#the acting compared to sub is a bit lackluster?

[randomositycat]

Does anyone else just kinda dislike the knh dub :(

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

Ushiwakamaru Analysis

Chozo are just space tengu. No, I will not explain.

Ushiwakamaru Rider Max HP: 9,028 Max ATK: 7,076 Star Absorption: 204 Star Generation: 9.1% NP Charge ATK: 0.87% NP Charge DEF: 3% Death Rate: 35%

QQAAB Quick = 2 hits, Arts = 2 hits, Buster = 1 hit, Extra = 3 hits Quick: 1.74%, Arts = 1.74%, Extra = 2.61%

Tengu Art of War A Increase party's NP generation rate for 3 turns. (10-20%) 7-5 turn cooldown Tengu Art of War EX Increases own Quick performance for 3 turns. (10-20%)

Charisma C+ Increases party's attack for 3 turns. (8.5%-17%) 7-5 turn cooldown Six Secret Arts of War: Thunder and Gale A Increases party's attack for 3 turns. (10%-20%) Increases own critical damage for 3 turns. (30-50%) Gain critical stars. (10-20)

Quick-Witted Swallow B Grants self Evasion for 1 turn. Increases own critical star generation rate for 1 turn. (50%-100%) 8-6 turn cooldown

Magic Resistance C Increases own debuff resistance by 15%.

Riding A+ Increases own Quick performance by 11%.

Dan-no-ura Hassou Tobi D ST Quick 1 hit Deals damage to one enemy. (1200-2000%) Increases own critical star generation rate for 3 turns. (50-90%, OC) Dan-no-ura Hassou Tobi C Deals damage to one enemy. (1600-2400%)

Primary Role: DPS Secondary Role: DPS Support Situational Role: N/A

Ushiwakamaru is probably one of my favorite Servants in the game, which is fitting considering I grailed her not to long ago to Level 100. But I have to try and keep my favortism under wraps, since we're doing an analysis of her. She just got a buff on JP, so this is a pretty appropriate time to do so. She's not likely to get any more from here, not just on the account of having just got one, but also because she's pretty damn good as it is.

Starting off with her fundamentals, she does okay. She leans into an HP heavy, low ATK spread although her ATK is not TOO low so as to act as a limiter onto her damage. Her NP generation is fairly average on her Arts while disappointing on her Quicks and Extra, although this is pretty typical of launch Servants as a whole. Her star generation is...complicated due to her kit, but while she does have two quick cards and the ability to naturally make a QQQ chain with her NP, her very low hit counts hamper her extremely in creating critical stars. With no other factors, such as class modifiers and Overkill, her AQA chain will generate 29% of her NP gauge, while her AQQ chain will generate 22%, but also generate 11 crit stars. There's definitely been worse on the NP generation department.

Her first skill, Tengu Art of War, is very good. Not only is it a party wide NP generation buff, which is appreciated in many scenarios, but it is also a Quick buff for Ushiwakamaru, which makes her Quick cards not as bad at generating NP. Her AQA chain will generate 35% of her NP after this buff, which is a good bit faster than before. Her second skill, Six Secret Arts of War: Gale and Thunder, is not only a charisma boost to the party, but also provides a solid boost to crit damage and a good star bomb. This not only increased the potential ceiling on her damage, but also solved a notable problem on her kit, that being lackluster crit star generation. The ability to generate 20 stars after a QQQ chain is quite impressive, and will allow Ushi to guarantee crits usually, thanks to her very high base star absorption. Her third skill, Quick-Witted Swallow, is mostly notable for being a hard defensive option in the form of an Evasion buff, but it will also provide a large boost to her critical star generation. Critical star generation sounds like it would be a good solution to her critical star generation problems, but due to the way that the stat works, it ends up not being impactful. A 100% buff to crit star generation means that each hit is quaranteed to produce one star, which makes a bigger difference the more hits you have on your cards. It will allow her AQQ chain to generate 20 stars, making for an additional 9 stars, but it does not make a huge difference in the long, especially since it is a one turn buff on a skill with a much better buff.

Dan-no-Ura is a very simple NP, without much in the way of complicated effects. It will increase her critical star generation after dealing damage by a pretty solid amount, but unfortunately, due to her low hit counts, she can't make much use of it. This being said, it does make her QQQ chain a little better, since it will generate 26 crit stars without either skill up, 28 with her skill 1, and 33 with both her skill 1 and 2. This can be combined with her star bomb the next turn for a guaranteed 50 crit stars, but usually 33 crit stars will be satisfactory given the Rider class star absorption. Her NP as well will also deal about 56,000 damage with her steroids active, meaning that you can't just ignore the damage output this NP can do either.

Support Options As usual with most Quick Servants, Skadi is a great support. She'll boost the raw damage of Ushi's NP and make her Quick crits more powerful. Unfortunately though, Skadi isn't really capable of generating the crit stars Ushi might want in order to consistently crit. Chiron is another good support as well, providing not only extra critical damage and stars, but also increased card performance. Columbus and Carmilla can also provide not only star bombs, but additional damage with their other skills. Bartholomew is also a good support for providing stars, crit damage, and the same buffs as Columbus. Cursed Arm can't provide extra damage, but can provide two 15 star bombs with one skill for additional consistency. Jinako and Himiko can also provide a lot of star regen with additional upsides: Jinako can function as a tank to take hits for Ushi, while Himiko can dramatically boost her crit damage. Finally, of course, Summer BB not only provides stars, but also locks Ushiwakamaru's cards in for a lot of guaranteed damage.

Outside of crit support, she enjoys the standard damage supports, and might also appreciate healing depending on the fight, since she'll want to keep her hard defensive option for enemy NPs.

Command Codes Ushi is pretty simple to use, just load her up with a lot of damage command codes that either boost general damage, NP damage, or critical damage. CCs that provide critical stars can also be useful in helping to make her turns without her crit star bomb more consistent.

Craft Essences Ushi's decent NP generation means that what Craft Essence you use on her is largely going to depend on the team you build around her. If you use supports like Skadi and Waver, she can get away with running pure damage CEs, such as Imaginary Around, the Black Grail, and others. If you're going to run with supports that buff her crit damage and increase her consistency with crit stars, a 50% NP charge CE will likely be good so she can quickly reach her NP. The Princesses' Pilgramage, True Crimson Spear Trainer, and Summer Time Mistress are notable for being focused on the type of effects Ushiwakamaru wants most.

Competition Discussing where Ushiwakamaru falls in terms of competition means comparing her to not only other ST Quick Riders, but also other ST Riders of her rarity. In terms of ST Quick, she's pretty middle of the line: better than Riders such as Red Hare and Anne & Mary, but worse than Maid Alter and definitely Sakata Kintoki. But she's not notably worse than Maid Alter, which is surprising. When compared to other 3-star and lower Riders, she tends to blow them out of the water in terms of offensive capabilities, with the exception of Mandricardo. Mandricardo can't hope to match her crit damage, but he comes packed with an Arts NP that in many comps will refund a lot of his NP gauge: his potential for looping means he might end up doing more damage than Ushiwakamaru regardless. Despite this though, she's a 3-star Rider who punches above her rarity.

Pros: -Decent NP generation allows her to get to her NP fairly quickly, especially with her skills up and crits -Very strong damage dealer for her rarity, having a strong NP and good crit damage -Hard survival skill allows her to tank enemy NPs

Cons: -Pretty low star generation lowers her crit consistency and keeps her ceiling lower than one might expect -Card damage without crits is often low enough to be noticeable -All of her skills have effects that can clash with each other

How is Ushiwakamaru overall? Honestly, for a long time she was a pretty good Servant, having the ability to deal pretty sizable damage and being a good Rider for newer and budget players to raise. Her new buff only solidifies her position, making her hit a lot harder. She's not perfect; she's not quite as consistent as one might like, which leads to her damage being concentrated in a couple of burst turns, but she's won't disappoint in being a main, or even sub DPS.

She's very good. Send tweet.

And for a little bit of fun, check out her damage at Level 70, 1k fous, 10/10/10, with a Level 100 True Crimson Spear Trainer, two 10/10/10 Bartholomew Roberts, and a Level 10 Captain Chaldea Mystic Code against a Caster. Only one of those things is not budget!

[shadefire5-blog]

What You Need To Know To Take Great Pictures

We get pictures as the way to remember. We would like to remember the way that anything or even someone searched, acted, or even achieved. We take them all to show others something that we witnessed firsthand in addition to pass along the working experience. If you want for you to get better pictures associated with your remembrances, then read through this article plus the ideas contained inside of it. Throughout order to take great photos, get closer to be able to what you want to photograph. Several cameras let you zoom in on your own personal thing, but you will certainly get a better level of quality photography if you in fact get deeper instead involving relying on the focus feature. Besides, you want to take a superb glance at what you happen to be taking a graphic of so as to have a better come to feel with regard to it. A great photography suggestion that can aid you out is usually to be reasonable about your work. You can't expect to be a new creative genius at just about all times. Art offers a new lot of ups and downs if you're expecting to always be on the top, you'll turn into very discouraged. When showing off your images, make sure in order to keep your less in comparison with perfect photographs at house. You do not need visitors to see your sub-par work; you only want them all to see your best work. Delete any pictures on your camera of which you do not want anyone else to see. Be sure your own personal photograph has a solid key point. Without a good point of interest your photographs will certainly end up looking bare, leaving the eye using nowhere to rest. The readers will be even more appreciative of some sort of photograph that has a good clear focus, even if you are shooting a panorama or other broad setting up. A great photograph word of advice is to not necessarily be afraid of constructing mistakes. Faults are all section of the mastering process. If you stay away from taking a picture since you aren't afraid of making a mistake, if you're lacking out on the studying chance. You must bear in mind that making faults can be crucial to learning. To create an unconventional and innovative photograph, try changing your perspective. People are utilized to seeing items by normal human-height together with eye-level viewpoints. Getting up large or down low can drastically change how a new picture looks. Done best, this can create a shocking, wonderful photo that your own personal readers will love. Consider your camera with a person normally as you can. elliot know each time a great opportunity for some sort of photo will present itself. Retain your digital camera out plus ready if you expect to use it - by way of the time you get your current camera out of the handbag, get the contact cap off of, and modify your adjustments, your picture is gone. Suspend the particular camera around your own throat. Of course, if you aren't in a very high-crime location, or perhaps nearby want it for you to be obvious that you will be the tourist, you may well need to be a good bit more subtle. Study regarding how to appropriately write a photograph when a person want to adopt better pictures. Lackluster arrangement can damage the potential of a trial, just as any element of art in virtually any medium sized needs good structure. With regard to better shots, practice diverse ways of composing the photos. When doing some sort of take photographs, take a lot of pictures. With digital cameras and desktops, you can take near limitless pictures. You'll have a new better chance of having good photos when anyone have more. And in the event you get bad types, all you have to do is hit eliminate to get free regarding them. Before you acquire the fact that picture, make certain it will take outside the best in your subject! Get a new come to feel for your backgrounds of most of your photographs. End up being aware of things close by and the yardage. In addition, use of which eyesight of yours to view precisely how color will compare along with the subject of your own photograph. If the qualifications and subject don't fine mesh well, you should discover another spot! One connected with the best ways to consider better photographs is to be able to get good at the direct exposure levels and modes of your own camera. Current digital cameras include a wide range involving predetermined exposures and field ways that are specificity designed to acquire photos in different situations. Learn how to use those first and then work your way straight into learning to handle manual exposures. Consider shots from numerous facets, various lighting or perhaps adding to the setting to get a fresh perspective on a photograph. Try inside of your home together with the camera settings and even light so that when you attend take pictures outside involving the house you are ready to apply your new information. The beginning regarding this article talked about the reason why that we acquire pictures and their tasks inside our lives. Having good photos means you then have a excellent image for a history that you are informing. This article has offered you what you will need in order to have those great photos most likely after.

