#the burnout demands comfort character shenanigans

[thatndginger]

I've had this in the works for a while, but I finally finished it! A comic sans presentation for Into the Storm! I know I've talked about ItS a lot, but it's always fun to rehash it ^.^

Shapeshifter taglist: @sunset-a-story @touloser-lautrec @ceph-the-ghost-writer

Full transcript below the cut.

Image ID: A powerpoint presentation comprised of ten slides. Each slide has a white background and black text.

[SLIDE ONE]

Image ID: two cartoon-style rainclouds hang over the outline of a city drawn with closely-set lines.

thatndginger presents: a comic sans intro of

Into the Storm a Shapeshifter story

[SLIDE TWO]

The Characters aka the idiots

Kerr McKay he/him

Image ID: a pale man with short, curly brown hair and brown eyes stands in front of a black-and-white lined mugshot background. He has an open-mouthed grin and an expression like he's about to say something. Barely visible in his hands is a large card that reads 'police department'.

21 years old

rottweiler shapeshifter

excessively Irish

captain of the “thinking is for squares” club

says it’s not his problem, makes it his problem anyway

Jay de Lange she/her

Image ID: a pale woman with chin-length, straight blonde hair and grey eyes stands in front of a black-and-white lined mugshot background. She has an angry frown on her face and is turned partly away from the viewer. Barely visible in her hands is a large card that reads 'police department'.

23 years old

werewolf

short and angry

the ‘responsible one’

the moral compass of the group (not always a good thing)

can’t help but make it her problem

Warrick Salehrad he/him

Image ID: a brown-skinned man with long, wavy black hair and brown eyes stands in front of a black-and-white lined mugshot background. He has a smirk and defiant expression on his face. Barely visible in his hands is a large card that reads 'police department'.

21 years old

puma shifter

fashion icon disaster

the chaotic trans rep we all deserve

firm believer that “laws are more like suggestions”

if he ignores the problem, it’ll go away

[SLIDE THREE]

Kerr, Jay, and Warrick have known each other since they were teenagers and at this point consider each other family

imagine the most unhinged sibling relationships and you’re probably close to whatever they’ve got going on

Kerr was born and raised in Ireland until ~*events*~ brought him to the US of A. don’t bother asking what brought him across the pond unless you want a series of increasingly ridiculous stories, each of which contradicts the others

Warrick and Jay are born and raised Moressites

Warrick is a first-generation Iranian-American

for all of you clamoring for queer rep: Kerr is gay, Jay is a lesbian, and in addition to being trans Warrick is also aromantic. the queers. they flock together

i’m not even going to try to start listing all the lgbtq+ side characters. there’s too many

Jay and Kerr are mechanics specializing in motorcycles, but they can both manage basic repairs for cars in a pinch

Warrick is a Tortured Artist who’s preferred medium is spraypaint and specializes in painting murals where he’s not supposed to (also dicks on cop cars/property)

literally none of these idiots make good choices

Image ID: a picture of Kerr, Warrick, and Jay posing together as if having their picture taken. Warrick is in the center with his arms around Kerr on the left and Jay on the right. All three of their faces are pressed close together as they smile at the viewer and hold up peace signs with both hands. Warrick's hands are partially overlapping Kerr and Jay's heads.

[SLIDE FOUR]

The Characters Part 2 aka the extras

Image ID: a handful of simple, cartoon-style illustrations appear in the background. A hanging sign that reads 'Alibi'. A shelf full of liquor bottles. A stack of books. A first aid kit. A dog wearing a floppy hat. A cargo ship. A motorcycle. A planner notebook.

Mags

owner of the Alibi bar

too old for your shit

she’s not scared of you, and her shotgun can prove it

Carlisle Morrish

founder of ‘the Pack’

a charming bastard

thickest Scottish accent you’ve ever heard

Reese Tucker

Carlisle’s right hand

the reluctant voice of reason

part of the “if I don’t see it then it won’t piss me off” committee

Lex Causey

Carlisle’s left hand

unofficial medic for the Pack

she WILL fix your wounds. resistance is futile.

