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according-to-the-laura · 3 years ago

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StackedNatural Day 179: 3x16, 8x23

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

May 15, 2022

3x16: No Rest For The Wicked

Written by: Eric Kripke

Directed by: Kim Manners

Original air date: May 15, 2008

Plot Synopsis:

Dean's time is up and he has to pay the Devil his due. When Lilith resurfaces in New Harmony, Indiana terrorizing a family to no end Sam, Dean, and Bobby steal Ruby's knife and confront the mother of all demons in a battle to the death.

Features:

30 hours on the clock, what a demon does for fun, a socially awkward last day on Earth, killing the cop that pulls you over, Lilith’s child vessel, Holy Water sprinklers, Lilith impersonating Ruby, Dean being dragged to Hell.

My Thoughts:

It’s been forever since I’ve seen any of this episode not as part of an AMV so it was nice to see the end in context again. I had forgotten how much it really seems like they’re going to be able to save him with the structure of the episode.

Ruby’s manipulation is so good in retrospect - she wins no matter what Sam decides to do, because if he drinks the demon blood he’s hooked, and if he doesn’t he’ll think it’s his fault for not drinking the demon blood and then she can get him on his revenge mission.

It’s so fun the way Stacked has worked out for early season finales - we watched the season 5 finale two days ago, season four yesterday, season three today, and season two tomorrow. It’s very cool to follow the domino line backwards and see how cleanly it’s all put together.

Lilith is a great villain, genuinely monstrous and creepy. I love that she obviously doesn’t possess kids just because she feels like one - she knows that they’re the most effective way to torture the family around them, and a very effective shield against a lot of hunters.

The practical effects are absolutely brutal in the best way, I love the hellhounds so much (even though I had to watch half the episode on mute to keep my own dog from losing her mind).

Notable Lines:

“You're not gonna go to hell. I'm not gonna let you. I swear. Everything's gonna be okay.”

“You don't like being different. You hate the way Dean looks at you sometimes. Like you're some kind of sideshow freak.”

“Don't you see a pattern here? Dad's deal, my deal, now this? I mean every time one of us is up the creek the other is begging to sell their soul.”

“Family don’t end with blood, boy.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 9.5

IMdB Rating: 9.3

8x23: Sacrifice

Written by: Jeremy Carver

Directed by: Phil Sgriccia

Original air date: May 15, 2013

Plot Synopsis:

Sam and Dean capture Crowley to finish the trials and close the gates of Hell. Castiel and Metatron continue the trials to close the gates of Heaven. Sam is left with a huge decision.

Features:

Jody and Crowley’s blind date, the second heavenly trial, demonic handcuffs, the third demon trial, Sam going to confession, Dean and Cas’ little bar date, the live woobification of Crowley, the angels falling.

[Read More Cut]

My Thoughts:

This is a fun episode. I really love watching Crowley become human - of all the villains that become pathetic for the Winchesters, Crowley is the only one with a narrative justification that I really dig. I wish there had been a way for him to become fully human, it would have been really cool to watch him wrestle more with atoning for the things he did as a demon. Plus, Cas and Crowley would have become human at the same time, and that has a lot of love triangle-related purposes for me. The church is also a great set piece.

I love the bar scene with Dean and Cas. It’s filmed so intimately, and it’s such a moment of piece in an otherwise hectic and painful season. There’s a real understanding of what Cas is doing and what it’s going to cost them both. Also we get to see Dean be reminded that gay people exist and have to pause and let his brain reboot.

It can’t be stressed enough that the structure of the spell that kicks the angels out of Heaven strongly implies that Cas is in love with Dean (which we now know to be true). The heart of a nephilim, which is the product of love between a human and an angel. Cupids bow, the angelic creature that sparks love in humans. Cas’ grace, the grace of an angel in love with a human.

Notable Lines:

“Would you say that you're looking for a partner in crime, or someone who's into nurse role-play and light domination?” “Brother, it's 10:00 a.m. on a Tuesday.”

“Don't we all -- you, me -- we deserve to be loved. I deserve to be loved! I just want to be loved.”

“Earlier, when you were confessing back there...what did you say? I only ask because, given my history...it raises the question... Where do I start...to even look for forgiveness?”

“You finish this trial, you’re dead, Sam.” “So?”

“You want to know what I confessed in there? What my greatest sin was? It was how many times I let you down.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 9.4

IMdB Rating: 9.3

In Conclusion: Very cool to see the beginning of Sam’s corruption arc followed immediately by his blood purifying a demon.

<< Previous Day | Next Day >>

#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #3x16 #No Rest For The Wicked #8x23 #Sacrifice

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dzamie-oc · 3 years ago

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06 - Mech

Ah, aren’t Synths wonderful? Modular, and you can make them do gender and sexuality in whatever way you please.

Length: 2200 words Rating: M (no sex actually happens, but genitalia are discussed a lot) Summary: A woman and her robo-derg go shopping for some parts to spice up their bedroom activities.

Minors DNI, please. It’s rated M for a reason.

-----

Lauren and her Synth, Haskell, stood at the entrance to the robotics store. It wasn’t an official outlet for his manufacturer, so they would technically be voiding his warranty, something that might have concerned them if he had still had one. As it was, however, the reason they simply stood there was less robotic and far more human.

[I told you for weeks, I’m only going in after you,] Haskell said, his primary lights a mirthful yellow against his blue and light grey plating, [watching your face go through so many emotions is well worth the delay.]

The human gently shoved him, her face hot with a blush. “Shut up, I’m getting to it.”

[Would it help if you pretended we were here to look at different parts?] The synthetic dragon took a couple steps forward, peering at the shelves. [I wonder if they’ve got a simulation link set up for a naga lower half. Oh, don’t worry, Lauren, it’s well outside of our price range, I’d only be demoing in VR. You won’t have to worry about my tail wrapping you up in your sleep any more than it already does.]

This did not in any way help Lauren’s blush, but she did stomp forward and stubbornly cross the threshold into the store. Haskell’s visor displayed blue carets for his eyes as he followed her inside. On a side thread, he bragged to other synths in their IRC chat room how positively adorable his owner looked after some well-placed teasing, and he received some encouragement, and a link to an image of a synth with a hand at the end of her tail giving him three thumbs up.

“Hey, you two!” one of the employees, a two-tailed fox, called, “good to see you again. Haskell, how’s that projector module treating you?”

“Oh, hey Shay!” Lauren replied, her nervousness instantly abated. “It’s been real useful. Now we don’t have to settle for my desktop’s monitor to watch stuff together.”

[Or my visor.]

“That was ONE TIME. Anyway, thanks for the recommendation, and... half un-thanks for telling Haskell that it’s so port-neutral.” The human jabbed a thumb towards Haskell. “Nothing quite like walking back from the bathroom to see this guy on the bed, zero legs, with a My Little Pony AMV projecting out the bottom of his torso onto the opposite wall.”

Shay looked on the verge of laughter. The blue and grey Synth scrossed his arms and turned his head up and away, while his visor displayed a gentle U shape on each side. [My taste is far beyond you organics’ comprehension. Time will vindicate me.]

“A blast and a half, I’m sure. Anyway, what brings you two back in? Looking for hardware or software?”

“Oh. Uh, hardware,” Lauren said.

[In more ways than one,] Haskell added, to a returning and deepening blush on his owner’s face.

The fox furrowed her brow, then a look of comprehension crossed her face. “Ohhh... well! Let me go grab Conny, and she’ll show you to that rather special workshop.” She strode over to a door behind the counter, stuck her head in, and shouted, “Ay Conny! Got a customer for the fun stuff! Come and get ‘em!”

A few seconds later, a synth head popped out from behind the door, pale red around a dark visor featuring a slit-pupil eye display. “The fun stuff? Oh, must be the human lady and the blue bot. Come around and follow me.”

Haskell and Lauren shared a look at the prospect of walking behind the registers, but after a moment, Haskell shrugged and followed the other Synth through the employees door, with Lauren behind him, mindful of his tail. [She pinged me over short-wave, said it’s standard enough for this sort of thing,] he explained.

Conny turned out to be not only a pale red, but an entire slightly-desaturated rainbow from head to foot. Her tail had fewer segments than Haskell’s, but was the same length, so he assumed it was some storage model. When she turned from the hallway into a side room, something rattled in her tail, and he mentally congratulated himself on the guess. The human and Synth also stepped inside, and were immediately surprised at what they saw.

It was clearly a Synth workshop, with a sturdy table, a selection of mechanical and electronic tools on one wall, and a number of wires for fast data transfer. But what was unusual to the pair was a solid half of a wall featuring artificial penises and vaginas. Haskell quickly switched his primary lights to a reddish pink to fit the room, same as he saw Conny do. Many of the genitals were clearly modeled after other species; Haskell quickly identified pairs resembling those of dolphins, wolves, nagas, and several kinds of dragon. But some were purely fantastical, or even designed to look congruous on a Synth. On the opposite wall hung various erotic chestplates, although those weren’t nearly as varied in their design. Haskell’s attention did linger on a pair that featured a port on each breast where the nipple would be on a human or anthro, and the thought spurred him to link a photo to the IRC, followed by “consider: boobs that can grab you back.” To his surprise, one of the other denizens shared that she had a model like that, and joked that she’d share photos for five bucks.

[So! My name is Delilah Conagher, but you can call me Conny,] the rainbow Synth said, [and this is where we keep the lewd. Now, you don’t have to answer this, but this is gonna be for you two? Or has...] A request for information appeared in Haskell’s comms; he let her see his name and pronouns. [Or has Haskell come with his owner, but plans to use this stuff on someone else?]

[Oh, I sure hope this is for us. Otherwise, I’m gonna be pretty let down after all that flirting we’ve done to each other.]

[Faaaaan-tastic. Now, what’re we kitting you out with?] Conny’s eyes curved up and a few twinkling stars blinked in her visor, a common sign that a Synth thought they were about to be very funny. [Are you getting a dongle, port, or rack?]

Haskell laughed, but Lauren, though smiling, looked mildly perplexed. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Haskell laughed louder. Conny, however, just shook her head, though her lights fading to yellow as she did so signaled her amusement. [I could guess, but the guess with the highest accuracy is only 72%. If Haskell was using she/her, that drops all the way down to 43%.]

Now it was Haskell’s turn to be confused. His visor showed eyes looking up and away with one brow slightly down, as he remarked, [43 sounds low for four... well, five options with rack only. Surprisingly even distribution.] Lauren turned to him with a clear question on her tongue, so the Synth answered it for her, counting off on his fingers. [Dick or pussy, each with and without tits. Plus a fifth for just the tits. I’m still on the default “pan” from when we installed the sexuality software, so I happen to have saved plenty of examples to show you if you don’t believe me. Not all Synths, even. Only most.]

The human shook her head. “N- um... maybe later. But, Conny, we’re getting him a... a penis.”

Without audio, Conny sent Haskell a message saying, “Assuming only one between the legs or one set on the chest is sensible, but inaccurate. A good mechanic can do wonders.” Aloud, she addressed Lauren. [Wonderful, those are fun! And all of the designs here are made to be pleasurable to the giver and receiver - trust me on this - so there’s no bad answers, although there may be some better ones for each Synth. So, anything you’re looking for for your first one?]

“First one?”

[We’re modular,] both Synths said at once.

“Oh, right. Uh... well, I think I’ll pass on the... fleshy-looking ones. I think they’d clash with his body, and feel too different than- uh, nevermind.” As Lauren’s voice trailed off, Haskell put on a rather smug and pleased look.

Not missing a beat, Conny grabbed a small selection of more robotic-looking schlongs from the wall and set them out. [Now, this one here’s a great one, both as a first time and in general. It’s not the simplest, but it’s got a vibrate function that’s insulated from the rest of the body.] She then picked up one that looked more obviously draconic, but still with a robotic aesthetic: silvery top, glossy black underside. [And this one is far and away my favorite, both in shape and novelty. Bit on the higher end for price, though, I’ll be honest with you. Doesn’t stop it from being popular with my return customers, though.]

Lauren tentatively reached out, and Conny handed the penis to her, letting her turn it over in her hand. “I mean, it’s certainly nice, but what gives it that price?”

In reply, the rainbow Synth popped one hand off, took the dildo back, and slotted it in. After a few seconds to recognize and prepare the device, the glossy black underside revealed itself to be an RGB light, slowly fading through a few colors. Haskell stared at it. Lauren, on the other hand, had a different reaction. “No. Absolutely not. I know you, Haskell, and there’s no way I’m giving you even half a reason to try to fuck me to Caramelldansen.”

[It’d be funny, though.]

“Not happening.” She pointed to one of the others. “That one looks nice, though. Haskell, how do you feel about that one?”

The blue and grey Synth nodded. [I think I’d look rather good with that on me. If you think you’d feel good with it in you, we should give it a shot.]

Conny looked between the two of them, then nodded at Haskell. [Then just hop up on the table and I’ll get you set up. Oh, that reminds me: I can also modify your lower chassis - a couple hundred, same as other port additions - to get you a proper crotch mount or two. Assuming you’re pretty standard, the best I can do is essentially a workaround where I plug it in the rear, behind your tail, and give you some fittings to secure it around your legs and/or waist.]

“It’s not necessary, though, right?”

