#honestly it was just a blast i highly recommend

[chaos0pikachu]

it's interesting to me to see posts about how recent BL ain't hitting like they used too when I'm having a blast with the shows I'm watching. Maybe it's because I don't watch a ton of BLs in general but like, Playboyy, The Sign, Dead Friend Forever, have all hit hard for me from both a narrative to filmmaking perspective which is honestly new for me lol

in my experience most BLs I've watched or that have been recommended to me were mid at best, even newer shows that are all over my dash - watched one episode of cooking crush and found it mind numbingly mediocre - that I see folks talk up and hype to high heaven only to be let down by the end - pouring one out for all y'all last twilight & dangerous romance stans - and idk I don't vibe with squeecore shows to begin with so I'm not watching a lot of the more mainstream heavily marketed stuff.

A lot of the "classic" BLs that were hyped and highly recommended were either weak from a narrative place or from a filmmaking place or worse and most often, both. I'm not a snob, lots of stuff with lower budgets I've liked - LITA, TharnType, History Trapped, Kiseki all come to mind - there's just a lot of factors beyond "the narrative" that make for a good show. Which is why I drop shows pretty easily like if it don't hit it I don't bother.

idk I think it sucks for ppl that are disappointed by what they're watching there's a lot of mid shit out there, my shit is good tho so stay safe out there y'all.

[icearts]

A couple things about Sonic Prime that disappointed me

1. Shadow was in almost the entire trailer, but showed up for 3 out of the 7 episodes

2. An action scene that lasted for three episodes. It got redundant

3. There was an entire plot point where Sonic was dying from the prism energy being taken from him. This took 3 minutes of screen time and the risk felt minimal if it was there at all

4. No consequences = no stakes (literally there was no issue or "sacrifice" that came out of repairing the prism. Idk what i was hoping for, but the fact that everything was so easily fixed kinda hurt my feelings because it made the entirety of season 2 seem completely pointless and dumb)

5. Shadow was super protective of Sonic in the first episode, but never showed that same "Would kill and die for you in a seconds notice" energy he had in that first episode

6. The chaos emerald is mentioned again but never used as a plot point. Chekov's Gun is fake, apparently

7. It's said that Sonic can't exist in the Shatterspace without prism energy, but Shadow never had it in the first place. There is no provided explanation as to why this makes sense. The closest thing was "shadow wasn't there during the blast" but that only explains why he doesn't have the energy, not why he doesn't need it to live like Sonic does (I assume the others have at least a signature of it too which is why they cloned and Shadow didn't. Again this is unexplained in Prime. What does the prism energy even do for/to the supporting cast)

8. Why are there only 7 episodes? Why do they take up so much time in one place?

9. Rouge and Shadow only had one line of dialogue (this isn't a genuine critique I just wanted to see my favorite duo be a duo)

10. Sonic's Prism "Super Form" doesn't come back. Shadow doesn't get anything like that either. Another dud Chekov Gun. Why is this dumb little anecdotal metaphorical firearm never firing

I really loved the new season, and it was great and super fun, but those critiques really ruined some things because those were all things I thought would be a guarantee because of the trailer and because of how the other seasons were.

Why would they even bother to mention the chaos emerald, and this weird void thing if it wasn't going to be essential to the plot other than being an excuse to sideline Shadow. They could have just as easily said that chaos energy is neutralized in cyberspace because it's not connected to the world/chaos/master emerald. That works too!

Plus, why was Shadow sidelined so much? What's the reason? Why wasn't he allowed to use chaos energy and go apeshit? Why couldn't he take off his inhibitor rings in a desperate situation to protect Sonic and be able to teleport into shatterspaces even at the expense of his health?

I know it's a TV-Y7 show. It honestly did not need to be, but I'm sure it was a Netflix mandate to make sure their animation is all meant for kids and only kids, but they really ended up nerfing themselves by alienating their more passionate audience which would be teenagers and adults. Just make it TV PG that would've allowed you to work with higher stakes and a higher budget (oh wait that's what Netflix's intention was nevermind).

If you wanna see me make a list of things I genuinely liked, feel free to ask or comment that. I might do so anyway. I feel like the internet is too negative and critiques of shows tend to do too much of that, so sorry for contributing to that culture, but I really needed to get that disappointment out because it bothered me quite a bit. Feel free to disagree too, or say "bro it's a kids show. It's not that deep. Stop having passion and emotions for your special interests you dumb fuck" I get it. Anyways, good show, good season, highly recommend, it's very fun and enjoyable especially if you're a fan of Sonic

Last minute edit: I only saw the season once and my sense of media literacy isn't by any means perfect, and also, to clarify, most of my concern isn't quite "these plot points are 1000% absent and terrible" and more "I thought the distribution between the action scene in episodes 4-7 and the rest of the season's story was very poor and made the content I was more excited for seem watered down/unplanned/super easily resolved". Again the part of the show where Sonic almost dies because of the prism energy withdrawal was about 3 minutes long. Why did it feel so low-stakes?? I love action scenes. They're great, but when you dedicate over 30 minutes to one long fight scene, it becomes less interesting and there's still MORE OF THE SHOW TO GET THROUGH so those parts got super rushed

[elefaint]

Bakumomo meta on their progression!

rarepair etc aside, I feel like bkmm has a subtle fun thread of interactions and progress?

Bakugou’s regret/embarrassment with himself when he agreed with momo’s analysis that his destructive indoor attacks were foolish and that his behavior stemmed from a grudge against izuku was so good you guys. 

Given momo’s position as the #1 recommended student and her conviction that working up from the bottom and cheering on your teammates will make you a top hero, that she is considered a standard of hero academic excellence. In recognizing that momo’s assessment was accurate in his stunned silence, we see just how self-reflective bakugou can be at his starting line.

We also then get a fun continuation of momo’s position as a standard of excellence when she offers to tutor her classmates after it’s revealed she placed first academically. Hilariously, we see bakugou is also a class topper and get’s teased by kirishima that he and momo differ in virtue before bakugou exclaims he can be just as virtuous and offers to tutor kirishima. What a competitive nerd lol

In “operation save izuku”, we see their first dialogue after combining their moves as a hero team to capture a villain and momo compliments bakugou on their success! he whips his head around and crankily corrects her on his hero name before she apologizes in her ever-so-polite but flustered professional manner. 

it's just a goofy little moment showing their contrasting personalities while they work in tandem. they’re not quite there yet, but at this point momo knows bakugou’s intention to let go of his grudge in spearheading the mission to save izuku. 

 Bakugou has worked hard up until this point and took it to heart that he’s held a grudge against izuku. Momo also worked hard to get through her insecurities and gain experience as a tactical leader. Bakugou has let go of his ego and apologized to izuku, and we see momo is the first to speak after his apology, remarking there’s still a long way to go. Obviously, she definitely also means logistically as well, but that’s where ururaka comes in to be the hero that saves izuku lol. but it’s neat that the first outsider that spoke about the not-so-secret elephant in the room witness bakugou’s apology to izuku and let go of his grudge, and note that there was still more progress to be made. 

I wanted to note that this part of bakugou’s apology where he says they need to earnestly work together sounds similar to momo’s convictions about becoming a top hero, but that’s a separate meta lol.

after izuku’s rescue, we get a moment where momo looks at bakugou fondly as jirou reassures the class that they’ll succeed.

It feels NOW that bakugou and momo have finally earned being on speaking terms now that he has officially let go of his grudge, and they show just how on the same page they’ve been, to the point they are able to calmly riff off each other’s analyses of a situation to the class. 

It’s also nice to note the momo feels comfortable enough to interject; they’re on equal footing!

Bakugou further demonstrates how he values teamwork and calls out momo along with kaminari, aizawa and monoma as he doesn’t want their work of keeping the fortress operational to go to waste. Momo was mentioned last (lol shipping goggles i admit) before he trailed off to reflect on his journey and how he fundamentally disagrees with shigaraki’s beliefs before firing off a highly powerful, but meticulous dealt blast. 

