#the va’s performance is awesome i’m enjoying it

[vinnigami]

January 26 2024

Aogami’s little gay pose he does in the character art

[roguemaki]

Hey! I hope your week is going great :)

Like everyone else, i wanted to send you a heartfelt thank you for your immense efforts and time that you take out of your day to translate and type set these interviews and videos.

It always brightens my day when i get a notification from you and i know I’m in for a treat so it’s really truly appreciated from our end 🙏🏼

I was also wondering that when the asticassia school assembly BD comes out, if you could consider uploading it somewhere so that people who can’t purchase it would be able to watch it as well? I was really looking forward to seeing the VAs performance on stage and also some of the comedic moments like Suletta rapping but unfortunately, money is a bit tight for me right now. 😞

If you could consider it that would be awesome but if you rather not do jt, that’s totally fine as well :)

I also wanted to ask for your advice regarding learning japanese. I took some classes in college but haven’t kept up with it. Do you know any resources that you felt were really helpful to you when you were learning the language? I really want to dedicate myself to it this time! I’d really appreciate any tips, thank you! :)

Hey hey~ I actually got some fantastic news at work, so my week's off to a great start. :3

And you're very welcome! Thank you for enjoying and supporting my TLs.

I pre-ordered the School Assembly BD and am planning to subtitle it in parts, similarly to how I'm doing the Ep 24 Character Commentary… but for an upload of the full thing, I have to be more circumspect: I'll post when the rip is available and give contact info so interested folks can reach out directly. Just trying to avoid getting Eye of Sauron'd by Bandai-Namco, lol.

Regarding Japanese study: we're in similar boats! I also took classes in college and got back into serious self-study after not practicing for a while.

Here are some self-study resources I find useful:

For daily Japanese practice…

Renshuu for vocabulary and grammar. WaniKani for learning kanji. Ringotan for kana and kanji writing practice.

Renshuu is a site (also available in convenient app form) for building up vocabulary and grammar with quizzes, games, and community activities. It's by-and-large free - premium provides some enhancements (like more listening/pitch tools), but isn't necessary for most of the content. WaniKani is a fantastic resource for learning kanji. They use some truly memorable mnemonics to teach radicals/vocabulary and schedule lessons/reviews in a way that promotes real retention. Give Levels 1-3 a try since they're free, and if you like the teaching method, a lifetime premium sub is reasonably affordable when it goes on sale (like on Black Friday). I use Ringotan, a free phone app, to supplement WaniKani (which is focused on reading/recognition) with writing practice.

Other resources/tools...

Install Yomitan, an in-line dictionary extension, on your browser.

Dokusho Bookclub is a site for finding reading materials targeting specific JLPT levels.

Out of the many resources available on YouTube, I want to highlight Kaname Naito's channel - he teaches in depth vocabulary and grammar used in actual conversational Japanese.

I have a routine of always doing my "dailies" and just try to read/watch/play as much Japanese media as possible... Thankfully there's so much good stuff available online nowadays. :>

Hope you find something useful for you in this list. Good luck with your studies!

[eeclare]

what are your top favorite bobs burgers episodes? and fav supporting characters? Hope you are always having fun and enjoying each and every beautiful happy day!

Wow! I have not been able to get into my tumblr for so long! Thanks for the awesome questions I’m excited to answer :3

It’s honestly rlly hard to pick fav episodes 🥲 but I’ve narrowed it down to my top five! I will not, however, put them in any particular order because i just can’t lmao

The River Runs Through Bob (season 4 episode 1)

This ep never fails to make me cackle

Bob and Linda are peak comedy

🎵kids we’re coming for ya’ 🎵

Glued, Where’s my Bob? (season 6 ep 19)

the harmonies in bad stuff happens in the bathroom have a chokehold on me that I will never be rid of

The incredible song isn’t the only reason this ep is awesome

the character interactions are everything

Also pre funny lol

Ik this is a generic choice lmao

Brunchsquatch (season 8 ep 1)

Genuinely one of my fav episodes by far

it’s honestly a pretty unique ep

Love the fanart love the animation

And let’s not forget the absolutely *chef’s kiss* performances by the VAs

Pig Trouble in Little Tina (season 10 ep 4)

Fiona fucking Apple made a song for this episode of COURSE it had to be in my top 5

it is a literal crime that it hasnt been released on spotify

and ofc being a lover of all things "weird" and creepy i have a great appreciation for little mr piggy

he was cutie pie :3

Amelia (season 13 ep 22)

sobbing my eyes out

pls the end credit song is so beautiful

I just love my mom

And not to mention how important this ep was for Louise's character

Just absolutely stunning

As for supporting characters, I can proudly say that i love all of them very much. However, I have chosen my top three just to keep this simple lol

Zeke

Regular sized Rudy

Tammy and Jocelyn (because they are a packaged deal)

These are just the characters that I feel the most connection to personally lol I wish I had more to say about them individually but I'm feeling lazy and i'm honestly just hoping that you will take my small list without further explanation lol

I hope that covers everything :) thanks for the questions, stranger

[atenobear]

This is the cast reveal for the Deltarune Boss Package!

*Note, this does not reveal EVERYONE, only the characters that have a song devoted to them.

Music: Rude Buster

Lancer:

Celeste

Susie:

Allevant

Rouxls Kaard:

Bem

K. Round:

SecretHasFunYT

Jevil:

DramaJosh

King:

Bub8les

Oddbrother

Sweet, Cap'n, K_K:

Scarlet

Bem

Blade Evans

Berdly:

Scarlet

Spamton:

Blade Evans

Queen:

Clara

Art:

AtenoBear

[fanfic-inator795]

2022 animated movies ranking

I’ve seen all the animated movies that I wanted to see this year, so here’s my official 2022 ranking.

Lightyear: The more I think about this film, the more plot holes I notice and the more I dislike it. It just feels like such a hollow and near lifeless movie that just completely misses imo. From the plot conveniences/lazy writing and predictable plot, to the worldbuilding that either comes off as minimalist or confusing, to the shallow characters- I just feel no connection at all. I like Sox and Izzy alright, but I reaaaally don’t like Mo. I get he’s supposed to be the Screw-Up of the team who gets better, but he just so annoying. Buzz is also really annoying and not charismatic whatsoever. The twist villain is so stupid, and you can tell that they cared more about the ~symbolism~/theme than the actual character/story regarding the twist. So much of this movie is just dull and frustrating with all it’s missed potential, and I have no desire to watch it again. 4/10

My Father’s Dragon: it’s a cute enough modern fairy tale with really great animation, music and voice acting. I really like the lesson of the story, and I like the small subversions that kept things interesting. The dragon was a bit annoying, but it was still a fun enough experience. 6/10

Wendell & Wild: really cool concept with some interesting characters and good social commentary. Really great soundtrack and absolutely stellar animation. I just wish the story was more fleshed out and the pacing was better, as the third act really does feel rushed, which kinda messes with an otherwise emotional ending. 6.5/10

Turning Red: it’s your average pixar movie tbh. I like the chemistry between the four girls, and I can appreciate the story that the movie is trying to tell/themes it’s trying to focus on. It does a lot of things well enough and there’s nothing I hate, there’s just nothing im super in love with either. I’m glad it exists, it’s just not completely my cup of tea. 6.5/10

Strange World: much better than I was expecting, ngl. The worldbuilding was really interesting, and I ended up getting fairly invested in the movie’s characters and relationships, which weren’t nearly as annoying or cliche as I thought they’d be. I just wish that the dialogue could’ve been more natural in some parts, as there were some exposition and conversation scenes that felt kiiiiinda forced. Some of the jokes are kinda lame too, but it’s never TOO bad thankfully. It’s a cool enough adventure with genuine heart that, again, plays better and hits harder than the lame trailers would make you believe. Also, NO TWIST VILLAIN!! Hallelujah. 7.5/10

DC League of Super Pets: as a DC fan, I can definitely appreciate all the little Easter eggs and poking fun at DC itself. Very hilarious movie when it wants to be. Characters and story was really cute, action was good, I like Supes and Lois just being together with there not being any relationship drama, and Ace’s backstory actually hit me a bit harder than I thought it would. However, the story was pretty predictable, most of the side characters weren’t super fleshed out, and I can’t listen to Lex Luthor in this movie without hearing Mr. Snake, lol. I came for cute pets and superhero shenanigans, and I got what I wanted. 7.5/10

The Bob’s Burgers Movie: definitely a movie made for the fans. Some really great characters moments, even if some beats feel familiar, but man the 3rd act gets DARK. Lots of excitement, good music, really good jokes, fantastic animation and just so much else to enjoy. 8/10