Haskell laid down and soon felt the weight of his tail vanish, followed by a system notification that a module had been detached. The Synth mechanic kept talking. [No, but without it, Haskell will probably need or at least want your help to get the penis on and off.]

[Sounds worth it to me,] Haskell said.

“It’s not your $200.”

[Sure it is. You did tell me I could have my own account for stuff on the side. Remember, because I was ask- whining for- hold on. I was ask- whining for video games.] He gave Lauren a flat stare. [Really?]

Lauren held her hands up. “In my defense, I had forgotten I’d done that before I promised to stop touching your admin controls without telling you. But yeah, that’s fine then. Get yourself some penis compatibility.”

[Great! Alright, doc, fix me up!] Haskell said, then slipped himself into Safe Mode.

-----

[Oh, that looks fantastic,] the Synth said, admiring his new dick, [thanks for matching it to my colors.]

[I’d be a pretty poor mechanic if I couldn’t,] Conny replied, [but thanks. Now, go ahead and disable sensitivity in the device settings, or at least drop it as low as possible.]

[Huh? Doesn’t that go against the point?]

[Some modules can be equipped in public. This is not one of them. And trust me, you don’t want that thing anywhere near the default levels when you remove it, at least not until you’re used to the sensation.]

Lauren glanced down the hallway. “Yyyyeah, let’s not traumatize whoever’s in the store and potentially find out which of us is legally liable for you going streaking.”

Haskell nodded, and after a couple seconds, pulled the penis out of its socket, then fit a grey plate over the port, hiding it.

[And this should go without saying, but there are no returns on this sort of thing. If something goes wrong, you might get a partial refund if you send us the diagnostics, but once that dick is out of the store, we don’t want it back in here.]

Lauren took the cock and gave it a curious squeeze before placing it in the bag Conny had provided. “Fair enough. And will Shay ring us up out there, or...?”

[Yep! Alright, you two, have fun out there.]

As the two left the store after paying, Haskell linked a photo of the purchase he had taken earlier to his IRC friends. Some congratulated him on a well-chosen mod, a couple of them asked him to DM photos of it equipped, and one person floated the idea of attaching two of them to that pair of breasts with ports.

All in all, a productive day, and a precursor to a hopefully unforgettable night.

#dragon #anthro #furry #synth #smaugust #smaugust 2021 #furry dragon #mech #writing #writers on tumblr #text

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naivesilver · 4 years ago

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31, 56, 19, 78, 20, 16, 11, 12 , 10, 4, 1, 21, 36, 39. Sorry if this is too many 😅

Guys it’s NEVER too many you’re giving me the chance to talk nonstop about Sonic it’s the best thing that’s happened to me in days

also I had planned to answer them in the order you asked for but it was driving me crazy so I sorted them out thematically sorry alfhjkhljshja

I answered 1 here!

100 Sonic Questions

21.) Tell us a funny Sonic-related story.

This one comes from the depths of my very first months as a Sonic fan. Basically, I had watched Sonic X upon its first Italian release as a very very smol bean. By the time I got obsessed again in middle school, though, I had forgotten everything about it except a few shots from the Italian opening theme and ONE scene from a season three episode, where Sonic and Knuckles played chess on a spaceship and then Sonic began running around and fell into space.

The “friend” that had introduced me to the show again (not a nice person and source of about 25% of my trauma, I’m glad to say I haven’t seen her in years) didn’t believe me and accused me of lying. Repeatedly. Unkindly. For months. How could such a stupid scene be in such an amazing cartoon? I must be trying to fuck with her.

Fast forward to the end of the year. I’m minding my business and I see a Facebook message from this friend, and another, and another. I click on it wondering what she’d be going ham over, and BAM. This girl had been watching Sonic AMVs on Youtube and had caught a glimpse of that scene at the beginning of a video and was fucking losing it over the fact that WOW, I HAD BEEN TELLING THE TRUTH ALL ALONG?!

Now, you have to understand that I wasn’t the kind of kid that swore, back then. I had been brought up to think that swear words would send you to hell straight away. And while not a delicate little flower, I was much, much cuter and more proper than I am now because I couldn’t live out my butch dreams quite yet. But I needed to express all the frustration gathered in those months.

So please imagine this baby-faced, straight A student 13yo wait for her friend in front of their school and bellow at the top of her lungs “BITCH, WHAT DID I FUCKING TELL YOU?”

I still remember that scene fondly, though.

31.) Tell us a Sonic-related story that will give us feels.

Related to the experience I just mentioned, the problem I had in my first years in this fandom was that this person who had dragged me into it was obsessed with the thought that people would mock us for it. She said it was for kids, and when she got over it she gave me shit for clinging to my passion while she’d “grown up”, and she had me enjoy Sonic in secret and yelled at me for saying anything even vaguely related out loud where other people could hear us.

It got into my head so much that for a long long time I didn’t dare share anything Sonic-adjacent on any social media, long past when I’d broke away from her. I thought no one would ever take me seriously again. I felt ashamed a lot.

It got better, though. Slowly, I broke out of my shell and started interacting with this amazing fandom, and I found lots of people who didn’t give a damn about what the world thought of their passion. And I know tons of wonderful people outside the fandom, too, friends who encourage me to talk about Sonic even though they don’t know anything about it. Chats where any mention of Sonic has someone saying “wait we must tag naivesilver into this she’ll love it”. It’s - it warms my heart every day. Tumblr is a shithole, but it helped me in feeling free to do what I love in the fandom that I love most.

Thank you. To everyone that got me through that, thank you. You have no idea how helpful you’ve been to me.

19.) Favorite soundtrack

KNOCK KNOCK IT’S FUCKING KNUCKLES

youtube

20.) Least favorite soundtrack?

None I think???? There are some I don't listen to much, either because I haven't played the game or I just don't vibe with them, but there isn't any song that I particularly dislike. Almost all of them are genuine bops.

16.) (if you read fanfic) What are some fic tropes you love? Ones you hate?

FOUND FAMILY!!! Adoptive parents, siblings, friends taking care of each other, I want a shitton of fluff in my life. And kid!fic. I could read (and write!) kid!fic every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. That's why I enjoy Chaotix and Sonic Movie fics so much. Let's raise them boys well.

As for hating...I don't like high school AUs lmao I wrote one when I was younger but I never dared touch it again and I haven't read any Sonic one since 2014 at most. And most time travel fics. Sorry, Silver, I love you a fucking lot but time travel shenanigans are only funny in the two or three specific settings my mind lets me enjoy.

11.) Top five stages.

In no particular order:

-Press Garden (Mania)

-Casinopolis (Adventure)

-Casino Forest (Forces)

-Studiopolis (Mania)

Anddddd I haven't played much else so I'll have to get back to you on this ajshfkjfahlljha

12.) Worst five stages.

-IMPERIAL TOWER

-Jesus Christ I died 78 times in that stage alone

-I'm bad at being fast and not falling off stuff and it required me to do both at the same time

-Also the Shadow DLC levels. Fuck me up a bit more will you

56.) In your opinion, what’s the weirdest thing any character has ever said?

I'm a simple girl, I see this panel and I lose my shit

10.) What do you like best about your favorite animated adaptation?

I only finished my Sonic X rewatch yesterday and I’ve been meaning to make some final comments about it (tho it’d probably be me rambling at thin air bc I doubt I can say anything that hasn’t been already said over and over and over) but the most compelling thing for me is and always will be the music.

Don’t get me wrong, what I’ve seen of the OG Japanese version had wonderful, heartfelt music, but the upbeat themes I grew up with still have me vibing day in and day out. I can dance to the Italian opening sequence at any given moment - no, you know what, here it is. Watch it and feel the serotonin drip into your veins.

(Some people will come at me for this, but I didn’t watch this show in 2019-2020 to make an in-depth analysis about it. I did it to have a dance off while Knuckles beat up some robots.)

78.) Post a scene that always gives you feels.

Sonic 06:

youtube

13yo me about to see her first ship torn apart:

4.) The last Sonic game you played is now your life. How awesome is this adventure gonna be?

Sonic Adventure - which means it’s a pretty cool life, unless it runs like SA does on my laptop and it turns slow and glitchy and grinds on my nerves even more

36.) C’mon now. How many ships do you have? :P

A FUCKING LOT my main ones are silvaze, vecpio and sonadow but I have many medium or small ones that I enjoy finding content for, like tikaze or knouge

39.) Which game is your golden standard?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not the greatest game fan as in I’ve only been actively playing for the past 2/3 years. Before that it was just gameplays on Youtube, so you should not take my opinion into any account since it’s not very informed.

However there was something about Sonic and the Black Knight that just felt...new? Peculiar? I know jack shit about the technical side of gaming but I remember being extremely pumped every time I logged in to see more of it. I'd like to feel that again, when a new game drops.

#Anonymous #sonic #sonic the hedgehog

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destiny-smasher · 5 years ago

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Round and Round

We finished Carole and Tuesday and in many ways it cause me to feel similar feelings as LiS games do. Like. It was cute, it tried to bring up some relevant topics, it worked in more representation than its medium typically affords. But it felt lukewarm in whatever it meant to say. (and spoilers they don’t really do anything all that bold or committal with the leading duo so if you got baited like my wife and I did, well, there’s some forewarning)

We finished it and Jenny and I were kind of like... "OK, but what was your point?" Not every piece of media NEEDS a 'point' but a multi part narrative that brings up matters of politics in various ways kind of...SHOULD have a 'point' to it, imo.

But at the end of the day, all of that stuff would be overlooked well enough, as I did with Life is Strange 1, if the core dynamic between its two protags was solid. It's not. They are adorable. They are cute and charming enough. But they don't really struggle or grow or change.

When the NAME of your show is the names of the two protagonists, I would...expect them to have more character development? Growth? Struggle? Conflict? Most things are kind of just handed to them without much resistance.

Not everything needs conflict but tbh even a fluffy story like Butterfly Soup has more conflict and tension going on between its characters over much less prominent 'stakes.' It expresses a lot of ups and downs with its characters' dynamics, and that makes for a connective story.

I was thinking about it while we talked on our thoughts on the show and I was flabberghasted to realize that Pearl and Marina (characters from Splatoon 2) have more character development, conflict, tension, and resolution between them than Carole and Tuesday do across two seasons of a TV series ABOUT them.

That's...just really weird, dude. Anyway, it's a fun, light-hearted show that I can recommend if you want something chill But if you're looking for a meaningful lesbian romance, that AIN'T it. xD It's like the TV equivalent of cotton candy, which is nice to have once in a while.

Also, I dunno if this still happens in the English dub but every time someone broke into song it was really jarring and ironically felt out of place and was usually not very interesting?? In a show?? About making music?? Just saying...>_>;;

If you want the best singular scene/moment from Carole and Tuesday, the series' strengths all put into ONE scene, it's this one. This is the best scene in the show, period, imo, and the further it strayed from this the less interesting it became for me.

youtube

Like. Just. FUCK. This scene is so damn GOOD.

It epitomizes so much of what I love about film as a medium, and it set such a distinctive tone early on that the actual series as a whole just had no real interest in pursuing, getting ironically caught up in exactly the opposite.

I feel like as a work of art, Carole and Tuesday would've been perfect just being a short series of AMVs like THIS showing the day-to-day lives of these two girls, doing their thing, making music together, and you could imply a conflict/narrative threadline through them.

Anyway, fuck, I forgot how much I wanted the show to be THAT SCENE, and a lot of time with mass media in particular, it's not that simple. You have pressures coming from all over to appeal to the widest demographic, widen the margins, make the money that fuels the creation, etc.

Once in a long while, though, we get a series like FLCL, or a scene like this, or series like Cowboy Bebop, that just have "Those Vibes" and let themselves STEEP in them often and long enough to sink into your skull for the long haul.

If anything, I think this AMV scene from Carole and Tuesday will long outlive the entirety of the rest of the show in my mind.

#Carole and Tuesday #AMV #anime

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spongeguyandlelouchvibridankia · 5 years ago

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Amphibia Christmas Gift

@kaminos-hangout-corner

Snow.

It had been 1 whole year (sort of, she was still trying to understand just how much time had passed) since she had gone to Amphibia .

Since she had made her first real friend.

Since she found a family.

And…

Anne Boonchuy, decked out in a frog themed Christmas sweater, tapping her foot nervously, was unsure if the first person she should come out to was her beloved and endearingly over protective Hop Poppy.

But considering her… Let’s say it nicely, shit parents, it seemed like he was really the only choice.

Sighing, she glanced out the window again.

Snow had once been a danger, due to its once a year appearance in Amphibia. Snow forced the frogs into hibernation and near death (thank GOODNESS for interior heating!).

Anne had protected them from it once. And while it was touch and go (the small business of Polly nearly dying), she had succeeded!

In fact, Anne Boonchuy was very different from the girl she was when she first stumbled onto the magical other dimension.

What once was selfish was now thoughtful.

What once was subservient was now independent.

What once was impulsive was… Well, actually, that sort of stayed.

And what was once straight as a rail in her mind was so gay it made Elsa look straight!

So why was it so hard to tell him about this?

“…Anne, you’ve been sitting there for about 5 minutes narrating. Just tell me the problem so I can return to making angsty AMV’s of “Suspicion Island”!”

