#he directed many great normal episodes for TWELVE SEASONS

[spngirlpolls]

can i ask a question. what the hell was phil sgriccia's problem in s13. what was all that.

[voltrontranscript]

VLD S8E7: Day Forty-Seven

Season 8 Episode 7: Day Forty-Seven

Transcript by @dragonofyang

Summary: Kinkade and Rizavi film a vlog that follows a relatively normal day on the IGF-Atlas with its humorous moments and the stress of battle.

[Google Doc]

Kinkade: Hello. This is Lieutenant Ryan Kinkade, MFE pilot. The time is 0600 hours. It’s day forty-seven. And this is a glimpse at day-to-day life aboard the IGF-Atlas.

[Cut to Kinkade brushing his teeth as the camera floats over his shoulder.]

Kinkade: Last night, I unpacked my video gear and decided to document the crew. I know it seems strange, but before Earth was attacked, I didn’t go anywhere without my camera.

[Cut to Kinkade running on a treadmill.]

Kinkade: Back home, people asked me why I liked recording things. They also asked me why I didn’t talk that much. To both of those things, I’d always say… [grunts]

[Cut to Kinkade doing pull-ups.]

Kinkade: Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.

Romelle: You’re recording? Why?

Griffin: Kinkade has always been, uh… an individual who’s most comfortable observing and reflecting on life. Being a fighter pilot was actually his backup plan.

[Cut to Kinkade wearing a blindfold as he works on his blaster rifle.]

Kinkade: It’s true. I learned how to shoot with a camera before I learned how to shoot with a rifle. I guess filming is just a small piece of the larger puzzle that makes up the picture of who I am. Hm.

[Cut to Kinkade turning the camera on once more and walking to a fighter jet.]

Rizavi: So you’re really shooting another documentary? Please tell me this is going to be more exciting than that project you did for Mr. Pollard’s biology class about yeast.

Kinkade: That was actually about the process of fermentation. Yeast converts carbohydrates into carbon diox--

Rizavi: Boring! Okay, look, if this little documentary is how history will remember us, I’m gonna help you spruce it up! How many cameras do you have? What’s your visual effects budget? Do you have any smoke bombs?

[Cut to Keith and Pidge facing the camera as it focuses on Pidge directly.]

Kinkade: Okay. We’re set.

Rizavi: So, uh, catch us up on what’s going on.

Pidge: Right. Well, the Atlas is headed to the Grei-Aye system where we’ve identified the remains of a disabled robeast.

Rizavi: Oh! Those things are pretty dangerous, right?

Pidge: Do I need to explain that the robeast was one of the ones used in Honerva’s intergalactic ritual?

Rizavi: No, it’s fine.

Pidge: Okay. Um, so, once the Atlas arrives in orbit around the planet, the other Paladins and I will head down to the surface to secure the robeast and hopefully find its Altean pilot.

Rizavi: Ugh, okay. Keith! Why don’t you tell us about the dangers of this mission?

Keith: Well, every mission has some inherent dangers. For this one, we have to be especially diligent about the robeast. Even if it’s not fully functional, it can still pose an extreme threat. Combine that with the hostile Altean that’s probably still in the vicinity, and you’ve potentially got threats on multiple fronts.

Hunk: Hey, guys. What’s up? You making a movie? Cool. Can I be in it? Now, wait, if this is an action movie… is it? I don’t wanna be in it.

Rizavi: Hunk, we’re trying to do an interview here.

Hunk: Oh, sorry. Yeah, my bad. I just came by to see if you wanted to try this new recipe I’ve been experimenting with. This is just the first pass. The final version of it will be coming soon. No, Bae Bae! Not for you! I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’ll make you some doggy treats later.

Kinkade: What’s the recipe? Can we watch you work?

Hunk: Well, yeah! Yeah, this’ll be great! I’ve secretly always wanted my own cooking show.

Rizavi: What? No! Keith was just telling us about the mission and all the dangers! We’re not losing that to document cooking.

Kinkade: But, I like cooking.

Rizavi: It’s like you’re trying to make this boring.

Hunk: Whoa, first of all, cooking is not boring, okay? And it can bring people together. Some of the best times of my life were spent breaking bread with loved ones.

Keith: So, is this interview over?

Rizavi: No! Great, now the talent’s getting restless!

Iverson: Everyone, report to your battle stations immediately! I repeat… battle stations immediately! This is not a drill!

Rizavi: The camera!

Kinkade: Leave it! We need to go!

Rizavi: But this is gold!

Kinkade: Come o--

Iverson: MFE pilots, report to hangars alpha-bravo! Scrambling fighters in five! Paladins, stand by for launch.

[Scene change as Bae Bae finds the fallen camera and carries it around.]

Shiro: Where did it come from? Veronica, get me eyes on it!

Coran: That thing just appeared out of nowhere!

Shiro: Iverson, fire when ready!

Iverson: Target acquired! We’ve got lock! Wait. No… we lost it! Target has gone dark!

Veronica: Electromagnetic radiation from that planet is overloading our radars.

Shiro: Voltron, do you have a visual? I repeat, Voltron, do you have a visual?

Keith: Not yet. We’re going in now! Stand by! We can’t see a thing in here!

Griffin: Copy that. We have zero visibility as well. We need a visual.

Curtis: Roger. Trying another avenue. Scanning for biometrics. Visual acquired!

Coran: Incoming!

Iverson: Recharging all starboard cannons!

Curtis: Sensors are offline!

Iverson: What is that thing?

Coran: It’s massive!

Shiro: Iverson, open fire!

Coran: Direct hit! It’s coming back around for another shot!

Shiro: Veronica, prep shields!

[Scene change as the camera falls down a vent into Sam and Slav’s workstation.]

Sam: Whatever hit us just knocked loose the gravity generator! Grab the flaxum assembly!

Slav: I can’t do that! It’s red!

Sam: Is this one of your crazy probability, reality things?

[Scene change to a hallway as soldiers float through to their stations.]

Shiro: All crew, report to stations and prepare for Atlas transformation--

Atlas Crewmember: Go, go, go!

Shiro: --in T-minus thirty seconds!

[Scene change as Bae Bae finds the camera again and carries it.]

Colleen: Bae Bae, what are you doing out here? And what’s this in your mouth? A camera? Come on, girl.

Shiro: All crew, prepare for Atlas transformation sequence in five… four… three… two… one!

[Scene change as the camera dies, then powers on again facing Kinkade once more.]

Kinkade: Camera’s fully charged. We’re good to go. The time is now 0900 hours. We just experienced a minor mishap aboard the IGF-Atlas, but we’re back on track. In the future, we’ll hopefully be avoiding creature-occupied gas planets.

[Cut to Kinkade floating through a hallway.]

Kinkade: Hey, Seok Jin, where you headed?

Seok Jin: I’m transporting these samples back to Earth. Commander Holt thinks it can help with the recovery efforts there.

Kinkade: Well, they couldn’t have picked a better man for the job. Take care, man. Hey, Seok Jin… we’ll miss you, buddy.

[Scene change to the camera looking into the mess hall, where Vrepit Sal is cleaning tables and then rotates to face the hallway.]

Rizavi: There you are! Tell me this thing was recording during the attack! That was so intense! Oh, this documentary’s gonna be awesome!

[Cut to Kolivan sitting in a small office facing the camera.]

Kolivan: I believe our heading readout en route was 92254739.275. Wait, no. It was 9.265. Yes. That was our heading per our readout just prior to our deployment.

Rizavi: [mock snoring]

Kolivan: Our teams vary in size. Often we use the three-person unit, but it’s not unusual to have a four- or a five- or perhaps even a six-person unit. Seven seems rare, but... it could happen.

Rizavi: Okay, I like everything you’re telling me, but let’s just try it a little less like you’re reporting the facts to your commanding officer and a little more like you’re telling your friend an exciting story in the gym. You understand?

Kolivan: Yes, understood.

Rizavi: Okay, good. Why don’t you tell us about your last mission?

Kolivan: Our last mission took place on planet K-V Exus. The Blades divided into three four-person teams and we escorted approximately twelve rescue crafts to the surface. I believe our heading readout was 359.222--

Rizavi: Thank! Thank you! Okay, I think we got it!

Kolivan: But I wasn’t done.

Rizavi: Yeah, you nailed it. Yeah. We need to get someone more exciting in here.

[Cut to Coran leaning into the camera as it slowly attempts to focus on him.]

Coran: Then the Atlas started firing with everything it had! And don’t forget the white hole is swirling right next to us the entire time! Oh, no, it’s about to close! Meanwhile, not one, but two, yes, two, robeasts are attacking! Shiro’s shouting out orders. “Coran, get closer! Iverson, open fire!” Beams of quintessence energy are converging from all over the galaxy! Ah! You know, you could just imagine it.

[Scene change to Rizavi turning the camera on in Slav and Sam’s workspace.]

Sam: Welcome to the engine room. What you see here is just a tiny part of what keeps the ship functioning.

Rizavi: Slav, you’ve created some incredible technology. What do you think of the Atlas?

Slav: I can respect any engineering that extrapolates for transmutation, but I wish the writing was in Altean.

Sam: He’s mentioned that a few times.

Rizavi: So what are you doing now?

Slav: Right now we’re about to adjust the gravity generator, which was fractionally increased during our last battle.

Sam: Yes, our gravity generator is actually a fluid system, ever-changing depending on the specific needs of the location, so it requires recalibrating from time to time. Okay, adjust gravity generator back down to .12.

Slav: Copy. Adjusting now.

Sam: What did you press?

Slav: I don’t know! Which one is the two again? I can’t read these weird symbols you call numbers! Hey, big guy, toss me over! Oh, no. Directly on a crack!

Kinkade: Weird.

[Cut to the camera focusing on some juniberry shoots in a pot.]

Colleen: Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s an Altean juniberry. The first one to bloom in nearly ten thousand years. I managed to get it to grow by resequencing the genetic code of a similar plant. I wanna give it to Allura. These are our fertilizers. We have fish emulsion, worm castings, Kaltenecker manure. Just so much great recycled poop! And this is our lighting station. I like to say our lighting array is literally out of this world! You know, because we’re, you know, on a space ship.

Rizavi: Can I take a shot at this?

[Cut to the camera panning across the crops in the grow room.]

Rizavi: Welcome to extreme space harvesting! Where we have plants and crops and super fertilizers all under one roof! Meet Colleen Holt, the botanical genius behind it all.

[Cut to Colleen sitting in a chair in the grow room.]

Colleen: I guess I just liked plants all my life. I’ve done a lot of research, but I know I have much to learn. I guess… I like… the challenge. I’m sorry, where am I supposed to be looking?

Rizavi: Without Colleen, all life aboard the ship could perish. One bad crop, the introduction of one foreign pest, and it’s all over.

Colleen: I just like plants.

Hunk: Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something again? I just--I just came in to see if Colleen had a very specific type of yeast.

Kinkade: Yeast? What for?

Rizavi: Oh, no.

Hunk: It’s that recipe I’ve been working on. I think I got the topping down, but I’m still trying to figure out the sweet bread.

Colleen: Well, I have so many strains of yeast, it’ll make your head spin. I got AB972, S288C. I even have O unilateralis. Don’t mess with that one.

