#mob is my favorite character but yes hes also nuts

[grimalkinmessor]

i am the anon that is watching mp100 bc of you and. i love all of these insane characters. is everyone in this show bonkers or is it just the majority (im on episode 6)

Oh no yeah most of them are absolutely fucking nuts :D Reigen is usually the one holding the braincell, if that tells you anything. I think the only sane person in the show is Tome, and even then.

Have fun with the Kidnapping Arc!! ✨

[colored-comas]

are there any autistic characters if so what are their safe foods,what are their special interest and how do they sims/what is their favorite stim - bun

Ah! The entire writing team is autistic, we met in our special education class in school, so a lot of our characters are autistic. This question has absolutely made my day, thank you so much.

Now let's get started -

Adam, the main character, is autistic and while he doesn't necessarily have any direct safe foods, we do write him having sushi quite often. They don't have many food issues with texture and taste, surprisingly. Adams special interest is music, and they create their own music as well, it's a big part of his character development. As for stims? Hes most commonly vocal stimming, which causes his friends to poke or mess with different parts of their body like a soundboard. He also does a lot with his face, like scrunching or just nose and lip twitching, like a bunny.

Star, keeping true to his catboy self, their safe food might also be sushi or something fish related. Though, he does have issues with anything that holds any type of incredibly strong scent. As for special interest? Definitely Fire Emblem, which is due to his writer projecting themself onto the character. Stimming for him is usually compression based, weighted or big stuffed animals they can hold and hug or squeeze. For example, they have a rather large cat plushie in their work office. The plush takes up half of his entire desk space.

Ty definitely has clear answers to this which is almost surprising. His safe foods are steak, or other harder to chew meats. Hes over-half dragon, so chewing food is a battlefield unless its tough, he bites his own mouth a lot. Special interest? Minecraft mobs, his dragon appearance is very similar to the ender dragon, and his daughters resemble endermen, so he has strong love for those mobs. His favorite forms of stimming are all related to his wings and flapping them, or flying.

Barney is the easiest answer so far. Safe food is eggs, special interest is nature and life on earth, and his stims are usually full body stims like little bounces or rocking. They have very animated body language.

Mike is harder to answer for, as they are a system and have many different opinions. So I'll just answer for their main host, his safe food is apples or pork - which is the type of meat to most resemble human. His special interest in specifically in The Flash, alongside the human brain and its functions. His biggest and favorite forms of stimming is biting things or chewing on things. They have razor sharp teeth, so navigating those ways of stimming can be hard, as a joke one day - someone bought them a hard dog chew toy. They loved it.

Rory is easy as well, his safe food is anything pineapple or mango flavored or any kinds of tree nuts. Their special interest is minecraft, specifically the command blocks and redstone, they are the most talented in those areas and usually set up those things on the groups servers. He also has an interest in psychology, and went to college for that. For a baby-faced boy, they can be scarily good at analyzing people and calling them out. As for his stimming, definitely elongated vocal stims or big body stims like rocking.

Max, my character, is very similar to me in this case. His safe food is very simple, kraft mac n cheese. Because that is the best thing ever in my own opinion. He has an absolutely awful gag reflex, and can't handle anything with odd textures. His special interest is in ARGs or decoding things, because of this he really likes Gravity Falls. Stimming for him is usually harmful, but he does do a form of hand flaps, instead of open palms he does fists. Yes, he has accidentally punched his own leg or face. And yes, all of this is based on or taken from myself.

And because I don't want this post to get to long, I'll give one more character but please know that you can ask for any of them from the list and I will answer that if they're one of our many autistic characters!

Finally, Andrew is autistic. His safe foods are very simple, either crackers or chicken nuggets. He has a special interest in coding, like making little websites or coding things into games like mods. His stims are always very pressure based, weighted blankets or tight hugs from his boyfriend.

[indigo-flightly-falls]

YES

(I'm assuming this is about the minecraft OCs)

Okay so I have a bunch so I'm splitting everything into three categories:

No story impact (mostly mob based)

Little story impact (minesonas that are basically ocs now)

BIG story impact (ocs that are inserted into canon)

Anyways, here we go!

No story impact:

These guys are mostly made up of some older ocs from summer 2022, all of which are based off certain mobs!

Some of my favorites are the following:

Endi, based off an enderman. This dude (gender neutral) is super fun, really sweet, and would kill a man for fun. They've never had a set gender, but they/he/she pronouns work pretty much all the time. Some fun deleted lore for them: he was suppose to be a recartnated Ranbulter. That storyline was scrapped but still, it was an important part of her backstory :D

Purple, who I really really need to rename lol. A bunch of these guys were based off dsmp characters and then got revamped. He/it for pronouns! He's actually dating Endi, and they've got a 'tired bodyguard X sunny charge' dynamic going on. Also he was a pirate for a while.

Candee, a rabbit/watcher hybrid! They're just chill. Like I don't have a lot put down for them story wise, but I love them sm.

Honestly most of these characters are just there. They've got some stuff going on but I don't really use them much more.

Little story impart: (note, these guys mostly started out a minesonas and now just vibe)

Indigo (she/they). My very first minecraft character. I was going to make a minecraft rp with my old irl friend. We planned out the lore as well. Here's a quick summary:

Indigo and Firefly founded a city in a ravine

They start building around and at some point end up in the Nether

They fucking get corrupted by the Warped & Crimson vines.

Cue a cult similar to the egg from dsmp.

They eventually get kicked out and fall victim to the corruption.

Indigo fucking dies from fall damage (cue username), Firefly goes nuts.

After that things got really muddled but I think Indigo got revived at some point.

There was a lot going on lol.

I think I wrote for her to have a crush on Firefly, which is weird because that would be basically me having a crush on my irl friend. I try to forget that.

Mostly she's been forgotten about, but I do hold a specially place in my heart for the memories.

Nothing (they/it). My newest minesona! They're what's called a polymorph, a being made of the void itself. They basically have no set form and like to shapeshift into whatever it wants!

So yeah, that's it for little story impact.

Now time for BIG story impact. (aka ocs inserted into canon)

Starting out I need to mention Starling. This dude cannot beat the Watcher allegations. Except he's actually not a Watcher lol. He's a violet backed starling hybrid with Starborn ancestors! Also he's like 10. Also he's adopted by Hels & Ex for some fun backstory lore.

Shelly (she/her), this one's actually a Watcher lol. She's like 9 and I love her dearly. She's just a kid who lives in Helscraft. I love her.

I actually think 90% of Helscraft fits in this area but I'm not listing them.

Elli! My newest character! They're a dragon hybrid! Specifically a slithersong hybrid. I created them less then 24 hours ago so not much to note.

Yeah I don't have much to say now. I'm gonna go find toh fics because I just watched the finale

[contradictions-of-iron-and-lace]

So on my old blog, I would occasionally give my unsolicited thoughts and opinions on shows or movies (usually ones that either had a lot of hype or were just straight up bad). I just watched "365 Dni" aka "365 Days" because I had a couple hours to kill so be prepared for mental spewage because it's my blog and I do what I want.

Wait I thought this was a romantic thriller. They're talking about human trafficking. This is already gross.

Michele Morrone is very good looking though and I've been obsessed with his face for the last few weeks.

This whole conversation about these girls getting trafficked is gross.

Yes. Let's be extra pervy during a pervy business meeting and check out the girl on the beach with our binoculars.

Hold up. Why did they get shot?

I don't know what's going on. Freaking Italian mob, man.

This song about being addicted to someone that's playing while people are bleeding out on the ground seems tonally inappropriate.

So far we've seen Italy, San Francisco, and Warsaw. I didn't know we were globetrotting.

And we switched from Italian to Polish to English. Sure.

Yeah. Michele Morrone could get it. Also he survived being shot.

Is that the same girl from the beach? Probably. Why not.

They do a lot of spinning shots and it's making me dizzy.

So far this is a very expensive foreign Lifetime movie.

Yes. Because everyone takes boob shots in the back of their Uber while sober.

Homegirl's boyfriend looks like they picked him out of a burly henchman catalogue.

Yup. Michele Morrone is stupid hot. Even just sitting down he's hot.

Oh good. We've transitioned from potential human trafficking to cocaine.

Well damn. This is fairly explicit for a "mainstream" film.

Cool. I share a name with the female lead.

Still don't know the male lead's name yet.

Everybody in this movie is either stupid hot or stupid ugly. There is no middle ground.

Yes, Michele. Creeping up on this girl on a darkly lit path saying "Are you lost, little girl?" is definitely going to win you all the points.

I don't understand why writers insist on putting powerful women with schlubby dudes. It's tired and cliched and inevitably leads to annoying arguments.

Yes. Let's wander around Sicily at night all alone. That's totally safe.

And my point is proven.

I hope if I ever get kidnapped and holed up in some random ass castle in Sicily my makeup looks as good as Laura's.

So this just turned into a horror movie.

Called it about Laura being the girl on the beach.

Yeah, that's not creepy at all, dude. Let's obsess over a girl we might have hallucinated for five years and then kidnap her and give her a year to fall in love with you. Solid plan.

This is literally making my skin crawl.

Ah yes. "I won't do anything without your permission" he says as he literally grabs and sexually assaults her.

So basically this is trying to be "erotic thriller, Beauty and the Beast style".

Her pulling a gun on him has been the best thing so far.

I'm so confuuuuuused.

That's nothing new though. I live in a state of perpetual confusion.

Why the hell is there a man chained to a rock in this dude's basement.

I have many concerns.

Also his name is Massimo so that's good to know.

Besides the man chained in his basement his house is pretty cool.

Just kidding the man is no longer chained in the basement since he now has a bullet in his head.

I'm only 30 minutes in and this has been a wild ride.

"I'm not a bag of potatoes you can move without my permission!" is very Polish and as somebody who's family is Polish I'm living for it.

I'm going to need him to stop laying hands on her.

Whoever chose the music made some odd choices.

He keeps watching her sleep and it's creepy.

And there he goes grabbing her again.

I do like that she's giving him a lot of attitude and isn't putting up with his shit but you know that's going to change 🙄

Yes. Go spend all his money, honey.