Dragon ball Super Hero: it may be your typical DBZ fare, but it’s still a lot of fun. I love the adorable dynamic between Pan and Piccolo, there’s a ton of awesome action, and I really like the new characters introduced in the film. Zeno Robinson’s VA performance is a highlight, and the film is just a really entertaining time that manages to remain interesting even when the 3rd act just turns into an extended action scene. I’m not a mega-huge DBZ fan, but I like it well enough. I also thought the ending stinger was hilarious, lol. 8/10

Minions 2 the Rise of Gru: my guilty pleasure movie of the year because I’m a sucker for the found family trope. I really like the relationship between Gru and Wild Knuckles, the minions are just as funny and cute as ever, the action is a ton of fun, and despite it being spoiled in the trailers the 3rd act is a real highlight. Lil Gru is adorable, and I just enjoy him being a mischievous and super endearing scrunko (idk if I’m using that word right :P). Sometimes I just need something silly and fun, and this movie hits that itch just right. 8/10

Sonic the Hedgehog 2: This movie absoLUTELY lived up to the first film! All the Sonic stuff was really cool and fun, the wedding stuff was hilarious, I loved all the focus on friendship/family and coming together, the action was really great, and it made me laugh just as much as the first film. It’s the type of movie that makes you feel like a kid again ^v^ Super Sonic is still an amazing scene to watch, and the ending is adorableeee. My only criticism is that sometimes the pacing can feel just a teeeeeny bit off and I wish there was a bit more focus on Tales. Kinda sucks he gets knocked unconscious for like 15mins. Can’t wait for the 3rd movie, I REALLY want Omar Benson Miller (Raph from RotTMNT) to voice Shadow. 8.5/10

Rise of the TMNT Movie: while I agree that the s2 finale was a better conclusion, I thought the movie was still really good. I’m able to forgive some so-so writing and lack of series references just because the emotional moments hit That Hard. The action and animation is as stellar as its always been, I really like Casey Jr., and while it sucks that he got Kraangified for most of the movie, Raph was the highlight of the film for me in that his VA (as well as the VA for the main Kraang) just went SO HARD, their voice acting was so freaking good. Also this movie let Mikey be a mystic badass and I’m happy about that because he deserves it. It does kinda suck that so much of the movie is focused on Leo, and that some bits like Don merging with the Kraang ship were kinda rushed through. Not a perfect film by any means, but there’s enough good to overshadow the bad for me (even if I’m getting reaaaaally tired of all the Leo angst that this movie inspired :/) 8.5/10

Puss in boots 2 - the last wish: HOLY CRAP THIS MOVIE WAS SPECTACULAR!! The animation, lighting and action was just an incredible visual spectacle. The movie also hit me super hard both in terms of how much it made me laugh (there is a LOT of dark humor, omfg) and how much it just hit me right in the feels. (Redacted) AKA the Wolf was one of my favorite parts of the movie. Speaking of which, the themes in this film were really strong, which in turn made Puss’ character arc SO GOOD! The characters in general just all worked off each other well, you fall in love with the main trio so easily and I love that both Dreamworks films this year had a total bastard as the villain. Honestly, it reminded me a lot of the first Shrek film in that there was a ton there for both kids and adults to really enjoy/take a lot away from. My only complaint is a fairly minor one, in that I thought the 1st act was just a bit slow going, though I completely understand why it was paced the way it was. Also, once this movie gets going, IT GETS GOING. 9/10

The Bad Guys: I’m gonna fully admit that I’m probably biased, given my love of found family AND heist movies. But idc, I freaking LOVE THIS MOVIE!! I love the characters and their dynamics, I love the story and themes, I love the great animation and action, I love the humor, I love the emotional beats, I love the music (Good Tonight is SUCH a bop), the twist at the end with Snake’s double-cross was AMAZING - I really could just go on and on. I’ve already watched this movie 3-4 times, and I will happily watch it again ^v^ it’s just a ton of fun, I love it so much. I guess technically PiB is the better movie, but I connect to Bad Guys and it’s characters more, so Bad Guys is my fave of the year ^v^ 9/10

[pinkie-satan]

what are your top 10 works of fiction?

Thank you for the ask, dear Yasu (you're stuck with this nickname now hahah)! It's hard to pick just 10 and my favs are not really something sophisticated, I’m just a weeb after all :D

so here are my favourite stories, not in any particular order

Shingeki no Kyojin manga by Hajime Isayama, I’ve been obsessed with this for about 10 years, I hate it, I love it, I think about it everyday

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, I love the book, the musical, the disney version, basically everything related to this story, it makes me cry whenever I think about it

When They Cry series by Ryukishi 07 (both Higurashi and Umineko, I started reading Ciconia but I’ve never finished it, I admit, I kinda don’t have energy to start new things lately, rewatching/rereading something is much easier, but I will definitely finish it someday!), the absolute masterpiece, 10/10, we all love it

Claymore by Norihiro Yagi, (u know this already), what can I say, hot lesbians with swords, that’s all I need in life (I prefer the manga but anime is still good, like maybe without the last two episodes?) 

Revolutionary Girl Utena (anime, RGU is one of those few stories where anime is so much better than manga), once again what can I say, hot lesbians with swords, fighting patriarchy, love it

The Phantom of the Opera (both book by Gaston Leroux and musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber), don’t judge me, I fell in love with this story when I was like 11 and I still love it to this day

Nana by Ai Yazawa, the story that always makes me feel so nostalgic, so sad! Themes of love, friendship and all hardships of beginning an adult life combined with punk vibes (and awesome soundtrack in the anime version!) makes the timeless classic of my late teen years. I am rewatching anime rn and it brings back so many feelings!

Hellsing manga by Kohta Hirano (and its anime version Hellsing Ultimate). Once again a story I discovered in my teenage years and is still one of my havs. Sexy vampires fighting n*zis, Vlad the Impaler, big titty police girl, blond girlboss, I love them all. Hellsing Ultimate has an amazing soundtrack composed by Hayato Matsuo and performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and a lot of very talented va. It’s the only anime ever that I actually enjoy watching with english dub, it just fits the story so well, I recommend it to everyone.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (once again both Hugo’s book and the musical), every character in this story is so dear to me, all of their struggles, all of the themes! I even wrote about Jean Valjean in my final highschool exam, he kinda saved my life hah. 

Madama Butterfly, opera by Giacomo Puccini. Of course it’s on the list, I wrote my bachelor's thesis based on this piece. I just really like Puccini’s music and since this opera is about love, betrayal and suicide and on top of it is centered around japanese culture, it’s a perfect one for me 笑笑笑

Hope you don’t find my list boring, I’m a simple girl hahah, thanks once again! 💕

[anime-grimmy-art]

Something little cos the end of the anime hit me harder than expected.

I haven’t watched any seasonal anime in a long time, at least not from week to week. And even though I’ve read the manga 2 times before the second episode even came out, I kept coming back to the series.

Now, the anime adaptation....isn’t the best. It is littered with mistakes and wonky frames, which is understandable with everything that’s happening right now. But still, something about the anime was just so charming that I came back. And even if it had it’s downsides, the style in general was just drop-dead-gorgeous. Also, some scene’s where just put together so well that the impact was amazing (e.g., Tsukasa fading into existence in the background, that gave me chills)

And it’s not like the anime doesn’t have its strongsuits. First of, this anime has one of the best and most misleading first episodes ever. The ep itself looks pretty as hell and the comedy and character interactions are amazing. The first ep was what pushed me to read the manga, cos the artstyle, concept and characters drew me in. And with how comedy-heavy the start of the show is the more rewarding the drama and angst feel.

Second thing they’ve done amazingly is the audio. The ED is awesome and the OP is an absolute bop. The OST in general sounds nice, but damn, if the music box didn’t always make me emotional the moment it came on.

But the best thing is the voice acting. I have seen few anime in which the voice acting is this damn good. The performances just enhance the show so much. Like with Natsuhiko’s and Nene’s va, they make funny moments so much funnier. The ones I bow down to, however, are Kou’s va, Chiba Shouya, and Hanako/Tsukasa’s va, Megumi Ogata. Their performance was out of this world.  Kou can sound super cute and goofy, but where he really shines are the emotional scenes. I don’t know how Shouya-san does it, but something about his voice just sounds so raw, it sends shivers down my spine. And then Ogata-san. She’s always been a queen, but damn if she hasn’t ascended to goddess. I’ve always really liked her, but just something about how she brought the character’s to life really resonated with me. I mean, she made me love Tsukasa. Mind you, I always thought he was an interesting character and I always enjoyed him popping up in the manga, but just the way Ogata-san adds another layer to him is amazing. Alone the fact that she can make Hanako and Tsukasa sound so different is even more astounding. They have traits they share, but with Tsukasa she just puts on a voice that plays into all his deceiving cuteness. And also, the damn noices she makes. She always adds little sounds into backrgound and that really adds so much.