Kinkade: Are you getting this?

Rizavi: Unfortunately, yes.

[Camera cuts to Kinkade and Rizavi floating through a hallway.]

Rizavi: The time is 1200 hours. We just got word that we are in the Grei-Aye star system. The Paladins will be heading down to the surface of the planet any second now.

[Cut to the camera facing Allura, Lance, and Keith in the hangar for Black Lion.]

Rizavi: Lance, how are you feeling about the mission you’re about to go on?

Lance: Oh, hey. I’m feeling good, I guess. Maybe a little tense. Maybe a lot tense. I don’t know. Why’d you have to ask me that question?

Allura: I think what Lance is trying to say is he’ll be fine. We all will.

Keith: Let’s move out.

[Camera cuts to Kinkade and Rizavi standing a ways away from Blue Lion as it launches.]

Rizavi: Right now, we’re headed to the situation room where we’ll be monitoring the Paladins in real-time.

Kinkade: By the way, you know we’re not gonna be able to bring our camera into that meeting, right?

Rizavi: Says who?

[Scene change to the situation room where Veronica, Coran, Sam, and Shiro are all facing a screen showing a no-signal symbol.]

Sam: Come in, Pidge. Are you reading us?

Pidge: Okay, we’ve just touched down on the surface.

Keith: We’re at the crash site now.

Pidge: That’s the robeast. It looks disabled, just like our intel reported. The Altean should be nearby.

Shiro: Paladins, brace for incoming!

Hunk: I didn’t know it could do that!

Keith: Take cover!

Shiro: Paladins, report! We’ve lost visual. Bridge, lock onto that ship now!

Curtis: Yes, Captain. Adjusting to long-range parameters. Locked on!

Shiro: Light it up!

Curtis: Direct hit!

Lance: Nice shot, Atlas!

Hunk: Yeah, thanks for the cover!

Shiro: Bridge, stay on alert.

[Cut to the Altean viewscreen of Pidge’s point of view through her helmet.]

Allura: Stand by, Atlas. We’re approaching the ship.

Hunk: Guys, there doesn’t seem to be a pilot inside.

Keith: Hey, guys. Over here.

Pidge: Keith’s found something. Let’s go! Give me a second. Just reconfiguring to this barrier’s isometric frequency. There! That should do it.

Keith: Atlas, our target is acquired.

Overlapping voices: Yippee! Alright! Yeah!

Shiro: Great job, everyone!

[Cut to Kinkade and Rizavi floating through another hallway.]

Rizavi: We just got word that the Paladins have returned from their mission. Maybe we can catch a glimpse of this new Altean.

Kinkade: This’ll be the sixth Altean pilot we’ve recovered from the powered-down robeasts left behind after Honerva escaped Oriande. Allura keeps trying, but she hasn’t been able to get any information from them as of yet.

[Camera cuts to Rizavi standing outside a room marked “Authorized Personnel Only”.]

Rizavi: Commander Shirogane said you two were needed on the bridge. We’ll cover your station.

Woman: Yes, Lieutenant.

Rizavi: There! Oh, man, I think we missed the beginning.

Romelle: Tavo, please. You and I grew up alongside one another. You must trust me. We’re here to help.

Tavo: We were told you are a traitor, and I can see now that it is true.

Allura: I’m done talking with him. I’m done with all of them.

Kinkade: Uh, what are you doing?

Rizavi: Sh! I got an idea.

Lance: Anything?

Allura: No. He was just like the others. A true believer in Honerva, and there’s nothing I can say that would make him think otherwise.

Lance: I’m sorry.

Allura: No, I am. These Alteans are the key to unlocking Honerva’s plan. They’re my people, but they won’t speak with me. You have no idea what it’s like to find out after ten thousand years that you’re not the last of your kind… only to be rejected by them.

Lance: I don’t. But I wish every day there were something I could do to change it all for you. You’ve suffered more than anyone should in a thousand lifetimes. But still you persist. Through the pain, you inspire. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you.

Kinkade: No, that’s private.

Rizavi: Kinkade, what are you doing? That was our love angle!

[Camera cuts out, then focuses in on Romelle’s face.]

Kinkade: Please don’t touch that.

Romelle: Oh, sorry.

Rizavi: So, Romelle, you know these Alteans from your time on the colony?

Romelle: Yes, I lived alongside them for many decaphoebs. They are good people.

Kinkade: What do you think would make them join forces with Honerva?

Romelle: I don’t know. But you must understand, my people were hunted nearly to extinction. They’re afraid. And this Honerva… she’s turned that fear to aggression. If there was just some way to get through to them.

[Cut to the mess hall.]

Griffin: I’ve never seen anything like it. All those tentacles… so nasty.

[Cut to the kitchen where Hunk is stirring something purple in a pan.]

Hunk: Oh, hey. You’re just in time. I was just about to add the yeast Colleen gave me. No, Bae Bae! Bad dog!

[Cut to Kinkade and Rizavi sitting at a table with Allura.]

Kinkade: First off, thanks for doing this, Allura.

Allura: You’re welcome.

Rizavi: Maybe we can start with the Alteans we have aboard.

Allura: What about them? They’re on the wrong side of this war and they refuse to speak with me. There’s nothing else to say.

Rizavi: So, you’re frustrated?

Allura: Yes, I am. Oriande was destroyed, Lotor is back, and we aren’t any closer to tracking down Honerva. She’s out there, right now, planning something, preparing, and growing stronger. And we’re here flying around in circles, searching for Fraunhofer lines that don’t appear and scanning for wormhole signatures that don’t exist!

Rizavi: Do you think we’ll ever find Honerva?

Allura: No. I think she’ll find us.

[Camera cuts back to Hunk in the kitchen, this time wearing oven mitts.]

Hunk: Okay, it’s been a long day, but I’m finally done.

Kinkade: What is it?

Hunk: It’s an authentic Altean dessert! I’m gonna give it to the Alteans. Coran helped me with the recipe, but I think his memory was, like, a little bit fuzzy, so, you know, I did some improvising. No big whoop.

Kinkade: You did this for them? Why?

Hunk: Well, I don’t know. Because food has a way of reminding people of moments in time. That’s why I made a dessert. Usually, when you eat dessert, you’re pretty happy, right? Who knows? Maybe this’ll help those Alteans remember some moment that made them smile. Something before all this madness. That could go a long way in building a relationship. Well, that’s just what I think.

[Cut to the Alteans in a holding cell as the camera zooms out and pans to face Hunk.]

Hunk: Please, eat. Look, it’s good! Mm, really!

Tavo: You made this? It reminds me of home.

Hunk: Well, I had a little help from someone born and raised on Altea. A-and I know you don’t wanna talk with them, but Allura and Coran know more about your homeland than anyone alive. They were on Altea until its final day. They both would’ve stayed and died to protect it if Alfor hadn’t sent them away. That’s how much they loved it.

Tavo: I heard Altea was one of the most beautiful places in the universe. Did your Alteans ever tell you about the zyo crystal springs outside of the capital? The stories say those cliffs were more beautiful than all of the stars combined.

Hunk: They never told me about them. But I’m sure they’d love to tell you themselves.

[Scene change to Kinkade sitting in casual clothes facing the camera.]

Kinkade: This is Lieutenant Ryan Kinkade, MFE pilot. The time is 2300 hours. Day forty-seven aboard the IGF-Atlas is officially done.

End.

[ramblesofadreamerofthestars]

The 100 said Live Fast Die Young, Bad Bitches Do It Well, and they were Right

We were so fed this episode with women kicking ass, it’s what we deserve. As always, spoilers for the most recent episode (7.06) of The 100

            Indra becoming the commander of Wonkru, you love to see it. Like we’ve been saying this shit for years now, destroy the fucking flame and let Indra lead. Shout out to Adina Porter’s amazing acting skills (again), because every scene she’s in she absolutely kills and I am constantly in awe of everything she does. I understand where Indra was coming from with trying to get Madi to unite Wonkru again, the flame and the commander is all she’s known, but it was still,,,, Not Great! I’m so happy Jackson, Murphy and Emori showed up and put a stop to that shit, and I love how much they genuinely care for her. Side note, while I love getting to see Madi being a kid and getting to experience being normal, the fucking whiplash I got seeing Duncan/Quigley Quagmire on screen was a Time. “Yes I was a null left out to die, no I don’t want to fight you”, this kid is so Tired already I love him and want the best for him. 

            Beyond that incredible scene of Indra taking control of Wonkru (complete with “Can I at least watch?” ‘No.’ “I’m going to watch” and Murphy’s little clap, fucking amazing I love every moment Memori is on screen), the Sanctum scenes Once Again Dragged On. And now we added another plot? Technically we added it on a couple episodes ago but I’m already So Tired of Hatch’s girlfriend whatever the fuck her name is. “Tell Raven Boom Boom” fuck out of here with that corny ass shit, you are the Least important storyline in the clusterfuck that the writers have created. I kind of hope they all just get like...sent to a different planet I don’t Care about it. 

            Sheiheda (finally spelled that bitches name right I think) is so....one dimensional. Like, I get it it’s the increased tension with the believers and Wonkru fracturing and what not but he’s so fucking evil for...no reason?? He’s like, “everyone wants power blah blah blah power is the greatest weapon you could have, I’ll teach you how to gain power” whoop de fucking do. You’re not special, you’re not even an interesting flavour of evil I’m so tired of your shit. Penn getting the best line of “please Shut Him Up” was the audience taking over his body for a hot sec. Nelson I had hopes for you but like....b u d d y. “Hmm, I have dedicated my entire life to taking down corrupt leaders who take away people’s free wills so they can stay in power, but I guess I’ll listen to you, who won’t shut up about how people want power (self project much?) and also just give off bad vibes” like b r u h. 

THE DIYOZA-BLAKE FAMILY IS BACK IN ACTION BITCHES!! When Diyoza appeared I was so fucking happy I have Missed Her. The montage of her being as inconvenient as possible and rescuing herself to a kickass soundtrack? Art. I love them all getting to reuinte and the little moment of comforting Octavia when she said Bellamy was dead (just you fucking wait babe). I think it’s fairly obvious which direction they want Echo to go but I’m still hoping against hope she gets some good character development before the series ends. Diyoza agreeing with Echo killing that old man picking flowers but Octavia not liking it, Interesting. 

And Levitt!! He’s Not Dead!!! I am still very concerned for him and also slightly suspicious of him but I really really hope he’s as genuine as he seems. His and Octavia’s little moment, beautiful I loved it, Levitt really said punch me in the face it’ll be awesome huh. Not like, super thrilled with Gabriel’s choice but whatever they needed them to stay on Sanctum I guess. 

(fuck you for mentioning the native Bardoans again without letting me see them or giving me more information Let Me See The Crystal Giants.)

