#the other VAs are excellent as well of course

[cawyden-gaming]

Rogue Trader - Party Banter

Unfortunately, party banter in the game is kind of broken - it hardly triggers and I had several cases where the timing/trigger was bad as I had already clicked on an exit or other item what then interrupted the banter. There is also banter for events that haven't happened (yet) or with companions not even present (or recruited).

But there is quite a lot banter in voiced and unvoiced form in the game.

For the voiced banter there are two videos online that you can find here:

Part 1

Part 2

I have gone through the videos and banters and wrote down the timestamps and dialog that features Heinrix (as speaker or if companions speak about him).

You can find it here. (-> opens excel in google drive)

Please keep in mind that I am not a native speaker and while I used the help of (generated) subtitles there were words that I did not really understand (especially with Ulfar). I added a ? in these cases.

Still, it should give you an overview about the (voiced) banter available and where to jump to in the video if you want to listen to it.

There is of course the unvoiced banter too, but that is not featured here.

There is a lot of romance related banter in video 1 and more act/main story related ones in video 2.

There is also a mentioning of absent Achilleas, a master of ceremonies with memory issues, Abelard scolding Heinrix for being interested in the RT, sassy Heinrix everywhere...

Some examples:

Party banter video 2 - time 00:08:09

Ulfar: *growling at Heinrix*

Heinrix:

Thank you, my Lord Ulfar. I'm in good health and I hope you are as well. I am pleased that we are starting to get along.

Party banter video 2 - time 00:41:40

Marazhai:

My mere presence makes you shake with rage – I do not even have to do anything to you... delightful.

Heinrix:

Yes, I … you... damn it! I'm so angry, I can't even speak! Enough! I'll deal with you later.

(-> the VA is evenf more incredible here, you can hear him shaking)

Regarding Heinrix in Commoragh / healing:

Party banter video 2 - time 00:24:32

Heinrix:

Lady Cassia, there is no need to look at me like that. I assure you, I am perfectly fine.

Cassia:

Do I not deserve the truth from you even in this place master van Calox? I can see the flashes of scarlet that accompany your every movement.

Party banter video 2 - time 00:35:12

Jae:

Why are you limping like that? Haven't you healed yourself?

Heinrix:

It is a long process. I could try to hide my infirmity I suppose, but I'm not as accomplished an actor as you are, Shereen

Party banter video 2 - time 00:35:25

Idirah:

Those crazy screams in the lab the whole time I was there, that was you, wasn't it iceman? How did you survive that?

Heinrix:

My fervent desire to boil a few hundred xenos in their skin on my way out of here, proved stronger than death.

So, while he says he healed himself and is fine, he really isn't...

[bisnes-socks]

aikuinen by käärijä, requested by @lhma

okay the first thing i want to talk about is language and i might be getting into super nerdy territory here, so i'm sorry if that's not what you're after but i have to.

because i love the first word of the song, korkeakouluttamattomuudesta, so much.

"korkeakouluttamattomuudesta huolimatta" the first two words are difficult to translate literally, because english just doesn't have these structures. but what these two words mean together is "dispite not having a university level education".

korkeakoulu = a university, or a university level school

koulutus = education

kouluttettu = a person with an education

kouluttamaton = a person without an education

now the first line or bar of the song is "korkeakouluttamattomuudesta huolimatta mä oon hyväntuulinen" meaning i'm good humoured dispite not having a university level education. five words in finnish, right?

the next line is "joku vois kysyy, että oonko mä hullu, voin vastata että oon hullunkurinen" meaning you could ask me if i'm crazy and i'd say i'm just silly. 12 words in that line, in finnish, right?

but the first line of 5 words and the second line of 12 words have almost the same amount of syllables. 22 syllables in the first line, 24 syllables in the second line.

here's a breakdown of the syllables:

kor-ke-a-kou-lut-ta-mat-to-muu-des-ta

huo-li-mat-ta

mä

oon

hy-vän

tuu-li-nen

-> 22 syllables

jo-ku

vois

ky-syy

et-tä

oon-ko

mä

hul-lu

voin

vas-ta-ta

et-tä

oon

hul-lun-ku-ri-nen

-> 24 syllables

these first two bars are just an excellent example of how creatively rap music uses language, and how much skill and sense of rythm it takes to rap and do it well. 5 words versus 12 words, 22 syllables versus 24 syllables, to fill the same amount of time, to be delivered in a way that emphasises the rhymes in hyväntuulinen and hullunkurinen.

the first line he actually raps before the beat even kicks in, so he almost like establishes his own beat with the first bar by emphasising syllables in a very rythmic way. the beat kicks in right after hyväntuulinen, so he is able to really have fun with the beat, with his delivery of "joku vois kysyy että oonko mä hullu", and then he settles back into the established flow.

i just think these two lines are a really neat way to demonstrate the finnish language and how it works, and how he can use it. i also think "korkeakouluttamattomuudesta huolimatta" as the first two words in this particular song is clever. because korkeakouluttamattomuudesta is not an easy word - it has like three suffixes after another, if i'm counting it right. you could say the same thing in a different way, and in fact most people would say it differently in spoken finnish, say the same thing in more words. it's quite a formal word, at the end of the day. it doesn't stand out in this context too much, because it fits the flow so well, but it is a "big word" if you will, so it's almost like he is sarcastically saying that he can use big words even if he doesn't have a fancy education.

the first two lines are also establishing his use of different voices and vocal approaches in this song.

i talked about his way of changing his vocal style in different parts of his songs here, but Aikuinen is an interesting example of much more subtle changes that actually happen over and over again within one verse.

he starts off with quite an even tone, nothing much to notice about the vocal style, other than of course the high and squeaky delivery of "joku vois kysyy että oonko mä hullu" which, i believe, is meant as a sort of a mocking imitation of someone asking him if he is crazy.

but his voice gets gradually.. harder and more purposeful as the verse progresses, and when we get to "oon kondiksessa, sama se vaikka ne mua koettavat hiillostaa" he's quite sharp with his delivery, really emphasising the sentiment that people getting all up in his business is annoying. and then "oon aikuinen ja päätän siitä mikä vittu mua kiinnostaa" he's really underlining how pissed off he is, especially with his delivery of vittu, which of course is a curse word.

and then this same progression happens through the second verse. which i find brilliant, because it's like the song is demonstrating the fact that he is perfectly capable of discussing his life and choices in an "intellectual" way, but he also gets royally pissed off when people want to shove their own opinions about his choices in his face and down his throat. 

the changes in his vocal style are subtle, but they tell the story of the song really well in my opinion.

when i first heard this song, i remember thinking it was a bit silly. but i quickly learned to truly appriciate and respect how honest the song is. there's a saying/phrase in finnish, "puhua asioista niiden oikeilla nimillä", literally translated as to talk about things using their real names. and that's what i really love about the lyrics in this song. he's not beating around the bush, he is saying exactly what he means and how he feels about the pressures of living your life one way, and about not being interested in that way of life - while also simultaniously struggling with how much the world wants you to feel like a failure if you don't succeed in expected ways. i can really relate to what the song talks about, and how you can feel like a failure for not getting into a school or something, even if you're not actually even interested in school at all. it's a super honest song and i love that.

i also love the beat and the musical aspects of the song a lot, so hats off to Allu once again.

ps. in writing this analysis i ended up making like a whole visualisation for myself about the rhyme schemes in the song. should i make a post about his technical rhyme skills? hmmm.