[ellynore-moonwood]

Ellynore’s 2017 Summary

This year has been a wild ride for me in so many ways, and I figured now would be a good time to sum up how I’ve felt about 2017 as a whole while it’s about to come to a close at the end of this weekend. I’ll try to keep it brief and concise, but if it ends up becoming a lengthier read, I do apologise. ^^;           I’ll also clarify that I don’t want to seem pretentious or anything of the sort. This is just an honest summary of how I’m looking back on the year in my own perspective and how things have gone with me. 2017 has had it’s ups and downs, but like every upcoming year, we all hope it turns out better than the last in some way or other. 

January - Not a lot of things happening, except getting a brand new laptop and searching for new material to use for voice acting as I spent most of it doing some writing on the side and browsing Tumblr looking for audio posts that could give me new ideas. I had a couple projects that were in-progress but not a lot of progress was being made, unfortunately. That didn’t stop me, though, since I continued contributing my voice to some YouTube videos made by @bettinalevyisdetermined as the awesome Undertale fish spearwoman Undyne. 

February - Vine died, I spent the first half of the month revising my relationship status and goals, as well as “A Date with Markiplier” fangirling all throughout the second half of the month. After a month of supporting @distortional I got to meet them and learn about them as a person, and eventually was inspired and motivated to try voicing out Darkiplier. If you haven’t heard it, you can listen to it here. I’ll warn you, it was my very first time and it does sound a bit cringy, but I’ll let you guys be the judge of that. 

March - The founding of @theglitchedsystem came to be and I got straight into work while also battling some stress but later overcoming it with some help and guidance from the other VAs who took part in the project. Definitely had a lot of fun being a part of this sub-community in a major way throughout this whole year. 

April - I turned 24 and upgraded my Samson Go microphone to a Blue Yeti Blackout! 

May - Further progression with voice acting and making new friends along the way. I also managed to properly master how to voice Darkiplier and became more confident with improv voice acting. 

June - Facing new challenges and preparing for Winter. Spoiler alert, felt more like an extended Autumn, instead, most likely due to the fact that most Aussie Winters have a lot of sunshine, and when there’s a lot of that, it gets really warm. Fun fact: at this time of year, it’s not uncommon to see people walking outside wearing summer clothes when it gets around 15 degress Celsius or higher. You’re welcome.  [EDIT] - I had forgotten to add that I was at a pop culture convention on that month and met my voice acting idol Jennifer Hale in person! I got a heartwarming signature and message from her, a hug, and even requested a short audio of her voicing one of my favourite voices she did for a game I played. Meeting her ignited a new spark in me to further pursue my dream in becoming a voice actor and I felt so happy that day. 

July - Met more new friends and followers throughout my voice acting career while also facing some minor networking issues like followers not getting along with each other. Seriously, a community is about making friends and being with great, like-minded people. If there’s any drama happening, take it outside, no questions asked. Less people get caught in the crossfire that way. On a lighter note, “Darkiplier vs. Antisepticeye” was the talk of the town even after the end of that month. 

August - Friendships have strengthened, especially with the “Kill Jacksepticeye” video which made an escalated return of Antisepticeye. If you have friends who are as hyped about something as you are, stick with them. You won’t have to deal with the shock alone and the experience is better when shared with friends. On a sad note, my grandmother had passed away which affected me and my whole family since she was my last grandparent and I’ll never forget her. Rest in peace, Nanna. <3

September - Continued voice acting as usual while also taking up a couple more responsibilities that I picked up from August and carried it further as a way of helping followers whenever they’re feeling down or facing a tough situation where they need some advice. I learned a lot about some people in particular and I wish them nothing but happiness. 

October - Preparing for the Halloween season which felt a little bit underwhelming compared to last year. Let’s hope next year will be better. I will say, I did get to watch a bunch of horror movies and cartoon specials and those were a lot of fun and were a great way of relieving stress. Got to collaborate with @melissatreglia for the very first time with the event she hosted called “Darktober” where I helped with audio editing as well as manage a HUGE voice acting project titled “The Hostage.” 

November - This month in particular was spent trying to get voice acting excerpts done and ready to post before going on a week-long holiday away with my family at the end of the month while also tackling with job searching in bulk. It got a bit emotional and stressful for me leading up to the last few days, but I finally got a chance to relax and spend time with my family while not having to worry about voice acting. It was a good break away from home.

And here comes the final month of 2017, which includes venting. 

December - Compared to every other month, December was absolute hell and filled with truckloads of (pardon my language) bullshit. While there were some upsides like going to my first midnight theatre screening to see “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and having a fun and enjoyable Christmas break, everything else was nothing but chaos and drama which left me in a mental state of shock and anxiety at extreme levels. I’m not going to sugarcoat it as it was a huge deal and some parts of it are still fresh in my mind.           In short, four people who were formerly part of the TGS (The Glitched System) sub-community went to war against my friend and leader, Distortional, as well as aiming pitchforks at anyone who didn’t side with the bad guys. It was at that point where I was engulfed with rage and wanted to fight back for the sake of my friends because I felt that they were wronged. If it wasn’t for the fact that I heard about it late at night, I would have been punching a lot of things around my room, I was that angry. But, that backfired as the fingers were soon pointed at me for three days straight. Needless to say, I didn’t take the bashlash very well. A first for everything, I suppose. Luckily, several other witnesses who also got hurt were incredibly supportive, they gave me the full story about what really happened, and I soon learned who my true friends are. Looking back at my lackluster performance with the aftermath of the whole debacle, it took me a week after finally blocking those abusive, immature people to clear my head and recover from the shock and emotional abuse*. The witnesses I spoke of have already moved on but let’s pray that those responsible will look back and rethink their actions for next time. This ordeal has allowed me to retain the experience I had that I will use to, hopefully in the future, better deal with manipulative people and call them out if they end up going around backstabbing people.             In other words (again, pardon my language), anyone who fucks with me and my friends will be remembered but not in a good way. If you can’t be friends with other people and don’t enjoy being part of a certain community, the most responsible thing you can do is just leave quietly and move along. And by quietly, I seriously mean quietly. My blog and community are a drama-free zone 24/7. Respect it. 

TL;DR, When drama hits and your friends are hurt, you feel inclined to stand by them till the bitter end, even if it ends up with you biting the bullet. That’s loyalty. Plus, and this is a bit pessimistic even for me, not everyone is going to like you, but haters gonna hate and the people who really want to stick around for you are your true supporters. 

* [Note: Please don’t confuse it for PTSD as it happened in the present time, not as a flashback to a past event.]

And that’s 2017 for me. 

As for what I’m going to do for 2018, I have plans on doing more voice acting but hoping to go bigger and better by taking on roles I’ve done previously and adding new ones in the mix for variety purposes. 

I’m also going to dedicate more focus on my YouTube channel where I do more videos on voice acting in video games. I am continuing “Night in the Woods,” though future episodes are bound to be longer than twenty minutes as it is considered a more relaxing game with a lot of in-game dialogue. I just need to find opportunities when I can record with no unnecessary noise in the background as well as voice out more louder characters when I come across them. 

If you guys want to suggest something to me for 2018 to work on, whether it’s audios here or videos on my channel, my ask and submission boxes are always open. I hope you guys had a good 2017 and wish you guys nothing but the best for 2018. Stay safe, keep your chin up and having a pleasant New Year’s! :D

- Ellynore Moonwood

[creative-type]

Building up to Arlong Part II

 In my previous post I started my analysis of the East Blue Saga, looking at the arcs leading up to Arlong Park to see how Eiichiro Oda grew as both an author and an artist in those early chapters as he built the series slowly towards the first “epic” moments of One Piece. 

I ended that post with Orange Town and how Buggy managed to do something no villain before him had done (be memorable and interesting). It’s interesting to see how Oda follows up on this breakthrough with...well, this guy

I don’t really have much to say about Gaimon’s arc...chapter...whatever the heck it is. It’s completely random and doesn’t fit well with the rest of the East Blue chapters.To be fair to Oda, he does  cut loose and show off some of his wacky creativity, and there is some world building as the Red Line gets its first inauspicious mention.

There’s also something to be said about Luffy and Nami getting to know one another better and further insight into Luffy as a character, but it’s not anything that isn’t accomplished better in other places

I will admit this made me laugh, though

Syrup Village

Moving on, we jump to Usopp’s recruitment arc. This one is one of the more intriguing of the East Blue arcs (intriguing not equaling good) in that I liked a lot of the individual pieces but found the overall product to be a little lackluster. 

I think part of this is the setting. One Piece is at its best when it’s exploring wild and crazy new places, but Oda hasn’t gotten to that point in the series yet. This arc’s supporting cast is also pretty generic. Usopp’s Pirate Gang aren’t the most annoying little kids I’ve ever seen, but they are annoying little kids. Kaya is...okay. She shows some real gumption after Kuro shows his true colors, but I’m not sure that makes up for all the time she spent being boring early on.

Usopp himself can be hard to like, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Usopp is the everyman of One Piece. He’s not a power fantasy like Luffy or Zoro nor supernaturally talented like Nami. He has the greatest personal flaws of any of the Straw Hats, and his dream is the only one in the crew to be internal rather than external. With that in mind, firmly establishing Usopp’s foibles and his weaknesses makes his victories - both in this arc and later in the series - all the sweeter, even if it makes these chapters a bit of a slog to get through.