Anyways, long story short, even if the adaptation isn’t the best, I enjoyed it quiet a lot. If anything, I’m just grateful it introduced me to such an amazing manga and the amazing community behind it.

[inkabelledesigns]

Poem 31: Thank You

A short poem from Alice and Poet, but a longer recording because I have my own two cents to add in as just me. I want to give a huge HUGE thank you to @halfusek for hosting Ink Demonth for the second year in a row. Thank you for all that you do to make the Bendy community as great as it is, you’re an absolute delight, your art is amazing, and you’re super sweet to all of us in the audience! This is the first month-long creative challenge of any kind that I’ve managed to see through to completion, and I’m happy with the result. I’ve learned a lot from it that I’m gonna continue to use for a long time. 

I also need to give another thank you to AJ and Steve ( @ahjones94 and https://twitter.com/HypeVoiceActing ) for all of their help with these audio pieces. You guys are awesome, and I’m proud to not only work with you, but call you my friends. <3 It wouldn’t be the same without you!

And now you get the full audio transcript below, not just the poem! Plus some project links to my friends, as promised.~

Steve (HyperVoiceActing): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgD1... 

Rouge's Denial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F3ic... 

 AJ (BigBlue VA): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnMB... 

Break Time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZYCh...

Sound Effects (Creative Commons 0): https://freesound.org/people/Aldebara... https://freesound.org/people/YourFrie... 

A Fond Farewell

By: Kat Alyst

Poet: Well dear listeners, 

It seems our time together has come to an end. 

I won’t pretend 

I didn’t enjoy it.

Because truly, I did.

You’ve been a delight to have around

Even though you’re not in our underground.

And it’s been a pleasure entertaining you

For the long month that it’s been. 

Twisted Alice: Really and truly, 

It’s been nice having you here. And seeing all your lovely compliments has made this angel feel heaven-sent. We may be stuck in this dingy old studio, but our stories will always live on out there, with you. 

Poet: Quite right dear angel! 

It’s really a shame, 

I wish I weren’t running out of tapes. 

I know, there are steaks, 

but it’d be nice to entertain again, you know? 

It’s been so long since our show. 

Surely we’re due for a comeback, yes?

Twisted Alice: Quite. Though it’d be a bit of a “dark revival,” all things considered. -chuckles- Either way, it’s been nice having an audience that doesn’t hate my guts. Thank you all for listening in.

Poet: Indeed. Dear viewers,

I hope you’ll consider looking back 

at all the lovely stories we shared together. 

And if you keep the tether, 

Consider listening again during stormy weather.

A good story is the best medicine 

When you’re having a cloudy day.

Until I can find more tapes to record on,

Here’s wishing you well out there.

Come back again soon! 

Your Poet is always ready with their monsoon of verses for you!

Kat: Wait, wait, don’t cut the tape just yet! 

Greetings everyone, my name is Kat Alyst, and I am the writer and voice behind the Poet, and all of these Ink Demonth poems. 

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you so so much for all of your support throughout this month. This has been such a fun challenge for me, to test out my skills as a writer, a voice actor, and as an audio editor, and it feels so good to be in all of those things. 

I think the thing that surprised me the most is just the amount of people that stuck around to listen to all of these. 

Like I get it, poetry is not the first thing you think of when you hear “Bendy and the Ink Machine,” but it’s like, I’ve gotten to do so many fun things. I don’t think I’ve ever seen “fandom poetry” as a big thing that anybody’s explored, but there’s a lot of potential for it in a series like this.

I don’t know if I’ll ever do any Bendy poems again, but this was a really fun experiment, and I’m glad that I went through with it.

 Before I let you go, I feel it’s important that I give a huge, HUGE thank you to Steve and AJ for all the help that they’ve given me throughout this month. Like oh my god, you guys are superstars,  and I love you. Steve (HyperVoiceActing) was our voice actor for Joey Drew, Bendy, Boris, and Generic Toon #47. Yes, I’m sticking with that name and you can’t stop me. 

He’s also been my primary ‘sound board,’ just the person that I’ve been talking to the most with making sure that I’m doing a good job of all of this. ‘Cause I’m still very amateur when it comes to audio editing, and sometimes it really helps to have a second pair of ears. So Steve, thank you so much for everything you’ve done, you are phenomenal. 

AJ (BigBlue VA) was our voice of Henry in that one skit (27: Fight, he was also the Butcher Gang). AJ and I have been working together for a long time, and he is hysterical. So I was really looking forward to that as well. Just both of these guys have had some amazing performances throughout this whole thing, and I couldn’t do it without them. So thank you again.

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with these two before, be it on projects with our other friends or projects that they’ve been doing, so if you’d like to hear some work we’ve done together, I’m gonna link a little bit in the description. HyperVoiceActing is the channel for Steve and BigBlue VA is the channel for AJ. So go show them some love, they’re amazing at what they do, and it would really mean a lot to me. 

So with all that said and done, thank you so much for tuning into the Ink Demonth. And comment down below, what was your favorite poem of the bunch? Well, technically most of them were poems, a few of them were audio skits, but I wanna know what you think. I wanna know what you think I could be doing in the future too, because I am totally open to doing more crazy projects, it’s always a great time to just go in there and have some fun. So thank you again so much for tuning in, and I hope you all have a great rest of the day. Don’t let the Ink Demon bite! Ta-ta! 

[spaceorphan18]

What do you think are the most underrated glee songs? Like, they’re awesome and why doesn’t fandom love them more?

Oh this is such a neat ask! Let’s see, I think I’m going to list performances that I think are pretty good, but I don’t see people talking about as much.  You’re not going to see much Klaine on this list -- mostly, at least around these parts, I think their performances do get the recognition they deserve.  

Season 1: 

Push It (Showmance) - It’s really quite funny

Bust Your Windows (Acafellas) - Mercedes first gets to shine

Maybe This Time (Rhodes Not Taken) - Lea and Kristen Chenoweth kill this one. 

Dancing With Myself (Wheels) - I just like this Artie solo

Smile (Mattress) - I think both versions in the episode are pretty good, and one is a rare Finchel duet I enjoy

Hello (Hello) - Lea and Jonathan Groff are amazing together

Open Your Heart/Borderline (Power of Madonna) - I just wanna talk about all the Madonnas in the hallway

4 Minutes (Power of Madonna) - Kurt and Mercedes get their sexy on, and I don’t feel like that’s appreciated enough

Run Joey Run (Bad Reputation) - I mean, you guys, this might be one of the funniest things they show ever did, and the fact that the point was missed by so many made sure the show rarely did straight up comedy numbers again

Dream a Little Dream of Me (Dream On) - Artie w/Tina and Mike dancing, it’s cute and bittersweet

Season 2 

Sing (Duets) - It’s a super cute duet between Tina and Mike

Forget You (The Substitute) - Idec that it’s Holly, I love this one

Make ‘Em Laugh (The Substitute) - I don’t think Matthew Morrison gets enough credit for how talented he is.  

Just the Way You Are (Furt) - I’m not a huge fan of Finn’s singing - so I kinda of like to acknowledge when he does a good job, and I really like this one. 

The Living Years (Special Education) - The Hipsters rock it, man

Only Child (Original Song) - It is what is, okay?! 

Jesus is My Friend (Original Song) - I’m giggling just thinking about it

Bubble Toes (Night of Neglect) - Mike’s dance number is fantastic

Ain’t Now Way (Night of Neglect) - Merecedes’ numbers end up in the worst episodes, and it’s a shame, because sometimes they get overlooked. 

I’ve Gotta Be Me (Born This Way) - this song gets forgotten among the true gems during this episode, but it’s a nice Finn and Mike number

Nice To Meet You, Have I Slept With You (Rumours) - This is another hilarious original song done by April and Will often forgotten. 

Friday (Prom Queen) - As a boy band song, it really works

Season 3

Anything Goes/Anything You Can Do (The Purple Piano Project) - it’s truly amazing -- especially for an unknown guest start that’s basically one and done. 

Spotlight (Asian F) - Another Mercedes solo that I think flies under the radar. 

You and I (Mash Off) - Will and Shelby duet, the adult stuff often gets overlooked I think. 

We Are Young (Hold Onto 16) - It was probably over played on the radio at the time, but I think they did a fantastic job with the cover, and it works well as a group number. 

