#it’s the result of condensing a story so that all parts feel forced and rushed and layered on top of each other with no room to breathe

[undead-moth]

What you’re describing is not filler. That is not what filler means.

genuinely one of the worst things that’s happened to television in the last few years (exacerbated by streaming services) is death of Filler. going from 20 episodes to 8 because “we didn’t really need that episode where the main characters went to the beach right? it had no long lasting effect” but we DID!!! we needed to see how they act without the Big Bad Plot and to establish the dynamics between the characters and lay in the sun (do they forget sunscreen? how do they react to a thieving seagull? do they get buried in the sand or do they do the burying?). the plot isn’t everything. the action doesn’t hit as hard without the quiet moments. give us character development and our little scenes back

[mediaeval-muse]

Book Review

Bride By Mistake. By Anne Gracie. New York: Berkley Sensation, 2012.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Part of a Series? Yes, Devil Riders #5

Summary: Eight years ago, Lieutenant Luke Ripton made a hasty wartime marriage-in-name-only to protect a young girl from a forced union and left her protected in a remote mountain convent. Now, Luke is Lord Ripton, but he has been unable to obtain an annulment. Which leaves him no choice but to claim a wife he doesn't want. For nearly a decade, Isabella has waited like a princess locked in a tower, dreaming of her handsome, dark-haired prince. Her dreams are shattered when Luke reveals himself not as a prince, but an autocratic soldier, expecting her unquestioning obedience, which is something Isabella's fiercely independent nature will not tolerate. And while Luke and Isabella's fiery personalities clash at every turn, they remain bound to their vows, never expecting that the passionate fury they share could become passion of a different kind...

***Full review under the cut.***

Content/Trigger Warnings: attempted sexual assault, violence, sexual content, torture

Overview: When I started reading this book, I had the strangest feeling that I had read it before, but I didn’t remember how the plot went, nor could I find any record of a review, so here it is now. Bride By Mistake had the potential for a great story: a fiercely independent heroine, a journey to rescue an abandoned half-sister, love growing between two people who married to prevent one of them from suffering a worse fate, etc. I think I would have been on board if not for the hero, who I found hard to like. I didn’t feel like he respected our heroine at all, even after he opened up about his past, which made it hard for me to root for the relationship. As a result, this book only gets 2 stars from me.

Writing: Gracie’s writing seems to change between the first thirty or so pages and the rest of the book. The first couple chapters seem to rush through the narrative quickly, dumping a bunch of dialogue and a rushed flashback on the reader to set up the situation before getting to the main plot. Once we get to that point, the writing seems to flow a bit better, giving insight into what characters are thinking and feeling. Granted, it’s not a high literary style - Gracie’s prose is simple, and sometimes has a tendency to be repetitive (there’s a lot of observations of what the heroine’s legs and backside look like in her riding pants, for example, and we’re repeatedly told how Isabella isn’t pretty/not conventionally attractive), but I was able to immerse myself in the story, so I feel like it did the job.

Plot: Aside from the romance, the main plot of this novel takes place a number of years following a war. Our heroine, Isabella, and our hero, Luke, married as strangers during the conflict in order to protect Isabella (an heiress) from being forcibly married to her cousin, Ramon, who was after the family fortune. Because Luke was still a soldier, he left Isabella in a monastery for her own protection. Now, eight years later, Luke has been denied an annulment, and so he has come to Spain to collect his wife and return to England. However, before she leaves, Isabella insists on travelling to her family estate to retrieve her abandoned half-sister, who she fears might have been forced into becoming Ramon’s mistress. Meanwhile, Luke’s PTSD makes him anxious, and he constantly fights with her about returning to England so he can arrive in time for his youngest sister’s first come-out.

In terms of setting up a conflict, I feel like this book had potential. I liked the idea of Isabella doing the right thing by her sister, despite having mixed feelings about the favoritism that her father showed towards his illegitimate daughter. It nicely mirrored the family feelings Luke had towards his own sister, and the two protagonists had some good conversations based on those parallels. However, a lot of the middle of the book felt like an uneventful journey. Sure, the protagonists had personal conflicts, but nothing really built the anticipation for their arrival at the family estate. Instead, we get some silly things, like an inn having fleas and causing a whole debacle. I’m not against light, fluffy things like this, but I would have liked to see Isabella and Luke working together more to come up with a plan in anticipation of their showdown with Ramon.

When they finally do encounter Ramon and Isabella’s sister, Perlita, I found the character interactions to be both interesting and silly. I liked how Perlita and Isabella talked about their childhoods and came to respect one another, as well as how Perlita’s desires were quite different from what Isabella expected. It’s complicated and messy and utterly unsatisfying, but in a way that challenges the reader to think about accepting what other people want, even if it’s not “proper.” That being said, Ramon and Luke’s interactions completely transcended the bounds of reality for me. In one scene, Ramon and Luke threaten to kill one another over Isabella, yet once it’s made clear that Ramon would gain nothing by marrying her, everyone settles down and has lunch. Ramon and Perlita then invite the two to stay overnight, which seems preposterous given that the men almost came to blows and, as far as I could tell, still hated one another.

After they leave the estate, Isabella and Luke visit a family friend, and there, they encounter someone from Luke’s traumatic past. I found this part of the plot rather rushed and somewhat sloppy. Despite the trauma supposedly affecting Luke from the beginning, it felt like the details were dumped on the reader with barely 1/3 of the novel left, and so it felt hollow and inserted for a final bit of action. I wish this part of the plot has been more integral to the story, rather than having it all condensed into a few pages near the end.

I will caution readers that early in the book, we are shown a flashback that details how Luke and Isabella meet, and it involves attempted sexual assault. Luke, who is a soldier returning from an errand, happens to hear a girl screaming, so he goes to investigate. He finds a nameless Spanish soldier attempting to rape Isabella, who is 13 and has been stripped naked. While the soldier isn’t successful and his violence against Isabella isn’t overly graphic, we are subject to some descriptions of Isabella’s body, which, in my opinion, had a tendency to be uncomfortable. Descriptions of how she barely has breasts and no hips just shows me that Luke is taking note of these things, which feels icky. Thus, I wouldn’t recommend this book if you’re sensitive to plots involving attempted sexual assault.

I will also say that this book doesn’t do a very good job regarding representing Spanish and Roma culture. Every description of Spain and Spanish life seemed to be banal, from randomly eating churros to taking a siesta. The richness and complexity of Spanish culture isn’t really explored, which is a shame since Isabella’s Spanish heritage mainly seemed to enhance the idea that Isabella = Spanish = passion, contrasting with the frivolousness of English women and society. On top of that, there is a scene where Isabella and Luke are at a market, and they happen to witness some Roma people singing and dancing. Gracie uses the g-slur, though I don’t think it was used in malice. However, the dance is sensual and erotic, which causes Luke and Isabella to become aroused. It further lent credence to the implication that Spain is a land of passion for Luke, and though Spain is not overly exoticized, I do think implying that it is a world where passion can flourish is rather stereotypical.

Characters: Isabella, our heroine, is fairly likable in that she doesn’t let Luke push her around. She’s headstrong and confident, and on top of that, she has a strong sense of duty to her sister. I admired that about her, and loved seeing moments when she would defy expectations and show that she really is capable of handling things herself. The only things I found mildly irritating was her ridiculous innocence regarding sex and her tendency to be overly emotional. Regarding the former, Isabella has cringey moments such as thinking that sex with a man might be like sex between horses or other animals. I dislike it when virgin heroines are that naive because it’s not very realistic. Regarding her emotion, emotion itself isn’t a bad thing, but it didn’t endear me to her when these moods seemed to be connected to her childishness rather than anything substantive. For example, Isabella dramatically flees the scene and cries when she learns Luke requested an annulment, in part because she had been entertaining childish fantasies that he would sweep her away from the monastery like a knight in shining armor. She also gets extremely upset and yells at Luke for not being happy that she is a virgin, which would have been ok if it were mostly about honor, but the scene also involves a discussion about Isabella’s ignorance about sex and what it entails. It just felt like all her passionate moods were in some way framed as juvenile, and I wasn’t really into it.

Luke, our hero, is hard to like because at best, he’s a gruff ex-soldier who expects obedience from his wife, and at worst, a misogynist. I could have been on board with an ex-soldier who approaches marriage as a commanding officer would, but then learns that the two are very different and a partnership is more fulfilling. Luke, however, doesn’t seem to be open to the idea. At least early on, whenever Isabella would do something, he would think things like “He was going to show her tonight who wore the pants in this marriage.” While he never hit or raped her, the idea that he would “show her who is boss” left a bad taste in my mouth. On top of that, Luke would also think about how he despises certain traits in women. He thinks of Isabella’s friends at the convent as mindless and frivolous, he rejects London women because they are shallow, and says a few times that he can’t stand dishonesty in women because of the one time in his past that a woman hurt him. It was honestly tiring and because it takes so long for him to even begin to reexamine himself, I wasn’t convinced that he had any admirable qualities other than being physically attractive.

Like Luke, our main antagonist, Ramon, is also fairly misogynistic. Though he had more complex motivations than we are initially led to believe (which I appreciated), he did use words like “bitch” and “slut,” which killed much of the interest I had in seeing him as a multifaceted character.

Perlita is much more interesting in that she harbors little malice towards her sister and refuses to be rescued. She emphasizes that her living situation is enough for her and does not want others making decisions on her behalf, even if they would raise her to enjoy a more “proper” life. I liked the relationship that she had with Isabella - the two talk at length about how their father treated them differently and how they feel about each other, and I loved that they came to feel real affection for each others’ well-being.

Romance: I’m just going to say it - I wasn’t a fan of Luke and Isabella’s romance. Luke was way too dominating and didn’t seem to value Isabella at all, and it only seemed like he came to value her once he opened up about his past (and even then, he seemed to value her for what she was able to do to comfort him and keep him on his toes, not as a partner in her own right). Some may chalk it up to his anxiety about being in Spain again, where his worst memories took place, but just because a character has trauma, that doesn’t mean he can be a jerk without consequences. The point where this particularly became a big “nope” for me was when the two first had sex. Isabella and Luke are staying the night at an inn, and they start to get it on, as couples in a romance novel will do. However, when he penetrates her, she screams in pain. Instead of stopping to see what’s wrong, Luke keeps going until he is sated, and then they make a big deal about Isabella’s virginity. This lack of caring for her physical and emotional well-being put me off completely, and I gave up hope of Luke ever truly learning how to see his wife as a partner (rather than a subordinate).

Overall, this book suffers from a lack of suspense and an insufferable hero, and while I did like the heroine and enjoyed the interaction between the sisters, it wasn’t enough to overcome the lackluster narrative progression and rapey vibes from Luke’s POV.

[avaliveradio]

Kama Linden Releases a Song about Summer 'Belmar Breeze'

Band Name: Kama Linden

Song name: Belmar Breezes

Music Genre: pop/adult contemporary

I live in... Bronx, NY

Link to play: BELMAR BREEZES https://open.spotify.com/track/5Kafd6tHkpTuRqXkpqvdrI?si=UfgJ6QxoSeq4KASG_KMNSw

BELMAR BREEZES is a song about Summer, but also a visual, detailed description of my version of PARADISE. The Jersey Shore is an oasis for me. I run the beautiful boards of Belmar to Spring Lake, and back, I go to the ocean after 5 pm until maybe 8 pm and walk along the ocean, listening to the calming ocean waves, and the funny seagulls. 

I watch the most amazing sunsets you have ever seen, and the big, bright moons that come up over the ocean, that you cannot see anywhere else. People are friendly and happy, even during COVID. I play my guitar on the boardwalks of a few of the beaches. I live for summer. One day I hope to live in Belmar, or close to it.

IF I'M WRONG is a song I wrote on Route 70 in maybe 15-20 minutes while driving. It is about making your own choices, and IF I'M WRONG, well, fine. But I took a chance. I did not lead a SAFE and boring life. I became an artist. I traveled. I funded my projects. 

I have been swindled out of money, usually by unscrupulous men, but I am here to tell you about it. I am a survivor. I live for me and do not allow myself to be controlled or manipulated, or if it happens, it is short-lived, I figure it out, and I flee the situation :). I am brave and need to try new things, take road trips, meet new people/new friends, and write and sing what is in my heart.

My music is...

Every song is different. Uninhibited was an eclectic pop/rock mix. Better Late Than Never has a theme of a single woman's journey through love, life, loss, and finding G-d. Southern Country is COUNTRY and was recorded with musicians who play at the Grand Ole Opry. 

However, Everything In Good Time is a story about letting what will be, come to be. Not rushing to get there and missing the sights. Getting it right vs. getting it now. Not forcing a result. 

It is the quintessential story a parent tells a child: “Que sera, sera”. It is a dedication to two great ladies, my Mom, and Nana, who guided me through life and answered the questions of an inquisitive, precocious, and artistic child. My songs are reflections, observations, and dedications. It took me 4 studio albums to finally have my voice and my music captured the way they should be captured. I hope that you will enjoy this journey that I have created, culminating over 20 years of songwriting. 

The song "Everything In Good Time" is a conversation between my Nana and I: A precocious little girl who want all the answers RIGHT NOW, and my Nana just telling me, "Don't Worry, it will be fine. You will be beautiful. You will be an actress. You will meet a nice man....just relax...."

