#i can’t stop thinking about it especially with the summer episode teaser

[peachringbongjuice]

the way rickfuckers treat rick as our helpless little babygirl as if he couldn’t kill us in a million different ways instantly

[fy-wonwoo]

2022 SEVENTEEN  MOMENT: Original Content -> Staff pick “WONWOO’s Diary”

Why “WONWOO’s Diary” is SEVENTEEN’s best episode of the year

Yi Yunju (PLEDIS Marketing 1 team head): I think the “WONWOO’s Diary” episode of GOING SEVENTEEN was something only SEVENTEEN could ever pull off. The whole thing was made possible thanks to their sense of humor and their trustworthy acting skills. The members usually always pull GOING SEVENTEEN along, but their short skits and fake documentaries like “WONWOO’s Diary” are especially improvised, so there’s more raw fun. We have a teaser series for GOING SEVENTEEN called GGOYO-ILER, and in the teaser for this episode, WONWOO was dressed in summer clothes. But it was an intentionally misleading teaser. (laughs) We worked extra hard to make it impossible to guess from the preview what happens in the actual episode since it’s full of extraordinary characters.

They are SEVENTEEN

Yi Yunju: The whole structure of the episode was based on what the members improvised. We just gave them a general outline and the rest is all thanks to their skills. Now they don’t even feel flustered if we just, you know, throw them into a random situation. (laughs) I think the highlight is when Yoon Nieun (JEONGHAN) and Jo Giyeok (JOSHUA) are on-screen together. Previous episodes of GOING SEVENTEEN showed JEONGHAN to be a strategist and a master of mind games, while JOSHUA’s been painted as someone who very occasionally can’t hide his crazy side. We expected them to be a duo of handsome, lazy bums, but they did even better with their characters than expected. One of them stops in the middle of washing their hair and says things like, “You want? (Do you want to wash your hair?)” and, “Look Tho (You look like Thomas).” We never expected them to say such iconic lines. They really took abbreviations to a new level. Whenever we shoot the show, it never goes as expected. (laughs)

Behind the scenes of “WONWOO’s Diary”

Yi Yunju: You can see in “WONWON’s Diary” that there’s so many different kinds of people living in the town of Seong-ri, and they all have the same goal, which is to be on National Singing Contest. I think it can be seen as a metaphor for the way the 13 members of SEVENTEEN are all working toward the same goal together. This episode also showed us how serious fans are about GOING SEVENTEEN. We had absolutely no idea the “WONWOO’s Diary” episode would end up spawning a spooky story about Sevong-ri. It was fun to see them coming up with their own analysis that went beyond the content itself. S.COUPS was originally supposed to be a scarecrow who protects Sevong-ri, actually. He was going to be this scarecrow who’s everywhere in the town and so he knows all of its secrets. Seeing how popular the spooky story became makes me wonder what the episode would’ve been like if he had ended up playing that character after all.

GOING UNIVERSE

Yi Yunju: One of our goals is to create a big fictional universe that exists solely inside GOING SEVENTEEN. We want the episodes to connect in a way that the memes and characters from one episode carry over into the next ones. Fans really liked the character Fe Turin (DINO) when he first appeared at the group’s fan meeting, CARAT LAND, in a video called What on Earth. I always thought it was a shame to just let go of the character and “WONWOO’s Diary” was the perfect opportunity to bring him back. (laughs) And it isn’t just Fe Turin—there’s also the song “Zero Step” as sung by Jo Eulho (HOSHI), which is like an early version of “One Step,” a song Dan Dara (DK) and Hong Heungho (HOSHI) sang in another CARAT LAND video titled “Boo Drop Guru.” In the case of “Zero Step,” HOSHI was on set and trying to figure out what would be a good song to sing. Seeing as Jo Eulho’s a trot singer, it was a perfect fit, so that’s what we ended up going with. Fe Turin even made an appearance during their latest stadium tour (laughs) and I hope we can have more chances to take the fun things that get their start in the GOING UNIVERSE and give them to the fans.

What to expect next from GOING SEVENTEEN

Yi Yunju: The group members and the staff are always working to make sure GOING SEVENTEEN is always full of laughs without crossing the line. The members get fully immersed in each episode but they never say or do anything that would hurt each other. I think people naturally get a look into the real teamwork SEVENTEEN has by watching the show because they’re always so considerate. It’s amazing that there’s so many fans of GOING SEVENTEEN that there’s even a whole separate fandom, CUBIC, and we’re so grateful for that. I feel sorry that we couldn’t make as many episodes toward the end of the year since things are getting busy again with the endemic phase approaching. We’ll be back with a refreshed and more diversified GOING SEVENTEEN next year, so I hope everyone’s looking forward to it!

source

[drunkkenobi]

Welcome to the final spreadsheet update of 2021(!). Truly can’t believe this year is almost over for many reasons. Also can’t believe Watcher is about to entire its third year! Time flies when you start a company in the middle of a global pandemic, huh?

Anyway! Here’s a quick snapshot of the last few weeks for Watcher, viewcounts wise. The big omission is the Ghost Files teaser trailer. I’ve never tracked a trailer’s views before so it felt weird to add it to the ol’ spreadsheet, but I decided to take a screenshot of it every Monday for a few weeks at least. It’s at 784k today, making it one of their fastest growing videos ever. (although 600k came in the first 5 days or so, so it was slowed down since then)

Other observations:

The Decoding Gen-Z video is doing REALLY well, especially for being a one-off and presumably cheap to make. I know Watcher doesn’t like to make a lot of typical YouTube clickbait fare, preferring series over videos, but I think these one-offs are a good idea going forward. Something light and easy between series! Plus it was very funny. Thanks for the beaver shoutout, Bergmeister.

This season of TMS did very well! Even better than the summer one. I’ll be curious to see how often they bring this show back in the future. It can fit in anytime during the year, but maybe they’ll keep it for December? Also, will Steven return? For the love of god, please come back Steven.

I am amused and puzzled that Watcher released a year in review last week instead of holding it for this week but sure, why not.

Simu’s episode of DG is only about 100k away from being the most watched Watcher video. Can the Dancing Plague hold him off? We shall see.

I said awhile ago that I wanted to find out what the most watched Watcher series was so I’m going to do that, under the cut. But before I do, a programming note! I’m going to stop recording Watcher videos made before July 9, 2021 weekly and go to recording them monthly. (Everything posted from Making Watcher 2 forward will still get recorded weekly.) There are just so many videos now and many of the 2020 ones don’t significantly gain views to make it feel worth my while. In July, I started a second spreadsheet because the first one was too unwieldy, so that’s why I’m choosing that cut-off. Frankly, I’d wanted to start this earlier, but I wanted to wait until the end of the year, felt like a good stopping place. I don’t think this will make a big difference in my posts over here, but figured I’d let y’all know. <3

Okay, first up, Watcher currently has 139,122,449 views over 168 videos, which averages to ~828,110 views per video! This is way up since I last checked this.

Now for shows! Note that I’m only going to do the shows listed on Watcher’s youtube about page: Puppet History, Are You Scared, Too Many Spirits!, Dish Granted, Top 5 Beatdown, Tourist Trapped, Weird and/or Wonderful World, Homemade, Making Watcher. (But not TT or MW because there is only one episode of the former and only 2 of the latter.)

Puppet History has ~40,945,000 views over 26 episodes, which averages to be 1,574,807 views per episode.

Are You Scared? has ~27,321,000 views over 24 episodes, averaging to ~1,138,375 views per episode.

Too Many Spirits has ~20,535,000 views over 16 episodes for 1,283,437 views per episode.

Dish Granted has ~11,354,000 views over 10 episodes for 1,135,400 views per ep. Fun fact, if I take out the sponsored mayo video they did this spring, the average jumps up to 1,216,111 views for regular episodes.

Top 5 Beatdown has ~7,380,000 views over 10 episodes for 738,000 views per episode. As one of the more inconsistent Watcher shows, it’s hard to call this a true average. I am FASCINATED to find out how well this show does in January, since they’ll be back in person. Fingers crossed.

Weird and/or Wonderful World has 8,103,000 views over 9 episodes for an average of 900,333 views per episode. WWW is on hiatus until the world is less on fire, which I am sympathetic to, but c’mon Watcher. Please?

Homemade has 2,753,000 views over 4 episodes for 688,250 views per episode. Another hiatus show, for understandable reasons, but I’m glad Watcher has faith in it to come back someday and keep it on the About page.

So! Puppet History is their most popular show, as I expected. I was really unsure what would be second, though, so this was a fun exercise. Also, I used my recorded viewcounts, which are rounded down, so these are all extremely approximate numbers. Also also, it’s possible I fucked up the math somewhere. Hopefully I didn’t, but you know. It’s the Monday after Christmas.

Thank you as always for reading! Y’all leave SUCH nice comments on these posts, it really warms my heart. I’m just glad my obsession with trying to figure out YouTube has an audience. I hope y’all have a safe and happy new year!

[becomewings]

The Most Beautiful Moment in Life <I’M FINE>

     BTS Universe Story Highlights, pt. 1 / 4

» pt. 2

Introduction

BTS Universe Story, a mobile game published by Netmarble, was released on September 24, 2020. While the majority of the app is essentially a sandbox and engine for users to create their own interactive stories, it also includes official and canon BU content. The first eight segments were introduced between the release date and December 2020, gathered under the title The Most Beautiful Moment in Life <I’M FINE>.

“I’m Fine” is half of the I’m Fine/Save Me ambigram introduced in the Love Yourself era. Notably, all of the BU content available in the game so far falls between events of the webtoon Save Me (also called HYYH0 in its logo) and The Notes 1—chronologically, that is, while bearing in mind that time resets to the morning of 11 April Year 22 whenever SeokJin fails to avert a tragedy among his six friends. I want to assure anyone who is unable to play the game that you are not missing any new, major plot beats from the overall BU narrative. Instead, the stories provide more insight into the motivations and consequences of SeokJin’s decisions in the earlier time loops, as well as more depth to individual characters and their circumstances.

The goal of this guide is to summarize each of the eight stories and highlight noteworthy details, especially if they are not yet present in other BU media. Within each story (which I often refer to as an arc, due to their character-focused nature), episodes must be played successively, but the stories themselves can be played in any order. I will present them over a series of posts in the order they are listed under the <I’M FINE> heading. The Prologue and NamJoon’s arc are free to play; the rest are paid content. Please note that due to the app’s Terms & Conditions, I will not include in-game footage here. The images in this guide are sourced from the official trailers/videos and the live action MVs as appropriate.

Content warning: contains references to death, suicide, suicidal ideation, child abuse, domestic violence, blood, homicide, depression, trauma, PTSD

This guide contains major spoilers and includes references to other BU media

Do not repost, copy, or quote without permission

Game Mechanic

Before diving into the summaries, I would like to address the primary mechanic of the game: the user’s control of character choices at designated moments in the stories. It’s a primary marketing point that the player can influence the progression of the narrative, with a frequent in-app tip also declaring, “stories’ endings can vary depending on your choices.” The latter is not strictly true—and it cannot be true due to the structure of the game. Choices are presented within most (not all) episodes, but each episode is an isolated unit: episode 2 provides the same content regardless of what you choose in episode 1. Since the consequences of your decisions are not cumulative, each episode reaches the same ending, and each decision inevitably rejoins the “main” story path (effectively reducing the script size).

So what is the point of this mechanic? While the system is not nearly as complex as what major platform titles are capable of nowadays (I suspect due in large part to the story creation portion of the game), it does foster a sense of interaction with the narrative that isn’t present in static visual media like comics or film. The episodes with choices also have incentive for replay to discover the impact of changing a character’s dialogue or action. Sometimes the differences between the outcomes are inconsequential, but other times you unearth new details, interactions, or memories that are missing in the other path.