And finally, our lord and saviour, Clarke Griffin and her team of planet hopping idiots. Did Not enjoy the spiders, just right off the bat, not a fan of those. However, Nakara being the human garbage disposal is so fucking funny to me and the fact that the caves are a living being (with an anomaly stone in it like fucking what??? Did this bitch eat that too???). That smash cut between Russel saying “Then you take out the enemies Queen” and Clarke Griffin, poetic cinema. I love her so much y’all and I love her and Raven’s little moment. ALSO! I would die for Niylah and her stupid puns I love her and want her protected at all costs. Jordan geeking out over aliens continues to be a delight, this is what we deserved from Monty and Harper’s kid. Remove the impressionable youth from the shitty influences and would you look at that, Much Better. And Miller continues to be a delight and a whole ass mood in every episode, just here for Clarke and to get their people back but complaining the whole way because of the batshit insanity they go through, I Love Him. So many “side” characters got like, three lines this episode and that’s really great for them, would love to see them say more some day. 

I will say I wish Raven apologized to Clarke for what she’s said and done in the past, but her line of Clarke Griffin doesn’t break was really indicative of how the rest of the deliquints saw her, as their leader yes but also someone who could kill without falling apart when in reality we know it nearly destroyed her inside. I really hope that Raven continues to grow and understand and her and Clarke get to where they should have always been. Also, Raven talking about killing twelve (12) people and how it feels like her soul is breaking or whatever and I can just imagine Clarke’s inner monologue of “Remember that time I killed an Entire Mountain Of People and y’all got mad at me for leaving to process that, good times good times”. It’s definitely the start to a better path for Raven and I really really really hope it continues. 

Overall, this episode while the plot was kind of boring was saved by just how amazing the ladies were, kick ass take names and look incredible doing it, I love them. The acting continues to be incredible (once again shout out to JR Bourne for doing the Most) and even though I despise some of the storylines, the actors should be given praise for making it compelling stories to watch with how far their characters have come. Fuck Sanctum though. 

Next Episode Emori getting her time in the spotlight? You love to see it. I will say I’m incredibly worried for her (JRoth if you kill her is2g) but I am also So Ready to see her go off. I think this is the episode of Murphy with a gun to his head comes from? Idk should be interesting even if it’s dealing with whatever the fuck her name is crazy lady. Also, trouble with the Diyoza family, which will be Extremely interesting to watch as Diyoza has to come to terms with the fact that Hope has grown up without her, but also trying to make sure she doesn’t make the same mistakes Diyoza made.

When will Bellamy return from the war. When we get the Bellarke reunion I’m going to lose my mind y’all already know I’m a clown for them and I miss him (once again the character not the actor because Once Again, it is Completely understandable for them to prioritize their mental health first). I feel a little like Kronk watching these episodes like “oh ya, it’s all coming together” I can’t Wait for all the OG’s to reunite for the final season

[neighbours-kid]

Twelve's March

March was….a chaotic cluster-fuck of something that felt like two weeks tops. March went by fast. And also—wasn’t it just the beginning of the year? Wasn’t it just Christmas? Where’s all this time going?

Anyway, March was really weird. Full month of university, relatively full weekends I think, it just all felt weird and fast and I don’t even know what exactly I did all month. Well, except watch TV shows. Well, I say TV shows…I mean Doctor Who. And with that, I mean Matt’s arc with Clara, and all of Peter’s arc. Which you already know because I wrote a massive blog post about it, yelling incoherently about all sorts of things and not remotely making sense, I feel.

March was definitely a month defined by Doctor Who and specifically Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, who I have come to love so much, I still don’t know how to wrap my head around it. I think I’m just gonna have to buy all the DVDs finally and just—watch it again. Because I have emotions and thoughts and ideas and these little bits of je ne sais quoi about so many things in relation to Peter’s wonderful wonderful performance. But I don’t want to spend too much time rambling on about him (again) and waste your time with that.

As I said, March was a full month of university. And honestly, it has sort of started to overwhelm me right now. With me being me and having extended one paper deadline to the end of February, and also fucking up one exam of the last term and having to retake that, I completely fell behind on all my actual work that I had to do for this term. There’s one class that I can’t attend but have to take, so I’m working through a book by myself, there’s another book for another course that I ordered way too late, and there’s so much reading that I should be doing and am not actually doing. So I’m totally behind on all things and I often find myself with books open and texts on my kitchen table, throwing highlighters around and post-it’s, trying to get it together, and just ultimately making more of a mess.

I am very glad Easter holidays are coming up soon so I have time to catch up with that (of course only if I don’t have to work during that week, which somehow might actually happen).

I also started a new minor this term—theology—(and finally finished art history—never have to do art history ever again!!!!), so that is also a bit of a challenge, though I do feel a lot better about it than I did about art history. It’s really interesting and I’m learning a lot of cool stuff, and I’m actually pretty good at being present in class and taking notes, so at least there’s that. Funny thing is: my theology courses are incredibly affirming of my gender identity and my plans for the future, and a lot of the things I learn support my own views, which is really great.

Another thing that’s really cool this term, is that I’m trying to hang out in our English department’s tea corner more often, eating lunch there (now that I actually have time to eat lunch on some days), and just trying to socialise more with people. And it’s great! I’m having a lot of lovely conversations with a lot of lovely people, and I think it’s really good for me to do that and just to try and be more open.

And honestly, I really like being at university currently? I have a cool group of friends, I’m having a really great time and learning a lot of cool and interesting things (mostly. There’s some rubbish introduction courses that I have to take now). But my problem is, that as soon as I sit in my tram home, as soon as I enter my apartment, I am just flat out exhausted. I am so done. Which is also why I rarely actually get any work done at home currently, because all I really do is maybe eat something small and then fall into bed to maybe watch an episode or two of something and then go to sleep.

On that note: Daylight savings time was just last weekend here, and it completely fucked over my internal clock. Like, the day before that, I went to bed at like 1.30AM because I was reading fanfiction (later more on that), and got up very easily the next day even before 10AM. Daylight savings? I went to bed, I think, only a bit after 11PM and had to get up at 7.30AM, and I was absolutely knackered. I immediately dozed off again as soon as I turned off the alarm and it nearly cost me my entire day because I had to catch a train. And it’s still not back to normal, I still have issues every morning getting up. I hope it gets better soon, once I have a day to just sleep in without an alarm and get up whenever I actually wake up. I have hope that this is gonna work.

But now: fanfiction! I’m not sure if I’ve talked about this on here before, but I was big on fanfiction a few years back, mostly in my BBC Sherlock time. And before that too, I think, way back when I first started really getting into Naruto in a more intellectual way than just watching it on TV. But that was when I was like….in sixth grade, or something like that. But I was huge on fanfiction for a long time, and I think together with falling off of the Sherlock train after that last season, I also stopped really engaging with that part of fandom. But now, thanks to my binging of Doctor Who I have absolutely fallen down that rabbit hole again. It’s just such a great thing, isn’t it? People creating massive, massive amounts of, essentially free work. Just to express this joy and this love for a thing and to share it with others. It’s amazing.

(Short side-note here: Did you know, Archive of Our Own, one of the biggest fanfiction sites, was nominated for a fucking Hugo Award? In its entirety? Making, effectively, over 4.5 MILLION pieces of fanfiction Hugo Award-nominated literature, and, with over 1.8 MILLION users, making many of those Hugo Award-nominated authors? It’s fucking brilliant. What a time to be alive!)

What else did I do in March? I’m sort of blanking, because this month went by so fast. Lemme think….

I went to see Captain Marvel opening night (which was, officially, Men’s Night, which we crashed, because we wouldn’t usually support such sexist events, but it was Captain Marvel), and then again a bit later one more time, and it was great, just really fantastic. Carol is right up there as one of faves now. Also, Jude Law was hot.

On that film note, I obviously watched some stuff this month again and tried to make notes of it. Six movies (well five, but one twice), 64 episodes of TV (50 of which being Doctor Who), and a bunch of shorts starring David Tennant. Aside from Captain Marvel I think the movies I liked best this month were Bad Samaritan (2018) and Fright Night (2011), both also starring David Tennant, which is why I watched them. Fright Night was great fun, Colin Farrell was a fantastic, sexy vampire, and David’s vampire hunter/Las Vegas magician act was just hilarious. I love how much of a coward he was, ultimately. What a fantastic vampire movie, really funny. Also, Anton Yelchin was in it, and I just realised how much I miss him and what a shame it is that he died so young. He was a great kid and a fantastic actor.

Bad Samaritan was also really cool. I had wanted to watch it for a while, since it came out actually, because David was in it, and because Dean Devlin directed and produced it, and I really adore his work (Leverage and The Librarians, anyone?) I was always a bit hesitant though, because I’m not very big on films that are too horror-y and gory, so I always pushed it off. But I’m very glad I finally saw it, because it was truly more of a thriller and not a horror movie. Fantastic story, the acting was brilliant (DT as a villain? Come on! So good.), the tension and suspense was absolutely incredible. Really a great movie, you should all watch it.

I’m sure there’s other things that I did in March that would be worthwhile to mention (was at my dad’s, visited my mom, went shopping with a friend), but I’m really sort of hazy about all the details and I honestly can’t be bothered to write more right now.

Anyway, I’m having a bit of a break soon—going to Lugano for four days with a friend—so I can hopefully relax a little and recharge my batteries for April.

Talk to you guys soon! Bye.

[acsversace-news]

So, how would you describe the sound style of The Assassination of Gianni Versace?

After working on pretty much all of it, which we’re ready to finish finally the last episode now, I feel like I can best describe the score as if Giorgio Moroder scored Silence of the Lambs in an Italian villa. It’s an electronic sound that helps to tell the story of this really creepy serial killer, with also elements of Italian classical music.

What was the starting point when you came to work on this?

Yeah, I mean, you know, those elements I just described were brought up in conversation about Andrew Cunanan, the serial killer, a super creepy guy, and we knew we needed something to help tell that part of the story. We needed something that would be unsettling, and Versace was an opera fan. And so that brought the Italian classical style into the mix. And I guess really kind of to reference the period, and also just Ryan is a big fan of Giorgio Moroder and electronic scores so that brought that element into the mix. And I found that all three things worked together really nicely and it’s been a great project to be able to sort of play in that sandbox for nine episodes.

Now I know that on Mr. Robot, another programme that you scored, you typically don’t read the scripts initially and then score from the episode. Is that something you’ve been doing with Versace?

It is, yeah. I haven’t read the scripts. I go totally based off of what they send me, whether it’s a full episode or just a few acts or scenes and then we speak about ideas of what the music should be doing and then I compose based on all of that.

Do you tend to score chronologically, or build around big moments and motifs first?

You know, I think most of the time no, actually – because it depends really what I’m sent. I mean, if I’ve sent the whole episode, I might work a little bit chronologically but often I’m being sent scenes. Maybe it’s scenes early in the episode, maybe it’s scenes at the end of the episode. So, I’m really just kind of writing as it comes in. Then we sort of shape it as it’s all coming together, the music is getting further developed and shaped until it does have the right sort of flow that it should have from beginning of the episode to the end.

Now, this is the latest in a long line of several collaborations with Ryan Murphy. How did that relationship between you two start?

Well, I worked on a film that he directed called The Normal Heart. Cliff Martinez was the composer on that film and I was working with Cliff as an additional composer. And I guess I just attracted the attention of Ryan and his team. Six months after that project was finished, I – just out of the blue – received a call from one of Ryan’s producers saying that they were going in a different direction on American Horror Story and would I be interested in writing some music for them? And then based on that they hired me and that began my work with Ryan.