If I'm Wrong as I described above, is the song about taking chances, and living a brave life, not a safe, "doing the norm" out of fear of failure or living up to other people's expectations instead of my own. Darla Perlozzi, of Misstyx studio, was able to find me the best musicians as they were all on furlough due to Covid. Tony Toliver's mastery of the piano was out of this world! I dreamed about the piano is a very important part of “If I’m Wrong”. I wanted a higher descending piano line like Vanessa Carlton's "1000 Miles", and then a lower one. But on this song, you will hear the guitar riffs of James Mitchell in the beginning.

Jim was able to telepathically understand what it was I was looking for in so many of my songs and took the helm. Tony also did the amazing keyboard work you hear in "Searching For Madonna" an "Belmar Breezes"...which was SUPPOSED to just be a SIMPLE piano song...both turned into the amazing masterpieces that they were! Tony and Jim went back and forth and just added more and more parts just because they liked my songs, unlike the musicians from "Southern Comfort" who were old guys who liked to COMPLAIN. Tony and Jim, as well as Darla, and her husband Timmy Patterson, play for A-listers! And here they were, giving me their ALL...little old me!

Rodney Ingle is hands down the BEST engineer I EVER WORKED WITH! He was instrumental in capturing my true voice the way it should be recorded. After I banged out the lead vocals to 11 songs in 4 hours, he made suggestions for the harmony lines, which I layered one by one like an individual melody. His guidance, professionalism, and mastery made this the best album I ever made. An album I WOULD GO AN BUY and listen to every day.

How do you think this release represents your current direction…

BELMAR BREEZES: Anyone who knows me or is on my Facebook will see photo after photo of my Jersey Shore escapades. Big moons. Beaches with lots of umbrellas. Timed shots of me in my sunhat, sunglasses, and bathing suits. Making the most out of life and summer. Connecting with other people. Vocally calming, beautiful, descriptive, and inspirational.

IF I'M WRONG: Is the 'in your face', brave, doesn't take no for an answer, taking chance kind of song, like "Better Late Than Never" was. Unapologetic. Feel-good music.

I write the lyrics, melodies, basic chords...play them over and over until I feel good about them, but the musicians from Darla' studio were the ones who brought everything from black and white into color.

James Mitchell, guitars and just guru who got inside my head.

Tony Toliver's mastery of the piano: I dreamed about the piano is a very important part of “If I’m Wrong”. He did more than this for me. He brought so many of my songs to life, and because of him, I do not “hate organ”. He is the reason "Belmar Breezes" sounds like it does. And "Searching For Madonna".

Timmy Patterson's wonderful bass playing, and for keeping me calm. He is the studio business side as well. We tracked 11 songs (12 tracks) in 14 hours, and I was worried about not being able to sing all the songs in one day. BUT I DID!

Darla Perlozzi, of MissStyx Studio, picked up my project when all seemed lost. The previous "producer" bailed on me, and I was better for it. Just listen to the difference in "Make Room For Mama" and "Make Room For Mama 2020". Darla did everything from putting together the best team, working with my budget, and giving me the album I should have had from other studios, at a NASHVILLE price! And of course, for her wonderful drum beats.

What most inspires you?: 

Although I started writing songs when I was 10, they began to fill my head around 1998. Songs would wae me up in the middle of the night. I could run to one song, and be inspired to write a song because of that song. Sometimes it is a simple sentence or catchphrase, like "Better Late Than Never": "What Took You So Long" was one of the last lines in the movie, "Singles". "Everything In Good Time" is what a parent or Nana tells an impatient child. You have only to go to Belmar to experience "Belmar Breezes".... it could be 90-100 degrees outside, and yet this Tradewind will kick up, and you feel like you are standing in front of the refrigerator.

"You're On Video" is about the constant scandals where you WILL BE FILMED on someone's phone, and brought to public justice on Instagram or the news. Think of all the police brutality incidents from Eric Garner to recent protests. Hit and run accidents. Hate speech. You will be filmed! You can't escape. Conversely, "Searching For Madonna" was pre-COVID: being so wrapped up in your phones and gadgets, that you have forgotten humanity, spirituality, and anything but taking selfies and scrolling through nonsensical posts of someone's breakfast.

Writing music is not a choice. It's a NEED. I don't think I could make it stop if I wanted to. Some songs come quickly, like "If I'm Wrong". Some I will write down a line or two, and come back to it years later. Each song is like a birth of a child. Sometimes I go a week or two with no writing, and sometimes It is like a flood of songs. When people hear my lyrics or a small child comes up to me on the boardwalk, dancing and smiling, "I love your voice" like Lara did on Saturday evening at Seaside, or a group of teens passing by stop to listen, jam along, clap, dance....even give a thumbs up...that is why I do it. Being remembered. Not just fame. But have a reason why I was put on this earth and what I will leave behind ("Here She Lies").

I took piano lessons from childhood, but I am one with my guitar. Ibanez. I have four of them. You will see me on the boardwalk with my black one, (Black Ivy) and in shows/photos with my purple one (Miss Plum)

I will hopefully record any future music with Darla's team, but like the movie "Once", all of this happened because I was furloughed, and the musicians were as well, and who knows if we will ever have the opportunity to work together as a team again, once everyone goes back to their touring schedules. I do my scratch recordings with a condenser mic an garage band and hope to eventually, finally learn ProTools. 

What was one notable event that helped shape your last decade?  

I really can't think of "one". Everything is just small little steps that eventually become part of a journey. But from 2016 onward, I taught fewer classes for the horrible and abusive gym and worked more on SAG-AFTRA projects. Of course, everything has been shut down for COVID.

What’s your goal for 2020?: 

Take "Everything In Good Time" to the heights it needs to reach! It is an album that MUST be HEARD. I snuck off to Nashville during a pandemic to record it with the best musicians in the world and released it during a pandemic. It can be for nothing. It is also my best work yet. The songs are relevant! "You're On Video", "We Could Be Friends" (Black Lives Matter and other discrimination and divisiveness), "Your Love Hurts" (domestic violence).

When I started, my first recordings were on "DAT"...

Then someone said, "You need to find a studio with ProTools". My first album and half were recorded at "Night Owl", and then I like paid what would buy me a small condo to finish "Better Late Than Never" at Cove City in Long Island. I trusted 3 "labels" who kept my money, took my money, and were lazy. 

Now I am in control of my production as well as finding people to promote my music. I also have learned that I can go to Nashville an get a quality recording, vs spending through the nose in NY. Like, NY, you have to weed through, as te 1st team was ok for the time, but when Darla's team explained that they probably had the mic on backward, recorded me on the clunky 2-inch machine they threw out when they took over the studio, didn't give me my tracks in a ProTools session so I could remix them if I wanted to, vs the amazing project I recorded with Darla's people. Darla and I bonded over being females, it is a boy's club, especially in Nashville. One guy must have been trolling Darla's FB, and although I just recorded at Darla's studio, wrote to me via my website, and wanted to know who I recorded with. 

I told him I was happy, and would never record ANYWHERE again except for Misstyx, which prompted an angry rant, and "do you know who I am" and "I will have you blacklisted from the musician's union".....so I called the musician's union. Everyone knows everyone, so both Tony (my piano player) and Darla, and a few other folks, shut him up.

Every time I get a guy who tries to scam me out of money ($150 to be on some blog in Nashville that no one has ever heard of) and he says, "You don't know how the music business works!" I just laugh. Musicians today have to do some digging, shopping, and unfortunately, occasionally being scammed or overpaying the wrong people, but it is easier to get it right now thanks to the public opinions online. Do good work, get good reviews. I was also scammed by "Loggins" bac in 2006 or 2007. They charged $750 a week and then tacked on charges for "gift cards" I did not agree to. You couldn't stop them from charging your card for like 2 weeks (you had to give "notice"). I eventually called "Loggins" to ask why I was not receiving ASCAP royalties for all the radio promotion he did, and he could not answer.

Musicians have all the tools they need to create and promote music. I could have bought a house with the mistakes I have made over the past 20 years. But I have learned to do my research and search out the right people to help me.

Website & social media links: :

 Kama Linden: www.kamalinden.com New album: "Everything In Good Time" June 20, 2020:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5RHPPSDhiiYpmt55p1ONeL?si=-WQaDYe9Ttu9eoj73sTNqg Apple:https://music.apple.com/us/album/everything-in-good-time/1517559501 Bandcamp:https://kamalinden.bandcamp.com/album/everything-in-good-time

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kamalindenmusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamalindenmusic

[mannatea]

Not That Deep: A Psycho Pass Critique

This post is not spoiler-free, and is the result of multiple rewatches over the span of five years. If you remember any of my old Psycho Pass meta, please toss it straight into the garbage. I swear I’m better at conveying my thoughts now. (Joke’s on you if you think I’ve learned to condense my posts, though.)

Disclaimer: all opinions expressed within this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts and opinions of my followers or friends. I welcome discussion/debate.

Psycho Pass (abbreviated to PP for simplicity’s sake from this point forward) is an anime in that very specific genre that belongs to societies that are portrayed as Utopian but aren’t. For the record, the setting can’t really be described as ‘dystopian’ or ‘futuristic hellscape’ either. The series calls itself “cyberpunk.”

In the year 2112, Japan has closed itself off from the world and implemented the Sibyl System: a judgment oracle. Citizens of the country are monitored by the system and have a “psycho-pass” assigned to them. This “psycho-pass” measures their stress levels, brain activity, and potential to commit a crime. When a person’s crime coefficient (CC) exceeds 100, they are considered a latent criminal and put into isolation to receive mandatory therapy. If they do not recover, they remain in isolation. The story follows the main character, Tsunemori Akane, as she joins the series’ version of a police force.

Trigger warnings for this series include gore, violence (sexual, emotional, physical), and an obscene amount of philosophy.

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Again, below the readmore/cut will be spoilers.

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Worldbuilding/Craft

I feel like it’s important to get into the meat of the discussion as quickly as possible with this series, especially considering the title of this post: Not That Deep.

I’m not going to bother ‘rating’ the different facets/aspects of the show because I don’t think it’s necessary, and this isn’t really a review so much as a discussion/critique. Either you liked the series or you didn’t. If you’re reading this you either have an open mind or you want to get angry, and both reasons are at least a little valid.

PP is a series that REALLY wants to be deep, but falls flat in almost every conceivable way. I’m saying this as someone who enjoyed it enough to write fanfiction about it the last time I watched it, and who not only recommended it to multiple friends, but screenshared the entire series with one recently so that she could see it.

I think the general concept of Sibyl and Akane’s futuristic society is presented in a digestible way. I appreciate the attempts to integrate cool future tech into the show, but I’m especially impressed by the way they go about it. It’s all stuff that your average person living right now would adopt and use regularly if given a chance (auto driven cars, drones, AI secretaries, holo clothes/outfits). Without those specific scenes, I feel like the worldbuilding would almost collapse in on itself; these little details made it easy to imagine living in the world, and gave a little personality to the characters as they made use of them—like little glimpses into their personal taste.

It also helped to take the focus and pressure off of the less-nice aspects of the Sibyl System. No wonder people are generally pretty happy/content in this world: they can wear sweatpants and just holo something else over it! (Sign me up!)

Unfortunately the worldbuilding beyond that isn’t great, but I also don’t think it’s fair to say that it’s bad. It’s just...kind of mediocre...while still managing, at least for the first season, to feel coherent.

We have hues and crime-coefficients. They are not the same thing, but they might as well be because one isn’t bad without the other being bad: EVER. Ginoza’s CC rises as his hue darkens throughout S1. Togane’s hue is black and he has the highest CC on record. Makishima’s hue is clear and his CC is 0 (when he wills it to be). What’s the point of having both, then? Is it just for a fun color-coding system? It’s never explained in any way that makes sense. The one character likely to have a high CC and a clear hue is Makishima (a sociopath), but he has both a clear hue and a low CC. (Kamui is another anomaly, but he can’t be measured at all, so he doesn’t really fit into this specific discussion.) Basically, having hues and CCs both exist just feels a little bit too much like “it sounded cool so we included it” instead of: “These both serve serious purposes in the world.” They want really bad to fling philosophy at the viewers, but seem to neglect this really large aspect of the world where it would be perfect to latch on.

Technology is advanced to the point of having cybernetic arms that function effortlessly and people can almost achieve full cybernization if they have the money/will to. Kamui was 184 people stitched together lol... And yet Akane has just one living grandparent (who apparently can’t even move on her own). I’m not really put off by this, but you’d think the technology/health debate would be a much bigger part of the story beyond the news broadcast that was shown.

I think the biggest niggling little worldbuilding issue is the fact that the implementation of Sibyl happened ~20 years ago. I like the detail for what it gives us for some characters (Masaoka and Ginoza specifically), but I find it mostly implausible. Maybe it was fully implemented 20 years ago, but the framework was another 20 years in the making. It just doesn’t work otherwise. The second it was implemented families would have been shattered and that shattering would have put even more people into isolation due to their CC rising. I mean, if someone took my 5-year-old away from me, I’d be in isolation REAL QUICK, ‘cause that’s the kind of trauma you don’t just Get Over or Move Past.