Anne couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement, and at the frog who sat before her.

His thin grey tufts of hair were now covered with a Santa hat (whom he was still wary of. “Breaking and entering is nothing to be proud of, unless of course you’re doing it to Monroe”), his cane was colored like a candy cane (Anne could have sworn she heard a drum snare from Marcy’s room) and his sweater was appropriately ugly, asking people to “honk if you’ve adopted a bby recently”.

For a once so rigid and traditional frog, Hop Pop Plantar had truly given his best efforts to the transition to the human world.

In fact, as Anne shuffled her feet and sighed, he had done more than anyone would have expected.

After a disastrous dinner revealed that Anne’s parents were… Shit, Hop Pop had gone on a 8 hour long rant, dissing them so inappropriately that Polly hadn’t needed Anne to learn all the swear words in existence.

If it wasn’t for Sprig ripping the chained pen off because it looked “Yummy”, Anne would have been adopted way faster.

It was flashbacks like these that made Anne wonder how could she possibly think he wouldn’t accept her.

After all they’ve been through, Hop Pop truly loved her.

Which meant…

Anne took a deep breath and stood up, deciding to face it head on.

“I’ve got a bit of a… Hard confession to make.”

Anne then smiled softly as Hop Pop seemed to take on a knowing look.

“But I know that you’ll accept me for who I am, and I shouldn’t be afraid.”

“Oh, you should! Grime has been walking around the house decking anyone who plays “Frosty The Snowman”. Says that little bastard “should have melted the moment he knew about thermomaters, even though he really shouldn’t know”.”

Anne giggled and Hop Pop smiled warmly. “But seriously, Anne… You can tell me anything.”

Anne beamed at this and Hop Pop remembered why he was still alive as she began to explain.

“Well… You see, Hop Pop, ol’ buddy ol’ pal… Have you ever felt like you want to kiss someone, but society thinks it’s wrong?”

“Why, all the time! I keep telling them that Cacti are softer than they seem but no one listens!”, Hop Pop said, removing a cactus and kissing it.

“Oh wait, never mind. My tongue wants to die now.”

Anne shook her head, laughing. “No, dummy! I mean… Say there’s 2 someone’s you like…”

Anne’s mouth suddenly got very dry. She wasn’t sure she could do this.

Even if Hop Pop was open… Who was to say that Sasha “GOD THAT SCAR MAKES HER HOTTER” Prince and Marcy “HOW CAN SOMEONE SO SARCASTIC BE SO MOE” Drosselmeyer would be interested in something so… Bizarre?

Anne was starting to panic again. She wasn’t some badass warrior or hilarious kawaii girl (well, she was, but she doesn’t listen to me).

She was just Anne “I can make a decent omlette” Boonchouy.

Sure, she helped destroy an ancient monster and she helped make peace between frogs and toads, but anyone could have done that!

Why would Sasha and Marcy want… Her?

Nerves at their limits, Anne decided to go for a distraction.

“HEY HOP POP!”, she suddenly called out, mad look in her eyes. “WANNA FIND OUT HOW MANY JELLYFISH I CAN JUGGLE?”

As she began to juggle and yelp from the pain, Hop Pop tried to stop her with logic. “ANNE! Only Polly can do that!”

Meanwhile…

“I don’t understand this stupid human holiday! First we watch some ridiculous children’s cartoons, then we take a tree and force it to get dressed, and now you’re telling me that you need to make some sort of “like, earth shattering” confession? I thought this “Christmas” was fun!”

Formerly Captain now Dad Grime was very confused by the day he had been through. He’d had to endure many odd customs, and outside of drinking dangerous amounts of Egg Nog (what was IN that stuff?!), he had not seen any reason to be jolly or merry.

Why, he hadn’t had a chance to be senselessly violent in hours!

And now his beloved daughter Sasha had some sort of confession to make.

“Great. Now I get to know where all my strawberry lip gloss has been going.”, he grumbled as Sasha stood next to a screen.

Clearing her throat, the former soldier seemed less confident than usual.

Giant anime sweat bead, feet shuffling cards, shaking more than the jell-o he DEFINITELY didn’t steal for himself…

She was hiding something.

He could feel it.

That, and she had said “I’ve been hiding something” just 38 seconds ago, so…

SCORE!

“Get on with it, Sasha!”, Grime ordered, impatient. “I’ve got other things to do, like go back and complain about having to do all these things!”

Sasha laughed nervously and picked up a remote. “Well, Grimesy, in order to properly explain my confession, I have arranged a powerpoint presentation…”

Even on Amphibia, people knew that powerpoint was sad.

Grime moaned and leaned into his hand, depressed. This was going to be worse than the time he almost died.

“Just finish with it, before the alcohol receads and I get enough sense to leave the room.”

Sasha gulped again, very nervous of her frog father’s reaction. While he too adopted her from terrible parents, he was less affectionate, more of a fun dad who took you to bear baiting matches and taught you how to survive torture.

You know, fun things all children should know!

The emotional stuff? He was less qualified.

Why, once she told him she was feeling sad and he said to just beat it senseless until it stopped working.

And when she had homework she couldn’t figure out, he actually spared with the words.

And when she was having a period…

Well, the less said about the “boxing match with god” the better.

So, this was going to be a piece of fucking cake, right?

Sasha continued to hyperventilate as Grime read the title, which was accompanied with an audio book version read by Samuel L. Jackson.

“Shit, I CAN Haz Girlfriends?: The Day I Never Stopped Worrying And Learned That Women Are Hotter Than Men!”

Sasha face palmed. “I REALLY need to get a better editor.”

“Come on, Darling! That title is marvelous and so much better than “AAAAAAAAAAAAA HOW DO I EXPLAIN THAT ME AM GAY?!”, Sprig, with spectacles, turned around and commented.

Meanwhile…

“So I’m gay for Sasha and Anne and I want to date both of them. Is that weird?”, Marcy asked, while playing a snare drum for Anne’s unintentional candy cane pun.

“Oh, it’s totally normal! Give them a whirl, girl!”, Valerina said, not phased for a moment.

“Great! Can we T-Pose now and headbang to “Megalovania”?”, Marcy asked, setting up her boom box.

“That’s why I adopted you!”

Marcy and Valerina then started to aggressively T-Pose and headbang.

“I hope this conversation is easy for Anne and Sasha, who clearly have the hots for me!”, Marcy said as she danced.

“Anne, I can’t believe that of all things, you were hurt by tripping on a box of wiener dogs!”

Hop Pop was applying another Hello Kitty band aid as Anne sighed morosely.

“I’m sorry, Hop Pop! I just… I… I’m very nervous!”

Hop Pop sighed affectionately and patted his girl’s back. “Anne, my darling… I’d NEVER judge you. And even if I did, I would be in the wrong for that.”

Hop Pop smiled as he made a promise with his eyes. “Whatever you have to say is who you are. If your friends or your family can’t accept that, then, well, they’re pretty darn lousy at their jobs, I reckon!”

Anne shed a tear while smiling, her real father as ever making her feel valid. Real.

Once she was so afraid of expressing her true self.

Now, she felt like she could sing it out loud.

Not that she would; Musical theatre was a pale imitation of vaudeville, according to Hop Pop.

Taking a deep breath, Anne confessed her secret.

“Hop Pop… I tried to understand this for a while, and for a while I wasn’t sure if it was true, but…”

“I know that you have the crushy crush on Sasha at least, that’s for sure.”, Hop Pop commented, scratching his chin.

Anne’s eyes were now very buggy. “HOW IN TARNATION DO YOU KNOW THAT?”

Hop Pop was too busy thinking something else. “I’ve never said tarnation, where’d you pick that up?”

“Doesn’t matter! How do you know that I like Sasha?”, Anne asked in disbelief. What had given her away?

“Anne, you’d need to be blind not to know! Also, you once forced me to marry you and your Sasha cardboard cutout in a lavish ceremony.”

Anne blushed wildly. “I do crazy things when I drink too much cocoa…”

Hop Pop chuckled warmly and observed Anne with sparkling eyes. “Well? I assume there’s a part 2…”

Anne laughed as well and admitted that “Marcy’s pretty fine too!”

Anne then got shy again. “I know that it’s customary to only like one person, but I really li…Lo…”

Anne swallowed her spit and resolved herself.

“I REALLY love both of them.”

Anne sighed again. “I know it’s weird, but it’s who I am.”

She looked up, scared again. “Do you… Do you see me any different?”

There are moments in life where one has to prove to one’s kids just how much he/she loves them.

In that moment, Hop Pop aced so hard no one would ever get close.

“Do you know what I see, Anne?”, he asked, and as she shook her head, he sat next to her.

“What I see is a beautiful, smart, strong, brave, independent young woman with a kind heart and a lovely soul.”

He continued. “I see an amazing friend and an incredible daughter.”

He nearly choked up for a moment. “I see someone who has grown so much, but hasn’t lost that innate goodness that was there from day 1.”

He then embraced her. “You know what I see?”

He whispered. “I see someone I am PROUD to call my daughter.”

He retracted from the hug to wipe away her tears. “And if these two girls make you happy, then, well, I see no problem in you getting together with them.”

Anne, who was feeling all the feels, gripped her Hop Poppy and said “Oh THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!”

“Of course, Anne. Of course.”

Anne hiccupped for a moment and softly smiled. “I… I… Thank you for letting me be me.”

She kissed his forehead and as she ran off, she called out “Love you, Dad!”

Hop Pop shook his head softly as she left. “Kids…”

Meanwhile meanwhile (revenge of the meanwhile)…

“And that’s is why I want to kiss two girls under the mistletoe today, so you better understand, motherfucker, before I stick my hand up your ass and make it talk like a puppet to give me validity!”

As the powerpoint finally skidded to a halt, Sasha wished that she could erase all the bar graphs and pie charts on how “lit” lesbian OT3’s were.

In fact, Sasha had cringed really hard for the entire presentation, and as she finally opened her eyes and laid them on a very quiet Grime, who had uncharacteristically said nothing the entire time.

Sasha was getting REALLY nervous now. What was going to happen?

Would Grime get angry? Would he fire her from being his daughter?

Would…

Would he hate her?

Sasha already knew that Grime wasn’t exactly the softest and most understanding person in the world.

So what would he be like with this?

Tentatively, her fingers shaking, Sasha asked a cautious question.

“Well… What do you think, Grimesy?”

Grime scratched his chin in thought, before turning to Sasha with an odd expression.

“Let me see if I understand: You love that Anne girl, and that Marcy girl?”

Sasha nodded, depressed.

Grime chose his words carefully. “All right… If I may ask…”

He tilted his head. “Why are you asking me if it’s ok?”

Sasha blinked, surprised. “I… Uh… Huh?”

Grime cleared his throat, hoping to make himself clear to Sasha. “I may not understand human customs, but I don’t think that loving someone is wrong, at least, under certain conditions.”

He attempted a soft smile as he grabbed hold of her hand. “The way I see it, if it’s not illegal, it’s ok. And, well… I may seem like a real grouch, but when it comes to you, all I need is a smile, soldier, and I’m in approval.”

Sasha never liked showing such strong emotions, least of all next to Grime, but she couldn’t help but squeeze him once he finished.

“Ok, ok…”, he said, but his enjoyment of the hug was obvious.

Patting her back, he saluted her. “Report me of your success once the conquest is over!”

She saluted back, grinning. “Aye-Aye, Dad!”

None noticed that that was the first time Sasha had called him dad, but Grime would later feel his heart grow 3 sizes once he realized what she had said.

Later that evening, Anne, Sasha and Marcy found themselves underneath the mistletoe, all a little confused and VERY flustered.

“So… We all had the same idea and crushes?”, Sasha asked, very embarrassed. Pink was not a color frequently seen on her cheeks, but today it was dominant.

“I guess so.”, Anne said, feeling very shy. Was all her worrying really for nothing?

“Cool cool cool cool. When do I get to be gay?”, Marcy asked, wearing a rainbow hoodie over a shirt that said “Go to the YMCA? I AM THE YMCA!” and shoes that played “Girls Like Girls” by Hayley Kiyoko.

Anne, Sasha and Marcy all looked at each other, and realized that sometimes, all the worrying really IS for nothing.

Here they all were, very much in love with each other and willing to take the next step.

So…

Why not just do it?

For Anne Boonchuy, Christmas had once been most magical when she opened her presents under the tree.

But this year, it was when she kissed her two girlfriends at the same time.

Finishing the story, SpongeGuy looked at his words and hoped they were enough.

As ever, the lesson he tried to impart had a harder time reaching him.

The words stood on the screen, daunting.

Teasing.

Were they enough for such an angel?

Were they enough for such a blessing?

Stepping into the room, SpongeGuy could see his sister/brother/BroSis Kamino sleep peacefully in a bed. An adorable beanie sat on the cute short hair cut and her eyes, despite being closed, sparkled with wonder, that made him want to be so excited.

Hands shook as he clutched the manuscript and wondered again: Was it good enough?

She had given him so much in so little time.

Had he deserved any of it?

Could he ever justify his existence?

Floating in from another room was a frequent visitor.

Cold hands sent a shiver down SpongeGuy’s spine and he didn’t need to turn to know it was the reaper.

“You seem awfully ready to go. I haven’t sensed such resignation in a while from you.”

