? In my Transformers movie? Really?), we got Bumblebee, which was basically the Iron Giant with our adorable, slug bug, mascot. And it was good. Travis Knight got a shot at this one and you can tell he wanted to do right by G1 and he did. I loved Bumblebee. Obviously, it wasn’t perfect. The aforementioned Iron Giant narrative is a thing but is that terrible? I loved the Iron Giant. It was dope. If you’re going to crib notes from something, make it a proven narrative, right? Avatar stole it’s entire goddamn identity from Dances with Wolves. Skyfall, my favorite Bond film, is just The Dark Knight. I can forgive Bumblebee basically lifting its entire vibe from The Iron Giant, especially with those opening scene on Cybertron. Believe me when I tell you, seeing my G1 inspired designs, mixed with the photo realism of that Bayformers aesthetic, I shrieked aloud. That one scene, was everything I wanted in my Transformers film. That was more than enough to satiate my very bias, very nostalgic, Millennial heart. I saw that sh*t three times in theaters and loved every second. I thought Bumblebee was a strong step forward in the right direction. That is until Rise of the Beasts dropped. Believe me when I say, RotB, was such a letdown after the high of Bumblebee. That sh*t was basically just a Bayformers entry without the goddamn Bayhem. The Bayhem is the point! You can’t make Bayformers with the Bayhem. Trying to imitate that sh*t halfheartedly, especially trying your best to bring in the Beast Wars fans and not alienate the goodwill you garnered from the excellent Bumblebee, was a goddamn mistake. I hate Bayformers because it’s a loud, disjointed, mess of admittedly beautiful visuals. The stories sucked, the Transformers designs are the worst in the franchise, and there story is so f*cking convoluted, it makes X-Men comics look like Emerson, but I was never bored watching them. Rise of the Beasts is boring. It takes the worst aspects of Bayformers and Bumblebee, mashes them together, and sh*ts out a very corpo curated product, with an eye toward a future cinematic universe. You can’t do that. You have to make sure your first entry is strong enough to stand on its own. That’s how the MCU did it. That’s how the Monsterverse did. That’s how it’s done. Which brings me to the point of this essay, Transformers One looks like that entry point.

When I heard we were getting an origin story for Transformers, roughly following the IDW and Prime origin of the Megs-Prime conflict, I was hesitant. That story is so good, and has been told excellently several times, but never in the theater, never in “serious” media. Then the cast was announced. Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax? Bryan Tyree Hill as pre-despot Megatron? Word? The only one that made any sense to me was Scarlett Johansson as Elite-1 because of course. I figured Hasbro f*ckded up again but then something happened. I saw the character designs. They reminded me of that first five minutes from Bumblebee. Then a trailer dropped. It WAS the first five minutes of Bumblebee, mixed with a little bit of Beast Machines, and a whole lot of Transformers Prime. There was humor. There was levity. There was pathos and characterization. You can tell there is strong chemistry within the cast, something that wasn’t necessarily a thing in Bayformers, RotB, but was definitely there in Bumblebee. There was color, life, enthusiasm, and genuine warmth. That short three minutes, sold me immediately on this film and I need so much more. It felt authentic to Transforms, an extension of the very best the franchise has to offer, and really hammered home how this theatrical franchise should have been full CG from the very beginning. I mean, the theatrical continuity for Transformers is an absolute mess now, but this origin film has the potential to clean that up. As long as it’s good. So far, I am loving what I’ve seen. So far, I have hope. It’s weird to say, but I have optimism for a good theatrical Transformers film again.

[midnightmeteora]

MEDIA THREAD-FEBRUARY

A short month no doubt, spent most of it drawing (I gonna try to finish those wips I swear). Anyway:

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14.-Hazbin Hotel (season 1)

I'm not someone who enjoys negative ranting on media. But oh my god I didn't like this show. Thankfully I watched this along side my GF and my Bestie but still, it was quite dreadful getting through this show. The script was annoying. All of those parodies about Vivzie's shows are true, there's always a swear in most sentences. It stops being funny and it becomes annoying, cringe even. I don't get this show, is it a comedy or a genuine attempt of making a social commentary??? It tries to tell a story about redemption and the value of change, but it doesn't have the pay off nor the build up to excel imo. For most of the runtime, this show barely attempts to dive deep into the nuance of the characters, most of the time if there is nuance to be found. It later decides to either treat it as a joke or rush to no end, lacking the payoff expected for serious issues like sexual and psychological abuse. The visuals were also kinda sucky. It has a unique style no doubt. But everything blends together when there's so much color overlap and over designed characters with similar motifs and color palettes. Most of the songs are alright on their own, but in the show itself, I only enjoyed like half of them. Yeah this show wasn't for me, and the more I think about it, the angrier I get ngl.