Speaking of five-year-olds, in the boarding school episodes, they mention a law that protected minors, which feels out of place because Kagari was not protected by that law...which means it couldn’t have been around very long in the first place. If the scanners can flag a 5-year-old child and take him away from his parents, high school students aren’t exempt either. The mention of the law would have been a nice touch if it had only recently been appealed/removed, but it was only around for a few years ~20 years ago, so it feels awkwardly placed/silly.

Again, not everything worldbuilding/craft-related is bad. Like I said earlier, the world in general feels pretty cohesive and the characters belong there. The issues mostly sit with the fact that they tried to include a lot of ‘neat’ or ‘dramatic’ (or even ‘dark’) things...without stopping to consider if they actually fit within the narrative they were trying to construct.

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Plot/Storylines

This is where the series shines. Or at least, this is probably the strongest point in PP’s favor.

The biggest criticism I have: it doesn’t actually do anything new and exciting.

That said, I don’t think every bit of media out there needs to flip the script to be enjoyed, and I liked PP just fine for what it was.

Season One was definitely stronger in this department than later material.  What made S1 feel strong was having enough time to actually move the plot along while also developing the characters. S2 was comparatively rushed and had a lot of really unnecessary plotlines and gore. The movie was...eh, but I think it was an improvement over S2. (I haven’t seen Sinners of the System yet, so I can’t comment on those installments.)

I can find fault with a lot of S1 stuff, but for the most part I think it did a pretty good job and any faults I’d bother to point out would just be me nitpicking. The storylines melded into one another, everything was connected, et cetera. Unfortunately this comes at the cost of character relationships/development, but I’ll talk about that later. Besides, I’d rather have a cohesive series than not, so this isn’t exactly a criticism so much as an observation. The production team(s) did an excellent job of making the most of the screentime they had to work with.

S2 feels flawed almost from the start. Rather than build off of what we already learned in S1 and further develop the characters, it chose to rush headlong into a half-assed plot featuring an unbelievable antagonist. Yikes. I think it brought up an interesting question in “WC?” but instead of striking a believable balance they really just made an antagonist who was 184 people’s bodies stitched together. I can’t get over how stupid that was. Honestly, it was straight-up foolish of the writers to go through with that concept. Makishima might have been a pretentious pile of shit, but at least he felt like a human being. Kamui as a concept was just too overblown to work.

Also working against S2 was Togane. That whole plotline was completely unnecessary and throwing Akane’s grandmother under a bus on top of that was just the icing on the idiot cake. S2 was the Break the Cutie trope tenfold, but there was no danger and therefore no sense of urgency or fear. It was just gross for the sake of being gross, which was disappointing. I’m not saying that Togane isn’t the type of person to beat a crippled old lady to death, because he is, but I also never thought he was an idiot, and the progression of his attempts to blacken her hue jumped straight to the moon instead of progressing at a pace that felt more natural/reasonable. If the guy hasn’t been eliminated by an inspector after blackening many of their hues, he’s not the kind of dope to take silly risks. He could have tried any number of things to ruin Akane that didn’t involve her poor old granny (who had no real screentime and whom the audience had no connection with anyway).

S2 also gave us Ginoza doubting Akane’s sanity early on (acting like she might have written WC on her own wall), which not only feels incredibly out of character for S2 Ginoza, but never amounts to anything/goes anywhere anyway.

Hungry Chicken was an interesting touch, but SO MANY PEOPLE DIED that its impact was diminished. Division 3 had such a non-appearance in the series anyway that them being there at all just felt stupid without more lead-up.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think S2 is irredeemable, but I feel like it missed the mark consistently from start to finish. A shame, because the concept of a ‘plural’ psycho-pass might have been nifty if, say, Kamui was made up of 5 or 6 people’s bodies. Then the holos would feel meaningful. Then each ‘part’ of him would feel like a different person with different feelings and motives and skills. 

Anyway, I think S2 muddied the waters too much with Kamui and the body doubles and Shisui all that nonsense, too. At a certain point if your plot gets too complex, especially with overblown concepts thrown into the mix, it just feels silly. That’s basically what happened to S2.

Again, S1 wasn’t perfect. Makishima was exhaustingly boring. Cool, so you can quote a bunch of crap you’ve read. Great. So can I. Who are you as a person, though? That Guy in my Philosophy 101 class who argued with the professor? Yeah, I could picture that! 

People love waxing poetic about how amazing an antagonist Makishima was, but the dude was a hollow shell quoting things other people said 100+ years ago. It felt like he didn’t even have his own thoughts, and as far as I saw, there weren’t even any fake philosophers mixed in with the rest to make us feel a little extra immersed in the world (and/or give us another philosophical spin on the situation).

Hey, maybe that was the point, but I’ve never seen that criticism leveled fully at the character/plot in general, so here we are.

It was just too heavy-handed. By the end of the series I wanted him dead just so I could stop listening to his mini-lectures.

Still, it may as well have been amazing compared to 184-People-Stitched-Together being the main antagonist. 

I think the movie jumped in face-first and was perhaps a little too...all over the place? But I didn’t have to endure 184 people as a single person, or ears in boxes, so... I consider it a win.

The bitter reality when it comes to Psycho Pass and the plot is that...the plot is its greatest strength, but it’s Not That Deep...even though you can tell that it’s consistently trying to be. Oof.

I think if they’d shot for something less complex, especially in S2, they’d have at least met their goals of depth/consistency. Instead what we ended up with was having a fairly decent plot devolve into one of the worst second seasons I’ve seen.

--

Characters & Character Development

For such a small cast, I think PP did a pretty piss-poor job with most of their characters, but the series as a general rule is so plot-heavy that it’s not really surprising.

I can’t help but expect a lot from a series that only has a few ‘main’ characters. In this case, Akane is the Big Main Character, and is flanked by Kogami and Ginoza. In S1, there was a decent balance (with Masaoka and Kagari thrown in). In S2, it was mostly just Akane and The Bad Guys, which would be fine if the plot was incredible, or The Bad Guys were super duper interesting, but as discussed previously, the plot was akin to liquid cat barf and the characters weren’t treated much better. It was a little insulting to be handed characters who could be really fun in the right hands (literally everyone) only to see them used as plot vehicles/hallucinations/memory thoughts. Kogami randomly appearing for long boring scenes wasn’t fun or cool; it was uninspired. It’d be way cooler if it was for five seconds and felt like a...memory, almost...a passing thought. For more screentime, it could even happen more often. But no, it’s gotta be like two minutes long. 

How about the scene where Saiga talks to Koichi who just keeps turning into Kamui and he talks for like five straight minutes? UGH. Is this supposed to feel deep and meaningful? It doesn’t.

Shion sleeps with Yayoi so she can monologue plot things while Yayoi is getting dressed. Can I add that Yayoi doesn’t matter at all at any point, and Shion conveniently can do anything that needs to be done because Reasons?

Togane isn’t around long enough to feel like a worthwhile villain. Nobody cares about Shisui because we honestly don’t even know who she is! Oh, were we supposed to feel bad for Division 3? We’re supposed to feel gross about Akane’s grandmother but the writers took one line in S1 and used that to try and break the character (while also knowing full well it wouldn’t have any effect on her). Let’s not forget Mika, who is remembered as being incredibly annoying...while everyone forgets/doesn’t notice that she’s the student from the boarding school who didn’t die (and we never see her outside of work doing her own thing, which adds to her just being a pain).

Ginoza seems a little like he’s supposed to fill a spot his father left, but he doesn’t, and he’s pushed to the background to...not really do anything of import. Hinakawa is a worthless character who exists just for one plot-specific purpose. Saiga exists so that more dialogue can happen and not seem too out of place.

I’m not saying the character writing overall is trash, but it definitely ain’t good, and I think S2 is where it really struggled. S1 gave us a really interesting character in Kogami. Akane was learning and struggling to fit in at work and do things well, which was somewhat relatable. Ginoza was struggling with his mental health throughout the entire first season and had a lot of character development. But then S2 happens and the development kind of...stopped? Akane didn’t seem to really learn much because she was too busy always being right? Kogami noped out of Japan so I didn’t expect anything with him specifically, but why couldn’t Yayoi have moved into the limelight? Shion? One of the new guys? ANYONE?

Don’t get me wrong. I still have characters I like, and I can see potential in the others. I just wish I was seeing more than potential is all, especially with characters like Yayoi that have been around from Day1 and still haven’t really done anything noteworthy.

--

General Criticisms/Other Thoughts

There’s a lot of shock-value violence (SVV). I guess you could say I ‘get’ the purpose of it, but there’s literally no reason that helmeted person couldn’t have beat a man to death with a hammer instead of a woman, especially considering that we have to see Spooky Boogie’s corpse looking grotesque and plenty of other crimes against women.

I feel like S2 was especially guilty of SVV, but it existed in S1, too, pretty much to the point that it started to anger me. It might not have bothered me as much if some of the violent acts were cases that stood alone, but they were all linked to the main plot and that somehow seemed to make it worse.

I also wasn’t a fan of Akane constantly being naked/near naked, of Yuki being in her underwear/negligée, of every crime against a woman ending up with a woman’s clothes being removed, and (the list goes on). One of these things? I might be able to overlook. All of them? Come on. Don’t pretend these creators weren’t doing this for their own purpose.

(I know the scene with Aoyanagi gave us the men getting undressed too [This is your natural self!], but then they showed her with all these action scenes, legs spread wide open, coordinated lacy undies/bra... C’MON. All the butt-shots of Professor Saiga and Kogami don’t make up for this or cancel it out. I KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING AND I DO NOT LIKE IT.)

The music was mediocre but acceptable/fitting. 

The animation is nice. 

--

Overall

This isn’t a series I’d recommend to just anyone. It has a lot of issues, and they range from being petty annoyances to straight up offensive. If you can ignore the misogynistic undertones and general lack of consistent attention to the characters, there’s a decently interesting plot waiting for you.

Unfortunately the series just feels...lacking, in the end. There is a S3 coming out (apparently featuring other characters), so the creators aren’t done playing in this world. Maybe S3 will fix some of the consistency issues?

I’ve seen a lot of people make comments about Psycho Pass being a ‘genius’ work, ignored by the general public despite its godliness. I agree that it doesn’t get the attention you’d expect a series of this caliber (nice animation, decent soundtrack, likable main female character who isn’t some moeblob) to have, but I think I hit upon all the reasons it’s not everyone’s cuppa in the first place...and while it is open for fanfiction and so on, the lack of attention to the characters by the series itself makes it less likely to appeal to the sort of people who write fanfiction. So there you have it: a pretty decent, mostly coherent series that’s terribly violent and misogynistic. Definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but worth a watch if you can get past those pesky negatives.

[charmandhex]

Memory in the Moment

When Craftsmen’s Corridor fell, much of Raven’s Roost was destroyed along with it. Three months earlier, when Magnus and Julia had gotten married, there had been an unexpected, uninvited, and unnoticed guest. Now, with memories recovered and Raven’s Roost rising once more, Lucretia has one more secret to tell Magnus.

Read on ao3 here.

Magnus is hard at work rebuilding Raven’s Roost when Lucretia arrives. He pauses in his work long enough to wave before returning, striking each nail home with three rhythmic strikes. Lucretia waits at the path near Magnus’s front door, holding a large, thin, wrapped rectangular package. Magnus might have a few ideas about what that is.

With the final nail embedded in the wood and the sweat wiped from his brow and ‘burns, Magnus heads back to his house, greeting Lucretia with a broad grin and an open door. Well, that, and fresh lemonade with some pastries from Lup. He is rustically hospitable after all, and Lucretia is family.

For all that though, she seems nervous, tense in a way Magnus doesn’t think he’s seen since before the Day. While his own glass has been refilled already, a testament to his hard work, Lucretia’s glass of lemonade is still full, with beads of condensation already formed on the exterior and dripping down the side to pool on the table. The resulting puddle is already starting to creep out toward the plate with the equally untouched baklava from Lup. Instead, Lucretia is drumming her fingers against the solid wooden table Magnus had of course built himself, and she’s looking out the window of Magnus’s comfortable house at the other houses and buildings slowly climbing skyward as Craftsmen’s Corridor once had. Lucretia pauses her discordant rhythm and finally raises the glass of lemonade, half melted ice cubes clinking together in the drink, to take a sip.

“All right. Spill it, Lucy,” Magnus declares, clapping his hands to his knees, leaning toward her.

Lucretia startles, almost inhaling her lemonade, and looks to him. “Spill... the lemonade?” She looks between him and the glass and raises one eyebrow. To be fair, it wouldn’t be the strangest thing he ever asked her to do.

“Lucy,” Magnus clicks his tongue in mock disapproval. “I know that something’s up. And you know that I know that something’s up. And obviously I know that you know that I know that something’s up. So. What is up?”

Lucretia snorts, this time intentional. “Perceptive as always, Mags.”

“I have proficiency in that!”

“No, you don’t.” An affectionate smile crosses Lucretia’s face, and, not for the first time, Magnus wonders how she managed to conceal the truth, how she managed to seal off her own heart so completely that the truth of her love for her family had never broken through.

Perhaps it was knowing that it would not and could not be returned.

“No, I don’t,” Magnus admits. “But I could!” And Lucretia laughs and Magnus joins in, and the laughter fills the small kitchen, billowing out over the kitchen table, crashing into the still newly painted cabinets and counters. It overflows, passing through the two doorways into the house beyond and through the large open windows, spilling into the breeze passing over all of Raven’s Roost.