SpongeGuy tried to say something but the words stuck in his throat.

“…You haven’t even come close to succeeding in your mission. Are you ready to call it quits? It’s not like you ever deserved to succeed.”

But SpongeGuy shakes his head. “Maybe I don’t deserve it…”

He put down the manuscript next to Kamino’s head.

“But they do. Every single one of them needs a hero.”

SpongeGuy turns defiantly. “If it means fighting for years without a smile, then I will do so.”

“…What makes you so sure that you’ll ever be happy?”

SpongeGuy turns and sees a miracle in front of him.

“…Just a hunch.”

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ladyloveandjustice · 7 years ago

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Wisdom and War: An Athena Cykes Mix

Art given to me by the amazing @diloolie

And charge in head on/ I will be your shield/Go ahead and release the goddess inside you!/(In every star, in ever moon, in every vena, there lives Athena)

A mix for Athena Cykes, a revolutionary girl who outshines the moon.

Play on Playmoss

Play on 8tracks

Finishing replaying Dual Destinies and getting some amazing art from diloolie inspired me to finally make an Athena mix! I may have gotten...a bit carried away. Can u believe I was worried about not finding enough songs...ANYWAY. Even if you don’t know Ace Attorney, this makes for a great kick-butt mix to get you motivated (save for a couple subdued sad songs at the beginning).It’s a mix that pretty much screams “LET’S DO THIS!” as Athena would say.

Lyrics, annotations and translations under the cut!

Athena- PRETTY SELF EXPLANATORY. I was so pumped to discover this song at the last minute. I was actually alerted to it thanks to a sweet Athena amv that came up in my youtube suggestions- check it.

The moment is right/So don't wait/Get ready to fight/When I say/Break free of the chains/That hold you back/React. And plan your attack

Brace yourself and run into the battlefield/Move on/Don't falter/Plan your pursuit/And charge on and head on I will be your shield /Go on/Release the goddess inside you In every star/In every moon /In every vena/There lives Athena

They Know My Name- a song for Athena’s trauma and PTSD. It also fits for how she can get overwhelmed hearing everyone’s emotions.

Her panic attacks being highly visible- can also refer to how Widget tends to recite her thoughts:

All of my noise in the air/My thoughts can be seen from everywhere

Panic attacks, PTSD:

These wars that I fight from within/I don't know where they end and I begin I try/ I try to calm them down/But these thoughts they keep spinning/Round and round, round and round/These monsters are hiding within my brain/They roar and they shout and they know my name

Goodnight Little Robot Child- Young Athena, living in the space center among robots, unable to tell the difference between them and humans

Goodnight little robot child/Close your eyes go to sleep tight/ little robot child/Starmans waiting for/You've been running around with your robot friends/And your battery's feeling so low

Little Me- Athena looking back on her younger self. "I was a shaking and scared little girl, small and ineffectual.... Even after I went to live with my relatives in Europe, I stayed closed up in my shell. “

Voice so quiet you don't hear a word/Always talking but she can't be heard/You can see it there if you catch her eye/I know she's brave but it's trapped inside/Scared to talk but she don't know why

Wish I knew back then/What I know now/Wish I could somehow Go back in time and maybe listen to my own advice/I'd tell her to speak up, tell her to shout out/Talk a bit louder, be a bit prouder

Yellow Halo- Athena dealing with the death of her mother. I consider this to be from Metis’s POV in a way. This song is actually about dealing with the loss of a mother, so it fits really well.

Metis dying:

I rose to the moon, Wearing all white

Metis wears a “yellow halo” now, and those colors are passed on to Athena Athena wears yellow, shining brightly and kindly:

Yellow halo/all your colors/yellow halo/for a queen/yellow halo/bequeathed

Metis lives on through Athena, who carries on her legacy, wearing the moon earring her mother made for her and bringing hope to everyone:

Seasons change/the moon’s still here/dawn breaks endlessly

Hope on Fire: Athena making her vow to be heard and to save Simon, no matter what the cost (yes i know i use this song a lot in mixes, IT’S A GREAT SONG OKAY) “That’s because one day, I came to realize that I had to fight. I couldn’t give up"

gotta fight gotta strike/'cause there's no turning away/from what you don't want to know/

ooh you're gonna make your mark this time/ooh you're gonna set your hope on fire/gotta leave gotta bleed/you've gotta stop lying still/'cause this is no kind of life

we're coming closer now to the truth

Akatsuki no Hana: "I couldn’t give up. I exercised hard and I studied hard. I wanted to become the strongest lawyer I could be.”

I’ll tear the doubt out of my mind/because with the strength inside me/I’ll leave the girl I was behind

Breaking through to the sky with the strength to survive/feel the dawn break through toy your heart/Chasing the skies, I’ll find a brighter day/Tear through the lies/I’m who I wanna be/you won’t take my courage away

Bravado: “What was Athena like as a child? ”She didn’t talk very much” “That’s completely different from the Athena we know now!” "I was so surprised! She was like a completely different person, so cheerful and happy!”

All my life, I've been fighting a war/I can't talk to you or your friends/It's not only you/My heart jumps around when I'm alluded to/This will not do

But when you're withdrawn, it's the closest thing to assault when all eyes are on you/This will not do/I'm faking glory/Lick my lips, toss my hair/And turn the smile on/And the story's brand new/But I can take it from here/I'll find my own bravado

Me Against the World- Athena refusing to give up on Simon even as he’s all obstinate and ready to change the courtroom

okay, with this line how could I resist:

Simon says to pack it up

Even the LA references work if you consider Japanifornia (though honestly I can never think of AA as actually taking place in LA...just a weird alternate Japan where everyone has english names. BUT I DIGRESS)

They said don't try to change the world/You're just a girl/So it's me against the world today/I'm gonna do it my own way/And though nobody understands/I'm gonna make a one girl stand

Give a Reason- full translation here. Lyrics also in the playmoss vid. Very fitting for Athena, who charges ahead and looks for answers

There's an "answer" somewhere for sure /The answer for why we were born/.../I'm not afraid of getting hurt!/But I'm not strong in any way for feeling that /Simply, I just can’t do nothing/I don't wanna be regretting myself! /Here we go! go! I'll keep running /I won't be stopped by anybody!

Dakara: My Hero Academia and Athena go together so well.

“I didn’t have anybody to support me at first, either. I couldn’t face the fear inside me, couldn’t get over the trauma of my past. “

“ It sure feels nice to be part of a great group like this! I just want to say I really love working here with all you fabulous people!”

How come I am the only one to always face a hurricane?/Back then I used to think it all so meaningless (was so alone)/But everything began to change

Again we’re crying but trying/To prove we can overcome it/I know that we’ll rise above it each and every time/(Everything will be fine!)/I’ll reach for your hand,Yeah, my friend,You are not alone this time

One Girl Revolution- The courtroom Revolutionaire! “Let’s revolutionize this stodgy institution!”

And I'll be everything that I want to be/I am confidence in insecurity/I am a voice yet waiting to be heard/I'll shoot the shot /Bang/That you hear round the world/And I'm a one girl revolution

See Me Now- “ Then that’s a win for me– No, a win for analytical psychology! “

That I've been hesitating so long, so long/Somebody turn out the light./Cause right now must be my time to shine/They said I couldn't, they told me that I wouldn't/But if they could see me now/They'd see I'm something, that I'm not scared of nothing/And the world will hear me shout

Odd Future

You love the contradiction shaking you/even when you fall take one step/you can breath again in one step/.../shaking off the rust in your soul/gotta rise from a dark history/.../but today I opened up my eyes and I feel alive

Everything at Once- In the DLC, Athena said she wanted to be strong enough to fight a whale, and suddenly I realized this was perfect for her. She dreams big and wants to be everything and I love her.

As pretty as a picture hanging from a fixture/Strong like a family, strong as I wanna be/Bright as day, as light as play/As hard as nails, as grand as a whale/All I wanna be, all I wanna be, oh/All I wanna be is everything

The Prayer- “Why do you turn everything into a competition?” Athena’s go getter competitiveness is everything.

Let me outshine the moon/Is it so wrong to crave recognition?/Second best, runner-up/Is it so wrong to want rewarding?/To want more than is given to you?

Tonight make me unstoppable/And I will charm, I will slice/I will dazzle them with my wit

Peace sign- “She flashed a peace sign at me. “Congratulations on your acquittal,” she said. [...]But I saw her eyes. They were red and swollen from crying. She’s gotta be suffering! She must be so worried! And yet she went out of her way to be nice and give me that big smile!”

Although your eyes are red, you’ll never cry again/ no I’ll be the smile that you need and I won’t go/Theme to be a hero, just remember to sing/Say goodbye and I’ll leave with a peace sign

Voice of the heart- “Let me hear the voice of you heart!”

If you listen long enough/If you dream it strong enough/A door inside will open/And a light will flood the dark/Like a song too long unsung/Or a soul forever young/We all will find an answer/In the voice of the heart

I’m a Believer- Athena charging ahead with people cheering her on ‘"It’s not over yet, Thena. Even now at this very moment, I still believe in you! I know you better than most people, Thena. And I know you’d never surrender to the dark age of the law ”

It’s not easy to keep going – motivation’s running thin/I know my dream’s unrealistic … No, I don’t need reminding/In these moments, under pressure, when you feel it closing in/You’re the one - be the one to believe in

I keep searching for an answer/But I can’t keep it together Does anybody know what path I should take?/I won’t hesitate/Because this dream that I’ll create, it cannot be misguided/By simple regret, and thoughts of “what if”/So, I’ll take my next step, but if you were to cheer me on,I’d soar beyond that boundary

Young Volcanoes- “Well, nobody's going to try harder than me! So you'd better watch out, Apollo! Simon is free, thanks to Mr. Wright... ...but there are so many more people out there who need our help!”

Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds/It's all over now/Before it has begun/We've already won/We are wild/We are like young volcanoes

Sora ni- Look, Athena and MHA just really go well together. I was always telling you guys sh’s part shonen hero part magical girl.

“Well, I knew that if I didn’t get your sentence overturned fast, you’d be executed! So I studied and studied. I was frantic! I’m so glad I made it in time! ………… Just barely… but I still made it! “

Every time you cry/Make it so It only makes you stronger/Cut straight through the illusion/And soar from the confusion/To a Blue-Sky Revolution/Can't forsake the future when it's this bright/So give the fight/All your might

Sunadokei: translation here. “Thatta girl, Athena. It’s good to see you finally let your tears out. “

I just continue on living /Questioning its meaning... /A correct answer just doesn't exist /So I just raise my head and keep walking

Resignation without restraint, memories/If you regret it and cry, that is fine /But even so, the tomorrow that is created will /Overflow with merciless love/.../Turn those broken tears into strength

Courtroom revolutionaire- obviously.

#athena cykes #ace attorney #my fanmix #fanmix #kizuki kokone #kokone kizuki #playmoss

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anotquitedevilishchristmas · 7 years ago

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Kuroshitsuji: Secret Santa or Advent Calendar?

So, I guess, you are wondering why the hell would I create a blog and an entry for Christmas when Christmas is so far away - when it’s only just September?

I have two reasons: One is that the supermarkets are already selling everything Christmassy (just kidding); second is that I need your help. Or, well, I need your opinion and your consensus.

Last year, I have hosted a Secret Santa event - and despite some hardships, it had been a lot of fun for me! (It was for a different fandom though.) And I would love to host another - this time for Kuroshitsuji! But then, I had a different idea too: an advent calendar.

I am fine with either - but I just want to ask you what you prefer, what you want, and propose the idea and option of an advent calendar.

Why an advent calendar and what have I imagined?

Christmas is a feast of coming together, being jolly, being happy, of enjoying the season and the celebration - of love in every shapes and ways.

And the Kuroshitsuji fandom is not known as a place of happiness - of coming together and getting along. There are a lot of fights because of the discrepancies between the anime and the manga, because of ships, of Grell’s gender, of theories (especially the 2CT which has even become canon - to the displeasure of some), etc. This has even made people “rename” the International Day of Happiness to “Kuroshitsuji Happiness Day” so that, for one day, the fights are put on hold and nice messages are sent instead.

There are some websites which put together an advent calendar every year for Christmas - much to the delight of the users. After all, an open advent calendar can be enjoyed by everyone while a gift exchange might only the ones who participated and got gifts. Also, it captures the essence of Christmas - of giving something rather than taking.

Of course, to make the calendar enjoyable by all, there have to be some guidelines.

Guidelines

What should the calendar consist of? Only images?

I’ve thought that it would be better that it does not only consist of images like usually so that more people can participate. So, you can apply as an artist, a writer, a colourist, a cosplayer, an editor, an AMV maker, etc. Just everything you can do :)

However, it has to be SFW. (no gore, no nudity, etc.) After all, there are younger people and people who don’t like NSFW content in the fandom. And this calendar should be “enjoyable for everyone.”

Ships - how about ships? They are always causing such huge arguments.

It would cause a stir to completely forbid ships for this calendar. And that’s something I’ve never pondered about for even a moment. However, to preserve the motto of “making this enjoyable for everyone,” the ships will be balanced.

The calendar won’t consist of 24 days ruled by only one ship. No matter what kind of ship it is.