While working down below, momo recognizes bakugou’s explosion, and we get to see kaminari reassure his team that bakugou is meticulous, echoing momo’s initial assessment of bakugou.

i think it’s neat that they’ve each had their own hero’s journey and now they get to be on equal playing ground as teammates. honestly, payoff is kind of tricky given bnha’s huge cast and somewhat rushed plot, but i’m having fun in the sandbox lol. this rarepair is neat and has a lot of fun classical elements i enjoy.

i feel like momo got to be on her own hero’s journey and on the way she acknowledges bk and makes key decisions along the way. they are both acknowledged as strategists and the class looks up to them. omg also i’m just in love with bk being pared down by momo jirou and kaminari on the bus to usj, they’re just disgusted by him. just like oh wow this kid is cringey lol

i’m also just a fan of a guy acknowledging he needs to change and finally showing that he has, not just because she told him to

In any case, season 7 has some of the above bkmm moments, and it was nice seeing bakugou’s thoughts involving the UA fortress team!

[shima-draws]

You blogging about One Piece Treasure Cruise is really making me want to play it…is it fun? Do you recommend? :D

FROTHING AT THE MOUTH UMMM HI YES you should get OPTC and play it it’s SO much fun. I’ve only been playing for about a month (?) or so and I’ve been having a TOTAL blast

I know that generally gacha games can be really hit or miss for a lot of people but I will highly recommend OPTC bc of the MASSIVE amounts of freebies they give out. I’ve played lots of different gacha games over the years and I’ve never seen a game give out as much freebies as OPTC has;; There’s multiple different game modes you can do and they all have different rewards where you can literally just. Choose the character you want. There’s some game modes where you can challenge the same boss over and over and get multiple of the same character to increase their level to the max. They’re stupidly generous with their rewards too like just by leveling up or beating a certain quest or doing a challenge x amount of times they’ll give you a sugo rare (basically a 6 star character, the best units in the game) for free! FOR FREEEEE!!! Also they give tons of unique rewards to rookie players as well so just by getting the game and starting it for the first time they will bury you in Stuff :)

A lot of gacha games are pay to win but honestly you don’t need to spend any money in OPTC to A. Have fun and B. Win harder challenges. It really just depends on how you build your crew and with all the free handouts you’re BOUND to get some really good recruits even at the very start. And if you don’t mind spending a little money they do have achievement packs that unlock whenever you hit a certain level, and the rewards are very generous.

Anyway coughs now that I’m done ranting about how much free shit they’ll give you the actual gameplay is a lot of fun too, like I mentioned there’s lots of different game modes but they generally all revolve around the whole building your crew thing. And a few of these game modes will reset every couple weeks and let you get new characters/rewards so things are always changing and updating! They just had an event to get a free 6 star Bonney and then super evolve her into a 6+ star with her in her Egghead outfit and like.

Bro. That’s so RUDE,,

I will say they do dump a lot on you so it can be really. Confusing and complex lol. I wouldn’t say I know the ins and outs of this game QUITE yet but I have learned a lot of things since I started playing, so if you have any questions feel free to come ask me 🥰

Also the game’s 10 year anniversary is happening (Franky voice) SUPER soon so now is a great time to start playing bc they’re definitely gonna give all the players heaps of rewards ;)

Anyway I’m totally not obsessed with OPTC can’t you tell

[keplercryptids]

for my new ttrpg campaign, Choir (scifi, multi-system, set in a homebrewed universe based on the machineries of empire books' setting), we've been playing a bunch of worldbuilding games in preparation, including one- or two-shots for each PC to play out specific moments from their backstories. (for more general campaign info, see this post!)

anyway, i thought i'd write up brief summaries as to how these backstory games have gone, because they've been a blast and i highly recommend doing this for a campaign that'll involve deep character exploration.

1. Love Triangle in a Death Cult Regency

PC: Idona Noci (they/he)

TTRPG: Good Society, "a collaborative regency rpg that seeks to capture the heart, and the countenance, of Jane Austen’s work."

Backstory situation: How teenage Noci chose duty over love.

Present-campaign Noci is a trained torturer and professional indoctrinator, but they were just a teen once who had to choose between an arranged marriage or a continued relationship with a lower-class boyfriend. We played out one week set 25 years pre-campaign to show how Noci chose marriage and responsibility over love. The setting was a space station that floods with time-keeping tides, set during a week-long celebration of the faction's revered saints. Good Society was such a fun vehicle to play out the intricacies of a death cult space society, and the two-shot was honestly so moving???? i have not stopped thinking about it???? A++++.

2. Chase Through Space

PC: Moment's Pallor (she/zie)

TTRPG: HOUNDs, "a dice-stacking roleplaying game about the bond between a mech pilot and their robot companion."

Backstory situation: How Pallor was caught trying to run away with a stolen, sentient spaceship.

Present-day Pallor is a coder, a scientist, has already been executed once, and doesn't understand why it didn't stick. We changed HOUNDs to be about a computer coder/hacker and a sentient space-moth that had been harnessed and augmented into a ship. Five years prior to the campaign, Pallor connected to said moth, realized that it was sentient, liberated it and tried to escape the empire. Zie was caught and executed for this, then brought back to life under mysterious experimental means. HOUNDs was so much fun and did a great job ramping up the tension of the chase and allowing touching, calm moments too. (We play online, and used Tabletop Simulator on steam for the dice-stacking, which worked very well!) I love this mothgirl and i can't wait until zie can be with hir moth again wahhhh.

3. Divorce Negotiations

PC: Attra Rose (she/her)

TTRPG System: A Long Night in the Mech Bay, "A TTRPG about Relationships Reforged in Conflict."

Backstory situation: Rose and her wife (an NPC) negotiate a divorce while reminiscing about their relationship.

One year before the campaign starts, Rose got divorced (but they will be on the same crew once the campaign starts, oops). We used an albeit incredibly hacked version of LNitMB to play out the seven years of Rose and Han's relationship, from meeting up until and through the divorce negotiations. This was mostly accomplished by completely rewriting all the questions so that they were specific to this couple, and reversing which kinds of questions were asked first, so that it started with happy memories before we entered The Agonies. We also added NPC opportunities and setting description stuff so that the other two players could contribute, but the basic framework was still really useful for this kind of exploration, and I love the idea of starting a brand-new campaign with scar tokens lollllll. anyway i am unwell and having a GREAT time.

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Hi!

I may have fallen a wee bit in love with the chonky short tailed bois.... So I need to ask, what experience level would you recommend for keepers for them? Can they be a good first snake, in theory?

(not gonna GET one though - I'm moving into student living soon, and it's gonna be cramped enough for me alone!)

Short-tailed pythons are amazing, but they are generally best for experienced keepers! I think if you got one for a first snake, you'd probably have a stressful time of it.

Here are the reasons I think they're best for intermediate-advanced level keepers:

They do best when they're kept very precisely. They like a narrow range of temps and humidity and they get stressed and grouchy when it's wrong. Like, you better keep your hot side temps at 80-82 or they will be so mad. It's just less stressful for everyone when you've got the experience to know how to keep that narrow range super steady!

Humidity can be tricky for new keepers to maintain, and short-tails like it in the 60-70% range. They get stressed when it's too high and are very prone to respiratory illness if it's too low.

Their body language can be very hard to read, even for experienced keepers. They can be surprisingly jumpy and they have no qualms about striking sideways (most snakes do). They are very still snakes, they're highly specialized ambush predators and it can be confusing if you don't know what you're looking for. Even I have moments with short-tails where I have to stop and think "okay, what are you trying to tell me?"

Their reputation for being bitey little monsters is exagerrated but it is not entirely undeserved. They can have short fuses and their body language is just difficult for a lot of new keepers to read; they can get bitey if you make mistakes.

I absolutely adore short-tailed pythons, but part of the reason they have a bad reputation is because it can be hard to keep them correctly and they get grouchy if you mess up. I honestly even think the advanced level is the best to get them at because you'll just have so much more fun with them at that level of experience.