Across that work with Ryan, on the various seasons of AHS and American Crime Story and so on, you’ve covered lots of different genres and styles. Do the different shows present different challenges particularly or is it a similar way of working each time?

I mean, they have provided different challenges with all these different sounds and styles. I mean, the Horror Story, Crime Story, Scream Queens, they’ve all been different stylistically but also you could say there is something common between them all – relatively modern, electronic elements if not totally electronic. You know, Scream Queens, very electronic, some of the seasons of Horror Story, very electronic.

So all of those kind of have, they’re not too far away from each other, but Feud was quite different from everything else being that it required an orchestral score that evoked the sound of like 1960s Hollywood, so that was quite different, stood out from the rest.

Do you think across the shows, even with their sort of varying styles, you can still pick up on your sort of distinctive ‘voice’, as it were?

You know, it’s hard for me to be able to recognise that myself. I’ve had people tell me that they think they hear this voice across the different genres, but I don’t know myself. I’m not sure I have the perspective to notice it.

Fair enough. I was speaking recently with another composer and she mentioned that early in her career she worried about having a singular voice but wasn’t so concerned about it now. Have you ever felt that way? Is it something that you’ve ever thought about particularly?

I mean, it’s something that is mentioned a lot and it’s mentioned a lot, more established composers mention this to up and coming composers saying it’s really important that you develop your own voice, it’s really important to have a singular voice. I heard it a lot and so I think maybe it’s a little bit of a, can be kind of a daunting target to hit.

And so it’s not something I’ve really set out to [do, thinking that] I need to develop this voice. Rather I just, I do the work that I’ve been asked to do and I try to be as creative as possible and try to do something unique if I can, and I’m making decisions while doing that that are inferred from my own experiences and my own tastes and life and all of that, and so hopefully the final product then does have this, some sort of stamp on it that you might able to identify as my voice. But yeah, I’m not really sure. A bit vague!

Yeah, I suppose it’s kind of an abstract question. Now, on another note, what would you say are your chief musical influences?

My chief musical influences. Well, I mean, it’s really varied over the years. I’ve been through many phases. I’ve been interested in electronic music for a long time, so I’ve certainly listened to a lot of electronic artists and then also film and television composers that are into electronics. But yeah, I mean, all kind of different bands, rock bands, and things that I’ve listened to over the years, I feel like have been pretty influential.

There was this internet radio station that I’ve listened to for quite a while that I’ve quoted, mentioned being an influence on the Feud: Bette and Joan score, which is called Secret Agent and it plays a lot of really interesting music, some of which sounds like it was made in the 60s and maybe was, the kind of groovy and jazzy. I used to just have that on in the background all the time when I wasn’t working, and I know a lot of that has sort of seeped into my subconscious.

I performed in my really early days, in high school band and orchestra so I have a lot of experience with various classical composers and music. There’s definitely some influence there. So yeah, I think there’s quite a soup of things that have seeped in over the years.

Picking up on what you were saying there, how did you first start out, first get into composing for screen?

Prior to composing I had a career in the music business. I was in New York City and I found myself sort of involved in dance music. And I worked for many years there as a musician, producer, dance remixer. And when the music industry started to show signs of struggle in the early 2000s, I started thinking it was time to see what the next phase of my career would be. And I set my sights on moving to Los Angeles with kind of a vague idea of getting into scoring. In 2004 [I] moved out here and eventually met a composer by the name of Michael Levine and he hired me to work with him as an additional composer on the television show Cold Case, and that was kind of my first real job. [I gained] some very valuable experience there, and from there met Cliff Martinez and ended up working with him on twelve films over a period of about eight years. And that’s what led me to Ryan Murphy.

On another note, is there anything you can tell us about any projects that you’re working on at the minute? Have you started work on the next series of Feud, or is it still a little early for that?

Little early for that, I’m not sure exactly when it’s gonna start – but that will be coming up. I’m currently working on another new show of Ryan’s called 911. And you know, like I’ve mentioned, just finishing The Assassination of Gianni Versace and just getting started on another show of Ryan’s called Pose, which I believe is set to premier this summer.

Is it quite common for you to still be working on a show this close to transmission?

It is quite common. Yeah, it can be very hectic and really tight deadlines, coming right down to the wire, and what’s somewhat unusual with Versace is that we actually started, and I think I wrote the first music on it back last May, last April or May? So, we were really far ahead and eight of the nine episodes have been complete for the last several months. And then this last episode has just been kind of moving a little slower and is just getting finished now, I think it airs in a few more weeks? So it’s been definitely a different type of schedule than what happens on most of the shows where we’re pretty much right there, getting it finished like the week before it goes on the air.

Do you think that having more time for the score shapes how you write it?

I mean, I guess it hasn’t in a way because my schedule has unfolded in that, especially with this last episode, that I’ve wrote the first music for it back in December and here we are approaching the end of February, so just kind of happened in these little spurts. I would get asked to write music, I would write something over like a week and then I wouldn’t do anything on it for the next like couple of weeks – and then they would come back to me and ask for more music, I’d work on it for like a week. So, I wasn’t spending all the time working on it and developing the music, I would just do these little bursts, but it just happens to be spread out over a longer period of time, so… yeah, quite different. It’s usually much more compressed.

You’re working on quite a few different projects at the moment, and have done that often in the past – do you ever find that they start to influence one another?

I do my best to try to keep them in separate musical worlds. A sound for a particular show gets developed right in the beginning, it will evolve over the season, but the basic parameters get developed in the beginning. I really do my best to keep the certain types of sounds and the certain types of harmonies and feelings that are unique for one show – those are off limits for me to use on another show.

That hopefully helps each one have its own identity. You know, there’s… I’m not perfect, so there’ll be some times where I’ll write something, especially in the Ryan Murphy camp, where I’ll be working with the same producer that is on a couple of the shows, and I’ll turn in a piece of music and I’ll turn it in for, say, Crime Story and they’ll say, “You know, this sounds a little bit too much like Horror Story.” And then I go, oh yeah, you’re right, it actually does so I’ll re-write it. I think a couple of times something will slip through the cracks and it’ll be too influenced from the other show but then someone else on the team will help me steer back into the place it needs to be.

Finally, then, what’s the most important thing that you’d like someone to take away from listening to both your work in general and also your score on Versace?

My goal is to help the storytellers tell their story. Ryan I think is a really amazing storyteller and he loves music and he loves to use it to be effective in getting the feeling of the story across. So, I just hope that the viewer is able to just feel what is happening without being too distracted by the music – but maybe will notice it here and there and enjoy it as one separate element that’s mixed in with everything else.

Mac Quayle, thank you very much!

[ladylilithprime]

All numbers divisible by 3, 5, or 7?

Ugh, math at three in the morning? XP

3: What season finale was your favorite/least favorite?

Hm. I really can’t pick a favorite, simply because every season finale is either bittersweet or very obviously leading Somewhere Bad. For the complexity, I’d have to say Swan Song is the leader, just barely edging out “Do You Believe In Miracles”. Least favorite is definitely season twelve, if only because it felt so sloppy and kind of rushed.

5: Which episode makes you cry the most?

I actually can’t answer that as I still haven’t seen all of the episodes, and my reasons for crying vary between gutpunch and rage, so… I dunno. We’ll see.

6: Which episode was the funniest to you?

Hands down, 6.9, “Clap Your Hands If You Believe”! XD

7: What’s your opinion on Megstiel?

Probably my favorite canon pairing for Castiel, and I’m sorry we didn’t get to see that explored more in the show.

9: Which episode title do you think is the funniest?

Tough choice there! I think I’m going to go with “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester”. Sorry, Dean-o, Margaret you are not.

10: What’s your opinion on Garth?

Answered that one!

12: Who is your favorite angel?

Castiel, though Gabriel is a close second!

14: What’s your opinion on Wincest?

You do know they’re brothers, right? ^_~ In all honesty, I can see it about as well as any ship for either brother, but I have to be in a certain mood for it and it needs to be handled with the utmost consent on both sides.

15: What’s your opinion on Lisa? (And Ben, if you want)

Lisa could have been great, both as a character and for Dean. I think the biggest problem was that she and Dean alway seemed to come together when they both needed different things from each other, and when Dean tried to be what Lisa was looking for it kept rubbing up against the fact that what he needed most wasn’t her. Both she and Ben were badly harmed, not by Dean being in their lives, but by his inability to be wholly in their lives because part of him was still on the road and in the Hunt, and by his repeating Mary’s mistake of “living normal” meaning no protections against the baddies he knew damn well were out there and would happily come a’calling for their pound of Winchester flesh, which he also knew could happen considering Adam Milligan lost his life to ghouls who wanted revenge on John Winchester for his killing their parent. Erasing her memory was a dick move and will in no way protect her from anything because sometimes it doesn’t matter what a person knows or feels for someone else, but what the bad guys think they know or feel– or know the first person feels for them. Overall, two great characters who were poorly handled by “plot”.

18: Do you have a favorite Dick (Roman) joke?

Probably a line from @rodiniaorzetalthepenquin ‘s fic Out Of Purgatory, “After you and Cas disappeared in a shower of exploding Dick….” (Go read it, it’s great!) Although Sam’s line about Dean using his computer for “More anime, or are you strictly into Dick now?” is priceless canon material. XD

20: Who do you ship Sam with?

Consent! (Also Castiel, Dean, Gabriel, Michael, Chuck, Anna, Max Banes…. XD Yeah, I think it would be easier to list who all I don’t ship Sam with. ^_^U)

21: What’s your opinion on Destiel?

Thanks, I hate it. No, really, you want to hear an unpopular opinion? Destiel in canon makes as much sense as the Joker and Harley Quinn, and is just as abusive and unhealthy. Harley should go be with Poison Ivy and Castiel should go be with Sam and leave the Joker to laugh at his own bad jokes somewhere he can’t hurt them anymore. Could it work? Maybe if Dean got a shitton of real, actual therapy and pulled his head out of his ass, or in an AU scenario, but as far as canon goes? Their friendship is already unhealthy enough and you want to add sex into it? (And let’s face it, most Destiel shippers do.) Thank you, please exit to the left, goodbye! (It takes a really careful handling and really fucking great writing to get me to read it, and you had better be bribing me with something amazing if you want me to write it.)

24: Do you read smutty fanfiction?

Not as much as I might if there were more of the pairings I want to read. As it is, the fics for my preferred pairings usually lend themselves more to plot than porn, with some notable exceptions.

25: Do you think Destiel will become canon in season 9? (Regardless of whether you want it to or not)

I really don’t. Oh, they’ll throw in some teasing here and there, but it would take the series ending for good before Dean, Castiel, OR Sam gets a canon relationship they can keep.

27: Which episode is the scariest to you? (Horror-movie type scary)

“The Benders”. As Dean put it, “Monsters I get. People are crazy.”

28: What’s your opinion on Sabriel?

I like it a whole lot better than Destiel, which really makes it frustrating considering how many times that pairing is used to “pair the spares” and give Destiel writers a couple of shipping cheerleaders. That said, there are Issues with the pairing itself that stem from canon, “Mystery Spot” in particular. Healthy communication and closure, or even just serious canon divergence is necessary for this ship to sail strong, but it can be done and done well! The frustration is still just as strong whenever it’s handled poorly or Sam’s very real and valid trauma is brushed aside or ignored. They both deserve better than haphazard narrative.