“Balanced” means that, for example, if there are only two persons applying with Grelliam drawings and three for Cielizzy and nine for Sebaciel - only two Cielizzy and two Sebaciel ones will be picked. After all, the Grelliam drawings shouldn’t “get under” in a sea of different ship drawings.

And what about platonic ships? If I only like the friendship between two or more characters?

Platonic ships, friendships are, of course, welcome too! :) But, it would be really nice and considerate if a platonic entry isn’t used or tagged as a ship. After all, it could make the original creator unhappy - and that’s not what we want.^^

How many characters can I choose?

Just as many as you want! You want to make an edit of the entire Midford family (with, without Paula)? Why not! You want to write a story about the entire circus group? Why not!

How many will be picked?

There will be, of course, 24 slots open. However, if there are like 60 applications, 24 more might be picked to make the number cards. Unfortunately, only artists/editors/etc. will be picked in that round :(

BUT, there are also two more options:

Two to three people can enter together. This means that more people can participate and one day will not only have one thing. Applying together, however, doesn’t help your chances of being picked due to the balance rule.

You can choose if you want to be teamed up with someone afterwards. For example, if one applies for Chesward as an artist and one as a writer and both are fine with being paired up, they might be paired up, allowing one more person to participate!

So, in the end, while there are only 24 “set slots” open, not only 24 may participate :)

Will we be measured by the quality of our content? / Will our writing/drawing/etc. talent be judged and used as a way to decide if we are chosen or not?

No. It wouldn’t be fair to only choose those who can make “breathtaking” edits/drawings/fics/AMVs/whatever. Also, it doesn’t matter if you are a traditional artist or a digital one. It will be “blind picks” in that regard.

My question is, of course, if people want an advent calendar or prefer a Secret Santa. Or, even more crazily, want both.

Just like I have written at the beginning: I am fine with whatever you decide in the end. It’s all about what the fandom prefers :) And whatever you choose, I hope it will be a lot of fun^^

It would be really nice if you could vote on this poll until October 3rd. The result will be revealed a few days afterwards on October 5th or 6th.

You can only vote through this poll. Reblogs/comments saying “I want an advent calendar!” / “I want a Secret Santa!” won’t be included in the vote.

If you have any questions, just don’t be shy and ask away!

You are also free to give your thoughts about this through a reblog/a comment/an ask :) I would love to hear everybody’s insights and thoughts!^^ If you have a nice idea to improve the calendar, for example, I would love to weigh it out and add it.

Additionally, it would be really nice to spread the word through reblogs or any other ways^^

Note: I am sorry if this comes perhaps not too early but too late - I’ve planned it for a while now but was never able to do it until now :( I just didn’t have the time.

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thelocalshooter · 5 years ago

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The Local Shooter Vs. B-LIFE

(LS) Hello thank you being apart of a great come up and welcome, may we get a small introduction for the people reading who don’t know who you are, where are you from? Who are you? And what do you do?

(B) I'm B-L1FE or B to most. I am an Indiana native but for the last 4 years I've been in the Houston, TX area. I do everything except make beats. I'm a recording artist myself, I engineer, DJ, design, visuals, animations, curate. To add to all that I'm also the CEO of my own record label, FAITH×VICTORY Records. I also am the CEO of three other companies: SupportArt which is a promotion company that also houses a collective, and MeditatedMerch which is my clothing line. There is stuff I'm missing I'm sure but I'm basically the one stop shop for good underground business.

(LS) Being a Texas native how do you feel that the music scene has impacted you and your creativeness?

(B) The scene in the H has never really impacted me much but surround regions have amazingly unique sounds that are almost nice accents to a style like mine that blends hip hop with metal and alt rock. The Dallas FT. Worth area is full of this new wave sound that people like Jah or $not really helped catapult. Then south Florida is known for the wild hype sounds they give us like Pouya. I think these regions influenced me by just kind of telling me hey its ight to let go and just be me. I used to be signed under a different stage name and to be honest it was all bullshit. All the rules and what they wanted me to be. This area in general just let the monster loose I guess you could say.

(LS) You also run a blog on your own called supportart where its a platform for many creative artist in the underground, how did that come about and how long have you been running it?

(B) We are gonna be two years old in June which is unreal. We house 20 artists at the moment including myself. It honestly all started as a group chat of artists trying to put together a collective mixtape. Most people didnt come through but it actually opened a networking portal that led us to our first client who was King Kap who at the time was signed to Quality Control. We continue to work with him to this day and alongside the leaders I make the calls with (Yung N ICy, Fat Daddy J, Psych Ward, Penny the Shabba, Waveon, wa55up, & Kaster) we just had the flood gates opened on us. Alot of trial and error but never once have we been exposed or finessed. We work hard for the underground and have new ways coming soon to showcase hidden talent.

(LS) you seem to be a jack of all trades with graphics, producing, and much more! What do you feel is your strongest creative outlet for you and why?

(B) All the other crafts came from being a recording artist. I think I truly shine there. Away from the art and visuals, I've had some pretty big accomplishments as the rapper B-L1FE. Sometimes I forget to push my own stuff when I'm so busy pushing the underground or my artists. In 2019 I dropped my first and sophomore album which did well. Underviews did an article naming me a young mogul. I made the underground freshman list which was amazing to be with the likes of GNAR, Lord Xan, 916frosty, and more. But if anything compares it's my graphic design. I've been doing design since I was 14 and I'm almost 28 now. I still have every graphic I've done and my portfolio now have close to 6000 pieces. It's the main reason I could leave the day job life behind.

(LS) You also happen to be on all major platforms with a couple single releases, where did you first find your passion for music? Also how did you know that it was going to be a career for you?

(B) My parents didnt really do much parenting but they did raise me around terrific music. I have right now I believe 83 songs on all major platforms which is quite a bit since my contract from the previous record label didnt expire until April of 2018. My parents raised me around Dr. Dre, Bone Thugs, Snoop, Nas, Destinys Child, Master P, and all the greats. So I had this around me so much at 12 I started writing structured songs and didnt even realize it. Football was passion #1 but when I decided to rescend my commitment to Eastern Michigan University, I started toying around with being in a band. After awhile my vocal cords suffered from pure metal music. So I turned to rap which was also like a hobby. Then once I began to network in around 2012 I noticed I had something alot of others didnt. So it was then I knew. The rest was waiting for the contract I signed stupidly to expire. My biggest influences would be Chronic 2001 by Dr. Dre and Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park.

(LS) Your most recent single regurgitate and there’s a single called “Welcome To Hell” which did amazing numbers on Twitter! What was the whole process behind those songs and why did you pick that specific song to shows case the project?

(B) The process behind these two singles were both random to be honest. I put out my second EP back in December and wanted to take my time on my third album so I do what I call SINGLE SZN. I drop a new song on major platforms every week. It started with my first single of 2020 which was 'Never' and 'Welcome to Hell' was the second. With that one it was Angry Orphan's concept (featured artist) and he sent me his parts and a rough idea and I thought since we both are lyrical artists let's do what Em and Royce do when they collab and take these same schemes but change our words and small parts of our flows. It made a very cohesive song. The marketing is always the same for me. I let people know way before something drops that it's coming. The main key is promoting stuff more than once. So many people drop a track, run it through some group chats for that day, and then leave it to die. You gotta keep pushing content towards people. With 'Regurgitate' I hadn't even planned a part of it. I woke up to an email from SupportArt's head engineer, Penny the Shabba, that two beats. One was the beat for that song. Wrote it in 15 mins recorded it mixed it, he mastered it while I did the cover, and within 4 or so hours a full song was ready and off to distrubution.

(LS) What’s a regular day in the life of B-LIFE? Do you wake up in the morning go to the studio? Do you wake up in the morning and start interviewing people and check on your blog? What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

(B) The minute I wake up I need a shower. Cant start the day right without it. My studio and everything is at home so I just go off my daily planner. I keep everything written down including my own personal stuff and I usually pick whatever project I really dont wanna do to start. That way I'm getting through the 'blah' jobs with full energy and the shit I'll enjoy doing I save for later when I'm drained. Usually first thing I do business wise is touch base with my team. We use telegram so we can avoid social media. We a family so they come first. Next is clients. Always touch base with any clients waiting still or people I may have had halfway to the payment phase.

(LS) juggling music, blogs, graphics, and also a clothing brand how do you know when to find time for each creative outlet? Do you set a certain schedule for certain things? Do you have a certain day for certain things how does that work for you?

(B) I wish I knew. Everyday is dedicated to everything. I didnt want to say okay Tuesday we design only covers and logos but sell 5 videos the night before that Tuesday. I ask my clients for deadlines and bundle clients I tell them the timeframes. To be honest my turnaround is so quick and I've done this for so long I do it super fast. Some AMV clients get their video back in an hour with their mind blown. I try not to look at it as such a big work load. Whenever I do feel overwhelmed then its time for like 30 mins on the xbox or a jog. Somehow I never run out of creativity which certainly helps.

(LS) What’s your main goal as far as music? Do you plan on getting signed, are you looking to stay independent? Is music even your full on passion or are you looking to stay more on the blog and manager/artist development side or what is your main goal?

(B) Main goal is to get my label signed how Travis Scott did with Cactus Jack. It keeps the artist safe and in it's own way allows you to stay independent but with proper funding. Music is the main passion. I never say I manage my artists. We push them to build their own brands and we help them with that. I'm simply just keeping a platform all about love. The rest does it's own thing all by itself. Truly amazing.

(LS) Thank you again for being a part of this great come up, is there anything else you would like for the readers to know about you? Or should we keep our eyes peeled for anything to come in 2020? What are some links that you can share were new readers can go ahead and find your work?

(B) You can find everything related to be via my linktree which is linktr.ee/lifewitha1

Album 3's first single drops May 1st and you can already pre order it on Apple Music. Its titled 'Bob Ross' and ensomber produced it. Tune in. Tap in. We out here not just for us but for everybody with the it's always love approach. Just dont get shit twisted haha. You can find me everywhere but soundcloud. Bless up everybody and much love to The Local Shooter. Houston we strong!!

The Local Shooter Vs. B-L1FE

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desperatepleasures · 7 years ago

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The Definitive Ranking of Songs From Richard Shindell’s ‘Somewhere Near Paterson’ that No One Asked For

spoiler alert: they’re all great

11. The Grocer’s Broom

there are some great lines, but part of me wonders what’s so bad about chilling and playing the flute.

10. Waiting for the Storm

contains some highly inadvisable weather tips. there’s a weird bit where he implies he doesn’t love his wife and children, which, if intentional, adds an interesting layer to the song. actually it still does if unintentional because fuck authorial intent.

9. My Love Will Follow You

sweeter and less creepy than the title implies.

8. Confession

this is some heavy-handed bullshit and i adore it. the “bears are all extinct” line makes me grin every time. im slightly embarrassed about it but this is honestly one of the biggest bops ive heard.

7. You Stay Here

super folksy and strangely soothing. nice.

6. Merritt Parkway, 2am

the first time i head this song i thought “hmm yes this is exactly how it feels to drive on the merritt parkway at 2am” and only weeks later did i remember that i’ve never driven on the merritt parkway at any time of day, let alone 2am. not sure what kind of witchcraft is involved there, but i dig it.

5. Spring

the very existence of this song makes me forget that i live in the midwest. in the au in which i am a disney princess, i wake up every day singing the opening lines to this song while the morning sun shines through the pine needles outside my window. the violin solo alone adds five years to my life every time i listen to this song. i truly believe i could achieve immortality by listening to this song continuously.

4. Wisteria

if you’ve never cried over a plant, you’ve never heard this song. im currently embroidering some lyrics to this song, because it’s that kind of song. side note: the final verse is missing from every lyrics website i’ve searched??? where did it go?? did the voidfish eat it??

3. Calling the Moon

y’know when you think something’s just okay but then a friend starts telling you how much they love it, and suddenly you’re like “wow i’d never thought of it that way!” and it becomes your new favorite thing? that’s how this cover song makes me feel. it not only is an improved version of an already great dar williams song, but it somehow retroactively makes the original version better.

2. Abuelita

i haven’t cried this hard at a song since i was a weeaboo teen and first watched an amv of my otp set to gackt’s “last song.” the only difference is im not embarrassed to cry over abuelita, because fucking nothing is sadder than hearing the narrator sing to the orphaned grandchild that she will never meet. i listen to this song constantly because i hate myself and i love to cry. 10/10 would cry again.

1. Transit

there may be other songs on somewhere near paterson that i like as much as this one, but no song is more iconic. like most great richard shindell jams, it tackles the rich motifs of religion and also driving. it’s beautiful, it’s surreal, it’s the bohemian rhapsody of turn-of-the-century folk music. when i heard this song live he replaced the line “reagan republicans, weekend militia men” with “democrats, republicans...but mostly republicans” and the whole audience laughed and i have never felt more at peace with my love of folk music than i did in that moment. this song starts at “oh yeah, i remember how it felt to drive on the nj turnpike” and ends at “wait, what is this song about again?” and every second of that journey is incredible. i will pay $10 to anyone who can explain this song to me. please listen to it it’s amazing.

in conclusion: please bury me with a copy of this album, it’s fantastic and makes me homesick and weepy in the best of ways.