I say this partially in reaction to all of the comments and tweets I read for the game trailers and even Smeraldo Book twitter’s choose-your-own-adventure style teasers with The Notes 2 excerpts released last summer. Many users expressed excitement, through words or memes, about finally being able to give the boys the happy ending they deserved. I don’t fault anyone for wanting that happy ending—I wish for it, too. But no matter what the rather overzealous marketing has claimed, I don’t believe that the canon ending of BU is ever meant to be in the audience’s control. But I do feel that this mechanism fits the BU narrative. It echoes the “countless loops” SeokJin has experienced in an effort to save his friends, the choices he must make at every crossroad, and the butterfly effect those actions have on all of their lives. I think it is reasonable to interpret the simple branching paths in the game as alternatives SeokJin has explored across multiple loops in his struggle to find the “right” way forward. I’d love to hear if you have theories of your own!

Prologue

The prologue is a brief episode introducing SeokJin’s repeated struggle and failure to save his friends. He wakes up yet again in his bed on 11 April Year 22, the beginning of the time loop. After reflecting on the tragedies that keep befalling the others, SeokJin realizes that he has only tried to fix the problems he can see. He wonders: “Have I tried to understand the root of my friends’ misfortunes? How much do I really know about my friends? Maybe I was never brave enough to confront their real scars and the worlds they’ve been living in. But I need to do it. Because it may be the key to saving them all.”

How to Offer a Hand

In this story, SeokJin attempts to prevent NamJoon’s arrest after he gets in a fight with a rude customer at Naeri Gas Station, his place of work. The first episode opens on the night of 11 April Year 22 with NamJoon curling his fists, glaring as crumpled bills lie untouched on the pavement. (The money looks similar to the shot from the I Need U MV.) SeokJin reaches for his shoulder, but NamJoon shrugs him off and strides away to punch the customer who deliberately dropped the bills for him to pick up. The gas station owner runs over at the customer’s furious shouts and orders NamJoon to apologize. He refuses, and police officers soon arrive and charge him with assault. No one listens to SeokJin’s protests that the customer started it first. The man sneers as NamJoon enters the police car. “Do you even have money for a settlement? Hey, you’re done for.” NamJoon is sentenced to prison again, and SeokJin hears glass shattering before the loop resets.

Rising from his bed on the morning of 11 April, SeokJin reflects on his failed efforts so far. He has hit the customer’s car, called for NamJoon in the middle of the incident, and stopped the fight himself, the latter of which caused his friends to avoid him later. The fight has even escalated; the details are unspecified, but the audience is provided an ominous shot of SeokJin speaking to a police officer alone at the scene. NamJoon is not the kind of person who would normally respond to that kind of provocation with his fists. SeokJin realizes that he cannot merely stop the fight but must discover and fix the true cause of it.

With this in mind, SeokJin heads to Naeri Gas Station during the day and tries to engage NamJoon. This is their first time meeting since they both returned to Songju, although SeokJin has experienced it in many loops already. “It’s been a while,” he greets (as he does at the end of the Blood Sweat & Tears Japanese version MV). Before SeokJin can dig deeper in their conversation, NamJoon is called away by his boss. SeokJin enters the small employee break room which serves as NamJoon’s living space when he’s not at the container, hoping to find some clues about his friend’s life. SeokJin locates something bundled in newspapers. If the player chooses to open it, he sees a strange shard of glass inside that may belong to a car or motorcycle headlight. He continues on, finding the book Cosmos by Carl Sagan and a notebook. SeokJin hesitates over the invasion of privacy but decides to read it since he needs all the information that he can gather. The journal entries detail NamJoon’s daily life since returning to Songju: his work at the gas station isn’t too bad despite the occasional rude customer; he purchased a book and hopes to get more in the future; he picked up a second job at a wedding hall to help catch up on bills; his brother NamHyeon got in trouble again, leading to more expenses; and his dad’s health has worsened, with hospital bills after an emergency surgery rising to levels that the family cannot afford. SeokJin knew that NamJoon was the de facto head of household due to his father’s illness but was unaware that it was to this degree. He feels sorry for NamJoon yet is also impressed by his maturity, for NamJoon never writes how difficult his situation is.

NamJoon arrives and asks what SeokJin is doing in the room. If the player chooses to answer “reading” instead of “just sitting there,” SeokJin privately observes that the conversation flows more easily when they talk about books. NamJoon says he must leave and declines when SeokJin offers to wait for him there. SeokJin knocks over a pile of books along with money and receipts as he stands. He thinks it is unusual that NamJoon picks up the books before the money. The books seem to be more than a hobby to NamJoon, holding special meaning. Walking to his car, SeokJin wonders if it is pride or determination not to falter that keeps NamJoon from journaling his grievances. He realizes that money is a constant source of frustration and misery to NamJoon, and that’s why he can’t stomach being insulted over the customer’s dropped money. SeokJin’s new plan is to prevent NamJoon from picking up the money. He also calls Palgok County Hospital and offers to pay the patient bill for NamJoon’s father. Anticipating that NamJoon will be angry if he finds out, SeokJin says the payer is Songho Foundation.

That night, SeokJin returns to the gas station with the excuse that he forgot to fill up earlier. The luxury car arrives with a honk, and NamJoon hurries over to assist. He shakes with anger when the customer drops the money on the ground. “Why aren’t you picking it up? You don’t want it? What’s with that look? Pretty arrogant for a part-timer, aren’t you?” goads the customer. SeokJin intervenes. Whether the player chooses to have him advise NamJoon not to pick it up or to order the customer to pick it up himself, the end result is the same. SeokJin asks the customer, “Why are you harassing a pitiful part-timer?” The customer drives away, and something about NamJoon seems off. His face is expressionless, not mad or humiliated. “SeokJin, you…” He stops. “Never mind. Thank you for your help.” The words sound difficult for him to speak.

SeokJin believes that he has saved NamJoon, although this ending feels sloppy. He continues on in the loop to rescue JungKook and later YoonGi, but uneasiness plagues him. Though he meant to help NamJoon with his actions, SeokJin wonders if he hurt him instead. On 5 May Year 22, he returns to the gas station and follows NamJoon when he leaves work early. NamJoon enters a bookstore, and SeokJin sneaks in after him to watch from afar. He overhears employees talking about NamJoon, worrying that he might dirty the pages of the book he’s perusing. NamJoon is too absorbed in the book to notice one of them calling for his attention. SeokJin recalls a memory from their school days when he found NamJoon reading alone in their classroom hideout: he asked why NamJoon read so diligently, and his friend explained that he found it comforting to empty his thoughts of everything else while focused on the book. In the present, SeokJin wonders how he forgot how much books mean to NamJoon. He sacrifices some of his food and transportation budget to afford them, but they enable him “to endure the weight of the world he’s forced to bear on his shoulders.” After realizing this, SeokJin wants to apologize for carelessly sympathizing with the reality that NamJoon has weathered alone.

The next episode is from NamJoon’s perspective, revealing his excitement over being able to purchase a book for the first time in two months. He wants to buy two but can only afford one. The employee at the register sighs and asks why he leafed through a book he wasn’t going to buy. NamJoon apologizes, and she mutters, “So dirty.” He notices his reflection, clothes worn and smelling of gasoline, and realizes she’s talking about him, not the book. He tries to shake off these depressing thoughts, but he is still not accustomed to this treatment despite experiencing it regularly at work. As NamJoon begins to exit the store, the security alarm goes off. The employees demand to check his bag despite his insistence that he didn’t steal anything. Their certainty of his theft angers him. NamJoon allows them to look through his bag, and they are suspicious of the like-new book in it which he brought from home. One begins to call the police until SeokJin appears, vouching for NamJoon by saying he saw everything. The employees accept that the alarm malfunctioned and excuse their suspicions as a mistake.

Outside, SeokJin asks NamJoon if he is all right. NamJoon is thankful but wonders how SeokJin materialized right when he needed him. “How’d you find me here?” he asks aloud. SeokJin explains that he happened to notice him while walking through the neighborhood. NamJoon wonders if it’s because they said goodbye on a weird note last time. He thanks him and turns to leave. SeokJin calls after him. “I’m sorry. I wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to upset you that day at the gas station. It was a mistake to have called you pitiful. If my rash actions hurt you, I’m really sorry.” NamJoon accepts his apology, believing it to be sincere, and says that things would have turned out a lot worse if SeokJin had not intervened. Thunder rolls overhead, and NamJoon uses the impending rain as his excuse to depart. He declines SeokJin’s offer of a ride and runs home, feeling his friend’s eyes on him.

Before he can settle down to read at home, NamJoon receives a call from his cheerful mother. She thanks him for paying off the entire hospital bill. NamJoon is perplexed and asks what’s on the receipt, since he didn’t pay it. His mother wants to leave it be, but he insists that they investigate so they don’t get in trouble or sued. She reads that the Songho Foundation is credited as the payer. NamJoon calls the hospital, introducing himself as the guardian for Kim YoungMin, but they can’t transfer him to the administrative department at this time. Disappointed, he looks up the foundation’s website, unable to recall why it sounds familiar. He wonders why a scholarship foundation in the city would get involved with him. Spotting photos of a recent launch ceremony on the site, he recognizes a few people: Songju High School’s principal, the familiar-looking face of the foundation’s chairman, and SeokJin. First, NamJoon forces a laugh, and then it’s difficult for him to breathe. He thinks that SeokJin really had pitied him at that moment. The only thing keeping NamJoon going is the idea of getting through life on his own strength. Why does he have to live like this?

The last episode opens on 5 May back in SeokJin’s perspective. He is confident now that he has saved NamJoon, although it occurs to him that a better alternative may have been to simply pick up the money himself instead of stepping forward. (This decision is enacted in a later loop and depicted in the Euphoria MV.) While reflecting on what comes next to save his other friends, he receives a text from NamJoon. “What’s your account number? I’ll pay you back for the hospital bills. I don’t need your help. I’ll handle my concerns on my own.” Heart sinking, SeokJin wonders how he found out. With a sense of foreboding, he tries calling NamJoon, but no one answers. SeokJin texts him back, pretending that he doesn’t understand, and tells NamJoon to call him. SeokJin’s second attempt connects while he’s gathering his car keys to visit the container. “That’s enough. Just send the account number over text,” NamJoon instructs. SeokJin coaxes him to talk for a moment, and NamJoon asks flatly, “Are you going to apologize again?” SeokJin attempts to salvage the situation, but his friend turns cold when he insists that NamJoon is misunderstanding and that he just wanted to help. “So, why? Why are you helping me?! Yeah, you’re always a good person. You’ve done nothing wrong and I’m the one misunderstanding.” SeokJin apologizes again. NamJoon refuses his request to meet in person. “No, I thought maybe there was a reason for everything you did… But I guess I misconstrued it. I’ll pay you back, so I’d prefer if you stopped contacting me.” Long after the call ends, SeokJin stands holding his phone, feeling that the glass is going to break at any moment. He wants to believe that it’s not over, but hope is slipping through his fingertips.

The episode finishes in NamJoon’s perspective. On 8 May and 9 May, he accepts part-time delivery work and reflects on his three jobs. Whenever he thinks he’s at his breaking point, he focuses on his new goal of returning SeokJin’s money. On 10 May, NamJoon wakes up to his buzzing phone and is called in to work. On a scooter, he passes by a bus stop and notices graffiti. (This is the same bus stop, with matching graffiti, that appears in the Highlight Reel.) Mesmerized, he wonders if it’s TaeHyung’s. As soon as NamJoon looks up, the scooter’s brake fails, and he crashes. The shattered glass on the cold pavement reminds him of the headlight shard and the kid who looked like TaeHyung. (So the piece of glass SeokJin saw in April was really a memento NamJoon retrieved from the scene of the crash in the mountain town, where the delivery boy whom he privately called TaeHyung died. This event is described in NamJoon’s 17 December Year 21 entry in The Notes 1.) NamJoon’s vision grows blurry, and the distant sound of an ambulance doesn’t come any closer.

The arc concludes there, but it obviously marks another reset for SeokJin. It is interesting to note that in this failed loop, NamJoon suffers the same fate that he narrowly avoided in the snowy mountain town before returning to Songju.

Please stay tuned for the next Highlights post featuring JungKook and YoonGi!