He is disrespectful as hell.

I don't care how hot he is, he's creepy and abusive and I don't like it.

"I am not the monster you think I am." You would be incorrect, my dude.

Like, she went on vacation with her boyfriend and friends, and I can't for the life of me figure out why they aren't looking for her unless they explained it and I missed it.

Pierogi. The most romantic of Polish foods.

"I do business." He's a drug trafficker, honey. Run away. Run far, far away.

Honestly I would turn this off if I wasn't so far in it already.

I feel like I have to see this trainwreck through to the end.

"I would like you to show me how to be gentle for you" would be more appealing if HE LITERALLY HAD NOT KIDNAPPED, ABUSED, AND ASSAULTED HER.

Ew. Did he sneak in her bed while she slept?

One good dinner and now she's all "let's gently touch him in bed and take a shower in front of him" 🙄

Why is this bathroom set up like a communal shower? It's weird.

Although to be fair if he hopped in the shower with me I'd check him out too 🤷

They tied her to the seat in the plane. What the hell.

I'm so uncomfortable.

Ugh. Why. Why is this a thing.

So far this has been creepier than 50 Shades and 50 Shades is creepy as hell.

Hold on. I thought they were at a hotel. Why does he have a giant ass portrait of himself hanging up in his room?

I. Am. Uncomfortable.

Oh man. He has a nice butt.

Don't get distracted by the pretty man, Laura.

Onscreen Laura too.

He asked her to teach him how to be gentle, then handcuffs her to the bed and makes her watch while he hooks up with another woman.

Yup. Doing a great job there, Massimo.

Cool I'm back to being confused.

She can't walk in her heels and I'm dying laughing. Same, girl, same.

"What are you wearing?" "A couple thousand euro of yours." GET HIM.

Now we've entered the Scarface phase of the movie because there was just a copious amount of cocaine snorted.

Where did he pull two guns from??

So I don't know how long she's been with him at this point. I feel like that's something that needs to be clarified.

And she fell off the boat.

Of course she did.

Oh man. Why's he gotta be so cute with his fluffy curls and stubble and tattoos?

Also I'm pretty sure he only owns like two shirts because he's walked around shirtless for most of this movie.

We are now in the part of the movie where we've screamed awful things at each other and now we're going to bone it out.

All over the boat. Like every surface of the boat they have now banged on.

If y'all were dissatisfied with the raunchiness of the 50 Shades series, this is the movie for you because it far surpasses that.

Of course they're going to a ball. They always do in these rich people movies.

Makeover montage because why not.

Oh no. He's hot in a tux.

It always cracks me up in movies when people just automatically know how to ballroom dance like professionals without any training.

Every time I think this movie can't get more cliched, it does.

Why do I do this to myself? Why do I subject myself to bad movies?

I take it back. I know why I did it this time. The reason is 6'2" and looks damn good in a button up shirt.

"I thought you were kidnapped!" She was. You were a good friend for thinking that.

The switching between languages is giving me whiplash. It's very jarring going from Italian to Polish to English to Polish to Italian.

Her friend seeing through her bullshit is giving me life.

Also loving the fact that she's acknowledging she has Stockholm Syndrome. But because it's a movie it won't change anything.

Another makeover montage? So soon?

Also her friend keeps calling Massimo Mozzarella and it's hilarious.

That wig looks like it's about to crawl off her head.

Of course the ex shows up.

Honestly just knee him in the nuts and be done with it.

Why does Massimo think it's okay to break into her apartment and wait in the dark for her?

I don't know who thought using a blue light for her apartment was a good idea but it just looks like they're in a giant tanning booth.

"I don't need 365 days... Because I love you." GIRL NO.

I mean it was inevitable but it's still gross.

Yup. That's normal. Let's marry our kidnapper.

I want to snatch that wig off her head.

"What are your intentions with our daughter?" You don't want to know what his intentions are with your daughter, sir.

I will say that I love all her clothes in this movie.

Also she's pregnant. Calling it right now.

Called it.

Also good to know they've only known each other two months and they're going to get married and have a baby 👀

Her best friend is my favorite character and is the only likeable person in this whole movie.

Plot twist. Shocker.

This is so dramatic.

I will give them credit for the ending because that was unexpected.

In summary, this movie is trash and while the "love" scenes are pretty hot, it's not worth the time or effort that I clearly put into this.

[aj-anime-blog]

Deca-Dence - Review!

Wooooo Deca-Dence!

Deca-Dence was a summer 2020 anime, and that’s when I originally watched it! I've watched it about a dozen times since, as it landed itself right on my roster of my favorite animes, if not my favorite of all time.

Deca-Dence is an original piece, so no manga source material (whaaat!) and comes from the genius brain of Yuzuru Tachikawa, the director of other fan-favorites like Mob Psycho 100 and Death Parade (a review for Death Parade is in the making!). Original mangas are such a hit-or-miss recently, and I think that this one got the bullseye!

What's our concept?: Set in the future, the world is now plagued by monsters known as Gadolls. In an attempt to keep humans safe from them, mobile fortress Deca-Dence was constructed, where Gears, who live near the top, fight the Gadolls, and Tankers, who live at the bottom, provide support from inside Deca-Dence. Our protag, Natsume, is a Tanker who wants to fight with the Gears, but her prosthetic arm keeps her out of battle. That is until she meets Kaburagi, an older Tanker who seems to know his way around fighting and might have more to him than he lets on.

It's gonna be hard to go through this without spoilers, but I promise that I'll keep it spoiler-free until the section at the bottom!

So overall, what do I think?: 10/10! I've already said it, but Deca-Dence is one of my favorite animes of all time, and it deserves the spot! It has incredible characters, a story that keeps you hooked even through twists and turns, and a pace that manages to cram so much plot into only 12 episodes without feeling overwhelming or rushed! Deca-Dence presents ideas that, at the surface, may seem overused or old, but spins them in such a way that they're completely original. It follows through with character relationships, making them worthwhile and fulfilling.

Let's start with the story this time!: 10/10!! It's going to be really hard to explain the beauty of Deca-Dence's plot without spoiling it, but I'm doing my best! I really do recommend just giving the show a try, though, as it's really worth it! (Don't just drop it after episode 2, like a lot of people did :( That's just judging it wayyy too early!!)

Deca-Dence has a story that's thrilling and new. Everything that happens builds off of itself in a way that's natural and smooth. The elements of the story, no matter how different they may seem, play their part and work together well. The show isn't predictable either - don't go in thinking that you know what's going to become of it. Each twist feels surprising and new without feeling like they're coming out of left field.

I won't say much more in fear of ruining it, but Deca-Dence's story holds up well, and with its strong cast of characters supporting it, it becomes absolutely suburb. I think a lot of people fell into this pit of seeing only the beginning and tossing it aside, but no matter how strange the concepts in it may be, they wind together to form something really unique!

So those characters, huh?: 11/10, I love them so much! I'm a character nerd through and through, and Deca-Dence sends my little character-obsessed heart wild. The protags, Natsume and Kaburagi, are both fascinating, have incredible development, and engage in a character dynamic that is so natural and well-written that I never doubted it.

To be honest, Natsume doesn't have a personality that's anything new. She's young, determined to a fault, naive, and a complete sweetheart. She wants to fight the Gadoll and she'll do anything to achieve that dream. She's not a natural at fighting but her motivation to do so makes her believable and relatable. She's looked down upon because of her prosthetic arm and forced into a job that she doesn't like, but she never gives up on her goals. Even though she's so simple, her interactions and energy make her lovable and a wonderful protagonist.

Kaburagi follows the washed-out warrior trope, as he's an older man assigned to clean-up duty who keeps to himself and never shows too much emotion. While this type of character can sometimes get annoying, the show gives Kaburagi enough time to show his real feelings and explain how he got to his position. This proper development keeps him down-to-Earth and shows him as even more flawed than Natsume. Kaburagi's motivation, which I can't explain for spoiler reasons, is entirely believable and explains perfectly why he decides to put up with Natsume, even though she's his polar opposite.

The relationship between the two characters is balanced and beautiful. It's given the proper time to grow, mature, and ends up being extremely worthwhile. Natsume relies on Kaburagi, as he sees the potential in her and continues to support her in ways no one else ever has, and Kaburagi understands that Natsume is everything that he's trying to rebel against. Their relationship is emotional, runs deep, and leaves you wishing that there was more of them to watch, even after the show has ended.

The villain! The villain. I cannot talk all that much about the villain at the risk of spoiling. He is evil. I really really hated him, and that is a very good thing because it means that he's well-written. His motivation makes sense, his actions make you want to strangle him, his design was really really good! He's not the most interesting thing in the show, as his character is really only there to move the story along, but not every villain needs to be incredibly deep for a show to be good.

Lastly, our supporting characters! While none of them are as wonderful as Natsume or Kaburagi, they're still interesting and hold their own. They play important parts in the show and all of their interactions with the main two feel natural. Their conflicts make sense, their resolutions feel well-earned, and their personalities are all unique! For a 12-episode anime, there's a larger cast of supporting characters than you would think, and nearly all of them are memorable and loveable.

Time to shut up about characters, what about the art?: 9/10, ooooh yes the art! Deca-Dence is gorgeous! It's animated by studio Nut (bwahahhaha), who haven't done that much else in the anime world. Still, for a relatively new studio, it's absolutely amazing! The characters all have unique looks that make them stand out and the fight scenes are to die for. They lose a point on the CG, since it's a little bit less than amazing, but again, for a new studio, it's definitely not the worst I've seen!! (Admittedly, I also don't like CG much at all, so I'm always harsh towards it when it's used).

Deca-Dence switches between two styles that vastly contradict each other, one which is a colorful, happy-go-lucky style, and one that's the more typical anime style. I'll speak more about them in the spoilers section, but they do a wonderful job at maintaining the tone of the show, as to not let it get too dark, and forming a clear divide between the events of the two parts.