Eventually, Lucretia stops laughing and Magnus with her. She looks tense again, and her gaze falls on the carefully wrapped canvas she’d brought, which she’d just as carefully placed on the counter while Magnus had been pouring drinks and not-so-carefully carving out slices of baklava. Magnus looks over as well, curiosity welling. It’s a painting, of course it is, and one of Lucretia’s own no doubt. But why would she be worried about it?

Slowly, Lucretia rises and walks the few feet to the counter. And for once, rather than rushing in, Magnus waits. She stands between Magnus and painting and undoes the wrapping. Before she lifts it or turns, she exhales. “Just... know that this was meant to be yours far sooner.”

Lucretia fluidly turns, the painting already carefully in her grasp, and Magnus sees the full of what Lucretia has done.

It’s Magnus. But not just Magnus. Magnus, and Julia, and Steven, and other dear friends, lost to... lost to that day and to time and to grief. At the center of the painting is Magnus and Julia, painted in perfect detail, joyous and loving and emerging from under the cover of a gazebo that Magnus had built himself.

It’s a painting of Magnus and Julia’s wedding day.

Magnus can’t breathe. No, Magnus just isn’t breathing, spellbound, frozen in this moment as the couple in the painting is frozen in time, heedless of what lies ahead. Magnus should probably breathe, he realizes, and he takes a gasping breath, his lungs welcoming the return of fresh air, dancing inward through the window on the breezes of Raven’s Roost.

“Where did you... how did you... you were there?” Magnus asks, forcing out a single complete question from the rising tides of so many feelings.

“Yes. We both were. Of course I was there... I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”

“But you... I didn’t know you. I didn’t remember.” Magnus’s mind is whirling, thinking back, trying to piece together the smallest of details, looking for an unfamiliar face with a loving smile in a haze of time-muddled smiling faces.

“But I did.” But no, Magnus can’t remember, can’t remember anyone with the same look on their face that Lucretia is wearing now. “So I was there.”

“Now hold on! You could have said hello!” He says, half indignant.

“And have you try to set me up with your father-in-law?” Lucretia asks dryly.

“Steven is great!”

“I know. I could say that, I could say you might have recognized Davenport or me later, but those are excuses. Saying hello, saying anything really... I think that would have been too much. I was selfish, and I stayed at a distance.”

“I don’t think that was selfish.” Magnus pauses, thinking. “How long have you had this?”

Magnus can see as tension creeps its way back into the set of Lucretia’s shoulders and jaw. “I started the next day. I wanted to make sure I remembered.”

“The next... the next day.” Years. Lucretia has had this scene, this day that Magnus has seen twice (once in life, once by his Relic), illustrated in as perfect detail as he can remember, the sands of the hourglass exactly as they had fallen.

“Magnus, I- I wanted to give it to you. A private, belated wedding present. As soon as I could. And I was going to. But then...” Lucretia trails off, biting her lip, struggling to see the story to its tragic end.

Naturally, Magnus knows where this story is going. After all, it’s his own. “But then everything, everyone was gone.” But then Julia was gone and much of Magnus with her.

“Yes. And then. Well, as you said, you didn’t remember. I couldn’t give it to you at the Bureau, not when it could raise so many questions. And after, after all of it... there was never going to be a good time. There was only soon.”

“I know.” Magnus stands, taking far more care in the action than he would normally. He approaches both Lucretia and painting, almost not seeing the former for the latter. Julia looks so happy. Happy and beautiful and full of life and love and hope for the life they had earned.

“I’m sorry, Magnus. I thought I put you in the best place, but... it all went wrong. You were in love. You had a family.”

“Am. And do.” Magnus corrects, abrupt but still gentle, looking up to Lucretia. Her expression is worried and wary. Nope. Magnus isn’t gonna have that. “And part of that is because you put me in the best place, Lucy. For all that happened... I don’t know that I would have ever found Julia, if what happened hadn’t happened, and... I lost Julia once. I can’t imagine not having had her in my life at all.” Magnus cautiously takes the painting from Lucretia and sets it back on the counter. “So, weird as it might sound, and I know, I know it might sound pretty fucking weird... thank you, Lucretia. And thank you for this.” And Magnus envelops Lucretia in a hug, as he’s done countless times before and still far too infrequently in recent years.

“You’re welcome, Magnus. For the painting.” There’s a shaky note to Lucretia’s voice that Magnus knows, one of tears rising.

“Uh-huh. You know, I notice you didn’t include a frame with it,” Magnus says, gently teasing, laughter in his own voice.

And Lucretia laughs as well, a watery laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. “I guessed that a master carpenter such as yourself would have exacting standards for such a painting.”

“Well yeah! That’s my wife in that painting! And you painted it! There’s only one master carpenter good enough for the job!”

“Oh, I see. I think we could probably find some way to take it to Legato, yes,” Lucretia teases back.

“Now hold on! I meant me!”

“I know.” Lucretia steps back and so does Magnus. The pair turn to look at the painting. “I would have liked to meet her. Really meet her, you know.”

“Oh, you will. One day. ‘Cause I’m gonna see her again, and she’s gonna get to meet everyone. And I know she’ll like you too.”

“Thank you, Magnus.” And for once it’s Lucretia, not Magnus, rushing in. Into another hug.

Magnus hangs the painting in his house, in a place where he can see it, crying or smiling or perhaps both, each day. And, some decades later, when a loving couple welcomes Lucretia into a cottage on an island in an endless sea, she looks up to see that same painting hanging on the wall.

[punkrockgenasiashton]

So. Rise of Skywalker thoughts. I thought it was good. I spent the afternoon marathoning The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi so the story would be fresh in my mind, and watching them all back to back to back? I think they make for a much more solid trilogy than lots of people give it credit for. Spoilers below the cut

The good bits: Rey is a fucking bamf, throughout. Poe continues to be the best pilot in the galaxy *and* got some lore drop. I’m now into the idea of a Poe prequel, whether that exist as a Disney+ series, a novel, or a comic, I want to know more about his apparent criminal past as a spice runner. Sadly, Finn didn’t have a lot to do but did get teased at apparently having some Force Sensitiveness (that I think is a little hamfisted but the lack-there-of in the first two could be explained away by him working through his brainwashing). The Cinematography was gorgeous. The use of the Force Bridge Dyad between Rey and Kylo/Ben was used to fantastic effect. The reveal that Leia had trained as a Jedi was a cool reveal. The beginning and basically everything that happens on Exegol/involving Palpatine was straight up horror movie scary. I rolled my eyes when it was announced that Sheev was coming back, but it was actually really well done. Also, and this is a big part for me, because it hasn’t happened nearly enough in the first two films: It showed the Main Trio actually interacting. They’re a poly trio friends that enjoy each other’s company and squabble and go on missions together and interact and care about each other and it’s so great y’all. 

The bad bits: To get it out of the way first, I’m just going to pretend the Kylo/Rey kiss didn’t actually happen, it was a fever dream I experienced and Kylo died right after transfering his life Force energy to Rey. The Life Force Energy stuff was a little hokey too, not a huge fan of it overall, but I understand it’s use as a plot device/convenience. Besides that, my biggest issue with the film is it seemed to move a million miles per hour without stopping for a single second to breath or to explain anything. It felt like JJ definitely had ideas for two full films but had to condense them down to one. As a result, one of the biggest things for me, is Kylo’s turn back to the light side and return to Ben Solo...while sensible feels awfully rushed.I like  Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Issac, they’re all really good actors, that said Adam Driver is imo the best actor in the new trilogy. Kylo’s turn should’ve been a much bigger on screen presence throughout. Idk what I’d lose to fit it, but the speed at which it happened was too quick for Driver’s acting to really get into it. Also, things like Hux being a spy, Leia being a trained Jedi, the rebelled stromtroopers on Endor, Kylo’s quest for the Sith Waypoints, how ol’ Sheev actually returned, Poe’s criminal past, and a few more things that I’m probably forgetting: all interesting little side plots that all get rushed and brushed over because you only have a 2:30 movie. 

[moodyandmoonyeyed]

Don’t You (Forget About Me)

Category: Stranger Things Characters: Lucas Sinclair, Max Mayfield, The Party Word Count: 4728 Summary: Part 16 of Stories from Summer - “Recreating a cheesy moment from the movies of ‘85″

[A/N]: I’m so incredibly proud to be a part of this collaboration and also, bet you can’t guess which movie I picked (spoiler: it’s unfortunately not The Goonies).

“I bet I can drink this faster than you can,” Max goaded as her and Lucas made their way out of the convenience store and back into the heat. The sun was beating down on their faces, already melting the slushies they had just purchased giving only their fingers any respite with the cold condensation covering the plastic cups.

The summer of ‘85 was proving to be another brutal one. The party had been living in cooler weather for so long that they forgot just how hot mid July could be. Of course, they all preferred it to winter, when it was harder to ride around everywhere and they had to be bundled up in coats and scarves, but still. Anyone who spent more than two minutes outside knew that it was best to stay in air conditioned buildings for as long as possible.

Everyone that was, except for Max. Growing up in California, she was used to higher temperatures and anything below 75 sent her running for a jacket. It always made Lucas laugh and shake his head at how absolutely stubborn she could be when it came to the weather. If she thought it was cold, there was no point in arguing with her because she’d never let up, and while her points never made any real sense (like the time she tried to convince everyone that her hair was frizzier that day because it reacted badly to the cold), her conviction was so strong that you thought for maybe a few seconds she could be telling the truth. But Lucas loved being right and hated losing just as much as the redhead so at this tempting offer at proving who was best, he couldn’t stop the small shiver of adrenaline that ran through him.

“I highly doubt that,” he replied, taking a big slurp and revelling in the feel of the ice traveling down his throat, relieving his body of heat for just a few seconds.

“Well let’s just test it out then,” she said, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and turning to face him, hand on her hip and determination settling on her face. Her eyes were squinted in the bright sunlight but he could still make out a glimmer of the same thrill that was probably rushing through her at the prospect of a winner takes all game.

“Okay...what are the rules?” he asked, always the logical one.

“Easy enough, whoever finishes their slushie first wins.” Max rolled her eyes at his total ridiculousness over the small things. She loved the guy and all (in a 100% friends but we happen to be dating sort of way), but sometimes he was too much.

“Well yeah, but like...if we’re gonna make it a bet then we need to decide what the loser will do,” he explained, exasperated that she hadn’t caught on to what he meant.

This one stumped her. She hadn’t really thought past just poking fun and seeing if he would actually race her in drinking the cold beverage, probably resulting in some serious brain freeze and a deliciously cold stomach ache. “How about...winner’s choice? Like...when I win I’ll decide then what I’ll make you do,” she decided, smiling at the triumph she could already feel tingling in her fingertips.

Lucas let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah right. First of all, I’ll be the winner at the end of this, just you wait. I’ve done this plenty of times with the others (not necessarily true) and all of them have yet to beat me (definitely not true),” he boasted, clearly proud of himself with his shoulders back and chest puffed.

Max rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile at the boy in front of her. Sometimes she wondered how they managed to hang out at all without constantly ripping into each other. They always seemed to be betting or bickering or full on fighting about something. But then Lucas would do something like offer her half of his candy bar in the middle of the spat or just look at her with clear adoration in his eyes or do what he was doing now and just not back down and it would remind her that she was best friends with him because no matter how bad the argument got, it never affected their relationship, and it was always fun.

“Second,” Lucas continued, clearly not realizing that Max was deep in thought about him, “I’m not going into this blindly, oh no. I wanna know what I’m getting myself into before I decide whether to put my fate in your hands,” he pointed out, crossing his arms.

“If you’re so sure you’re going to win then why be bothered by it at all?” she poked. They had started walking again, back to the park where they had left their friends, because clearly this was going to take some convincing.

Lucas let out a string of sputtering noises, not knowing how to rebuke the notion that he was at all in fear of losing.

“Got you, didn’t I?” she laughed, squinting up at him. The sun was hitting his skin in a way that made him look like he was glowing with sunlight himself and her next breath stuck in her throat with how stunning the sight was. Unfortunately, it also meant she didn’t see the uneven sidewalk in front of her and the toe of her vans caught on the ridge, jolting her forward. She could see it now, the hospital visit and the stitches, and the tension at home from it all, and that thought knotted her stomach tighter than the anticipation of the actual pain she knew she’d be feeling.

As she closed her eyes and accepted her fate, she felt someone’s hand grab her arm and stop her just inches away from pummeling into the pavement, and pull her back to her feet.

“Are you okay?” she heard Lucas ask, worry lacing his voice.

Max chuckled with relief and nodded, trying to shake the nervous tears out of her eyes before looking at him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said a little breathless. “Thanks.”

His shoulders relaxed with the release of the tension he had been holding in them and he smiled, squeezing the hand he was still holding. “I’m just glad you didn’t spill your slushie. How else was I supposed to beat you?” he joked.

“Ha ha, very funny. Although I guess I will pick a less severe punishment for your eventual failure. Y’know, for saving my life and all.” She motioned at the ground and carefully stepped over the crack that had almost sent her skidding.

“Oh, how kind of you.”

“I know. I’m a real peach,” she laughed, smiling up at him with a huge, fake grin.

“But seriously, we have to decide on actual things,” he pushed as they finally reached the park.