This arc does manage two things that would later become staples of the series, and once again we have our villains to thank

There are some very specific trends in One Piece’s villainous organizations. Most are headed by the main antagonist of the arc and are fought by Luffy. Below the leader there’s usually an annoying, but decently strong character taken out relatively early on (think Pearl, Mr.5/Miss Valentine, Satori, etc). This character acts as both hype and a teaser for bigger fights to come, but also carry some narrative weight by giving insight into the plans/mindset/priorities of the enemy organization as a whole. 

Lastly, Oda usually adds a lovable, quirky villain who, if not the second in command, is one of the strongest fighters in the arc. These characters humanize the Straw Hat’s enemies, add levity, and are generally really fun - so much so that more often then not they return later in the series as a recurring character.

The Nyaban brothers fit into the annoying but decently strong category, but Jango steals the show as the first lovable, quirky minion of the series (I think Oda tried with Buggy’s crew, but they lack the necessary charm to pull it off). Heck, the first thing we see him do is accidentally hypnotize himself after moonwalking down the path to Usopp’s village. Later on it’s hard not to feel at least a little bit sorry for the guy when we see the hopeless position Kuro has put him in. Jango may be an antagonist, but he’s fun and likable and honestly having him join the marines through the power of dance is amazing.

Gin, Hatchan, Betham, and Kaku all fit to one degree of another into this mold, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Jango.

Secondly, Kuro is the first cerebral villain of the series. Alvida and Morgan relied on brute strength, and while Buggy exhibited a certain amount of cunning he, too, was focused on overwhelming firepower and his Devil Fruit to win the day. 

Kuro of a Thousand Plans. His epithet says it all. Kuro is conniving, sneaky, underhanded, and without a shred of honor to hold him back as he meticulously plans to murder a sickly girl for nothing more than his own peace and comfort. 

All of Oda’s most memorable villains have this Machiavellian mindset. Crocodile, Doflamingo, and most of all Blackbeard are all chess masters to one degree or another. Though their end goals are completely different, you can see a lot of Crocodile especially in how Kuro built up an unshakable reputation while biding his time to strike. They even share a penchant for breaking speeches

It’s such a little thing, but the words “I suffered” elevate Kuro to one of my favorite East Blue villains, well above even Buggy. It’s so needlessly cruel, twisting the knife right where he knows it will hurt most, just because he can, and I freaking love it.

As a side note before moving on, Oda’s attention to detail is also to be commended during this arc. The way Kuro adjusts his glasses makes for an excellent and chilling re-read bonus, and connecting Morgan’s past to Kuro’s gives the former a little more depth than before.

The Baratie

It’s interesting to compare the Baratie to Syrup village because in many ways these arcs have opposite strengths and weaknesses. Where Syrup village had strong antagonists and a weak setting/side characters, the Baratie is the most memorable locale of the East Blue Saga and has an extremely strong secondary cast.

The Baratie as a concept brilliantly fits into the world of One Piece. The idea of a floating restaurant in a world that’s 90% ocean makes perfect sense, and it’s one of the times that Oda integrates the setting with his characterization. It’s not creativity for creativity’s sake, and unlike Gaimon’s sub-arc...chapter...whatever that was there’s a method behind the madness. 

This excellent setup is the backdrop to some superb character writing. Sanji is by no means my favorite Straw Hat, but his strained relationship between Zeff and the rest of the Baratie is done extremely well. It’s one of those situations where no one is 100% right or wrong and you just wish they’d all enter counseling or something so they could figure out how to talk to one another without resorting to violence.

It doesn’t hurt that this is when Oda figures out how to properly use the power of Tragic Backstory (tm) to its most devastating effect. While no (named) characters die, Sanji’s backstory is raw, painful, and emotional in all the right places. It’s in expressing these extreme emotions where Oda’s cartoony style is at its most effective. Oda’s characters don’t just cry, they cry ugly, and that’s so important when setting the tone of these heavy moments.

I don’t have much to say on Kreig or his crew because he’s boring and I despise Pearl with every fiber of my being, but once again we get some fun fight choreography. I especially like the sequence when Sanji spits his cigarette into Gin’s face before kicking him halfway across the deck, only to get a tonfa to the ribs for his effort. 

Also this happens, and it’s soooo satisfying to see Kreig get punched in the face. 10/10, would watch again

But the one thing that the Baratie does best of all the East Blue arcs - better than even Arlong Park - is world building. The entire series people have been telling Luffy and co. that the Grand Line is super dangerous and that he shouldn’t go, but it’s only here that we see that we see that played out in real time with Mihawk’s introduction to the plot. The Straw Hats have thus far been presented as invincible badasses when they’re nothing more than a big fish in a little pond.

All the stuff with Mihawk is big-picture storytelling and one of Zoro’s best moments. I don’t think that anyone who follows One Piece needs to be told how well Oda does at developing his world. More important to the build up to Arlong Park is Oda’s use of immediate foreshadowing. Right about the time Mihawk shows up Johnny and Yosaku catch Nami checking out bounties, specifically Arlong’s though he’s never named and we don’t see his picture. Immediately after Nami steals the Going Merry so she can run away, and we see her facade start to crack a little under pressure. Note especially how utterly exhausted she looks in this panel here

This all happens in the same chapter Zoro challenges Mihawk, and the action cuts between the swordsman’s pre-fight banter and the story of how Johnny and Yosaku lost the Merry. Zoro’s fight is the more immediate concern, but when constructing the chapter, instead of going out on that high note Oda cuts back to Nami a second time, this time sailing alone on the open ocean

If it weren’t already obvious by the whole rest of the series, this scene proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that there’s more to Nami than meets the eye. This is the first time we see her truly vulnerable, almost to the point of being broken, and it puts a completely different meaning to all her actions previous and what we’ll see coming up in later chapters.

I do think there is some significance to putting the Nami scene last over Zoro’s, because as the last thing the audience reads it’s what tends to stick in their mind longest week to week. We don’t see Nami again for a long time, and when we do all her defensive walls are firmly back in place. This is the Nami Oda wants us to remember when she’s going around Cocoyashi village telling Luffy to leave her the hell alone.

The Conclusion

What really stands out to me when going over these early chapters leading up to Arlong Park is Oda’s vision for the series from the word go, even when his execution isn’t as consistent as later on in the series. The whole East Blue saga exists to do two things 1) build the core of the Straw Hat Pirates 2) answer the question Who is Luffy.

Each antagonist from the lowly Alvida to Arlong himself has a weakness in their leadership ability that directly foils Luffy. These chapters show us what kind of pirate, what kind of captain, and most of all what kind of man Monkey D Luffy is, and what values he will and will not stand for. 

Arlong Park is the emotional peak of the East Blue saga, and it works because Oda has taken the time to build up to that peak. The impact would not have been the same if it had been placed earlier in the series because it would not feel earned without seeing Nami interact with the rest of the crew for as long as she did. Nor would it have worked if Oda hadn’t placed the breadcrumbs of her story for the audience to pick up along the way. 

It’s impossible for every arc to hit all the high points that Arlong Park does, because not all arcs are designed to do so, nor should they. That being said, there’s a steady increase in quality seen even in these early chapters as Oda gets his sea legs and figures out exactly what story he’s trying to tell.

[fragmentsofchaldea]

This isn't really a question related to Fragments, but one that is Fate-related: Why do you (personally) feel that Sieg is a Gary Stu, if you do? I hear that buzzword get throw about a bit and people claiming he is or not. Personally, I never saw it that way and thought he had a decent character arc considering what he started as and it made him relatable. Powerwise maybe a bit, but even there he spends most of his time losing his solo fights, which is the opposite of a Gary Stu.

Apologies, but this needs to be rather typed out compared tomost things. I post. I advise anyone interested to take the time and read it completely, as usualfor my work, to understand my full (rather neutral as always) viewpoint onthis. I won’t be addressing this any further. 

I’ll add the keep reading divider so it doesn’t flood your timelines. It also contains heavy Apocrypha spoilers the anime hasn’t reached yet, so you’ve been warned.

There’s been a lot of messages about this, such as, but not limited to:

To start out with, first, a fun fact. You ask 12 differentpeople what a Mary Sue is and you will get 12 different answers. The term has definitelybeen thrown around more than a football on spring recess, so it’s fair to saythere are many ways to interpret it. As an example, TV Tropes has many specific sub-types of Mary Sues, like Canon Sue, who is a Mary Sue that happens toactually be a canon character (since Mary Sue is supposed to pertain to fanfics only).

=====================

Since the questionpertains to my viewpoint on Mary Sues and the sub-types, we’ll start there:

They may have unbelievable powers and abilities. At acritical moment, they might get second winds to help them defeat theoverwhelming antagonist in a comeback of the century. Maybe they could turnpeople’s otherwise near-unshakable beliefs to their side, turning enemies tofriends. They might also have absolutely no flaws, get the girl/guy, areimmortal, have a tragic backstory or an uplifting one, and many more. Now whatdo all of those have in common?

My answer may surprise you, but I see those as just possible indicators. Despite what manybelieve that claim to be these days, just because a character has those traits doesnot automatically make them a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. Still, the more indicatorsthey light up, the more likely it is they are one, but they’re not the trueindicator in my eyes. So if that’s so, then what is it?

It’s simple: The character manages to warp the story/plotaround them through their actions and needs. The level of offense increaseswith the quantity and inconceivability of the acts in question.

=====================

Now, on to my view onSieg and why I personally define him as a Mary Sue… or Canon Sue since wereally should get specific and correct on these labels. (Heavy ApocryphaSpoiler Warning)

Sieg starts off as just a homunculus with great magicalcircuits who Avicebron is interested in making Adam’s core. Wanting to be free,he uses his magic circuits to break his tank and escape. He’s too weak to doany real escaping though, but Astolfo finds him and hides him with Chiron. Sofar there’s nothing wrong.

They escape, but then Siegfried’s master throws his usualtemper tantrum and winds up doing Sieg in. Siegfried steps in and gives Sieg hisheart, forcing him from the battlefield but giving Sieg another chance at lifeand some currently unknown newfound powers. However, there’s still only hintsat the moment. A fan favorite dies early in order to act upon his own desire tobe a hero of justice by his own decisions, and it justhappened to be Sieg to be saved by him. Again, still passable.

Truth be told, the first indicator is during the Black vsRed clash on the fields outside Trifas. He winds up getting himself killedagain, but Frankenstein’s noble phantasm unintentionally jump starts his heartagain in her attempt to simultaneously take out Mordred. An attack at fullpower that kills Frankenstein, charged with a command seal, hits Sieg but windsup rejuvenating him instead. It also gives him access to both her noblephantasms (Blasted Tree & Bridal Crest) somehow. Things are getting fishy.