Oh goshhh the Gadolls look so cool. I'm so obsessed with cool monsters in anime and woah they look awesome!! They're original, with cool designs that I haven't seen elsewhere. The show could've so easily slapped in some pretty typical-looking dragons or wolves or whatever, but they instead spent time on these epic creatures, and it's so worth it! It makes the setting that much more unique and allows it to stand out from other animes.

Surely there's a flaw in this anime? The pacing, maybe?: 9/10. Yeah, I would argue that the pacing is Deca-Dence's weakest point. Not that the pacing is particularly bad compared to other shows! I still think that, for a 12-episode anime, it does a wonderful job of fitting in a large amount of plot into only about 5 hours! But, at some points, parts felt rushed or confusing, as the show would zoom into them. I never felt like I was truly lost, though. Even if I did wish that there was a break from the action, I never found myself really thinking that the show was leaving me behind in the dust. It's not the kind of show that you can turn on and leave running while you multitask, though. Blink for too long and you might miss something important, which can ruin some of the hard-hitting twists that the anime works so hard to build up.

OK! Time for spoilers! I beg you, go watch the anime before you read past this, because it's totally worth it!!

Woahh episode 2 am I right?? I thought that I clicked into the wrong anime when I began it, it took such a wild turn, and so soon in the anime too. This is what I really mean when I talk about a show not being what it appears to be! Again, I really encourage you to watch it for yourself, but if you're that stubborn on reading this through before you turn it on:

Deca-Dence is not about the heart-wrenching battles between Gears and their desperate attempts to keep humanity alive, because Gears are just avatars for cyborgs! You see, there's a civilization of cyborg people who are living above the Earth, who log in to fight in mobile fortress Deca-Dence as a game. So the Gadolls are genetically grown as prey for the Gears and the entire story surrounding Deca-Dence's battles are scripted. Crazy right!? The best part: the Tankers aren't in on this at all. You heard me: Natsume and her human friends have no idea that Deca-Dence is staged.

From here, Deca-Dence has two distinct parts: we'll call them "Natsume's half" and "Kaburagi's half". Natsume's half refers to the mobile fortress, the Tankers who live unaware of the cyborgs, and the art style that premiered in the first episode. Kaburagi's half is the Solid Quake organization, the Gears who are avatars of the cyborgs, and the goofy, stylized art style with big lines and bright colors.

The twist and the diverging sides of the story set this show up as not your typical sci-fi anime, but as something a little deeper. The stakes are the same, as humanity is in just as much peril as it was before - it becomes abundantly clear that the Gears and cyborgs don't care about them - but the name of the game completely changes as you realize that our so-called "heroes" aren't really all that heroic, and there's a lot more going on.

Kaburagi is, of course, one of these cyborgs, cursed to live among the Tankers because of a mistake he made while playing as a Gear. Now, he's in charge of eliminating "bugs", or mistakes that the system finds. He's upset with his life, frustrated at what he's doing, and contemplating suicide. But when Natsume walks into his life, a little girl that the system considers legally dead, Kaburagi sees a chance to rebel, even the slightest, against the system. He's supposed to kill Natsume, but instead, he takes her under his wing, determined to protect what he's been instructed to eliminate. This development gives their relationship a deeper meaning, even if Natsume doesn't know it.

Deca-Dence does a wonderful job at showing the watchers both sides of the story but keeping Natsume's side in the dark. Even though we see scenes from Kaburagi's side, Natsume knows nothing about them. When Kaburagi leaves after Hugin kills his avatar, Nastume doesn't know where he's gone and has no reason to believe that he hasn't run away. There's no way she could guess that Kaburagi's new form - his weird orange Gear avatar - is the mentor that she once knew. And when Kaburagi, back in his original form, is killed in front of her, she really believes that he is dead. When Natsume finds out about the truth of the Gadolls - that the world she knows is fake - her horror is palpable and realistic, because there's no way she could've known any better.

Kaburagi's world has a goofy style to it, with the cyborgs looking cartoonish rather than realistic. While it might initially seem off-putting, I think that it ends up balancing the tone of the story much better. Consider the hellscape that is the reform facility that Kaburagi visits. Imagine how dark it would've been if it was not in a silly style! By keeping the style cuter rather than realistic, the show doesn't dip too far into dark and gritty, and I really liked it!

It also set up this harsh divide between Kabruagi's half, where things are easygoing, done for pleasure and fun, and not nearly as harsh as Natsume's world (Look at the name of the series! Decadence literally means living in excessive luxury!). Even when the cyborgs are in their Gear forms, which are drawn in Natsume's style, they're still a lot more colorful and vivid, showing that their lives aren't as harsh as that of the Tankers. The art styles reflect the differences between the two halves and give them both distinct tones and personalities!

& finally, let's take an in-depth look at one scene!: I had a really hard time picking what I thought summed up the series in a single scene. In the end, I think that Natsume and Kaburagi's discussion at the end of episode 7 was the best. Here, we see a culmination of a lot of the character development going on. Kaburagi, in this scene, is in a Gears avatar that Natsume doesn't recognize, meeting her for the first time since his normal avatar was killed. Natsume's been working with the Tankers to protect them from Gadolls that infiltrated the fortress, and she's motivated them all to rise up and fix the hole in the fortress themselves.

Kaburagi has encouraged Natsume to be a stronger person, even though she had to be independent and not rely on him any longer. His pessimistic view on the world - that they'll never defeat the Gadolls - has rubbed off on her, but it's only made her more determined to be stronger to stand up to them. In this scene, we see her breaking down as she considers that Kaburagi might be right, and that she'll never kill them all, but that she needs to continue fighting.

Though Kaburagi previously doubted Natsume and her endless determination, he now feels filled with the same motivation. Natsume has convinced him, time and time again, that he can't give up, and so he decides that he's willing to do anything to make sure that she never loses that hope. He wants her dreams to come true, and he knows that she can't accomplish them alone.

This perfectly shows the effects that they have on one another. Natsume is now stronger than she's ever been: independent, able to take down Gadolls on her own, and determined enough to patch up the hole that no one else thought could be fixed. Kaburagi, in stark contrast to his suicidal thoughts from episode two, is now completely devoted to make the world a safe place for Natsume. Their relationship has shaped one another into being the best versions of themselves, and this isn't even the end! They still complete their growth in the last few episodes, but I've rambled about them enough.

We're done!: That's my review of Deca-Dence! I really believe that it's one of the masterpiece animes in recent years, and I wish it got more attention. I'm sure that there's plenty of anime out there like this one - forgotten diamonds in the rough - that I'd love to dig up and fawn over. Tell me if you know any! Or, if you disagree with my review, tell me where you think I'm wrong!

[ghostmartyr]

SnK 126 Thoughts

Doctors hate him.

Local man faster at finding new fingers than modern medicine.

It’s nice that we never have to wonder which parts of the story Isayama finds interesting. Clearing out all the titans after a hundred years? Dull. Uninspiring. Have a beach day laced with sadness. Announcing the identities of the Armored and Colossal Titans? We got a fight to get to, chop chop.

We have several groups of people who all think this is a terrible idea but have internal disputes and distance issues that interfere with them collaborating and making a feasible offensive?

-looks for the fast forward button-

Like. Part of me -- a very considerable part of me -- finds this hysterical. In a good way.

I have spent the last... more months than I feel like counting slowing writing my way through a oneshot only I care about. It is taking a long time to write, in part, because of pacing. I am very worried about making sure the pacing of the story stays steady, so all of the beats land right.

Some of the additions such care requires are not my favorite things to write, but for the good of the story feeling like something I can say with confidence I’ve put my best effort into, they’re necessary.

So I’m in flabbergasted awe, here, that someone is out in the world, getting paid to skip everything they evidently find too boring to actually spend time on.

The worst part is it’s really hard to even fault the logic.

Presenting our resolved conflicts!

Is Connie going to kill Falco???

Making Falco and Gabi’s island getaway even more traumatic for the dozenth time even though they’ve had all their character development for it??????

Is Armin going to get make it in time to stop Connie from committing a murder that will definitely happen????

Will Gabi hate everything all over again!?@?!12?

The answer to the first question is no.

It has been no since the concept was introduced.

Even Sasha’s dad is all, “Yeah, it’s probably fine that Connie kidnapped this child.”

Is Jean on Floch’s side now?

No, he’s had that character development already.

Is Mikasa on Floch’s side now?

No.

Is Mikasa doing anything at all or joining Reiner in his depression nap on the floor?

Mikasa joined a rebellion but didn’t have a depression nap on the floor because she was given a bed and also only like five people can sleep with all the rumbling going on.

Will she find her scarf?

Who has her scarf?

Is it the last person seen with her scarf?

Is it the last person seen with her scarf who idolizes Mikasa and first met Mikasa when she was wearing that scarf?

Who also idolizes Eren, who gave her that scarf?

Does Louise have the scarf?

scarfscarfscarfscarfscarfscarfscarfscarfscarfscarfscarfscarf

Mikasa found her scarf.

Louise found it first.

As with most things lately, Eren was a bastard about it.

Mikasa has her scarf.

Is Annie going to reunite with the gang and cause shenanigans?????

Sure, why not?

Is Reiner being left in some building somewhere with food no one is making him eat going to result in something bad for Reiner?

Nope, Armored Titan. Plot included.

Is Reiner ever going to wake up?

Yep.

Are the two volunteers with names in any real danger?

Yes, but Floch’s probably not likely to shoot them now.

Is Falco going to find out that his life got even sadder while he was asleep? :(

Yes.

Are the people of Paradis going to get used to their new Titan overlord just like they got used to the walls, leaving the majority to figure this is not their problem and creating the kind of moral squalor that led to their new Titan overlord completely losing his shit in the first place?

Yep.

Does the plot’s chronic abandonment of Hitch imply a good future for her?

Totes.

Are any of the conclusions to these events surprising in a way that would require more buildup to provide understanding of what is going on?

Nnnnnot really?

Fantastic, let’s not waste time on it. We’ve got a volume to end and a badass crew we want looking pretty.

(Also, Levi still really wants Zeke dead.)

It’s really important that all of these high stakes that the audience is so concerned with are dealt with so we can move into the final arc without any lingering thoughts about things that might get in the way of actually writing the final arc.