“How about…” she looked around at everyone else that was there to have fun, pushing kids on swings and running around in games of tag or kicking a soccer ball back and forth in the grassy field next to the slides. Her eyes clicked on the party, and more specifically El whos ears seemed to sparkle in the bright summer light. The young girl had just gotten her ears pierced the day before and she loved pushing her hair back to show off the tiny gold hearts with small rhinestones set in the middle, making it clear to everyone that she was incredibly proud that she got to do normal things finally. This gave Max an idea. “How about if I win, you have to pierce your ear,” she smirked, turning her back to their group and looking him straight in the eye.

She saw Lucas visibly gulp, but as no one would (technically) be getting hurt and nothing embarrassing could potentially come to fruition through the small act, she knew he wouldn’t be able to back down. He solemnly nodded and cleared his throat. “Deal.”

“Okay, but what about if you win?” she asked, realizing that there was real merit in knowing what you were getting yourself in to. Maybe he was rubbing off on her after all this time.

He put a finger to his chin in mock thought and took several large looks around the playground, obviously trying to keep her in suspense for as long as possible.

“If I win, you have to cut your hair,” he decided with a smirk of his own.

“What? No way! That’s way more drastic than getting your ear pierced,” she complained, anxiety filling her stomach.

“Except I’ll be going through physical pain,” he argued, subconsciously tugging at his earlobe, already feeling a phantom sting. “Plus, you’ve been talking about doing this all summer; you just haven’t worked up the guts to do it. Technically, I’m going easy because I’m giving you something you already want.”

“Except that I haven’t done it because I don’t want to do it, obviously,” she said, voice a little hesitant in the sort of lie. It was true, she had been thinking about cutting some of her hair off. It was just so hot and while she enjoyed the heat, the humidity wasn’t her favorite and it was sending her hair into frizzy messes. Every morning was a twenty minute struggle to untangle all of the knots that formed overnight, and she figured it’d be easier to manage if she chopped off a few inches. But she was still entirely scared of having it done, and wasn’t sure she was okay with it being forced on her.

“Well?” Lucas pestered, tapping his foot in impatience.

She let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes, sticking her hand out. “Fine,” she grumbled. After all, she was asking him to stick a needle through his ear.

He let out a whoop of laughter and shook her outstretched hand before finishing their way back to their friends.

“What’s all the cheering for?” Mike asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion. With these two there could be all sorts of shenanigans about to go down.

“Oh nothing,” Lucas said in a fake blase tone that clearly meant something was up. It didn’t take long however for his face to contort with impish glee as he cackled out their plan to the party, and Max was suddenly terrified of just how competitive this kid was.

“Calm down, Stalker, it’s not that serious,” she half-laughed.

“Oh it’s very serious,” he said almost solemnly.

“Well you might as well do it now before the slushies finish melting,” Will pointed out to the two of them. In all of the thought and worry that went into planning the bet, neither one of them had realized that the sun had turned their drinks to almost complete liquid. This boded well for both of them since it’d be easier to suck down, but it also struck a stronger note of fear in their hearts since they knew the competition would be neck-in-neck.

“Are you ready?” Dustin asked.

Lucas and Max both nodded, turning to face one another, cups raised and straws ready as if they were about to have an actual fight.

“Would you like to do the honors, El?” Dustin asked.

The girl nodded vigorously, always thrilled to be included in any crazy schemes the others got themselves into.

“On your mark,” she started, just like she had seen them do for races at the Fourth of July picnic the Wheeler’s had held. “Get set.” She paused for maximum effect, before filling her lungs with enough air to shout loud enough for the whole park to hear, “GO!”

Max and Lucas jumped at the volume of the word before shoving straws in their mouths and slurping at the syrupy ice as fast as they could. Neither of them paid attention to anything other than the task in front of them and the prize they both thought was just in reach.

“Go, go, go!” Will shouted with glee, a huge smile spreading over his face. It had been months since the Mind Flayer incident but he still felt the need to cherish each moment he spent with his friends, scared that the monster would come back for him.

“Honestly, I hope Max wins,” Dustin debated with Mike. “How funny would it be to see Lucas get an earring,” he laughed. He had gotten over his initial resentment to the two of them being together and was enjoying just having Max as another friend to nerd out with.

“Yeah but if Lucas wins we can all finally stop listening to Max complain about her hair,” Mike griped, rolling his eyes. Things were definitely better between the two of them but they still got on each other’s nerves and argued all the time. Not the way that Lucas and Max did, with some weird layer of affection filling each battle of wits they had, but more like how he and Nancy argued. Like you could say whatever you wanted but at the end of the day it didn’t matter because you were bonded for life.

“I’m too scared to look!” El exclaimed, covering her eyes but peeking through her fingers. There was such a thrill coursing through her veins just in being out in the open, surrounded by strangers, and having a real moment with her friends. It was days like these that El wished she could just borrow one of Jonathan’s cameras and take all of the pictures so she’d never forget a single second. She had spent so many days locked in the lab and then locked in the cabin, worried that she’d never get to experience these things that when she did, she was filled with a sense of dread of forgetting them, and she hated that such happy memories were always tainted with fear.

Eventually, the last slurps were heard and Max threw her cup to the ground, raising her hands in victory as she saw that Lucas had bent over, hand to his head, the drink too cold for him to handle.

“Whoo hoo!” she screamed, running around the small group in victory laps. “I told you I’d win, Sinclair!”

Lucas was still bent double, now in just as much shame and defeat as pain, but no one could see that he was still smiling at the ground, happy for his girlfriend. “Congratulations, Mad Max,” he choked out, finally straightening up and pulling her in for a hug.

“Stop being mushy, Stalker, I just beat your ass. Let me celebrate,” she groaned, shrugging him off and continuing to run around shouting out her own accolades.

The rest of the group just shook their heads in laughter, not wanting to end Max’s happiness any sooner than it really needed to, while Lucas just stared on in admiration.

Finally she put her hands to her knees to take some deep breaths, winded from the running and screaming, but a smile was still plastered across her face and she couldn’t stop the elated chuckles from escaping every few seconds. “Oh wow,” she breathed heavily. “I really thought I wouldn’t win there for a second,” she admitted shaking her head in awe at herself. “I like started to choke at one point and thought that was the end but...wow,” she continued, taking deep breaths every few words. “Whoo,” she said, finally straightening up and whipping her hair into a ponytail to get it off her sweating neck. “Hey, now I don’t have to cut my hair!” she claimed gleefully.

“Ha ha, Lucas has to get his ear pierced,” Dustin mocked, pointing at his friend.

“So when are we gonna go do this?” Mike asked, a look of excitement on his own face. He had to admit this would be fun to watch. “The sooner the better right? Otherwise you’ll just overthink it. Do we know anyone who can pierce ears?”

“I can do it,” Max said.

“Um no? I’m not letting you stick a needle in my ear, no thanks,” Lucas denied quickly, backing away in slight fear of her.

“Oh c’mon. I did it for a couple of friends back home! It’s not that hard. We just need ice, some rubbing alcohol, and a needle. Well and an earring,” she explained, ticking each thing off on her fingers. “We’ll just head to my house now. No one’s home anyway so we’ll be fine.”

The others all cheered and started to head towards their bikes, ready to watch the bet be carried out, but Lucas lagged behind, wanting to put this off for as long as possible. He was glad that Max had won - he always loved it when she got so excited she couldn’t contain it - but he had to admit that he was really scared of this. He was terrified of needles and honestly thought he was going to win himself which is why he had agreed to the bet in the first place.

Max fell back into step beside him and grabbed his hand, knowing that he was having second thoughts. “You don’t have to do this, y’know. It’s just a dumb bet. I probably wouldn’t have ever cut my hair anyway if you had won,” she laughed.

Lucas shook his head. He may be scared but he was more stubborn than that and wouldn’t fail to see this thing through. “No. We shook on it, I have to go through with it. I’m just...a little nervous is all,” he admitted, a blush creeping up on his face, adding to the heat of the day.

“I get it. The buildup to it was the worst. I hated it, especially since I don’t even wear usually earrings anyway, which is why I’m offering you an out. We can make another bet if you want,” she amended. “I’ll even let you win this time so you don’t have to lose twice AND get your ear pierced,” she said.

“Max, I’m serious. I’m gonna do this because I said I would. I’m a man of my word,” he joked, poking her in the side.

She chuckled some more and stopped to wrap her arms around him in a hug.

“Thanks,” she whispered. She wasn’t sure what she was thanking him for exactly, but it felt right to say.

“Isn’t it too hot to be hugging like that?” Mike called out to him, straddling his bike with El behind him.

“Like you have any room to talk, Wheeler,” Max called back, rolling her eyes.

They made it to Max’s house in record time and ten minutes later they were all piled in the bathroom. It was a tight fit so Dustin and Mike were in the shower. Being the taller two of the group (or at least of the ones that weren’t getting their ears pierced) it was the only logical place to stand so El and Will could see too.

Lucas was perched uneasily on the toilet, hands tapping against his bouncing legs, letting out huge breaths every once in a while.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Will asked, placing a hand on his shoulder in concern.

“Yeah, I’m gonna be fine. Just don’t like needles,” he muttered, another pang of anxiety hitting him in the gut.

“Found it,” Max said, finally entering the bathroom herself, all of the necessary items in tow. “Okay, this is probably gonna bleed a little, but I promise it’ll only hurt for a few seconds,” she reassured Lucas, making sure that he looked her in the eyes to see she was being serious.

“How would you know? You had yours professionally done!” he said, fingers knotting together.

“I told you! I’ve done this on plenty of people and they’ve all said it only stings a little bit. Plus, it’s not like the pain is different just because of the method. Don’t you trust me?” she asked, giving him a playful glare, and cleaning the needle with a rubbing alcohol wipe that she had found in the medicine cabinet.

He sighed. “Of course I do.”

“Well then stand up!”

Lucas got to his feet, albeit a little unsteadily, and gripped the sink for support.

“Okay. I’m gonna use the ice cube to numb it, and then I’ll poke it through. I’ve brought you the least ostentatious earring of the one’s my mom has bought me throughout the years,” she said, holding it out for everyone to see.

It actually wasn’t the worst. Just a small gemstone that plenty of people would find completely normal for him to wear.

He nodded and took one last breath before screwing up his eyes so he wouldn’t have to watch any of this going down in the mirror. The room was filled with a palpable tension and everyone was on the edge of their seats. Or they would be if they had seats.

Max took a deep breath of her own and put the ice to his ear lobe, holding it there for a count of what would have been twenty seconds if around 13 Lucas hadn’t started complaining that it was cold and he had already suffered one brain freeze so couldn’t they just hurry this up? She nodded even though he couldn’t see it and after three more seconds, threw the cube into the sink and stuck the needle through.

The next few moments went by in an odd paradox of slow and fast. It couldn’t have been more than seven seconds but to Lucas, the pain of the needle felt drawn out for so much longer and his shout caused everyone to cover their ears, including Max who was still clutching the bloody needle. It threw everyone into their own oblivion’s of climactic anticipation and relief, and they held their hunched poses for just a little bit longer. Through the stinging in his ear, and the burn of tears in his eyes, Lucas realized he was on his own for this next part and steadily as he could, picked up the earring and fitted it into place in the new hole Max had created in his lobe.

Finally, his heart started to slow down and the pain in his ear started to ebb. “Okay. It’s done,” he announced.

One by one it seemed, the party drew their hands back to their sides and stared at Lucas’s new reflection in the mirror. There was still a small trail of blood trickling down his neck, but also a sort of prideful gleam in his eyes as if to say, ‘someone else come at me.’

Silence filled the small, cramped bathroom for several minutes as everyone revelled in the culmination of a crazy bet, and they all knew, this was a story they’d carry with them forever. Sure nothing eventful had truly happened, but just the wave of emotions and the atmosphere that almost sparked with the thrill of a summer adventure made this one a permanent memory.

Several hours later, after El had broken the bubble they had surrounded themselves in with an extremely giddy ‘well I like it’, and everyone had laughed, and they carried on over to Lucas’s house so he could get a fresh shirt, and they could play video games and while away the rest of the sunlight, Lucas and Max were sat on the curb outside, as the sun started to dip below the horizon.

“I can’t believe you actually did it,” Max laughed, looking at the reflecting stone that sparked off of his ear.

“Honestly I can’t believe I did it either,” he admitted, a sheepish grin settling on his lips.

“You’ve always been brave like that,” she muttered, ducking her head to his shoulder and placing a soft kiss there.

“Well, thanks,” he said, a shiver running down his arm. “You know you’re pretty brave too,” he told her after a few seconds of staring at the sun.

She laughed sardonically at herself. “Please. I told you, I wouldn’t have gone through with it if you had won.” She ran a hand through her hair, tugging at the ends that were still mercifully in place. After today and the fear of maybe having to actually say goodbye to some of it, she knew she’d never cut it now.

“I think you would have,” he told her, pulling on a strand hanging in her face.

“You have a lot more faith in me than I do myself then,” she said, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her chin on them.

“No seriously. I think the relief of not having to do it is making you believe you never would have done it. But I got my ear pierced, and I think you would have cut your hair,” he explained, poking her arm.

She looked over at him and watched the way the sun turned his eyes a more milky brown than usual. A slow smile crept along her face as well as a blush and she had to bury her head in her arms to keep it from being noticed. Sometimes she couldn’t handle just how much she felt for Lucas.