If you're 100% committed, you could do it! I adore these snakes and they have so much personality, they're just a blast. But I would recommend doing a ton of research, getting the enclosure set up well beforehand, and if possible meeting at least a couple short-tails in person so you can get a bit of a feel for them and their husbandry.

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 3

welcome the the third (late sorry) fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.

1. Immortal by @admiralcanthackett (sorry this is the last one for a while probably)

Lance gets impaled and Keith catches him in the bathroom later, blindedsided by the massive scar on his chest. Now Lance has to explain it and the many others he’s managed to collect along the way. But who would believe Lance is suddenly immortal?

This is up there with Blast Zone in terms of fics I’ve reread so many times I could probably recite it. I have made friends read this. I talk about this fic to people who aren’t in the fandom. This is a BAMF Lance fic, of course, but honestly it’s more Keith/Lance feels than anything. There’s no one who knows how capable Lance is like Keith does. 

2. Hell in High Heels by @azapofinspiration

To gain some information for the final assault on Zarkon, the Blade has asked Team Voltron to get it using some... feminine wiles. Seeing as Allura would be recognized in an instant and Pidge is uncomfortable, Lance easily steps up to the plate.

And Keith was not expecting this.

This fic is also up there with Blast Zone! Lance? Kicking ass in a skirt and stilettos? Yes ma’am! Side note but the first time this author reblogged one of my fics I freaked out lol I was so excited. I love this fic, it’s fun and flirty and the Garrison Trio dynamics are awesome. 

3. Birthday Surprises by @azapofinspiration

On a certain day, each of Team Voltron finds themselves the recipient of a package. It doesn't take them too much to figure out who's leaving them anonymous birthday presents.

Pretty much a 5+1 fic of the times members of Team Voltron are given a birthday present and the time they decided to return the favor.

Lance is such a sweetheart, I love him. This is a really sweet fic with Lance and the team just loving each other, basically. I’m always a sucker for a five plus one, and this one is a fun and quick read. 

4. Useless Talents by @admiralcanthackett

Lance has some "useless" talents that come in handy. Keith is impressed.

I’ll be real, a lot of these are going to be BAMF Lance. He’s just so cool. This one in particular, though, is pretty much just BAMF Lance with a side of whipped Keith, which is always fun. Contortionist Lance? Check. Archer Lance? Check. Observant Lance? Check. Literally everything you could want in a one-shot.

5. Only a Crack in this Castle of Glass by @icypantherwrites

Something strange is going on with Lance. The wincing and shivering and worried, scared glances in Allura’s direction mean something and Hunk is going to get to the bottom of it. But nothing could have prepared him for what he found. / “Allura was in trouble. And I… I shielded her. Me and Red. And… and we got hit. And…” Lance audibly swallowed again, voice even quieter and Hunk felt faint. “And I… I died.”

Or; the missing scene fic where Hunk (and the rest of Team Voltron) discover Lance died at Omega Shield and what this now means for them all.

There are not enough Omega Shield fics. Seriously. But this almost makes up for it! This fic, as is on par for icy panther, is a work of art. Expertly crafted, lengthy, and angsty as hell. Highly recommended if you’re mad about the later seasons. 

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!

[pittdpeaches]

Hiya op!! How are you today? Hope your feeling good after the holidays!! Just wanna say love the dragonfruit moments in chapter 22. Really love how Mei was the anchor that kept Red Son steady amongst the emotional riptides of his feelings uhsghsjdkdkdkdkdkkd 🥺

Which reminds me do you have any dragonfruit fics that you can recommend? Platonic, romantic, your choice really.

Anyways that’s all for me from now, hope you have a lovely day/night!!🧡

aaaa apologies for replying so late! Super happy you enjoyed chapter 22, it was a blast to write.

I don't read a *ton* of dragonfruit fics-honestly, there arent a lot of fanfics which center their relationship, which is a shame, because they have a very fun dynamic-so I don't have a ton to recommend, but here's what I have.

Foulmouthed Foal is a currently unfinished dragonfruit fic where they're in an established relationship. There's a lot of focus on Red Son's relationship with his family when discussing Mei, which I absolutely LIVE for, so I'd highly recommend it.

To The West of the Moon, to the East of the Sun is an au where Mei chooses to marry a bull in order to save her town, the bull of course being a cursed Red Son, who hopes to find a bride. I don't normally enjoy these types of stories, but I found this one particularly cute. It reminded me a lot of the Eros+Psyche myth, and I'm a BIG greek myth nerd, so I binged it all in one night giggling and kicking my feet lmao

Peppermint? is a short but cute read where Red Son and Mei dance around the idea of their first kiss. Very fun, essentially all banter, and honestly the dragonfruit dynamic is best when fairly banter heavy hehe

Order Up, Red Boy! is an even shorter read but still just as cute. Mei tries some of Red Son's BBQ from the Season 2 special. If it wasn't obvious from my AO3 works, I'm incredibly not normal about Red Son's BBQ stand, so this was up my alley.

Hopefully all of these are enough!!

[cutiecorner]

Happy Holidays everybody! I hope everyone is having a wonderful season! Since I recently got an ask about my personal reqs for where to start with batman, as a Christmas gift to me and y'all I'm finally making a curated list of my favorite batman media! This is 100% skewed to me, it's essentially just a list of all the batman stuff I've consumed, but I might throw in a few others for folks with different tastes! Also, most of these can be found on HBOmax as of now, but I'm including links to where you can watch online where possible! See you under the cut for a very, VERY long guide! Enjoy!

TV!

Hands down, the definitive piece of batman TV is Batman: The Animated Series. Soooo much iconic batman stuff was coined in this show. Also, it has hands down the best characterization of Bruce himself imo. If you're getting into Batman due to dadfred & babybat, here's a list of standout episodes for you!

Beware the Grey Ghost: A whole episode about Bruce's childhood special interest. You even get to see actual baby Bruce!

Eternal Youth: Absolutely precious Alfred episode, with Ivy as the villain no less. Sooooo many adorable moments, like, I don't even wanna spoil it. Just watch it.

Heart of Ice: For one, an absolutely excellent episode of television, and also a tooonnn of cute Alfred and Bruce moments!! Real dad moments for sure.

Harley's Holiday: 100/10 episode in general, and full of Harley and Bruce moments!!

The Lion and the Unicorn: Another Alfred focused episode!! Bruce Dick and Al being famiwy...

I have more, but those are a good place to start. Have a fave villain? Watch all their eps!! Discover new ones! Watch it from the beginning! Watch around and see what floats your boat. There's a redesign in season 3 (The New Batman Adventures) and they bring in a littler robin, Tim Drake. Warning for TNBA in general though, they tease at some really uncomfortable relationships here and there. But overall it has a lot to offer!

After btas I started on Justice League (2001)! I super love it, I adore the other members of the league so much and there's plenty of interesting stories. Justice League Unlimited is great too! Fantastic Bruce/Diana stuff, even though I'm not big on the ship their interactions are beyond precious. These are ensemble pieces so they're not all bats, but they're highly recommended if you're interested!

For some quick silly adventures, Justice League Action is fantastic! It's super funny and cute. There's plenty of batman centric episodes, and it's super lighthearted and fun! No robins or alfred in any of the Justice Leagues (very sparcely in JL/JLU) though, unfortunately. Speaking of silly fun batman shows: Batman the Brave and the Bold is a total blast! There's soooo many heroes in it, if you like any other DC characters there's a good chance they appear!

I just recently got into The Batman (2004), and it's really growing on me! The first season especially is really creative and cool. It's a younger take on batman, and it has seeerrious early 2000s boy/Ben ten/bionicles energy lol, but if that's nostalgic for you you'll LOVE it.