I think the worst victim here is Connie’s subplot, because things move too quickly for the emotional weight to come home. At the same time... Connie was never going to kill Falco. There’s only so much suspense you can put there when half of Connie’s thoughts about killing Falco are how maybe he shouldn’t be killing Falco.

Armin’s inclusion and the callback to Serum Bowl likewise doesn’t have much meat on it. Armin feeling inadequate is nothing new, and his complicated feelings on who receives Titan powers are likely always going to be complicated. The only conflict to really resolve here is the physical one of getting Connie away from Falco before some dumb accident happens.

That conflict happens, and squared away it gets.

More, “You betrayed me, Mr. Kru -- I mean Connie, :( :(” doesn’t actually benefit the plot at all. More time given to Falco to react to something the audience has known for months doesn’t really benefit the plot at all. Less time with Gabi and Falco being sad little munchkins arguably does benefit the plot, with how many times they’ve been called on for that role.

Connie cooling down and being pals instead of perpetually angry was going to happen at some point. Throw it in with the rest. Armin needing someone to lean on without melodramatic childhood bonds fits right in. Throw it in.

Did we need Louise?

I would argue I wanted more of Louise, but my opinion seems to matter very little in these things

Mikasa needs Louise. Louise is someone Mikasa inspires into following Eren down the wrong path. Louise is the mouthpiece that tells Mikasa that Eren, who promised to wrap her scarf around her as many times as necessary, wants nothing to do with it anymore.

Louise is someone Mikasa protected, and she’s dead.

One last nail in that awkward coffin.

And I guess we just don’t like children anymore and Falco and Gabi have all the survival tokens, so yeah, throw Louise on the pyre too.

What else, what else... oh, more Floch and speeches. Because he’s still allowed to talk. More happy voices about how no one has to worry about dying anymore because everyone who would think of killing you is going to be murdered.

Uhhhh. Annie could conceivably be there, right?

Yeah, sure.

Annie’s here now.

We all are agreed that was always going to happen, right? No problem?

Public executions in front of an angry mob?

For one morally bankrupt religious nut and one Good Boi who deserves the chance to punch Floch in the face a few times before shooting him?

Yeah, pile that on. Make it really clear that if Eren was going to destroy the world, he might as well have taken out the island too, since we’re doing the whole party anyway.

Give Onyankopon a really solid moment, too. Someone in the chapter has to represent that genocide is bad. Well, Connie sort of implied that already. But Onyankopon has been screwed over the most for doing absolutely everything right, so he deserves the chance to point out that everything is fucked and also fuck you this is terrible you were supposed to be better.

Then like, uh.

That gives us a cast, right?

We’ve got Jean, Magath, Pieck, Yelena, Onyankopon, Hange, and Levi on one side, and Reiner, Annie, Falco, Gabi, Connie, Armin, and Mikasa on the other.

Fourteen!

One over thirteen!

That’s like lucky, right?

Can we do the plot now?

Can we, can we, can we?

It’s amazing.

It’s abominably paced, but oh wow is it incredible. Need everyone on the island who has an interest in stopping this in agreement? Well, here’s a chapter for you. Now they are. Now we can actually maybe like. Do stuff. Against Eren.

Good luck figuring out how, but we’ve at least got everyone assembled now.

Except Historia.

Because you know, fuck the Queen.

...Does anyone on the island remember they have a Queen?

This is a serious question.

Like no, this is amazing. It’s like, well, we could have a bunch of chapters slowly building up to this point while everyone starts counting Wall Titans in the background and wondering when we’ll get on with actually fixing this massive problem instead of just detailing it further for the hundredth time.

Or.

Or.

We could just admit that we all basically knew this was coming, so we can skip to the good stuff. Good? Good.

Only we make sure to draw it all out so there’s no argument over how it went down and no one does anything dangerous like apply imagination while a hasty time skip patch job takes hold.

Because that’s probably next chapter.

SHOUNEN POWERS ACTIVATE.

Team Fuck Zeke vs. Team People Die When They Are Killed And We’re Not About That (right now).

Pray tell, do any of you have the power to do literally anything about this?

I do wonder if that’s some of why we’re zooming through these points. While I think there’s a slightly legitimate case to be made that extra time on things we all realized were going to go down is not needed (...it... is needed, for like. enjoying things, but you know let’s just not), part of that hinges on the complications they’re about to face.

Stopping Connie from child murder eats up time. Finding Annie takes time. Confirming Mikasa’s scarf reunion takes time. Confirming Levi and Hange are alive takes time. Confirming Magath and Pieck are willing not to murder them immediately takes time.

I don’t think Levi and Hange’s side is too badly harmed from the pacing. It’s fast, but it’s working with the backing of time. They’ve been absent for a while, and catching us up on where they are and what ground they’re standing on proceeds smoothly. Without the rest of the chapter being what it is, I don’t think the starting scene would feel particularly unusual.

Even the rest of the chapter with its speedrunning ways isn’t too terrible once your brain is expecting it.

...I can’t really excuse Annie.

Unless Rule of Funny comes into play. But even then, yeah. Wow.

Anyway, what I’m getting at is that despite our full cast of degenerates assembled, we still don’t have a workable plan in sight. Five of the nine Titans are working together against Eren. One remaining is missing in action, but also generally anti-Eren at this point.

Then we’ve got nine humans.

So what?

One Colossal Titan with a baseball enthusiast destroys the Survey Corps, and only dies due to human error and someone’s willing sacrifice.

Eren’s got more than we can count, and the stegosaurus behemoth he’s using as a body now.

It’s all very nice and good to form a united front of fourteen people deciding to kill a god, but what does that actually mean?

Even if we’re generous, and include Shadis and his allies in the available forces, how does that actually help anyone? Does anyone have a good idea of how to get to Eren, let alone stop him? Has anyone in this group had a single stable conversation with him since he set out on his own?

If we took an extra couple of chapters to settle down all of the live wires this one grounds, those issues would still be at the front of the main plot. Drifting into the side pools doesn’t damage the story, but it does interfere with momentum.

Stories are hard. Balancing a story’s pace between what the completed work will look like and what the audience is currently experiencing is a nightmare.

This story has the largest conflict it will ever probably face, and a bit of a list of things to check off before it can get around to dealing with that. So it goes with the option of speeding through the list and skidding to a halt in front of the main show.

I don’t exactly approve of it, but given that this is what was chosen, it’s hard to turn away the benefits. I didn’t really want to read about Connie’s shenanigans with Falco and Armin turning into more shenanigans when they come across Annie and try to figure out if they have to kill her, then yet more with --

There is a lot going on. Consolidating that into a lot going on, but with everyone on the same side proactively working together... I like where this lands us.

It’s just really, really funny.

I don’t think I have another example of an author not wanting to write something, so just. not. This whole chapter is like, “oh wait I wrote myself into a hole well now I’m just going to erase that hole and move along.”

From a writing standpoint, it’s hard not to find that endearing. Wiping the slate clean is something you can do endlessly in unpublished works, but with published works, once you ink yourself into a situation, that situation tends to demand attention.

These situations got a little. As a treat.

:)

But back to the state of the story, the primary conflict is pretty firmly locked in, “Well now what?”

Ideally, you lace, “Well now what?” in with all the subplots you have going, and then upon their conclusion you have a solid, “What has arrived!” moment, and everything plays together beautifully, but this has chosen not to do that. Except with the emotional resolutions.

Team Fuck Zeke.

Team People Die When They Are Killed And We’re Not About That (right now). 

-underlines the clears philosophies of the teams-

Wait Yelena doesn’t fit in on Team Fuck Zeke. Unless.

But yeah, so now what?

Does all of this friendly bonding help?

I mean. Maybe Magath and all of his highly influential Marleyan politics can land the good people of Paradis (aka the ones not enjoying their coup) a deal with the rest of the world to unite in taking down Eren?

Or something?

(Seriously, how many countries are looking at this and thinking to themselves, “If they hit Marley first, that’s one problem solved”? I do not think anyone has forgotten they hate Marley, they just hate other things (Eren) more right now.)

While we’re at it, maybe Armin and Mikasa shoot beams powered by friendship into Eren’s stegosaurus skull.

The story potentially still has a lot of downtime. Mixing that in with all of the subplots would absolutely be preferred, but doing that while keeping enough of the main story going to keep the tension up regarding the end of the world...

It gets tricky.

I am sympathetic to the difficulty.

Amazing.

What a chapter.

[nitrateglow]

Luke Skywalker, Scrooge McDuck, Jigen, Susy, Roat, Yondu, Steve Rogers

LUKE

First impression

“He’s okay.”

Impression now

One of my favorite movie heroes. I love how Luke is compassionate and tender in addition to being brave.

Favorite moment

The duel on Bespin!

Idea for a story

I actually started writing a series of ficlets about Luke growing up on Tattooine but got lazy and stopped.

Unpopular opinion

None, unless thinking his character was assassinated in TLJ is unpopular, which I doubt.

Favorite relationship

Luke and Vader, the most complicated father/son relationship ever... Okay, probably hyperbole there, but their dynamic is fascinating.

Favorite headcanon

Luke had a big ole crush on Biggs when they grew up together. Like, man, Hamill’s acting in those deleted scenes makes it come off like a schoolboy crush! He may as well be going, “Biggs-sempai!!”

SCROOGE

First impression

“Oh, he’s alright I guess. A bit cliche, but alright.”

Impression now

Scrooge McDuck is amazing. Like, if you haven’t read the Carl Barks and Don Rosa renditions of the character, DO IT. They make Scrooge a far more complicated, realistic character than you’d ever think possible for a talking duck who loves money.

Favorite moment

His time with Goldie on White Agony Creek.

Idea for a story

An AU where he and Goldie meet up in the 1910s and circumstances force them to go on a crazy, North By Northwest style adventure together.

Unpopular opinion

None

Favorite relationship

Scrooge and Goldie, the ship of ships! I love how they’re both ambitious, ruthless people who nevertheless fall in love with one another despite themselves.