Jaime Sheridan

Mags’s nephew/cousin and part-time bartender

nerdy and mysterious

immune to shenanigans

Gabriel Beckham

Portia’s older brother

would really, REALLY like it if people stopped causing problems

a great listener

Portia Beckham

Jay’s roommate

cops are her mortal enemies

knows she’s better than you but won’t rub it in

[SLIDE FIVE]

The Setting

The World At Large

low magic urban fantasy setting

supernatural creatures like werewolves, vampires, and witches exist out in the open - with all the benefits and consequences that come with being known

the human-to-supernatural ratio globally is about 20 to 1, but obviously there are places that have higher or lower ratios than the global average

Most countries have entire subbranches of government related to magical governance and regulation. it’s a messy business, regulating a force of nature

seriously, can you imagine all the laws in place to deal with inheritance when a vampire can easily live for centuries? or FDA regulations for magic-enhanced substances?? SO many new things to worry about

magic is far less powerful than modern technology. why bother spending all that time and energy doing something with magic when you can just use a match to light a candle, or use actual antibiotics oh my god don’t fight me on that one

magic is still extremely useful though, just limited

most magic is used defensively or to augment: nothing beats a good warding spell to protect the home and a lot of medical advancements have been made with the help of magic

magical novelty is also super big. Coffee shops where you can get a glamour spell with your mocha, street performers who dazzle with melodies woven with emotional magic, that kind of thing

[SLIDE SIX]

The Setting Part 2

look, I made a whole fictional city and drew a map for it and I’m really proud of it, so it gets its own slide

Moressau, Washington, USA

has multiple professional sports teams

Their NBA team is absolute ass, but the NHL is very good

there are supernatural-only leagues too. Were-only soccer is wild

has thriving biomedical and magic research sectors - if you want to discover new medicine techniques or magical theory Moressau is the place to be

in neighborhoods with predominantly supernatural residents, the streetlights have red bulbs to preserve night vision. gives a whole new meaning to ‘redlight district’ doesn’t it?

around 15% of the population are supernaturals of some kind

booming tourism industry thanks to all the magic and supernaturals. everyone wants to say they visited ‘the most magical place in america’ and rubbed elbows with a vampire lord (there are a lot of vampire lords of questionable authenticity)

seriously, there are SO many fake vampire royalty

Image ID: A simplistic map showing the outlines of a city in shades of grey and blue. It is labelled "Moressau. Population: 750,000. Area: 69.17sq. mi."

[SLIDE SEVEN]

OK, But What Is It?

Image ID: a handful of simple, cartoon-style illustrations appear in the background. A knife and pair of brass knuckles. A sign that reads "House Rules: 1. No Cops 2. No Fights NO EXCEPTIONS". A line of tape that reads "CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS".

Kerr, Jay, and Warrick are part of ‘the Pack’, a group of mostly-unregistered shifters and weres just trying to make a living in the big city

how? smuggling and money laundering, mostly

they do try to stick to some kind of moral code, namely: they don’t do weapons, drugs, or people

most of the money the Pack brings in goes back into the community, meaning most regular folk who live in their territory have a vested interest in keeping police off their backs

when they’re not busy running a minor crime ring Kerr, Jay, and Warrick do what any other friend group in their early 20's do: hang out at bars, get themselves in trouble, and pull each other out of said trouble

of course, these three aren’t just any friend group - they’re a trio of shifters living on the wrong side of the law. their kind of trouble is a bit more dangerous

one of the trio’s favorite places to avoid trouble is a bar called Alibi - a bar catering to the criminal element of Moressau. it’s considered neutral ground for any gang with enough brains to realize that if Mags, the owner of Alibi, goes down then she’s taking everyone with her

no one crosses Mags

[SLIDE EIGHT]

recently Mags has acquired a new bartender - a guy named Jaime from the east coast who claims to be some kind of cousin or nephew

all Kerr cares about is that Jaime is hot and funny and charmingly mysterious

there’s not much time for romance, though

someone is targeting the Pack’s operations and attacking their people. someone that’s got Carlisle, unofficial leader of the Pack, spooked. too bad he won’t tell anyone why

which means it’s Kerr, Jay, and Warrick’s jobs to figure out what’s going on and put a stop to it

if only it were really that easy

questions keep piling up, and it won’t be long before bodies are too if the savagery of the attacks are anything to go onquestions like: what does a mysterious brand on the attackers mean? why is Jaime so interested in the attacks? what does Carlisle know that he isn’t telling anyone? why does Kerr have such a bad feeling about it all?

and what will the trio do once they’ve dug to the bottom and found the answers they seek?

Content Warnings

Lots of swearing

graphic descriptions of gore

graphic descriptions of violence

mild sexual situations

Prevalent Themes

found family

fighting for what you think is right

going against societal expectations

ACAB

Extra Goodies

messy relationships

imperfect queer characters

disability representation

mental disorder representation

[SLIDE NINE]

Quotes!

Kerr cackles. Warrick gasps, but he’s grinning when he does it. Jay eyes them. “I’ve tried shaking them, but they keep coming back.” “Like mold,” Warrick says with a nod. “Or an STD,” Kerr offers. Jay laughs then, a true laugh that stretches her mouth flashes her teeth - the canines sharper, longer, wolfier than a mundane’s. Then, like it’s realized what it’s doing, her mouth snaps shut into a frown.

Memes!