If you like adult cartoons, Harley Quinn is pretty good and funny! Of course it's about Harley and her gang over the bats, and the first season especially can get kinda ick in the adult cartoonyness, but by the third season it gets great (VERY good Bruce stuff in the third season! Honestly in all the seasons). Overall I definitely think it's worth a watch. It is not appropriate for kids though, make sure to look up warnings! If you're especially sensitive to gore/violence maybe skip it.

I haven't watched much of these, but I've heard good things if live action is your style! Gotham follows the villains and older generation before Batman came along. Supposedly very good Alfred and Bruce content, with kid Bruce! For my Alfie lovers, Pennyworth follows the adventures of Alfred along with the Waynes, taking down conspiracies back in England during the 60s. As completely up my alley as those sound, they're not really my thing because they are pretty violent, so beware!

Movies!

Starting off with animated movies, the btas movies come very highly recommended! Especially Mask of the Phantasm! I was super not excited for the romance plot, but it 1000% won me over, it's fantastic. Lots of young Bruce stuff (like early early 20s), which is wildly endearing, and very good dadfred moments!! The Mystery of the Batwoman isn't as great, but it's good fun. Sub-Zero is really good if you like Mr.Freeze! For The Batman 2004, there's the Batman vs Dracula! It is wild but so much fun!

On the animated movies front - Batman and Robin: Return of the Caped Crusaders and Batman vs Two Face are absolutely delightful. They're based on the 1960s Batman show, and they go all in on the campy goofy energy!! They're such a good pick me up if you're having a rough day.

As for live action movies, I honestly cannot recommend the 1990s Batman movies enough. Yes, they don't have a great reputation among mainstream comics fans, but they're straight up just wrong. Batman Forever and Batman and Robin are some of the most fun batman content ever created! There is so much creativity and energy and love in these movies, they are the definition of a good time. Absolutely guaranteed to provide childlike wonder, 1000/10.

If you're into the more gritty stuff, The Batman (2022). It's a cool new take on Bats, I think it's an interesting direction artistically. Once again violence isn't super my thing, but I appreciated the Alfred moments and Bruce's potent autism swag. Also, though it's probably a genuinely good movie, I am physically unable to take anything seriously and really enjoyed watching it ironically (there are so many serious moments that land as... pure comedy). Though please be sure to look up trigger warnings first, it's a lot.

Comics!

Full disclosure, I'm not a big comic book reader "^^ I really just read the comic versions of the shows I like and a few miscellaneous others I run into. Here's a list of some of the comics I've enjoyed, but they have no rhyme or reason, they are not cohesive lol. If you're more into comics you want to look elsewhere for advice "^^

All Star Batman: First Ally - I have no context for this series as a whole and I do not care: I'm here for pretty art, Alfred backstory, and father and son behavior. I own a hardcover copy.

Batman: Zero Year - Stumbled upon by accident but thoroughly enjoyed. I don't agree with everything in these (batman writers obsession with characters slapping each other my BEHATED) but its pretty cool overall. Featuring my The Alfred Ever and baby Duke Thomas! There's Dark City then Secret City!

One Bad Day: Mr Freeze - I'm not gonna lie this comic is like... bad. Okay so that's not entirely fair: I adore the art, the baby Dick Grayson content, the Alfred content, and honestly most of the story until the end. Spoiler, but they nerf the daylights out of what makes Freeze such an iconic character. Like, I get what they were doing but... come on. Insinuates a bizarre message too. Still worth a peruse for the good moments.

Batman: the Adventures Continue - a continuation of the btas comic series (the batman adventures)!! It's interesting to see them put more modern storylines in the btas universe. The last few issues (holiday special!) Are at very least worth a read.

While I'm here, The Gotham Adventures is also cute and cool, takes place in the btas universe with the tnba style + continuity.

Same as above, if you like the Justice League cartoon check out the tie in comics, including the recent continuation Justice League Infinity!

Oh I guess this do counts: The Wayne Family Adventures is a very cute comic on tapas! It's very cute, and actually published by DC comics!

My best word of advice: follow your interests! Indulge! There is no right way to explore this franchise! There's so much to discover and there's a little something for everybody. There is no obligation to know every little thing about the mythos, you do not need to read from issue 1 or know all the current updates to be a "real fan". Actualy, do us all a favor and stick it to toxic comic fanboys by having as much fun as you can! Pick and choose! Try it all! Be gritty! Be goofy! Be both! Spend hours poking around on fandom wikis to learn about what you want to learn! There's no wrong way to play, I'm just so happy youre here. Now go forth and be batfans!!!

[glorious-blackout]

My Year in Gigs

Seeing as we're nearing the end of the year, I thought I'd look back on the amazing shows I've been lucky enough to attend in 2023 and resurrect my Post-Concert Depression with a definitive ranking 😅💚

Eurovision Semi Final One - Live Show: Absolute dream-come-true experience. Loved every minute, the crowd was so kind and supportive towards every act, and I got to see most of my faves steal the show and advance to the finals 🥰 

Muse (Dublin) : My second Muse gig of the year was even more of a blast than the first! Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the joy of finally seeing Butterflies and Hurricanes and Apocalypse Please live 😭 

Queens of the Stone Age: Josh Homme arrived onstage, called us all crazy motherfuckers, expressed a sincere desire to get fucked in the ass by a Scottish dude, then called his guitarist a 500-year-old vampire before flirting shamelessly with him. 10/10, no notes. Oh yeah, and the music slapped too.

Käärijä: Half hilarious stand-up show, half incredible party with insanely fun, energetic songs. One of the most enjoyable gigs I’ve ever been to and I would pay good money to fly to Finland solely to see Käärijä play a gig on his home turf. 

Muse (Bellahouston Park): My boys were incredible as ever and I had a genuinely great time at this gig, but it gets demoted a little due to the torrential rain cutting our setlist short and making me ill 😅 Would have been an easy third place had technical difficulties not robbed me of the chance to see Verona live... 

Go_A: If you’ve never been to a Ukrainian Folk-Rave before, I can highly recommend it! Go_A were simply phenomenal with great energy that had us dancing all night. Highlight of the show was Ihor delivering a badass flute solo while Kateryna went backstage to recharge her awesomeness. 

Sparks: These guys have been making consistently excellent music for decades and still have more energy and enthusiasm than most young bands could ever dream of possessing. Such a wonderful set filled with amazingly quirky songs both old and new. 

Joker Out: It says a lot about the high quality of shows on this list that I’ve had to rank these guys so low. In any other year they’d be a clear contender for top three! The energy from both the band and crowd were insane, the boys were clearly in awe of having a venue full of Scots singing along with them in Slovene, and I need the Demoni scream injected directly into my veins 😈 

Arctic Monkeys: This ranking has almost nothing to do with the band themselves who delivered a great show, but looking back on it I’ve just had to accept that I wasn’t having a good time during a large chunk of this gig. The crowd in my section were rowdy to the point where I couldn’t hear or see anything and I was wasting all my energy trying not to get shoved. My depression was also playing up to the point where I was struggling to get excited over songs I dearly love and I just felt unwell and burnt out all night. The second half was a definite improvement as we’d moved to a calmer area by the time they brought out The Car songs, but by the end I was just exhausted and desperate for home. Would see them again in a heartbeat in a more intimate indoor venue, but I think I’ll avoid any of their big stadium tours in future 😅 

Busted: Honestly, I had a much nicer time at this gig compared to Arctic Monkeys. The nostalgia alone of singing along to ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’ at the top of my lungs is always a special moment. But I can’t pretend for a second that Busted’s music comes anywhere close to the quality of Arctic Monkeys’ recent output, so they’re a very reluctant last place on my list of generally incredible gig experiences 😅 

Best Support Act: Nova Twins by a country mile. I may have fallen slightly in love with Georgia and her incredible bass skills. It was easy to see why Muse invited them on tour because they seemed so at-ease in a massive arena 😊  

Here's to (hopefully) more amazing gigs in 2024! I'd love to hear about some of the great shows that you guys attended this year as well 🥰💖

[reality-wont-ruin-my-life]

who are your favorite queens and why

I’m assuming you’re asking about drag race queens and not like… monarchy queens (of which I don’t really know any)

SO

I have 3 specific queens who occupy a different level of my heart than the rest of them and those queens are:

JAIDA ESSENCE HALL

Jaida is the first queen who captured my heart when I returned to watching drag race a few years back. She’s both very endearingly dumb and incredibly intelligent (what a dichotomy), she promotes black excellence, uses her platform to amplify sociopolitical causes, she’s drop dead gorgeous, and also just such a well rounded talented queen, among so many other good qualities. No matter what other queens come and go, Jaida will always have such a special spot in my heart.