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

“I really just need to make an entire breakdown on Medic one of these days 😭” Well, do it. Umm, you coward —I'm so sorry for calling you a coward, Jamison :'(—.

Medic's Past Headcanons (Also Some Archimedes Content!)

————————————————————

No apology needed my friend, I am but a coward 😭

I lied a little bit, I changed my mind on doing a full breakdown, just changed it to some headcanons about his past and meeting Archimedes </3

But no, I've mainly not posted this because I've had other requests and also this one will probably get heavy. I wasn't sure if I wanted to post content with actual angst and upsetting themes.

But I'm here now because looking past all the jokes and my own personal love for doctors. I should also mention, written by an American and a person with know knowledge of the German education system, and medical practices in general!

ALSO, finally writing Medic with his accent and some actual German, please forgive me if you are a native speaker for using a mix of google translate and my very poor German skills 💖

————————————————————

ALSO ALSO mutual appreciation comment! Another thank you for letting me talk about Medic <3

————————————————————

TW: CHILD NEGELECT, SU!C1D@L IDIATIONS, FLUFF AT THE END!

————————————————————

He's been asked about his mother before, his answer has always been,

"Meine mutter? She vas good woman, she... she did her best." Said with a softer tone than anyone has ever heard him speak in.

He's lying. She severely neglected him as child. After his mother fell pregnant, his father left. His mother resented Medic for this, blaming him for his father leaving, refusing to realize how volatile their relationship had been before he was conceived. When Medic was born his mother refused to bond with him, holding him only when others gave her expecting looks. For the first years of his life his mother only tended to his basic needs to keep him from crying, his crying always annoyed her. It never got better with time, she never learned to love him like people had claimed when she started expressing her contempt for him. She would sometimes give him small bits of attention, then she would get a wicked smile on her face as he cried when she stopped paying attention to him for seemingly no reason. Always making him feel like he was responsible for the sudden lack of attention.

————————————————————

His younger years in school is also something he will lie about if asked. (I'm ignoring college because uh, I have no idea what to write for that 😭)

"I vas great, top of my classes, Natürlich. Ich war sehr beliebt."

(Of course. I was very popular)

When he was younger, he was top of his classes. He always excelled at whatever class he was put in, his favorites being science, he obviously loved medical textbooks, along with zoology textbooks, always had one of the other, he'd spend lunches just reading from his books, or hiding in the library, trying to learn everything he could about both. In a way you could say he was popular, but not in the good way. He always had his books on hand, always had the best grades, was always the teachers favorite student, and the other kids hated that. He took his fair share of beatings while he was in school.

————————————————————Medic had never thought about dying, sure he watched patients die, and he knew deep down his mother had died at some point, (He never heard from her after he left his home town, despite his attempts to contact her) but he never thought about the concept of him dying. It hit him like a ton of bricks when he had his first panic attack, and it clicked in his head that he just didn't want to be alive. He couldn't tell you why the switch flipped in his head that made him reach that low, but it did, and it was awful. He almost went insane, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't do anything besides sit in his room and feel years of emotions just hit him out of nowhere. He thought he would die, he wanted to die, dying would be preferable to whatever this was. In the midst of his panic attack, something hit his window with a loud thump. (Aren't I so clever for this transition? lmao 😭)

————————————————————

The day Medic and Archimedes met continues to be one of the best days of his life. A bird had hit his window, pulling him out of whatever spiral he was currently having. Medic just looked at the window for a minute, content to just assume the bird flew off after being dazed a bit. When he heard tiny coos and chirps outside. He pushed it open and saw a little dove huddled in a corner, cooing sadly, shaking as it tried to move its wing but chirping painfully when he moved his wing. Medic put his hand out and tried to scoop up the bird, and the bird ended up attacking his hand. Medic pulled his hand back, a tad shocked, but then tried again. The bird slowly eased up to him once he understood Medic wasn't going to hurt him. Medic took him inside and checked him out. His wing was broken, and it was nothing Medic couldn't fix. He fixed up the birds wing, then decided to get some things to keep the bird comfortable while he recovered. He ended up spoiling him without realizing it. He went to go buy a bird cage and ended up buying the nicest one, the best bird food, and even toys 😭 He came back and set it up all nice for the bird. They bonded pretty quickly after that. However, time passed, and Medic found himself growing attached to the little bird, even naming him, which he knew was a mistake the moment he did so. He knew it was a bad idea, and he did it anyway. After about a month of them living together, Archimedes wing was functional again, Medic enjoyed watching him fly from his cage to the door to great him when he came home from wherever he had gone. But after the third or fourth time, Archimedes greeted him at the door. He knew he was well enough to go back out into the world. That evening, before sunset, Medic opened his window and put Archimedes on the ledge, prompting him to fly off, totally not on the verge of tears, about to experience the worst pain of his life or anything. Archimedes just tilted his head, confused, turned around, and nestled up to Medics arm that he had been propping himself on. Audible sobbing could be heard from his house that night. Medic would later find a way to keep Archimedes to live forever with him, making sure that Archimedes was spoiled to death, and was told each day the value Medic put on their friendship.

"Wir werden für immer zusammen sein, mein Freund, das verspreche ich!"

"Coo"

(It'll be us forever my friend, I promise.)

(I'm counting on it)

————————————————————

Ough, im a sucker for a happy ending 😭or for some reason, I feel like this is super embarrassing, but I' going to ignore that feeling. Sorry for the angst dump, but it had to be done, and I'm sorry it's not very long! I hope you guys like this! Uh, a mini headcanons, then another Medic post, and then some new headcanons are in the works! There is so much Medic content, but I'm not complaining 💖

[fallloverfic]

TGCF donghua Season 2, Episode 9 thoughts

This episode T-T Very good ep. Spoilers for the show and the book below.

Qi Rong looks really pretty aldkjaldja I mean yes, he looks like Xie Lian, duh, but also alkdjal he just looks pretty <.< I really like his braided hair :3 I think they did a good job making the two of them similar enough without being identical. It's the little things like his hair style and mouth movements that sell it.

The gentle Xie Lian hand touch on Hua Cheng's back T-T

Hua Cheng like no I am not stopping because there is an injustice here that is hurting you and I refuse to let it slide even if I have to hurt you to do it.

They really got across Hua Cheng's rage at Qi Rong really well. Like obviously he spent last episode beating Qi Rong up and he's doing that again here, duh, but it's just... there's a lot of stuff they do with Hua Cheng's other movements and expressions that's just really excellent.

Okay the angry budaoweng Lang Qianqiu crawling out of Xie Lian's robes and jumping on the ground next to writhing Qi Rong just... the animation is so good. It's a really good-looking scene.

Distracted by Qi Rong bein pretty.

Xie Lian insisting on keeping up the partial lie because it's better than the whole truth T-T

Qi Rong looks so happy to discover it's Xie Lian! His cousin! And of course it's really because he's making the connection between Fangxin and Xie Lian, but like... for a moment you can think about the little boy who loved his cousin who came to his rescue, and idolized him.

Qi Rong's laughter is animated really well. I just love all the details when the characters are all standing together.

Another gentle Xie Lian on Hua Cheng hand touch T-T He really doesn't want Hua Cheng to dirty his hands dealing with Qi Rong. Am I thinking about Qi Rong being used to bullies and scorn and unsurprised this last family member turned their back on him, it's just normal, nope, not at all.