At this point indicators start stacking up for me. He’snecessary in key moments in order to help stronger, actual servants take downdangerous enemies (NP Adam). Jeanne, thanks to Laeticia’s own feelings, windsup falling for him with often argued rudimentary build up since many thinkAstolfo wound up building a relationship better. We could also add the third save by Chiron when Sieg went to stop Jack. He gets saved a fourth timefrom death thanks to Astolfo and Achilles (indirect). But again, these are alljust indicators that the plot may be forcefully trying to keep him alive orcentralize him as the subject of interest.

The finale is where I consider it confirmed. (Final warning for big Apocrypha ending spoilers)

There were probably some other points I’m missing but I’m trying to be quick about all this and not write an entry that would rival a fragment. After my searches for info on Apocrypha’s ending though, this is what I found.

Sieg, who is has precursory knowledge or wisdom of how thereal world honestly works, manages to convince Amakusa to stop his actions.Amakusa, who has been planning this for decades, who has seen true human brutality inhis past life, was convinced by the homunculus to stop afterhis wish is already being granted by thegrail. Technically it can be argued Amakusa is on his last legs at this point after stopping Jeanne’s La Pucelle, but it was the execution of this that was bothering. Sadly a lot of Apocrypha is great ideas with controversial execution.

It doesn’t end there. Sieg is also capable of stopping it as one of the last standing,by using its energy to fully boost his transformation into Fafnir, forcing the greater grailinto the reverse side of the world, and thereby negating the wish. By doing so,he accomplished his main goal of saving the homunculi while also preventinghumanity from being affected by Amakusa’s wish (There’s no humans in the reverse side). As a small bonus later on, Jeanneis able to travel from the throne to the reverse side of the world to reunitewith him in a “End of the Dream” esque ending.

Sieg is a rather plain (aka, not overblown) Canon Sue becausethe plot went out of his way to grant him second chances, power ups, and successes against manygreat odds. However, compared to themore blatant and true Mary Sues people hear nightmare stories about, I think Siegis honestly rather tame which is why people still argue for or against this label.Higashide did take steps to soften the landing by having things feasibly connect,like Achilles giving Astolfo his shield or by having Fran/Astolfo/Sieg gettingdesperate to defeat Mordred (some of many examples), so he doesn’t wind up anoutright abomination who bends reality to his will with every breath. It was really only half way through volume two that it startedflipping some of my switches.

Canon Sue or not though, I personally believe that’s just atack on to the real reason he’s disliked. I would also like to amend a previousstatement by being more specific: The animosity usually comes from the west.

Honestly, I believe the reason there’s such a strongmajority that dislike Sieg is because he appears so rather ‘tame’ and underdeveloped in a warfilled with very vibrant personalities.Hell, Apocrypha suffers from a massive case of character bloat and then everything just starts flying. Sieg, who is rather stoically pure(understandable because he’s new in the world), straightforward, and haslimited background potential just winds up looking lackluster next to Mordred,Kairi, Fiore, Amakusa, etc but still winds up being the central character.That’s where most of the distaste likely comes from, and Canon Sue qualities justamplifies the hatred for many.

Final Note: As I saidin my post, I will find him a challenge to write, but personally, I’m actuallyfairly neutral on my view of him. He just wasn’t intriguing to me, so hedidn’t really swing either way on my pendulum even if I consider him a CanonSue. That said, when did being ‘not intriguing’ stop me from writing somefragments on others who meet that criteria? 

P.S. – Thanks for the vote of confidence from many of you!

[kcaruth]

Movie Mania: Top 10 of 2018

This one was difficult. Those who have followed this blog for a while will know that for the past two years I have done a top 15 list of favorite films. That is largely because 2016 and 2017 cranked out so many great films, and I could not restrict myself to 10. However, 2018 turned out to be a rather lackluster year for film, in my opinion. Sure, there were some high points, but overall it was disappointing. It was actually easy to stick to a list of 10 this time, and those 10 films are all deserving of praise. I just wish they had some tougher competition to go up against. I digress, though. I now give you my spoiler-free list of favorite films of 2018.

Honorable Mention: Bumblebee

A collaboration between Travis Knight, the director of Kubo and the Two Strings, and Hailee Steinfeld? Count me in!

I stopped following the Transformers franchise after 2011′s Transformers: Dark of the Moon. One can only endure so many mind-numbing Michael Bay explosions before all of his or her brain cells die out. Here is a fun exercise that one of my college professors taught me; try it next time a Michael Bay Transformers movie comes on. Every time there is a cut, tap a pen or pencil or clap your hands. Frankly, it is quite overwhelming and hard to keep up with, and it is difficult not to notice every single unnecessary, jarring cut after becoming conscious of them through this exercise.

Contrast that with 2018′s Bumblebee. At Knight’s direction, the film forgoes most of those flashy explosions in favor of a more intimate approach to actual character development. Knight wisely chooses to keep the audience grounded and focused on the human characters, namely Steinfeld’s Charlie Watson, a teenage girl who is still struggling to come to terms with the death of her father while harboring resentment of her mother for remarrying. As far as the robots go, while the other Transformers movies went overboard with filling the screen with as many Decepticons and Autobots as they could, Knight really only has the titular Bumblebee and a couple of Decepticons hunting him down, ensuring that the action scenes and the film itself do not feel too bloated. Bumblebee is the course correction that this franchise so desperately needed.

#10: Eighth Grade

I was cringing throughout the run time of Eighth Grade, but somehow that is a compliment to this film. Uncompromising in its excruciating honesty, Eighth Grade hits the bullseye when it targets the audience’s empathy for an anxious 13-year-old during her last week of eighth grade named Kayla Day, played by Elsie Fisher. As his debut feature film, writer-director Bo Burnham has stated that he drew inspiration from his own struggles with social anxiety, so the script feels genuine and absent of any Hollywood edits. While Kayla is certainly the main focus of the film, Burnham provides a surprisingly touching character arc for her single father, Mark, played by Josh Hamilton. Mark desperately attempts to connect with his teenage daughter, but it seems like all she cares about having a connection with is her phone and social media. With themes of mental health, heavy use of social media, and sexuality, Burnham delivers one of the most uncomfortable scenes I have ever sat through in a movie theater, which is most likely exactly how he intended it to feel.

I cannot help but compare Eighth Grade to 2016′s Edge of Seventeen, another coming-of-age comedy-drama about a teenage girl by a debut director. If I was given the choice between the two films, I would pick Edge of Seventeen, which I believe is much more re-watchable, garnering that intended empathetic response from the audience with half the cringe. Both are brilliant, but those who have not seen Edge of Seventeen should do themselves a favor and give it a watch.

#9: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

With so much hate and negativity in the world today, Morgan Neville’s documentary about Fred Rogers is a shining beacon of hope that restores one’s faith in humanity. Using archival footage as well as interviews with those closest to Rogers, Neville paints an intimate portrait of the man who welcomed audiences into his neighborhood through his pioneering television program. Without deifying Rogers, Neville shows how this American treasure dedicated every fiber of his being to teaching children how to be upstanding human beings who care deeply for one another, despite our differences. This documentary proves that Rogers’ lessons were not just for children, though. In fact, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? often feels like a one-on-one session with Rogers, encouraging audience members that they are all capable of good through simple acts of kindness.

#8: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Unfortunately, this American western is sure to fly under most people’s radar because it was a Netflix release that I do not recall having much fanfare and advertising. Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, this film is an anthology of six different vignettes set in the American West. Sporting a stellar cast with the likes of Liam Neeson, Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Zoe Kazan, Brendan Gleeson, and more, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs flexes the Coen’s signature style of dark drama and black humor while impressively tackling all of the sub-genres within the greater Western genre.

Each of the vignettes are tied together by death in some form or fashion. While my ranking of them changes from day to day, my favorite and least favorite remain consistent. It is virtually impossible to not fall in love with the first vignette, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” which is about a cheerful outlaw known just as widely for his singing as his gunslinging. The final vignette featuring a handful of characters cramped together on a stagecoach ride called “The Mortal Remains,” on the other hand, feels somewhat out of place and ends the film with a bit of a dud. Along the way between these two vignettes, however, viewers encounter enchanting tales of a bank robber, an impresario and his artist, a prospector, and a wagon train on the Oregon Trail.

As the Coen’s first film to be shot digitally, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs boasts some impressive cinematography, especially when it comes to wide sweeping shots, like any decent Western should. It also features a wonderfully delightful score that I desperately hope gets an Oscar nod. Not a week has gone by since I have watched this film where I do not find myself humming one of the songs or music from it. The acting throughout the different vignettes of the film is topnotch, and the actors look like they are having a blast in their roles.The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a fun time that leaves viewers longing for more time in the American West. For those who cannot find the time to sit down for the whole film, I must urge them to at least watch the first vignette about Buster Scruggs, which is worth the price of admission on its own.

#7: Isle of Dogs

Set in a dystopian Japan, Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animated Isle of Dogs tells the story of a boy searching for his dog on Trash Island after an outbreak of canine flu. Voiced by an all-star cast including Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, and Bill Murray, Isle of Dogs is an epic adventure with its fair share of plot twists along the way. Alexandre Desplat provides a brilliant score for the film that matches Anderson’s comedic quirkiness and thematic choices. I would not consider myself a fan of Anderson’s distinct film style, but I do consider myself a huge fan of dogs and enjoyed Isle of Dogs. (Get the title of the film? Pronounce it out loud quickly. I Love Dogs.)

#6: Game Night

Game Night made me laugh out loud like I have not done in a long time at the movie theater. Starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, the film follows the hilariously ridiculous premise of a group of friends whose game night gets wrapped up in a criminal escapade. In addition to Bateman and McAdams’ great, fun chemistry as the husband and wife duo of Max and Annie Davis, Jesse Plemons’ portrayal of Gary Kingsbury, Max and Annie’s weird neighbor, delivers some moments of pure laughter. For a film that is high on laughs, Game Night manages to string the audience along with its surprisingly competent mystery, complete with reveals and twists that both shock and amuse viewers. Be sure to stick around for the credits and post-credits.

#5: A Quiet Place

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big baby when it comes to horror movies. I absolutely loathe jump scares and will watch horror movies through my fingers if I am forced to watch one. However, I had heard so much positive buzz about John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place that I could not allow myself to make this list without seeing it first, and boy am I glad I summoned the courage to see it. A Quiet Place is a masterclass in tension, tone, pacing, sound design, and character development.

The plot centers around the Abbott family in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by blind monsters that attack any source of sound with their heightened sense of hearing. Nothing is known about the origins of these monsters, only that they have wiped out most human and animal life on Earth. In this hopeless world, Lee and Evelyn Abbott struggle to fill their children with hope for the future.