We Found Love (Yes/No) - Wemma gets a bad rap a lot of the times, but I think this actually really works, and is a nice scene

The Rain in Spain (Choke) - You guys, it’s a heavy metal cover of a classic song, I’m not the only one who finds that hilarious, right? 

Mean (Props) - Beiste and Puck singing a duet that fits their story well, but since we don’t talk about these storylines much, this rarely comes up. 

Starships (Nationals) - Unique is on fire, and I liked VA’s set more than ND’s.

Season 4

Call Me Maybe (The New Rachel) - idec, I love it and find it amazing and it energizes me, shut up. 

Busters Get Popped (The New Rachel) - still giggling

Chasing Pavements (The New Rachel) - I think Melissa Benoist got a raw deal having to be paired against Lea Michele, but I think she has a lovely voice, and really brings this one alive.  

Everybody Talks (Role You Were Born to Play) - it’s a nice song and a nice duet between Kitty and Jake

Whistle (Thanksgiving) - okay it’s not a good song, but my god does it make me laugh every time I hear it

O Holy Night (Swan Song) - Clearly, I’m not putting Rachel songs on this list, but this one -- I’m giving her this one.  This is beautiful and fantastic in all the right ways, and one of my favorite Rachel solos of the series.  One of the few times she’s not over emoting a serious song, and it’s a nice relief. 

Don’t Dream It’s Over (Swan Song) - It’s a bittersweet song that I think really works for the tone of the moment.  

Torn (Naked) - what another Rachel solo?? Yeah, visually, the duet with herself is really striking

Not Getting Married Today (I Do) - Let’s give Jayma Mays a second of recognition for her ability to do this one.   

You’re All the World to Me (Girls and Boys on Film) - Will and Emma duet that is notable for the choreography alone

How to Be a Heartbreaker (Feud) - the cinematography and choreography is unlike anything else on the show, so I find it fascinating. 

I Still Believe/Superbass (Feud) - I mean, let’s give Jane Lynch credit for spoofing Nikki Minaj, I mean, c’mon

Everybody Hurts (Lights Out) - I don’t like Ryder, and I really don’t like the actor who portrays him, but this acoustic version of the song is really fantastic. 

Superstition (Wonderful) - Mercedes, Blaine, and Marley on this Stevie Wonder classic that, again, flies under the radar a bit

Rainbow Connection (All or Nothing) - Glee snuck in a cover done by a third party participant at Regionals that’s really good, and you probably didn’t even know it. 

Season 5

If I Were a Boy (End of Twerk) - A lot of the newbie stuff gets (understandably) overlooked, but Unique’s version of this is emotional and haunting and often forgotten about

What The Fox Says (Puppet Master) - I don’t think this is as bad as everyone would have you believe.  

Away In a Manager (Previously Unaired Christmas) - I rarely give props to this episode for anything, but this was really well done, and the only song from this episode that I’ll listen to. 

Don’t Rain on My Parade (Frenemies) - Yes, it’s a jazzier/pop version of the song, but I think Santana does better with it than people give her credit for. 

Hold On (Trio) - I freakin’ love this group number.  It’s amazing. 

Toxic/Defying Gravity/Valerie (100) - lumping them together because I actually enjoy all of these better than the originals.  Oops. 

Loser Like Me (New Directions) - Yes, the lyrics are terrible, but I love this arrangement of it

LoveFool (Opening Night) - Omg, another Rachel solo - this one is also hilarious

Season 6

Tightrope (Homecoming) - Jane can really sing, these new newbies bring it

Home (Homecoming) - I think it’s a super tight group number that doesn’t get mentioned often, but really works. 

Bitch (Hurt Locker 1) - There has never been a more perfect Sue song.  Not sure if it’s underrated? But wanted to point out that it’s notable. 

At Last (A Wedding) - really the best part of that ceremony 

The Final Countdown (Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester) - It’s nice that they included one last comedic performance

Listen to Your Heart (We Built This Glee Club) - I’m glad Rachel and Jesse got one last number together

Take Me to Church/Chandelier/Come Sail Away (We Built This Glee Club) - I think the New New Directions last competition set list was pretty good! 

So, uh, yeah - didn’t see it on here? I probably really loved it and everyone knows that or I don’t think it’s that great to be remember, lol 

What are your favorite underrated songs? 

[creepercraftguy]

If Danganronpa: Another Despair Academy had an English cast

So I recently made a post very similar to this where I talked about who a hypothetical English voice cast for Our World Is Ended would be. I kind of enjoyed making that post, so I decided to do something similar with the cast of a Danganronpa fan game that has been featured prominently on my chanel and that’s the Danganronpa: Another series. Being a Korean fan game, the original dub of Danganronpa Another has barely any dialogue to speak of. In fact, the only two characters in the series who speak often are Yuki and Sora, the protagonists of the two games, but that’s when they’re in trials. As of right now, a group of people is working on an English dub for the second game. This is why I’m specifically going to talk about the first game in the series, and bare in mind 2 things.

1) There will be some pretty heavy spoilers that I talk about in this post, so if you’re going to read it, please play the game, watch a playthrough or read up on it first.

2) If by any chance the first game gets a dub and the following people I do mention end up voicing the characters, I assure you it is purely coincidental. I wouldn’t even call this a hypothetical scenario so much as I’d call it a basic thought process of my weird weird mind.

Without further ado, let’s begin.

Yuki Maeda: Yuri Lowenthal

In the current dub for the second game, Yuki is being voiced by a user by the name of Soluri, who is pretty talented in their right, but my thought process for an alternative voice actor would be this. Yuki as a protagonist takes a very similar standing as Makoto Naegi and Hajime Hinata, whom are voiced by Bryce Papenbrook and Johnny Yong Bosch respectively, so if I was given a choice to choose who could voice act him, then I think Yuri Lowenthal would be a fitting choice, since he’s also often voiced protagonists. Being someone who often does work in famous franchises, his voice work includes Marth from Fire Emblem, Yosuke Hanamura in Persona, Ben Tennyson in many Ben 10 works, Klavier Gavin in Ace Attorney, Simon in Gurren Lagann and Suzaku from Code Geass. However, he’d also be a fitting choice since I believe he’d be able to do a good job as both the somwhat cowardly and submissive Yuki as well as the mysterious and somewhat stoically dangerous Utsuro, as he is also the main VA for Sasuke in Naruto and Alucard in Castlevania. 

Akane Taira: Monica Rial

Akane’s basic character throughout the majority of the game is that she’s lighthearted and even though the killing game is getting to her just as much as everyone else, she still finds a way to lighten the atmosphere, and is a usually cheery and kind person, if a little scary when angry. However, her true nature is something much more freakish, being, in actuality, the mastermind behind the aforementioned killing game that she spends a lot of the game seemingly fighting against. For an English VA, I think the best bet is Monica Rial, who has previously voiced in Danganronpa as Sayaka Maizono in the Danganronpa anime. The reason for my choice is she has previously voiced usually nice, if a little stern, characters like Bulma from Dragon Ball, Tsuyu Asui from My Hero Academia, May Chang from Full Metal Alchemist, Tsubaki from Soul Eater, Kayano from Assassination Classroom, Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tale and Sakura from CardCaptor Sakura. However, she’s not one to shy away from maniacal villains, or generally creepy characters either, also voicing Tanya from Saga of Tanya the Evil, Krul Tepes from Seraph of the End or Stocking from Panty and Stocking. Also doing the voice of Misaki Ayuzawa from Maid Sama and Mey-rin in Black Butler, she’s not new to voicing maid characters.

Tsurugi Kinjo: Crispin Freeman

Having already done voice work in a main Danganronpa game, albeit for a very unlikable character, I ruled out Matthew Mercer for this one. I can only really describe Tsurugi as the Nagito Komaeda of this series. He has good intentions, but a really messed up way of thinking, even at times quite self-deprecating and reflecting on his own incapabilities to stop the killing game and catch the mastermind. Like I already said, he seems like he’d be voiced by a deep voiced character like Matt Mercer, but when it comes to characters like that, Crispin Freeman is a safe bet. Some of the rightous and/or badass characters that he’s lent his voice to include Winston from Overwatch, Kyon in the Haruhi Suzumiya series, Tsume in Wolf’s Rain and more, but can also do a pretty good crazy character every once in a while, like Alucard from Hellsing, Itachi Uchiha from Naruto and Firefly in the Batman Arkham Series.