[blysse-and-blunder]

In lieu of a commonplace book

In the nearly-a-decade I’ve had this blog, I’ve reblogged a metric fuckton of posts and created or shared very little of my own content. I’ve been inspired to change that, a little by the pandemic, a little by studyblrs like @sleepanon, and probably the most by internet-friend @girlfriendsofthegalaxy—whose weekly-roundup format I am going to lovingly rip off. I’ve consulted her and have her blessing, so without further ado...!

saturday, dec 26 @ 9:37pm

reading I’m trying desperately to finish Dorothy Dunnett’s The Game of Kings before libby yoinks it off my phone for the nth time. historical fiction set in 16th cen Scotland. this novel has so much about it that I crave, e.g. delicious vocabulary (that seems to be a blend of early modern Scottish terms for things, and just bonkers esoteric SAT words), a suavely unknowable and unpredictable antihero protag, and some entertaining dialogue—this series should be my catnip! but there’s so much oblique Plotting and Misdirection, and reading it before bed over the course of the last few months has meant I can’t really keep track of who anyone is, ever. The last 10% of the book has a lot of exposition and tying up loose ends, in the form of a trial, and I appreciate that. I want to get a start on the books I got for Christmas though, so it’s time to get cracking.

watching I watched four? five? episodes of The Untamed in bed this morning before even getting up—it’s getting bad y’all. Not the show —the show is getting good — my beautiful magic sword boys-problem, is getting bad. I should start counting how many times the central two characters make me actually stop and think “that eyebrow/glance/facial feature was so beautiful,” except if I did, I’d never do anything else. I was at the bit in episode 40ish where there is a just so much exposition and so many things being revealed, and I kept hoping the tension would break but things kept happening. this show is making me think a lot about the visual language of television, especially productions from outside north america, and I absolutely love it. there’s so much I know I don’t *get*, and which I want to look up, but I’m making myself wait until I’m not midway through and susceptible to spoilers.

listening to I went for a solitary twilight walk on christmas eve as it began to snow (damply), to look at my neighborhood’s lights and chase a particular mood, and I re-listened to the The Adventure Zone: Candelights  2017 live show from Tacoma  to keep me company. Here in my inaugural weekly-roundup, at the beginning of this experiment in sharing my media opinions and habits, it just bears mentioning that I am an abiding TAZ fan and dip back in to the old stuff when between new episodes.

playing longtime readers of this blog will remember that @floragraph gifted me with a nintendo 2ds back in the summer—a handmedown of hers which is actually the first gaming consol/device I’ve literally ever owned—and a selection of her old games with it. I’ve been saving a bunch of them and gave myself permission to start a new one for Christmas, so I have now jumped into Prof Layton and the Diabolical Box for the first time (I know, I know). here to say I am delighted by the aesthetic, I want to solve the mystery asap, and I am so absolutely not equipped for puzzle-games. Logic? In my recreation? so it’s anyone guess how far I’ll actually get. I’m so much better at the puzzles that let you rotate things, or fool around and find out, as opposed to the brain teasers without concrete things to experiment with.

making I’m not a crafter, so this section will be a mix of cooking or baking projects, home repair and DIY shit, and lazy home gardening. While writing this, I’m mulling some cider, on a stove burner whose metal under-coil pan I have replaced with much clanking and swearing this evening. The cider smells excellent, it’s infusing with an orange peel and little sachet of cinnamon/nutmeg/whole cloves, but I’m almost more excited about getting the burner coil to fucking fit and not pop back out of place.

working on this section is something I’m trying as a form of academic motivation, where I can talk a little about what I’m writing or reading for my phd (so I can keep the reading section above for recreational reading, which I absolutely depend on to preserve my quality of life). this week, however, I’ve been forcing myself to take an honesttogod break for a few days, so I will just mention that this section exists and will be more interesting in future posts. I’m presenting at a conference on Jan 7! That practice presentation I did before ‘break’ showed me how much I need to work on! Ideas about framing my research to fit the stupid ‘teaching tools’ theme of the panel are percolating in the back of my mind, but I’m not going to take action on them until Monday— it’s marinating, to mix my metaphors somewhat. 

[chaeryybomb]

july comebacks review

CHUNGHA ft. CHANGMO: PLAY

holy shit this is definitely my favorite song of the month!!!

the entire song just screams F E S T I V E

the music video, choreography and outfits were all so amazing

and it’s only a pre-release

honestly I can’t wait for her album to come out

I love how she interpreted Spanish elements in this comeback

I love the tango part in the dance and when the hip hop dancers come out!!!

and at the end where everyone just comes out like it’s a huge fiesta!!

this song also has quite a lot of high notes but chungha’s voice gets a rest during the rap part

speaking of the rap part, her expressions during that is amazing!!

overall, definitely my favorite song of this month (maybe this year), its so colourful and festive and its perfect for summer!

IRENE & SEULGI: MONSTER

this song exceeds my expectations

when I first saw the teasers, I thought the song would have quite heavy edm and maybe some bad boy/peek-a-boo elements

while the song does have some of those elements, the entire thing is literally not what I expected

the music video is very aesthically pleasing and it reminds me a lot of a dreamcatcher mv

the mv was also delayed because I heard that they needed to edit some parts out. for example, someone said that if according to the teasers, there should be a scene where Irene stabs a doll with scissors but that part has been cut out I think

ngl I wanted seulrene to perform in the white corset outfits because holy shit those outfits s e r v e d

it also definitely proves that Irene is not just a visual, she’s a very talented rapper and singer so people need to stop seeing her as “red velvet’s visual”!!!

irene has sort of a husky voice like Jisoo’s, just not as deep

I also love Seulgi’s part after the first chorus?? she’s literally g r o w l i n g

as much as I love blonde Irene, why did they give her the wig dhshdhd I bet she was uncomfortable dancing in that

especially she has to bend her back at one point. and speaking of that part, there was one stage where she “winks” while doing it it but Irene said she was actually wincing in pain. (also the mv scene of it where her part morphs into a monster scared me dhshd)

which is why I think irene likes performing “naughty” more instead. maybe it’s because it’s more a mature concept but Irene seems more natural doing so

do not get me started on “naughty”’s choreography,,, it’s SO PLEASING to watch, all those tutting w o w, it looks so hard but Irene and Seulgi make it seem effortless

and when they released the “easy” version on tiktok 😭😭 it still looks so hard please

overall, I hope they make another Irene and Seulgi comeback in the future like EXO-SC! I also hope they try this subunit thing with the rest of RV as well, I’m looking forward to a Seulgi Wendy Joy subunit and Irene Yeri subunit!

ATEEZ: INCEPTION

*inhales* what does seonghwa ACHIEVE by SHOWING his ABS every performance

like hongjoong come collect your MANS

waiting for an episode where yeosang calls him out for over doing it

speaking of yeosang, he’s improved so much! he’s gotten more than one part of the song this time and I’m so proud!

and I’m in love with their “I’m in love” during the beginning and chorus

also woosan is out for my bias list-

ngl I find it kinda weird there’s a mini breakdance in between the the song cause usually breakdances are at the end

I also hope Jongho isn’t overworking himself as it seems he’s just recovered from his injury, I hope none of the boys will injure themself like during wonderland era

also yunho and hongjoong exchanged hairstyles from wave era dhshdh

per usual, hongjoong and mingi’s rap parts are my absolutely favorite

the music video honestly has a lot of theories going on and I’m still waiting for the smart atinys to decipher them dhshd

honestly, ateez reminds me a lot of bts, they’re both from small companies and I hope like bts, ateez will be able to rise to fame

overall, I like this comeback a lot but I wouldn’t say it would be my favorite era of them. Again I hope none of the boys overwork themselves this time

SOMI: WHAT YOU WAITING FOR

ahhhh I’m so glad she’s back!!!

I love this song a lot and somi seems more comfortable with it too!

at first, she looks nervous performing it but I can see her getting more confident through out promoting the song

and it’s definitely more different than “birthday”

personally I like this song more than “birthday” (but “outta my head” will always be my absolute favorite)

somi’s “ring the alarm” has the same energy as “oops you’re not invited” dhshhd

I also love how she interpreted her name in the music video as “ennik” means sword in Dutch

I’m also glad that this time she isnt matching outfits with her backup dancers

personally, I feel that this song fits somi’s vocals better than birthday and she switches from high to low in the chorus

the chorus is 2nd verse is my favorite part of the song

overall, this is a really nice comeback from somi and I hope next time she’s back with more songs

GFRIEND: APPLE

HUGE GODDESSES VIBES!!!!

the entire mv just SCREAMED Greek Goddesses to me

the dresses were so beautiful this era

I especially love the black dresses

and all the accessories made it 10x better

personally I feel very wrecked by yuju and yuju alone

(and maybe sowon's red eyes but shhh)

I was kinda hoping they'd make a comeback like "labyrinth" but boy this comeback was amazing

ever since they joined with big hit, everything has become so much better

plus umji getting her lines and centers!!!

I'm addicted to the "wee o wow wow wow" and the "kiss dance" parts

I'm honestly quite impressed that gfriend was able to perform in long dresses but I feel its better than performing in fitting short dresses

overall, I really like this comeback and the entire album is a bop. my favourite song is "eyes of the storm" because it sounds so much like an anime opening

APRIL: NOW OR NEVER

omg I'm so glad I started stanning them after lalalilala era

also yena said she wanted to do a beach concept next in an interview during lalalilala as well soooooo

the song is soooo catchy and I can't help notice how smiley chaekyung and yena are this era!

I'm so glad that yena and rachel has actual lines this time (also I noticed rachel kinda has a lisp?)

chaekyung was rlly smiley during lalalilala so I thought a cute/fun concept would suit her and it does!

she's shinning during now or never era!!

I feel like the line distribution is pretty fair for 4 vocalists and 2 rappers

plus yena's "eottae" is really adorable!!

my favourite part of the song is the "nunbushin nunbushin" parts and I find the choreography for it rlly cute

and paradise is really catchy b-side!

overall, the comeback is very refreshing and it's nice to see them back on stage again. personally I'm not a huge fan of some of the outfits because I like matching sets instead but other than that, I really like this comeback!

LEE HI: HOLO

did this song make me weep?

yes, yes it did.

queen lee hi making me cry with another song again

I just find lee hi's voice very emotional okay

it reminds me of the time when I first listened to "breathe"

honestly the song is such a breather for anyone's who's having a hard time

listening to the words "one day it will stop, and I'm gonna stop crying, stop feeling, stop thinking about you my baby" is quite comforting to hear

it really makes you think that is being alone really a bad idea?

I've listened to song on repeat ever since it came out

[aurimeanswind]

Back to Business—Sunday Chats 8-19-18

Okay. So Sunday Chats. How do I do this again? Oh yeah. Writing and whatnot.

Let’s get Started.

The Business Update

So as I’m sure you can tell, if you tuned into Irrational Passions Podcast two nights ago, follow IP on Twitter, or just see the silly shit I do on social media, I’ve been really busy. Sunday Chats has taken that hit, and as I don’t write everyday anymore nor am I writing every Sunday, it’s likely there is no reality I can do these on a weekly basis like I used to. Still, I’d like to work in at least once a month, which is what I have been doing. I know that’s not the pace I was setting back in the heyday of writing everyday, but I’d say I’m generally less stressed and the writing I produce is generally better than it was towards the end of me writing every day. Meaning maybe I made the right choice by decided to put a nice end cap to that journey? Maybe not.

I’ve been far more in a managing role since then, and the thing I do the most now is the thing I love to do the most, host and guest host on podcasts! My podcast output has been up about 300% the last couple months I feel, and that makes me super happy. It’s what I love to do. And with a ton of new shows coming to IP, I’m happy to be a part of them.

So let’s get the update out there. Here are some things we are doing/launching with Irrational Passions that I’m excited about, and I think you should be too!

Irrational Passions Podcast is now on Spotify! So is Input: A Video Games News Show, so if you’re a podcast listener on Spotify, I’ve got great news for you! Get Acquainted should be up there soon too!