I do like the way Qi Rong's hair pillows over his jacket collar.

aslkdjaldj Qi Rong rolling over in laughter is just alkjdalj

I love this terrible man your honor. Love him.

Xie Lian fightin his own fights against Qi Rong. Love him. I love Hua Cheng always going to Xie Lian's defense and honestly nothing that Xie Lian doesn't typically defend himself (for various reasons), but really, Xie Lian just keeps himself in reserve a lot. He can dish it out as he pleases. The first thing to know about any weapon is when not to use it. And Xie Lian does love his weapons.

Hua Cheng watching Xie Lian slap Qi Rong: -new kink unlocked-

(I mean he's always been into Xie Lian hitting people but the way they framed Hua Cheng's awed expression while the dramatic theme plays made me lol)

Xie Lian... not... stoppin Hua Cheng slowly step towards Qi Rong this time... >:3 (this entire episode is so fun with movement, just love it so much)

I truly love that Xie Lian, who is generally viewed as weak by just about everyone, does not even remotely view Lang Qianqiu as a martial rival. Like he is not even remotely intimidated by this guy. He knows Lang Qianqiu's abilities, that he's a full on god with a lot of power (unlike Xie Lian, who's wearing two cursed shackles). But Xie Lian can and will still take him on. Not using power doesn't make you weak. Knowing when and how to properly use it is what matters, and that's a theme throughout the story, but this episode/arc in particular.

roflmao what did Hua Cheng do to Qi Rong before stepping off of him. Qi Rong's Chinese VA is doing a great job.

Aww the Hualian animal masks. With matching red pearl earrings. Cute.

Xie Lian catching the plates just alkjdlaj That straight left leg. Love him.

I also still really love how much of Fangxin's outfit is butterflies.

Qi Rong comin in to spoil everything :/ Terrible man. Love him tho.

Also I didn't realize but a couple episodes ago the ending credits animation changed a little, and it's very pretty!

A wonderful episode! Had some more bad English sub moments, but it wasn't the worst. The beautiful animation, character movements, little character moments and interactions, everything happening just... It was really good. Loved it.

Also wanna boost this really good post-coffin scene Hualian fic I read ages ago.

Other episode thoughts for season 2 (didn't start till episode 3):

S02E03

S02E04

S02E05

S02E06

S02E07

S02E08

S02E09 (you are here)

S02E10

S02E11

S02E12

[eviltothecore13]

DEATH ISLAND NEWS

Set in 2015, a year after Vendetta.

Chris is in it voiced by Kevin Dorman (Umbrella Chronicles and Vendetta VA). His character bio has no new info, but I do like this description "He is an ace with excellent observation and insight skills as well as outstanding combat and survival skills. As he has aged, he has lost some of his former hot-bloodedness, but still retains a strong sense of justice. He has strong feelings for his comrades, and as a living legend of the BSAA, he is held in awe and adored by many of his subordinates." Just for emphasising a few underrated aspects of his character as well as how his character has developed and changed over the years.

Leon voiced by Matt Mercer (interesting when they had Nick for RE4make but I guess they wanted an older-sounding guy for this?). His character bio really isn't much, just mentions the events of RE2 and RE4 and says he's a skilled survivor and good in combat (also says "good judgement" which I feel like only applies to surviving zombie outbreaks and not to any of his life choices but OK).

Jill = Nicole. Her bio has the most interesting info as it fills in some gaps. Apparently after RE5, the side-effects of the virus continued to affect her, preventing her from aging (and possibly other physical effects, it's unclear), but she was also seriously traumatised and only returned to the BSAA after "a long period of observation and rehabilitation".

Claire = Stephanie. She's still working for TerraSave providing relief for bioterror victims, she has combat training of course (and has done extra training beyond the self-defence Chris initially taught her) but it's not her focus. "She has the same headstrong personality as her older brother, but she has a kind heart and is devoted to the weak." Also confirms her and Leon are still "comrades-in-arms": the description of them being good friends who trust each other in the RE6 files already meant they had to repair their friendship after Infinite Darkness but it's good to have that confirmed. (I've seen an odd number of Leon fans who are apparently so desperate for their fav to be the biggest victim ever that they insist Claire cruelly abandoned him, refused to ever see him again, and left him alone in the world with no friends after ID.)

Rebecca = Erin Cahill (Vendetta VA). She's an advisor to the BSAA and a university professor. "She has a gutsy personality that is not easily swayed by the slightest thing, and has the ability to take action and make decisions", so she's matured quite a bit since RE1, which is nice to see.

María Gómez, one of the secondary villains from Vendetta, returns! Vendetta implied she was going to try and avenge her father's death, nice to see them actually following up on that. She's working with a new bad guy, a former USS operative called Dylan who was in Raccoon City.

[muthaz-rapapa]

Hirogaru Sky Impressions (4/5)

Keeping this short since I’m still tired from my trip and have stuff to do before going back to work tomorrow.

Thankfully, the past 10 eps only consisted of Majesty’s debut and some (really great) fillers.

Starting with Majesty then. I’m honestly surprised I was correct about them keeping her a toddler despite aging her up when transforming. And as I guessed as much, this means she doesn’t really have a full-fledged character arc of her own.

Not that it’s a bad thing since Ellee-chan still gets a good amount of development cuz she’s a growing child, after all. Which is mainly shown through things like her speech improving significantly each day, learning how to better express herself and her wants. And of course, the heartwarming interactions with her friends who also have their moments in finding the best ways they can to support her (like how Ageha readily believed Ellee-chan who was frustrated when she had trouble transforming into Majesty).

These are all within range of what is expected for a child her age so a whole arc isn’t really needed and therefore, more time and focus can be dedicated to the older Cures, too. So I’m quite pleased with that.

But I also can’t lie that it’s a shame we won’t see what a preteen Ellee-chan is like outside her alter ego.

That and considering her VA is Aoi Koga (of Kaguya-sama fame), we won’t get to hear a further extent of her acting in this role either.

Don’t get me wrong, Aoi Koga absolutely nailed the part of a baby, able to bring out Ellee-chan’s cuteness without making her sound annoying but…the potential is already a loss at this point.

Additionally, for a midseason Cure, Majesty has the least going for her in other departments compared to those before her.

Up till now, they’ve barely scraped at the lore associated with her identity. So when she’s not fighting, she’s limited to being slightly better than the average mascot.

The only attack in her arsenal is simultaneously a group attack so she has to share it with the others. Not to mention half the stock footage doesn’t have her at the center but Sky instead. Despite the attack bearing her name.

With only 8 eps left in the season, it seems the writers brought Majesty out as part of Precure’s yearly formula schedule more than anything. Her purpose is mainly to renew viewers’ excitment in the show (and generate desire to buy the newest toy) since her debut brings a little something new to the table…but she is not allowed to outshine this season’s real star, the lead Cure.

Personally, I think the pros outweigh the cons so it doesn’t bother me too much but it’s also too noticeably flawed and biased for me to really accept it as okay.

Moving on, the fillers.

They were all amazing, definitely better than the previous 10 eps.

Mashiro continuing to pursue the path towards becoming a picture book author and coming to terms with the fact that not everyone will receive her work with good reviews yet still choosing to draw because she’s doing it for herself and those who do enjoy her books was something that resonated with me deeply.