The performances in A Quiet Place are some of the best of the year. The actors have an added degree of difficulty of having very minimal to no dialogue during the entire film, so their facial expressions and body language have to do most of the talking. One of the more impressive feats of A Quiet Place is the characters communicate in American Sign Language, and the actors actually learned ASL for the film. Millicent Simmonds, who plays Regan Abbott, is deaf and knows ASL, so she was able to help her co-stars with ASL, make corrections, and suggest improvements.

Krasinski has said that A Quiet Place is all about parenthood. Along with this theme, the film contains many Christian images and themes that are fascinating to pick apart and ponder. With so much depth, A Quiet Place delivers an original story that grips audiences. Although I did not see it in theaters, I am sure that people could hear a pen drop in their viewings.

#4: Bohemian Rhapsody

For all of its inaccuracies, creative liberties, and unevenness, Bohemian Rhapsody took the world by storm as the highest grossing music biopic and reinvigorated a love of Queen and its leading man, Freddie Mercury. Rami Malek runs away with the film as he disappears into his role as Mercury, so much so that audience members might have to pinch themselves to remember that they are not watching the real Freddie Mercury. Seriously, Malek has to be a surefire Oscar contender for this performance. Not only does he masterfully recreate Mercury’s mannerisms and moves onstage, he also channels his pain and feelings of isolation to bring audiences a fully realized depiction of the superstar. The supporting cast is good too, although Malek’s stellar performance does overshadow them, through no fault of their own.

For its finale, Bohemian Rhapsody gifts audiences with one of the most moving, memorable set pieces in all of film for 2018, the 1985 Live Aid concert. In a word, it is epic. Bohemian Rhapsody teaches lessons of acceptance, love, individuality, and the power of music and leaves viewers wishing they could have had a few more years with the amazing Freddie Mercury. This is one of those instances where the majority of critics should be ignored. Even if viewers are new to Queen, they should not miss this film.

#3: Green Book

Bolstered by fantastic performances by Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, Peter Farrelly’s Green Book takes a relatively unknown true story about a concert tour to the Deep South in the 1960s with African-American pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Ali) and his driver/bodyguard, Italian-American Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen), and tackles its subject matter without being too heavy-handed and maintaining respect for its characters. The script treats Vallelonga and Shirley as real human beings. Contrary to most film tropes, neither completely changes his character after a single event or incident. Instead, that change occurs slowly over the course of their road trip. Both men learn from one another, despite their disparate backgrounds. Mortensen and Ali are both worthy of Oscar nominations, though I think I would give the edge to Mortensen.

For a film about racism, identity, and the dangerous Jim Crow South, Green Book remains accessible to all audiences. It is full of heart and is brimming with that feel-good aura. As Mick LaSalle wrote in The San Francisco Chronicle, Green Book is “so big in its spirit, that the movie acquires a glow. It achieves that glow slowly, but by the middle and certainly by the end, it's there, the sense of something magical happening, on screen and within the audience.”

#2: Annihilation

I have not stopped thinking about Alex Garland’s Annihilation since it came out way back in February. Garland, the director of one of my favorite films released in 2015 Ex Machina, puts together an impressive cast starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, and Oscar Isaac to deliver a truly intoxicating film that leaves audiences deep in thought well after the credits roll. Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s novel of the same name, Annihilation follows a group of scientists who enter a mysterious quarantined area known as the Shimmer. Inside the Shimmer, flora and fauna undergo uncontrollable mutations. The scientists explore the Shimmer in an attempt to learn its secrets and discover what happened to the military team that was sent in before them.

The atmospheric, bone-chilling score sticks in viewers’ memories and adds to the intense tone of the film. Speaking of tone, Annihilation might bring audiences to the verge of suffocation because of how breathtaking it is. It has possibly the scariest, most dreadful scene of any film from this decade that comes from the stuff of nightmares and leaves audiences haunted. For all of its terrifying elements, however, this sci-fi film also showcases some downright gorgeous scenes that let the imagination run wild. Unlike many sci-fi films these days, Annihilation is not afraid to slow down and let scenes marinate in viewers’ minds. With so many avenues to explore as far as themes go, from ethics to grief to depression to humanity’s propensity for its own self-destruction, Annihilation is a film that should be talked about for a long time to come.

#1: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

This was the easiest decision on my whole list. No other film came close to the number one spot after I saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. I remember seeing trailers for this film throughout 2018, but I did not have high expectations for it and almost blew it off. After all, with all of the Spider-Man films we have had in recent years, how could this one stand out apart from its animation?

The hype is real. Spider-Man is one of the most well-rounded films of 2018. It expertly balances its genuinely funny comedic moments with its emotionally moving dramatic ones. It takes risks that pay off with its bold storytelling, which is full of charm and satisfying superhero action. There is obvious care and attention to detail poured into every frame of this film, a work of art that is a love letter to superhero comic books. The creators of the film wanted it to feel like "you walked inside a comic book," and they hit it out of the park. The computer-generated animation works in concert with line drawings, paintings, dots, and various comic book art styles to make the film look like it was created by hand. It even has word boxes and bubbles that somehow are not too obstructive or distracting. As Todd Howard, the director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, is famous for saying, “all of this just works.”

For such a large ensemble of characters voiced by ingenious choices like Mahershala Ali, Hailee Steinfeld, and Nicolas Cage, Spider-Man gives each of them equal footing while keeping the spotlight squarely on Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), the new Spider-Man. Lily Tomlin voices what may be my favorite version of Aunt May, and many other Spider-Man staple characters make great appearances.

The soundtrack is catchy and fits the bill for what a kid Miles’ age would listen to. There are tons of Easter eggs for hardcore Spider-Man fans to uncover, and there are pop culture winks and nods that most people familiar with the Spider-Man franchise will understand and enjoy. Of course, the late, great Stan Lee has a touching cameo, one of his best yet.

Every part of this stand-alone story feels fresh, and the characters have so much depth to them. It is hard to come up with an original concept that reinvents the superhero genre, but Spider-Man has done just that and more. This revolutionary, culturally important film was a joy to watch, and it may go down as the best Spider-Man film yet. Certainly, it has to be a serious contender for the best film of 2018.

The following are a list of all of the films I saw from 2018, in no particular order:

·         Green Book

·         The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

·         Pope Francis: A Man of His Word

·         My Hero Academia: Two Heroes

·         Black Panther

·         Annihilation

·         Game Night

·         Ready Player One

·         Isle of Dogs

·         A Quiet Place

·         Avengers: infinity War

·         Deadpool 2

·         Solo: A Star Wars Story

·         Incredibles 2

·         Ant-Man and the Wasp

·         BlacKkKlansman

·         Bad Times at the El Royale

·         Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

·         First Man

·         Ralph Breaks the Internet

·         Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

·         Aquaman

·         Bumblebee

·         Bohemian Rhapsody

·         Bird Box

·         Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

·         Eighth Grade

My 2017 film list: http://kcaruth.tumblr.com/post/171040800751/movie-mania-top-15-of-2017

My 2016 film list: http://kcaruth.tumblr.com/post/156340406236/movie-mania-top-15-of-2016

[persephone-damnedqueen]

Thoughts on Spring Anime Season 2017 So Far:

Honestly, last season had so many lovable series from Dragon Maid to Scum’s Wish to Koro Q! and even freaking Gintama, (And Gintama was fucking amazing as all fuck last season and you all know it).  Trying to compare this season to last season just leaves me . . . . so underwhelmed.  This season is pretty bad for anything not a sequel.  The new shows are pretty generic or just overall lackluster, but nonetheless I managed to find at least something nonsequel to watch.  So, here are my thoughts on the current season; please keep in mind that these are purely just my opinion and you may or may not agree with me, and that’s okay.  Also, keep in mind that there are a ton of shows airing this season, so I’m only watching a handful of them.  

Renai Boukun:  EMT^2 

Annnnnnnnd Dropped.  Honestly, the only thing that was even semi interesting about it was the yandere character, but even that was short-lived.  The art style is terrible, and I hate it so much; although, I might be a little harsh on that since I’ve been watching the Monogatari series for the last few weeks and nothing can compare  to the amazingness that is Studio Shaft.  Even so, this is terrible.  I did however enjoy the dubbing better than the subbing, but even that wasn’t enough to get me to continue this series more than three episodes.  

Eromanga-Sensei:  A-1 Pictures

Dropped.  I know right?  I am not on the Eromanga-Sensei hype train.  Normally, I’m all for a moe blob, especially a currently airing one since I can turn off my brain every week, and I’m up for shipping some incest, even though they aren’t technically related, any day, but this one was just blah.  I know, “What the hell kind of description is ‘blah?’” It’s okay, I mean I can see it’s charm, but it’s not for me, and that’s okay.  Needless to say though, it’s dropped.  

Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine:  Studio Bridge 

What started off to me as an Ouran High School rip off, turned into something different by the second and third episode, and I’m very glad that it did.  I started it fairly late into the season, so I was able to binge the first five or six episodes within a couple hours, and I had to admit that I was addicted by episode four.  It’s a bit lackluster and fairly generic with it’s art style, but I was still able to find enjoyment in it.   Also, that Seiyuu closing was fucking amazing, and I never thought Kai could look so good.  Side Note: Kai is best boy, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.  

Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records:  LIDENFILMS

My personal non squeal of the season.   It’s good, funny, pretty to look at, and has a ton of action.  Glenn-Sensei is definitely unique compared to the general anime teachers, and hell even the general male leads.  Shiro Neko can get a bit annoying at times, but it certainly doesn’t take away from the show that much.   Also, Re=L is Best Girl and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.  

Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka?:    C2C and Satelight Studio

World’s End.  Fuck that long Light Novel title.  I mean, what do I have to say about this?  Meh, it’s alright.  I’m personally watching the dub for it since I couldn’t get into the first few episodes subbed.  The dub is alright enough.  It’ll probably get dropped later on, but for now, I’m seeing where this is going.  

Quan Zhi Gao Shou:   G.CMay Animation & Film

Alright, this one is a must try out for people this season.  It’s honestly unique and really underrated this season.  Why is it a must try?  Well, it’s in Chinese.  Oh, and it’s art style pretty unique, since well . . . it’s a Chinese company doing it and not the usual studios.  Anyways, the story itself is really good, and the main protag is very interesting to say the least.  I really don’t want to go in too much to it, since I’d rather everyone be the judge on it themselves, but it’s deserving of the praise and probably just one of the best non squeal shows of the season.  I will do a fair warning though that the Chinese Voice Acting does take a bit to get used to.  

Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2:  Witt Studio

Four. Fucking. Years.  Of course I’d be watching this religiously, the instant it’s available every Saturday.  It’s been good.  Honestly, good.  I actually have very little to complain about and for me, that’s shocking.  I guess my only major deal with it right now is the terrible CGI for the Colossal Titan.  Oh, and the fact that this show is overshadowing the amazingness that is BnHA.  (Yes, I’m more hyped for BnHA than I am for SnK, shocking right?).  Anyways, while me being just happy with this series is alright, my husband, who watches it with me, is actually so happy with how things are going since he’s an anime-only and I’m a manga reader.  But seriously though, is there anyone that isn’t watching and loving this show?  

Boku no Hero Academia 2nd Season:  Bones

Move over SnK.  BnHA is where it’s at.  Fuck, THIS SEASON IS FUCKING SPEC-FUCKING-TACULAR!  HOW THE FUCK CAN ONE SEASON BE SO DAMN GOOD YOU ASK?  WHEN THE FUCKING STUDIO LITERALLY ANIMATES THE MANGA PANEL BY PANEL INTO BEAUTIFUL WORKS OF ART!  FUCK, DOING TWO CHAPTERS PER EPISODE PLUS ADDING BITS OF ANIME ONLY SCENES TO BETTER CONVEY THE MANGA AND GIVING IT 25 FREAKING EPISODES THIS SEASON ON TOP OF THAT?!?!?!?!?!  LITERALLY A DREAM COME TRUE.  I’M HYPED FOR EVERY FUCKING EPISODE EVERY FUCKING WEEK.  SCREW SNK! I KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN SINCE I READ THE MANGA, AND THAT STILL DOESN’T RUIN IT FOR ME UNLIKE SNK.   WATCH THE FUCK OUT OF THIS SHOW.  SUPPORT THE FUCK OUT OF THIS SHOW.  LOVE THIS SHOW SO WE CAN GET MORE OF THIS MASTERPIECE.    

Little Witch Academia:  Studio Trigger

Still going strong.   I really like where it’s heading for the final half of the season.  Akko is really adorable, and I love the attention everyone in the cast is getting.  Plus, I’m still in love with Studio Trigger’s animation with this show.  I literally can’t picture any other studio doing this series.   Pick it up if you haven’t yet.  

Anyways, like I said at the start of the post, these are just my opinions on the shows I am watching/dropped this season.  If there are any shows that I should pick up, tell me!  

So yeah, thoughts?  

[edh-a-to-z]

5 - Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran

(Fair warning - I’m a bit biased for Agrus here, he was a lot of my firsts; first rare, first commander. But you can ignore the review and assume he’s Adriana from 2005).

Our fifth commander, and our second in Boros colors, is the Ravnican beat cop (and one-time ghost), Agrus Kos.

LORE: Agrus Kos is one of the central characters of the original Ravncia block. Long story short:

ACT 1: Getting too old for this shit

(1) Beat cop Agrus is almost done with working on the streets, ‘til his parter gets killed. (cue jazzy detective music)

(Actual image of Agrus investigating)

(2) His ensuing investigation leads to the discovery of the Dimir guild, who previously were unknown among the 10 guilds of Ravnica (seriously, did the 9 guilds not notice 10 seals on Ravnica stuff? Jeez.)

(3) He works with Jarad to arrest Szadek for being naughty.

And trying to take over all of Ravnica. Normal bad guy stuff.

ACT 2: Electric Boogaloo

(4) A retired Agrus now works as an Orzhov security guard (beat cop -> bank guard).

(5) Crap happens - a quiet life is disrupted by ALL the Firemane Angels going missing, Teysa Karlov plotted to claim her inheritance, and an Izzet mage Zomaj plotted to devastate Ravnica by hatching ancient Dragon eggs. 

You know, a normal day in Ravnica.

(6) Agrus Kos helps save the day. He also crashes and dies. Spoiler.

ACT 3: Ain’t No Rest For the Dead

(7) Freshly dead Agrus is brought back by Grand Arbiter Augustin IV to investigate Szadek (now a malicious spirit) and something called...Project Kraj.

(8) Agrus kills crazy Momir Vig, but not before Experimental Kraj gets out. Apparently, this is all part of Augustin’s plan to let the Azorious sieze control of Ravnica. Plot happens and stops him.

(9) Saving Ravnica the third time, Agrus finally goes back to doing what he loves - He’s made a beat cop in the spirit district of Agyrem.

THE CARD

Agrus Kos is a walking anthem. Literally.

Walking is involved.

Moreso than most standard Boros commanders (like Aurelia or Gisela), Agrus is married to the combat phase - his ability only matters then. Functionally, he acts a little like radiance, boosting the Boros colors based on what color they are - Red gets +2/+0, White gets +0/+2, creatures that are both get +2/+2.

Interestingly, it says “attacking creatures,” not ones you control, so he works slightly better in 2HG games of EDH, assuming your partner is running White or Red.

I’m uncomfortable with such a vulnerable commander - any card that can be Bolt’d hurts, and EDH decks love unconditional removal on top of that. Agrus doesn’t start with haste, so he has to survive an entire turn (usually turn 5) on the board before having an effect. Luckily, we’re in white, so “armor up” with the standard equipment package - protection artifacts (like Whispersilk Cloak), cards to tutor them out (Open the Armory), and Sunforger.

It’s Boros. Never leave the Sunhome without the Sunforger.

BATTLE PLAN:

We like attacking and anthems. The creatures don’t really matter, but pick from Ravnica and R2R block for flavor points (the only reason to play Agrus).

So attacking, we look to red. 

Effects like Breath of Fury let us keep swinging. Ideally, we need extra creatures (like tokens) to slip through and sac for this. On top of this, we can include Fury of the Horde, Aurelia the Warleader (an all-around better commander), Hellkite Charger, Relentless Assault, Savage Beating, and Waves of Aggression (repeatable!). You want to make the most of your anthems, you use extra phases. If we’re playing a sub-par Boros commander, we gotta play our strengths.

Next, we want anthems. Luckily, it’s white’s forte.

Gleam of Battle lets you use the attacking phases better. Straight-up anthems, like Glorious Anthem, Honor of the Pure, Marshal’s Anthem, Cathar’s Crusade, and Legion’s Initiative can buoy even a lackluster team. Balefire Liege  and some other creatures do the job on creatures.

Then there are some quasi-anthems - they enhance creatures, but not just P/T.

True Conviction, Gratuitous Violence, Berzerker’s Onslaught, and Odric, Lunarch Marshal + Duelest’s Heritage (or any creature with an ability) make your fighting force even more effective. 

Finally, we need tokens. Cheap, disposable creatures for the churn of battle. Don’t mourn them, there’s plenty more where they came from.

Mobilization is the standard by which you can compare other token makers to. It has a quasi-anthem effect, it’s a mana dump when needed. Assemble the Legion, Rise of the Hobgoblins, Decree of Justice, Martial Coup, Tempt with Vengeance, Nomad’s Assembly, White Sun’s Zenith and any Elspeth, are great token makers.

THE REST (Rounding it out)

While Boros commanders usually like a weapons package (Stoneforge Mystic, Stonehewer, Swords of X & Y, plus tutors), Agrus doesn’t rate this - he doesn’t have haste, protection, or any reason to be a voltron commander like other Boros commanders. 

The usual removals of Disenchant, Path, Swords, and other exile and artifact/enchantment removal all make sense here. Normal EDH staples of Wrath effects belong, as well as normal Manarocks.  

WEAKNESSES

Basically everything. 

We’re talking Yamcha levels here. A rogue Lightning Bolt spells doom for us (outside of being Anthem buffed). The second Agrus hits the ground, he’s a newborn baby. On his own, he can’t even fight that well, against the likes of 4/4 angel tokens, and 99/99 Voltron commanders.

Next, the normal Boros weakness - lack of utility of Aggro in EDH. Boros wants to attack stuff, and EDH isn’t conducive to that - Radiance and Battalion are fun, but color-based and attack-based abilities lose reliability.

Additional Boros weakness include the weakness of on-color ramp and draw. White does get some ramp in the form of Land Tax style effects, so that lets you keep up with the player ramping to 8 lands on turn 3.

Most of the stuff you can’t do can be patched up with Artifacts - protection, extra removal, mana ramping and draw. Things like Signets, Cluestones, and artifacts like Staff of Nin do a lot to help.

RATINGS

Control: 2/10 - Agrus control comes solely from his colors. He offers nothing immediately to changing the board, nor does his ability help do anything except buff your guys on the attack.

Diplomacy: 2/10 - You’re in an aggro deck with limited options, your diplomatic negotiation boils down to “I won’t smack you in exchange for X”

Aggro: 5/10 - Not an ability, but a necessity. Fortunately, Boros colors help, but Boros isn’t exceptionally powerful in EDH (it hurts to play Boros in a long grindy format). 

Overall Power: 1/10 - Apart from some flavor-based EDH game, like a Ravnica block guild champion fight, Agrus is miles out of his league against average 75% games, and lags behind even gimmick decks - because he is a gimmick deck.

Affordability: 6/10 -  The only redeeming point is that Agrus himself, and a budget build of go-long Boros, is pretty easy to build on a budget. It’d be exorbitant to try and make him competitive, and even then, it would hurt.

Overall: 16/50 - The worst of our commanders thus far. While Agrus is a textbook Boros “combat matters” commander, he’s by far one of the worse. I replaced him with Tajic in my old Boros EDH deck, and then dropped Agrus from the deck. It hurt, but he wasn’t pulling his weight. 

He can’t do the job as a commander.

1 of the 99: I can’t recommend him as an option. The average Anthem effect is a better replacement, and doesn’t rely on anyone attacking for the buff to happen. Maybe Glorious Anthem, Marshal’s Anthem, Cathar’s Crusade, anything works much more effectively than Agrus.

Final Verdict: As much nostalgia I have invested in Argus, he hasn’t stood up well to the test of time.

[dani-fandom]

My thoughts on Voltron Season 2

So I’ve now watched the whole season 2 times, and I have a shit ton of thoughts about it. Obviously, super spoiler-y and pretty long. Under the read more.

By episodes, kind of

First of all,

Pidge is a beautiful tech genius and I love my daughter so much

I mean, she was able to transmit her lion’s signal to the castle out of junk??? Actual garbage??? Genius.

Shiro has the most millenial kind of humor - joking about his gaping wound??? Calm the fuck down sir

Coran had a Major Alex Armstrong phase and it was amazing

HE HAS THE MUSTACHE AND THE HAIR CURL

Seriously, did you see those arms??? Coran is ripped as fuck

He also had an emo teenage phase and it was the funniest thing ive ever seen

Underwater episode!!!! 

I would like to thank not only God but also Jesus for the entire episode of nothing but Hunk and Lance moments.