Favorite headcanon

Scrooge doesn’t like drinking or smoking. Not for moral or even health reasons, but because he views them as a waste of resources. He’s seen enough men make fools of themselves when drunk and he’s never felt the urge to smoke, so he figures why put the strain on his wallet. However, he does have some cigars and wine on hand in case he ever needs to entertain... which is almost never.

JIGEN

First impression

“Omg, he’s so cool!”

Impression now

Pretty much the same. I love how noir and badass Jigen is. He seems to have it the most together out of the Lupin gang. He’s like part Clint Eastwood, part Lee Marvin.

Favorite moment

I’m fond of that one episode of Red Jacket where he meets up with an old lover who became a nun. I don’t remember the name of it, but it showed a very vulnerable side of Jigen that struck me at the time. I also love his introductory episode on the Fujiko Mine spinoff.

Idea for a story

A prequel about his adventures before he met Lupin.

Unpopular opinion

None, he’s awesome

Favorite relationship

Jigen and Lupin! I like them best when they’re shown as having a brotherly bond, as opposed to the weird father/son dynamic some versions do with their relationship.

Favorite headcanon

Jigen was born American and was part of the American mob for a good while. However, he fell out of their good graces in his 20s and had to go on the run. (Yes, this basically happened in the Fujiko Mine spinoff, but I had this HC well before then!)

SUSY

First impression

“I LOVE YOU”

Impression now

Pretty much the same as the first time I saw the movie. Susy’s up there with Nausicaa, Yuna, and Catherine Earnshaw as one of my favorite female characters. And people say “strong female characters” didn’t exist before the 21st century!

Favorite moment

When she douses Roat with gasoline and threatens to ignite his jerk ass

Idea for a story

A fic about how she and Sam met would be interesting

Unpopular opinion

None!

Favorite relationship

Susy and Mike. I like how their relationship changes over the course of the movie: she goes from viewing him as a kind of husband surrogate/emotional crutch to seeing him for what he is and realizing she needs to stand alone.

Favorite headcanon

Susy was totally going to propose to Sam but lost her nerve because insecurity. However, it turns out they were planning on proposing at pretty much the same time, so it all worked out!

ROAT

First impression

“What the hell? I’m supposed to take this beatnik loser seriously-- oh shit, wait. Oh shit, what did he just do, what the fuck???”

Impression now

This bastard is one of cinema’s most unsung villains. I absolutely love him to pieces.

Favorite moment

When he’s manipulating his lackeys in that first apartment scene, walking around the place like it belongs to him and rubbing his power over them in their faces

Idea for a story

A prequel about what his dynamic with Lisa was like before she betrayed him

Unpopular opinion

Nada, unless saying “I think Alan Arkin with a bad haircut is Audrey Hepburn’s hottest leading man” counts as one.

Favorite relationship

Roat, and Mike and Carlino. Their uneasy alliance is just so much fun to watch. I love how those two could actually kick his ass if they wanted to, but he’s so smart, they have no choice but to do what he wants.

Favorite headcanon

Roat actually enjoys reading, which suits his withdrawn personality. Probably more non-fiction than much else, but considering his theatrical sensibility, it wouldn’t surprise me if he liked fiction and drama too. But he would probably do this in private, so as not to ruin whatever reputation he has in criminal circles.

YONDU

First impression

In GOTG1: “He’s cool.” In GOTG2: “He’s my husband.”

Impression now

My favorite MCU character, bar none!

Favorite moment

Killing all his traitorous droogs-- eh, I mean former crewmates on the Eclector to pop music. I saw GOTG2 four times in the theater and that scene never got old!

Idea for a story

I’ve been wanting to do an adventure story where Yondu, Kraglin, and teenage Peter Quill go on some kind of treasure hunt.

Unpopular opinion

None!

Favorite relationship

Yondu and Peter. He might not have been his father, but he was his daddy, after all.

Favorite headcanon

Yondu loves kids, though he hides it from his crew. When he was procuring Ego’s children for him, he would grow attached to the kids during the short time he spent with them. Had he not been sold into slavery as a boy, he might have had a large family of his own.

STEVE

First impression

“He’s just, like, Marvel Superman right?”

Impression now

Steve Rogers is my favorite Avenger and my third favorite MCU character. He is a classic example of how to write a virtuous character without making them dull or preachy.

Favorite moment

Wielding Mjulnir! That was so awesome. I’ll remember how the crowd went nuts at my theater for the rest of my life!

Idea for a story

I did write down an AU about what it would be like if it was Steve and Bucky on Vjormir. You know. Because I like torturing myself.

Unpopular opinion

None!

Favorite relationship

Steve and Tony! I love their friendship, how it’s never totally perfect but even when fighting, they still care about one another deep down.

Favorite headcanon

Steve’s favorite movie star as a boy was Douglas Fairbanks Sr. In the 1930s, he also totally cried watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

[imagine-fight-write]

RANDOM - INTRO TO BANANA FISH REVIEW

“How everyone - except some select gang members and an innocent Japanese boy, Eiji Okumura - wants to kill the brilliant and beautiful and deadly Ash Lynx.” (Banana Fish in a nut-shell.) *Not sure where I found this lovely quote, if you know please tell me!

I am so excited!

*will edit & post with more gifs tomorrow.

Hello, everyone!

As always, special thanks to emeraldeyes23 here on tumlr. They’re the one who prompted me to start these reviews, as seen in this lovely speech here: https://imagine-fight-write.tumblr.com/post/622758847648579585/oh-dont-worry-emeraldeyes23-ill-finish

Thank you so much, emeraldeyes23! Also, check out their tumblr!

Now on to the intro! The craziest, greatest thing about Banana Fish is that it’s a shojo. A shojo.

A “girls comic” or meant for teenage girls to read. No, I kid you not. And it was/is super popular. Just read this hilarious awesome review here by Shaenon K. Garrity on livejournal : https://shaenon.livejournal.com/34579.html

(if the link breaks / you can’t find it, let me know. I screen-shot & copied it out because I love it so much. I don’t want to lose it.) Yes, Banana Fish in all it’s gritty 1980′s New York gang warfare & nefarious criminal plots belongs in the same camp as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Princess Tutu, Sailor Moon, Yona of the Dawn, & Fruits Basket. A story about gritty gang warfare, murder, political jazz, shady criminal plots & nefarious mob bosses in 1980’s New York. ME - So basically if you’re a guy, you could totally enjoy this too. *Or anyone really. I just said “guy” there because I know dudes who hear “shojo” & run in the other direction, often deriding it, because it’s meant for girls, they won’t like it (they think.) I convinced one such a dude to watch Princess Tutu. He was not disappointed.

There is also a grenade launcher (in Banana Fish.) It’s epic. Banana Fish is a shojo. Take that, assumptions about what teenage girls like & obsess over!

Warning: I’ve never really done a straight forward review, so you have been warned. Knowing me, please prepare for sharp turns to the left (or right) about various subjects which may only loosely connect to the actual material I’m supposed to be talking about. I’m random & easily distracted, is what I’m saying. Still, I will do my best to edit for clarity (and humor.) So I’ll begin by linking an intro to Banana Fish by someone else, Otaku, She Wrote, for clarity’s sake. https://otakushewrote.wordpress.com/2018/02/23/exploring-banana-fishs-violent-bizarre-world/

“When there’s color, Banana Fish is filled with black and yellow. It dominates all covers of the series . . . Like a warning sign, the meaning behind those colors alone tells us plenty about Banana Fish’s world: poisonous, dangerous and obsessive.” - Otaku, She Wrote, Exploring Banana Fish’s Violent, Bizarre World

I plan to do a general synopsis of the plot, followed by whatever catches my attention. This might include funny moments (or funny comments I made while reading that I jotted down because I’m weird like that) or analysis of certain scenes or characters. I’ll try to keep comments related to what’s in the actual volume or what’s come before, but if I don’t I’ll try to warn you.

Warning: In Vol. 5 someone is given (forcibly, without their consent) a priceless stud gem earring. Like Law being shot, kidnapped, & chained to a chair (in that order!) in One Piece in the Desrossa Arc, the reasons why this happen elude me (sorta) & this fascinates me. Prepare for epic theorizing.

Also funny comments will abound, because Banana Fish is hilarious. Just look at the tumblr blog readbananafish. There is a scene where 2 characters go catching some farmer’s chickens like a pair of foxes and it is pure gold I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Also note, this won’t be a strict critical review either. Meaning, I won’t focus on what Banana Fish does wrong. That’s not how I fly. Of course, if there’s something that bothers me while reading, I might bring it up. My focus, however, is a deep examination of how & why I love Banana Fish. I hope it will help other people who also love Banana Fish understand or think about why they also love it. It’s important to analyze why you like a thing as much as things you dislike.

Let other people explain some of Banana Fish’s problematic parts, who do much better. Such as Otaku,She Wrote or Coherent Cats or Anime Feminist, just to name a few. I love all those reviews by the way. They are not all negative - far from it! Otaku, She Wrote especially does a lovely job analyzing the anime of Banana Fish. I still get so much out of her posts. So deep & fascinating. *I will probably quote her a lot. Favorite quote has something to do with “Ash Lynx is both the femme fatale and Rambo.” (because it’s so true!) Here’s some of my favorite posts by Otaku, She Wrote: https://otakushewrote.wordpress.com/2018/06/22/more-than-friends-more-than-lovers-exploring-ash-and-eijis-love/ https://otakushewrote.wordpress.com/2018/07/07/banana-fish-1-a-perfect-day-for-bananafish/ https://otakushewrote.wordpress.com/2018/10/23/the-moon-the-lynx-playing-with-gendered-character-archetypes/ Please check her out! I think she has a YouTube channel too?

Will post actual review of Volume 1 tomorrow, because it’s late where I’m at. Have a lovely day / night I hope!