ANETRA

Look if you don’t know by now that I love her that’s on you, I literally have a gigantic tattoo dedicated to her (which she loved!). Plus she’s my profile photo. I was not the only person who fell in love with her during s15 and for good reason, she’s incredible in every way. She’s so talented, so kind, so smart but still silly, doesn’t cause drama or start fights, and is so fucking attractive holy shit. I liked Anetra fine for the first part of the season, and then I watched the lalaparuza when I was drunk and cried at the thought of Anetra potentially going home and also the psychological ramifications of her losing lipsyncs that we all KNOW she won 😤 anyways I love Anetra so much it physically pains me and if you want more on that you can follow me over at @sexynetra and I will scream and cry about her

NICKY DOLL

Now, Nicky is a new addition to this list. I’ve always loved her, don’t get me wrong. She’s gorgeous and silly goofy and did I mention GORGEOUS? But I loved her the level I love other queens who aren’t jaida and Anetra, on a separate lower level. However!!! Did I mention how gorgeous she is? I started watching drag race France so that I would have an excuse to see new Nicky doll looks, and in watching that, I fell more and more in love with her with every episode. Not only is she the prettiest ever, but she’s witty, smart, funny, compassionate, eloquent, and so so so big hearted. She’s so kind and really tries so hard to make drag race France a good experience for the contestants, and I honestly think she was born to host, she’s the best host of any drag race franchise that I’ve watched, bar none.

~~~~~

I love many other queens, and just because they aren’t in my top 3 doesn’t mean they aren’t incredible and I don’t fangirl like crazy over them, but these 3 hold such a special specific place in my heart and I could talk about them for hours on end every single day (and I do over on my drag race side blog 😉 come join me there, it’s a blast)

Also I only listed drag race queens obviously but there’s so many amazing local queens (and kings) that I absolutely adore, and whether or not you enjoy drag race, I highly recommend going out to your local drag shows and seeing what your local scene looks like, because there’s so much more to it than what is shown on tv!

[blogthebooklover]

Movie Recs In Honor of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

I decided to write out a list of movies to watch in honor of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes coming out very soon. This list will feature movies with apes besides the POTA movies, or movies with weird and bizarre friendships/found families.

The Original Planet of the Apes Franchise (1968-1973, Amazon Prime)

Honestly, I've only watched the 1968 movie a handful of times. I decided to watch all of the original franchise leading up to the release of Kingdom. They're all a lot of fun, with social/political commentaries at the time of each film. If you're a movie collector, or like behind-the-scenes/director's commentaries, I highly recommend buying the Blu Ray compilation pack.

2. Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes (2001, Disney+ or Amazon Prime)

I know, hear me out. Yes, it's over-hated, and yes, there was A LOT of potential for this movie. There were definitely too many "cooks in the kitchen" when drafting this movie. Imho, I think it's a guilty pleasure, popcorn movie. If you're a fan of makeup effects, Rick Baker (THE modern makeup effects master) does an absolutely phenomenal job with the designs of the apes in this movie (and check out his Instagram too). I do like the production and the ape costume designs for this film as well.

Tim Roth and Paul Giamatti are such a blast in this movie, too!

And the posters for this movie look so cool.

3. Planet of the Apes Reboot Trilogy (2011-2017, Amazon Prime)

I think this is what the 2001 movie should have been, and was trying to go for. While the three movies did make their money back at the box office, I have two theories why they almost went under everyone's radar (again, this is my opinion):

A. Because of the mixed reception from the 2001 movie.

B. Because of the abundance of comic book & remake movies coming out during the 2011-2017 years.

I put this trilogy right up with the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. The storytelling is great, the special effects hold up well, and this reboot's version of Caesar has became one of my favorite main characters in modern film.

4. Mighty Joe Young (1998 remake, Disney+)

I don't know why this movie doesn't get talked about that much. Rick Baker, once again, does incredible work on the special effects for Joe. There's also a great musical score by James Horner. And Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron give amazing acting performances. And I think it's actually one of the better remakes that came out from the late 1990s.

In fact, the team that worked on the 1933 King Kong also made the 1949 film. Even Robert Armstrong (Carl Denham) came back for the '49 film. Ray Harryhausen worked under the supervision of Willis O'Brien for the special effects for the original movie. He also has a cameo appearance alongside Terry Moore (Jill Young) in a party scene.

Aaaaand I just found out the writers, Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner, also did an uncredited rewrite for the 2001 POTA movie.

5. Tarzan (1999, Disney+)

Of course, who doesn't love Tarzan??? And Phil Collins's A.M.A.Z.I.N.G soundtrack???!!!

6. King Kong (1933, 2005, Amazon Prime/MAX)

Okay, technically it's a giant monster movie and the OG prior to Godzilla. And it also set the standard of film making overall. However, it is also a bit of a Beauty and the Beast story, hence the lines: "It was Beauty killed the Beast" and the "And the prophet said: And lo, the Beast looked upon the face of Beauty. And it stayed its hand from killing. And from that day forward, he was as one dead." I also recommend watching the extended cut of the 2005 remake.

7. Lilo & Stitch (2002, Disney+)

Again, who doesn't love Lilo and Stitch???

8. How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy (2010-2019, Amazon Prime/Peacock App)

Once again, who doesn’t love HTTYD (and why are they remaking it as a live action movie????)???

9. Gorillas in the Mist (1988, Amazon Prime)

This movie is about Dian Fossey (played by Sigourney Weaver), a primatologist who studied mountain gorillas and she was part of a trio of women who studied great apes; the amazing Jane Goodall and her study of chimpanzees, and Birute Galdikas who studies orangutans. The movie is also based on her book of the same name.

I use past tense for Dian, because she met a tragic and horrific death while she was conducting her research on gorillas. I have in-lined a link to Dian Fossey's Wikipedia article for further reading.

Rick Baker, once again, does some amazing practical creature effects work for the gorillas.

10. George of the Jungle (1997, Disney+)

One of my favorite Brendan Fraser movies, and such a fun, and a bit of a campy movie based on the cartoon series (which is also a spoof of Tarzan). I quote this movie every so often. Unfortunately, Rick Baker did not do the ape designs for this movie. The creature effects this time around was done by none other than the Jim Henson Creature Workshop!

[vidreview]

VIDEO ESSAY ROUNDUP #6 [PART 1]

[originally posted august 1st 2024]

at last, it's time for another roundup! things were fairly dry for a minute there. i tend to go through peaks and valleys vis-a-vis video essay consumption, where i'll watch a bunch of them for a few months and then not be able to watch any for a few months after that. this has been especially true as i've been getting back into the habit of making my own scripted essays. did you know i did one about the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials a few months ago? i share this so you can judge for yourself if i know what i'm talking about enough to be worth taking recommendations from. i am a fallible beast, and our tastes are likely not the same! also i'm proud of that video and i'd like you to watch it.

but we're here to talk about other people's work, and let me tell you, the last month and a half has yielded a real bounty. let's jump in.

"Investigating a forgotten Edward Snowden Quote" by Allie Meowy.

edward snowden was a bit of a mystery to me beyond the headlines. all i knew was that he leaked highly classified documents detailing secret mass-surveillance, and that he liked hentai games.

this is one of the funniest, strangest essays i've encountered in years. what happens when the wikipedia page for games based on movies doesn't include Elf: The Movie: The Game for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, and also you happen to discover that Edward Snowden is on the record as liking "some" hentai games? i'm not even sure what this essay ultimately adds up to, but i had such a blast watching it that i honestly don't even care. a wild ride that's well worth your time.

"a pocket full of stones" by Glouder Glens.