My blue baby boy saving the day

So now we finally know how Shiro escaped and i have mixed feelings about it

Also, I want to quickly talk about how I’ve seen people saying that Allura is being “racist” towards the Galra??? Um, how???

They literally annihilated her home planet and countless others, enslaving nations, and killing all of her family save Coran?

I think bitterness, distrust, and pure hatred are to be expected. 

I can say with 100% certainty that I would act the same way towards them, maybe even worse, and if you say you wouldn’t, I don’t trust you

This ep was good for the audience as a whole to show that all Galra are not the same, and there are those who work against him

Also good for the younger paladins to see, as their interactions with the Galra have mainly been very negative

They are more open to the idea of “good Galra”, though they have less reasons to not be, as opposed to Allura

I am living for the Pidge character growth in Greening the Cube tbh, my baby girl is amazing

Also Lance confirmed for skincare junkie I love my son

I almost cried laughing at the half-naked Klance scene

It’s exactly like the scene from Emperor’s New Groove and I could not stop seeing them as Pacha and Kuzco

That’s not my Hunk a dunk saving the day on Taujeer?? But it is!!!

I love him so much

Also, really uncomfortable with the whole Keith and Allura “bonding stuff” 

Like I get it, but it was handled very... interestingly

I dunno, it made me feel awkward

I feel like Keith is handled more like an adult in this particular season than Hunk and Lance, who are all the same age.

I’ll touch on this more in a bit, but I love that the Commander in this episode had more of a personality. You really got a feel on what kind of a Galra soldier he was, especially compared to the strictly cutthroat Galra like Sendak that we’ve dealt with in the past. 

Space Mall??? Space Mall!!!!

Let Allura get something sparkly goddammit

Alfor was in that picture with young Coran!!!!

So many theories about the origin of Voltron, and now we know that Alfor made the Black Lion which is both awesome and thought provoking

Did he make the others?

Did he choose the other pilots?

What exactly happened with Zarkon?

What happened to the other pilots???

I loved Hunk in this episode. He has been making a lot (too many in my opinion) of comments about food, but seeing him honestly enjoy cooking and enjoy the reactions people had to his food made me happy

So, uh, where’s the cow now?

We had some high quality Lance and Pidge interaction in this episode that I loved to bits

I also really enjoy the characterizations that the writers have been doing for the Galra

Like Sal, and Farkon seemed more like actual people and we could connect to them??? It was just great and started blurring the lines between good and bad even more

Also, “Farkon: Mall Cop” was hilarious

So many movie references I die

Also: Trans girl Pidge??? Trans girl Pidge!!!

Now, *cracks knuckles* onto The Blade of Mamora

Keith you are the main reason I stress, please just calm the fuck down 

“Shiro, you’re like a brother to me.” *longest yeah boi ever*

So Thace isn’t Keith’s dad, but Keith’s dad low-key looks like Shiro???

His mom was Galra??? Who the fuck??

We have never seen any female Galra (as far as we know)?

(Especially considering that Haggar isn’t Galra, or at least not a pure one)

Can someone please get this boy some medical attention? My heart rate is rising by the second

“The only way this is possible, is if Galra blood runs through your veins” *longest yeah boi ever*

There are so many unanswered questions holy fuck

Okay so next we get some quality bonding time between Hunk and Keith which is amazing

Honestly i love the two of them

Why did Hunk have to be sleep during the whole plan?? Let him be smart and contribute to the plan goddammit!!!

We get to see how chill Hunk really is with Galra Keith

But we don’t get to see how everyone else reacted to it.

How did Shiro react? How about Lance? Pidge?

We know Allura is pissed af, but what about Coran??? He went through the exact same things she did, but he’s cooler about it

if he’s being the more mature one and is able to look past it to still accept and love Keith, he should be talking to Allura about it, and be her advisor/second father

Again, I’m annoyed about how dismissive Allura is to Keith, but SHE HAS A JUSTIFIABLE REASON

AGAIN, how did CORAN react????

I really want to know who that Galra soldier was that Keith rescued

What if it was Matt or something? He probably wouldn’t have recognized either Keith or Hunk and he didn’t say anything

Or what if that was Keith’s mom?

Possibilities man

Haha, fart jokes

Seriously, why didn’t we get to see everyone else’s reactions?

Jailbreak episode!

Okay, Slav (or whatever it is) is THE most annoying thing ever, just had to get it out of the way

Shiro was reacting exactly how I would have

Honestly, Shiro was overall so relatable in this episode

We get information on Matt! It’s not alot but hey

Now we get to dive even deeper into theories about him joining a rebel group, since they saved him

Would not be surprised if(again) the person Keith saved ended up being Matt on some kind of rebel mission

Let’s talk about Lance in this episode. Got some quality content however

We were led to believe that there would be some sort of season long sub-plot dealing with Lance’s insecurities (or at least something longer than half an episode)

So when he had his doubts immediately cleared it was kind of lackluster because of expectations

Of course, this could be explored again in a later season. Since this one was very Keith-centric, maybe the next might focus more on other paladins? I could see this as being something that would be brought up later on

I guess we can’t be having too much angst at one time

I thought it was really cute how that Galra Commander (listen I can’t remember all these names) had a pet???

And he saved it when the air locks were opened???

So precious

Again with the bringing actual personalities to characters that we are supposed to view as “bad” or “evil”, good job team

Whoo-hoo, Allura solo mission time!!!

I feel like the skype call she had with Coran could have been a good time for them to discuss Galra Keith but what do i know

WE GET TO SEE MY GIRL SHAY AGAIN

Honestly, how in the hell did that Ro-beast survive? IT HAD NO HEAD

Fueled by pure spite, honestly relatable

“How did we beat it last time?”

You didn’t, babe

The Balmera stabbed it for you

Just saying

Also, I guess thank goodness there weren’t any lives on those moons(?) that the Ro-beast blew up

“Quit back-lion driving!” I love Hunk and Keith

So... did Keith get hit with a laser or nah?

Because that thing destroyed solid moons, and took out Hunk’s lion for like 5 minutes

But Keith was like, okay? So did the force just push him away?

Okay, so the Ro-beast is dead now right? Like it’s dead, dead?

Someone tell me its gone forever now

Coran fist-bumped Hunk, my life is complete

“Princess, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.” Is it about Keith??? About the Galra in general???

Aw.

Nevermind

AGAIN WITH THE GODDAMN HUNK FOOD JOKES, STOP PLEASE

PLEASE 

PLEASE

I liked the whole “remember when” stuff, it was cute

Uh, you guys obviously don’t understand how this stuff works; of course the universe will still need Voltron after Zarkon is gone

He’s spent 10,000 years building an empire.

Once he’s gone there’s still gonna be shit to do

Y’all ain’t goin’ anywhere

The plan is in motion yeahhhhh

I feel like Zarkon has taken on kind of a Macbeth type feel (though it has been almost three years since I’ve read Macbeth so I could be wrong)

He’s so obsessed with getting the Black Lion that he ignores the obvious trap

He probably thinks that once he gets the lion nothing else matters

Keith and Allura moment

ehhhh

i woulda rather seen a nice handshake, or an open-armed hug

but that’s, again, just me

it was a nice moment of Allura admitted that she was wrong to judge, so I did appreciate that

I really wish Thace could have like joined the group, and, you know, survived, but whatever

I also wish he had ended up being Keith’s father, but, you know, whatever

He was cool

When are we gonna learn more about the druids?? 

Are they all Galra soldier who were born using magic?

Or does Haggar hand-pick soldiers that she wants as druids, and gives them her magic??

Or are all Galra capable of some kind of magic?

I really just wanna know

I love magic like Pidge loves sciene

I am such a sucker for all of the backgrounds in this season

The space colors and the interior design of Galra ships???

Sign me up

Whenever someone says “it’s the only way” I always wonder if it really is the only way

I mean, is it really though?

Really really?

This is the second time someone has said that their life is most expendable than the life of a paladin of Voltron

I think it’d be interesting to have this line start haunting one of the paladins, maybe like Hunk or Lance, because I feel that they’re the most empathetic of the group

Maybe lead to future angst about being a paladin

How did Haggar not die from the explosion? She was RIGHT THERE

Or at least, make her injured

She seemed A-OK

Maybe she was able to teleport away in time

What powers that little platform that Zarkon is suspended on?

If the ship is off, shouldn’t that just... float away or something?

How did the wormhole blow up all of the smaller ships?

NOW FOR THE FINALE

Man it sure is a good thing that the entirety of Zarkon’s ship castle thing has absolutely no prisoners on it all

Otherwise they’d most certainly be dead!

I’m so glad we know for sure that there were ZERO PRISONERS

Honestly, where the fuck do they keep the prisoners????

So... someone remind me how they didn’t die from the quintessence being sucked out of them?

“If it destroys planets... what did it do to the paladins?” Nothing what so ever

Okay so Voltron is now immobile, but the paladins are somehow fine

Am I still watching Voltron or is this Neon Genesis Evangelion now?

Let’s never talk about how I thought for 5 solid minutes that Allura died

I literally started sobbing until I saw her on screen again

That was the worst thing ever

Okay now we’ll never talk about it again

Okay, so Shiro somehow ghosted through Zarkon and grabbed the bayard??? Interesting

So Haggar is Altean???? Gotta admit I didn’t see that coming

But now imagine the possibilities and theories

Why is she working with Zarkon?

How does she have magic?

Do many Alteans have magic?

Also, now we know Allura can use magic

Can she generate it, or just use what’s been transferred to her?

Again, how many Alteans have magic?

Is it something very rare?

Allura didn’t seem to know much about it or how it would affect her

HER MAGIC IS PINK AND BEAUTIFUL I LOVE IT

I LOVE WHEN THE ANIMATION CHANGES

I LOVE IT

Okay soo.... did Shiro like, ghost out of the lion???

Is he stuck in that astral realm???

Where the fuck did he go???

I’m not ready for Prince Lotor

OVERALL

I think Hunk and Lance, and to a point, Coran, were severely underdeveloped

I mean, Hunk had fantastic development last season, and had moments to showcase his smartness, but I feel like he was just the foodie and the guy who’s always sleeping this season

And again, I did want to see more about Lance’s insecurities, and his relationships with the other paladins, but if the next season focuses more on that, I’m fine with waiting

I feel like, all jokes and funniness aside, there’s a lot to Coran that we have not been able to see yet

The whole Keith is Galra thing would have been a perfect way to learn more about Coran based on how he reacted to it, but we only see how Allura reacts to it.

GALRA KEITH IS AWESOME but seriously??? Where is the scene that he tells everyone? Where are their reactions? You can’t seriously expect me to believe that the only person who feels bitter is Allura?