Maybe it was the summer or just that her feelings were growing stronger, but each day her stomach did more flips and filled with more butterflies of anticipation for the future. She didn’t know if they’d always be like this, but something about the endless days and the constant sun and the merriment of everyone around them had her believing that maybe it could be.

Summer had always been Max’s favorite season, but with Lucas by her side, she knew she was beginning to only feel the true joys of what it had to offer her. It was a time of endless possibilities and hope and fun and everything that a young relationship should be. After the demise of her parent’s marriage, Max was sure she’d ever feel that way about someone, all ideas of princes and fairy tales immediately dashed from her dreams. And maybe Lucas was no Prince Charming, more like Prince Asshole usually, but everything about what they had was special in it’s own way.

“I should be going,” she said, finally pulling her head from her arms and realizing that the day had quickly descended into darkness.

“Yeah, alright,” Lucas said, standing up and holding a hand out for her.

“Thanks,” she said, brushing off the seat of her shorts and grabbing her skateboard from the lawn beside her.

She studied him for a few seconds before deciding something. “You know...El says she likes it, but I don’t think it’s my favorite. Maybe I picked the wrong thing,” she chuckled, head cocked to the side. It didn’t necessarily look bad, but it didn’t suit him well either. Lucas was always a person to do everything for the look of things. Every adventure they went on was clearly laid out and designed with a careful attention to detail all on Lucas’s part. The matching bandanas he had gotten them all and the army tools and war paint. This earring just wasn’t living up to its potential of everything that was Lucas.

“Yeah I was gonna take it out before bed anyway,” he laughed, pulling at it. It had started to itch and he wasn’t sure how sleeping with it in was going to go. He took it out and picked up Max’s hand, placing it in the palm and wrapping her fingers around it. “Always remember me,” he joked, as if this were some sad summer ending and they’d never see each other again.

She rolled her eyes and pecked him on the lips before remembering the moment in ‘The Breakfast Club’ where Molly Ringwald gave Judd Nelson her earring. A sly and somewhat cheesy grin spread on her face and she took an extra alcohol wipe out of her pocket and wiped the earring down before placing it in her ear.

Lucas immediately knew what she was referencing and shook his head at her antics. “You’re so weird, Max Max,” he laughed.

“You’re not too bad yourself, Stalker,” she said, shooting him one last grin before hopping on her board and speeding away.

About halfway down the street and in the last little bit of light provided to them, Lucas saw Max throw her arm up in the air in a fist pump.

[ @freshxbloom ] [ @strange-thangs ] [ @maplestreet83 ] [ @martiegalwrites ]      [ @partwayhappy ] [ @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold ] [ @janeswheeler ]        [ @cstlebyrs ] [ @formerlyjannafaye ] [ @jane-el-hopper ] [ @themikewheelers ]    [ @elizabthturner ] [ @the-proud-princess ] [ @itcouldbendoritcouldbreak ]           [ @scottsclarke ] [ @the-most-beautiful-broom ] [ @hannahberrie ]                        [ @dancingskygreen ] [ @mileven-and-contemplation ] [ @eddieksgazebos ]        [ @mikeswheeler ] [ @jopper-chopper ] [ @earlgreyteagirl ] [ @mikeswheelers ]      [ @michael-hearteyes-wheeler ] [ @stevemossington ] [ @thezoomermax ]           [ @bubblynancy ] [ @mothersnail ] [ @writer-lia ]

[entamewitchlulu]

Year of Yu-Gi-Oh Part II: Toei Adaptation

After the manga comes the anime adaptation known infamously among the fandom as “season zero.”

Aired in 1998, “”season zero”” has no actual season relation to the main series Duel Monster anime.  Instead, it as produced and run by Toei Animation, and follows the basic storyline of the first seven volumes of the manga, mostly in a game-of-the-week style format.  Like the manga, the story follows Yugi Mutou, a boy who solves the mysterious Millennium Puzzle which awakens a spirit in him that challenges his bullies, enemies, and other opponents to magical games.  Unlike the manga, however, the anime version heavily alters many scenes, including the content of the games, their results (few, if any characters actually die from the games, unlike the manga), filler episode plots, and most drastically, the addition of Miho Nosaka, a former oneshot character, as a recurring major character.

But you all already know all of that, probably!  So here’s the important stuff: what did I think of my rewatch?  Well...

The sad thing is, I seem to recall enjoying this anime a LOT more the first time I watched it.  The second watchthrough was...less interesting.

Good stuff first, though.  Most of the main voice cast is absolutely stunning.  Megumi Ogata as Yugi/Yami Yugi in particular is incredibly strong, and I will never love a Yami Yugi voice more than hers; the soft, unassuming sort of confidence fits and characterizes Yami Yugi in a way that I don’t think any other adaptation of Yami Yugi ever could (sorry, Dan Green).  

Also, I really, really love seeing the smaller, visibly young looking Yami Yugi animated in general.  Yami Yugi absolutely becomes significantly older looking than Yugi in DM and in the later half of the manga, which makes little sense considering he is using the exact same body as Yugi.  I much prefer this younger, cuter Yami Yugi, which, in my opinion, makes his entire schtick far more intimidating.  Small, childish looking Yugi Mutou challenging you to a death game?  Far more frightening and eerie than loud, brash Dan Green-ified Yami Yugi just shouting at you, imo.  Jonouchi and Anzu’s voices really stand out as a personification of their manga characters, as well.

I may be in the minority here, but I also really, really loved Miho’s addition to the main cast.  She didn’t fit into every scene, of course, and there were bits where even I felt like her inclusion was forced, but for good chunks of the series, especially in filler episodes, she absolutely shone and stood out as her own character with her own goals and motivations, who was still a part of the group and participated--and even won!!--in many of the group’s challenges.  I also just like having another girl in the group, ya know?

Smaller details that I did like: overall color palette aside, I really, REALLY love Yami Yugi’s red eyes, and I continue to describe Yami Yugi with red eyes in every fic I ever include him in.  Ryo’s green eyes are also a fave of mine.  Also: NO JOHJI!!!!  Miho basically replaces him completely in Death-T and wow, that’s honestly an even better idea than to replace him with Honda’s dog!

Now before I move on to the more negative part of this review, lemme leave you with a cute picture of Miho Nosaka:

the rest is under the cut so as to avoid clogging up the dash even more, and so that y’all can avoid my negative bits if ya want.

So, down to business.  Why didn’t I really enjoy my rewatch of the Toei adaptation?

1) Pacing.  The plot episodes seem to rush themselves along as fast as they can, to try and fit as much from the manga chapter in as possible.  Filler episodes, or episodes based on filler chapters, drag out so long that it becomes a slog to get through.

2) Low animation budget.  Unfortunately, the limits of the time this anime was produced didn’t help it’s case either.  The color palette is a goddamn oversaturated mess, and some of the color choices are truly head-scratching.  Seto Kaiba with green hair?  Who decided that?  Wasn’t he already colored with brown hair on a manga volume prior to this adaptation?  Palette aside, action scenes are considerably muted due to lack of budget to fully animate them, resulting in strange cuts and boring shots.  A LOT of the charm and intensity that gave a lot of moments in the manga their punch is lost in the adaptation, as Takahashi’s more horror manga-esque style is heavily simplified and stylized to get to the screen.  The extra cartoonish coloring also contributes to a lot of the more intense scenes from the manga falling flat.

3) Sound direction.  It’s just boring.  Only Yami Yugi’s theme stands out, and even that’s not really top of the line.  Sound effects are silly and cartoonish, and I’ll be honest, I do not like the OP or ED.  And outside of the main cast....?  A lot of the voice acting sounds pretty dull and unmemorable.

4) Adaptation changes pt 1. Listen...I’m not here to be all Edgy and say this show was bad because it refused to kill people.  But this anime completely pulls its punches when it comes to...everything.  As far as I can remember, not a single person actually dies during the series, despite Yami Yugi killing or hospitalizing at least five-six people in the manga.  It just hits a lot less hard when all he’s done is given someone an illusion of being burned to death instead of him actually dropping his cigarette butt into the alcohol and lighting himself on fire.  For some reason, it just makes everything feel a bit flatter.

5) Adaptation changes pt 2. The games!!!  They’re boring!!!  The real draw, for me, of the manga was when Yami Yugi used ordinary items in his surroundings to pull together a game.  In the anime, he just pops them into a weird, nightmare dimension where weird shit happens and the games never make sense.  Not to mention, the anime adds a lot of extra encounters with Kaiba than the manga had, including extra Duel Monsters games.  And while Takahashi had little to no rules for the game in the first place, in the anime, when they don’t have a manga script to follow, it is a goddamn free for all. It’s like Calvinball up in here, making up shit left and right, even WORSE than the manga ever did, and it’s...not fun to watch.  At all. Not understanding what’s happening just makes me, as a viewer, feel cheated and let down.  

6) Adaptation changes pt 3.  Due to the nature of the adaptation, a lot of bits and pieces of character arcs were switched around, cut out, or straight up ignored.  Mokuba does not go rescue Honda from the blocks game in Death-T.  The Jonouchi-Hirutani arc is condensed from its original several chapters span into a single episode.  And there are other examples as well, that I think overall do a disservice to the cast and the individual characters.

So, my overall verdict?  Unless you are a super die-hard fan of Yu-Gi-Oh, particular DM, I don’t think the anime is worth the time.  It’s quirky, funny, and can be fun in places, but overall, it at least wasn’t really worth my second watch.

I’m still stealing Miho for my own purposes, though.

[whattheklance]

The rest of my season 6 thoughts

OHMYGOSH

what a season

WHAT a season

the next chunk of writing, right below here, was from when i was on the episodes I was talking about before I finished them all

KEITH IS TALLER THAN LANCE after two years

ALSO that means Keith is 21 now, even if no time has passed for everyone else.

man. i think the only reason Lance was "oh look keith's back" was mostly his bitterness over lotor and allura. it's like that bitterness revived his original behavior around Keith from the beginning. even if keith is acting different.

I wouldn't have even thought or noticed Keith was bigger or had grown if fucking LANCE hadn't pointed it out. of course lance is the first and only one to notice. not even in person but via a screen

i also forgot about the cliffhanger already that keith and krolia had found an altean. that d&d episode kinda wiped it from my brain.

and lotor had me fooled too.

though before i started watching i had read someone's post who pointed out how much lotor always told the truth but would lie through omission. not sharing any details that would paint him in a negative light.

is the tenderness he's expressed with allura also part of the lie?? cuz that seemed so genuine.

OHHHHH MYGOSH OHMYGOSH

one of my theories was RIGHT. that the shiro who returned to earth was ALSO a clone!!!

when keith first walked into that room with pods, my FIRST thought was "are all of those Shiros????"

AND OHMYGOSH they were.

when i saw the title of this episode was "the black paladins" my first thought was "does this mean not only keith and shiro, but MULTIPLE shiros will be in this episode???" AND YES. ugh yes.

i don't care that i was right. cuz this was like one of HALF A DOZEN theories i came up with.

i think original shiro NEVER returned to earth

which possibly means that haggar let the blades release A shiro because 1) it wasn't the real one and 2)she might have always intended him to be a paladin.

but i am REALLY attached to the clone shiro we got to know and love and I PRAY that we get to see him again.

and i jumped to a conclusion too quick up there. though a theory of mine was STILL RIGHT, a slight variation on what i just said. I know I have an old post where I theorized that Shiro disappeared because he BECAME ONE WITH THE BLACK LION

AND OHMYGOSH THATS WHAT HAPPENED

it's funny. there was a huge theory going around that something like that could happen to lance and the blue lion, even though there weren't really any solid grounds to think that would happen. But that's what happened to Shiro.

After Keith talked to Shiro and truly bonded with the Black Lion thanks to him. I thought we'd have to say goodbye to Shiro it REALLY felt like he wouldn't be coming back. Like we'd lost him already back in season 2.

and then them having to sacrifice the castle of lions, their home away from home. was even more loss on top of that.

so when we got Allura putting Shiro's spirit from the Black Lion into the clone's body. My heart was swelling. I was so relieved. And I like that it turned his hair all the way white. kinda like when Gandalf the Grey "came back from the dead" as Gandalf the White.

There were SO MANY wonderful beats in this season. Lots of signs of REALLY great storytelling

But I can't help but feel like someone took the great story the team wanted to tell and condensed it way too much. You can still see the elements of what they planned, but lots of important parts felt too rushed

We already know that netflix or dreamworks mandate forced them to bring shiro back a whole season sooner than the creators wanted to. I can't help but wonder what other mandates happened that limited their plans.

The WHOLE Shiro story was a thrilling concept and had some good beats in it. But it also happened a little too fast. Like, Lance's interactions with Shiro in season 5, I felt like that should have led somewhere instead of being dismissed. Even if they wanted the betrayal to seemingly come out of nowhere and surprise the team the way it did, they could've had Lance travel a little ways towards the truth, but have something happen that causes him to dismiss it. It also would’ve amplified his grief upon the betrayal happening, like he could’ve prevented it.

hell even clone shiro. Gonna call him Kuro from now on. He suspected something was wrong. That’s why I thought we were going to get SOME kind of investigation/test, even if it was limited to one episode ANYTHING. i would’ve taken ANYTHING of that nature.