Input has officially changed its format to focus on one news story per episode on a more intimate basis. There is still room for more traditionally formatted episodes, but episodes may be coming out faster and more frequently per week, with more focus on single stories and topics. I’m really excited about this change. Give it a listen!

Irrational Passions Presents is a new audio feed coming to podcast services around the globe, that will be home to Article Reads, one off interviews, and maybe other cool little stuff. I’m excited for the possibility it brings, and am stoked to have that out there!

Irrational Passions Video Game Book Club is a new monthly show coming TOMORROW. It launches Monday August 20th with the first part of Batman Arkham Asylum. Each game we will be splitting into three checkpoints, and discussing with varying groups of Irrational Passions members. Scott White has been spearheading and editing this show, and he has done a phenomenal job with it. Shoutout to Scott!

Podcast Ultimate, our Super Smash Bros Ultimate Podcast hosted by Mike Burgess, CONTINUES next week, with episode two all about the recent Smash Direct. We talked for about two and a half hours and it was a blast. Give that a listen on YouTube, which is still currently the only space it is and will be available. Working on possible other options in the near future.

PAX West 2018 is coming up, and much like PAX East 2018, we are coming in FULL FORCE.

I’ll be there, alongside Scott White, Logan Wilkinson and Mike Burgess.

We’ll be rooming with the fine folks from OKBeast.com, and we’ll be doing a crossover podcast with them LIVE on Twitch and YouTube on Friday, August 31st, at 9pm Pacific Daylight Time.

I’ll also be representing Irrational Passions at the Kinda Funny Interwebsite Peer Schneider Cup Tournament or whatever its called in the Hydra Theatre on Saturday September 1st at 7pm PDT. Come see me! Support me! Or just say hi! I am absolutely going to lose, but I’m going to try my best!

So a lot of this is the culmination of things we’ve been working on for a while. The Book Club especially we’ve been working on since February. Everyone is hard at work and CRUSHING it, in addition to the reviews, podcasts, and opinion pieces we will continue to put out. Jurge called this the “IP Direct” on Twitter because this is our Nintendo-direct level of announcements. We’ve been working hard and will continue to do so going forward, and while that may mean we can’t sit and chat EVERY Sunday, I still plan on making time for all of you once a month at least.

A big part of that, as some folks may have seen, is I’ll be soliciting questions for Sunday Chats on Saturdays now. So it’s the same deal outside of that, look for my tweet that has the hashtag #SundayChats in it, just look for it on Saturdays now. It gives me time to get things done and organized a bit easier and faster, and cuts less into my day off now, which will hopefully streamline the process.

That all being said, I’m going to skip game talk this time and go right into...

Questions!

Let’s get to it.

Whoa boy a lot to unpack here. I’ll go one at a time now.

Selfie Saturday has officially become Selfie Sundays. Sorry for the lack of warning all, but selfies aren’t going away anytime soon.

Am I concerned? No. Not after this last direct. You’ll hear me talk about it on this next Podcast Ultimate but for me the new Smash Bros would not be “ultimate” if there wasn’t a story mode in it. And there appears to be one, going off this recent teaser in the direct. I know it’s dumb, but as someone who predominantly plays Smash by himself, it’s honestly super important to me to have that. I think that’ll be new and I think that’ll be really exciting too!

I think as a game they will likely hope to update and support for a while to come, coming out two years into the Switch’s life and I think the Switch will be around for a while to come, that they are just teeing this up to have tons of stuff either in expansions and DLC later, and have as much in the base as it can. Smash fans I think want all the stuff from the previous games, and I think there are plenty of quality of life things that make this new as well. Like, the Wii U game was so good, but missed those QoL improvements that really stopped it from being great. Plus, it was on a platform that no one had. Now everyone has a Switch, and anyone can stop and say “let’s play Smash” and have folk break out the Switch to play Smash at any event or whatever. That’s a big deal. It’s kind of what they wanted the 3DS game to be, but even that version of the game was neutered compared to it’s same-release Wii U counterpart. Now it’s the best of both worlds, it’s a loving culmination of Smash itself and everything that’s made Smash great up until this point, and I’m crazy stoked for it.

So the Filip stuff is tricky. I haven’t really talked about it too much publicly, but the more comes out about it the more upset I get. To be perfectly honest? Yeah. I’m really pissed about it. But me getting angry helps literally no one. I took English and Journalism class super seriously, going through what little college I did. And I’m sure someone like Greg Miller would say the same being someone who went through actual journalistic training, for more than me, plagiarism is super fucked. And Filip built a career on it.

It makes me lose faith in the system of getting hired at a place like IGN. It helps reinforce those things you hear about folk that are hired out that they are just picking from a very specific pool that meet a specific vision for that place. And that hurts me. Because I would like to think and hope the quality of my work and my worth ETHIC above all and anything else, having done all I have done on a weekly basis for almost a decade would be enough. But clearly it isn’t.

But I’d rather not harp on too much about it. I do believe in good karma, and what goes around comes around, and so I will continue to push my positivity out into the world, and hope it does something good for me.

No, I cannot ride a bike. I know it’s crazy, and I know Jacob Bryant has trouble believing it.

The day I decided was the last day I’d try and learn how to ride a bike was the summer when I was maybe six or seven. At the house I grew up in there was this hill near the opening of our drive way. I took the training wheels of my Bike and went to the top of the hill. I said “this is the day. Make or break,” and I got my legs up on the Bike. I was either going to ride down that hill and keep riding, or fail and fall over and give up on riding a Bike for the rest of my life.

I pulled my legs up and....

Well, I immediately fell to the right and scraped up my knee and leg. I didn't even make it down the hill a little bit. I started quietly crying to myself, because I was like, six, took my Bike, put it in the garage, and went inside to play video games.

That was the last time I ever rode a bike.

Listen, so many folks have been coming to me saying how Video Game Book Club took inspiration from their show or whatever JON. One, it wasn’t even my idea. I did have the idea to split each game into three checkpoints.

But my MAIN INSPIRATION for the show was actually Rebel FM’s book club. The only one I heard them do was Dead Space 2, a phenomenal game. I know a lot of video game book clubs exist though, and for example Mike’s big inspiration for his ideas in the club was the GameInformer Book Club. Basically, no one is original.

I have a ton of stuff on Audible that I need to finish listening to. I do not read at all, because I’m awful, so I just listen to books. A couple I really adored and finished earlier this year were the King Killer Chronicles books. The first two in the trilogy are out, and hopefully the third will come out sometime ever in my life. They’re by Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind and A Wise Man’s Fear. Super good. Amazing world building and a huge focus on currency, which I really liked.

I really want to finish Ready Player One, I got about two thirds into it and really liked it. I also grabbed Altered Carbon, the Dark Tower 1, and You’re Never Weird on the Internet, Felicia Day’s autobiography. Those are the ones on my shelf right now.

I’ve been following some of the Tweets. I love it. I’m also going through them again with the Three Best Friends Podcast folks in a Limited Run series they’re doing, featuring: me! All about Kingdom Hearts. The first two episodes should be out now, and they’re crazy fun.

Of those three, I think Birth By Sleep is the clear winner, and it’s really because it is the only “complete game” out of the three. What I mean is there isn’t kind of, revisiting or rehashing in it. 358/2 and Chain of Memories both rely so heavily on the Kingdom Hearts 1 worlds, especially Chain of Memories, while introducing their own stories that are both very good I think, Chain of Memories being the far, far, far better one for me personally, but the repetition in both still hurts it so much.

Birth By Sleep has the issue of revisiting its OWN bullshit like seven times in that game as you play through all three stories, and that sucks, but at least it isn’t something you’ve seen in a Kingdom Hearts game before. While I think the systems in BBS are rough around the edges, later to be better realized in a KH3D or even Kingdom Hearts 3 itself, the character work in that game makes it special. Terra/Ven/Aqua is a story you are AS invested in, if not more so, than the original Sora/Riku/Kairi story. And so it is this very intimate story for fans of the series I think.

That and playing it is just the best. Especially on PS4 where I recently played it. It just feels better with twin stick controls. It’s crazy grind-y if you’re trying to do everything, sure, but all the games are in their own way in that regard.

It’s funny how mechanically KH3D is the best of the handheld attempts at side stories, but it muddles the story the most. It’s a double edged sword, where they kept going until they got it right, and in a way they did irreparable damage to the story along the way because of it.

I really don’t know. I know it’s dumb and little but I’d really love to hit 1000 subscribers on YouTube. Super inspired by the work the OKBeast folks have done with their channel, and basically Mike Burgess has single-handedly turned our YouTube output up a notch. But not just him, he has got Jurge doing video reviews too, and with Scott White’s video talents finally being shown in Book Club, they’re got me inspired to get more work up there again too. It helps especially knowing it’s not just me.

But the big long team goal is outside fo 2018, which is to go to E3 as a team in 2019. That’s the big goal.

Downloading it to my Xbox One now. Hit me up. We’ll play.

That’s the end. That’s it. That’s all she wrote. And by she I mean me, in this case. I’m excited about the future of IP, I’m excited about the stuff we are doing, that I am doing, and while it’s a ton of work and a lot of stress, it’s the stuff I live for. It’s very rewarding hugely in part to the team that is doing it and how we are working together. Stick with us, and I promise we won’t let you down. Please god hopefully, at least.

Do me a favor until then.

keep it real.

[prairiechzhead]

PrairieChzHead Rewatches Poldark S3 Legally-US Ep 7/UK Ep 8

You know the drill...

But in case you don’t, I’m revisiting the answers I submitted to @poldarkpodcast last summer when S3 aired in the UK to see if I still feel the same as I did. 

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. 

This week’s episode came with a content warning about sensitive content. Weird, though. There was no warning about Rev. Toe Sucker TWO EPISODES AGO!!! 

Anyway, on with the show...

What did you think of this week’s episode?

This episode totally made up for last week. Between the people in the fandom claiming that Ross still loves Elizabeth (because of a deceptively edited teaser trailer) and those claiming Demelza wants to get even for what happened in S2, I was ready to start downing anti-anxiety medication like Pez. After this episode, I feel vindicated!!!!!

The line in question was not in the US version of the trailer for this episode. As I’m writing this, it’s before the episode airs on PBS. I’m tired and my ears are still ringing from the Foo Fighters concert I went to on Saturday. I’m not in the mood to pay attention to the edits that PBS does, so if there is no scene where Ross seems to be telling Demelza that he loves Elizabeth, that was all in his imagination. He was imagining being able to tell Demelza that he’s so over Liz, but given how Demelza nearly ripped his head off and ripped him a new butt hole last week after his aunt died, Ross doesn’t want to take the chance of Demelza ripping him another brand new orifice, so he wisely keeps his epiphany and his feelings to himself. 

Like this version of Demelza would ever listen to him anyway. 

But...since this scene will be on the DVD released in the US, this needs to be said: 

Ross is not in love with Elizabeth. 

Let me repeat this for the people in the back. 

Ross is not in love with Elizabeth.

Favorite Scene:

The scene in the church with Ross & Elizabeth because it was true to the novel and it was needed. It was needed not just because it’s an important part of the story, but because it seemed to kill this argument that Ross still loves Elizabeth and that this is justification for what Demelza will do. I also liked the “dream” sequence, which was meant to show the audience what Ross was thinking is a close second, because the first step in becoming a better communicator is to be able to admit to the truth to yourself. Baby steps, folks. Baby steps.

In case you didn’t hear me the first three times:

Ross is not in love with Elizabeth. 

Don’t make me hit that caps lock key. 

Least Favorite Scene:

Ossie raping Morwenna after he was told by Dwight that he had to abstain from sex. That was horrible in itself, but the cutaway to the moon and the waves crashing was cheesy.

We don’t actually see him rape Morwenna. It cuts away from the action to the aforementioned waves crashing. 

Favorite New Character:

Emma. I love her sass, but I also love how she seems to be astonished that a man (Sam) wants her for herself. Yes, he also wants to convert her. But the way this is playing out, Sam’s desire to bring her to Christ seems almost irrelevant.

Emma is still my new favorite character. I still love her sass. 