Then more time was devoted to her childhood friendship with Ageha which was super wonderful. We really needed that ep of how they became friends and the writers delivered so excellent job 👍

Ageha finally encountering struggles in her job and learning that it was okay to show sadness in front of her students was something I’ve been waiting a long time to see as well. It was especially good because it corresponded splendidly with the first ep of Otona Precure within the same week (which is also great so far) as the intro of that dealt with Nozomi trying to help her own student.

Portraying adults as realistic adults instead of perfect caricatures who can do anything. Showing hardships by not sweeping them under the rug but acknowleding them with the screentime they deserve so the characters can actually process their own feelings and work out a solution. Displaying a healthy level of idealism, not based on generic platitudes but actual belief. I really appreciate that.

Yoyo cleverly getting Tsubasa a promotion to a sage in Skyland’s royal court was also 10,000 meters of screaming joy for me cuz yea, that boy is way too smart and talented to just settle for flying around. He clearly treasures his homeland and wants to make it a better place for all its inhabitants, including the Dragon Tribe that had been cut off from the rest of the country for decades. He obviously has what it takes to become a diplomat.

He acquired a new dream to devote himself and his skills to and that’s what anyone who’s as wholesome as Tsubasa should get. So it was fulfilling to see that come true for him.

Lastly, Sora. She only had one ep to herself this time but it was a good ep with a good topic (probably one of the best of the Sora eps). Honestly, I think I liked it more because it was only one ep, lol

So yea, with this, I think I’m all set for the rest of the show as far as Tsubasa and Ageha’s arcs are concerned. There will still be more fillers until ep 45 at least, plenty of time to close out the Mashiro and Sora’s as well as the lore surrounding Ellee-chan so it’s just a matter of concluding the story in a satisfying manner.

Other than that, I’m also wondering if we’ll get any super forms for HiroSky since it’s already this late in the season…

…but you never know as it can happen in the finale. Not sure if HiroSky will get its standalone movie in Mar either but if so, we might see something there, too.

Ok, that is all. The season will pass by in a flash so enjoy the rest of HiroSky with a full heart and let’s begin to look forward to next Precure in the new year. Bye for now!

[greenmagic-oilspill]

Spoiler-Free FFXVI review

Going to keep it under a Read More because it’s pretty long...

FFXVI is a really ambitious game, and from beginning to end I was invested in the plot and characters -- but it's missing just a couple of things that would really make it great. It’s a beautiful game, no doubt about it, with an amazing score and environments, rich lore and deep worldbuilding, fun gameplay, and some really compelling characters. When it excels, it really excels. But where it falters, I really felt it. I’ve got some recency bias here, working for and against the game (since I only beat it yesterday), so I’m not really sure how my thoughts will change over time. I’ve definitely changed my opinions of many FF games after revisiting them a second time, so this one could benefit from the same.

I’m going to start with the characters and plot, because those are the most important parts of a FF game to me, but I’ll also delve into the worldbuilding, gameplay, and music of the game.

Characters

With as many cutscenes as this game has, the characters really find their time to shine. It’s primarily Clive’s story, and over the course of the game we really see him change. His development is a bit cyclical in some ways, but there are definitely events that shape him and who he becomes over the story, and he really feels different from every other FF protagonist. I like him well enough – I think he’s among some of the better FF protagonists for sure. Clive shows such a wide range of emotions and his VA did a stellar job of capturing them.

My favorite character in this game is a spoiler, so I’m not going to go into that in this review.

One character I really wanted to like more was Jill. She’s got all the makings of a compelling character and a compelling story, but a lot of the time it just felt like she was there. The other day @faerantstory and I were discussing how they’d heard that every female character in this story fell under the umbrella of “Pure,” “Sexy,” or “Evil,” and at the time, I had just finished a sequence of the story where Jill most certainly veered away from “Pure,” but after that she fell right back into it. And then she was just an ever-present support to Clive who did little else. I liked the part of the story that focused on her a lot, but it felt so brief and they could have done a LOT more with her past that they didn’t do – she just felt so underutilized. To be honest, she feels a lot like Tifa 2.0, for better or for worse.

Benedikta and Hugo were both extremely disappointing. I expected more from them. Without going into spoilers that is all I am going to say. Barnabas too, to a lesser extent – they went in a direction with him that I didn’t really expect and I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. Dion, however, was pretty great, and Joshua’s story at the beginning of the game made for a really compelling start. Continuing with the umbrellas that female characters fall under, Benedikta fell under both “Evil” and “Sexy” and not much else.

The villains in general (including the main villain) didn’t really do it for me. The main villain didn’t really do anything new that past FF villains had already done before, and better. Their motivations were interesting and followed the overall theme of the story, and there were some twists, but as a character they kind of fell flat. One of the other villains even felt cartoonishly evil.

Honestly, where this game REALLY shines with its characters is primarily in the supporting cast. This genuinely might be one of my favorite parts of the game. You meet a TON of characters over the course of this game (some might even say too many) and I found some of them more compelling than the characters who got more screentime. The world feels so alive with all of their stories, many of which play out over both the main scenario and also through side quests. Many of these characters live in the Hideaway, the main hub of the game, but just as many appear in the various towns and settlements you visit. They all felt like they had a purpose, and many of them had a surprising amount of depth. I definitely encourage doing all of the side quests and taking the time to talk to them after many of the story beats. Also, none of these really fall under a bland Pure, Evil, Sexy umbrella! That was great! But maybe that’s why they’re side characters. :/

The Plot

It’s hard to really go into it without spoilers, but overall I really liked the plot itself and the structure of it really worked to help tell the story they needed to tell. They had clearly defined goals and the characters never felt like they were simply reacting to everything happening around them. I’ve seen some criticism for the “MMO style storytelling” this game has, and that makes sense coming from the team who made XIV, but if you like the story progression in XIV I feel pretty confident in saying you’d like it in XVI. It feels really similar and follows the same pattern of go to new area -> help people with their problems -> gain the trust of the populace. It worked for me. At times there are parts that may feel like “filler” (I’ve always hated this term because people tend to use it wrong), but all of it helps further the characters or worldbuilding. My biggest problem with it is that at times it felt predictable.

At times things felt really bleak, but it never got too bleak for me, and overall the story has a hopeful message so that really helped.

Worldbuilding

Stellar. The Active Time Lore system is a huge help to understanding and conveying the lore and politics of this game – I can’t stress enough how much I loved that system and the dedicated characters in the Hideaway who discuss these things and tell you more about them. The lore in this world is rich and it feels so alive, as I mentioned earlier with the side characters, who are perhaps the primary reason for it. Everything and everywhere really has such a great atmosphere. The marketing stressed that things would change a lot over the game’s time skips, but I didn’t really feel it to be honest – things changed more after big plot events regardless of how much time passed.

Three of the six nations of this story felt extremely underutilized, though, which was a huge shame. Two of those in particular were being really built up but due to story events nothing really happened.

I don’t know how to describe this criticism, and this is more personal preference than anything, but XVI didn’t really feel like it offered anything “new” or original to the overall series to make it feel like it has its own identity distinct from the others. Every FF game offers some new summon that doesn’t appear in other games, maybe a new marketable/cute/iconic monster, a unique airship or something, a unique race, etc. I don’t know if that makes sense, but every concept introduced in XVI felt like a reference to a previous game in the series (even, to some extent, the main villain, whose very name is a name used before). Because of that it almost feels like it doesn’t stand on its own, in a way.