I really wanted Kuro to have some sort of agency beyond his programming. For him to possibly get redeemed or something. I mean, he resisted. He wanted to resist before Haggar forced control. But in the end he was just a device for conflict, and a deus ex machina to resurrect real Shiro. kinda bummed we didn’t get any other clone shiros beyond the sleeping ones in the pods. I liked the idea of a shiro army, good or evil. But maybe they were just empty husks to be used by haggar when one breaks.

It'd be awesome if this wasn't the end of their story, and Shiro in the new body actually had Kuro's voice in his head or something, kinda like 80's Rogue in the x-men with Ms.Marvel's voice in her head. But sadly, it kinda of feels like this is the end of the Shiro Clone Saga.

More on the whole rushing good plot points. The whole reveal of Lotor's true nature with Keith returning. It felt very abrupt, and it didn't help having the D&D episode separating the cliffhanger of Keith and Krolia finding an Altean and the reveal.

Still, even though it all happened faster than I wished, all the beats with the Keith vs Shiro, and Keith discovering real Shiro and unlocking the Black Lion, and even his two year time gap, experience with the Blade and with his mother, crafted him into a confidant fighter who could finally take the lead in voltron, vastly opposite of his pre-blade self. I feel like this character arc, even though it was still too brief init of itself, makes up for some of the lost development from when Shiro should've been gone longer. We wanted to see the new team develop more than we got to. So it was really satisfying seeing them come together now, and feeling like we really saw Keith transform since he last piloted the Black Lion. Even though we had a long keith shortage with seasons 4 and 5, they still managed to have key episodes that developed his arc that led him to who he became in the finale.

though i'm relieved we got original shiro back, i feel like his being brought back was rushed too. Like, I get how that type of scene feels right for a season finale, especially with the fight and losing the castle of lions, but I wish there was more time and development between Keith's discovery of him and his actual return at the end.

KEITH GOT THE GALRA mark from his straining to hold onto his life and Kuro's. I almost was expecting him to fully transform into a galra form of his own. Maybe that's in his future, cuz I think everyone wants to see something like that. I hope the gang comments on his mark in the next episode (did anybody get Star Trek (2009) reboot vibes in that scene?? i feel like there was a scene with Kirk and Sulu that was very similar action-wise with the whole collapsing planet-to-space structure)

Man, so this season Lance had to deal with his Allura feelings and losing her to Lotor. Then Allura had to deal with having her heart broken from falling for Lotor then learning how she was used. Ever since Lance faced his feelings he hasn't been the flirt towards Allura anymore. I hope it stays that way. I love Lance and I love Allura, but I really hope the writers don't take us a romantic route. Like if they did start to do something like that, I'd keep my fingers crossed that its purpose would be to show one or both of them that they aren't right for each other. Like, try to get together only to hilariously fail and decide against it. like Rachel and Joey in friends.

They didn't do anything with Allura presumably learning Lance's feelings from the mice. i’m surprised. i was a little worried when that happened. again, i feel like that not becoming anything could also be a sign of omitted story points.

THEY'RE FUCKING GOING HOME

and i can't help but think how we have seen neither hide nor hair of Sendak's coalition since the episode they fought and ran. They're fully functioning. a huge danger. And I remember reading a meta post after last season talking about how sendak understands better than anyone that to beat voltron is to threaten innocents lives, and to ultimately defeat voltron he'd threaten their home planet. A planet incapable of defending itself against galra tech. He even re-demonstrated those tactics AGAIN this season with the galra shield base. As if to remind us he does that...for next season. where the gang goes home only to find sendak's taken earth or something. or at least has a blockade to threaten it.

this season seriously delivered. Razor's Edge, I stand by as being the best episode of the series thus far. But man The Black Paladins episode was on par with Keith's Blade of Marmora reveal episode in season 2, which I put in the top 5.

Good season, despite the fact that possible executive mandates possibly limiting the writing all around felt VERY visible. Even if it's never confirmed for the things I felt were rushed. I feel like I can see that it’s there. I feel like I can see the story they want to tell, and then everywhere I feel was rushed was like an artificial constraint that forced them to cut something out of the story they want to tell.

Cuz it feels like, from the sheer quality of beats within the characters' arcs, anyone, who could craft what we've already seen, would understand the appropriate amount of story needed to properly depict it, and do it justice, but it's like someone who doesn't have the same understanding has told them to make it shorter, cuz reasons. And that’s how we got the end result

PS. i wonder if Kuro’s sheer blandness as Shiro playing D&D was a reflection of his programming. He couldn’t be inventive or imaginative, and his sole purpose was to be a paladin, to infiltrate, so that’s what he chose every time, constantly the same character. Cuz I feel like real Shiro wouldn’t play the same way. Of course it was funnier having that kind of character, but I really think that might’ve been for that purpose.

[samingtonwilson]

Prisoner- Jim Kirk

Title: Prisoner

Prompt: a part of the BBTM series. Prisoner by the weeknd featuring lana del rey. no one is imprisoned in this story it is called that because of the song it is based off of. 

Word count: 2,441 including the lyrics

Warnings: language, nothing else hopefully

A/N: IT’S BEEN SO LONG! i’ve been so busy running all over india, i’ve barely been able to write! well, finally, i’m posting something and that should be it for the next few days since my mom’s coming back to mumbai tomorrow and we’re finally gonna get to do stuff again that’s fun for me (aka shop n eat). i’ll try to write tonight, though, since my cousins are all studying and ask me to sit with them as it is. ENJOY IT AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK i havent read this over so idk if it’s any good (oops) forgive the typos that are most likely there

You bring good to my lonely life, honestly It’s hard for me to look into your eyes When I say that I would be nothing without your love I feel the rush and it’s amazing

The mess hall was too loud. Conversations around Jim were more than abuzz and the volume at which the two unwelcome crew members sitting at his table crunched their synthesized celery made his hands form fists beside either edge of his tray, crumpling the pair of napkins he held. The smell of everyone’s food was becoming unbearable— even his own plate disgusted him. He ground his teeth together in reaction.

He narrowed his blue eyes at the glass of ice water before him, ignoring the goodbye’s the aforementioned crew members offered him. He was trying to focus on the condensation wrapped around the glass instead of the sound of your voice coming from the table behind him. He did his best not to twist in his seat to look at you and almost cracked a molar in the process. He wasn’t going to be the first to break— he couldn’t be the first to break.

But it’d only been two days. Two days since you asked Jim to pick— his stubbornness or you, his silence or you, his irrationality or you, his fear or you. At first, his decision was clear. He couldn’t let what he was most afraid of win and he wouldn’t let it. There were reasons he had built the walls he comfortably sat behind and he wasn’t going to give up those reasons— no exceptions. Now, though, the decision he made pinched him the wrong way. His ribs, tired and sore from his heart’s erratic, forceful beats, felt majority of the blow and his stomach only felt emptiness.

He wanted to pick you. He should have picked you.

He shook his head at the thought and pushed himself out of his seat. He straightened his shirt, his eyes on his shoes, and took a step backwards.

A soft clatter came as a result of his blind step and he heard the clicking of a tongue. “Great.”

He looked over his shoulder before turning and facing you as you stared at youe chest, a wet spot starting at the base of your high-neck uniform and ending below your chest. A half-empty glass was still in your hand and ice cubes were littered over the deck plating floor of the Enterprise mess hall. “Fuck.”

He didn’t inhale, he couldn’t exhale.

He wet his lips and held a paper napkin with thousands of wrinkles to you.

You looked up— first at the napkin, then at him, then at the napkin again. You took it from his fingers and looked at your blue uniform.

“Sorry.” He wasn’t sure for what he was apologizing: crashing into you, the inadequacy of his paper napkin that ripped the instant it touched your uniform, or everything else.

“Yeah, whatever.” You inhaled audibly and brought your gaze to meet his— he looked away. You were neither smiling, nor frowning— odd for such an expressive face. “It’s just water.”

Without much regard for his frozen stance, your shoulder brushed and pushed against his as you took steps towards the agape doors. Jim continued to stand, stare, and sigh.

Maybe I’ve been always destined to end up in this place, yeah I don't mean to come off selfish, but I want it all Love will always be a lesson, let's get out of its way Cause I know, all I know, all I know

Jim adjourned the meeting with even less enthusiasm than when he began it— something he, the crew, and anyone else in earshot for his half-hearted introduction didn’t think was possible. He watched as the senior officers on board shuffled out of the room, trying to keep his eyes away from you and Leonard as you spoke even though you were a constant blue blur in his peripheral vision.

“Captain?”

Jim’s gaze met yours immediately. He stood up straighter and unclenched his jaw. He pulled on the hem of his shirt and the high-necked collar felt suffocating.

He didn't know what to say— and his choice made him frown. “Hi.”

You offered him the smallest smile he’d ever seen from you and it lasted for a much-too-short moment. “Captain, I just wanted to make sure you've thought the away party through.”

He tried not to show how much you calling him ‘Captain’ truly bothered him. He wanted to look indifferent. “What do you mean?”

“You’re sending Doctor McCoy and Doctor M’Benga alongside majority of the attending physicians.”

“And?”

You frowned and leaned back against the table behind you, your hands flat against the surface. “It leaves me without much help— which I don't need for current patients. It's just leaving me alone in the medbay when we’re triaging a Federation border planet after a Klingon attack—”

“The Enterprise isn't at risk.”

“I’m just saying, it’s a possibility that—”

“The Klingons that attacked Caleb IV aren’t the toughest, nor are they the most intelligent. They won’t be able to harm the Enterprise.”

“But—”

“With the risk of sounding too much like Spock, there’s no logical reason to worry.”

He watched one of your eyebrows arch upwards. It was the most expression he'd seen over your features in some time. It was oddly satisfying. “At all?”

“From what I've been told: yes.”

“Don’t you usually say nothing is certain is space?”

“Do I?”

You tilted your head. “Send me, too.”

Jim snorted. “Why?”

“Bones and I work faster together than any of the other physicians you’re sending,” you said with a shrug. You then mumbled under your breath, “Especially Krishna and Sirleaf, who basically have one foot in the grave each.”

“Speed’s not at the top of my list of priorities.”

“Then what is? Efficiency? Surgical precision? Lower risk of post-op infection?” you asked, narrowing your eyes further with each question. “Because those should be, along with speed, in a medical situation. And, in that case, you should send me.”

He snorted again and noticed your features flash in reaction. “No.”

“Captain, —”

“I’m not sending you.”

“Is there a reason?”

He nodded with a frown of consideration. “Yeah. And it’s real good so you’re not going.”

“What if there’s an emergency on the planet?”

“If there’s an emergency on the planet and Bones is suddenly unable to do his job,” he began, narrowing his eyes a bit as he let his gaze travel over the empty conference room, “then he has M’Benga and the residents to take over, he has Krishna and Sirleaf to take over, he has nurses. If by some catastrophe all of them are unable to their jobs, we can beam patients aboard.”

“What if—”

“Besides, I need a senior medical officer without their foot in a grave on board.”

“Why? I thought nothing could happen to the Enterprise.”

“That was before I was reminded of the uncertainty of space,” Jim nearly snapped. “And no ‘what if’s’— they’ll never run out and aren’t worth discussing.”

You crossed your arms over your chest and your eyebrows came together. You looked like a stubborn child. “So you’re just going to keep me on board no matter what?”

He pretended to consider it. “Yeah, I am.”

“Why?”

“I already told you: I need a senior medical officer in the medbay.” His voice had grown angrier and his jaw was tensed. He took a short step towards you.

“Then keep M’Benga! He’s got more experience than I do!”

“You’re Bones’ second-in-command since M’Benga decided to take it slow,” he returned, in a louder volume that matched yours. “Having you on board is the closest thing to having him on board.”

You looked away for a short moment and met Jim’s eyes with a light behind your pupils. “In that case, Bones can stay on board and I’ll go.”

“No,” he said after snorting for a third time. “Absolutely not.”

“What? Why? Bones could run the medbay! Wouldn’t it be better to have the real thing instead of a second-string back-up?”

Jim could feel his teeth grinding and his chest puffing out. The anger that rolled off his body in waves didn’t force you back when he moved another inch forward. In fact, he noticed your pupils dilate. “No, (Y/N).”

You looked up at him from where you sat back against the table. “But—”

He leaned over a bit to put his hands on the table, his nose brushing against yours. His oceanic eyes followed yours, only stopping to glance at your lips. “Why are you so dead-set on going?”

“Why are you so dead-set on keeping me here?”

When he kissed you, he kissed you in a way that made him almost forget what you two were arguing about, why you’d been separated for so long, even his own name. He loved kissing you— the way your lips moved against his, the way you pulled on the hair at the nape of his neck, the way your skin felt under his hands.

He wound his arm around your waist and lifted you from the table once your legs were wrapped around him. He spun around to push you against the wall that was previously behind him, sighing at the feeling of your body against his.

As his lips moved to your neck, your voice shook, “We’re broken-up—”

“Stop calling me ‘Captain,’” he said onto your skin, drawing a gasp out of you when he bit down. “That’s not all I am to you.”

You pulled on his hair to bring his eyes back to yours. You were whispering when you spoke, “Then what are you? We’re not together anymore— all you are is my captain.”

He watched your eyes and felt his heart drop to his stomach. “I don’t want that.”

“And I don’t want to date you again,” you shook your head. “You put me through enough.”

“We don’t have to date.” He wanted to, though.