Rei Mekaru: Laura Post

Admittedly, I was considering Monica Rial for this crude and shrewd character too. Mature and professional to a fault, barely showing any sort of real emotion and often insulting the other killing game participants for seemingly no reason, Rei is basically Another 2′s Byakuya Togami, intelligent, but rude. Having previously voiced condescending characters, Laura Post is a pretty good choice. I’m referring mostly to characters like Kill La Kill’s Ragyo Kiryuin and Fubuki/Blizzard from Hell from One Punch Man, as well as Diana Cavendish from Little Witch Academia and one of her first ever performances, Queen Nehelenia from Sailor Moon. However, Laura Post has also voiced rather gentle and friendly characters before, which would be a good way to highlight Rei’s secret soft side. Characters like Nozomi Tojo from Love Live and her most recent role, Kasumi Yoshizawa from Persona 5 Royal.

Haruhiko “Haru”  Kobashikawa: Sam Riegal

The minute I was introduced to him, I immediately thought, “Ok, he’s going to be the Kazuichi of this game isn’t he?” And to be honest, I don’t think I was that far off. However, even so, he seems more like Kaito if Kaito wasn’t necessarily a central character. Haru’s important, but he’s on the same level of importance as a character like say...Game 1 Toko. A sociable person who’s only goal is to get along well with everyone, he’s cheerful, laid back and more often than not pretty amusing to watch. Someone I believe to be fit for the role, having previously voiced a repertoire of pretty dorky and likeable characters, is Sam Riegal. By that, I mean he’s done the voice work of Teddy from Persona, Phoenix Wright in Ace Attorney, Emperor Awesome in Wander of Yonder,  Kanata from Trinity Universe, Shirou Emiya from Fate/Stay Night and Donatello in a large number of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles works.

Teruya Otori: Kyle McCarly

Teruya is a character that returns for the second game, and his voice actor in that is NuzikVA. I was really stuck on this one, since Yuri Lowenthal, whom I picked for Yuki, was my main option for Teruya too, but my second option for him would be just as viable. One of Teruya’s most important aspects to his character is that he has a pretty unique western accent despite being Japanese, since his Ultimate Merchant talent means he’s travelled the world and picked up on a few things. On top of that, he’s pretty adorkable and a little childish. I’ve heard Yuri Lowenthal do accents before, which is why I considered it, but I figured anything Yuri Lowenthal can do, Kyle McCarly can do just as well, if not better. He’s a voice actor who’s lines are packed full of expression and some of his previous work includes 9S from Neir: Automata, Hyde in Cross Tag Battle, Hal in Astral Chain, Gatekeeper in Fire Emblem Three Houses and Narancia in JoJo Part 5.

Satsuki Iranami: Deva Marie Gregory

While she was a character that I found initially very irritating and she was definitely the one I had to warm to the most, I won’t deny that Satsuki Iranami is like 70% of the humour and happiness in this game. Similarly to Ibuki, she tends to act childish and make jokes in very tense situations and as described by Yuki as “a person that makes you tired just by talking with her” or something along those lines. Now, this might seem like a pretty obscure and strange choice for a VA, but my choice for a voice is Deva Marie Gregory. It’s obscure, since she is relatively new to the voice acting industry, only voicing one character in one franchise so far. However, that character is Flayn from Fire Emblem Three Houses, arguably one of the characters with the more comedic dialogue. I can totally picture her playing an “In-your-face” practical joker character like Satsuki, making common wisecracks, and it’s something I’d really like to bear witness to.

Mitsuhiro “Mitch” Higa: Joe Brogie

Possibly my least favourite character in this game, he’s essentially a worse version of Leon Kuwata from the first game. He’s genuinely kind of a chill guy, but his status as the Ultimate Soccer Player and his world fame makes him more than a little arrogant and cocky and often ignores people who he doesn’t care for. Joe Brogie is my choice for him, despite being a relatively new voice actor. His previous work includes the player character from God Eater 3, Linus from Fire Emblem Heroes, Donatello from Injustice 2 and Sylvain Jose Gautier from Fire Emblem Three Houses. However, despite his few roles and lacking history of voices, he’s talented and capable nonetheless. 

Kizuna Tomori: Tia Ballard

Kizuna can be described in the following words: Cutesy, flirtatious and distrustful. I know those phrases sound mutually exclusive to each other, but trust me, it’s true. Obviously, her nature just changes depending on the situation, since she’s lighthearted and merry more often than not, but in a tense situation becomes suspicious, snappy and even physically violent. I picture her having a high voice, and when taking her character into account, I think the best bet is Tia Ballard. The main reason for my choice is that Tia’s most common voices belong to generally “moe” anime girls, but she voices them in a way that doesn’t sound annoyingly high pitched like how Stephanie Sheh does with Mikan in Danganronpa 2. If Ballard voiced Kizuna, she could pretty much perfectly land the “cutesy at first, but angry when provoked” attitude that Kizuna has. Some of her previous work includes Marron from Dragon Ball, Happy from Fairy Tail, Chiho Sasaki from The Devil is a Part Timer, Takao from D-Frag, Zero Two from Darling in the Franxx and has actually voiced in Danganronpa previously as Daisaku Bandai in Danganronpa 3.

Mikako Kurokawa: Brittany Cox

Extremely similarly to my choice for Satsuki, my choice for Mikako has also only ever been in one game, and it’s the same game as my choice for Satsuki actually. Mikako is a quiet person and she isn’t much of a talker, and when she does she sticks to short replies after long periods of silence, often causing people to forget she's around or becoming surprised when she eventually speaks up. She is unresponsive in a conversation and avoids making eye contact with anyone she talks to which seems rude, but her past explains why. The character Brittany Cox plays in Three Houses is Ingrid Galatea, who is generally a pretty merry, if a little serious and motherly, character, who’s personality isn’t a quiet one. However, while her voice acting is really good, Brittany Cox has a bit of a stoic, monotone and quiet voice, that I believe would fit Mikako perfectly.

Kinji Uehara: Robbie Daymond

There were a few reasons why I chose this person for this characters voice, but I’ll talk about those in a moment. Kinji is the good type of priest, one who is serious and quiet, but is a good listener, and respectful of people to a point where he doesn’t force his religious ideals onto others. However, when put under immense amounts of pressure, he can break down and turn somewhat psychotic. Hence my choice for his voice actor. Robbie Daymond is a personal favourite of mine, since he has a special talent of playing characters such as Goro Akechi and Hubert Vestra, from Persona and Three Houses respectively; characters who for the most part are calm, reserved, quiet and in Akechi’s case, somewhat kind. However, after certain points in the games stories, the two characters turn inexplicably evil and crazy, and the voice work and the shift in tone has such an amazing range that it’s hard to believe it’s the same guy. Seriously, look up Daymond’s work as Akechi, it’s honestly amazing and is the type of voice I’d honestly expect for Kinji when he breaks down. Alongside those two roles, Daymond also voices Prompto in Final Fantasy 15, Reinhard in RE:Zero, Professor Willow in Pokemon, Gilthunder in Nanatsu No Taizai and Mumen Rider in One Punch Man.

Kiyoka Maki: Colleen Clinkenbeard

A girl with a personality that doesn’t match her talent, Kiyoka Maki is outgoing and carefree and doesn’t have an awful lot of care for her talent, being way more interested in more effeminate things than guns. When I first saw Kiyoka and was introduced to her character, for some reason I thought “This is the type of character Colleen Clinkenbeard would voice.” Originally I was going to cast Clinkenbeard as Teruya before I realised Teruya wouldn’t necessarily have a child-like voice. Clinkenbeard however, does have experience of voicing male anime characters, and a lot of characters that scream a lot, Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece and Young Gohan being the prime examples. Alongside that, she’s also voiced another gunslinger in Full Metal Alchemist as Riza Hawkeye, as well as Momo Yaoyorozu in My Hero Academia, Rachel Moore in Case Closed, Erza Scarlet in Fairy Tail and previously in Danganronpa 3 as the loveable Chisa Yukizome.

Ayame Hatano: Karen Strassman

Ayame is a stoic and strong-willed person. Although she appears to be perfectly calm in most situations, she admits that she can be awkward especially during conversations, and as a result, she has a tendency to ramble and wander off in her own, or not talk much at all. To me, she seems like a character that someone like Karen Strassman would lend her voice to, since she’s played several characters with those personality traits before. To name a few, there’s Aigis and Nanako from Persona and she’s also voiced Anna in several Fire Emblem games. She’s also played Kallen Stadtfeld in Code Geass, Miyuki Takara in Lucky Star and Rouge the Bat in several Sonic the Hedghog games.