#richard shindell #somewhere near paterson #no one's going to read this but i needed to write it yfm

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lettersofsky · 7 years ago

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Shingeki no Bahamut - Genesis and Virgin soul ~❤️ (if you know it =w=')

I haveno idea what these two shows are! But I watched the first two episodes ofGenesis and the first of Virgin Soul so I can give my general impression of thethings?

There’s a lot of text under here,

I… don’t think either of these are for me. Not really.

The opening cinematics of both were very interesting to say the least. Genesis’scene of an all-powerful deity/beast raging rampant destruction on everythingis a good way to start a high-tension, high-stakes fantasy-action narrative,not to mention the sound design was amazing. Then there was a bit of whiplash whenthe next scene kind of destroyed that build-up, for me at least the drasticchange between raging destruction and light-hearted shenanigans was a bitjarring.

The confusing mess that’s Virgin Soul’s opening seems to be setting up a kindof hubris narrative? Where man’s search for power and distance for the gods andawful treatment of demons will lead to their enviable downfall? Maybe? I don’tknow the action lacks tension so I was a bit disengaged from it. Then the maincharacter got introduced and the bubbly person and the jarring colour that isher hair took me right out of everything! Doesn’t help that the next scene she’sin had me questioning how the hell she can have no musculature at all and beable to do all that, then the bashful/horny nope scene happened and I got theslightest bit offended (which has nothing to do with this and everything to dowith the stupid harem shit shows my friend enforces on me for their own entertainment).Apparently, she turns into a dragon when she gets overloaded from … arousal? (Horny dragon powers?) Which is kind of hilariously stupid if you thinkabout it.

None of the characters I’ve seen so far really interest meeither, except Hansan but that’s because I had to pause for a few minutes toget over my amusement of there being a Howard the Duck character in thefantasy-action anime. Favaro’s not for me at all, Kaisar seems like the ‘main-side-guy’and seems to be the butt of a lot of the show’s comedic moment, at least theslapstick variants. Nina’s hair doesn’t quite fit the colour palate of theworld around her (even her horny dragon form at the end didn’t quite seem tofit with the world around it) and clumsy characters kind of make me angry.

I thought I was going to like Amira; that mysterious introduction and then thefight-scene transformation at the end along with how she’d been presented inthe previous few scenes had me very interested in her character. Then it justseemed to get thrown out the window and the ‘fish out of water’ troupe gotpulled to the forefront and I kinda left for a bit. Just the completedifference between the what was presented in the previous episode and thesecond was irritating, not to mention that they seemed to put the narrative onhold for those scenes (that’s probably not what happened but it simply seemedthat way to me) and Favaro seems intent on murdering her so the whole fanfareof the scenes just seemed as a shoehorned way to get endearment points on Amiraand force a reason for him not too?

When Favaro sold her out with no intention to help her and had to be forcedinto it by a horse (why he didn’t just jump off the thing is a bit of aplothole unless they were going for a thing with it, but that’d be speculationon my part and I probably shouldn’t speculate on a character I have no plans onvisiting again) I had to leave again but that was because I got pissed atsupposedly badass female characters needing to be saved by male protagonist along time ago. Does Favaro have any consequences for tipping the knights off toher? Any at all? I’m just curious.

Mugaro is only in two scenes and I love them. They’re probably a nothing background character, but they didn’t do anything to irritate meand were fucking adorable in the second scene they were in. The first scene theymurdered a think with a kiss(?). They end up having bad things happen to themdon’t they? That’d be my luck.

The scenery’s nice, the character designs that don’ttake me out of the setting have a certain sense of uniform that I appreciate,not too dissimilar but individual enough to tell apart the different characterson screen at least (and not by way of colour differentiation, which issomething that I appreciate so much). Also, that mural in Virgin Soul is beautifuland I had to pause the thing just to take it in, and if the king commissionedit himself then it’s one of the biggest ego trips since Lukas Graham’s “7 Years”from their second album “Lukas Graham” not to be confused with their firstalbum “Lukas Graham”, named after the singer’s first name and his father’s lastname. (This song makes me so mad from the dripping egotism)

I can definitely see why some people would enjoy theseries though, everyone’s got different tastes and different levels oftolerance for things (I will never be able to tolerate the ‘bashful/horny nope’trope or ‘ignorance to the state of inhumanness’ trope, they make me so mad).This is longer than I thought it would be, apologies if it’s awful or I’veinsulted something by accident, I did not mean to. The only thing I’ve really insultedis the rampant egotism in Lukas Graham’s “7 Years” (which has a FFXV AMV andhow ill-fitting but really fitting it is amuses me).

#anakeanderos #ask meme thing reply #shingeki no bahamut #first impressions #rant thing but not really?#This is longer than I intended #apologies

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wanderingthroughwickford · 7 years ago

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Agents of Shield S4E1: The Ghost

A.k.a. the one that started it all

(Prepare for obscene amounts of rambling about irrelevant faves and lots of (hopefully) self-deprecating humour)

One thing I really need to try to make sense of in this rewatch is how the gangs got hold of the box from Momentum Lab in the first place. I guess it was vaguely implied that Eli told them about it but ... why?

I was under the impression that he thought he’d killed his co-workers so I don’t ... think?? he’d know their ghosts/spirits/incorporeal forms were still in the boxes? But if so, why did he describe the contents of the boxes as ‘weapons?’

Why would he even want to risk them getting out and coming back for revenge on him? Did it never occur to him that they’d be pissed?

Did he intend for Lucy’s box to be the one that got picked up, or was that just a result of her being the last one to get ghost-ed so her box was closest to the door or something?

He couldn’t possibly have orchestrated the whole string of events that got him broken out of jail, could he? I mean I know he’s incredibly smart but that’s the thing, there are just too many things that could have gone wrong for someone as intelligent as Eli to bank on such a flimsy plan? Like it relies on the assumption that 1) the ‘ghosts’ are even still alive/in any sentient state, 2) that they’ll decide they need the Darkhold, 3) that they’ll be able to find it, 3) that they won’t be able to read it, 4) that they’ll choose him of all people to read it for them? I mean it’s the definition of Gambit Roulette and I’m just ... not buying it without futher evidence

Damn, this is one hell (eh?) of an entrance for Ghost Rider

Didn’t he rip one of those guys’ spines out through their ... rear end?

Oh man the blood splatter. I forgot Robbie’s early killings were so graphic because most of the time he’s just burning ghosts.

“She was a ghost” - I love how the titular ‘Ghost’ is so ambiguous - it could refer to Daisy, always a ‘ghost’ slipping through Shield’s fingers; to Robbie, the Ghost Rider; and to Lucy, the closest one to a literal ghost.

I kind of have no clue what Daisy’s criminal activity was all about b/c I missed the last episode of S3, but I’ll take the show’s word for it that she wasn’t doing anything all that bad (just trying to stop Watchdogs).

Literal first episode of the season: “They say when the Rider burns you, he burns your soul. And a soul can never heal.” My dumb self, wanting my shitty fave to have some semblance of (admittedly undeserved) peace in the afterlife:

Oh I’d completely forgotten that FitzSimmons were already working on virtual realty at the beginning ... setting up the Framework from the first ep and I didn’t even know it.

FUCK they even namedrop the Framework? In connection with Radcliffe? And here I was thinking they didn’t even introduce it until episode 10 or something.

FITZ BABYYY don’t talk about the Framework so innocently :(

Aww the team coming (almost) all together ... before they’re all so painfully ripped apart later on

I know Mace is kinda painted as being in the wrong for implementing lie detector tests and being overly paranoid and stuff, but, like, Shield did just get back on its feet after being crippled and nearly destroyed by a secret terrorist cult which it had unknowingly harboured within its own ranks for half a century, so ... yeah #Macedeservedbetter

Aww it’s nice how Daisy leaves behind money for the homeowners

YES a mention of the Lucy box

OH GOD it’s AIDA ... I don’t even have words honestly

I want to say “report her right away!” but she’s just an innocent being (?) at this point, so would it be right?

Mallory Jansen does such a good job though, she’s so robotic and artificial here and she becomes so real as AIDA becomes more human throughout the series

It’s kind of sweet that Radcliffe just invites Fitz and the gang over to his house to watch soccer though

Love Yo-Yo giving Daisy the medicine

Man it’s weird thinking of Robbie as a ‘serial killer’ and a bad guy, as the team sees him at this point ... I had like one episode of genuinely thinking he was a villain and then the second I saw him with Gabe at the end I was like, oh okay, he’s this kind of character, I get where this is going.

(Keep in mind that I had 0 prior knowledge of who Ghost Rider is or even that he’s a Marvel character)

Aaaand now I see the bloody bodies in the back of the truck and am reminded that Lucy is not, in fact, a good person.

(Though to be fair since that was the first time she’d ever used her powers it was probably an accident ... she probably panicked and tried to push past those guys not knowing it would kill them. Everything after that, though, is on her hands.)

I like Simmons standing up for herself and speaking back to May. It’s good to see her able to put her foot down and justify her decisions. And I like how May is subtly impressed by it.

“In the wrong hands, [AIDA] could be used as a weapon, is that the intention” “No, no, not at all! Look, I know the dangers-” *insert stock photo of people laughing*

AIDA asking Fitz about Jemma is so creepy now...

Nice to hear Lincoln, Trip and Andrew mentioned

Hngnggnhng Radcliffe and AIDA were so well-intentioned at fiiiiiiiirst :(

Ohhhh I think she’s coming sooooooooon~

YES they’re bringing out the box

I can’’t breathe

“I’ve been told [the weapon is] powerful enough to bring our new enhanced enemies to their knees” - man I remember hearing this line and having NO IDEA it referred to a character rather than an object, let alone one I would pledge my life to

Also ... this means that Eli must have known what was in the box, but even if he did know that his co-workers were ghost-ed rather than killed, why would he know they’re dangerous? A disembodied spirit, in and of itself, wouldn’t be harmful... Or was he just bullshitting?

All right here we go

Oh okay I guess we’ve got a Robbie/Daisy scene (who cares about the two most important and interesting characters of the arc when you can obsess over a minor antagonist with barely any screen time amirite?)

YES HERE

FOR

REAL

ą̶̻̱͚̼̱̥̹̘́̽͆́̒͒̄̽̿̌̒ ̷̢̺̪͕͕̲̠̗͚̺̰̈́ͅͅb̵̧̨̡̬͙͎̪̥̠̎̿͋͊̆͌̐̀̿̕͘̚͝͠͠r̶̨̫̲̭̬͚̄̂̽̇̓̏͘͝é̷̘͚͖̦̠ă̸̼̓̋̐̿͝t̷̛͓̠͚͋͐͒̑̀͆͒̃̚h̸̢̡̘̳̗̗̲͕̯̩̠̯͍͂ ̷̡̡͕͈̱͉͇̱̭̗͚̖̾͑̾͒̎͗͜͝͠͠ͅȏ̷̧̩͈̖̺̒̎̚̕͝ͅf̵̝̜̲͔̝̩͈̪͕̏ ̷̬̣̥̠͇͈̞̞͈͗̾̒̆̈́̄̾͗̈́͂͝f̵̥͚̤̼̬̫͇̖̖͕̼̼̩̈̂̌͗̃͌͆͂̎̈̀͐͊̈́̕r̴̜̖͉̣͎̰̜̪͒̎̿̾̋̌̐͑́͐͒͒͘̕ę̵̨͕̝̬̞̰͙̟̏̾̉̃̈́͌́̀́̏̕̚͠͝͝s̵͉̠͠h̷̬̼̙̙͔̪̞̙͖̣͙̮͚̆́̔̎̉̎͒͋͂́͛̊̽ ̸̢͖͕͍͓͈̼͔̮̳̩̩̝́̍ͅą̵̛̻̘̠̓̀͐̓̓̑͒̍͝i̷̙̓̂̀̈́̋̋͒̈́͐͑̈̚͠ŗ̶͚̖͈̠̘̠̝͙̠̳̝̥̮̟̀͒̑͊̅̚ ̴͙͈̀̔ MY L O V E

Has there ever been an entrance more ~iconique~ (TM) than Lucy materializing out of nowhere, hissing warning words in a gangster’s ear and immediately fucking everyone’s shit up (answer: yes)

GOD I remember seeing her for the first time and thinking, like, wtf is that? For some reason I thought there were multiple lady ghosts too before realizing there was just one. I just remember having this feeling like, whoa, this is a whole new playing field here, this is weird, what the hell is this?

I mean I do feel a bit bad for the guy, though ... Lucy’s powers, while cool, really are horrible to their victims.

For the love of GOD stop pausing and freezing, dumb video, I just need to watch like the last 6 minutes

OH and there goes Lucy through May ... I don’t have anything good to say about that, it’s just straight-up cruel and unnecessary on Lucy’s part

“[You killed] a teacher.” “A pedophile.” That’s the first moment where I had that little “oh” awakening about Robbie, like “well, maybe he isn’t such a bad guy.” I still remember that dawning realization.

I’ll always like Robbie/the Ghost Rider sparing Daisy there, even though she thinks she deserves to die due to her guilt - he can tell she’s not a bad person, despite what Hive forced her to do.

I kind of wish there’d been a parallel situation at the end of the season though with Fitz and GR, I think that’d have been a nice, clever book-end, and also given Fitz fans (myself included) some more closure. Plus, possible bonding moment for Daisy and Fitz.