i've been thinking about an interview with People's Joker director Vera Drew where she talked about how many young queer artists have relegated themselves to the anti-recognition of youtube. if her film was proof that there's room in the film fest circuit for artfully essayish digital cinema, then we have no choice but to campaign for the incredible works of Sylvia Schweikert, AKA Glouder Glens, to reach a similar level of recognition. if you've yet to encounter its work, Sylvia's half-essay half-werewolf-erotica about it/its pronouns is a classic, but everything on her channel is a gem (not to mention its excellent short films). lately, Sylvia's been experimenting with the form in a big way. her last essay, "Self Discovery Stories," is artfully vertical, a true phone video that digs deep and hits hard. "a pocket full of stones" takes a huge step sideways, rendered in 4:3 at a scalding 360p and edited with a post-adobe-flash Lynch-esque animation style that rockets you back in time to the earliest days of internet video in the best way. what i wouldn't give to see this one on the big screen, i'm telling you. this kind of work simply doesn't have a place on youtube as far as youtube's concerned, so it's up to us as champions of the medium to share widely what the algorithm will not. definitely heed the content warnings though.

"The Miraculous Horror of Stop Motion" by Henry Kathman.

here's a cozy, enthusiastic dive into the often unforeseen externalities of stop-motion animation, that doesn't outstay its welcome or get too sanctimonious. i appreciate Kathman's use of alternate backdrops to give each section its own mood. through three unique and interesting examples of stop motion, he explores how the medium itself is an artform that can't be streamlined through technology the way so many other forms of animation have been-- even just to recreate the feel of stop motion digitally, you still pretty much have to hand animate it with an equivalent amount of brute labor. it's a satisfying analysis, which is unsurprising from the ever-consistent and thoughtful Kathman. and the soundtrack by Molly Noise is, as always, fantastic.

"The Religious Gamification of Indika" by Pim's Crypt.

i watched an essay a couple weeks ago about Indika which heavily criticized it for being boring and overly talkative, that really just convinced me that i wanted to see someone look at the game on its own terms. Pim here does a great job doing exactly that, wasting zero seconds of the universe's limited window of coherence on lip service to the harsh critical consensus in favor of simply examining what Indika says on its own terms. they explore how the complexities of faith are successfully gameified in Indika, making a compelling case for its quality. i've highlighted Pim in a previous roundup, and i'm happy to see them back with another solid work.

"So What's Up With Those PS2 Castlevanias?" by Trans Witch Reviews.

this one's pretty much what it says on the tin. when it comes to analyzing game franchises long-running enough to have titles across multiple console generations, i'm always drawn to essays that dig into the red-headed step-children no one ever really talks about. like the PS2 Castlevania games. i didn't even know they existed until now! granted that's probably because i never owned a Sony console before the ps4, but whatever. like a lot of games with 2D roots, Castlevania seemed to struggle finding its feet in the third dimension, and the historical consensus seems to have largely landed on "the 2D ones were best." i think this Trans Witch makes a very compelling case that at the very least Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is an underrated classic-- enough so, anyway, to make me want to give it a shot. i appreciate how she highlights the music of the series by focusing on the work of specific composers, though i think she lingers on those samples for a bit too long. regardless, this is a well put together essay made with readily apparent enthusiasm, and sometimes that's all you need.

"Why The Ring Didn't Use Color Grading" by WatchingtheAerial.

an astonishingly thorough deep-dive into the very specific in-camera techniques used to give Gore Verbinski's American remake of The Ring its signature blue look. like a lot of people i always assumed this was accomplished with digital color grading, though unlike many detractors i adore The Ring's visual identity and think it's at least as worthwhile a film as its Japanese counterpoint. this is the kind of video essay i adore-- a technician with extensive domain knowledge utilizing resources laypeople wouldn't know about to answer a seemingly simple question at exhaustive and surprising depth. the real kicker here though is that the creator also wants to recreate this technique for themself, all the way up to tracking down the kind of film stock The Ring was shot on and using it in a 35mm stills camera. i immediately went from this video to watch everything else on his (?) channel, and i wasn't disappointed. here's someone who cares a lot about the labor of shaping and lensing light, and the emotional properties these processes bring to a film. "Collateral & the Death of Neon" is SUCH a satisfying watch if you care even a little bit about the visual identity of city streets across history. great stuff all around

[sir-yeehaw-paws]

LAD GAIDEN: Gathered Thoughts

Before I get into this proper, I just want to say that I’m not a professional reviewer or anything. And I’ve never really done a ‘write up’ for any of the RGG games before this. I’m just a dude with some very emotional thoughts. Yadda-Yadda. The best TL’DR of everything I can give? Gaiden is absolutely amazing. It has quickly become one of my favourite RGG games of all time, and I’d like to do a replay when less emotional overall, and Plat it.

Short Sweet: No Spoilers Version

Gaiden was touted (from what I recall) as a little bit of side content to give Kiryu some more context, or possibly something else to do. Instead, we got a short, but incredible game with stellar acting, amazing characters, fantastic writing (some of my favourite RGG writing since 0) and fun mini games, the best version of the Coliseum they’ve managed to do; wonderful sound track, two new styles (Agent Style is an absolute blast) and a finale that left me so emotionally distraught my mum came into my room to hug me when she heard me crying.

If Gaiden has any cons (and again, please keep in mind this is all just my personal opinion) it’s that the side content in regard to substories are mostly tied to content to build up the Joryu Clan in the Coliseum, including a somewhat tiresome gang mechanic. It’s nothing like the slog fest of annoyance Judgment’s was, but I have never been a fan of the gangs in these games and this one was more contained and shorter. Thanks to the game itself being much shorter.

The pacing in the beginning is a little bit odd too. But once the game itself picks up, it hits very well and doesn’t slow itself down.

My only other ‘gripe’ if you can call it that, is that the live action cabaret is uncanny in a way I really did not enjoy. This is not the first time that RGG has done live-action (the intro is live action briefly too, and has a beautiful, seamless transition to Kiryu that I really liked) but the hostesses have a strange stiffness to them as they talk at a camera (Or well, Joryu since it switches out to first person) and I just never adjusted to it. No disrespect to the actresses, or Kson, but I just couldn’t get myself to mesh with it.

Oh, and I found the Karaoke really hard for some reason in this one. Go figure.

And you can dress Kiryu up, which renders fully in game and in cutscenes. Greatest. Mechanic. Ever. And I’m just going to put a special shout out to Akame here. One of the most fun characters they’ve done yet. 10/10. Love her.

That’s about as spoiler-free as can be. So, I’ll wrap up this fast summary with ‘highly recommend, check it out if you get a chance’.

Everything below the cut is going to include spoilers, and lots of them. Screenshots too, as well as links. (Including for Yakuza 5, 6 and 7 in particular) so if you want to read me rambling for far too long, keep going. Otherwise, take care!

--

Extensive Thoughts Version

I’ve been trying best to think about how to put down everything I want to say, but I can never quite agree (mentally) on the best way to put it. The summary version up top does say it all, in a way, but Gaiden was so much more than it promised. And in a good way.

I’m one of those people who came out of playing Yakuza 6 feeling a weird mix of hollow and annoyed. For a supposed ending to Kiryu, so much just felt utterly unsatisfying and I was irritated (again a personal thing) with how Yakuza 6 felt like some weird Haruka punishment. I realize completely that this is all a personal interpretation; but 6 just did not sit well with me.

It remains the only Yakuza game I have yet to replay.

I guess one could ask ‘did we need Gaiden’? And honestly? I’d say yes, we did. If you’re one of those people who felt as annoyed with 6 as I did, and (let’s be honest) a little thrilled but also somewhat stumped by Kiryu diving into 7 to have his cameo and ‘day saving’ appearance and vanish again.