Least Favorite New Character:

Ossie “Insatiable Sex Hippo” Whitworth. (I read a review of E7 that referred to him as that. I will never get that nickname for him out of my head.). Rapes his own wife and pervs on his sister-in-law.

Pervs on his sister-in-law’s feet, to be precise.  

What Made Me Cheer:

Call me petty, but I thoroughly enjoyed Caroline’s side-eye and Ross’s slow clap. I wasn’t gratified so much because this was towards Hugh and Demelza, but after listening to the people on the “Let’s Blame Ross for Demelza’s Decisions because He Neglects Her�� train, go on and on about this all week, both actions felt like like vindication.

Yes, I’m projecting. Yes, I’m being petty. Forgive me, but it was a long week.

I’m a sucker for a good side eye. 

And a good, sarcastic slow clap. 

That said, this scene is one instance where I wish there was more time given to this particular storyline or even just doing one novel for S3. In the novels, Demelza was actually very torn about her feelings for Hugh. Many, many times, she rebuffed him and told him no. Then he would suggest something that wasn’t so forward, and she’d agree to it. One example was him sending her poetry hidden in letters whose content she could share with Ross. In the show, this lengthy process of refusal and giving a little was distilled down to a song. It wasn’t a bad song. I just wish they’d had more time for plot development. 

It’s difficult for me to listen to this song. Because they’re distilling months and months of action in the novel down to a song which Demelza sings in public, they’re taking something that was private and stayed private and making it public. Now all of Cornwall knows that Hugh Armitage is trying to seduce a married woman and the married woman in question isn’t exactly, clearly, and without doubt telling him no. She’s also doing this in front of her husband, in public, which has to be humiliating for Ross. 

I don’t care what he did in the past. I don’t care how much he supposedly neglects her (which I don’t believe he does). I don’t care how difficult it is for him to discuss his feelings. 

Nobody deserves to be publicly humiliated like that, having their “dirty laundry” aired in public. Perhaps it never occurred to anyone that this scene, while conveying that Demelza was telling Hugh “no”, was perhaps unintentionally a passive-aggressive, unconscious dig at Ross on her part, too. 

What Made Me Want To Throw Things:

Prudie encouraging Demelza to go after Hugh. Really, Prudie? Weren’t you the same person who tried to discourage Demelza from having that revenge fling with Capt. Mustache, I mean Mac Neill?

1. Prudie may be representing what’s in Demelza’s head, but on the surface, it still makes the character look hypocritical. 

2. When Demelza says to Ross “Be patient with me as I’ve been patient with you.” 

Excuse me, but when in the last few episodes have you ever been patient with Ross?  You haven’t been patient with Ross. You weren’t patient with him on TV after he cheated. He asked you to be patient with him after his indiscretion, and you rolled your eyes at him. Now you’re making snide, passive-aggressive remarks and giving him the side-eye because you’re looking for reasons to be angry with him and expecting him to read your mind, which he can’t do. 

Ugh, I just can’t even anymore with you, Show!Demelza. 

Performance of the Week

Aidan Turner. I’m supposed to explain why I think so, but his performance in this episode speaks for itself.

Heida Reed for the church scene and the genuine hurt she displayed at George’s snubbing of her. It also seemed to be that something clicked or sparked or lit a fire under Elizabeth this week, too. Perhaps it’s because George isn’t around that Elizabeth has found her backbone, especially when she learned that Ossie doesn’t give two f*cks about his own wife and getting her help. Heida did a wonderful job running the gamut on Elizabeth’s feelings.

I was annoyed with the fandom when I picked Aidan, but I’m going to stay with this pick anyway. And I’m still going to stick with Heida as performance of the week, too. 

Observations.

Strong, Feisty, Modern Demelza does not work with the Hugh storyline in The Four Swans. It doesn’t work because what is missing is the angst she experiences in the novels because she is so conflicted about her feelings towards Hugh. While I am glad that the “I wish I could be two women” speech was included in the show, it actually rings hollow with TV Demelza. It doesn’t feel like she’s conflicted. It feels more like she’s either asking Ross for permission to use the “free pass” or she’s telling him that she is going to cash in her “free pass”, so to speak. The angst and inner conflict that is missing is necessary for us to be able to both be angry or upset with her for her decision and sympathize with her turmoil. That’s part of why this story is so difficult to take in the novels. When Demelza let that drawing from Hugh fly off into the wind, I really didn’t care, because I know that Feisty, Modern Demelza is going to play the “I’m neglected” card (even though she isn’t neglected) and do what she wants anyway and as a result, deliberately hurting this man she says she loves (Ross).  It’s also because of this that I find I can’t really hate Hugh now, even though his characterization is basically true to the books. It’s easier to hate him when he was inserting himself into Demelza’s life and subtly manipulating her and being the cause of her conflict. It’s more difficult to hate him when he doesn’t have to try very hard because Modern Demelza is going to do what she wants anyway.

The other aspect of Modern, Feisty Demelza that does not work goes back to S2. She was angry, and her anger and hurt were justified. But she also said things, things like reminding Ross that they both took a vow to “forsake all others”. Modern, Feisty Demelza, who is probably going to do what she wants, because she’s Modern and Feisty, is about to become a Flaming Hypocrite. And that is really not sitting well with me at all.

I stand by this original observation. 

You cannot give an 18th century character 21st century values and norms, but keep the setting and everyone else around this character in the 18th century. 

It. Does. Not. Work. 

Women were assertive in the 18th century. Women were strong in the 18th century. There were even women who refused to put up with other people’s crap in the 18th century. The difference between those women and the woman of today is how she went about this. 

This is Book!Demelza. I’ve been re-reading/binge listening to Black Moon and Four Swans. Book!Demelza can calmly make her point and get Ross to actually stop and think without resorting to bitchiness. That’s called maturity. A woman in her twenties was far more mature in the 18th century than a woman in her 20s in 2017. Life was a lot rougher back then. A person went from childhood to adulthood. There were no “teen years”. And if you were poor, you grew up pretty fast, too. It’s not realistic for a woman with Demelza’s background to regress into an immature teenager. It’s just not. 

I’m so tired of this trope that says that a woman is only strong if she acts like a bitch. It’s a load of crap. Book!Demelza’s strength is quiet, but it is there. 

The other part of this I still stand by is that by changing up Demelza’s characterization in S3, she risks being hypocritical, especially when you go back to watch the end of S2 and take note of the things she said when she was the one who was cheated on. 

Other Observations:

Did they really have to give Armitage a white horse? 

Prudie should think twice about shit-talking her employer and encouraging Demelza to shag with Hugh. 

The baby playing Valentine is too adorable for words. 

An observation I missed last week, but someone on Facebook brought it up: If Tholly is the new grave digger in Sawle, how does he hold the shovel and dig with one hand? 

Yes, I know that Tholly, besides being Tholly and doing what Tholly did in the novels, is also a stand-in for other characters, like Jud, who was written out of the show because Phil Davis left. But did anyone ever think about the fact that Tholly has a hook hand before having him take on Jud’s book job of grave digger? 

Think about it? Tholly steered the boat when the gang went to Roscoff to rescue Dwight because he couldn’t row a boat with one hand. So why is he a grave digger? How does he work a shovel? Magic? Is Tholly secretly a Jedi and uses Jedi Mind Tricks to dig graves? 

Pledge drive is coming up in two weeks. Know how I know? Because I’m seeing ads for the quarterly airing of the latest Celtic Woman special. You know it’s pledge drive time when your local PBS station airs various musical programs featuring bands my mother liked in the 60s, Daniel O’Donnell, Celtic Woman, or someone specializing in woo. 

Next week is the season finale. The season finale frustrated me a bit back in August. Rewatching the show while indulging in the audio book versions of the Poldark novels actually helps me not be frustrated with the show. You should try it some time. 

[lightskinvibe]