30: Do you have any friends off of the internet that watch Supernatural?

Sure do! At least three that I know of, including @jupiterjames , and probably a few more who don’t talk to me about it because they know why I didn’t go near Supernatural for years.

33: Do you like AU fanfics?

Sure! I usually have to be in a certain mood for them, and there are some AU scenarios I just can’t get on board with, but that’s a matter of personal preference just like any other aspect of fanfic.

35: What’s your opinion of Samifer?

Creepy and terrifying and an absolutely brilliant job of acting by Jared, both in “The End” and in “Swan Song”. (I would not ship them in a box, I would not ship them wearing socks, I would not ship them here or there– I WOULD NOT SHIP THEM ANYWHERE!!)

36: If you have an OTP, at what point did you start shipping it?

From the first moment I realized that it was possible to ship them, I have shipped Sastiel.

39: Which actor would you most like to meet in real life?

I’m told that Jared’s hugs are not to be passed up if given the opportunity, but in all honesty I want to meet Felicia Day.

40: If you could be any character on the show, would you want to? If so, whom? If not, why?

Answered that one!

42: What is your opinion on Sastiel?

You found my OTP! (Hey, you know me!)

45: What’s your favorite moment from any of the gag reels?

Answered that one!

48: What’s an unpopular ship you have?

If by unpopular you mean I ship I have that just really doesn’t have a lot of content, probably Samichael or Sam/Chuck.

49: What’s your opinion on Wincestiel?

Dean needs so much therapy…. ~is jabbed in the ribs~ Uh, I mean, yes! I ship that! It’s actually tied with Casabriel for my OT3.

50: Can you dig Elvis?

Leave the poor man to his rest, huh?

51: Do you listen to Carry On Wayward Son even when you’re not just watching a finale?

Sure, it comes on the radio plenty of times.

54: Do you think Sam should have completed the Trials?

Honestly, that’s a difficult one to answer. On the one hand, it’s entirely possible that closing the Gates of Hell would have been another “Nice Job Breaking It, Hero” moment this series is so fond of, creating a backup of damned souls with nowhere to go like we saw happen with Heaven, and it’s a popular theory that the two sets of Trials would mirror each other. However, I actually don’t think that the spell Metatron used to close Heaven’s Gates was even close to the real Heaven Trials, nor would it be in any way the same as the one for closing Hell’s Gates. We won’t know for sure, because Sam didn’t finish them, but Metatron’s spell ejected all the angels. Pretty sure Kevin would have seen if the Trials to close Hell were going to eject all the demons, considering he was banking heavily on all the demons being locked away so he could go home and not have to worry about Crowley and his demons breathing down his neck. That said, the Demon Trials were definitely taking their toll on Sam, but it’s all speculation as to whether that was because the Trials were killing him because that was the Trials, or because Sam’s demon blood was reacting badly to the influx of Power, or what. That’s up to fanfic authors to explore, but since canon didn’t take us in that direction we’ll probably never know.

55: How long would you survive as a hunter?

I’d do well enough, provided I wasn’t a victim of unfriendly fire, ie other hunters coming after me because they’re extremist assholes. I’d do better as part of the support system, running a hunters’ bar/restaurant and information network and phone tree.

56: What’s your opinion on Calthazar?

Balthazar deserved better than to be stabbed in the back by a Hell-corrupted Castiel.

57: Do you have a Netflix account? If so, what’s your username and password? Wait a second, just the first part.

I have no idea what the family Netflix username is since I’m usually not… using it? At all? Because my kids take over the television to watch Paw Patrol and Bubble Guppies and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood?

60: If you could change just one thing about the series, what would it be?

Fire BuckLemming.

63: What’s your opinion on Sam/Crowley?

I could see it happening, maybe. Crowley certainly respects Sam. The problem is that after Ruby and the continuous Sam-shaming over her that Dean/fandom does, Sam is really not keen to get involved with another demon like that, especially not after some of the things Crowley’s done to Sam and to people Sam cares about. Work with him as a wary ally, yes, but a relationship? Highly doubtful outside of AUs.

65: What’s your favorite (or at least a memorable) pop culture reference that has been made on the show?

Dean calling Sam “Velma”, particularly after Scoobynatural where we got canon Salma. Jinkies! XD

66: Just a random confession you have regarding the show/Asker makes up their own question.

I most likely would have continued to not watch this show if I hadn’t been drawn in by the fanfic first, and indeed actually started watching the show so I wouldn’t be breaking my own rules of not writing fanfic for a fandom for which I haven’t seen the source material when I inevitably gave in to the plot bunnies nipping at my vulnerable brain.

[loki-of-war]

On the future of TWD

(EDIT: Reposting due to a formatting error)

So I’ve seen a lot of people commenting and sharing their opinions lately on how Chandler’s departure will affect the show, if it will survive this hit or not, for how many seasons more will TWD run, etc, etc. And I decided, now that I’m thinking more rationally (I hope) and I’m able to form understandable sentences, to share my honest thoughts with you lovely people on this entire mess.

Which is as follows: I give the show a minimum lifespan of ten seasons (meaning, the show will end in two more seasons) and a maximum of twelve seasons in total. This is my verdict, feel free to disagree with me.

Now onto explaining why I think this is so:

I can sort of see why old fans who left and people who have never liked Carl or feel lukewarm about him are happy this death is going to happen. But on the other side I'm thinking this kind of mentality is the reason why the show gets away with terrible decisions and why they keep making them over and over, declining in quality. I don't think it's right to condone mediocrity; this is from someone like me who has stayed on the TWD's side so far hoping they'd find the right footing at some point this season  (then, obviously, because why wouldn’t they, my patience and tolerance was rewarded with this haha). And as I mentioned in a previous comment I made on YT, no matter what the public's feelings for Carl are, they won't change the importance of his role in the plot and his fundamental connection to Rick (this latter element has an effect on the whole cast, for better or for worse).

But anyway, Carl's death is going to change the entire mood of the series from now on so it definitely will never be as it once was and I think because of that the story will slowly bleed out. I mean, Carl has been the greatest determinator for every single one of Rick's decisions the entire show, and not only that but what he symbolised as a character, the hope for a better future, is gone now. What do children, sons, daughters, symbolise in every universal story? The next generation, what comes after, that not everything is going to be screwed up forever; especially after seeing how unmerciful TWD's world has proven to be for children and having Carl be the only exception to this 'kids cannot survive this world' rule has sort of become a moot point thanks to the...current circumstances.

Rick's and Lori's speeches to Carl in seasons 2 and 3 respectively justify this way of thinking: that after everyone from their generation (the adults) dies, Carl will have to take the reins and move on. I refuse to believe any writer with common sense would write such important pieces of dialogue just because they felt like it, just because they're emotional words without any other kind of meaning behind them. That is just lazy and awful writing in my opinion. Why write these poignant moments only to have the kid killed long before the end of the series? Why write/do anything if those things are going to be ignored later down the line, nevermind that every piece in a story must connect with the others? Why bother teaching him this morality lessons if they're all going to go to waste anyway; if he will never have a character arc/storyline that is plot relevant where his morals are challenged? (Good on you, whoever made the call, for missing out on possible great storylines for Carl that would have improved viewing and the quality of the show). That doesn't make a bit of sense, unless that what they were looking for was to give the events leading up to his sudden death some twist of irony, and that'd be perfect and all, except that Carl dying was so not part of the plan (the improvisation is so obvious it hurts me in the balls I don't have) and even the way his death was set up was graceless-the bite- and not something one would expect from the same people who made/directed/wrote/produced Season 4. In other words, killing him was basically flipping off the idea of a future in the face, whether they meant to do that or not, and this is bound to turn the overall mood the series to a much grim and darker tone to an already heavy themed and toned series. Many people won't find themselves too content with that heavier tonal change, I think, if the ratings for season 7 are to be trusted.

Ignoring that the conclusion to this was having him die though,  I do have to say the actual set up in the mid season finale itself was beautiful and emotional (Chandler's acting was on point, he was the star of this episode), but the chain of actions leading up to it was lackluster. With lackluster I mean that he is a very important character that has literally been wasted for far too long; if you look at his progression throughout the seasons you'll realize he has not done much from a plot perspective despite being a main character. Therefore, his death feels unsatisfactory and empty because one can't help but feel that he hasn't nearly done as much as he should have. What he did to save his people in the mid season finale was amazing but it wasn't enough to make up for a notorious lack of screen time over full eight seasons, moreover if the motivations that drove him to that point, to that mentality, to that philosophy, don't make sense because his personality has made a one eighty from how he was the previous season with no type of prior explanation as to why that happened.

It may not seem like it but I'm actually a huge fan of angst and favorite-character-slaughter. I love when books, music, movies, videogames, series make me suffer (great examples of this are my undying love for Hannibal the tv show and that my favorite videogames are the ones directed by this one man, life destroyer actually, called Yoko Taro). Perhaps that is another reason why I'm being so critical with the choice to kill Carl (asides from the horrible decision-making and poor writing), because I love being hit in the feels in the best way possible, without holding back any punches, just go straight for the kill and make me cry like a newborn. However, I don't like tragedy when it's done for shock value, or when it's done simple-mindedly. If a favorite character of mine is going down, it has to make sense and they must have had filled out their purpose in the story, reached a state of character development we're all satisfied with so that when they die one can accept it and be happy despite the possible trauma that could ensue after (well, one can't exactly pin point when that happens, when enough is enough, but to have had the character embark on a lot of adventures even without them accomplishing their purpose, is enough to embrace their death). I guess what I'm trying to say with all this is that, while on one hand I would have preferred him outliving everybody else, if they were still so adamant on having him die at some point of the story (as if killing Carl had actually been part of a long term plan and not some last minute decision) they should have developed him first and foremost, and then assign him a proper death in later seasons, most preferably before the last season ends given that him dying before Rick is several different levels of wrong; if he wasn't such a huge part of Rick's character then fine, do it, but putting and end to him is equal to neutralizing Rick for literally years, which is time that both a comic and a tv show cannot afford, so to do it near the end of everything would be a better fit.

And, I don't know, even having Judith fill the void won't be of much help either, because we haven’t and we won't see her grow the same way we did Carl, her relationship with Rick will be vastly different, and so on. Probably this is just me but I'm not really attached to her; Judith so far is to me only a concept and not actually a person (yet). The fact that they keep changing the little baby girls who portray her doesn't really help, that gets me out of the story everytime. She just can't replace Carl, she might take his future storylines but it won't be the same. Besides, by the time she grows up, she’ll already be deep into this world, this is her normal life and probably by that time things will have changed.