But I don’t want to ramble too much, this is already going to be longer than something anyone wants to read on Tumblr. So let me conclude by saying this game completely patched up the ‘meh’ feeling 6 left with me, and mentally wrecked me in the process.

In a good way.

Gaiden’s real strength is it’s writing. The characters have that grittiness and desperation that drew me in so hard to Yakuza 0. They feel like the Yakuza I know from these games, and that energy carries through every scene. There’s a greyness to them that is extremely well done, and anyone who follows me knows how much I love my morally grey characters.

(For those who do not know jack shite all about me; I love them. I love my grit and grey morality a lot). Anyway!

On the title screen, you’re presented with four characters. Kiryu (ahem, Joryu). Nishitani III, Tsuruno and Shishido.

It’s sleek, elegant and draws you right in. Also gives you a good clue as to what lies ahead (in a way). But I’m going to be coming back to that, so let me move on for a moment.

To keep this as contained as I can, I’m going to link to a post write up I did for a scene in chapter two. That summarizes to a degree what I really loved about this writing. Like 0, you are never 100% sure who is on Kiryu’s side. Or. More accurately, who is going to stay there. Tsuruno starts out the same way the others do. Kiryu can cooperate, or they can attack Morning Glory. Or he can kill Hanawa. Kiryu is often presented in Gaiden with choices that aren’t exactly choices. But that’s hardly new.

Same is true of Hanawa. But as it pans out, both of them stay firmly on Kiryu’s side after certain points. Hanawa’s loyalty is secured when Kiryu saves his life; and Tsuruno gives up fighting the stubborn wall that is Kiryu’s loyalty (if loyalty by complete necessity) to the Daidoji.

The Daidoji are something else that is done better here than in 6 as well. In 6, they kind of had this boogeyman in the shadows element that made so little sense until they have their reveal in the ending and take over Kiryu’s uh..non life? After he is forced to fake his death and go under their control. (They are also funding Morning Glory, a fact they remind him of any chance they get, and the hit squad on it remains until chapter 2 and Kiryu makes the deal with the Boss). The observation itself doesn’t cease completely, however.

As we’ll see in the ending.

But one of Gaiden’s real strengths, IMO anyway, is the characters. Gaiden’s story is built around them the same way any RGG game is, but in a way that is representative of the story itself too. Kiryu’s job in this game is to assist Watase in the dissolution of the Yakuza. Watase (from prison) is fully aware this is not going to go well, and rallying assistance is the only way they can even hope for it going off without too much of a body count.

One of the biggest hurdles in achieving this is the existence of Nishitani III. An ex-Jingweon mafia member who eventually revitalized the Kijin clan and became its patriarch. As well as taking up the Homare Nishitani mantle. In previous games, I’ve found they sort of shoehorn in the Jingweon when it seems convenient, but I think it works well enough here. It isn’t dwelled upon all that long, and it’s decently believable for a backstory.

Is giving Nishitani III a personal grudge against Kiryu necessary for the role he serves here? No clue to be honest. But it’s no gripe and it doesn’t impact the story all that much. The issue at hand is that Nishitani III is (in Watase’s eyes) one of the people who won’t accept a dissolution, and they want him out of the way. Eliminate Nishitani and the biggest dissenter is out of the picture.

I touched on it in this post here, but the TL’DR of all this, is that they are not at all correct in this assessment.

(I should mention Hanawa’s arc here, but I’m going to save it for a bit later). Instead, I want to get my thoughts out on the final boss of the game. As the real issue is not just Nishitani III, but Shishido.

Shishido’s story is that, at the age of 15 his father sold him to the Kijin clan as a slave to amend his own massive debts. A fact that is shown in a flashback where he’s collared and chained up, forced into playing Russian Roulette, amongst whatever other established horrors Nishitani III can come up with. (Nishtiani’s thing is the beautiful, ostentatious Castle. A boat of every element of sin, debauchery, and pleasure you can think of. Including gambling, human slaves, the coliseum and of all things, the place you can dress Kiryu up in his funky outfits).

Shishido is an amazing fucking character.

(I ran out of image space but his character design absolutely fucks too)

He has fast become one of my favourites, and it’s no surprise. His set-up for being the final boss isn’t made immediately obvious but over the game you notice him following the general formula for it, (see this ask I got here for more details if you’re so inclined) and boy is the payoff so worth it.

Shishido climbed his way up and up in the pursuit of survival. Anything the man has to his name he earned through very literal blood, sweat and tears. Shishido is young, but he is very much a Yakuza of the old. A fact that is commented on by Kiryu in game. It’s no mean feat either to from slave to Watase Family Lieutenant, with the man’s physical history is written all over his face.

(And I adore him. But that’s hardly important for a review eh 😉)

In the games final chapter, we learn that Shishido is against the dissolution of the Yakuza, and considers Watase, Tsuruno, Kiryu and any other traitors. Shishido is the embodiment of what Watase was so concerned about in the first place; a Yakuza who has known no other life and has no way assimilating into the world without it. Not to mention, Shishido feels he earned his place in this world. Why should he have the rug he worked so hard to install ripped out from under him?

He’s not wrong to believe this; and the others around him don’t think that he is either. The issue is that the world is moving on without them. Everything Shishido worked for doesn’t matter when that ending is coming; and there is so little they can do to change or stop it. Shishido might’ve thrived in the old days; but the modern world doesn’t have a place for him.

With this being a tie-in game, we know this is a foregone conclusion. We know the days of the Yakuza as they once were are well and truly over. But that doesn’t lessen the impact Shishido has at all. I made a comment to myself in the recorded playthrough (I recorded the finale but it’s a blubbering disaster, so I doubt I’ll post it) that “Shishido fights like a dying man”, in the endgame.

Or, as Saejima more accurately puts it “He’s like a cornered animal right now.” But having a little bit of time on my hands to reflect (well somewhat, I just finished the game yesterday after all, at the time of posting this). I think Kiryu does in a way to.

The final boss battle is a recreation of the Aizawa fight in Yakuza 5. Shishido has 4 phases and 12 health bars. And just like Yakuza 5, it’s amazing. With Kiryu fighting him through the Omi Headquarters until he’s kicked right out of the building. My words don’t’ do it justice, and it’s absolutely the kind of thing one has to play (or watch) for themselves.

When Shishido is defeated, he is grabbed and choked unconscious by the Daidoji Agent Yoshimura (who I took to calling ‘diet Jingu’ because he fights with a gun and runs away from you like a lil bitch-and was the one who left Hanawa to die and tried to kill Kiryu for trying to save him). Who then throws Shishido in his trunk to be a future “Daidoji Agent on a very short leash.” To bunk with Nishitani…his old Master. And the one Shishido worked so hard to get his life away from. I have no idea if this is going to be touched upon in future games like Infinite Wealth, but it hit me like a train.

The Yakuza is over, but Shishido isn’t. And this leads us right into the finale. Which.

This mother fucking goddamned sob fest finale.

I touched upon it here. But I just. Can’t do it justice with words. I don’t think that I ever will. Kuroda’s acting in this is unlike anything I’ve witnessed, and it’s amazing. He’s not just sobbing; he is breaking down completely and heaving over a tablet of his kids visiting his grave. With Ayako and Taichi noticing they’re being monitored and assuming their Uncle Kaz (who none of the kids believe to be dead, btw) is watching them. So, they begin talking. Updating him on their lives, where they are now etc.

Taichi is a firefighter, for example. Yuta is still around. Haruto is an adorable handful, and overall, they assure him that they’re all doing really well. They promise to come back tomorrow with a gift. Hanawa explains they had to remove the camera after that..but they did take photo of the gift the kids left behind.

Kiryu has been vulnerable in the past, but this is something completely unique. He’s broken, alone, and in all respects, a dead man who can’t have the one thing he cares about more than anything in the world. His kids are growing up, and trying to maintain their lives without him, but they feel the big gaping hole left behind by his larger-than-life and fatherly presence more than ever. And god I’m going to tear up writing this.

A drawing Haruto did of the family.