. #15.-Kimi ni Todoke (season 1)

Love letter to shojo media (? One of my favorite shows rn, it's so comfy, yet it still pulls them punches with the drama when it needs to. Every character is so loveable and the humor is wholesome fun. I really like how it develops the characters thru meaningful interactions and moments that pushes these teens foward. I'm loving this show, quite excited for S3 later on this year :]

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#16.-Sonic Frontiers (main game replay and update 2 content playthrough)

I still really like this game! Admitedly, its luster did shine off a bit now that it's been a while since the original release. This time more cracks became more noticeable to me, particularly the plot itself is rather empty and on a second playthrough it brings the game down a tad bit. The last section in Ouranos island is veryy weak plot wise, even though I had a blast with the gameplay. I still believe that this is a cleverly designed game, but I wished it had more production values behind it. By far the main aspect that will age the game later on. This game kinda lacks the visual aesthetic and presence that many other games in this franchise have. Not only that, the new additions like the jump acceleration kind of made some of the open zone sections kind of dry... I really look foward to the next mainline game, this game is still the best step in the right direction it could've been. The update 2 content was also really fun! I really like the action challenges and the new kokos were neat to get. I mightttt need another replay to abuse the spindash to hell and back, but I still need to finish new horizons as of writing.

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#17.-Sonic Frontiers: Final Horizons update

Damn was this a mixbag. I'm a bit underwhelmed ngl. It wasn't bad, but it kinda pushed the game to its absolute limits, and not in a pleasant way. The unrefinement from the main game is in an all time high. The new island content and characters are ok. Amy is fine for the most part, doe I wish she was able to wall climb. Knuckles was so much fun and I hope they use this template for future appearances. And Tails' tornado was so broken that made his sections redundant. I think everyone but knuckles kinda show the issues with the open zone. You can skip so much of the platforming that it kinda robs you from the main draw of the game. The new cyberspace levels are really cool!! But I did not enjoy completing the extra missions, they made the experience far more frustrating and unpleasant, not only that but you hardly even need to engange with cyberspace, but i'll get to it in a second. The new mixes are nice and the new levels are pretty sick and fun to speedrun but I still feel like they don't benefit from the asset re-use and the weird jank the game has.

The tower challenges were a bit of a mixbag, the platforming got a bit obnoxious on tower 2 and 4 ngl, but I did enjoy the trials. Trial 5 is no doubt quite infamous, but I actually found it fun, I liked figuring out how to minmax my time defeating the titans. It kinda show how clunky the parry and the animations are however, and yet, it also made me appreciate the enemy design and the combat way more than I already did! Finally, we got a new final boss battle, and it was alright? The spectacle was nice, but after all the things I had to do to even get there, I'd rather have the original ouranos island section as easy and anticlimatic it might've been. The new added story wasn't that much different either, just a tad more flashy with a bit more involvement from the main cast. Overall it was an ok addition, but I wished I didn't spent that much time doing the extra missions and stuff, many of the parts of this update lacks the incentive I desired and at times, the payoff I expected. Which is why it felt underwhelming for me. I hope the next game is an improvement over final horizons, if this is going to be the main base for the forseeable future, then there's still work to be done.

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#18.-Super Mario Bros (NES)

I'm starting to play more retro games as of lately since I really want to have more games that I can replay whenever I want a quick gaming session aside from Mega man and Sonic. So I'm want to try the 2D Mario games since admitedly, I was never a Mario guy (If you couldn't tell by my Sonic fanatism). 2D Mario has never grabbed my attention since it is rather vanilla and the "new super mario" series also left a very bad taste in my mouth just like everyone else growing up. Anyway, og super mario on NES was fun tbh. It is quite challenging for modern standards, but I found plenty to like tbh. The potential for further replays is hampered by those tight physics doe, I'm already playing SMB3 (I'm gonna skip 2 for the time being tbh) and I can already tell that the control was pretty tight in this first game. Hammer bros are really agressive too. I'm glad I'm finally beat this game, even though it cramped my hands like a MF bc I played this on a 3DS.