So basically, not only in killing Carl they destroyed the image of a future, they have killed a foundational part of the essence that made The Walking Dead be The Walking Dead we all knew and loved, and that will never return. Also, allow me to point out that for those who think that The Walking Dead is about people dying whenever and wherever, and the cruel injustice that is life, I am not going to say that your interpretation is wrong but it is an incomplete one. The audience doesn’t watch TWD only to see tons of MC’s get murdered on a daily basis. Otherwise, why bother with investing time on a plot and just have them all killed at once. The soul of TWD is not about senseless killing and murder and tragedy and sadness. Simplifying it all to ‘this show is about the possibility of anybody dying/gore/zombies/etc’ is a great disservice to the show and the fans. Obviously, I am not neither the writer of the show or Robert Kirkman to claim to know to a T what the central theme of The Walking Dead is, and for full disclosure I have not read the comics. Nonetheless, basing my personal opinion on the tv show alone, I would like to think one of the core themes the show has explored and returns to time and time again is the topic in regards to the essence of human nature, and how in spite of apparent doom and the horrible circumstances we are forced to face, humans will always find the way to move forwards and stay strong, ergo, the message is a positive one, not a negative one, depressing, nihilistic one. And what better character to portray this versatility of human nature, this capacity for change, other than Carl Grimes, a child of transition, a child who was pulled out of his normal childhood and thrown right into the chaos of the apocalypse? A boy who has witnessed inhumane things, horrible things, has killed his mother, his second father figure, has done awful things himself, has always been toeing the line between right and wrong, cruel and kind, because of all the experiences he has had to process in a very short period of time? He was obligated to grow in a decaying world, watching his father and the ones surroundind him make mistakes, learning from them, evolving, seeing close ones die, starving, surviving insane experiences... If someone like that manages to grow in such a hostile environment and still remains true to himself and still has not lost faith in the world and humanity, and keeps close all the meaningful, important things his family and friends told him in the course of his entire life and not only that, but also applies them... What does that mean for you, to you? What does it mean for us? What does it say about human nature that hasn’t been told before or not quite in this manner?

Well, that is the point. I guess we will never get to find out in the Tv Show the answer to those questions. Regrettably.

If, and just if, the show manages to recover from this point onwards, I still have no idea how I'd feel about having the show thrive on the tails of throwing under the bus such a key character with no legitimate reasons behind the choice (don't even get me started on what they've done to poor Chandler). I'll still watch the show but I would be incredibly uncomfortable if that is how it turns out to be.

Finally, I apologize for any grammar mistakes or awkward phrasing you may find, it’s way too late to be doing such a long post and English is not my main language. Please don’t be afraid or feel awkward about replying to this post, even if it’s to hate on it. I really don’t mind having a long conversation about this topic with you all since I’ve literally been dying since Sunday night to discuss it.

Thank you so much for reading!

[true-halloween-tales]

2017: #4-SPIES

There’s a man who leads a life of danger To everyone he meets he stays a stranger With every move he makes another chance he takes Odds are he won’t live to see tomorrow Secret agent man, secret agent man They’ve given you a number and taken away your name. - “Secret Agent Man” by Johnny Rivers.

James Bond is not an uncommon Halloween costume; so many different Bond outfits could be used, but white tuxedos are sure to win the day.  There are other distinctive spies that one could create costumes for Halloween.  Patrick McGoohan was one of the first actors to regularly portray a spy, John Drake, in the British series, Danger Man, from 1960-62.  In the half-hour episodes, John Drake worked on various cases as a United Nations agent.  The series returned from 1964-67 as Secret Agent in one-hour episodes.  In Secret Agent, John Drake now worked for the British secret service.  The storylines were sophisticated and realistic.  McGoohan performed his own stunts, and there were excellent supporting actors.  Johnny River’s song, “Secret Agent Man” was created for this series.  In 1967, McGoohan went on to co-create The Prisoner, a science-fiction/spy, cult tv mini-series.  McGoohan wore a distinctive outfit in The Prisoner, perfect for a Halloween costume, including a black blazer with white piping.  The Prisoner sure seems like the continuing Orwellian nightmarish misadventures of John Drake, even though McGoohan’s character is only referred to as Number Six in the seventeen episodes.  Who has kidnapped him?  Where is he?  Who is Number One?  And what are those growling, large, white bubble monsters (see 2011: #2-STRANGE TV MONSTERS)?  The Prisoner is one of the most artistic and intelligent television series ever made, and has social commentary ranging from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to 1984.  In fact, The Prisoner is one of the top ten best tv series ever.  The Prisoner has a definite ending which is so strange that it makes a werewolf yodeling Swedish songs in a hot tub filled with gravy to be rather normal.  In the 1960’s-70’s, McGoohan was offered the role of James Bond three times, but he turned it down because he felt that Bond was an immoral character.  Actors who portray spies often feel that they are villains.

In 1962, Dr. No, the first James Bond film, was released starring Sean Connery.  When he tired of the role, George Lazenby became the second James Bond for one film.  Meanwhile, a popular British spy tv series had started since Danger Man had begun: The Saint.  The Saint ran from 1962-69, black and white and then into color, and featured the thief, but honorable cultured man, Simon Templar, as played by a young Roger Moore.  Roger Moore then graduated to become the third James Bond.  He extended his tongue-in-cheek persona of Simon Templar into his characterization of James Bond.  The Saint was resurrected in 1978 with The Return of the Saint British tv series and starred Ian Ogilvy.  Timothy Dalton then replaced Roger Moore in the 1980’s as the fourth James Bond.  The 1982-87 American tv series, Remington Steele, became popular which was about a Simon Templar-like character, starring Pierce Brosnan.  After waiting for his Remington Steele contractual issues to end, Pierce Brosnan became the fifth official James Bond.  But there have also been unofficial James Bonds.  The 1967 film, Casino Royale, was not included in the James Bond film series.  Instead, it was curiously created as a comedy with multiple actors portraying James Bond including David Niven and Peter Sellers.  For villains, Casino Royale starred Orson Wells as Le Chiffre and Woody Allen as Dr. Noah.  Back in the proper James Bond series, in 2006 Daniel Craig became the sixth James Bond.  He portrays Bond the most accurately as compared to the character in the books.

The James Bond original novels were written by Ian Fleming who also strangely released, Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang.  He wrote fourteen James Bond books from 1953-66 which provided full characterizations of Bond.  They are worth reading if you like spy novels.  The Bond in the books is a bit different than the Bond in films.  The novels characterize Bond as more of a gourmet and less of a lusty womanizer, who tries to live life to the fullest because he expects to die any day.  The central characteristic of Bond and any superior spy is thinking outside of the box – and probably blowing up the box!  In 1968, Kingsley Amis continued the Bond series with Colonel Sun.  Then the Bond book series died, until 1981-96 in which John Gardner continued the series with sixteen more novels.  Some of his Bond novels were exceptionally awful.  The series was then continued by Raymond Benson with nine novels from 1996-2002.  Since then there have been four new novels written in the series, each by a different author, such as Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks.  There is also a Young Bond series that started twelve years ago written by two authors and containing eleven books.  

James Bond is a major acting role just like Batman or Sherlock Holmes.  There are some noteworthy actors who turned down the role over the years besides Patrick McGoohan.  Richard Burton and Cary Grant both turned down the role.  Adam West and Clint Eastwood refused the role because they felt the actor should be British.  There are many actors who auditioned and were not selected for the role: Michael Cain, Paul McGann, Mel Gibson, Sam Neill, and Jeremy Brett (see 2012: #12-THE ADVENTURES OF SHEERLUCK HOMIE).  It would be fascinating if a future James Bond film brought back the surviving Bond actors including Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan as villains.  When considering Bond-related Halloween costumes, take into account distinctive Bond villains such as the bald Goldfinger or the three-nippled Scaramanga.  But there are spies beyond Bond!

Perhaps the most stylish, elegant, and entertaining spy tv series is The Avengers starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Dianna Rigg as Emma Peel.  Steed was a spy who wore custom-made, light blue or gray, Pierre Cardin suits, wore a distinctive armored bowler hat, and carried secret-gadget umbrellas, all suitably swell for Halloween costumes.  The first season featured Dr. David Keel who meets the spy, John Steed.  The second season included Steed mostly working with Cathy Gale played by Honor Blackman who appeared in Goldfinger.  The third and fourth seasons were the best and introduced Steed to Dianna Rigg as the wonderful Mrs. Emma Peel.  Mrs. Peel’s colorful catsuits and full leather bodysuits qualify for being cool Halloween costumes.  The fifth and sixth seasons had Steed working with his spy boss, Mother, played by Patrick Newel as he was assisted by the spy-in-training, Tara King, played by Linda Thorson.  The Avengers ran for six seasons between 1961-69 with one hundred and sixty-one episodes.  Some episodes crossed over into science-fiction/horror with possible ghosts, time travel, Frankenstein monsters, and UFOs.  Guest stars included Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (see 2018: #1-GREAT HORROR FILM ACTORS).  In 1976-77, two seasons of The New Avengers ran with Patrick Macnee reprising his role as an older Steed as he directed the spies Gambit and Purdey, who was portrayed by Absolutely Fabulous’ Joanna Lumley (aka Patsy).   The Avengers was adapted into a 1998 film that was panned by critics but included Ralph Fiennes, Sean Connery, and an appearance by Patrick Macnee as an invisible man.  I met Patrick Macnee in 1992, and I asked him to impart his wisdom and he told me, “Do whatever you have to do to get through the day.”

There are many other popular spy tv series.  The Man From Uncle was popular; so was I, Spy.  Mission Impossible was a tv series and has also been a film series.  The Wild, Wild West was a decent spy series with a lot of perilous dwarf villains.  In the 1970’s, Edward Woodward was the lead in the dark, gritty British spy series, Callan, who sometimes performed assassinations.  In the 1980’s, Woodward swam to the U.S. to star in The Equalizer for four seasons.  His Robert McCall was quite similar to a retired Callan.  24 was a very popular, anti-terrorist, action-oriented series.  Most recently, Person of Interest was a science-fiction/spy series similar to The Prisoner in some ways.  Get Smart was the first spy/comedy tv series, and Archer is now a popular, spy/comedy, animated series.  There are many spy films, and many of those are based on previous tv series and are never as good as the original.  

There is one fresh and new, spy video game character that offers a distinctive Halloween costume: Sam Fisher.  Sam Fisher is the central character in the Splinter Cell game series.  There are Splinter Cell books and a film is planned potentially starring Mad Max’s Tom Hardy.  Sam Fisher is more athletic than James Bond, and mainly performs special operations for a subdivision of the NSA.  His ninja-like methods are reinforced by his gadgets.  He uses a light meter to stay in shadows and wears distinctive night-vision goggles with his trademark three green glowing lenses.  Sam Fisher typically wears high-tech black bodysuits and creeps about using lethal force on high-stakes missions.  Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is the best game in the series, and it features a really great soundtrack by Amon Tobin.  I expect that in the future Sam Fisher will be much more well known after the film is made, and he will provide popular Halloween costumes.  

There is one great, non-fiction, spy tv series, Reilly: Ace of Spies starring Sam Neill.  Reilly: Ace of Spies is a 1983 mini-series consisting of twelve episodes that followed the life of the real spy that inspired Ian Fleming to create James Bond.  The spy was named Sidney Reilly, but his original name is believed to be Sigmund Rosenblum (see center photo).  He was born in Russia, faked his own death as a young teenager, stowed away on a ship to Brazil, and soon ended up meeting British spies.  He ended up working for the British Secret Service, and went undercover in other countries for extended periods of time.  Reilly was utterly ruthless.  He once was sent to help another spy steal design plans, and he became the man’s roommate without telling him who he was.  He let the other spy be caught and die as Reilly left with the plans.  Reilly was a major factor in causing wars.  He tried to overthrow Lenin and set himself up as the head of Russia, and he got very close to achieving that to such an extent that he was listed in Russian history books as an enemy of the state.  He had no problem poisoning or even executing people.  Even Sam Neill, in his returned correspondence to me wrote that, “Reilly wasn’t such a good guy, really.”