A drawing Kiryu (amidst his utter flood of tears-and mine) turns to show off to Hanawa to brag like the proud, sad grandpa he is. Hanawa questions if this ‘gift’ was just cruelty, but Kiryu promises him that it wasn't. It’s agonizing. It’s through all this that Kiryu admits, possibly for the first time in his entire life, that he is lonely, and that he realizes he needed his kids more than they needed him.

And we know, of course, that by Yakuza 8, Kiryu is deathly ill, and still for all circumstances; alone. Away from the kids eternally. Unless they make some change to that. I cannot stress enough how little justice my words do here. I really can’t. Kiryu may not have been the perfect father, or grandfather. He has made a lot of mistakes in his life, and his tendency to run off to solve problems on his own unfortunately translated to his daughter, Haruka.

Bu goddamnit I can’t say that he didn’t try.

It is clear as day how much he loves these kids. And misses them. No, he wasn’t perfect. Yes, he made a lot of mistakes, but he tried. And he can never see them again even though they know he is out there somewhere and ho man ho boy I can’t.

Remember how I mentioned above that I’d touch on Hanawa? I’ve chosen the finale to do so, because Hanawa and the Head Priest are the only ones who can share this moment with Kiryu. Kiryu also reveals to Hanawa that he kept Yumi’s ring and admits that his inability to be honest with his feelings kept him from confessing and proposing to her.

“Until she was dying in my arms.”

Man, I need tissues. Again. Hanawa is Kiryu’s handler (for lack of a better term) but he very much becomes a friend throughout the game. He’s ruthless. He’s dangerous, but their relationship is an interesting one and I found myself appreciating it a lot.  He doesn’t seem like all that much from the beginning, but their bond is a good one; and over the course of the game Hanawa opens up in small ways and throws Kiryu bones where they are the least expected.

He's eternally loyal to the Daidoji and makes very difficult choices (and threatens Morning Glory in Chapter 2, only backing down when Kiryu submits again) but like I said in the link above, I actually believe him when he says he really doesn’t want to be doing this.

Doesn’t change the fact that he’s doing it, mind. But it’s good writing. It’s really good writing. I love this game. And then as Kiryu sets out for his (much needed vacation) Hanawa gives him a new temporary identity.

Taichi Suzuki. To which Kiryu is like "Oh. I've used that before. Didn't tell any of you though..?"

Now, I’d like to point out here that Hanawa shares the same VA as Yu Morinaga from Yakuza 5; Hiroki Tochi. This on its own really wouldn’t mean much. RGG has done this sort of thing many times before. Shared VAs throughout the series is normal.

BUT.

There are some heavy context clues that seem to heavily imply that this is, indeed, Morinaga.

I cannot possibly confirm this 100% of course, but there’s other clues dropped in the ending that really make you wonder.

I think it works.

Which is such a fascinating little idea. The kind of thing that could really feel ham-fisted; but if it is indeed the case here?

But we’ll see.

This is already way too long a write up, but I want to make a final note on Kiryu here. Kiryu in this game is something to behold. He’s miserable, he’s tired, and he’s truly a dead man walking. “The Man Who Erased His Name.” indeed. Sure, everyone sees through his fake identity in seconds, but that doesn’t change the fact that Kiryu is locked into this role for good.

Who he is who he might want to be. The people he cares about. He can’t touch them. He can’t do any of that. Kiryu is sassy and ‘done with everyone’s shit’ in Yakuza 5, and that same energy is carried over into this. He has some truly biting ‘IDGAF’ moments, and in the most ‘gangster’ we ever see him (taking over the Castle from Nishitani) it’s both a great window into how he might’ve been as the chairman of the Tojo, and a man who is already dead and miserable, so what does he have to lose?

(I swear I had a better way of putting this..and the internally selfish part of me kinda loved and adored that moment even though I know he’s in pain so uh. Bah, make of that what ya will).

To conclude, Gaiden’s a wonderful game. No game is perfect, and there’s no way this is all my thoughts on it (as I said, I’m still extremely emotional). But it’s everything I didn’t know I wanted, and a fantastic ride.

If you’ve read this far, thanks for coming along for the ride! I hope you enjoy this game as much as I did!

And I'm gonna cry again. Help.

[vampireclub7]

You’re probably at the Enha concert right now, or maybe you saw them yesterday (too?) Please, please tell us about it when you get the chance!

***

I'm still high!

10/10 experience and I highly recommend seeing them live. I saw them on both days and the boys absolutely killed it.

The setlist opener is Drunk Dazed and there's nothing quite like hearing the heavy club bass of that song blasting in speakers throughout the hazy, blood red arena. It instantly transports you out of your body and into the gothic, vampy set.

Heeseung's vocals are criminally underrated but I do think he could be more confident in his delivery later on in the concert, Jungwon dances like there are explosives in his body, Jay and Jake's guitar cover was super sweet, Sunoo wrecked the hell outta me, and Sunghoon and Ni-ki's dance chemistry is solidified as one of my favourite things about them after this show.

The crowd surprised me with how loud and on point the fan chants were. The weather was rainy and shitty but people were ordered and respectful going into the arena (less so coming out but that's typical lol). Screamed myself hoarse and I'm only just getting my voice back.

I'd do it all again honestly. One of the best concert experiences I've had in years and I say this as someone who had mid expectations going in. I wanted to be wowed and in fact, I was. I am. Enhypen gave a hell of a performance two nights in a row and have earned a solid fan in me.

It's hard to believe they're just a 3 year old group because they performed just as good as, if not better than, many of their older 4th gen peers I've seen live.

@susanraines, thank you for the ask. I really hope you get the opportunity to experience their concerts to see for yourself.

[moviewarfare]

A Review of “Godzilla Minus One (2023)”

Godzilla Minus One is a standalone Godzilla movie from Japan. It brings the franchise back to its roots where Godzilla is a monstrous force of nature, an allegory of war. While I do love the Western Monsterverse franchise, it is mostly for seeing Godzilla or Kong fight another giant monster. The writing and characters have never been a highlight in that universe. Does Godzilla Minus One deliver more than the Monsterverse?

Firstly, Godzilla's design is spectacularly frightening, his roar is menacing and his heat rays are some of the best and most impactful blasts I've seen from Godzilla. Every Godzilla action set piece is terrifying and tense. I love how these sequences are filmed from a human perspective, so we get to truly see the scale and how dangerous Godzilla is. The music score by Naoki Sato is phenomenal! His subtle orchestral score compliments the scene and illustrates the pain and struggles that Japanese people in WW2 went through. He then uses a strong powerful orchestral score for Godzilla to show how he is bringing back the pain again. His use of the Godzilla theme is effective every time. The visuals and cinematography look great while the CGI can be a bit wonky sometimes, for the most part, it looks good. Especially for Godzilla who looks awesome. It is honestly astounding how good this film looks for a movie under a $15 million budget.

What this film succeeds at in comparison to Western Godzilla movies, is having compelling human characters that you truly care about. The characters are all suffering in some way from World War 2, whether it is PTSD or loss. You're watching these characters try to overcome and push through this dark period. The camaraderie and family dynamic is at the core of all the characters and it is extremely touching to watch. I was especially rooting for the main character to get development just because I wanted to see him be happy. That is why for the first time, I was rooting for Godzilla to lose as I didn't want to see our characters get hurt. I also love how the story doesn't shy away from the negative aspects of Japan's government during WW2. The human drama is wonderfully engaging and can even tug at the emotional strings which is such an achievement in a Godzilla movie.

Overall, Godzilla Minus One is not only a terrific Godzilla movie, it's an amazing movie period. This movie shows that you can tell a great story with great characters and still have Godzilla as a major element. Not only that, you can still make a great looking movie with good CGI on a low budget. The CG in this movie looks better than a lot of these western movies with 200 or 300 million budgets. Godzilla Minus One is must watch and I highly recommend going to a theatre near you to experience it in all its glory!

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