Aww FS sharing a bed??? I forgot that part.

Half these Robbie scenes I recognize intimately from the zillions of AMVs I’ve watched of him in the past 10 months

Aww and here he is with Gabe ... that was the moment I Knew, in my heart, that he wasn’t a bad guy.

Honestly “Everyone gets attached to something” is such a fitting tagline for this episode both for actual relevant reasons and the personal fact that I found my new fave here

Oohhhhh the Coulson zombie face .... D: Lucy whyyy do you do this

May’s honestly really resilient; everybody else who gets infected starts having visions within seconds, whereas for her it takes presumably hours to get the first one, and she holds out for like a day or so (I think) before she goes completely homicidal. I chalk it up to her years of Shield training and mental self-control.

Anyway that’s all for the first episode! I don’t honestly expect anyone to read these but if you did, I hope you enjoyed/weren’t too irritated by my ramblings.

Meet the New Boss (one of my fave episodes on a purely self-indulgent level) is next week!!!!!

#actually you know what I am tagging it #probably a poor 1 am decision but ... life's too short to be scared of getting made fun of #Agents of Shield #Holly's AoS rewatch #AoS rewatch

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saturatethe-written-whitewa-blog · 8 years ago

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bokuroo week 2017, day 4.

bokuroo week 2017, day 4 / april 4 | improvising.

drew most of my inspiration from this AMV!

“Blessed be the boys time can’t capture, on film or between the sheets.”

Koutarou looks up from his morning coffee, met with an eyeful of what Tetsurou would claim to be him at his most unflattering- but Koutarou always thought he still looked pretty damn good.

Maybe because there was too much love for him inside Kou’s mortal vessel, and it was beginning to get to him, or maybe Tetsu was just able to look decent even with his hair sticking literally everywhere, and wet traces of drool on the side of his lip.

Some days, Tetsu would wake up first and begrudgingly drag himself all the way to his morning coffee, which to his half-functioning mind was only redeeming thing about the morning. After a couple of sips of coffee and a couple of minutes of staring wistfully at the tiled floor, he would soon come to realize that a yawning Koutarou was another godsend.

Other days, days like this one, Koutarou’s the first to wake up and indulge himself in the bitter drink that his prior-to-college self detested.

And on the bad days, when the previous night drowned in work- and the stress poisons their minds, the morning after is devoted to lazy spooning and ghosts of conversations that dies when either of the two close their eyes.

“I always fall from the window to the pitch-black streets,” Tetsu’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet. Probably because it wasn’t even nine in the morning yet, and because he was always a little self-conscious about how his voice sounded. Koutarou thought he sounded beautiful.

“And with the black banners raised, as the crooked smiles fade,” Tetsu pauses to take a quick breath, simultaneously pouring coffee into a mug that had the faces of black cats printed all over it.

“Former heroes who quit too late, who just wanna fill up the trophy case again.” He’s done filling up his mug, and steam rises out of the mug that’s nestled in between his hands, which Koutarou learned were surprisingly soft and greatly consoling to squeeze on the more bitter evenings.

Tetsu slides into the open spot on the couch that’s beside Kou, and he takes the first sip of the warm beverage. He anticipates the bitterness, regretting not adding that extra teaspoon of sugar in the end, and it scalds his tongue.

The still-groggy man subconsciously makes a face, and Koutarou thinks he looks adorable with his frown and his eyebrows knotted together as he clicks his tongue a couple of times, waiting for a sensation other than an intense burning.

“ANd in the end,” Kuroo’s voice cracks embarrassingly, and his lips twitch, but skipping out on the chorus of what his current favorite song was was equivalent to a capital offense. “I’ll do it all again-”

“-I think you’re my best friend,” Tetsu can’t help but crack an endearing smile, as he turns to Koutarou. He smiles back.

“Don’tcha know that the kids aren’t al- kids aren’t alright?” Koutarou can’t help singing along, because Tetsu just looks too cute wearing that silly, in-love grin on his face and the baggy shirt from last night.

“I’ll be yours. When it rains, it pours. Stay thirsty like before,” They exchange a mischievous look, the kind they would always share whenever a dumb idea flashes in their minds at the same time.

“Don’tcha know that the kids aren’t al- kids aren’t alright?”

Their voices put together could rival that of Shiratorizawa’s entire cheering squad, ridiculous-looking drums and all, and the nearby college students that were still suffocating in sheets and homework were probably going to bang on their doors any minute and yell at them for being far too elated in the morning, but neither of them cared.

At the moment, there were high on caffeine and happiness constructed on a love that had fucked them over. But a nice kind of fucked over. A kind of fucked over they wouldn’t mind feeling for the remainder of their lives.

The second verse of the song died on Kuroo’s lips, and the endeavor was abandoned, as the two boys could only look at each other, as quiet giggles bled into rich laughter.

Kuroo felt a whole new set of words bubble inside of him, and this one was set free. “I love you, man.”

“I love you, too. More than anything.” The kiss they shared immediately after was inevitable, and they both tasted distinctively like bitter coffee. And they love it- they love each other, profusely so. Nothing matters more, not their individual daily doses of coffee that have gone cold from delayed consumption, and certainly not the fact that they were going to have to get up and get to their respective classes.

After, they chug down their coffee quickly, savoring the lingering traces of warmth in the drink, unaware they both had gotten coffee mustaches in their wake. If ever they felt a little chilly without the coffee to warm their stomachs, they could always tangle themselves in each other’s limbs, maybe stay that way for the rest of the day.

Or, preferably, for the rest of their lives.

#bokuroo week #bokuroo week 2017 #bokuroo #bokuto koutarou #kuroo tetsurou #haikyuu!!#haikyuu

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sejinpk · 8 years ago

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Top 5 pre-2000 manga/anime, for the ask meme?

Thanks for the ask! I’ve read almost no manga, so this is gonna be all anime. Instead of just making a list, I thought I’d go into more detail on what I like about these shows that makes them my top 5. I actually keep going back and forth about which I like more between my #1 and #2 picks, so you can probably consider them a tie for #1.

1. Great Teacher Onizuka

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Great Teacher Onizuka is easily one of the funniest things I’ve seen, whether animation, live-action, Japanese, or non-Japanese. Onizuka’s faces and the noises he makes are absolutely priceless. Uchiyamada’s (the Vice Principal) faces can be equally priceless. The English dub isn’t *good* (and they have a handful of VAs doing multiple roles), but that just adds to its charm for me in this case (I haven’t seen the Japanese dub). I like how Onizuka helps his students through their problems by teaching them how to become good people, not just good students, even though he’s not necessarily a good role model himself. I like how he views them as people, not students. I like how the show keeps its characters around, and doesn’t sideline them after they’ve had their feature episode(s), so we can see how they interact differently with each other as they grow and change.

FWIW, Urumi Kanzaki and Onizuka are tied for my favorite character from the show.

2. Belladonna of Sadness

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Belladonna of Sadness (Kanashimi no Belladonna in Japanese) is an absolute visual treat. Its visuals can be incredibly surreal and metaphorical/symbolic, which I tend to find inherently interesting aesthetically. They can also be pretty psychedelic/mind-trippy at points. The movie was released in 1973, and had never had a U.S. theatrical release until last summer (apparently it had a limited screening here in 2009), when it was restored and shown in 4K. Unfortunately, no theaters in my area showed it, which is a huge shame, as I think it would’ve been incredible to see on the big screen.

I like how the movie handles misconceptions of sexuality as inherently bad: The setting of the story is feudal, so its world’s ideas about sexuality, especially for women, are incredibly limiting. The main character, Jeanne, has internalized that mindset, so she views her sexual awakening as being brought on by the devil. There’s a lot that I’m leaving out, but eventually she makes a pact with the devil, and expects to be thrown into a world of fire and darkness and evil, etc. etc. as a result, but she wakes up and it’s springtime, and it’s lush and green and vibrant. I love that way of conveying Jeanne’s misconceptions about (her own) sexuality and her realizations that her previous mindset was wrong.

Jeanne’s journey and growth and change over the course of the story is something I really enjoyed watching and found very gratifying, both emotionally and thematically/ideologically.

I feel like there’s a lot more I could say about the stuff I mentioned above, including about the movie’s source, and how that informs the movie. I’ll probably write a post about it at some point.

I should also mention that this movie is INCREDIBLY sexually explicit. It had a red band trailer, and is rated Rx on MAL (that’s the rating they give to hentai). I’ve heard it also inspired Kunihiko Ikuhara, one of my favorite anime directors, to work in anime, though I don’t think that’s something he’s confirmed.

3. Mega Man

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Mega Man is the first anime I ever saw, well before I even knew what anime was. I remember getting up super early before Sunday school literally every week when I was a kid (I wanna say it was like 5 a.m.), just so I could make 110% sure I was awake when Mega Man started. Like, it was usually about an hour early, because I distinctly remember watching episodes of two other shows before Mega Man came on.

I don’t think it holds up well in terms of “objective” quality, but at the same time, I also don’t think there’s really anything bad about it. It’s a very average, typical, episodic kids’ show. The animation and (especially) art quality can vary wildly from one episode to the next. The one-liners can be pretty bad, though I have a massive tolerance for (read: love of) bad puns, so that doesn’t really bother me. XP

It’s simple fun soaked in nostalgia, but I also love some of the really silly/doofy absurdities here and there. For example, in one episode, a vampire robot created by Dr. Wily hypnotizes a human character into believing she’s a vampire robot. And she actually turns into a vampire robot somehow, even shooting lightning from her fangs. XD In that same episode, Dr. Wily creates a werewolf robot that actually transforms based on moonlight. In another episode, a robot dinosaur lays an egg, which hatches. And in yet another episode, there are lion men who shoot eye beams that turn humans into lion people.

This isn’t the case anymore, but when I was a kid, my favorite episode was the one where Mega Man X, Vile, and Spark Mandrill from the Mega Man X video game make an appearance. As a kid, the Mega Man X games (at that point it was just the first three on Super Nintendo) were my favorite, so I thought that the episode with Mega Man X was the best thing ever. :’D I still want a full-fledged Mega Man X cartoon/anime, preferably based on the earlier games (up through X4 at the latest).

My favorite bad robot used to be Elec Man, because I thought he looked really cool, and also Vile and Spark Mandrill when they had their one-off appearance. More recently (yes, I do still re-watch this show from time to time), I’ve come to really like Proto Man. In general I enjoy his attitude, and I find it amusing that he compliments Mega Man from time to time. I’ve also come to like Roll quite a bit.

4. Yu Yu Hakusho

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Of the really long-running (70 to 80+ episodes) shounen stuff I’ve seen, Yu Yu Hakusho is easily my favorite. I love the English dub (I’ve never seen it in Japanese), as well as the English-dubbed versions of the OPs and EDs (man, I miss when companies did that). I really like how much character work and moments there are in the relationships between characters. For a show that has the oft-used theme of friendship that so many shounen shows have, I like how Yu Yu Hakusho handles it, where it’s not just characters supporting each other, but it actually feels a bit more…real? Like, I can easily see these characters hanging out or interacting in very normal circumstances. It’s not just, “Yeah, you can do it! Keep going!”

These are the relationships that have stuck out to me the most:

Yuusuke and Kuwabara

Yuusuke and Keiko (mainly in the 4th season)

Yuusuke and Genkai

Yuusuke and Younger Toguro

Genkai and Younger Toguro

Yuusuke and Raizen

Kuwabara and Shizuru

Kurama and Yomi

There are just so many good moments, too. Some of my favorites are Genkai’s “final” words to Yuusuke in season 2 about having to fight with time to find your place in the world; the stuff between Genkai and Younger Toguro (especially in Spirit World) and their backstory; the stuff between Yuusuke and Keiko before he leaves for Demon World in season 4; Sensui’s final moments; the stuff between Yuusuke and Raizen.

I love how the characters all have such distinct voices and perspectives. Like, Genkai’s views of Toguro, what he did, and why he did it are different than Toguro’s views of those things, and both characters’ views of their own past and present are surprisingly nuanced and complex, given the rather limited screentime those things get. And I love how they both, in their own way, sort of become surrogate parents to Yuusuke. And then, at the end of the series, he also has Raizen, and I love the dynamic the two of them have.

I think maybe the best I can explain what I like so much about Yu Yu Hakusho is that it has the fun stuff that a lot of shounen shows have, the fighting and the superpowers and overall energetic tone, but it also has a lot of meat under the surface, and that meat is woven throughout practically all of the character work in the series, which I think is part of what makes the character interactions and friendship themes in the show seem more real and true to life, somehow, than many of the other shounen shows I’ve seen (I think the English dub helps with this a lot, too).

For a long time, Kurama was one of my absolute favorite anime characters because he embodies what I think is sort of the pinnacle of humanity: he has great intelligence, wisdom, and logical abilities, but he also has tremendous warmth, empathy, and caring. And he sort of uses them to augment one another, like a synthesis/harmonization of these two general aspects that we all have.

5. Princess Mononoke

(Sorry there’s no video here. I couldn’t find an AMV I liked, I can’t think of a particular clip that would be fitting, and I wasn’t too fond of the movie’s trailer, either.)

It’s been a long time since I last watched Princess Mononoke, so this entry is shorter and less detailed and/or in-depth than some of the others.