Kanata Inori: Felicia Angelle

I was also considering casting Tia Ballard for this character too, but unlike Kizuna, Kanata genuinely seems like a moe character that would have a high voice. Kanata is a sweet girl who wishes nothing more than the comfort of her patients and everyone else around her. Exceedingly formal and polite, she addresses her classmates as Mr or Ms, like how Hifumi Yamada does in the first game. My choice for her is Felicia Angelle, who’s repertoire consists of both cute and geeky anime girls, as well a little bit of the scary stuff too. This includes Tohru Hagakure from My Hero Academia, Perona from One Piece, The Supreme Kai of Time from Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Shinoa Hiragi from Seraph of the end, Shaltear from Overlord, Georgie from Maid Dragon and has previously been in the Danganronpa anime, playing Aoi Asahina.

Kakeru Yamaguchi: J Michael Tatum

I have a pretty good reason for this cast. Becoming a legal prodigy when he was quite young, Kakeru is a character who seems to have a split personality, but on a level way less extreme than that of Toko Fukawa. Essentially, he’s usually quite a timid and shy person, that finds it hard to hold a conversation, but when he’s in the courtroom or a class trial, he becomes quite loud and brash in a way similar to that of Nekomaru in the second game. His personality reminds me that of characters like Tenya Iida from My Hero Academia and Rei Ryugazaki from Free! both of whom are voiced by J Michal Tatum, whom is my choice for Kakeru. Tatum has also voiced Zarbon from Dragon Ball, Commander Erwin from Attack on Titan, Rintaro Okabe from Steins:Gate, Scar from Full Metal Alchemist, France from Hetalia and Sebastian from Black Butler.

Yamato Kisaragi: Max Mittleman

Yamato is almost as crazy an inventor as Miu, sans the whole sexual and perverted invention parts. Being a character who’s introduced a little later into the story, Yamato is pretty quirky, energetic and honestly friendly, but that leads people to be a little doubtful of him, Tsurugi in particular. His energetic character and his genuine feel make me think that someone who could voice him is Max Mittleman. Mittleman’s previous voices include Plag from Miraculous Ladybug, Ryuji Sakamoto from Persona, Saitama from One Punch Man, King from Natatsu No Taizai, Meruem in HunterXHunter and more

So that’s what I got. If you liked this, then leave me a heart and repost if you want. If you have any other recommendations for Japanese exclusive projects I should assign voice actors to, then let me know.

[winstonhcomedy]

“Dope A-F” - 7/11-7/29- “Birthday Heckler, Winstmas Games, DC, and Amazing Shows”

Only a few days behind. That’s ok because I know I can catch up. Definitely doing way better than I was. It has been a chill week. I am still trying to adjust to losing my dad, and just trying to still enjoy comedy. So let’s hop right into it!

7/11

There were a couple of open mics this night. There was The Camel hosted by Jameson Babbowski right after work, and then after that will be Garden Grove which was going to be guest hosted by Brandon Beswick.

I headed over to The Camel right after work. I got there about 4:10 and ordered my dinner. I got to catch up and talk to the bartender/owner for about an hour. We talked about music, and the band my brother was in He is a super cool dude. A few more comics show up while I am waiting.

Liz and Mu were headlining so they both got there relatively early. There were a few comics from the standup class I subbed in. I got to ask them if what I was saying was helpful at all, and they all said it was. So that helped me feel pretty good about it.  Anne Meng showed up as did. a few others comics. So we had a good hang going on. 

Jameson finally gets there and sets the lineup. The hang continues for a bit and then the show starts. The first few comics do pretty well. There is an ok sized crowd. Better than the last few I had been to. I grabbed my light from the car because the first few comics you couldn’t see. We get it set up and then Mu goes up and has a really hot set. After him Liz goes up and she does pretty well too. She has a super drunk heckler during her set. She did a good job of not losing her shit on him, but he was just yelling the worst stuff. It kind of derailed her set. 

After her were a few more comics. Then it was my turn. I had a good set. I did mostly new. I also did some dad material too. it is all coming together. I really enjoyed this set. People seemed to dig it, and I was able to really have a nice strong set. I’d give it a B. 

I then hung out and watched the rest of the show. Most everyone did ok which was cool to watch. Legit 3/4 of the audience left right before the final guy which kind of sucked for him. He is new and he powered through it. After the show I grabbed my light and headed to Garden Grove.

It had started to rain so I put on my raincoat once I got to Garden Grove. I check in with Beswick and he lets know I am third. Mike Engle is there as are a bunch of my friends. Ry Mather, Jack Gerow, Jesse Pearlstein, Dylan, and Anthony Thompson all showed up. It was a super dope hang. The crowd was light, but the people there were really excited for comedy. There were a few people int he corner who were pretty loud, but for the most part everyone was at least attentive. 

Brandon hosted and really started to try and work the audience over to get them ready. he ended on a pretty good pop, and I think he did a super good job hosting. After him the first few comics went up and did ok. I went up and just tried my material. I had a good but not great set. For the room I did well. I didn’t go into crowd work for the most part and I just did my new jokes for like 7 minutes. This felt good. I love just doing jokes at the open mics, and then being able to flex my crowd work muscle on other shows. I’d give this set a B-. It was super productive. If I had done crowd work I would have done better, but I wouldn’t have gotten as much out of it.

After my set I kind of just hung around for a long time. I talked shop with everybody. There were a few more comics from the class who asked some questions and hung out. It was cool to see them out at mics watching, and a few did some sets. 

We had a nice long chat outside about comedy specials. This is always the best. Just like 30+ minutes talking about who we like and why we like them. Comedy is the absolute best shit in the whole world. After talking forever I said goodbye and headed home to pass out. I was super tired. 

7/12

I didn’t do a set on this day. This was the day I was using to celebrate my birthday with my family. I just went over to my brother’s, hung with my nice, had a nice dinner, watched a movie, and hung out all night. It was everything I wanted. Just like 10 straight hours being with the one’s I love. 

I knew I had a big show tomorrow, and would only get the first part of the day with them so I wanted the night before to really be special. I missed my dad so much during dinner. He would have loved everything about it. I’m glad I was with the one’s I love the most.

7/13

For my birthday I was headlining a show at Intermission Beer Company. Liz Carr was running a Virginia is for Lovers comedy show. So all the performers had to be based or born in VA. 

Before all of this I spent time with my family. Enjoyed my niece’s company, and then went to Hardwood to watch Alex Jonestown Massacre play a cover set of Anti Flag. It was a super fun benefit show. I got to chill with Kenn for a bit, and see a few of my other friends before I headed over to Intermission.

I got to Intermission and Liz was there. I checked in and we caught up. Trayvon Fulton was also down from Philly. I haven’t seen him in a while so that was nice. Newer comic Heather Joyce was also on the show. Then Brock Hall, Alida Harper, and Jeff Simmermon also showed up.  

Jeff was down from NYC and I was able to link him up with Liz to do a spot. The lineup was set, and people had started to show up. It looked a little light at first but then people started rolling in. I had a couple friend from high school come out, and I had about 8 people from work come as well. I love when they come. It makes me want to try even harder. 

I got to chat and catch up with them. We talked and hung out before the show started. But the time the show began the room was almost completely full except for the one table at the very front.

Liz went up and did ok. She was followed by Heather and she got some pretty good pops during her set. She is super new and I’ve honestly only seen her perform at intermission. After her was Brock. He had some of his one liners work pretty well, but because he didn’t take a set list up with him he got off stage a little early. Which is ok. Then Alida went up and this was when I started to get in the zone for my set. I was supposed to do 20 to 25 and I wanted to do really well since my friends were there along with a ton of other people.

I went outside and stretched, and ran over myself et in my head a bit. I jumped up and down and tried to just get as loose as possible. Halfway through Alida’s set Jack Gerow showed to support and that meant a lot to me.

Alida got off stage and Jeff went up. By this time the front table had filled up completely. So the room was packed and Jeff went into his act. He did really well. He is a good comic and an even better dude. He handled the crowd a bit. He didn’t go in on them too much, but they were heckling a bit, and throwing him off of his rhythm.  He had a really fun set, and was killing it. 

After he got off stage. Liz gave me a wonderful intro and mentioned it was my birthday. I get on stage and immediately go into my act. The table at the very front had been filled by a dude and four girls. He was absolutely wasted and had been interrupting a lot throughout the night. He wasn’t being a dick on purpose, but it was affecting the show.

I had just walked in on him in the bathroom so I apologized for that while also shitting on him for not locking the door. Then I got to know him. I asked his name and he said it was Cody but he stood up when he told me. He didn’t have a job, but had a lot of money so I asked him what his dad did for a living. I also made fun of how he was acting the whole night. I

 then asked the girls with him how they knew him. They wouldn’t answer. They were so embarrassed by how he was acting. He was absolutely super upset they didn’t have his back. I asked one of them if they were his gf and she said hell no. He looked at her shocked. This was the first he had found out about this. I started to feel bad so I apologized, and joked around. The crowd was loving it. I was killing.