[eloarei]

Okay, so my friend Lila (perhaps foolishly) expressed an interest in hearing about the fandoms I've been into in the past-since-we've-really-talked, and I'm now an old woman of 28 whole years so time kinda flies by like a supersonic jet now, so I'm gonna start back about 2 years ago, because that still feels 'recent' to me. Under a cut for your convenience (given that 99.5% of you probably don’t want to read it). Also, I bolded the important things so you can just skim through it haha ^^; And I added pictures because... pictures!  also, I tagged a few people, but not so much because I wanted them to see it, but because they were relevant to my story. So don’t feel obligated to read this, if that’s you. I wasn’t trying to get your attention, I just wanted to credit you properly. 

September 2015 -- SO! This time two years ago, I was (I think) making a valiant effort to try to finish my darling long-fic, Rogue, so I guess you could say I was in the HINABN fandom. (It's one of my on-and-off fandoms; I don't think I'll ever fall out of it completely. You know, in fact, I'd call it on-and-on. I'm always into it, just in different intensities.) (I didn't come remotely close to finishing Rogue then. It took me until March of THIS year to finish it. ^^; )

October 2015 -- Around that time, One Punch Man came out, so I was deinitely into that. I've always loved Madhouse, so chances are I'm gonna be nuts for anything they make. OPM was a really fun series, though my involvement was mostly watching the show and reblogging shitloads of fanart. I read a few fics, but never got involved in making any myself. I had a vague idea about like some evil-Saitama x hacked-Genos fic which would have been called Genocide, as a play on their fantastic ship name, Genosai. I'm still waiting for season 2. Just... waiting patiently over here.

November 2015/ May 2016 -- Then, Fallout 4 came out. I didn't play it, but boy did I ever fall in love with the beautiful robot man everyone was posting about, Nick Valentine. I like to play games in order though (even though everyone said you didn't have to with this series), so I got Fallout 3 (the oldest one easily available on any system I own) for Christmas and was CRAZY hooked. I spent the first month of 2016 pretty much exclusively playing FO3 (and reading @chocochipbiscuit 's fantastic rarepair longfic, Jinxed. lol I felt so blessed that someone else had thought to ship the main character with the big frightening loyal intelligent monster companion. <3 (Fawkes is still the best.) Then I played the sequel, Fallout: New Vegas, but unfortunately it's the glitchiest damn game in existence, so even though I loved it, I couldn't put as much time into it as I wanted. BUT then Jason bought me Fallout 4 and I was just head over heels, wow. I put over 250 hours in the game, and still didn't beat it, because wandering around post-apocalyptic ruins was way more entertaining than finishing the story. XD; So basically the first half of 2016 was entirely consumed by Fallout, and my love for Nick Valentine. I conceptualized a fic, but didn't let myself write it because I was still in the process of trying to finish Rogue. (I also spent THE REST OF MY LIFE being pissed that you couldn't romance Nick Valentine in the game, even though there were so many other options and he was the one that just, ugh, just MADE SENSE! and you couldn't do it! *rages*)

June 2016 -- Around June, Pokemon GO came out, so I actually spent large portions of the summer walking around (can you believe it?!) and catching the 'mons. September 2016 -- When it started to cool down, around September, I somehow got into Back To The Future, and I'm not really sure how it happened. I just realized one day that I'd never fully seen the movies, so I sat down and watched them, fell in love, and then sat down and played the Telltale game, and fell in love more. (Young Emmett is so precious.) I spent probably the majority of October reading @irisbleufic​ Mammett stories, which are fantastic, and then started writing my own. (See recent WIPS list post for the depressing number of BttF fics I started and never finished. I did finish one, at least.) (Fanart below is by Fightbeast, who is a pretty great artist =D) 

November 2016 -- November was NaNoWriMo, so I don't remember anything except wildly attempting to write my heart out. Oh, and starting to watch Yuri on Ice. Hoo, wow, that was a fun ride. My friend @tempuslunam​ came over to watch it with me every week. It was fantastic. I didn't get involved in any fic or anything though; I guess it was just good enough how it was haha. December 2016 -- In December, I was riding the end of the BttF wave and crashing head-on into the Overwatch fandom. I'd been kind of into it for months, but it just grew in Nov and Dec, and I spent the whole two weeks surrounding Christmas reading a massive and fantastic McCree/Hanzo fic called Hang the Fool. I still REALLY love the fandom, even though I'm not currently involved in reading or writing for it. McHanzo, Reaper76, and Roadrat are my main ships. God I'm so glad it's a big fandom. Most of my fandoms are usually way too small. (The picture below is Tracer; not part of my ships, but a good character, and the face of the series. She’s a cutie. =3) 

Oh, I also started reading this webcomic called Long Exposure. It’s about a gross bully with a longstanding crush on a nerd, and also they get superpowers?

Janurary 2017 -- January, I was flip-flopping between the various games I'd gotten for Christmas, and then in February I got Final Fantasy Fifteen and went totally nuts over it for the next month or two. Met @nomadsky​ through her wonderful fics, and started WAY TOO MANY of my own fics. As with BttF, I only finished one.

March 2017 - In March, I finished my longfic, Rogue, spent several days just overwhelmed about it and feeling so proud of myself and happy and empty all at the same time. Then I jumped into Mass Effect Andromeda. This was fun because a) I love the Mass Effect series, and b) I went into it without knowing anything about it. Fell in love with the beautiful alien Jaal, then was pissed because you couldn't romance him (having Nick Valentine flashbacks) even though he kept flirting with you, and then was flooded with relief because oh okay actual you can. Also fell in love with the sad story of Avitus Rix and Macen Barro, and I started writing a story about them but never finished it.

 April / June 2017 -- In April my friend came to visit, so I kind of forgot everything I was doing, and when she left I decided to hardcore get back to my writing, so I picked up that Fallout 4 Nick Valentine fic I conceptualized the previous year and did basically just that for the next few months. July 2017 -- In July, I a) accidentally remembered that I love Jak and Daxter, and minorly got back into that and started writing a fic I'd meant to write for years, and b) accidentally stumbled upon a One Piece mobile game (Treasure Cruise, which, btw, is the best OP game available for the simple reason that all the dumb side characters I love are playable) that reminded me that I love the series, and made me start rewatching that and writing more Cobymeppo fic. (Oh my LORD! I’d never seen this precious Coby until I googled it! He must have been a rare/seasonal character! I have the more common forms of them.) 

AAAAND that's pretty much where I'm at now, still kind of balancing those fandoms and quite a few older ones. Other things I watched but didn't necessarily get involved in the fandom for: -- Noragami. Stumbled upon this one without ever hearing about it on tumblr. I love it. (lol I can't believe how straight all my ships are though! And they're still so good!) I'm hoping season 3 happens eventually. -- Ore Monogatari. Saw like two clips on tumblr and instantly went, "oop, well gotta go watch that immediately." It's now one of my favorite anime, super precious. Jason even watched it with me and agrees that it's top notch.

-- Mob Psycho 100. Everyone was watching this last November-ish, and I just didn't for some reason? It's by the same author as One Punch Man, but for some reason I didn't think I was gonna like it as much? Um. But I did. Well, differently, but it's still good.

-- Wander over Yonder. It was around this time that I sat down and just tore through the first season. Cute show, but I haven't managed to watch season 2 yet, somehow.  -- The Phantom of the Opera. Like literally all I wanted to do for 2 weeks was listen to the soundtrack. BAD ASS main theme, I love it. 

Now the only thing I'm really specifically looking forward to (besides the continuation of any current series) is the movie The Shape of Water, because yes please I can always use more human/monster love, good gosh.

And there's my fandom breakdown from the past two years!!! =D =D =D Of course, I'm more than happy to go into more detail about any of them, of course. =3 (Just TRY to get me to stop talking about my interests; you can't! XD;;; )

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, JEZZ! You’ve been accepted for the role of BENVOLIO with a faceclaim change to Tommy Martinez. Admin Rosey: How sweet it is to have the secretary of the Soft Squad back in our midst! Jezz, you have no idea how over the moon I was when reading your application - your plots has such a clear sense of direction that was only amplified by how clearly you captured his thinking and his voice in your writing. Not only that, but the way you captured Verona? My favorite quote of all was so simple and telling: “...even the thickness in the air that wasn’t really caused by the world’s atmosphere but the people living in the city.” Absolutely blew me away. Welcome to the gang. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | Jezz

Age | 24

Preferred Pronouns | she/they

Activity Level | I got a new puppy just this week, so I’m a little busy with him, but that also means lots of down time at home, so I should be able to be on for a few replies every other day or so.

Timezone | CST

Current/Past RP Accounts | http://vicxcarlsson.tumblr.com, http://thenameis-kev.tumblr.com, and http://ahomegirlslives.tumblr.com/

In Character

Character | Benvolio, Bellamy Santo Domingo –– could I use Tommy Martinez as FC instead?

What drew you to this character? | I loved the fact that he’s trapped between what he knows himself to be and his family. I have a weakness for soft characters, and he is one, though he has to show an extreme amount of strength to be loyal to his family and his duties as the eldest son of the family, and it’s something I would like to play with in the future. I also love the idea of the burden he feels in his heart, and how despite it all, he will try his best not to give into the pressure of what’s easier.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

HOW WILL I WASH MY HANDS? || Bellamy has had quite the reputation of being soft since he was a young kid. It is well known by his family, his friends and everyone around. When his father first tried to mention the war, he simply changed subjects, looking uncomfortable to the point where his father lost patience and released him from it. This happened all around him. In a family where bloodshed was the main conversation topic at dinner, it was easy to see how someone like Bellamy wouldn’t fit in. For that however, comes Roman and Marcelo, his companions for life. They never judged him, and he even had the feeling the pair were greatly thankful for his existence and participation when they were both in trouble for he was the one with a cold head all the time. However, his deep thoughts and strict position against violence have their limits, I believe. And that is when things come too close to the people he cares about. He would do anything for his family, whether it be blood (clearly, since he also came back for them) or the chosen one. I want him to get his hands actually dirty at some point for either of them, show that protective nature he’s always hidden behind the pacifist and gentle face he shows. It won’t come for free, however, because even if he’d consider it absolutely worth it, guilt and remorse would eat away his soul and affect every single part of his being, when it comes to his relationships with others, and his personal beliefs.