Why I only act like a fangirl for GOT7

-They're not just GOT7. They're VISUAL7, TALENTED7, AEGYO7, LIT7, FUCKITUPPP7, EVERYTHINGAMAZING7 -But no really do y'all pay attention to their looks?? -NONE OF THEM LOOK BAD EVER. NOT EVEN STOP STOP IT ERA THEM -BamBam is a dank meme -But JB is too -And Mark lowkey -Don't forget Yugyeom -Actually let's just say they all are -The Naruto run in that one interview -Mark, Jackson and JB fly and twirl in the sexiest ways -OKAY BUT HAVE YOU EVER PAID ATTENTION TO THE MUSIC THEY LISTEN TO IN THE BACKGROUND OR THE STUFF YUGYEOM DANCES TO?? THEY LISTEN TO DRAKE AND JEFF BERNAT AND BRYSON TILLER LIKE I CANNOT EVEN 😩 -Yugyeom makes every stage he comes on pregnant -Like honestly, yes his sexy dance is sexy af no lie, but do y'all see how this guy never missed a beat? He catches EVERY BEAT IN THE SONG LIKE HIS DANCE ABILITY IS RIDICULOUS -But let me not leave out Jinyoung and JB's skills because dayum have you seen their moves? -And Jackson's -And Mark's -And Youngjae's -They all dance so well it hurts like I live for the choreography and their songs. I want to learn to dance to them all -All of their smiles. Because I feel the sun shine brighter when they smile. Like each one has their own unique smile and all of them are beautiful -BamBam pre glo and after glo. Both are just perfect -Jackson's fucking powerful ass freestyles. Like he's goofy af but he's really got the moves. Go Wang Puppy -Mark can fly -Mark is the visual out of a group of visuals -Mark's hairstyles -Mark's dancing. Really guys, who the hell said he was the weakest? Cause in every dance video, my eyes somehow get drawn to Mark at some point and I have to rewind because he drew me in with his dancing -Like before I noticed Mark, I noticed Mark's dancing -"Who's the red head with the moves? 👀" -His personality shows in his moves. They're fluid and easy going and it looks so easy to follow his moves. Until you actually try to -Then you realize these guys work hard af and Mark has the moves -Jackson with his hair down -He's literally a puppy. I mean a giant puppy for real -But then again they all kinda are -Except for Jinyoung -He reminds me of a kitten -And Yugyeom reminds me of a Golden Retriever sometimes and then a mouse the other -Cause Tom&Jerry -Jinyoung's dorky laugh -Jackson's high pitched laugh -The fact that when Mark laughs, it sounds like he's a child at a park having the most amazing time on the merry go round -It's so giddy and precious and makes him so innocent -HIT THE STAGE YUGYEOM -The migratory bird's laugh -BamBam's breathless laugh -JB's geek laugh -Youngjae laughs like a child being chased by the tickle monster -Yet another person who laughs like a kid having the time of his life -The fact that Youngjae is sunshine otter -The fact that no one can ever really rank members without feeling somewhat discontent because they're all so good at everything like -The rap line sings really well. Jackson is the most confident which shows in his voice. BamBam comes in second with that because he prefers to sing off key purposely to be the meme he is. And then Mark is just a shy bean. It's so cute and I know you're busy squealing at his cuteness and laughing till it hurts at BamBam, but really listen to them -Cause Mark and BamBam have the fucking vocals -While we're on the subject of vocals, JB's voice is so strong and soulful -Like you can tell that man listens to Musiq Soulchild because his voice carries alot of R&B traits -Youngjae made me think of Elliot Yamin the first time I heard his voice and then I find out he likes Elliot Yamin -Not saying they sound like them, but the music you listen to impacts how your voice sounds. And they both have very strong emotional R&B type voices -Lemme not leave Jinyoung out though -I can't really pinpoint a single genre for Jinyoung's voice. -But his voice has alot of emotion and soul -It's soooo underrated -Like have y'all heard his voice in Mr. Chu's chorus? Or in the Japanese version of Stay? Or in This Star?? -Which he wrote -Speaking of which, they write alot of their songs -And they're hits -All over the world -Jinyoung and Yugyeom's choreography skills -Jinyoung's acting -JB's acting - I love both but like... Jinyoung really gives me fucking chills -The fact that they took one of their self made memes and made it into a lit ass song -Youngjae's engrish -Youngjae period -The fact that so many people claim Youngjae is a weak dancer, when I can't seem to find this weak dancer -Like he can move forreal. He's shy about it but he can. He's weak with freestyle and that's cause he's shy. But weak dancer? Where?? Je n'ai comprend pas -Jinyoung's facial expressions -Mark's facial expressions -Both really speak well with their faces -Like Mark can just give a look and you just know what he has to say without him saying it -BamBam's cooking skills -Markson being bilingual on Star King -Like they remind me of two mischievous brothers. I can't ship them as anything but brothers honestly -Like they make me think of a cooler Zack and Cody -Mark is calm quiet -Jackson is loud and rowdy -They're like Yin Yang actually -Mark is calm and quiet but he has hyper and loud within him as well -And Jackson is the opposite -But back to the brothers thing. They're like two smart ass twins who cause good natured trouble -A little like Hikaru and Karou from OHSHC -Dream High 2. -Dream Knight -"A" Teasers -Their reactions to all 3 -Their reaction to Jackson's YouTube video on Weekly Idol -The fact that when Mark gets shy or overwhelmed, he unconsciously clings to or hides behind something -Or someone -Someone like the giant Maknae -They have a giant maknae -Jackson on Roomate -When Jackson's parents came on Christmas -Y'all I'm not an easy crier. But I was bawling -Because Jackson, despite how popular and rowdy and everywhere he is -He's still this amazing kid who loves to be in mommy's arms -He loves his parents so much -The way he lights up with them -I saw a clip where he was in between both his parents -He couldn't keep the smile off his face -Even when he wasn't smiling you felt the light and smile radiating from him -Speaking of smiles... Jackson has bunny teeth -It's so precious -Mark has shark teeth -I have a thing for guys with pretty eyes and pretty smiles so when Mark and Jackson smile... Jesus -JB's eyes. They're extremely cute. Especially when he's in puppy mode (Puppy mode=Hair down and in it's natural state) -The fact that BamBam puts on makeup, but then takes it off and looks the exact same -Except tanner. Which isn't bad at all because his skin tone looks amazing on him -BamBam's legs -Yugyeom's legs -Mark's butt and legs -Jackson's thighs -The fact that Jinyoung is a tease with the clothes he wears showing he does in fact have this bomb ass body but never taking off his clothes and showing us said body -But that's okay because these boys don't need to strip to bring appeal to them. We die when they just breathe -The fact that this could go on forever because they're really amazing and everything. -I'll state a few more and then go to sleep cause it's 4am and bitch I'm dying -Flight Log. All three. Beautiful. -The guitar playing in Flight Log: Departure ( DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN LISTEN TO A FULL COVER CAUSE I REALLY HAVE A THING FOR ACOUSTIC GUITAR AND PIANO) -Youngjae's trance when he plays piano -Yugyeom's trance when he dances -JB and Jinyoung's trance when they sing -Mark's trance period -They love what they do so much that it makes me happy to understand how much they love it -The aura when Yugyeom is being a lil shit and goofing off around his hyungs vs. His aura when he's performing his dance moves -Like Hit The Stage had me shook. His whole aura changed. Maknae my ass. He became daddy -The fact that I can say alot about GOT7 without sounding too creepy or too mature because I was born in 1999 -Youngjae's shyness -Everytime they're on Weekly Idol -Everytime they're on a variety show period -Law Of The Jungle -Mark's Hyper Time -IGOT7 -REAL GOT7 -Just right summer -Youngjae is a visual -GOT7 dissing 2PM -Their reaction when a member of 2PM came out while they were dissing them -Like they all screamed and ran to the other side of the studio like toddlers. So precious -The fact that within the first 5 minutes of IGOT7 episode one, BamBam had us swooning by moving to shyly stand in the corner cause he was overwhelmed by all the cameras -Signal to their pastselves -"ANDWEE?!! ANDWEEEE!!" *Voice cracks* -"This is 2015." " It's 2016." 0.0... "They said it's 2016." -Jackson going off on himself in 3 different languages -"Do you even understand what I'm saying right now?? STUDY KOREAN." -"RAMEYOOOOON (Furious)" -" NEVER ACT CUTE" -"Here.... It is 2016. And you are.....living a really boring life. Do something. Whatever... *Smiles pitifully*" -"Better just not make a comeback period." -DON'T FALL ASLEEP IN THE HAIR SALON -Jinyoung is an little devil -"Did you hear that? He said he's going to kill me." -Jackson's heart -Mark tried to save a fan from a falling light fixture -The fact that Mark is an idol but is so humble and down to earth -"Don't just walk off. Make sure the cameras see you too." -Mark, who cares not for appearing on broadcast, but on being a helpful silent hardworking child. Bless him -Idol life never changed any of them. They're all humble great boys. -"Hyung! Do you believe in me?!" "YES!" "...BUT I WOULD LIKE TO APPEAR ON BROADCAST!" -"BABYBABYBABYBABY-BABYBABY!" -Follow Me -Yugyeom and BamBam are fanboys -They're the best of friends -It's beautiful to watch how close they are -All of them really -No one is left out -They are the definition of "Ohana means family and family means 'No one gets left behind'" -Stan them and everything about them -Because these 7 dorks... The way they are. The things they do. They not only entertain you, but they make you wanna be great too. It's amazing really -They are

[onlygotafewdollas]

You have great taste in music! I really like R&B-style songs too! My playlist is so long bc whenever I hear a kpop song I like, I just it to the playlist rather than my library. Pdx101 is the first (and only) survival type show I've seen, it was simultaneously great and awful, but I'm glad I watched it. Yeah, evil editing can be annoying and it's unnecessary, I'm more interested in watching the performances and seeing them put them together and having fun -carat anon 1/?

I've heard of Immortal Songs, but I haven't watched it, I've seen clips where svt was on it tho. Being indecisive is something I can honestly relate to. I'm sure you'll make the right decision regarding the carat bong tho. I like talking to you too, it's fun! We seem to have quite a bit in common. Also, nope I'm a ghost, I died twice, after both MV teasers, this comeback is gonna slap me with a ton of bricks. Oh I've heard of Vincent Blue I think! I saw him on Youtube, I think he did a cover of something that I really liked, I think Jimin Park was also in the video maybe. I'll definitely give it a listen! Lmao I could totally see Seokmin being like "let's walk!" and I'd be like, "seriously? do we have to?" but then he'd make some cute puppy dog face and I'd cave. Hmmm I'm not sure if Shua would've watched YOI, I haven't seen it either, I'd rather watch something like BNHA with him Okay Sims is so good! That was one of my favourite things to do with my friends when I was younger, playing Sims alone is fun, but with other people, it's a whole different experience. I feel like Wonwoo would enjoy it and find it really amusing. YES OMG THE SECOND TEASER, I'M EVEN LESS READY NOW. LIKE ARE THEY TRYING TO KILL ME? Oh that must've been really hard on you, I got into kpop around that time so tbh it felt weird to get into SHINee plus I don't really stan older gen groups. But I really like Key's solo debut! Honestly that whole album is so good. Omg I love Monsta X! I got to see them in concert last month, it was honestly the best experience I've ever had, they're unbelievable on stage. Who's your bias? Mine's Jooheon. I stan a lot of groups, and listen to a whole lot more, maybe I have a problem lmao, but svt are my ults. I love that you went with dog breeds, they all fit so well! You did a good job for such a difficult question haha. I had fun looking up pics of those dog breeds since I haven't heard of some of them. Is it safe to assume you prefer dogs over cats or are you an animal lover who loves all animals? What's your favourite animal outside of those? Oh Anne! My name spelt backwards is Anne J. I'll let you figure that out lmao. We're getting close to the reveal now? When is it supposed to be again? -carat anon 

1. Ahh thanks!! R&B just hits different LOL. I think it really allows for singers to show off their voices and technical talent. Def def def check out Vincent Blue tho! 

2. Same with the whole drama and evil editing thing. Honestly the only reason I started watching Under 19 was because I was really bored and was interested in how some of the boys would perform but it started to get kinda dramatic with guys leaving and getting kicked out and blah blah blah so I tend to stick with other kinds of entertainment shows.

3. I literally just saw the second teaser and I’m gonna have to agree with you on this one, I’m dead too. Don’t even know how I made it this far as a carat without actually dying from shock from how freaking amazing they are. Hit is gonna be such a frickin bop. DROP IT ALREADY YOU COWARDS

4. oh YUP Seokmin could ask me to do anything and I’d do it willingly, no questions asked. I’m also definitely the friend in my group that insists that we can walk no matter the distance so he wouldn’t even have to try that hard with the puppy face but let’s be real I’d fake being annoyed about it so he’d give me the puppy eyes LOL

4. Ooh yes BNHA!! Or maybe even like SNK, Tokyo Ghoul, Death Parade...or we could tackle having a Naruto marathon LOL. I was caught up with Naruto at one point but then I stopped watching it and now I’m totally lost again hahaha. I also started rewatching One Piece last summer and got to episode 400 something...maybe I’ll get back on that again,,,

5. Man my parents only let me play educational computer games when I was younger so the only experience I have with sims is watching other people play! I could see the appeal tho

6. Yea, Jonghyun’s death was something that really made me stop and think about how life can be so uncertain. It was really rough bc he was one of my biases and his funeral was on my birthday that year too and idk I kinda just didn’t really know how to continue being a fan of theirs after that. But like I said, I recently got back into them and just relish the fact that his voice has been immortalized through their older songs :’)

7. DAMN HOW Y’ALL BE AFFORDING KPOP CONCERT TICKETS?? I know someone that’s gonna be seeing Svt in Seoul for Ode To You and I’m over here with my broke ass tryna figure out how to save for if they ever come to the states sdlkfjsdjflsdkfjsldkf 

8. My bias is Hyungwon bc he’s like...a living meme. There’s that one gif of him sipping his starbucks and looking all shady and it makes me laugh bc I’ve totally done the same thing before and actually do it pretty frequently LMAO. But I also really like Shownu. Have you watched his mukbang series with M2??? That show got me through the last few weeks of college I swear to god, and especially the eps where Wonho was a guest star had me DEAD 

9. Yea I don’t like actively stan a lot of groups but listen to a bunch here and there so I get what you mean! I guess for a while I was really into SNSD but it never got to the point that I’d say I was a stan. Svt and SHINee will always be my true loves (though yea Monsta X is creeping up there too)

10. HAHA THANK U I picked dog breeds bc I was gonna do animals but I feel like that’d get boring bc like everyone says Jun and Woo are like cats, Hoshi calls himself a tiger and ppl think he’s a hamster, Mingyu is a puppy, etc. So I figured since I love dogs a lot and I also love svt a lot....why not combine the two lolol

11. I do love both dogs and cats (and all other animals) but if I had to only choose one to have as a pet I’d go with a dog for sure!! They’re just,,,so pure,,,precious BABIES. My favorite dog breed is probably the samoyed! I love that they have those cute smiles. Just thinking about it makes my heart melt :’) But other than dogs, I had a phase where I was SUPER into pandas. I think part of it was that I identified with having really bad dark circles and always being tired LOL. Lowkey I still am obsessed with them but you can’t pet pandas soooooooo...

12. So...Jenna? Unless I’m somehow a dumbass? LOL

We really do seem to have a lot in common, so I’m excited for the reveal! If I remember correctly, it’s on the day that Hit gets dropped heh 

But also with the whole carat bong thing,,,I heard they might not be selling V1 anymore???? So???? I might be forced to buy V2???? idk man idk 

[akirotempest]

My Favorite Anime’s of 2018

So if I haven’t explained by now, I don’t really have the time to make a youtube video for this like last year which sucks because I would actually put effort into it and make it funny ect. And also considering that winter season as started might as well do it now. So instead of a well put together video, you get a blog post on an almost dead site yay! So incase you were curious on my list for whatever reason, my top 10 favorite anime’s of 2018!