He started vaping and I had to get him to stop. I joked around with them some more and then went into my act. Everything was working. It felt so good to be doing so well. I was having a hot one. I’d do a bit and then address the crowd a bit and then go right into the next joke. I did about 35 minutes and it was all working. I closed really strong, and honestly got a good fun video out of it. I hope the audio turned out well because I can’t wait to rewatch all the crowd work stuff. I’d give this set an A.

After my set they sang happy birthday to me, and I got to hang with my friends. I said thank you and all of my goodbyes. Then Cody drunkenly drove off with the other girls in his car. So we told the owners and we all kinda hung out before heading out. I then got dinner with Jack Gerow and we talked comedy for a long time. It was a blast and a great hang. Then I headed out with my coworkers and saw some other comics. It was an awesome birthday. I finally headed home to get a good nights sleep because I had a lot of driving to do the  next day.

My first birthday without my dad had all of the ingredients to be a horrible time. I miss him so much. I didn’t know how it was going to go, but all I knew was he would want me to have a great time. I am so thankful I have my friends, coworkers, comics, family, and loved ones to be there for me and make surety birthday was as amazing as it could possible be. 

7/14

The next day I got in my car and drove to Virginia Beach to the all day VB Strong comedy show and benefit at the Virginia Beach Funny Bone. It was 12 hours of comedy to benefit the shooting that happened in VB recently. 

There was a huge number of comics and they ended up raising over 20 grand. It was a killer event and I was really glad to be a part of it. I ended up stuffing my face with wings and catching up with some friends waiting for my set to start. I was on the 6 o clock show, but I got to the see crowds for the 3 pm block and it was pretty full. It was so cool to see the community come together for a good cause. 

When the 6 o clock show started Mike Easmeil (super dope VB comic) was hosting. He along with Rick Bruner (GM VB Funny Bone) are a couple of the dudes who were in charge of putting this whole thing together. I went up after Mike. It was about a half full room, and we were told to work somewhat clean. So I did my best. 

I had a solid set. My material was working. I was cleaner than most. People connected with me and I was happy with the response I got. It also felt good to be doing a set for a good cause. I’d give this set a B.

After I got off stage Terry O’Quinn from Lost (does Improv) came over and said hi and he dug my set. I immediately texted my friend Kenn who loves Lost. This was a cool moment. I said goodbye and thanked Rick and everyone else. I then signed a poster that all the comics were signing and hit the road.

I headed to Cozzy’s because I was headlining Sunday Funnies. Mindy Ess was hosting it this week. I get there right as she is finishing up. There is a nice little crowd of about 20 non comics there. Which I am excited about.   

A bunch of my friends are on the show. Francesca, Anne Meng, Richard Woody, and Paige are there. Also local comics David Vega and Wyatt Bowman were also doing spots. Wyatt and David went up first and they did ok. The crowd wasn’t really popping. Then Francesca, Richard, and Anne also went up. They had varying degrees of success. They just didn’t seem to really want jokes that much. Also the stuff they did and did not laugh at was weird as hell. 

Paige went up and had he had a pretty good set too. He was able to get them on his side and kept working them. It had its down moments, but he was the first to really get any good pops from the audience.

After Paige it was my turn and I had a blast. I did about 20 minutes of crowd work. I started talking to this dude who had the name Mario Alfredo Lucero. I got some big pops talking about what a great name that was, and that he should have a pizza shop. I then talked to his wife, and also bounced around the room. I got some good pops throughout. Legit was doing the best I could have done.

At the end of my set I did 5 to 7 of new material. I knew it wouldn’t work as well as the crowd work because it was new, but I am trying to not just do crowd work at these tough shows. I figure if I do 75% crowd work and kill it is ok to bomb with 25% new stuff. I want to do well, but also want to work out material to get even better. So this was the strategy I used. It worked well. I’d give the whole set an A-. 

I got off stage and said my goodbyes. Paige road down with Richard so he rode back with me. On the way back we go to talk, and then also we got stuck in traffic forever. After dropping him off I headed home and passed out!

7/15

I went to work today. Afterwards I kind of relaxed around town and watched some TV. I didn’t do anything too crazy. Tonight was The Southern but Chris Alan was out of town so JR was going to be guest hosting.

I get there right around 8 and it s a super light crowd. There is also only around 11 comics. So everybody is going to get about 7 minutes which should be fun.I get to hang out with a bunch of my friends. JR, Jack Gerow, Paige (showed up halfway through), John Marg, Sam Padgett, Samantha Wood, Luzader, Jericho Zornes, Johnny Rad, and some others I am sure I am forgetting. I was up like 7th. It was. fun hang and I was ready to get the show rolling. I walk in the back and change out of my shorts and put on a new outfit (because I can’t perform in shorts).

The show starts and I am recognized by this girl who tried comedy a few years ago. She had me talk to her standup club in college. I was so new I never should have done it. I was only like two years in and was trying to be edgier. My thoughts on comedy have changed dramatically. So it was going to be cool for her to see my material since hopefully I have evolved as a performer.

JR actually did some crowd work. He was a little aggressive. It was like he was channeling Chris. He did a pretty good job of getting the show rolling. Then Jericho went up. He had a pretty good set. People were doing ok. No one was really killing, but we were having a really good time. Eventually Johnny Rad went up and he did pretty well. He started shitting on Jericho. They were busting each other’s balls and that was fun.

After him was a new comic. He brought a table of people and he wasn’t terrible. He seemed nice and it seemed like he had worked really hard on his material. After his set it was my turn. I got up and made fun of Jericho and Johnny Rad bullying each other. I talked to the new dude and gave him a comic to check out. Then I just went into a bunch of new material. I have to sit down and write some of this out, but for the most part it was a really fun set. The new stuff was working, and if it didn’t work I at least know why. I’d give this set a C+. I got some good pops, but overall if I had stuck to crowd work it definitely would have gone better.

After me a few more comics went up. Sam Padgett had a good set too. She was all over the place. It was fun to watch. She forgot one part of a joke and said the wrong thing, but she played it off super well. She got some big laughs and it was fun to watch.

I then went outside to hang a bit. Paige eventually got there and we talked for a while. It was super fun, but I was exhausted and headed home. I ate some cereal at the house and then passed out!

7/16

During the night my grandpa was rushed to the hospital. They thought he was having a heart attack. Luckily he was ok, but I was planning on doing a podcast after work so I cancelled it before I knew he was fine. I got to work two hours late because I didn’t sleep well.

After work I went to therapy and got to have a pretty helpful session. Really struggling with missing my dad. Like it is not getting any easier. Honestly my brain tries to forget it even happened, but that is impossible. I also had to tell my therapist I couldn’t afford to come once a week. Which sucks, but I can still go every two weeks so I think I will be ok. If I realize I need once a week I will have to find a way to get a few hundred more dollars out of my budget. 

After this I txted my friend Kenn and we grabbed a quick dinner at En Su Boca. It was a lot of fun. I love this dude to death and wish I got to see him more. I really cherish our friendship. We can talk about everything and he has always been there for me. I have become a lot more mindful in the time I have known Kenn and I hope that I have also been a positive influence on him as well. 

After dinner I headed to meet up with Jason Kusterer. I just watched him play video games for a few hours. I just felt bad, and wanted to be around friends. It was a super fun hang and hopefully we can do more, 

I drove us both to Mojos. I got to catch up and joke with Dylan and Ryan Mather. Carlton K showed up. There was a pretty good amount of comics so we were all going to get 5. Mike Engle was there as well. Claire Hakala was the bartender this week, but I don't know if she is going to get to do it from now on. 

The show started and I went up second. Ry Mather was hosting and he may take over the show. He did a good job hosting and then Kusterer went first. He did half jokes and half a sweatlist. His set went pretty well all things considered. He made me laugh.

Then I went up and bombed my dick off. The dad stuff wasn’t working. Neither did my brand new joke that I like a lot. It still needs work. No one gave a shit what I was talking about. I wasn’t likable on stage, but I didn’t resort to crowd work and I just worked the bits. I’d give this set an F. It legit felt terrible. 

I then hopped off stage and drove Kusterer and I to Fallout. I get there and there is an ok sized crowd. Maybe 10 people who weren’t comics. I am up in a few. Brock Hall, Danny Dunlea, Jack Johnston, Jack Gerow, and some others were there. Jarvis was hosting.

I didn’t watch a lot of the sets. I kind of just chilled. No one was really cracking them while I was there. There was a new person who went up and they had brought a table. I go up a few people after them.