GULLIBLE AT BEST || When he was a child, Bellamy’s intention was to restore peace in Verona.. Somewhere mid-teens, he realised that this idea would always be a fantasy for he couldn’t be the hero himself, and trouble had started years and years before he was even born. It’s not his homework or task. But he does believe that with enough effort, one by one, a person’s ideas can shift and that he can help with. He knows Odin’s allegiances are strong and of course does he have second thoughts about his intentions with every single word he says, but often times he seems a little too honest, a little too sad that he’s formed some sort of trust with him. Of course he has to have it, with them being partners and all, but it’s starting to grow into some sort of bond from his side. He believes that if he shows enough understanding, enough compassion, then he would have, more than an ally, a friend in him. Of course that’s just his pacifist mind, because Odin’s ideas are a little different. I would want to see how far into this ‘friendship’ could he go before he realises he’s been played the whole time and how this will play with his confidence and also his beliefs.

TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET. || Gentleness comes with a good amount of sensitivity and emotions, which have allowed Bellamy to see the good in everyone he meets. Whether it’s a total stranger or a well known name from another gang, he will strive to find that soft spot well hidden in everyone. Bellamy is smart, but in his ideals of relationships, he’s quite innocent. He believes that because his intentions are good, then everyone’s must be. One thing is his friendship prototype with Odin, but a much different thing is the relationship he will keep with Cyrus. A quite unexpected connection will form between the two of them. One that could potentially ruin everything he’s ever known, his family, his loyalties and his very own dignity, which is something he prides himself of having despite the disguised rejection of his own family. But perhaps, it is the same rejection that will push him to the Capulet side if Cyrus plays his cards right. Who knows? Maybe all this loyalty to the Montagues will be shook to the core if he finds someone he can ‘trust’ on the other side. How much damage could loyalty bring onto him?

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Yes! As long as it serves the plot, bring it on!

In Depth

In-Character Para Sample:

     Getting off that airplane was the hardest thing Bellamy had ever done in his life. Much more than walking away. Back then it had been nothing but a short goodbye, his mother kissing his cheek and wishing him well right before going back to her business as if he had sent a ‘see you later’ instead. Maybe the woman should now sell her services as a fortune teller, because that was exactly what this felt like. Four years later, and it didn’t feel like it had been enough time, but his mother’s words weighed on his chest. If he closed his eyes longer than a couple seconds, then he would still hear the conversation, the amount of compassion in her voice, that even though he never heard before, Bellamy blindly believed. His parents had never been supportive of his ways, but they had found some sort of acceptance that their boy would never be what the Santo Domingo blood was meant to be (Bellamy could even remember, from when he was just a child, a bunch of arguments having his father accusing his mother of cheating, considering how different he was). And still, his mother had found a way to bring him back to Verona somehow, follow his duty as the Santo Domingo eldest, whether he liked it not.

     ‘I could be on my way to London,’ he thought to himself before the plane took off. ‘I could be in London right now,’ he found himself thinking the second they landed, but he couldn’t deny it, there was a part of him that had missed the smell of Verona, the weather, even the thickness in the air that wasn’t really caused by the world’s atmosphere but the people living in the city. A city… When he had been a child, he would’ve never called it such. It always seemed small enough, easy enough to change, but it had been nothing but mere ideals and fantasies. Bellamy now knew him wrong, and though it still bore disappointment in his soul, it also brought some sort of pride he couldn’t explain.

     Bellamy had only had the time and motivation to let two people know about his return to Verona: Marcelo and Roman, of course, whom he hoped hadn’t drifted apart in the past four years. To his surprise, and to quiet down the demons inside his mind, those were the first two faces he spotted once outside the airport. Bellamy dropped his suitcase, not caring if anyone would steal it– he wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore– and ran towards them, jumping and clinging on to Marcelo, who was always the tallest, and tried his best to contain his tears. He was sure they both would tease him for it, but never judge him. His best attempt, of course, failed, which culminated in the whole drive home being teased for still being ‘the same sentimental nut’ he had always been. Which, of course, Bellamy couldn’t deny.

     It all seemed a little too good to be true, that Bellamy allowed himself to believe it was that way. He had been gone for a long time, lost track of people, of problems and violence, that they almost seemed to have vanished somehow. Maybe this could be a good life for sure. Once again, it was all a fantasy, and just a few seconds in silence would remind him of his mother’s phone call, of his presence being strictly required by the family because they were all stronger in numbers, stronger together. He couldn’t say he didn’t agree, except his call was for peace, instead of war. Marcelo and Roman drove away with the promise of a ‘see you later’ and Bellamy had no other choice but to go in. He did waste some good twenty minutes walking around the property, looking up the one tree that had grown up with him since he was three now double his height, if the lemons were still fresh in the tree right next to it, and if the swing he once played in was still there. Everything was perfectly normal. As if he hadn’t left. And that thought made his stomach twist in anguish as his feet slowly but surely took him inside the house.

     “Welcome home, son.” His mother opened his arms widely, as one would have seen in movies. Bellamy felt uncomfortable at the warmth, but he received it nonetheless, wrapping his arms around her body and tightening as he felt the need for a hug coming over him.      Bellamy smiled and pulled away after a second.      “Happy to be here, mother.” His response wasn’t honest, and she knew it. And Bellamy knew she knew it, but would ignore it like they always had whenever he did something that didn’t fall in line with the family business.

     Before he could say or do anything then, his mother took a step to the right, unveiling the next big surprise, which she was clearly excited about.      “What’s this?” Bellamy asked, picking up a shirt that was a little too thick and tough to the touch, a badge next.      “Your new job. I thought you’d want one.” The ringing of the phone interrupted her train of thought and left him all alone in the big living room with the police officer uniform, and a responsibility for duty he had never felt before. He knew the job wouldn’t come for free. He knew he hadn’t been offered this position to keep an eye out on revolts and violent acts but to quiet down when he had to, and inform when he must, get his hands dirty if he must. He knew the rules. He’d spent all his life ignoring them, but he knew them all. And they had never weighed him down more than they were in that moment, as the ‘welcome home’ sign hanging above him dropped from one side. Just like the movies.

[deepestenthusiastmilkshake]

My First My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Review

Yes, the title gave the surprise away: I am a brony. I watch a show that was aimed at little girls, but has grown into something much greater. And I am proud of it. Proud to watch a show that has changed the lives of many people, including myself. Proud to be a part of a great fandom that has endured through all adversity. And above all else, proud to be as straight as can be, so I can prove all Anti-Bronies wrong. I joined the fandom sometime before Season 4 aired and have finally built up the courage to try reviewing. I’m not going to review the show as a whole, because Friendship is Magic doesn’t have a long story arc the way Transformers does and it would be too difficult to talk about all the ways this show is awesome. I could write a whole book if I wanted to do that. Plus, there are a lot of specific episodes that I want to focus on, and I can’t do that if I review the series as a whole. Instead, I’m going to talk about my favorite character centric episodes. What that means is that I’m going to review all of the episodes that focus on a specific character, be it that is demonstrates their best selves or bring out the best selves of others, which I find to be the most enjoyable. I’ll be doing this for every main and secondary character, so buckle up get ready for the ride.

I was going to start this review off with my favorite Twilight Sparkle episode, but recent events have forced my opinion to change. So instead, I’m going to go through the list in the same pattern that all of the Mane Six got their keys in Season 4, saving Twilight for last. And that means I’m going to start this off with Rarity.

Rarity was a character in the show, that I didn’t have that high expectations for when I started watching MLP. I’ve seen thousands of characters that are focused on beauty and fashion across dozens of shows, cartoons or otherwise, and they always drive me nuts!! They’re either vain, selfish, stupid, or evil, and I got really tired of that kind of character really quickly. That sends the kind of message that says that that’s the wrong way to be a girl, and that’s a very toxic message. But Rarity was very, very different. She’s friendly, fun to watch, funny, considerate, and above all else, she never looked down on anyone because of their appearance. She may have been a little passive aggressive at times, but she never saw anyone as anything short of worthwhile. She’s a prime example of how the show takes tropes and cliches and subverts the audience’s expectations.

Having said all this, you might think she’s my favorite character. Well, not really. I do love and appreciate her, but I don’t necessarily relate with her the way I do with Applejack or Twilight. Also, there are aspects of Rarity I don’t enjoy. Such as how she flirts with stallions to get her way. My problem isn’t with the flirting in particular; flirting has been used to create and maintain strong relationships both in and out of the workplace. My problem with this lies in the fact that whenever Rarity does it, it’s for her own benefit and not the benefit of both herself and the stallions she flirts with. That’s how flirting should be used in the real world: to benefit both parties, not just yourself. I don’t see that with Rarity. Whenever she does it, it not only benefits just her, it can also lead to the detriment of the stallion she flirts with. But then again, that’s one reason why I fell in love with this show: the characters have flaws. They’re not perfect, and that makes for much more dynamic characters and leads to some interesting stories. And besides, that is just one aspect of her, and not her whole character, and it doesn’t take away from an all around awesome mare and awesome character.

Figuring out my favorite Rarity episode was pretty difficult. Simply because, Rarity hasn’t had an episode that I can call bad. All of her episodes are episodes I enjoy, some of which are my favorite of all time. Now, she’s been in some episodes that I can call bad, such as Cart Before the Ponies, Mare do Well, and Putting Your Hoof Down, but the focus wasn’t on her. Whenever the focus has been on Rarity, it rarely fails to entertain me. And after long hours of soul searching and deciding (and flipping coins) I have finally decided that my favorite Rarity episode is….

The Saddle Row Review!

This episode feels like kind of a cheat considering my character centric rule, and this episode focuses on the Mane Six as a whole. However, the events that take place here are based on Rarity’s development and it demonstrates how she can bring about the best in others, so I’m counting it.

And besides, I can’t help it: this episode is amazing, and is one of my top three episodes of season six. The humor is great, the story is told in an interesting way, the characters (both old and new) are great, the animation is great, everything about this episode is just phenomenal. But enough prattle, LET’S DO THIS!