What about Pidge? Her family has been kidnapped by the Galra? You can’t tell me that she was weirded out by Keith for at least an hour or so??

Hunk and Lance, again, as I think they are the most empathetic, probably would get over the shock fairly quickly

Same for Shiro, because even though he was tortured by the Galra, he knows Keith (how he knows Keith we still don’t know) and probably was able to overlook it more easily

Coran should have acted the same way Allura did, or he should have talked to her. I’ve said this a million times, and I’ll keep saying it.

This season was overall very good for Keith’s development (which I loved, I love him) and it brought up new questions and a shocking cliffhanger

I just feel that there were some things that could have been dealt with better.

And I’m probably still missing some thoughts, but whatever.

Something to keep in mind, as it has been pointed out to me, that this season was most likely written and made well before the hype for Season 1 was in existence, so it’s more likely that Season 3 is going to be even more of what we want, now that they have an idea of the fanbase.

So uh, those are my thoughts, feel free to talk to me about your thoughts!!

[vapecould]

VAPE PODS: HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT DEVICE FOR NICOTINE SALTS

With the introduction of nic salts into the vape industry many questions on which vape pod device works best are being asked. The options available can be confusing. But in this guide, we'll show you that selecting a vape pod for vaping salt nic is really not that hard.

Thanks to the innovation of vaping, the number of vaping devices out there to choose from can be paralyzing.

For smokers who have been accustomed to the simple act of buying a pack of cigarettes and smoking it, vaping can seem like a daunting task. We totally get it. With all of the buttons, flashing lights, customizations, and advanced features, it can be a bit of a time-suck to figure out how it all works. The good news here is that we can make your life easier by simplifying everything. If you read our beginner’s guide to nicotine salts, then you probably want to know if you should get an open or a closed system. No need to fret, we can help you decide what the benefits and drawbacks are before buying your first nicotine salt device.

WHAT IS A VAPE POD?

To get familiar with the vaping lingo, nicotine salt devices that are open/closed systems are categorized under vape pods or pod mods. Vape pods are electronic cigarettes that have disposable pods and have a combination of high resistance and low wattage features that make it ultra-portable and perfect for smokers who are new to vaping. Vape pod mods are marketed as a starter’s kit as they offer the choice of either open (refillable) or closed (not refillable) pod systems to help you find a device that will help you quit smoking cigarettes. Essentially, pod systems are a mix between e-cigarettes and vape pens that have been revamped to meet the standards of today’s vaping technology.

Common characteristics of nicotine salt pod systems: ·Ultra-Portable and compact design ·Low wattage (ex. 16 watts) ·High resistance (ex.  1.3 ohm coils) ·Pods usually holds no more than 2 ml of nicotine salt e-liquids ·Either auto-draw or one button ·Either buy pre-filled pods/cartridges or refillable cartridges Remember, when you choose a vaping device for nicotine salts, make sure that it’s not a high wattage sub-ohm device. Nicotine salts have high nicotine strength and are not made for high wattage sub-ohm devices due to the risks of taking excessive nicotine. Pod systems have become increasingly popular in the last year due to its simplistic design and cigarette-like satisfaction it gives smokers.

CLOSED SYSTEM VAPE PODS

Closed system vape pods are essentially devices made for pre-filled cartridges. The ready-filled cartridges/pods are disposed of after use and are replaced with a new cartridge. The pod filled e-liquids contain nicotine salts in varying nicotine strengths (20-55 mg) and usually comes in packs of 4 or 5. One way to look at it is that closed systems are similar to coffee pod brewers. In order to get your delicious coffee in the morning, you insert a coffee pod or k-cup of your liking and you’re ready to go. Closed system vape pods work the same way. Depending on the brand of the closed system device, the company offers a selection of flavors to choose from just as you would buy a pack of cigarettes at your local convenience store. The only difference is that you would have to recharge your device instead of finding you're lighter somewhere in your pocket. Not only are closed vape pod systems just as easy to use as a cigarette, it packs the same cigarette punch.

BENEFITS OF CLOSED PODS ·Hassle-free alternative - No need to make a mess while refilling since the pre-filled pods are easily replaceable ·Low Maintenance - No need to buy coils or have to clean the tank ·Low Profile - the sleek design fits easily into your pockets and feels natural in your hand. Furthermore, no need to carry around e-liquid bottles and it produces less vapor ·Low Investment - Closed systems on average go anywhere from 12 to 50 dollars. Plus, you don’t have to spend your time figuring out how to use your device ·User-friendly - Intuitive design, usually draw-activated and at most, only one button to press ·Easily switch flavors by using different cartridges and no need to change cotton or coils

DOWNSIDES OF CLOSED PODS

·Limited Selection of Flavor and Nicotine strength as you are restricted to the flavor and nicotine selection of the brand of device ·Weak draw - closed system is known to have tighter draws which can make it difficult to hit ·Vapor production is better compared to the older model of e-cigarettes and vape pens but does not perform as well as high powered devices due to the size of the battery ·Spitbacks can occur while vaping - spitbacks occur when the e-liquid bounces off the coil instead of vaporizing, similar to when water is boiling and water pops out ·Low battery life due to the battery size and can be a con for vapers who have to recharge frequently ·Costlier than open system vape pods depending on your daily vaping habits and due to pods holding fewer e-liquids than open systems. The average price per pod is around 3 to 5 dollars. However, much cheaper than smoking cigarettes. If you want a no-frills product and you just care about a device that delivers nicotine efficiently, then closed system is a perfect device for you. The only thing you have to worry about is recharging your battery and buying nicotine salt pods. Before you set your mind on closed system devices, take a look at what open system devices have to offer.

OPEN SYSTEM PODS

Open system vape pods are devices that allow you to manually refill nicotine salt e-juice. Unlike the closed system devices, you can buy any bottle of nicotine salt e-liquid at varying nicotine strengths to find a flavor that suits you best.  Think about ordering your favorite kind of coffee and brewing it in your coffee maker. The freedom to choose any flavor can help you play around with the flavors until you find that right one.

BENEFITS OF OPEN PODS ·Wider Range of Flavors and Nicotine Strength - more options to choose from and are not limited to the brands' offerings ·Smoother draw allows for more vapor production and better mouth to lung action ·User-friendly as the device either needs one button pressed or are auto-draw ·Low Profile design make it ultra-compact and portable which make it good for a night out with friends ·Low Investment since open system devices cost around 12 to 50 dollars and it is not much of a time investment compared to learning high powered mods ·More economical than closed systems and up to 85% savings compared to smoking a pack a day

DOWNSIDES OF OPEN SYSTEM PODS ·Inconvenience - You have to refill e-liquids manually and have to change coils or replace cartridge after several uses ·Switching flavors is a hassle unless you have a separate pod filled with a different flavor ·Vapor production is limited due to battery size and it can be a drawback for those who want to get the maximum vapor. ·Low battery life is one of the downsides of the vape pods in general but it is also faster to recharge as well If you are more explorative and want to find that right flavor, then open systems are perfect for you. With open systems, you can enjoy the flexibility that open systems have to offer and make it easier to transition to high wattage device if you prefer to.

CLOSED SYSTEM VS OPEN SYSTEM: WHICH IS BETTER?

If you want to successfully put an end to your cigarette habit for good, it’s imperative to choose a device that will work for you. It’s not about which device is better than the other. But more so, what your preferences are and what suits you best. Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages but with the savings, you will get from switching to vaping, you can even try out both to see what works best for you. Vape pods, in general, have advantages and disadvantages that are found in both open vs closed systems:

SIMILAR ADVANTAGES: ·User-friendliness ·Low investment ·Low profile and pocket-friendly ·Cheaper than smoking cigarettes ·Higher nicotine strengths

SIMILAR DISADVANTAGES: ·Vapor production ·Low battery life ·Limited devices to choose from ·Leakage issues

The universal advantage of vape pods comes down to convenience and simplicity. Using pod systems gives users cigarette-like nicotine satisfaction. The high nicotine strengths in nicotine salt will give you the instant rush. Many have said that vaping nicotine salts have been effective in curbing their cravings. The user-friendliness of these devices is in stark contrast to the high powered devices that have become popular today. With pod systems only being draw-activated, it allows smokers to easily transition to vaping as a fuss-free alternative. The ultra-portable design fits in your hand naturally and slides in your pocket with ease. Your pockets will appreciate the extra room, trust me ;) Not only are they significantly cheaper than smoking cigarettes, the devices do not cost a fortune. Even if you choose to buy an open system, changing coils are not as high maintenance as you might think since you will only be changing it at most twice a week. The perceived disadvantage that comes with vape pods is due to the sacrifices made to make an ultra-compact design. Due to battery size, the battery life may be short-lived in comparison to high wattage device. However, recharging the battery does not take long as some devices may only take 30 minutes to charge at full battery levels. Other devices claim to last up to a whole day depending on use. The minimalistic design also affects the vapor production and those who are used to more airier draws, the vapor production may seem lackluster. But don’t be discouraged, the build quality on these devices are far superior to the earlier version of cigalikes and you won’t be disappointed. Also, keep in mind that these devices do not require as much vapor to deliver the same amount of nicotine as high wattage devices. Another drawback that some have reported are leaking issues. Although vape juice leaking isn’t frequent, it can be a bit of an inconvenience to get paper towels and clean your device. Leakage can be prevented by handling the mouthpiece and inserting the pod gently. Another suggestion would be is to use the optimal PG and VG ratios that the device manufacturer has recommended. Lastly, due to the relative newness of these products, the mainstream market is limited to a select few to choose from. Each device on the market has slightly different characteristics and performance. Those who are not happy with one device don’t have the luxury of choosing from a wide variety of pod devices. The lack of options in the market will start to decline as more manufacturers are adopting the pod systems with the increasing popularity of these devices.

FINAL DECISION: CLOSED OR OPEN POD SYSTEM?

If you want to get into vaping without all the fuss, closed systems are the best option for you. Closed system offers a hassle-free alternative with the starter kits already packaged with pre-filled pods and are ready to be vaped out of the box. Whereas with open systems, you will have to buy nicotine salt vape juice separately. Closed systems also do not require you to buy coils making it low maintenance and fuss-free. The only downside is that you will spend more money in the long run buying pre-filled pods as well as being restricted to a limited selection of flavor since pods are not universal. Even though, open systems allow for greater flexibility, you will not be able to switch flavors during the day as easily as closed systems. Although, you can prepare for this by putting different flavors in different cartridges/tanks. If you tend to be more patient and would like to have a greater degree of flexibility, then open systems are the best option for you. Either way, both devices are built to pack a punch that will leave you satisfied and possibly, please your nicotine craving and keep you away from smoking cigarettes. Visit now for Best Vape Starter Kits in UK