Before he kissed you again, he paused an inch from your lips. “You’re still not going on that mission.”

I’m a prisoner to my addiction I’m addicted to a life that’s so empty and so cold I���m a prisoner to my decisions Woooo, woooo, woooo

Jim was growing tired. He didn’t understand why the bags under his eyes never faded and his skin was nearly translucent. His voice was huskier, raspier than usual and his hair seemed to never behave. It was as if the wrinkles on his command yellow shirt appeared and stuck around to match the wrinkles creasing the skin of his forehead.

He was forced into the medbay by Leonard— something about his friend being concerned in a friendly way. Truthfully, Leonard was more concerned about being captained through the never-ending abyss of outer space by a man without any form of energy and every form of unhappiness; he couldn’t be bothered to keep up with the inner workings of Jim’s complicated love life.

As Jim sat in Leonard’s office, he spoke only when handed a newly refilled glass of scotch and it was a simple “thank you” he would offer— he didn’t know what to say otherwise. Leonard was okay with the silence, though, and didn’t pry much more than a simple, “How is everything?” to which he received a shrug in response.

Once Jim was able to excuse himself from the awkward silent drinking session, he walked down the corridors of the starship without any authority in his posture. His shoulders were slumped and his back bent, he completed the look with a small frown that didn’t change no matter who he nodded a greeting towards.

His back straightened when he reached your door, however, and he did his best to do away with his frown as he knocked. He pulled on the hem of his shirt then.

“There has to be something better you can do with your time, Captain.”

Your voice did away with the exhaustion in his limbs and he was effortlessly able to take steps forward into your quarters. He reached behind him to slap his hand onto the control panel, allowing the door to shut as he continued to stare at you and trace your every feature with his gaze. “There isn’t.”

You resisted the urge to lean into his hand as his fingers skimmed over your cheekbone and down to trace your jaw, cupping your cheek and letting his thumb graze over your lips next. You had to stop yourself from sighing. “You look like you need rest.”

He shook his head and clicked his tongue, pressing his lips to yours for moments that were much too short. “What I need is you. Rest is secondary.”

“That’s an interesting thing to say to someone who isn’t your significant other.”

He clicked his tongue before claiming your lips with his once more. “It’s a normal thing to say to someone I spend the night with every night.”

“Say that out loud one more time and you’ll spend this night with your hand.”

He tilted his head. “What, the acknowledgement too much for you?”

“Yes,” you answered, helping him remove his shirt as he walked forwards and you walked backwards in the direction of your bed. “I prefer to pretend this isn’t happening, to pretend that you broke-up with me and I made the sound choice to be done with you.”

“You’re not done with me,” he wanted to ask you, but instead stated it like he was sure— perhaps to bolster his own belief. “Just like I’m not done with you.”

He felt you shiver against him when he pressed his lips to your neck once your t-shirt was tossed aside, his fingers moving up your bare sides. You remained silent as he joined your lips once more, allowing him to control your every move as he guided you towards the bed even more.

He stopped kissing you then. “You’re okay?” he asked, looking over your features as if to memorize them.

You nodded. “Yes. I just— I don’t understand why we aren’t done with each other yet. There’s no emotional fulfillment, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s like an unbreakable habit almost.”

Although he knew what drew him to you— your smile, the smell of your hair, the way you wrinkled your nose when you laughed, just everything about you— he knew you were drawn to him without identifiable reason. If anything, he knew you had reason to be repelled by the thought of him. So, with the intention not to risk anything doing away with his habit, Jim only shrugged.

[mastcomm]

Your Friday Briefing – The New York Times

China changes rules for coronavirus count

For the second time in about a week, China has changed its criteria for confirming cases of the virus, making it increasingly difficult for public health experts to track the scale of the epidemic.

The government said today that it would now differentiate between cases that are “suspected” and “confirmed.” Cases would be considered confirmed only after genetic testing, a process that is difficult to conduct and whose results are often wrong.

If you’re feeling whiplash, you’re not the only one. “For an epidemiologist, it’s really frustrating when case definitions keep on changing,” one expert said.

Here are the latest updates and maps of where the virus has spread.

Impact: President Trump has commended President Xi Jinping’s handling of the crisis, but hard-liners within the Trump administration say Beijing can’t be trusted to disclose what it knows or properly handle the outbreak.

Putting together clues about the epidemic

Public health officials are rushing to study the growing number of clusters of coronavirus cases in an effort to figure out how the disease works. For example, a party where one case spread to more than a dozen, or a church where 43 were infected.

The issue has taken on a special urgency since passengers were allowed to disembark from the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan, where 621 people had tested positive.

There are two likely explanations for the spread of these clusters of infected people: a “superspreader,” or person who has the propensity to spew more germs than others; or people catching the virus from infected surfaces. We don’t know how long the germs stay on surfaces, but similar viruses can live for a week.

On the vaccine front, officials announced trials of two coronavirus therapies in China, for which early results may be available within three weeks.

Right now, doctors are trying a mix of solutions, including Tamiflu and Chinese herbal medicines. That makes it hard to tell what’s working and what’s not, says Donald McNeil, our infectious diseases reporter. He adds that “it’s unusual to get a clinical trial going this early in an epidemic.”

Is China strangling its own economy?

As China tightens the reins on the movements of people and goods to stem the coronavirus’s spread, some business leaders are taking the rare stand against Beijing to get their workers going again.

One-third of small firms in the country are on the brink of running out of cash over the next four weeks, according to a survey. Another third will run out of cash in the next two months. And one analysis found that virus containment efforts were stopping the flow of commerce.

Resolving economic woes and keeping the virus at bay will be a delicate dance. Manufacturers do not have the luxury of working from home, like tech companies do, but returning to business as usual could put employees at risk.

Case study: At Amazon, which relies heavily on Chinese manufacturing, the effects could be seen sooner than at other corporations because the retail giant often keeps fewer items on hand. It’s already worrying about its inventory.

If you have 12 minutes, this is worth it

The fight for Libya

In a nation where warlords and militias battle for control, a 76-year-old commander, Khalifa Hifter, says he can resolve the turmoil. His forces have been attacking Tripoli, the capital, for 10 months.

Journalists from The Times made a rare visit to Mr. Hifter’s eastern stronghold, Benghazi. What “the Marshal” has created there, their reporting found, is not the secular stability he promised, but “an unwieldy authoritarianism that in many ways is both more puritanical and more lawless” than that of Libya’s last dictator, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Here’s what else is happening

Australia: Two people were killed and several injured after a train from Sydney to Melbourne derailed, the authorities said. The train was carrying about 160 people.

Germany: A man opened fire on two bars in the central city of Hanau and killed nine people in what the authorities called a far-right terrorist attack. The suspect, a 43-year-old German, was found dead in his apartment, along with his mother.

Snapshot: Above, Whisky the Norwegian wonder dog and some of her toys. The Border collie is so smart that she knows not only the names of her toys but also the categories they belong to. What a good dog.

What we’re reading: This imagined scene from McSweeney’s of Billy Joel playing “Piano Man” for the characters he wrote the song about, who are aghast. “Hilarious,” writes Dan Saltzstein, senior editor for Special Projects.

Now, a break from the news

Cook: Creamy white beans and herb oil, served with salad and good bread, makes a perfect dinner.

Listen: Personal and societal disasters seem imminent on Grimes’s dark fifth album, “Miss Anthropocene.” We made it a Critic’s Pick.

Read: Douglas W. Tallamy’s “Nature’s Best Hope” examines grass-roots solutions for reversing wildlife decline. It’s new this week on our hardcover nonfiction best-seller list.

Smarter Living: Even the cocktail you choose is part of your carbon footprint. If you want a greener happy hour, check where your choices were bottled and go with the closest geographical option. Find other tips in this week’s Climate Fwd: newsletter.

And now for the Back Story on …

What we learned from 2016

We’re in the thick of the U.S. presidential election, with a few primary elections already completed and a slew of states set to vote in the coming weeks. “The Daily” recently spoke with Dean Baquet, The Times’s executive editor, to discuss the lessons learned from the last election and how they have informed our 2020 coverage. Here are excerpts from the conversation.

On his reflections from the 2016 election:

I think that the combination of post-economic crisis, and a sense that there are parts of America that were still shaken by the economic crisis, I think a lot of Americans — more Americans than we understood at the time — were rattled and were looking for something dramatic.

There were [Times] reporters out in the country who were writing stories about what was going on in the country. But we didn’t elevate them and say, “Wait a minute, there’s something powerful going on here.” We didn’t see that.

On how The Times is approaching the current election:

We’ve brought in people from the business staff to go out to the country to talk about the effects of the economy. We are about to announce a plan to put writers in seven or eight states that we’re usually not in. And we give huge play now to stories about anxiety in the country. I think if you read The New York Times right now, you read a New York Times that reflects a country that’s in some turmoil, a country that’s divided much more than we understood in 2016.

And I don’t think we’ve labeled any — the campaigns would disagree — but I don’t think we’ve made anybody feel like the inevitable candidate. Or the long shot. I am extremely proud of where our coverage is right now.

On his thoughts on covering both sides of a story:

I do think that American journalism has a tendency to go for the easy version of what I call “sophisticated true objectivity.” And the easy version is, “O.K., this guy said this. This guy said that. I’ll put them together. You decide.”

True objectivity is you listen, you’re empathetic. If you hear stuff you disagree with, but it’s factual and it’s worth people hearing, you write about it.

(Some answers have been condensed and edited. You can listen to the full conversation, or read a transcript, here.)

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Melina

Thank you To Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Chris Harcum for the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. • We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is the second of a two-part series about a digital underworld of child sexual abuse imagery. • Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Unpaid bill at the bar (three letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • Noah Weiland, who recently completed a stint writing our Impeachment Briefing, is starting a new beat in our Washington bureau covering health policy.

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/event/your-friday-briefing-the-new-york-times-13/

[itsadrizzit]

Fanfiction asks 1 and 4! (Can be podfic if you think it's more appropriate)

Since I’ve already answered for fic, I will answer for podfic.

1. What made you start recording podfic?

It seemed fun?

IDK, I’m fortunate enough to live in an area of the world where there seems to be an oddly high concentration of fairly prolific podficcers. I also happened to be friends with some of them via other fannish spaces so I would hear them talk about podfic. At the time, I was very unsuccessfully trying to write a very long fic and I knew nothing at all about writing. I did, however, know a lot about reading. And reading aloud. And audio processing and editing.

I used to work at a radio station and running soundboards for bands. I know an unnatural amount about mixing audio and levels and all sorts of weird technical audio things. So I figured the editing part and the equipment part and the setting things up part wouldn’t be that hard. In my case, I was right, and I sort of took to it right away. It never seemed difficult to me in any way. Everything just made sense and it was SO MUCH EASIER for me to read someone else’s words than to try to come up with my own. It took me a while to get into the performance bit as opposed to the flat reading of it with no inflection (more later), but I got over it.

So, podfic has always been a way for me to make a fanwork somewhat quickly without having to spend days writing and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting. I’ve always felt like a disappointingly slow writer. In contrast, I’ve learned that I’m a rather quick podficcer (I mean, I’m no podfic robot, but I can turn out a 10k podfic in a weekend, whereas a 10k fic would probably take me the better part of a month).

4. Do you think your style has changed over time? How so?

YES. To both fic and podfic, but we’ll talk about podfic because I think that’s more interesting.

First, equipment. When I first started recording, the only microphone I had was a studio condenser mic. Which... are fine, but are also not designed for spoken word and tend to pick up A LOT of background noise that’s hard to filter out later. So my earlier work either has a lot of echo and background noise OR it’s compressed, quiet, and flat because I had to overprocess it to get the echo and background hum out. From there I moved on to recording on the internal mic on my phone. Which was fine except if you did any noise reduction it distorted the audio too much, so I again had to fake the noise reduction which resulted in a loss of volume and clarity. At the end of 2016, I bought a Blue Yeti, which is MADE for spoken word, records at a high enough quality that you can run several noise reduction passes without noticeable loss of sound, and is overall clearer and easier to use.

But that’s just technical stuff.

My reading has also gotten better. When I listen to my early podfics, I find that I speak too quickly and while I have decent inflection in the dialogue bits, the narration is just sort of clipped and flat and rushed. Now, I make a conscious effort to slow down and lean into the narration and even the dialogue tags when appropriate. Those bits set the mood and tone of the story and are every bit as important in the reading as the dialogue exchanges AND I feel like I’m actually better at them than I am at dialogue. I still envy the way some readers can really differentiate characters or the way they can read dialogue tags and inner monologue in these snappy sort of inner character voice voices in a way that I cannot do, but I’m so much happier with my current works than my early works. Which is a bit sad because the works I recorded first were stories I LOVED and I want to go back and re-record them to try to do them justice.

Fun thing I’ve learned along the way (going back to my almost constant cold reading of podfics) if I record something after I’ve read it enough times to be familiar with it and know what’s coming when... that is when I rush the narration and everything comes out flat and really fast. See... I can read quickly. So if I don’t have to think about what I’m reading and just skim the words because I know the story well enough, then I end up reading really quickly and speaking really quickly. Whereas if it’s the first (maybe second) time I’ve read something, I’m forced to slow down and think about it and what’s going on and what the setting is, etc. which makes me slow down and think about how I’m saying words.

THANKS!