Reilly went undercover, became a millionaire, and soon his identity was very fuzzy and even the British did not know if he was working for them.  He did not have any sort of regular employee-employer relationship with the British Secret Service anymore, and he became a force to be reckoned with.  He moved to the United States, met with captains of industry, and started his own private secret service organization.  Before WW2 broke out, Reilly disappeared.  It was believed that the Russians finally captured and executed him, but it never confirmed.  In fact, there is conjecture that he survived the 1930’s and remained a hidden manipulator of world events after his disappearance.  Maybe he was always working for Russia.  Even though spy costumes and tv series are fun, real spies live in a world of paranoia and tend to be dark figures that border on being villains.

Even a mask of Spy vs Spy from Mad Magazine is swell for Halloween.  But don’t just tie a black mask over your eyes and go as a criminal!  Take a chance, lead a life of danger, and dress up as a spy for Halloween!

[undeadimpulsereviews]

One-Punch Man

Lets skip the formalities with this one and get right down to brass tacks; One-Punch Man is a shounen action manga from Mangaka ONE, and artist Murata Yusuke. It originally started as a web-comic from One; though, after gaining popularity among people it got it’s own manga adaptation, but why stop there. The fame grew after it was picked up by the well known shounen magazine, Shounen Jump; it’s specifically published in Tonari no Young Jump. It went on to get an anime adaption under Madhouse and currently is set to air a second season real soon. Now the anime started in 2015 and only ran for a total of twelve episodes for the first season; the manga was first started in 2012. Since then it’s been ongoing, and going strong. In Japan there are a total of thirteen volumes currently out, while here in the state there will be twelve volumes as of September 5th. That’s if you’re reading the manga physically of course; if you aren’t then you have up to chapter seventy eight, which is pretty much the fourteenth volume. As for me I’m technically not caught up; I don’t know what happens past volume eleven; I decided that if I was going to read the manga that I would support the work and buy the volumes. Now I didn’t start this manga when it first came to be, I initially heard of One-Punch Man from a friend; he was reading the manga before the anime was released and would give me play by plays of certain chapters. I always had some sort of interest in the manga, but never really had the urge to read it; then the anime started airing and instead of making me want to read the manga more it just sort of pushed me away. That’s not to say the manga or the anime is bad, far from it in fact; I just didn’t want to be seen as someone who was hopping on the bandwagon. However, I always knew there would come a time when I’d sit down and dedicate my time to this, and the time has come. I’ve entered and am now completely invested; the story, it’s characters, you name it. ONE has done a great job at making something that stands out, but he doesn’t deserve all the praise; Murata Yusuke’s art is amazing and really enhances the entire experience. It’s no wonder this is as popular as it is. Though if you’re struggling to follow the trend, or just don’t know what this story might offer then look no further. Allow me to tell you what One-Punch Man is all about.

One-Punch Man follows the story of Saitama; a normal everyday business man who lives in a world of danger; day after day trouble is on the horizon and so a hero is needed. Though Saitama doesn’t fit the bill, or not at first; after three years of training we find our hero a changed man. He can take down any target with one punch, he can move at intense speeds, and can taking a real beating without falling. Though with these immense powers comes something else; Saitama is both Bald, and somewhat emotionless. It’s unsure if he lost his hair by coincidence or through his powers, but one thing is for sure; due to his strength Saitama at first decided to be a hero, but soon found that the thrill he once searched for wasn’t there. What fun is a fight that is decided with one punch? Is there someone or something out there that can give Saitama the challenge he craves? Well the world is vast and with it comes plenty more heroes; as well as, monsters, villains, and other evil entities. Will Saitama find this spark, or will his powers get the better of him?

One-Punch Man at face value looks and sounds like a comedy manga; and while you wouldn’t be wrong for assuming that, it’s far more than just another comedy. The manga can get serious when it needs to, and when it does it really hits the mark tenfold. As Saitama slowly gets integrated into the hero society, and new stronger enemies present themselves, Saitama is met with many questions. One of the best parts of the manga is the civilization they live in; given the fact that there are so many disasters in the different areas and town, people have some to rely on the organization of heroes. Though human nature is a fickle thing, and not everyone is as understanding as you may hope. Not a lot of people know Saitama, or his exploits as a hero; however, this plays a key role in to one of my favorite moments. At one moment a monster appears from the sea, leading an army of his people; they dispatch countless heroes, but once Saitama appears it, of course, only takes one punch. Prior to Saitama’s arrival, many heroes were trying to help evacuate the civilians from the area, but were met with complications. Instead of standing by the heroes the citizens started to blame them for their current situation. Saying that they weren’t cut out for this and berating them for failing to do “their job”. Once Saitama finishes the enemy the people start to praise Saitama, but still proceed to mock and take stabs at the other heroes. Saitama hears this and instead of taking the fame that he was striving for, he instead takes the mature and heroic route of lying to the people. He acts like he’s speaking out loud so that the people around can hear and he says “Man, I’m so glad the other heroes were around to weaken this guy. If it weren’t for them a low ranking hero like me could never had stood a chance.” He has little to know connection to most of the hero society at this point, but instead of rising above those who fell he decides to take the hit. This isn’t the only time this happens, but instead of trying to explain himself for something that was unavoidable, or take credit where credit is due; he decides to take hit after hit. These moments are one of the many things that make this manga and it’s story great; the comedy is also really funny and well done, but when the manga decides to be serious is when I think it’s at it’s greatest. Instead of overusing the same old cliches you find in both shounen manga, and super hero stories; One-Punch Man decides to create a super hero tale worth reading. Though the story doesn’t deserve all the credit; without the colorful and interesting cast presented by ONE, the manga wouldn’t be what it is.

One-Punch Man has quite the abnormal set of heroes and villains throughout it’s story; be it the ever powerful Saitama, or the cool and collected cyborg Genos, there is no shortage of characters in this manga. Not all the heroes of the hero society play an important role in the manga, and the same can be said for the villains; yet the ones that directly interact with Saitama really help drive the story in the direction it’s been going. Thanks to the heroes that Saitama encounters he’s developed into more of a hero with a cause, rather than one only looking for fun. His immature side is still there, but he’s grown as a character thanks to the cast. The same can be said both ways; the many heroes who interact with Saitama have their views slowly changed as the story progresses, one of my favorite characters is also one of the first to meet with Saitama.

The man above is Bang; his hero name is Silverfang. Bang is one of the top ranking heroes among those in the society and has created his own fighting style to go along with his strength and speed. He’s been there for both Saitama and Genos through many disasters and has seen first hand the power that Saitama wields. He knews that with the right motivations Saitama could rise to be the best of the best, but at the same time knows the struggles of being a hero. In the scene when Saitama is being attacked for not protecting civilian lives in a situation where he managed to minimize the loses, Bang is looking over the city seeing the people blame Saitama. Bang knows full well that if Saitama did not do what he did many more lives, if not every single person, would have been lost. Though the people will not listen to reason. Though Bang does not expect Saitama to challenge the civilians; he doesn’t try to explain himself, or mend the wounds. Instead he yells at them, taking stabs right back at them. This, as well as other factors, sparks an interest in Bang and he is now one of a growing amount of people slowly following Saitama and his exploits. There are some heroes that have yet to truly see their time in the spotlight; not every hero is going to get a big role. However, the current roster of characters has done a great job of developing over the course of the manga. The biggest problem with the cast I have is the main villains; so far only one person out of the many antagonists is still around. Since Saitama is powerful the villains don’t really stay around for that long. The arcs last long enough to leave an impression, but at the same time each one leaves me wanting more. One of the biggest arcs involves an alien invasion, and it’s clear that this won’t be much of a problem for Saitama. I want just what Saitama wants; I want a challenge for him, one that will really push the boundaries for our heroes. Otherwise I really enjoy the world and the characters that inhabit it. Though I still think that the best is yet to come; Murata’s visuals are some of the most detailed and visual pleasing things to see; there is so much animation being conveyed on paper it’s baffling.

Now before we continue lets go back a little bit; One-Punch Man was original a web-comic from ONE. The original comic never had the art you might have grown accustomed to. ONE did the original art for the web-comic, and for me it was hard to get behind. I never read the original web-comic for One-Punch, but I started ONE’s other project Mob Psycho. I couldn’t really muster ONE’S style of illustration; here’s an example of what the original web-comic had to offer.

The picture above is of one of the first villains Saitama meets; his name is Crablante and he serves to demonstrate the morals of Saitama before he came across his powers. Now Crablante is a very odd character; the top half of a humanoid crab, and the lower half of a human. The only article of clothing being the underpants he wears. No ONE’s original design for Crablante doesn’t really convey this to me. All I see is a very round man with crab arms instead of human arms, and odd eye placement. Though all this aside, we’re not here to speak about the web-comic; again I never read the source material for this. However, look at how far ONE’s original concept has come.

The scale and detail from Murata does wonders for this small time antagonist; I can tell his lower half and upper half are different in nature. Plus the overall size of him next to Saitama gives off a lot of impact. In fact the whole manga his this immense sense of impact to it; that is to say everything but Saitama.

There will be many times where you’ll see characters like the person on the left, in full detail, standing next to this bland poorly drawn man. That bald individual is the current Saitama and his simplistic design is fully intentional. If that’s not okay with you don’t worry because Saitama isn’t always like this, but we’ll get to that. Saitama is like this because of his lack of emotions in the beginning; due to his immense power there isn’t really a spark to fighting crime for him. Thanks to this excitement and other such emotions don’t really come to Saitama. He’s more this bland and uncaring character. However, when things truly get serious and the danger seems to be on a scale far bigger than most can handle, it’s like the emotions come flowing back into him.

There’s a lot to talk about with this frame alone so bear with me. Starting off we can see that Saitama is far mor detailed than his previous picture. Disaster has struck and after receiving a call it’s clear that he is the only one who can stop what is fast approaching. His eyes, nose, ears, and overall shape of his head are designed so cleanly that it’s almost like he’s a different person entirely. That and the fact that he no longer has this thick black outline around his body; the shading does the work of outlining specific features of his head, right down to the point where his chin ends and his neck begins. Then while were on the shading, just the overall shading that Murata puts into the manga is amazing to say the least. There are plenty of these frames throughout the manga; there are no words throughout the frame, but they are never needed. Murata’s work is both extremely clean and extremely detailed to the point that it can convey what ever it needs to and more.

This last frame is the closure to a major arc in the manga; no words need to be said, the spread says it all. Saitama has won, but not without some effort on his part. The villains plan and base of operations is crumbling to the ground and the day is won. I think other than the shading, the line work in this frame is my favorite part; the intense lines used to show the falling debris is awesome, that mixed with the lighter shading and lines used to convey the smoke and dust throughout the room leaves a nice impact if their battle. I could go on and on about the visuals of One-Punch Man, but this review needs to end at some point. So if you’re looking for a great story I recommend One Punch. A good cast of characters? Then read one punch. Yet if that’s not enough; if you need that visual kick that keeps on hitting then please read One-Punch Man.