Gameplay

Battles were a ton of fun once I got the hang of it. Loved how smooth it felt, loved the gameplay changes for certain boss battles. I played with one of the accessories to help with evasion – with it, at times the game felt a little too easy, but that’s not a criticism from me. I like easy. I knew if I took it off I’d have died a lot more often. The battle system itself was the best part of the gameplay.

Customization could have been better – sometimes I felt like I had a lot of options for different Eikon abilities to equip and not a lot of space to equip them, leaving some abilities completely unused despite how I wanted to equip them. Weapons and armor were pretty much always straight upgrades that increased your stats and did nothing else. Accessories had the potential to switch things up a bit and offer some variety, but with only three accessory slots you couldn’t really do much (especially if you have one of the accessibility options equipped, like I did). Character progression was mostly achieved through story events, because leveling up is just a straight stat increase, which I can understand is very boring for some people.

I loved that this game was not open world, and instead used four separate and very large maps. Of those four, one felt considerably smaller than the others though. Open world games tend to be really overwhelming for me, and too easy to get lost, so I typically don’t care for the exploration aspect of a lot of those games. But with these four separate areas, I did actually want to explore them – the problem is, aside from finding beautiful vistas or the locations of certain hunt marks, there was not a whole lot to do. Any treasures to find were mostly just filled with useless crafting materials or gil. Not the highest priority for me, but I can see why people would count the exploration against this game. Speaking of gil, once I got past the early game I almost never had to spend any, so it just kept building up and felt pointless.

My biggest gameplay criticism is the enemy variety. All of the enemies in all of the maps were the same, just in different colors. Every map had crabs, or scorpions, or antelopes, or bandits, or chocobos, or goblins, or spiders, or plant monsters, or a couple different species of dragon, maybe an adamantoise or coeurl. Again, there was nothing new – no fantastical creature that the FF series never introduced before, and many of the series staples (like tonberries and cactuars) were missing altogether. It got particularly egregious when they went as far as to double up on some bosses.

Music

Fantastic, as expected of Soken. Not much to say there. I like his work better overall in XIV, but that’s unfair with the sheer amount of songs XIV has. He was allowed to experiment a bit more in XIV, but in XVI he took some opportunities to use different genres here and there.

Overall - 7/10

I can honestly say I really liked it overall – it’s a beautiful game with really rich characters and lore, and where it excels it really excels. I’m not a big fan of the way it ended but I think that is mostly due to personal preference. There were several unanswered questions and I don’t know if they have plans to go into DLC or even a sequel, and I don’t think there’s enough for that anyway – it ended pretty neatly. I will let this game sit with me and I’ll read up on some discussions from other people to see if my thoughts will change, but I don’t know if I’ll end up liking it more or less.

Thanks for reading this really long review!! I will write up a more spoilery one in a couple of days.

[cephalofrog]

omg project sekai JP event

full spoilers below cut

- first off: wow I underestimated this event. I didn't expect it to be *this* good. it's incredibly well-written imo.

- there are so many flashbacks to previous events. it really hammers in the feeling of everything having led up to this. samsa, mirage, bug, 2nd anni, wish/i nandesu, even a callback to the group story with the song miku sings - then finally the escape for survival quote.

- it's kinda nice that it makes the point to show that mafumum's methods don't even work for getting high grades - like on the one hand it wouldn't matter either way but on the other it's good to hammer in that her worldview is entirely illogical.

- the phone is broken when it's dropped in the empty fish tank. I did not expect checkhov's fish tank but also: it's a hobby she doesn't care for, something she only has due to the expectations of her having a hobby from other people. a reflection of her own emptiness under the expectations of her mother. of course it's what destroys her final way to contact 25ji.

- mafumum saying she's made food mafuyu likes for dinner. mafuyu doesn't like any food. the way it shows mafumum's complete ignorance of the harm she's done to mafuyu.

- the flipping back and forth between empty eyes and normal eyes during the final confrontation

- "it was a mistake, buying and giving you a computer, letting you use an instrument too!" mafumum is saying that the thing that saved mafuyu was a mistake. horrific. (not to mischaracterise - obviously she doesn't know how much it helped her - but mafuyu knows, of course.)

- cutting the ending with kanade short is a good choice imo. I think it's nice to leave it there - we can get confirmation on what happened later, for now we just leave them on that moment of comfort.

- not to get too ship-y but god kanamafu fans are winning

- the ending animation is excellent and heartbreaking.

- I saw someone say that an area convo says that she's staying with kanade? but she might also be staying in sekai? idk. no idea how things are gonna go from here.

- I think this event helped me get a solid idea of mafumum's actual motivation - I think she thinks she's wasted her own life and is projecting that insecurity onto mafuyu, judging by a couple of her lines. this makes sense to me - it explains why she acted similarly towards kanade. if it was that she wanted to control mafuyu there wouldn't really have been a reason for her to give the dig about kanade's future towards her during samsa.

- shout-out to mafumum's va (and also tanabe rui of course). the voice acting in this event is incredible.

- bad end au in which the phone fully breaks in the fishtank, miku and kaito aren't able to talk to her, and during the confrontation with her mum she gives in and fully forgets her true self, adopting the "good girl" persona for good

- might add more once I see card story translations etc.

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

Heyo, Lady Oscar! I'm excited to see what you have to share! I'll do a separate ask for each character (six in total), to keep things simple.

So for this first ask... well, I have to start with Kuvira, of course~

Okay! Let’s do the thing starting with my main girl, Kuvira. *cracks knuckles*

1. Sexuality headcanon 

I've been headcanoning Kuvira as bisexual since I began writing fanfics about her. I personally don't see Baatar Jr. as a beard in their relationship because she seemed to sincerely care about him in canon (until she didn't, lol!) I also don't buy the comphet argument because IMHO, it doesn't fit her personality. I think she's demiromantic, and specifically with Asami and Baatar Jr. I can see her as sapiosexual. She surrounded herself with three intelligent people in the likes of Baatar Jr, Varrick and Zhu Li (and a token himbo, Bolin) on her inner circle so I believe she has a thing for intelligence. Fandom usually headcanons her as a top or dom but I see her more of a switch, especially with Asami and Korra, and between them it's pretty much an endless battle for dominance in the bedroom. 😏

I also lowkey ship her with Mako who I also headcanon as bi so it’s a Bi4Bi scenario, and in this case she’s more of a top because I do agree with the headcanon that Mako is more of a bottom. Fun fact: her voice actress Zelda Williams is bi, as it is Janet Varney, Korra’s VA.  

2. OTP

Oooh, this is a tough one because although OTP stands for “One True Pairing” I ship her pretty much equally with both Asami and Korra. With Korra, I indulge in the angsty, dramatic side of things. They have so many parallels that are ingrained in canon that it makes for an interesting exercise to explore the ways they resemble each other and in the ways their differences serve to complement and balance each other. It’s basically a lot of “the sunshine who can kill you and the badass who can kill you” relationship meme with these two. 🤣

With Asami I play on “what if” canon divergence scenarios which make for more lighthearted and flirty situations. They make for such an amazing power couple that is just too darned good. Plus their sexual chemistry is off the roof, a “can’t keep their hands off each other” kind of chemistry that's way too much fun. 😉

3. BROTP

Although he's the romantic interest in canon, I headcanon Junior as more of a second in command/partner in crime than as significant other material and they’re very much BROTP in my stories. Jinora is my other candidate as BROTP for Kuvira in a Republic City setting because Kuvira is a jock/dancer/soldier who is also cunning, smart, and well versed in strategy,  so I can see her bonding with Jinora over books and history. And of course, my beloved Lin Beifong and Kuvira would bond by swapping stories and gossip about Suyin, and boy I bet they both have a lot to talk about Su. I think they would realize they have more in common than they think since they’re both the type to bottle up their emotions and to put their work before everything else, and they both wanted to impress their maternal figures. Lin would be an excellent mentor and friend for Kuvira, since Lin won't take crap from anyone so shr would keep Kuvira in the straight and narrow with her no nonsense attitude.