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#19.-Kimi Ni Todoke (Season 2)

THIS WAS PRETTY GOOD, the drama got pretty interesting and it developed the characters extremely well. It has a ton of nuance that I want to rewatch and admire all over again ngl. Left extremely soft after watching it. Can't wait for season 3

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Might start to do more stand alone posts from now on if I want to continue logging these opinions lol.

[skylen64]

Not a book update, just a personal rant. Warning, if you love the show, you will hate me. I am a Bookcloak. Although that name is pretty ironic.

Also tdlr: me ranting about the fandom of wheel of time breaking and how it broke my heart at the same time. Also, issues with the show and issues with the head of the Showfriend faction of the fans. I wish the show never existed because of what it did to the fans.

Like many Wheel of Time fans, I was ecstatic when the show was announced. Casting came out, and I'll admit I was a bit disappointed. But it would be worth it if the show was good. I got past the disappointment and was still just as excited.

I heard a few leaks, and some did concern me, like the budget for a wig, and covid slowing production. But, a Wheel of Time show was finally being made. It didn't matter if it was perfect. As long as it was good. I kept waiting.

Then the actor for Mat left. The producer claims it was because he didn't want to get a vaccine, but he left far before the vaccine was given out. I still kept waiting and hoping. Finally it was September 2021. The producer was doing an interview. One thing Rafe Judkins said stuck with me. Not in a good way either. "Sometimes I'll send Sarah an email with a fake script, then call her. I then threaten her with Thoms death, and love to hear her cry." Okay, maybe it was a joke, I told myself. So I kept hoping.

Then the big day came. You know most of us were watching prime, waiting for it to let us watch the show, poised on that play button for those first three episodes. Finally I could watch it. The show adaptation for my favorite book series. I could... okay those three episodes kinda sucked. But there's eight in a season, so it can improve right? Wrong. I couldn't watch past episode 5. I nearly threw up, and I wish that was an exaggeration.

I felt like I had been gang beaten. I was in denial, but I should've known from episode 2, when Moiraine killed with the one power. But that scene with Logaine and Loial were so well written, the rest had to be like that, or half right? No, no it wasn't. I had to keep watching through Steppin killing himself after denying a bond with a polygamous Green, or even Lan doing the mourning. I should have stopped when Mat and Rand were chased through the streets by serving girl, even if she was a Darkfriend. Or when Nynaeve pushed Egwene off a cliff. But I tried to keep watching.

I was in a rage, and I was in tears. I was in denial. That atrocity could have just changed its title and character names and it wouldn't be recognized as Wheel of Time. The character design, the scenery and the props were fine. The script... the script was the only thing wrong.

Then it made me remember another quote from the interview. "I tell the writing room what happened next in the books, they exclaim 'don't spoil us' because most don't want to read the books in fear of spoilers." I wish he was joking. Light, I wish I was joking. But watching that thing... I don't think he was.

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part of the show wasn't its content. It was it's effect on the fans. I could honestly forget the show except the fans won't let me. I literally joined social media because I was looking for wheel of time fans. I got what I wanted, for about 4 months. The 4 best months of my life too.

We fucking shattered into 4 groups. The Bookcloaks, the Showfriends/ shills, the Hopefuls and the selfdeniers. The first two groups partly existed before the release due to issues with the casting. Some of the Bookcloaks were racist towards it at the time, others were concerned with the deviation from the plot. I was the latter, and certainly didn't support the former. But we were lumped together all the same, called racists and bigots. But that was only a drop in the bowl of pain to come. Ironically tho, that diversity shield worked well, although it didn't do jack for that Velma show.

The show came out, and the divides solidified within episode 5. Two weeks is all it took. The Hopefuls and the Deniers grew smaller, but still exist. The Bookcloaks in all are still called racist and bigots, and are outright banned if we even say something positive about that show.