Overall I give One-Punch Man a 9 out of 10; this manga is awesome, it’s story, character, and overall visual style all leave such an amazing impression on me that I just want more. It’s taking every fiber of my being not to read the chapter online, but I’ll stay firm and wait for the next volume to release. The reason it’s not a ten is due to what I said before. I want an arc that lasts; something that truly challenges not only the heroes of the society but Saitama especially. Maybe it’s coming soon, but for me that hasn’t happened yet. That’s the main thing, but I’d also like to see more from other heroes in the society, as well as new villains that stick around a little longer than the average villain.

That will do it for July, tomorrow I’ll be posting the update for what’s to come in August. Until then however, thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon.

[siphen0]

I don’t know what to say, for me this has been a great year for anime. So many series that were for the most part right up my alley. Especially those that are set in magical/fantasy worlds. From the minute I saw the trailer for Wise Man’s Grandchild, I knew that this one had me hooked. And from the first episode I was captivated by their interpretation and imagining of magic. This series centers around Shin Wolford, a boy who used to work in an office in Japan, but after being killed in a traffic accident, is reborn in another world. One where he learns magic from his adoptive grandfather, Merlin, and grows up sheltered from the world.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t this just another series where the person gets trapped in another world and has to fight to return home? That is fortunately not the case here. Off the bat I had loved that this is a series which fully embraces life in a world of magic. There is acknowledgement that Shin came from another world, but aside from that? This is pretty much his home. The only way they could take this from us is if by the end of the series as a whole, he suddenly wakes up back in his world still dying. However, none of that is what you get from this first season. With only twelve episodes, they jump right into Shin’s story, what makes this world turn, and where he fits alongside his grandfather and grandmother. In just that first episode you knew everything about the direction of this story and the kind of main character we were investing in.

As the main character, I loved Shin for a lot of reasons. Off the bat he was someone you enjoyed because he was fairly ordinary outside of his aptitude for magic. What tends to turn me off from a series quickly is a main character who screams too much. That’s never necessary. neither is overreacting to everything, which in turns makes a scene feel forced. Shin never makes you feel these things. Everything for the most part came naturally in terms of his personality and his view of the world. Which them brings us to Shin’s appeal as someone just as new to the world as we are. World-building and exploration are key components of a fantasy story, and he was the perfect guide. That sheltered life he lived made it easy to take those next steps forward sharing in the same sense of wonder and terror from the outside world.

I was very fond of this supporting cast too. With so many characters a part of the Ultimate Magic Research Society, I was a bit concerned that many of them would not stick out. Not everyone is able to handle this many characters involved and keep them all relevant. Somehow they pulled it off here wonderfully. They weren’t just faces in the background, and you got to know a lot about some of them that you wouldn’t have expected. They had relationships, family backgrounds, specialties in magic and combat, not to mention they all had something to offer when the big action scenes took place. The BEST thing about these characters is that they didn’t make you feel as though this was your typical cast of kids. They are enrolled at a magic academy, but that didn’t mean they had to do the normal school routine that every other anime might try to rely on for cuteness points. They barely spent that much time within those walls, and it allowed for a deeper connection with some of them. That’s not to say that love wasn’t a thing they melted for, but they had bigger aspirations when it came to leveling up their magic.

A friend of mine said that things got a bit cheesy for these characters by the end of the season. However, I told him that cheesy or not, much of what we got out of them was a breath of fresh when most other series will have no problem relying on teenage drama to be compelling.

The threat for this series is demons and demonoids. I found this to be a creative choice when most people might try to rely on magic users fighting magic users primarily. You might say that fighting mindless beasts is easy, but it didn’t take long to understand the difference between your average warrior or magician, and someone who has actually trained to take them down. What was appreciated most about these enemies is that it was more of what they brought out in the heroes that mattered more than their strength level. It was a means to an end tha consistently satisfied you because the animation of every spell was stunning.

At the end of the day, there is one thing that will attract you to a series like this in contrast to other fantasy/magic series. That contrast would be in the representation of magic in the world. There’s one thing that I always find engaging about these stories, and that is when the writer is bold enough to dig into the rules and limitations. For a series like this, there was a strong emphasis in this power coming from treating this power like a muscle or extension of yourself. Not to mention there is a stress on the balance of magic in the world. I only hope that if the anime continues, they take that step further to explore the cost of magic. With so many growing magicians just from this core group, there has to be a cost to what is taken and not given back.

Of course this wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t talk about the animation style of Wise Man’s Grandchild. Whether the story was the best thing ever or not, the first thing you always notice is the quality of the animation. Silver Link knocked it out of the park through a kind of style that fought against the need for your characters to be over the top or outrageous. The way these characters moved, reacted, and expressed themselves was all fluent. The use of colors was flashy and in your face, and that is how you needed it to be. When you think about magic, the first thing you think about is a stunning array of colors used to unleash this power. They definitely did not hold back when it came to Shin and his explosive firepower.

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Wise Man’s Grandchild: A Different Kind of Magic I don't know what to say, for me this has been a great year for anime. So many series that were for the most part right up my alley.

[joecasualnerd]

Number 16: Giant Woman

I cannot believe that I am still doing this, again on a kind of behind the scenes look. In the grand scheme of things, I don’t believe that there are many people reading these, and I would have normally given up probably after the third or fourth one, and here I am, on the tenth post.

Even if you just somehow come across this and wildly disagree with my post, I thank you for reading.

All the schmaltz aside, welcome back to the 25 Days of Stevenmas (name pending) and let’s get into the wayback machine and look at Season One Episode Twelve, Giant Woman.

Premise

Amethyst and Pearl are playing a game of checkers and whenever a piece gets taken, Steven throws a water balloon at them.

When Pearl wins by taking a whole bunch of pieces and Amethyst gets pelted with water balloons, she remarks how good it feels to lose. Pearl remarks that she hopes that she hopes that’s not the way of thinking that Amethyst has in battle, and the two begin to fight.

Amethyst says that since Pearl is no fun anymore, they can no longer form Opal, while Pearl says that the reason they cannot form Opal is because Amethyst is difficult and a mess.

Steven breaks up the argument by asking what Opal is. Amethyst says that it’s her and Pearl mashed together, while Pearl gives a much more cohesive explanation by saying that Opal is a fusion between the two of them when they happen to harmonize and work together.

The two start to fight again, when they hear the Warp Pad activating, signaling Garnet’s return.

Garnet says that she has found the Geode Beetles of Heaven and Earth and that they need to retrieve them. Garnet says that she is the only one who could get the Earth Beetle because it is under boiling magma, so that leaves the other three to get the Heaven Beetle.

Garnet tells Steven to keep the harmony, and when the Crystal Gems sans Garnet arrive at the mountain where the Heaven Beetle is, Steven begins to ask questions about Opal.

He tries to coerce the two into fusing and when they continue to refuse we get the song, Giant Woman. After a musical montage the three get to a series of floating rocks.

Steven suggests that the Gems form Opal, but Pearl refuses, trying to think of a safe way to get Steven across. Amethyst says balls to waiting and tosses Steven onto one of the floating islands, jumping after him.

When the two are horsing around on the floating islands, Steven gets knocked down and begins to fall, with Pearl and Amethyst working together to save Steven. When Steven is safe, he asks why they don’t work together more often, to which he gets no response.

After some more walking, the group gets to the tiny house where the Heaven Beetle lives, only to find it isn’t there. Amethyst and Pearl begin arguing, only for Steven Jr. (a goat that they picked up on their journey) begins to freak out.

Suddenly a giant bird comes out and attacks them. The three take shelter in a small temple and Steven says that it’s a perfect opportunity to form Opal, to which the Gems agree to.

They try to fuse, but to no avail. They begin to blame each other and when Steven manages to get them to stop arguing for a moment, the bird eats him.

He is swallowed, but thankfully sees a both Steven Jr. and the Heaven Beetle. While Steven wrestles with the goat to get the Heaven Beetle, four arms pierce the bird, grabbing Steven and Steven Jr.

Then jumping off the bird, we finally see Opal, to Steven’s astonishment. After a tense chase sequence and an amazing use of Opal’s weapon, a bow made from Pearl’s spear and Amethyst’s whip, Steven and Opal look at each other.

Steven shyly asks if Opal knows who Steven is, and Opal happily sings a bit of the song Giant Woman.

When they get back to the temple, Garnet asks if they have the Heaven Beetle. Opal realizes she doesn’t have it and immediately defuses, with Pearl and Amethyst Arguing. Steven exclaims that e had the beetle and Garnet says he did a good job keeping the harmony and says that he will be great at fusing one day.

Steven basks in the glory of a Garnet compliment and then realizes that he may also have the ability to fuse as well, ending the episode.

Discussion

No early Season One episodes on the list so far. Not that I dislike the early episodes, in fact I enjoy all of them, it is just that as with most shows, Steven Universe suffered from a lack of direction in the first few episodes.

Many of them felt disjointed and very experimental with the format, with a few select things coming back into the series.

However Giant Woman brought one of the staples of the series into the fray, and that is the idea and the basic rules of fusion.

Fusion isn’t something new in fiction, but it is an idea that isn’t utilized as often as it could, and when it is in something it could be done well or just half assed.

The rules for fusion in the series are simple; two Gems need to be synchronized in some aspect, a dance is performed or some action bringing the two together is done, and you have a fusion.

That is very much a barebones way of describing the rules of fusion, but it is done much more effectively in the episode and with Steven asking so many questions, the audience also thinks of these questions.

I also love how the show doesn’t do the Dragonball Z way of fusion, where when the two fuse the fusion has both character’s voices overlaid. Rather a new voice actress is uses, Aimee Mann as Opal, and while we don’t hear much of her talk, we can immediately tell that Opal is a completely different being to Pearl and Amethyst.

It’s a crying shame that we don’t get more Opal, but what can you do (besides have more Opal).

This is also the showing how musical the series can be, with Steven singing Giant Woman. Sure, there was the Cookie Cat jingle and Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart, but this was the song that opened the door to have more musical number in the series, at least that’s how I perceive it.

The song is fun too, starting as a very simple ukulele piece and growing into something with increasingly more instruments being introduced, but still having the ukulele as the focal point in the song.

Songs and the rules of fusion aside, this episode also shows something that is very interesting in the show. Amethyst and Pearl used to form Opal often, not sure how often, but it is implied often enough, but there was a point when that stopped.

It is implied as the series progresses that perhaps the reason they stopped being Opal was because Rose is gone and that left a huge gap in the way the Gems felt towards each other afterwards.

However, this episode also shows that Steven is the glue that brings the team together, with Amethyst and Pearl putting aside their differences and working together to form Opal.

Steven had a place in the early episodes before he could fight or summon his shield at will, and that is to bring a torn family back together. Garnet instructs Steven to keep the harmony, and he does so with flying colors in this episode, and will continue to do so throughout the series.

And who knows, maybe he will get good at fusion, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.