4. NOTP

I basically don’t ship her with any of the Beifongs but the big NOTP for me is Suyin. I just can’t shake the mentor/protege relationship off my mind to see them even remotely romantic. From an objective standpoint, I can see the appeal with all their drama but it's a big nope for me.

5. First headcanon that pops into my head?

She’s a sleepwalker. Her childhood trauma manifested in sleepwalking which was pretty severe during her first years with the Beifongs but she grew out if it gradually as she grew up. Following the events of Book 4 and Ruins of the Empire which ends with her in house arrest, her sleepwalking came back but not as bad as when she was a child, which it’s fortunate because I can’t imagine the mess she would leave behind while bending in her sleep. 😱

6: favorite line from this character 

"I owe the Avatar my life. Her power is beyond anything I could ever hope to achieve. I'll accept  whatever punishment the world sees fit”. 

This is from The Last Stand. Although the entire scene with Korra and Kuvira in the Spirit World is amazing since we get to witness Kuvira’s emotional breakdown, it's in her surrender that we see what we can consider the beginning of her path toward redemption, meaning that her story is not over yet. 

7. One way in which I relate to this character 

We're both familiarized with military service and the concept of discipline and service to the nation since I also served. I also relate in the need to prove ourselves, something that is evident in the way she ends up emulating her mentor Suyin and in having strained relationships with siblings, like the one she had with Opal. Come to think of it, having strained relationships with siblings seems like a very Beifong thing to do. 🤔

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

The whole having her foster brother end up as her fiancee thing is kinda weird so I totally get Opal when she was all weirded out with the news of their engagement.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Both! 🤣

[annvirtualally]

Two Ways you can Charge your Clients for your Work

How to Bill your Client for your Work

When you're a new freelancer, one of the most challenging decisions is setting your rates, whether you charge clients per hour or per project. But how does that work, and how will you do that? Let's look at these options below and check if it helps you with your problem.

Charging per hour

Charging per hour means you will have a fixed, regular wage for the hours your client requires you to perform. The beauty of charging per hour is that it can help you develop your pricing strategy once you're already an intermediate and freelancing expert. Once your experience in freelancing increases, your charge rate per hour will also increase.

On the other hand, if you perform the work quickly and competently, you will get paid less when you charge per hour. The disadvantage is that when you become quicker and better as you go along, you'll not be paid well the better you become.

Charging per project

Charging per project works better on many levels. After all, you can charge more and keep the client happy because you're providing excellent value.

Clients hire freelancers because they always think they can accomplish the task in less time to complete thE they can achieve. So, give them a total price for the entire project (incorporating time spent on the task plus all the extras like email, phone correspondence, etc.). You will deliver the accomplished job the way you and your client stipulated.

One good side is that timeframe will not be a requirement because only you know how long the project will take you to finish. Remember that you'll be faster and better the longer you're a VA, so tasks won't take long to accomplish.

Setting your rates

Setting your rates depends on your expertise. When you're new and don't know how to charge clients, consulting experts is one of the best options. But, if you need to give your rate right away, consider the following factors:

• Do you think you're good at what you do?

• Have you worked hard to gain your skills and experience?

• Do you think your skills are valuable in term saving or making people money or giving more time?

Are a lot of other VAS offering this service, or are you a specialist in this area?

Then, think of your worth and charge.

You are a modern business-minded individual and have skills. Additionally, you are trained to fulfill tasks as a freelancer. Position yourself well, and the client will realize your worth; don't settle for less to get hired. But, you can grab projects offering lower costs to have experience with the tasks. Just make sure that the project is worth the effort.

Are you an aspiring freelancer who needs guidance to get started? Learn freelancing with Surge Freelancing (Virtual Assistance) Course. Click this link to learn more.

Source: https://courses.thesurgemarketplace.com/two-ways-you-can-charge-your-clients-for-your-work/?fbclid=IwAR3GA-rXiVMW572fd5GBlmFqL3vxuXgQCv7d-BNUBSXAYwhJwU73FXBCyfE

[dustedmagazine]

Various Artists — Stop MVP: Artists from WV, VA and NC Against the Mountain Valley Pipeline (War Hen)

The Mountain Valley Pipeline, if it’s ever finished, will stretch over more than 300 miles in rural Wester Virginia and Virginia, crossing environmentally sensitive parts of the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains carrying dangerous, polluting loads of fracked gas. The League of Conservation Votes estimates that the pipeline will generate more than 89 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution annually, about as much as 24 average U.S. coal plans or 19 million passenger cars. Building it will require razing forests that have been sequestering carbon for centuries.

It’s a climate catastrophe, and because it runs through an area that is rich in musical history and culture, it has become a focus for artists and activists, including Daniel Bachman, who organized this 40-track compilation in protest of the pipeline. All proceeds from STOP MVP will go to the Appalachian Legal Defense Fund to support protesters resisting the pipeline’s construction.

That is, of course, one compelling reason to buy this set of music, but it is very far from the only one. The music here is exceptionally diverse and almost uniformly excellent. If you look at the cover and envision a steady stream of earnest folk songs, punctuated by some fingerpicking, think again. Certainly that’s represented on these two discs, but so is noise and rock and punk and hip hop and even, at the end, a stirring piece of gospel that will steel you for the cause.

There’s so much music here that it’s hard to get a grip on it all, but let’s hit some highlights. Magic Tuber String Band’s haunted, haunting rendition of “Undone in Sorrow” is both staunchly traditional and absolutely modern in its lament for a natural world gone haywire. Isak Howell, similarly, finds something potent and bracing in minor key picking. Solar Hex straddles baroque classical cello and folk lament, and there are indeed four crows cawing in the background to “Stone Wall with Four Crows.” My favorite discovery in this lengthy, skewed-folk all-star line-up comes from Høly Riot’s “Spirit Riot,” which kicks up a feeling-the-lord-speaking-in-tongues ruckus with its driving, droning ecstasies.

Some of the cuts are literally about the MVP pipeline, like Joshua Vana and Bernadette “BJ” Lark’s full-throated, heart-swelling “To the River,” while others reference the area’s long history of industrial subjugation. “The Dolly Womack Wreck” retells the story of an old-time train wreck, where the engineer was flayed alive by steam from a broken boiler. “The Coal Tattoo,” sung by Bachman’s father, is about his father’s death in a mine explosion. The hip hop/electronic “John Brown” by Appalachian rapper Prolo chronicles generations of poverty and racism in the region.

A lot of well known folk and indie artists have chipped in. There are tracks from Sally Anne Morgan, Ned Oldham, Nathan Bowles, Rosali Middleton (as Edsel Axle). Yasmin Williams and Bachman himself. But the real tribute to Bachman’s taste, restless song-hunting and open-minded-ness comes from the bands you might not be familiar with, the eerie soundscapes of Tallulah Cloos, the beefy country rock of Tucker Riggleman and the Cheap Dates, the unhinged noise of Dog Scream. The mountains and valleys threatened by MVP are rich in plant and animal diversity, but also musical breadth, and this compilation brings them all together for a worthy cause.