Number 10 - Overlord Season 2&3

It had been about 2 and a half years since Overlord’s first season aired back in the summer of 2015. And it certainly leave an impression on the Isekai genre as a whole. Fast forward to Winter 2018 and damn, the amount of Isekai animes increased almost ten fold with their being at least 1-3 every season. Overlord  would have its work cut of for it so really stand apart from the rest. And for the most part, it did. It expanded on the world by giving more characters screen time than in the past and seeing how they handle certain situations without Lord Ains and helping to set up a new season. Season II was well worth the wait. If you could get past the first 3-4 episodes of build up that is. The second half felt more interesting and just better written the the first half with could be a drag to watch.  It was pretty surprising to hear at the end of the season that season 3 would be airing in the summer, just 4 months later. But unlike season II, season 3 to me was mostly a bore. It had its moments here and there and certainly gave a few more characters a little bit of a spot light and attention, however, the cgi has some of the worst of the series and of the year as whole. I’d say as bad as Berserk’s remake cgi which is considered to be some of the worst all time. Even though season 3 was mostly a miss, I’m still game to see more of these characters and see their eventual conquest of the world. 

Number 9 - My Hero Academia Season 3

How far My Hero Academia has come since its debut in Shonen Jump back in 2014. Right as Naruto had ended its 15 year long run, My Hero, unknown to most at the time, would take the torch shortly after and run with it. Since then its become arguably the second biggest if not the biggest anime in North America only behind Dragon Ball Super (DBS Broly will make sure of that). Two very successful season’s, a movie screen all across NA. So much so that an extra week of screenings were added. 2018 was certainly a great year for the My Hero franchise as a whole. Season 3 continues right where Season 2 left off as the first half see’s students from classes 1-A and 1-B going on a field trip to an training camp to help hone their powers even more. However, the newly formed League of Villains launch an attack on the camp grounds with their own objective. The climax of the first half see’s All Might face off against his greatest enemy, All for One. With the final moments of the battle being some of the most memorable in not only shonen history, but of all anime. The second half seeing the students trying to go for their hero licenses which will enable them to use their quirks for heroic purposes without needed a pro hero with them. While the final results are a shock, the second half just can’t compare with the first. The final episode of the season is definitely worth the wait. Not only does it wrap up this portion of the story, but sets up the now highly anticipated season 4. Without spoiling it, shit’s about to get fucking real.

Number 8 - How Not to Summon A Demon Lord

Now... with all the stuff I post and talk about, one might think that Ecchi anime would be my favorite type of anime. Surprise! It isn’t. So when I saw this I was turned off by it think it would be another High School DXD type of deal. Because that went so well this year. But when I sat down to watch it I was surprised that I found myself binging the entire show with 2 episodes yet to air. The story follows a video game otaku shut in whom one day gets teleported to another world. Where haven’t we heard that opening before?! But to his surprise, he’s not himself, but as his avatar from the game he played, which he was an OP Demon Lord. The two girls that summoned him argue over who gets to keep him as in this world, the summoned one is enslaved by those whom summoned it. However unknown to all 3, when one of the girls trys to command him, a spell he casted on himself reflects the magic back and now he has enslaved both girls. We’re still here for the plot right? The show then follows them trying to undo to find a way to undo the spell. To me, it had the SAO affect where the plot might of been dull, but the characters worked well off each other. Especially where the main character is OP, he doesn’t know what the hell is going on half the time as even though he’s a demon lord, he doesn't mean to be. If you’re a fan of the Isekai genre and want to wash away the taste of last years, In Another World With My Smartphone, then I defiantly recommend giving this one a try.

Number 7 - Skilled Teaser Tagaki-San

This ones a bit of an odd one. The plot is a girl named Tagaki teases her classmate Nishikata. Although he one day vows to get back at her, he fails every single time. The whole anime is essentially a bunch of shorts like in the original manga. It was something adorable and sometime to just watch to pass the time with. Nothing that made you think too hard or was made out to be more than what it is. Although toward the end of the series; a bit of story does come into play with an ending that certainly left those whom watched all the way til the end wanting more. 

Number 6 - That Time I  Got Reincarnated as a Slime

This would defiantly be in my top 5 best anime of the year and just narrowly missed the top 5 of my favorites. Slime is about a man whom gets stabbed and passes. But wouldn’t you know it... He gets teleported to another world yay!!! However he is reincarnated as a slime. Which in most another world animes (except for Konosuba), slime’s tend to be weakest creatures in the world. This little slime however, gets granted with a very OP move that he exploits to it’s fullest. Without giving to much away, the story revolves around him and his adventure in this new mysterious world along with the companies along the way. 13 episodes and I haven’t gotten tired of discovering more of the world and its races. I want to know what happens next because the characters once again, make the show a memorable one. 

Number 5 - Laid Back Camp

Alright the top 5! What did I enjoy more than My Hero and Slime?! An anime about 5 girls that go camping. That’s it. That’s the whole show. Although I will admit, this show isn’t for everyone as, it can get rather boring. With that being said, this has got to be one of the most comfiest anime’s of all time. A show where you can just turn on and shut your mind off from everything going on in the world. The art of some of these shots has got to be some of the best animation of the year. Some of the best moments are when the characters see a lake, a mountain, the sky at its most beautiful moments just before and after the sun rises. All locations visited in the anime are locations in real life where the crew drew inspiration from and recreated it. Seeing the characters react makes the viewer feel as if you’re right there with them experiencing it for the first time. A no pun indented, laid back anime that makes you appreciate the world we live in just a little more. 

Number 4 - Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai 

This one in all honesty is extremely hard to explain the plot of. At first glance one might think, oh where we go, another harem.  And even though it almost instigated a war of who is best waifu of the series, it became so much more. Most people who have seen this agree that it pretty much will become an instant classic and on most people’s list, anime of the year. The story follows Sakuta Azusagawa as he one day finds a girl dressed in a bunny suit in a library. However, he seems to be the only one to notice her as no one else bats an eye. The girl who’s name is Mai finds it to be intriguing as well. Calling this  Adolescence or Puberty Syndrome, Sakuta decides to figure out what exactly is going on. Along the way, he forms a friendship with Mai and helps another’s who suffer from the syndrome. The basic summary does not do the show justice, but I still highly recommend it to anyone. 

Number 3 - A Place Further Than the Universe

This is one show that really hits home on a multitude of levels. The story is very quite simple. Four girls who travel to Antarctica. That’s about it. How can that simple plot be relatable is the slightest? I’m pretty sure we’ve all at some point or another day dream of completing our goals in life, our plans our ambitions, that you’ll one day get to. One day, not today because of school, work, responsibilities, not feeling up to it, money being an issue. But one day you’ll get to it. Maybe. It’ll turn to days, weeks, months, years even before you even think about doing it. And before you know it. You’re youth is gone, and won’t be able to do the things you once dreams of doing. Maybe all you needed was that one sign or push to get you moving. This is where the main character comes Mari comes in. She has plans and goals she wants to achieve, but the fear of the unknown and anxiety have always held her back. It all changes when she one days meets a girl named Shirase, whom is the complete oppose of her. She will not let anyone or anything stop her from achieving her dream of reaching Antarctica and searching for her mother. Her mother disappeared 3 years ago and has been trying to fund her way there ever since, despite everyone around her ridiculing her for it. Inspired by this Mari takes that step that she’s been needing and joins Shirase. This attracts two other characters whom have their own reasons for joining for they have also been looking for that push. The rest of the show is them bonding and having experiences they would of never had. The second to last episode is where things really hit the fan. The outcome was known already, but now she’s able to move on and live her life. It was made more special that the journey was made with friends. Reminding us that some experiences, are best experienced with those you love and care for. To not be afraid of the unknown, to take the step toward your dreams instead of them remaining dreams. 

Number 2 - Sword Art Online: Alicization 

What the fuck?! Sword Art? Is actually good? What the fuck is going on?! Even though Sword Art is one of my all time favorite series, I will admit, most of it is horrible. Alicization pretty much makes up for most of the bad. We once again follow Kirito as he’s trapped in this new world after being stabbed with a syringe and goes into a coma. Stupid way to get him in there but regardless, this is where the story takes off.  Without giving anything away, if you’ve ever been a fan of Sword Art I highly recommend giving this a try.Because what’s better than one Kirito? Two Kirito’s! With one being blonde. 

Number 1 - Darling in The Franxx

Well, we’ve come to this. My favorite anime of the year, Darling in the Franxx!! It had everything, character development to where each character actually something to offer, ever changing story that left us wanting more, amazing mecha fights and action, a romance that was fleshed out and very well written. Arguably the best anime of 2018. These 15 episodes were simply amazing. Because the series ended at episode 15. Because nothing else happened after. There totally weren’t 8 more episodes.... That completely fucked this series. Studio Trigger literally had no idea where to take the show and it became a cluster fuck. What was a shoe in for anime of the year became one of the most disappointing anime’s of all time. I could probably make a whole video on why it is...... BECAUSE FUCK STUDIO TRIGGER, AND FUCK YOUR SPACE BATTLES. at least we had SSSS. Gridman.. heard that was okay.. 

Number 1 - Hinamatsuri

Where do I even begin with Hinamatsuri. I haven’t had this much fun with a comedy since Konosuba. The story is one day, a yakuza member named Nitta has something fall on his head. When he checks to see what hit it, he sees a girl inside this egg shaped box whom turns out has amazing psychic powers and is named Hina. He reluctantly takes her in. For being a comedy/ slice of life anime, this show has amazing character development . By the end of the show, most characters are almost new people by the end of it. The direction of this was handled extremely well and not rushed. It felt more fluid than forced which felt natural for these characters. I had a great time seeing all these different characters interact with one another. A few thing the series touches on are homeless, humanity, running way, acceptance, family, gambling, and money. Each character deals with one or more of these and explores them in depth. And makes one appreciate what we already have. If you’re a fan of comedy and slice of life, then I highly recommend watching. 

Well there you have it. Surprised you’re still even here. But thanks for reading all the way through. I really appreciate it. Fuck Darling in the Franxx. 002 and Ichigo are best girls though...

[xtremedespair3d]

Anime Spring 2018 Final Impressions + Plans for Summer

It’s been a long time since I made the last post on every anime I watched on winter, or posting anything on Tumblr in general, it’s time to come back to talk about what anime I’ve watched this spring season and what I’m going to watch this summer.

WARNING: This list may contain spoilers.

Spring 2018

Golden Kamuy: I’ve looked this one this entire season, even though I may not know much, after watching a few episodes, I was definitely impressed, but there are a few people who are disappointed with how the anime turned out, I kind of understand that, but at the same time it leaves me a sour taste in my mouth.

I’m happy season 2 got announced for October, definitely looking forward for more.

High School DXD Hero: I’ve always been skeptical about this season just by the new art style alone, even if it’s by the same studio that made the Citrus anime, but it seems like Passione pulled it off.

Not only the art is rather nice, as I stated, it looks to be faithful to the light novels, they retconned the Juggernaut Drive moment from Born from episode 0, it took me by surprise and learning that the rest of Born was anime original ruined my life and everything I’ve seen has changed.

Steins;Gate 0: Not a lot to add, but it’s definitely one of the strongest series I’ve seen this season so far.

Tokyo Ghoul:re: As someone who hasn’t read the Tokyo Ghoul:re manga, I’d say this one was decent. I saw this ComicBook post where fans were disappointed by the season finale, but hey, there’s season 2 coming in October.

(Man, what’s with these shows having season 2 in Fall?)

My Hero Academia season 3: It’s lower in my list because, while MHA is really good, I read the manga and I pretty much know everything that happens, even if I forget what happened since it’s been ages since I read the chapters the anime adapts, at least they refresh my memory.

Lupin the 3rd Part 5: This one is good, my only problem is that every few episodes with storylines end, there are those extra episodes that take place in previous jackets, like red jacket and pink jacket Lupin, I can’t help but think those are filler. It’s probably my first time I’ve been mad to filler.

Persona 5: The Animation: Totally did not expect the problems P5A has at all, from animation quality, like terrible fight scenes, to pacing issues, like everything is happening so fast and A-1 decided to rush the 100 hour plot into a 25 episode series. At least it looks better than Persona 4: The Animation.