Image ID: in the meme format of "Domino Effect" meme. The smallest domino is labelled "kiss a bartender". The tallest domino is labelled "irrevocably change yourself and the city you call home."

In-World Media!

Image ID: the front cover of a small zine named "The Idiot's Guide to Moressau". Most of the cover is taken up by a ground-level photo of wet asphalt reflecting out-of-focus city lights.

Art!

Image ID: an illustration of Kerr, Jay, and Warrick exploring an abandoned supermarket. Kerr stands behind Jay with his hands on her shoulders, holding a cigarette in his mouth. He has his eyes closed and a small smile on his face. Jay looks up at Warrick disapprovingly, holding her hand palm-up towards him as if asking him to give her something. Warrick leans back against a shelf, a box in one hand. He has a mischievous smirk on his face and is looking sideways at Kerr.

You can find it all right here on this blog!

[SLIDE TEN]

Rave Reviews!

I have to toot my own horn sometimes, don’t I? and what better way than through the words of my delightful friends and mutuals?

"#OH BOY THEY'RE DISASTERS I LOVE THEM"

"#as always shapeshifter is [heart-eyes emoji]"

"#If you haven't given this story a read yet: what are you doing just standing there! go read it! #it's good stuff!"

"#wait this is so good!! #i want to read more"

"I really do love the sea themes for all the teams, haha. and HOLY SHIT K, THIS IS SO DETAILED IT'S INCREDIBLE. It's very cool to see where the story is happening. I'd risk all the magical and practical dangers for 300+ overcast days and summers no hotter than 70ish F."

"#YESSS MORE Into The Storm IS SUCH A GIFT #Go read it. Clicky the link. #it's so good! #This story deserves a bigger following so I can be the president of the inevitably large Warrick fan club that will eventually exist"

"#EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOURE DOING AND LOOK AT THIS #such incredible work! #other people's work"

"#K!!!! #This was SO MUCH FUN to read #I loved being a passenger in Kerr's head #and all his smart-ass thoughts #I love Warrick's nicknames for him #and the constant threat of Jay kicking both their asses"

[animebw]

Recovery of an MMO Junkie: Series Reflection

If Recovery of an MMO Junkie is proof of anything, it’s how important it is to have confidence in the story you’re telling. There are no fancy frills here, no outrageous plot concepts, no staggering displays of animation prowess, nothing astonishing and new to dazzle audiences and demand their attention. This is a story about quirky, ordinary people leading quirky, ordinary lives, brought to life with a quirky, ordinary guiding hand. There is nothing more or less here than the simple tale of two adults slowly falling in love, bonding over shared interests and navigating a complicated social sphere that’s increasingly dominating modern culture. It’s about as straightforward and paired down as an anime rom-com can get. In a situation like that, it all comes down to nuts-and-bolts execution. The only way this show could work is if it just damn well knew what it was doing and how to go about doing it. And thank god, MMO Junkie absolutely does know what it’s doing.

There’s no fancier way to say it; from top to bottom, this show just works. It’s got a central cast of lovable, immensely human characters, all of whom you want to see succeed. It understand the social dynamics of online life, and gaming communities especially, better than any anime I’ve scene. It effortlessly grasps how our experiences in the virtual world and real world influence each other, and how they can often be two sides of the same coin. It explores stories and themes from walks of life that anime doesn’t often tackle, focusing on adult characters who struggle with work, burnout, and social pressure of an entirely different kind than what you get in a high school setting. It understands how the internet is both an escape from the drudgery of reality and simply another facet of the human experience, what drives people to seek comfort from the real world online, and how we can start to find our way back. And it pulls it all off with stellar direction that brings every scene to life with purpose and power, from the adorable rom-com shenanigans to the emotionally poignant drama of these characters’ ordinary, extraordinary lives. This is just damn good storytelling in service of a damn good story, and sometimes, that really is enough.

It’s a shame we only get such a small chunk of the story in anime form, because I think this show could’ve really been something special if we got to see it grow beyond ten episodes. Now that we’ve gotten over some of the stumbling blocks of establishing a romance- the stunted progression, the will-they-won’t-they contrivances- I’d love to see how Moriko and Sakurai grow together as people and lovers. Alas, we’ll have to be content with this bite-sized piece of a greater whole. But when even that bite-sized piece is this good, I can’t complain too much. So all in all, I give Recovery of an MMO Junkie a score of:

7.5/10

What a pleasant show. Thanks for joining me on this analysis! If you’ve enjoyed my work and want more of me, be sure to ask for an invite to my Discord where you can hang out and chat about the shows I’m watching with me and fellow anime fans! And be sure to stick around for the show that will take its place:

Last Exile

Almost at the end of my summer shows. Just two more to go. See you next time for the start of a new adventure!