Generally speaking, I like how the man vs. nature theme is handled. It wasn’t simply man = bad, nature = good. Both sides are given depth and nuance. Further, I like how the nature side is depicted as such, where the animal gods behave more��beastly? animal-like?, if that makes sense.Like, I’m thinking of the way that Moro talked to Ashitaka the night after he’s saved by the Forest Spirit. Nature isn’t humanized, but it’s still presented in a way that you can empathize and sympathize with it.

I like how the movie doesn’t sugar coat anything, as well as how the ending doesn’t tie everything up nice and neat with a bow. The way it ended felt very realistic, which I thought was very much in keeping with the movie’s overall approach.

Honorable mentions:

-Revolutionary Girl Utena

-Serial Experiments Lain

-Neon Genesis Evangelion

-The Vision of Escaflowne

These aren’t actually “honorable mentions,”but I couldn’t think of a succinct way to put it. Rather, the first three of the abovetitles are shows that I feel like, based on my first viewing, if I understoodthem better, could very likely have made it into the list. I think this isespecially true for Revolutionary Girl Utena, based on my first viewing, as well as things I’vecome to understand in retrospect about both the show and itswriter/director/original creator, Ikuhara. As for The Vision of Escaflowne, I’m currently watching it, though I’m only seven episodes in.

Again, thanks for the ask! I had a lot of fun writing this! :)

#SejinPK answers #bluepuddingcat #Great Teacher Onizuka #Belladonna of Sadness #Kanashimi no Belladonna #Mega Man #Yu Yu Hakusho #Princess Mononoke #Mononoke Hime

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cullinankatsudon · 8 years ago

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YOI BluRay Report

Today I received my Yuri on Ice BluRays, and I thought I’d give my initial thoughts on it (with pics) for those interested. First of all, to answer a question I get a lot, I did order from Amazon.co.jp, mostly because I could set the site to English and I have a high trust ratio with Amazon. There are other places and there was one where you could get some cool tapestry, but I was nervous and I went with the familiar.

The thing you need to know about ordering these is that despite that happily reassuring menu above the discs are entirely in Japanese, no subs, and on this disc we have only episodes 1 & 2. I forget how the exchange rate worked out but I want to say this was around $50 with shipping and all. I did get a super cute tote out of it as well, but at this rate if I keep buying them (I will) I’m going to drop a mint on them.

Naturally I’ve already rewatched both episodes. These two I honestly could narrate the English almost verbatim over top of the Japanese, but even without that the thing I noticed was how much I didn’t need the English to understand what was going on. Also, for someone who has seen these two episodes no joke over twenty times, minimum, I noticed more new things this watch than I ever have, and that’s because there were no words on the bottom of the screen distracting me.

(This is my cat Sam, wanting a better look at Victor’s ass, while Yurio throws him some side-eye.)

I also started to recognize Japanese characters and the few (few) words I know. There were a few moments like when someone (Minako?) screamed and said “Ahhhhhh!” and they put the Ah character snaking across the screen and I thought, oh hey, that’s the Ah character, I know what that is, I get what they just did, look at me, I’m reading Japanese. Pretty fucking basic, but it took removing the English for me to do that.

I can’t say I noticed much different animation-wise, except that BluRays really are sharper than a stream, and nothing ever buffered, thank christ. I need to take this downstairs and play it on our HUGE TV and really swim in it at some point. I do have volume 2 on preorder and will continue to order all of them.

I will also continue learning my damn Japanese because there’s a frigging commentary in the Special section, by Toshiyuki Toyonaga at least (I think) but of course he’s speaking Japanese. I can’t even read the specials menu page, and the hell I’m turning whatever that second one is on and off. The third thing seems to simply be the opening? IDK. There aren’t many specials.

Why the hell did I buy this BluRay, spend all this money on something with no subs and barely any episodes or specials? Because I’m an independent artist, I get how this business works, and I want to support this show. Hashtags and AMVs and art is all well and good, but at the end of the day what will get us a season two and what will help Mitsurou Kubo and Sayo Yamamoto and the actors come back will be sales of the BluRays and DVDs. They’re literally running around doing press junkets saying “buy the DVDs” and they’re not joking around.

I get that these BluRays are pricey and it’s frustrating that they’re not in my native language (though I don’t entirely mind, either, mostly I’m frustrated I can’t learn Japanese quicker), but I cannot fathom how expensive it is to make an anime. I know how much it costs to make a book and how low the returns can be, how high the risks, how honestly it’s the stupidest way to make a living but I do it anyway because I am more than a little nuts. I want a season two for this show like I want air and water. It’s not even about “it would be nice.” My eyeteeth ache for this. I don't even care that it’s weird to be this obsessed. I could be addicted to something far worse. A few BluRays and random fan stuff and a renewed desire in a old promise to my kid we’d learn Japanese and go to Japan someday seems harmless enough.

If you don’t have the money to get the BluRays, then don’t. Or maybe buy one. Maybe don’t buy the whole set and beggar yourself. I will, however, keep posting pics and telling you about my experience and urging you to snag yourself something. Because what I keep hearing is simply subscribing to Crunchyroll is not enough. Definitely pirating copies is not anything at all. If you’re downloading torrents and that’s all...get your ass onto amazon.jp and at least buy some keychains and a poster, something licensed.

Art ain’t free. Kubo-sensei poured her soul into this. It shows in the work, but all the stories leeching out now about how she and Yamamoto-sensei went around buying their own tickets and doing everything on their own dimes, begging and borrowing and pleading to get this made...JFC, they deserve more than a click poll and a GIF set.

I would like to think the stuff at Crunchyroll’s store counts because it’s the same stuff I see at Amazon.co.jp, the licensed material--you would think it all goes back to the same income stream. But let me tell you, international stuff can be weird. Licensing is weird. It doesn’t always work like you think, she said from experience. Decidedly your Crunchyroll and Funimation views aren’t really netting them much except that Funimation and Crunchyroll are saying they’ll pick up the show if it’s offered again, which isn’t going to help them animate Victor’s pearl tears or Chris’s bubble ass or pay someone to write and perform all those damn songs. So if you’re all up on a high from YOI and you want to support Kubo-sensei and Yamamoto-sensei, go to a Japanese site and buy something.

If you go to Amazon.jp it will immediately, just under the search bar, give you an option to switch to English.

Do you see that there where it says JP? If you click that, you can select English, and the whole site magically, mostly, becomes English. And now you can shop. At first my orders confirmations came in Japanese, which were like, well, thank you for nothing, but then one day Amazon got smart and said, “Hey, would you like these in English?” and I said, YES, PLEASE and now it’s all amazing.

So buy something. It’s easier than you think. The BluRay is their preferred choice. You get a bag at the very least and two episodes to practice your Japanese on. If you wait for episode 7 I hear you get an uncensored kiss.

If it’s true, I’ll be sure to let you know (and so will others, I’m sure).

Here’s the inside of the booklet that came with the BluRay. I will continue learning my Japanese so I have some kind of clue what it says. Though I can’t help noticing how much English is on this. Guys, we have to get out of our myopic hole and acknowledge other languages exist.

Anyway...enjoy!

#yurionice #bluray #volume1 #supportseason2

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lex1nat0r · 8 years ago

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Blood-C

I’m sure some of my friends would expect a Warhammer reference here

I went into Blood-C expecting to like it. I think the first I knew about the show was seeing some extremely violent clips in one of the AMV Hell videos. Some time later I learned the name of the anime, and I figured that from what I’d seen the show at least had something I’d like. And I do like Blood-C. I like it a lot. Spoilers for both the series and the movie below. Also watch out for my thoughts on fashion.

I’m not sure if Blood-C is really good at foreshadowing or really bad at foreshadowing. You know something’s up from the word go, and even the opening shows you that there’s going to be two sides to this.

Blood-C is the story of Saya, a generic clumsy high-schooler/shrine maiden by day and monster-slayer by night. The town (more of a village, really) that Saya lives in is being plagued by things called ‘Elder Bairns’ and some nights Saya goes out to kill them, directed by her father and armed with a sacred sword. High school girl fights demons, can you get any more anime?

Except not.

Note the empty bird cage. Symbolism!

Like I said, pretty much right off the bat you know something’s up. There’s a whole list of things that should tip you off beyond the tonal shift from cheery slice of life school stuff to the gory mortal combat. There’s the cryptic flashbacks, the strange emptiness of the town, Saya’s red-eyed combat mode and her total devotion to her father, the frequent vague mentions of Saya’s mother, Saya’s visions of a golden sword, and the strange dog that Saya occasionally sees. All these combine to imply there’s something more at work here. The buildup to the reveal is done quite well, I think. It starts with the school stuff having slightly more focus than the demon-slaying and gradually shifts to focus entirely on the gory demon part as things get progressively worse, culminating in an Elder Bairn slaughtering Saya’s entire class in broad daylight.

When the reveal itself actually hits it completely turns everything upside down. Saya is actually a being that feeds on Elder Bairns, her “father” is half-Elder Bairn, and the town is fake and populated entirely by people coerced into taking part in an experiment to see whether Saya would revert to her true, monstrous self if she was given fake memories and placed in a completely different environment. Oh, and there’s absolutely nothing special about the sword Saya’s been using. I was expecting a twist, but the sheer scale of it still surprised me. Having all of Saya’s “friends” turn out to be plants with their own agendas was good, and I especially liked how the dark, brooding, seemingly-obvious love interest guy turned out to be a selfish jerk who promptly gets killed off. Things go from bad to worse as a horde of demons is unleashed on the town and just start eating everyone. Seriously, it’s a great scene and the thing that got me interested in Blood-C in the first place. Anyway, the series ends with Saya swearing revenge on the person that orchestrated this. It’s... not a great end to the series with that massive loose end hanging around. Plus it never actually explains exactly what is up with Saya’s visions of a golden sword. The movie, The Last Dark, does manage to add a cleaner ending to the story, at least. I’ll get into that in a moment, but first we’ve got to talk about fashion.

Now, I mentioned that there’s kind of two sides to Blood-C, the school part and the violence part, and I would say the transition between the two is jarring, if it weren’t for the way the show sets up its atmosphere so that you’re expecting it. Plus, you know, the opening shows violence so you know it’s coming. But one of the big clues in the show itself is...

THOSE UNIFORMS

Look at those school uniforms! At first glance they’re ridiculous, right? The most goth school uniforms I’ve ever seen in an anime. But really look at them. Those colors - black and red. Black like night, red like blood. And hey, all of Saya’s early fights take place at night! The uniforms create a visual link between the slice-of-life parts of the show and the ultraviolence parts. That’s how you use a visual medium! To go a little deeper: notice the little chain around the collar. Kind of like how Saya is metaphorically chained to her fake schoolgirl persona. Maybe that’s reaching, but I really like how clever the uniforms feel with that color association.

They call it out as being deliberate in-universe, so you’re extra aware that it was a deliberate choice out of universe!

Anyway, the move, Blood-C: The Last Dark is... not a great way to end the story, but then again I feel like I wouldn’t be happy with anything short of a full second season to properly wrap everything up. The movie has Saya teaming up with a group of hackers in a surprisingly dystopian Tokyo to fight against the bad guy from the series and his megacorporation. The animation is pretty damn good, and there’s one good monster fight and another one that looks like it’s going to be good but ends way too quickly. Also it was a total cop-out that the magic shop owner turns out to be a guy just speaking through the dog in the series instead of actually being the dog. On the whole I guess the movie is good, but not the way I would have liked it to go. At least it wraps up the biggest thing from the series.

What I do really like are the monster designs throughout the series. Usually pretty inventive, and they’re all very distinct from each other. Well, except for the horde of bunny demons in the last episode. Personally I think it’s a little too plain of a design for a final monster, but I guess at least it was relatively easy to animate which gave us that great final scene. So we’ll call it a wash. Another disappointing monster-related thing is that apparently Saya just looks like a normal human even when she’s got all her monster memories back. Why no monstrous form for Saya?

Of course, Saya’s pretty monstrous normally. Those proportions. Yikes.

Good monsters would be wasted without good fights, and the fights in Blood-C are pretty good, if a little formulaic. They all start with Saya doing her best but getting outmatched before she switches to red-eye mode and wins. Apparently the red-eye thing is brought about by Saya drinking some of the Elder Bairn’s blood, but I don’t think that’s shown during any of the fight scenes in the show. Anyway, the fights have a nice balance between Saya struggling and actually fighting well. Plus there’s all the blood.

I like Saya as a character. She’s likable enough in her school girl persona, but what’s really praiseworthy is even in the movie when she’s back to being something that preys on Elder Bairns and she’s solely focused on getting revenge she doesn’t use it as an excuse to be a jerk. Sure she’s like “I’m only helping you so I can get revenge” but to my memory she’s never like “get in my way and I’ll kill you”. It’s refreshing to see an inhuman badass character who isn’t an asshat.

Last thing I want to mention is that the soundtrack’s pretty good. It fits the mood of the show.

I really like Blood-C. I hear it’s not really well-liked, but I nothing I saw stopped me from really enjoying it. Just different tastes, I guess. Maybe it was the ultraviolence.

Plus at least now there’s a character named Saya that I actually like.

#consumed media #anime #blood-c

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