Given by the episode count I mentioned, I’m looking forward to the surprise teased by the director, I hope I see a lot of people lose their shit like Darling in the Franxx (Heh, A-1), I kind of have the guilty pleassure to see people suffer in this case.

Caligula: This one I really was looking forward to hate. The animation was decent and all but all I can think of is the story, I really don’t like the world at all and I probably don’t care for any of the characters, especially Ritsu.

At the end of episode 10, Ritsu left Mobius and came back to reality alone while all of his friends are left behind, by that point, for some reason I thought “I officially hate Ritsu for that!”, but the more I waited, the less I considered that idea and decided to drop it.

By episode 11, it’s where things are getting worse: The Ritsu we were seeing all along wasn’t even Shikishima Ritsu, it’s a dude called Tachibana Shingo...

...and this dude right here IS THE REAL SHIKISHIMA RITSU!

LIKE... WHAT?!

I thought Mobius Ritsu was Shingo who took Ritsu’s name but it’s actually the real Ritsu who took Shingo’s likeness. Why? Why would he do that? It’s not even explained. (Not sure if the game does)

I wanted to drop around episode 8 but I was 4 episodes left to finish watching this trash, and the more I saw it, I felt interested to know what was going on in the story.

I cared less about everything that happened in this show. It’s not offensively bad as 18if, but seriously, the world of Caligula sucks.

The only highlight of the series I’d give credits for are the post-credits teasers by Pop Team Epic creator, Okawa bkub.

Winter 2018 ongoing

Darling in the Franxx: Darling in the Franxx has grown to be the most divisive series to date, mainly from the “Bitchigo” controversy ever since.

While I definitely enjoy the series and I feel defensive about it, I can’t help but think that this is Trigger (and A-1)’s most controversial anime they’ve produced to have such fan outrage. Speaking of which, I don’t think it’s even being animated by Trigger anymore, it’s probably only A-1 alone along with Trigger animators and they just slapped the Trigger name on the credits. (I’m probably exaggerating), and Darling in the Franxx is not even on Trigger’s website!

If this is another one of Trigger’s big flops (The second one being Kiznaiver which WatchMojo called it “disappointing” which made me pissed so bad considering that I loved Kiznaiver, fucking thanks for the trauma, you cunts. (Don’t ask)), then Trigger, as storytellers, have become one-hit wonders, and that one hit is Kill La Kill. (Speaking of which, it’s getting a video game... developed by the people who made Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time, which turned out hot garbage, RIP)

As of the writing of this post, the series hasn’t ended yet, so we’re still gonna have to wait how the ending will turn out.

Toji no Miko: This one was alright, for some reason I expected the second cour to be somewhat time-wasting and trying to figure out the story because I was satisfied with the end of the first cour, but this one was decent.

Even if the anime series ended, while the mobage is currently on existence, I’ll never stop making Kancolle x Touken Ranbu jokes, at least the series had its own identity to make up for it.

Grancrest Senki: This one I was the least hopeful to watch, though not as trash as Caligula per se, but it’s just generic fantasy with some political drama, and ridiculously violent (Which there’s nothing wrong with it but the amount of gore is really something from a fantasy anime).

There were a couple of good moments but overall, it was meh.

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card: I’m a little surprised that Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card ended with 22 episodes as opposed to 24 or 25 episodes, overall, I enjoyed the series, hopefully we won’t wait for a long time for another season.

Plans for Summer

Attack on Titan season 3: Reminder that we didn’t have to wait for another 4 years for another Attack on Titan season.

Angels of Death: This one has the potential to be one of the better anime adaptations of an RPG Maker game, unlike Ao Oni which failed spectacularly, considered that the Angels of Death anime is being made by JC Staff.

As of the writing of this video, it’s now confirmed that the total of episodes was 16 episodes, 12 of the regular series, and 4 OVA.

Overlord III: It’s still hard to believe that Overlord II was a winter show and this new season is a summer show, considering that I normally would expect shows having two seasons between winter and fall (Such as Shinmai Maou no Testament (2015) and Bubuki Buranki (2016).)

Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs: All I can think of is the titular character, Yuuna, is cute, and hot springs, what’s not to like?

Fate/Extra: Last Encore Illustrais Geocentrism: It still feels weird that Last Encore ended with 10 episodes, but at least there’s going to be more, but it’s going to be a two hour special, in two separate episodes. I thought I’ve seen sources that it was going to be episodes 11-13, I’ve seen a lot of sources and they confuse the heck out of me.

(Finally, a good line-up to watch)

BONUS: FLCL Progressive: Technically, FLCL Progressive came out on June 2nd on Adult Swim/Toonami, unlike the majority of the shows are all July shows.

FLCL Progressive and Alternative have quite the unique releases.

I was so baffled that many of the people I talk with were skeptical about FLCL Progressive, there were even stories of the original creator not wanting to make a sequel in the first place, I never gave a crap and ignored to what they said and just moved on to watch it.

After the first episode, it seems like the reactions were mostly positive (Maybe because a lot of people must be more newcomers than a few veteran FLCL fans), though the one thing that cringed me out was the part where Haruko (disguised as a teacher) made everyone watch porn.

Also, my bigger problem with watching FLCL Progressive (and Alternative) is that I have to watch them English dubbed and the subs got delayed until November (yes, that long; I’m not an English dubbed person, okay?).

Speaking of problems, as I mentioned that it was English dubbed, the parts where the characters say Japanese phrases is absolutely cringey as fuck, and with episode 4, at the beginning of the episode, Hidomi made a Jacksepticeye reference by saying “TOP OF THE MORNING!” and that triggered me so bad.

Speaking of Hidomi Hibajiri, she’s like my only highlight of this entire season, she’s such a cutie.

Like the original FLCL, Progressive and Alternative (I keep counting that one a lot, but, since it’s released on September, it still falls into Summer, I guess?) have 6 episodes, so as of the writing of this post, which ironically it’s almost 2 AM and it’s saturday, so new episode tonight, there’s at least going to be one more episode to end, and Alternative, while the first episode was released as a surprise release on April Fools, the rest of the episodes will be on September.

I wanted to add Tensai Bakabon to the list but now my interest to watch has turned off and I prefer Osomatsu-san over this one (This and Osomatsu-kun are made by Fujio Akatsuka and they’re being animated by Pierrot).

I hope you enjoyed my list of everything I saw this spring (while tryhard reviewing them in the process) and what I plan to watch this summer.

Twitter: @HKomaeda

[blondeyoonie]

in denial - the story of how monsta x became my third bias group

as you may or may not know, after bts became my second bias group i told myself that, that was it. no more groups. no more bias groups because frankly my wallet wouldn't be able to take it. at the time i was cool with it, i was madly in love with infinite and bts and that was all i needed. and all was well until around june 2016. firstly, back track a few years, it's the end of 2014 and starship has announced their new survival show to form their new boy band. survival shows were just taking off back then but i wasn't interested. wasn't my thing and still isn't. so obviously i didn't watch it but i saw the news about it. point is, i've been lowkey keeping up with monsta x since pre-debut. next, it's 2015 and monsta x have debuted with trespass. i was actually pretty keen for it. a new boy group debut is always exciting i guess. anyways i watched trespass when it came out and i thought it was cool but nothing extraordinary to get me hooked. from there i just checked out their comeback when they had one. with rush, i can still remember clearly when and where i watched that mv. just one of those random moments you remember for some odd reason. it was in the middle of the day, like noon or something because the sun was high up in the sky. i think it was summer, and i was walking in my university campus with phone in one hand. that phone was playing the rush mv and i was watching it while walking and the glare was really bad so i probably missed most of the mv. either way i wasn't really feeling it. i thought it was weird tbh lol. then it was hero promotions and i didn't follow it but my friend showed me the rooftop ver of hero and i was like ooh. shirt lifts and everything yknow. that and hero is a lit song. thinking back i feel like i could've gotten into monsta x through hero, but i didn't. oh well. it was mid 2016 and one day i stumbled upon a mashup of i need u and monsta x's latest release, all in. i knew monsta x had another comeback but i hadn't gotten round to checking it out yet. so i listened to the mashup and i thought it was really cool. i mean i love i need u to bits and i'd never heard all in before but it was good. a little while after that i went to watch the all in mv and from memory it was not bad? i don't know it didn't leave a big impression. then later on, one day, right before my mid semester break, i was suddenly like, i want to watch monsta x stuff. i have literally no idea why or how i got into that mood but i did. and that's where it all went haywire. i started with some of their all in stages and i was like, yep nice pretty cool. but i was unsatisfied because i wanted to know more about them, so the logical solution was variety/reality shows. cue weekly idol. after going through their weekly idols, i decided i wanted to go back and watch no mercy. i figured since it was already done and i knew who the final members are it wouldn't be too bad and plus i just wanted to see more of monsta x. bad idea. first, i didn't sleep and binge watched all 10 episodes. second, it was bad. i mean, i still managed to get myself attached to some of the trainees that were eliminated and my heart was breaking. the exact reason why i don't do survival shows. i can't take the heartbreak. but anyways, after no mercy was done i dutifully went on the binge all their other shows. deokspatch, right now, asc, some chinese show, etc etc. when that was done it was back to all their previous comeback stages and performances. mind you this sounds like a lot but this all happened within a few weeks. next thing was their promotions for stuck and i was staying up late for teasers, watching their stages religiously and all that jazz. and we now come to the reason why this post/rant is called 'in denial'. at this point, it would seem from my behaviour that i was well and truly biasing monsta x. it was about time i announced myself as a monbebe. but i didn't. remember how i said i told myself no more bias groups? yeah. i wanted to hold onto that. i really had put my foot down when i told myself that. i had promised myself no more bias groups. and that's why i denied the fact that i was a monbebe. it was more like i just refused to call myself anything other than a 'big fan' of monsta x. you might think it's trivial, whether i call myself a monbebe or not. but for me, if i decide to enter the fandom and call myself, in this case, a monbebe, then it basically equates to collecting all their albums/merch. of course that's not the only thing that comes with being in the fandom but that's how i define whether a group is my bias group or not. basically it all boils down to the fact that i could not afford (quite literally) another bias band so i stayed in denial about my monbebe status. it was probably really obvious to my friends that i was indeed a monbebe but i just couldn't admit it, couldn't label myself as so. that issue aside, i stil threw myself completely into monsta x. i followed their fansites, i followed their news, i retweeted all their tweets, i stayed up for their comebacks. i did everything for them like i would for infinite or bts. then come 2017 and i finally start cracking. it was early in the year when i stupidly watched an unboxing video of their the clan pt.1 album. i figured since i wasn't going to get it anyway, might as well watch an unboxing. BIG MISTAKE. after watching it, i desperately wanted to buy it. both versions at that. and alas, i did buy it, both versions and they just so happened to be signed albums too. i never buy signed albums. another sign that i was sinking deep. after that purchase i was like, okay no more, just a one off thing. i should've known better. but who would've known that beautiful would hit me so hard. i loved beautiful. i loved everything about it. all the songs, the photoshoot, the choreography. my monsta x feels were peaking when they had their beautiful comeback. and so i bought one, the blue one, which came with a shownu photocard, shownu poster and black group poster. actually i just really, really wanted that shownu poster. man i still haven't even touched on my bias situation lol. okay moving on quickly, to the turning point, i.e. when i finally accept my fate and stop denying the fact that i am actually a monbebe and have been for the past year. it was kcon and monsta x were part of the line up. i was freaking ecstatic because i would be able to see them in real life for the first time ever (and hopefully not the last time). so i went to kcon for them and they were headlining the second night. they were the last act and i was so, so excited. i have never, ever, been so excited for a concert/performance and i had never screamed so much like i did for monsta x at kcon (specifically for shownu oh gosh). i had a sore throat for days afterwards and looking back i'm still so shocked at how high i managed to scream for monsta x wow. so after kcon, it was pretty damn obvious i was a major monbebe, especially after i screamed like my life depended on it when kihyun called for monbebes during the concert. i finally could not lie to myself and say i was 'just a fan'. and so now monsta x is officially my third bias band. i still need to talk about my monsta x bias but i think i'll make another post about it. kudos if you're still here at the end of my long rant 😂