This episode is about Rarity opening up her new boutique in Manehattan. This was touched upon in Gift of Maud Pie, and now it’s being expanded upon. Didn’t expect it this soon, but I can roll with it. The place Rarity bought for the boutique is in shambles, but with the help of her friends, Rarity pulls through and opens, what some of the customers call, one of the best boutiques in history.

From that description, the episode probably doesn’t sound all that interesting. Cliche even. However, how it’s told and what goes on during it really makes this episode shine.

This episode is really unique compared to others because it is told through not one, but two framing devices, that make for some excellent humor. More into the humor later, but let’s talk about the framing devices. The events that happened in this episode already happened and the Mane Six are reading about them through an article in the Manehattan newspaper. That, on its own, probably wouldn’t make this episode as memorable as it is. However, that’s not where it stops. While the interview is shown as a flashback, the ponies being interviewed narrate the events to the articles writer (who looks a lot like J. Jonah Jameson for some reason) in a Manehattan diner.

That is a really unique and creative way to tell the story, especially for this kind of show. The way the scenes transition from one to another leads to some very clever humor, be it background gags from the setting, or one character saying something happened, and then the opposite happens. And what makes this so great is just how clever each joke is. You can probably see where they’re going to go with each one, but that doesn’t make them any less funny. For example, there’s one joke where Twilight starts singing a dance remix about sweeping, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack tease her about this when they’re being interviewed, however the scene then cuts to them singing along with her and enjoying it. The timing on each joke is great. The episode doesn’t spend too much time on one joke in the hopes that you get it. They move at such a rapid fire pace and just expect you to get it. That’s not that far off from Over a Barrel in season one, which is always welcomed.

But then again, I really shouldn’t use humor as a selling point for an episode, as humor is subjective. Fortunately, humor is not the only thing that makes this episode succeed. There’s also the moral. At first, one might think it’s another, friends are always there to help you kind of tale, but we already got that from Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 and Applebuck Season. While that lesson is there, the deeper moral here is that when a friend asks you to help them, you shouldn’t think about how they might want you to handle it. Instead, you should handle it the way you would handle it, because that’s why the friend asked you for help in the beginning. That’s a really unique moral, that I haven’t seen in a lot of cartoons. It’s easy to think about how someone would want you to do something, but when you were given a task, it’s not because that person trusts you to do it the way they would do it, it’s because you know how to handle it best, in your own special way. And I really love this moral. It stresses individuality instead of mob mentality and that is always appreciated.

The characters were also great as well. Each of the main characters had a chance to shine and show their best, and the secondary characters provided some great humor as well, such as Coco being sick and Plaid Stripes spoon clothing thing.

But that also leads to the only problem I really had with this episode: Spike wasn’t here. Given how much he cares about Rarity, I find it odd that he wasn’t around to help her when she needed it. However, that’s my only gripe in what is otherwise a fantastic episode.

So, all in all, The Saddle Row Review is definitely my favorite Rarity episode, and all around one of my favorite episodes of the series. It was funny, it was thought compelling, it was a joy to look at, all the characters were great, and it was just a lot of fun. Definite recommendation from this guy.

The Saddle Row Review: 9/10

Hope you enjoyed this review and join me next time for when I review my favorite Rainbow Dash episode. I’m the Reviewer With No Name, and I’ll see you next time.

[horror-movie-blog]

HMB: VHS 1 & 2

Original Publishing Date: March 27th, 2015 

So I decided to do both VHS movies for today Thursday Horror Movie Blog because you can't really talk about one without talking about the other. Basically both movie are just okay in my eyes, they're not good but they weren't bad either... okay, they're a little bad, but that's the price you pay for a horror anthology series, some bits are good while others are bad. The VHS franchise is a collection of 10 to twenty minute short horror movies done in a found footage style of film making, and no, I'm not going to takes points off for not explaining who is editing these videos, I feel like that's more of a nitpick than an actual criticism.  Like I said, it's a bag of mixed nuts, so let's go over the short films of the first movie. The framing device in VHS1 is a group of teenagers who go around and harass women and vandalize homes. They stumble upon a dead body in front a bunch of television screens, and discover a series of VHS's. Basically the transition into each short comes from one of the teens sitting down and watching the video, and while that's going on, something is lurking in the house, and when the short ends, the person who was watching it has suddenly vanished. I think that was a cleaver framing device, although the bits are my favorite in the film. The first short, titled "Amateur Night", is about three college kids who want to film themselves having sex with two girls that they picked up at a bar. One of these girls acts very strange, and by the end of the movie we learn why. In a strange way I kind of like this one, I don't know, maybe it has to do with the twist at the end but I feel like this one was okay, it's certainly the most memorable one of the five shorts. The second short is called, "Second Honeymoon", and boy is it boring. It's about two people on a honeymoon, and someone sneaks into their hotel room and steals their stuff. At the end this person kills the boyfriend and we discover why the intruder did that. There's nothing new about this, and the twist isn't as satisfying as the last short's. The third short is "Tuesday the 17th" (ha-ha, get it? It's four days after Friday the 13th), and it's just about four teens going to a dirty little pond in the middle of the woods to do drugs. One of the girls tells them her friends were killed there last summer, but they shake it off as a joke. Well, without giving away the twist, it's not a joke. This one is boring too, it's really predictable and doesn't have a good payoff. The forth short, "The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger" (yes, that is the title), is about a woman who thinks her house is haunted and with the help of her long distance boyfriend/doctor/ they confront the spirits. Just like the last three, there is a twist. I'm having trouble with this one, I don't know if it's good or not. I like the idea, having someone who can only see the hauntings through Skype interact this the ghosts, but the twist is a bit far fetched. And finally, the fifth short "10/31/98", a group of friends venture out looking for a kick ass Halloween party only to stumble upon a pagan sacrifice in an old abandoned house, that I swear to God is the same house from House of the Devil. Which is weird, because the director of House of the Devil also directed Second Honeymoon, did he have anything to do with this short too? I don't know. For a finale, it's pretty weak. I like the idea of a group of dumb college kids stumbling upon something they can't handle, but it just ends with a chase out of the house, though granted, it's suspenseful. And to follow the theme of the movie, it has a twist ending... kind of, I don't know, it's pretty dam confusing. To rate the shorts in VHS 1: 1. Amateur Night, the most memorable one of the group, which I can't say for the others. 2. Tuesday the 13th, has a interesting villain in it. 3. 10/31/98, for decent suspense but weak ending. 4. The Sick Thing 5. Second Honeymoon Overall, VHS is okay, if you want to bing watch a couple of horror shorts, than VHS is alright for you, just don't expect anything life changing in it. Now let's move on to VHS 2. Honestly, this movie is a lot better then it's predecessor. Yeah, a horror movie sequel that's actually better than the original, that's so rare. The two major changes is that there are four shorts instead of five and the production is a lot better-for most of the shorts. The framing device is like the first film, someone stumbles upon a den of television screens and watch VHS. The only thing the first movie did better than this one was how they handled the framing device. In this movie, the people watching the VHS seem unaffected by what they see, despite seeing some fucked up shit. In the original, we don't see the character's reaction to the VHS, because they all died. So this is one down side to the movie. Okay, let's get into the shorts, first off we have "Phase 1 Clinical Trails". This one is probably the worst of the four shorts. A man gets an robotic eye, with the catch being the eye is recording everything he's doing. The doctor tells him the eye is glitchy so he should beware. Now, at first, this seems like an amazing set up. The glitches can mess with his head, make him question what's real or fake, this set up can lead to some interesting things. But no... we have ghosts. Oh... Okay... You know what, this idea is great too, maybe artificial eyes can see ghosts unlike human eyes and they guy has to live with this haunting reality... oh, no, he sees ghosts just as much as normal people do... you know, in horror movies. Sadly this is just an excuse for the characters to walk around without holding a camera. It's weak, it's unoriginal, it's boring, and a waste of a perfectly good idea. The second short is called "A Ride in the Park", and believe it or not, this one was directed by the minds behind the Blair Witch Project. The idea is so simple and yet it's so original, it's a Go Pro camera on a zombie. A biker gets attacked by a zombie, becomes one, and we see him interact with other zombies and attack a child's birthday party. This alone can be it's own movie, it's such a fascinating idea. The end is also very touching, but I won't give it away. This was a simple film, but it worked really well. The third short is "Safe Haven", the longest but the most bizarre of the shorts. A documentary crew interviews a cult leader in Indonesia, and as soon as they enter the compound, all sorts of crazy shit happens. At first it's so calm and well paced, but as soon as the shit hits the fan, chaos emerges. It's so hard to talk about this short without giving away the ending, but if saw this short, you'd totally agree, it's fuck up, but hey, at least the production is good. The final short is a bit of a weak note to end on, but it's much better than the last movie's ending, it's "Slumber Party Alien Abduction". Yeah, no point of covering this one up (no pun intended), it's about people getting adopted by aliens, teens and children to be exact. It starts off with your typical older sister-younger brother conflict where the sister and her friends are jerks to the kids and the kids throws water balloons at them, yadda-yadda-yadda. Then aliens come out of nowhere and start adapting them. It's a sudden shift in mood, in just a second they went from yelling at each other to fighting off aliens. What really bothers me is how little the beginning and end connect, you have this build up of tension between the little brother and older sister and her friends, and it's suddenly gone once the aliens are introduced. I'd like to see some of this tension carry over to the climax, like the boyfriend does try to protect the little brother at first because of all the shit he's done to them, but he suddenly has a change of heart and then decides to protect the kid. I don't know, it's okay, it's just not something to end the movie on. Also a dogs dies, just to warn you all, a dog dies. So, to rate these shorts: 1. A Ride in the Park, was originally going to put Safe Haven at number 1, but after thinking about it, I defiantly see Ride in the Park as the best of the four shorts. 2. Safe Haven 3. Slumber Party Alien Abduction 4. Phase 1 Clinical Trails So I liked VHS 2 more than VHS 1, it had better stories and much large budget. I think you'd have a better chance finding a short you like in this movie than in the first movie. Also, it's kind if interesting that the theme of the first movie seems to be twist endings, and the theme of the second movie is mobs of monsters attacking someone. Whatever, go check it out if you're interested.