A certain show subreddit moderator spearheaded this campaign. TheNewPoetLawrette (I forgot the exact spelling) as she was named is a SJW Karen. I say that as someone who's very much on the left. And she is the only person I have ever called either name. I had an unfortunate run-in with her on a discord server called The Queers Blessing (still love that name Sarah). A debate had started up about rings of power casting, when a Showfriend started a discussion about people complaining about the casting. I asked for the discussion to end there, because I didn't want the last haven I had to be destroyed. Of course they didn't come back online until after the drama ensued.

Miss NewPoet took it upon herself to go into a rant about how bigoted I was for not wanting to talk about it. And when I explained my reasons why (I'll admit right here my autistic brain didn't word it well) she lobbied to get me banned from the server. She outright called me racist, misogynistic and a homophob. Funny, because I'm a lesbian who's dating a beautiful trans woman, but she didn't need to know that. Also, why would you judge people by race? It's their actions that matter, and Miss NewPoets actions label her as a terrible person.

She also failed to get me banned on discord. Unfortunately The Queers Blessing went silent after that, most of us just wanting nothing to do with her. I feel sorry for Sara, as she did create that server.

There is no head of faction for the Bookcloaks or the other two factions. And quite a few of the Showfriends have joined the Bookcloaks in the past couple years. Even advocators of the show have joined. Well, they officially joined until a certain mod spearheaded another assault and got the Bookcloak subreddits banned from reddit.

Honestly, just for what it did to the fans, I wish the Wheel of Time show never existed.

[thoselostshoes]

The more episodes come out, the more I realise that it's not that great of an adaptation.

Yes, they're children but the acting is flat. I am sure they can act wonderfully but it feels like they are just saying their lines and I don't feel any emotion behind it. They are walking everywhere, I have not seen them run yet. Their faces are expressionless, it just doesn't feel like they are their characters, it feels like the characters are just a big wax mask that they put on.

The dialogues themselves are way too explanatory. We don't see the action, we get told the action. I don't want to hear everyone say that Zeus is mad and dangerous. I don't want to hear people explain to me that the original lightning is very powerful and that Zeus would do anything to have it back. I want to see it. I want to see Lightning storms and hear thunder when Percy badmouth him. I want monsters to really attack the trio because they are supposed to be the reason the world is going to fall into war. I don't care about those almost peaceful monsters we have.

The combat scenes are just lacking any dephts, everything seems too easy, too smooth. The Medusa scene was better in the movie and that's saying a lot. Linking her story in the show to the Roman myth is not a bad idea but it just doesn't work. Medusa is the show doesn't feel like a monster, she feels like a human that is dangerous (again because they tell us, they don't show us that she's dangerous). She makes a u-turn and decide to attack the trio for no real reason, and maybe she was just manipulating them but if that was the case, they did not let us watchers in on the manipulation (which would have made her next actions more believable). And finally, they defeated her in less than 5 min. Medusa. When they used half the episode time and dialogues for telling us she was dangerous.

And yes, the changes made are really weird. They take out a lot of humour to replace it with "serious" scenes, but they keep interrupting those scenes with the humorous scenes from the book, which feel weird because they are not in the same vibe as the rest. Using Hera's throne in the episode means that the stakes are upped. Meanwhile, Ares behaving like in the book is for sure accurate but it does not go along smoothly with the rest of the episode like it does in the book.

Talking about the changes, the modification of the Love Tunnel is the weirdest one to me. It does not make sense. The Hephaestus show showed us that the Gods are flawed and that they are also a product of their time, that even if they come from Antiquity, they are still moved and crave entertainment the same way we do. In the show however, this is not expressed at all. What do you mean Hephaestus is just there and says that everything the Gods do is war against each other? Where is the "fun" Gods, those gods that makes Lester believable?

Also, this line rubbed me the wrong way : "You are loyal Annabeth". Loyalty is supposed to be Percy's fatal flaw, I would have liked to see his loyalty better in the show but it's Annabeth's one that is underlined first.

For a "book accurate" adaption, it do feel it quite failed. It feels like a soulless play of the story, where the important events are present but nothing links them together and nothing seem important. The vibe of the show is not even and sometimes feel weird, fabricated.

PSA : What I said about the actors is not a critique of their skills. It's a critique of their acting in that specific context and show. They are young, and the script does not make them justice.

Something that is confusing me is how many people are defending the changes Rick made and defending Rick himself in regards to the show.

He lied to us.