Jennifer Kelly

[scammydoesstuff]

So about that OPLA...

My boyfriend, John (@jchristievo ) and I just finished watching One Piece live action on Netflix and I gotta say, fuck the haters. This was so goddamn fun.

So I'mma take a minute to gush about it cuz I gotta!

For context, John's a major fan of the manga/anime while I'm over here like, 'I saw the 4Kids dub for a hot minute when I was a child and was like nope!' I did watch several episodes leading up to Arlong Park with him as we geared up for the live action release, so I became familiar with most of the main parts of the intro of the series and before that, I respected the series for what it is and means to people. Because of the latter, I was definitely skeptical when I first found out about the adaptation, worrying for how they'd handle such a beloved series, but all the promotional stuff got us both hype af and had me hopeful that it'd be good. Not to mention Oda himself over here like, "Yeah, I want this to be a thing and it's gonna be made to my satisfaction or I'm pulling the plug".

For the creator to have so much involvement was such a game changer already and the cast are so delightful. Iñaki is 🌟Grade A Certified Good Shonen Boy🌟, Mackenyu is badass incarnate, Emily is a fucking weeb, Jacob consistently had me in stitches, and Taz was suave and also a badass. I absolutely adored all these goobers so much just from seeing them interact in the promos. Granted, I know those were staged to a degree, but their chemistry was there regardless and made me grin ear to ear every time.

I'm now familiar enough with the first arc to know what changes were made and some of what I'd expect when we went in, and I really like the way it was paced to cover everything it needed to. It can't be a one-to-one, but anyone expecting such a thing is out of their gourd. I think the story told here was very well done from beginning to end.

I did have some issues, of course. The series isn't perfect and there are definitely nitpicks I could name if given the time. While I think the acting was good, I think Arlong was one of the weaker aspects in terms of visuals which I think were otherwise excellent. He was intimidating enough, but his stature robbed him of some of that just a bit. It might be my main issue, in fact.

In regard to changes made, I'm probably the most happy that they left out Don Krieg. Even watching the anime, I never felt intimidated by him and got kinda bored with that whole span of episodes. They just wound up dragging so much imo with him doing very VERY little that I'm glad he was relegated to what was barely more than a cameo.

I think that's about all I wanted to cover as far as my main reaction. Only other thing I could conceivably mention would be...

I never expected that Buggy the fucking clown would be my favorite fucking character. Oh my god, I am so goddamn happy that he kept showing up. He was such a highlight and had me howling. For real, his actor was just

He was the perfect amount of unhinged and sassy and I was here for every second. I'm absolutely watching the series again to be on the hunt for Easter eggs with John, and to watch it with the og Japanese VA dub, but I'm likely gonna be watching Buggy's episodes the most cuz he's the best and I didn't get nearly enough Buggy.

Overall, 8 outta 10. Needed more Buggy. 🤡

[multi-level-shipper]

Batdr was an absolute disappointing experience

You got same badly made game but "polished" and with another protagonist (both don't even have personalities, how familiar :))

Weak designs, weak mechanics, weak voice acting and fanfic instead of a plot.

But of course fans would be crazy over it, in fanbase that has pretty low standards for content

I mean....it did leave a few things to be desired but I still liked it?

Audrey's not super outstanding but she does have a little personality, she's got a bit more spunk than Henry did. I guess my big question was why she instantly smashed her hand into a canister and knew it would power her up. (I'm assuming that was part of her ink-stinct when she got inked?)

I'd argue the BATDR aesthetic holds up pretty well- it's more elaborate than the first game and it polishes off designs like Allison very well. It also introduces some great environments like the underground city. And the rainbow colors worked into the environment later for Shipahoy Dudley were absolutely genius.

I can see the weak mechanics- the sneaking aspect took forever and the enemy balance wasn't great. I can't speak too much on the rest of the gameplay because I didn't purchase the game myself.

I go back and forth on the plot, I liked how Joey, Henry, and Allison were handled specifically, but we weren't really given time to attach to any new characters. There were some things that were answered very directly about the first game, but I honestly could have done without the whole "multiple timelines" shtick. It's cool the way they presented it... but it reeeeeally wasn't needed in Bendy, it overcomplicates things in an uneeded way.

The VA's were excellent, they were just given some shit scripts. Again, l really think this game butchered the chance to create a new cast concerning the new tapes and notes. There were people in the first game like Wally who served mainly as gameplay hints, but he and many others from BATIM remain very memorable and well-loved. These new guys should've had more substance.

Also we...don't have low standards for content? I mean, of course I can't speak for the whole fanbase, but usually the art and ideas that I usually see come out of the BATIM fandom are pretty well thought-out. I think we were so quick to accept this game because it's a miracle it made it out of development hell at all, and I don't really fault people for having that reaction.

[pidayforpi]

[Extreme self-indulgent cartoon/anime infodump below]

(Confession: I watch the Japanese dub for DT17 as well (among other cartoons).

And one dumb thing I like to do with (especially) Japanese voice-acting is looking up what other characters the VA voices.

And on Monday, I did that with DT17's cast...compared with JoJo's cast.

→ Gladstone Gander = Tonio Trussardi (Tokuyoshi Kawashima 川島得愛) is cool

→ (Melon) Mickey = Donatello Versus (Takanori Hoshino 星野貴紀) is still cool

→ But Lena = Gwess (Momoko Taneichi 種市桃子) is really something

"Webby, Webby, Webby, Webbyyyyy~ ♪"

-------------------------------------

(Additional infodump that is actually longer and more serious:

As you can see from the list above (yes, that's it, afaik), the DT17 dub cast don't really star much in JoJo. Actually, they don't really star much (majorly) in other anime as well. The only other VA with a famous role is Della's, who voices Nami from One Piece (yes).

I think the most famous VA in DT17 are those for The Three Caballeros: Donald, José and Panchito, who literally also voice three characters from Dragon Ball (Beerus, Frieza, Piccolo, respectively). And two of them are guest stars.

There are many reasons why this is the case: First of all, I'm only looking at voice-acting. Some of the dub VA are actually not VA by profession, but instead, say, live actors/stage actors/narrators etc. IIRC, the previous official Japanese voice of Mickey Mouse, who had voiced Mickey for almost 3 decades, isn't even an entertainer by profession.

Second, some of the VA are quite young, both in terms of age and career. That doesn't necessarily equate to fame, but there is a certain relation.

So. Why am I saying all of that? Because despite all those things, the dub is fire. It is above average at worst, absolutely amazing at best. Call me a weeb, but I have never seen a Japanese dub that is worse than the original voiceover.

HDL sound just as distinct, Webby sounds just as hyper, Fenton sounds just as adorable, Gyro sounds just as crazy misunderstood, LP sounds just as the himbo he is, Scrooge sounds just as...old (there is legit an "old people's way of talking" in spoken Japanese). And of course, Yamadera-sensei perfectly replicates the Donald Duck speech...but in Japanese. (Donald speaking "normally" is literally just Yamadera speaking normally as himself)

The same goes for other animation dubs as well, such as LotTC (the two Sheldgoose are so damn funny), GEAH (Sam is the MVP there with his amazing voice change), or RotTMNT (I legit watched the Japanese dub first). The VA themselves may not be famous, but they still do an excellent job that could be worthy of the fame.

Mad respect to that dedication and talent.