He got the entire fandom to hype up the show, got the show made on the basis of getting a book accurate adaption. This was supposed to be something accurate to the books, including the book characters, the book scenes, the book stakes- we were supposed to get to see our favorite moments in the books on screen.

And then he went and rewrote the book.

This adaption isn't the book we read. The characters aren't the characters we read. Grover's personality was wholesale replaced. This is something entirely new-

And whether you like it for itself is a different matter entirely, but the point is that... this isn't The Lightning Thief that we read years ago.

He lied to us.

[skyberia]

some "behind the scenes" stuff from this comic (read as: wips and assorted thoughts)

SOME BACKSTORY: i was halfheartedly playing through strikers after finishing p5r. the fact that akechi's not even mentioned in that whole game made me sad. the fact that akechi stops being mentioned basically the moment he dies in p5 vanilla makes me sad. i had thoughts. so i decided to make a comic about it

i wrote down the entirety of the script for this while in a complete haze listening to third eye by florence + the machine on repeat for an hour straight. that song has nothing to do with anything the comic is about. or with either of the characters involved. i can't explain my thought process there.

(the 'official' title of the comic is "a ghost amongst the living (consequences of a cognitive death.)" as a sort of tribute to that song, even though it has, again, nothing to do with what the comic is about)

THE SCRIPT: the numbers correlate to text bubbles on my thumbnails (see next). i also put it on discord so i could more easily see it/edit from either my phone or computer, which i don't think is the MOST efficient or professional way to go about doing this, but

you may notice this is a little bit different from the text on the final product. this is because. i changed some things while typing it out for the final thing. i don't know what else to tell you.

i did reach a point where i had read these same words over and over so much that i started questioning if anything i wrote made sense and if i even knew how to speak english correctly. i'd like to thank my friends for reassuring me that some of my wording was ok, and also google because every time i asked "is that even a thing people say" i would just plug it on there to try to figure it out (because i was too embarrassed to ask anyone to read over it)

THE THUMBNAILS: just a rough idea of panelling and where to put text bubbles and such. this took fucking forever. comics are hard. nobody ever tells you this (<- something i said about like 10 times to the same people while making this)

THE SKETCHES: basically grabbing the thumbnails and making them into an actual thing i can draw onto. also getting all the text laid out-- i don't think that's entirely necessary at this point but i was just excited to see it all laid out and being able to read it

(shoutout to my friend sophie for making the font i used for this/use for all my longer comics. she's an icon and a legend and has really nice handwriting)

you may notice that page 9 is completely different from the thumbnails. this is because i was tired by the time i got to that part in planning and i paid for it. brainstorming & reworking that page took me an entire day. comics are HARD. I AM TELLING YOU THIS

page 6 also changed by the time i got around to lining it because i decided that it sucked and i hated it. reworking that into something more acceptable also took me about half a day. i'm happy with how it turned out though, and glad that i no longer have the issue of having a flop ass page in the middle of this

THE PROCESS: was actually quite straightforward after that, just doing the lines and the like. but i wanted to share how i did the backgrounds. i grabbed a bunch of in-game screenshots i took for reference and just plugged them through csp's "artistic > lines only" filter and just traced over that

i love you art shortcuts that make my life & ability to make yaoi comics easier

(if you're curious too here's all the screenshots i took & was keeping on the side for reference)

ETC: some miscellaneous thoughts, because if you've made it all the way through this then you probably don't have anything better to do anyway:

all in all this took two weeks. script was written on the 11th, thumbnails were done on the 14th, sketches were done on the 17th, lining on the 24th, aaand colouring took me just one day. comics are HARD and TAKE TIME. NOBODY TELLS YOU THIS!!!!!

i actually started getting wrist pain somewhere along the 2nd day of lining/3rd page. that step of the process probably took longer than it otherwise would because i had to keep taking breaks 2 ensure i wouldn't break my hand completely -_-

my sanity throughout the lining process was only ensured by listening to a frankly stupid amount of jpop. thank you wednesday campanella and mrs. green apple

i think my favourite page is page 3. i like how the panels get crooked when akechi puts the detective prince persona on, i like how akira deadpans (in a straightened panel) to cut him off. also in order to get the hand right in the first panel i did the hair twirling motion myself and ended up hitting myself in the eye with my own hair. it was worth it though

IN CONCLUSION: i think they went a bit too hard with the yaoi fanservice in persona 5 royal