Oh, and if that isn't enough: They dub the goddamn songs as well. They sing them themselves, in Japanese, with Japanese lyrics that fit, sound good, and are accurate.

Remember the "Waddleduck" theme? Yeah, they dubbed that. The "It's a Date!" song? They dubbed that too. Donald's "Hear My Voice"? Yamadera sang it himself, both in normal voice and Donald Duck voice.

And all those silly, out-of-the-blue songs from LotTC? They dubbed them. All of them. Sheldgoose's song to the moai and lava geckos is my favourite.

[Attached with the Japanese version of that song. The only part they didn't dub over was the Spanish part, but otherwise I think it is very neat.]

(3-8-2023)

[always-a-joyful-note]

All right. Time to ramble about a new thing that grabbed me by the neck and didn't let me go until I finished all available episodes.

That new thing, my friends, would be the Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality. And despite being terrible at writing proper reviews and hardly ever doing it, I'm gonna do my best to give a semi-coherent review of why you should listen to this funky little Australian podcast.

So! I see a lot of people comparing Mistholme to Magnus Archives. ..and while that definitely works, I also want to both compare it to Welcome to Night Vale and Wolf 359 for its at times very cavalier attitude towards the unexplained and its exploration on personhood and humanity.

Seriously, though. What I LOVE about this podcast, asides from the philosophical and discoursey tidbits that make the nerd in me go absolutely bonkers, is the way that while it is very much horror and mystery, it's just not that.

Like...it's a museum about supernatural occurrences and terrors, and while a lot of stories do end in creepy, bone-chilling ways, there's also stories that end ambiguously or happily. It's just people living in a world that happens to have alternatural items in it, and while many of the times things go horribly wrong, a lot of times things also can go right...or leave something good to think about. It's just...the best part about this podcast for me is how it's almost slice of life, but a slice of life that happens in a world of magic through the lens of a museum (literally ;)).

Moving on, though, I also seriously love how sometimes it gives off the feel of those educational shows where the characters talk to the audience. There's definitely some great meta moments (and y'all know how much I am wild over those), some stuff I DEARLY want to say about the second person voice but won't for coherence/spoilers. It blends genres - from sci-fi to horror to fantasy, etc. - and has an amazing meta mystery plot thread that just gets better and better as the show progresses.

More than that, though, I seriously just love the focus on worldbuilding. Ironically, this podcast is a MASTER at the show don't tell rule (with reasonable and very seamlessly woven ways of telling, too), and we gradually get to know of this world similar to our own but noooot quite right as the show progresses in a very organic way. And I'm also gonna seriously express the joy I feel in the ambiguity of the year in which the show is unraveling, as well as the ambiguity of how much the common public is aware of the alternatural and so many other things like that. Enough that you're not toooo curious about it but it still adds just another amazing element of story and FUN to this world.

The characters in this podcast - STARS THE CHARACTERS IN THIS PODCAST!! ATG (what I call the Audio Tour Guide)....well, other people have said it better than me but you WILL want to die for it and treasure it and protect it. The other characters that appear? Phenomenal, complex, just...people. And the VOICE ACTING IN THIS. I am....not a good judge of VAs, I'll admit, but just the voice acting in here. The subtle emotion and RANGE they give to their characters. How I'm able to almost SEE them all just from the way they speak. And the way they all develop, both silent AND speaking characters - I don't know how but Dom somehow made me love the mute or nonspeaking characters...or...just feel certain things for them ;)).

Just....plotwise, characterwise WORLDBUILDINGWISE (I am very much a fan of excellent, incredible worlds), performancewise, the themes and discourse on humanity and nature it invites, everything - solid 1000/10. It's really and seriously ranking up there with W359 as one of my favorite podcasts so far....

Now, of course, there will be some stuff that you may personally not find to taste like I did (what with the diverse stories and so on) but I don't think they belong in this review as they're more subjective opinions those up there were all objectively true despite my gushing I don't take arguments so we don't need that. I think the show really does its best in being respectful to all mythologies, religion, sociopitical issues, etc. that may crop up, and it keeps such an...objective? more hopeful? stance on almost every person narrated about (despite in-show opinions) that's kind of...well, refreshing I suppose? to hear? (Maybe the best way to explain it is that its neutral tone allows people, evil and good, to be people without betraying its show's own ethical code.)

Anyway, yeah....I love Mistholme. I love ATG and co. I love the VA and their voice and all other voices once again I ask why are podcaster voices so nice to hear? I love LOVE the individual stories and their unique way of just...revealing the world of Mistholme. And yes, again, I really love all its themes and the Thoughts(tm) they invite or that invade your brain space.

Anyway, with that, I'm still not forgiving the creator for s4 despite being on s5, how DARE -

And secondly, if I had a nickel for everytime an Aussie creator made an urban fantasy world with some of the best worldbuilding and character arcing and plot twisting I've seen, I'd have 2 nickels which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice...

Comparisons and jokes asides, though, you really WILL love this world on its own. And maybe scream a little in wounded agony. But that's just the fun of visiting a museum of mystery, morbidoty, and mortality right?

[elffees]

Damn I never thought of it that way but the comparison of Helis and Regalla vampires is a great one because you’re so right, their voices and authority and bloodthirsty align with that archetype, great observation! I’m also hoping for a remaster one day of HZD so we can see that Mo-capped goodness of all the original characters

Usually I’d be against remasters of a game that still runs and looks phenomenal, and even tho ZD was released all the way back in 2014, it still looks like smthg that could’ve been released only like 2 or 3 years ago as the graphics still hold up extremely well.

But with that said, I definitely agree with you that mo-capped ZD would be an excellent remaster (not anytime soon tho!) I just don’t know if it’s smthg Guerilla would actually do as I imagine it would cost a LOT of money they’d rather put to a new game. But it is a nice possibility to think about.

EDIT: Zero Dawn was actually released in 2017!!!!! Yeah no it does not need a remaster any time soon lol

Helis was already menacing, I can’t imagine how much more frightening he’d be if given more realistic body movement and facial expressions. (I have to say it already speaks to the talent of his VA that he was able to give Helis so much life in voice alone)

And yes! Their personas remind me of vampires very much!!

They’re both exceptional in power to the point it borders on unnatural. Helis’ build and bare handed strength is terrifying in how he was able to deadlift Aloy with zero struggle. Not to mention his forces almost took and completely demolished Meridian. Regalla overpowered Hekarro and his supporters TWICE and only failed both times because of Aloy’s intervention. Both of these people would’ve succeeded if the technologically advanced protagonist had not stepped in.

There is a slow, sultry confidence in their mannerisms. They’re incredibly intense and their deluded speeches are almost mesmerizing. Similar to a vampire extending its fangs, what they’re saying is horrible but the spectacle keeps you from looking away. I can’t be the only one that exhausted all of Regalla’s dialogue options after sparing her, or listened to all the Helis datapoints in the Eclipse Base, and felt like I was holding my breath as they spoke.

And if we really wanna lay on the vampire comparisons, we can point out how their most dangerous ability is that they can “turn” others. While both are strong, what actually makes them effective is when they learn how to override machines. Sending their new converts out into the world to terrorize their opponents.

All of it makes me wonder how things would’ve turned out if Regalla and her rebels had reached their peak while Helis and the Eclipse were at their full strength. Of course they’d hate each other as they’re direct ideological opposites. But they’re also so extremely similar that it would be two divinely horrific people butting heads with everyone else caught in the crossfire.