I go up and honestly don’t enjoy my set. I do better than Mojos though. I do dad stuff, and the new joke works better. I know there is a way to get that joke to hit really hard. I need to just sit down and write. I am horrible at that. The rest of the set goes ok. I closed kind of weak, but honestly it was a learning experience. A very productive set. I’d give it a C-.

I go in the back and ask Kusterer if he can find another ride home.  Jack said he would give him a ride and I head home. It is a long sad drive. I am in my thoughts the entire time. I get home and pass out. I don’t really feel good about comedy, but I feel good about the people in my life from comedy. It is an odd feeling. 

7/17

I get off work and drive down to Norfolk to meet up with Nick Deez and Ryan Dix for their podcast. I am in traffic for what feels like ages, but I finally get there. I love doing podcasts. It is a ton of fun. I usually get to let loose, and there is no pressure since I am not the one hosting it.

I get to Nick’s and we start the DeezDix podcast. I ended up just ball busting. The first 20 minutes Ryan Dix was getting pretty heated. Apparently he had no idea I was busting balls and he was getting pretty upset. In hindsight that is hilarious, but he was definitely taking offense. After that part though everybody got into a rhythm and it was a pretty fun hour.  

We made fun of Nick’s pop collection. We talked about Ryan making Gundams. Also we went over my fear of being serial killed ( a dumb irrational fear, but a fear nonetheless). It was a solid and fun podcast.

After this I headed to Hampton to perform on Wyatt Bowman’s show at Stuft.. It took me a while to find it because my GPS was acting up. Once I got there I saw it was a pretty dope spot. It had an actual stage, and it was legit packed. It was nuts the show actually started on time.

Wyatt Bowman went first and had an ok hosting set. People were laughing, and also paying attention,. After him was Torrey Huggins. He got some good pops up front. Some nice laughs. I could tell the crowd wanted to crack, and they were so close. I like Torrey a lot. Good dude, and works his ass off. I respect the hell out of that.

Then it was Nick Deez. Nick had an ok set. He had them early, and lost them a bit. The crowd was weird. They wanted to laugh, but when they weren’t into it they started to talk, and go back to their meals. Nick also works hard, and is another good friend of mine. 

Then Justin King goes up. He couldn’t get them to connect with him. Justin is a dude I like a lot. He is also a comic that has an edgier take when he is on stage. They just weren’t the type of crowd that was digging that. He didn’t bomb, but you could tell the people were a little tight. 

I go in the smoking room to talk to Nick and Torrey. They are kind of going over their sets, and just decompressing from the room. Another comic comes in the room and tells Nick and Torrey an audience member grabbed them when they were going into the bathroom. The audience member asked him if they were a comic and they responded yes. They then said the audience member said well I hope you are way better than the first few comics. 

So I am in my own head trying to get ready for this set. I don’t really know why this comic said that. I don’t think it was malicious, but it was just weird. It didn’t seem like a joke/ball busting, and I just felt bad for the guys. These two dudes are obviously aware they didn’t have their best sets. This isn’t a constructive comment and a thing that could have been saved for later when they could have appreciated it. Like I said I was already in my own head, and I can only go off of my own personal experiences, but right after I am off stage is not when I would want to hear that. 

I am getting ready to go up. I don’t really want to honestly. I saw how the first few sets went and I didn’t really feel like doing crowd work. I know that is what would work, but I didn’t want to fight this crowd that hard. I talk to that comic before going up and they’re like you’ve got to be loud and dirty because that is what this crowd wants. 

I knew what I needed to do to succeed, but I didn’t want to do it. So I made the decision to just do my jokes, and really sell them. I put faith in myself as a comedian that my jokes would work. There was a crowd. They had shown they wanted to laugh. So why wouldn’t my jokes work?

I went up and had a really hot set. I felt really good about it. I did ten minutes of just material and I was destroying. Everybody was into it and there was no table talk. I had everyone’s attention. I did all teaching material, and it was really fun to do. I wish I had recorded, but alas I did not. I felt like I had gotten the show back on track, and done my job. Which felt good since I was just doing a guest spot I asked for since I was already in the area. I love being able to follow through when I ask for something. I’d give my set an A-

I leave and head to Cozzy’s to get a quick set in before going home. This is the open mic that Nick usually runs, but since he had a show he had Addison Hall running the mic. 

We get there and there is like 5 audience members and the rest comics. It is a low energy kind of night. A few people go up before me and do ok. The people in the audience seem to enjoy the show so I am ready to have a good time.

Nick goes up and does ok. He has a new premise he is working on that made me laugh. I’m excited to see where that joke goes. After him it is my turn. I go up and just do new stuff. It is working ok. I know some of it needs work (all of it does), but it feels good to try new and get some laughs. I lost the crowd in the middle when I worked out dad material. The audience members weren't on board. It did not matter how good the jokes were (could have been perfect) they weren’t into it. So I closed with a few different things. It turned out ok. I’d give my set a C-. I learned a lot, but didn’t do as well as I wish.

I grab my stuff and head home. Unfortunately I left four of my notebooks so I have to wait until this coming Sunday before I can get a chance to get them back. I have a friend who is going to snag them and I am eternally grateful. I drive home, and then pass out. 

7/18

I was stoked for today’s show. Kenny Wingle asked me to be on Buckin Comedy at the Funny Bone. It is going to be a fun time. The lineup is going to be me Klingman, Bounce Adams (doing a guest spot), James Paulk, Kenny Wingle, and myself. Then we are going to do sex with me is like at the end.

The room is about half full, and we have been having a pretty good hang. It was nice to catch up with James. I don’t know him very well, and have only worked with him a couple of times, but it was nice to see him and talk. He has some more free time now so he is getting back into the comedy game a bit. 

Wingle was running a little late, but the hang before the show ruled. Wingle finally shows up and we start the show. Klingman goes up and does ok. It seemed like he was nervosa to swear, but once he did he really got them locked in toward the end of his set. Bounce went up and had a very strong 5 minute set. Very rarely have I seen him not do well. His 5 minutes is kind of undeniable. It is good to see, and it gets the crowd going.

It is my turn and I go up and I feel like I am doing ok. Some jokes are hitting, and some aren’t. Everyone is having some fun, but it isn’t what I want. I have this one lady int he front row who keeps screaming every time I say anything. I finally address it and get a huge laugh. I”m like, “I am so happy you love what I’m doing, but every time you scream everyone in this crowd hates me.” So she stops, but I know I am going to have to revisit her situation. 

I go back into my set and it is doing ok. It is like a wave. I”ll get a huge laugh and then a chuckle. Which isn’t bad, but I just want to be killing. I go back into the crowd and talk a bit more and I finally go back to the drunk lady. Her name is Theresa and she’s a prison nurse. I bust her balls because of how drunk she is and I ask her about the craziest thing that has ever happened at work. She said she can’t tell me because it is a “penis story”.

So I go into a long thing about how she has to tell me. I thank god for sending me a heckling angel. After she tells the story, and I bust her on it some more I get off stage. The crowd work killed, but the material did ok as well. I’d give my set a B-. After this I went and got a weekend of work and talked to Jason (RVA Funny Bone gm) about what steps he thinks I need to take to kind of get to the next level. 

James and Kenny go next, but during this time I am in and out because I am eating. I called my mom to talk a bit. I miss my dad a lot. He would have super enjoyed this show. The show is going well, but I am ready for sex with me is like to happen.

At the end of Kenny’s set he brings everybody back up and we go into the game. They love this way more than they liked the standup portion. It is crazy and filthy and dirty. I got a huge laugh on almost all of mine. I felt like I was on fire. Everybody had good ones, and even when they don’t work it gets a laugh because we are busting balls. I’d give this portion of the show an A. It was a crazy fun time. 

After the show I say goodbye, and get some pictures with audience members. I grab what is left of my dinner and head out. I watch some tv and pass out. This was a successful day. 

7/19

The next day after work I went and met my mom. I had been booked to do a private birthday part for the mom of one of my best friends from high schools. It was a 50th birthday party and mom was invited. It was good for mom to see her friend and meet new people. I had a blast catching up with my buddy Steve. He asked me to be his his wedding and of course I accepted. 

We had a good time eating and just talking. I was supposed to perform for about 10 to 15 minutes outside beside their pool. Everyone had been drinking a bit, but it was supposed to be a clean show. 

I went out and it was super warm. I get brought up before everyone is outside. So I stall a bit and make small talk. I do some jokes and get some laughs. It is just weird since it is outside, and everyone is pretty far from me. I do my act and it goes ok. Not great, and not terribly. People liked it, but they weren’t vibing with me. I didn’t get the same energy I was putting out. I’d give this show a C. It was fun, but it wasn’t amazing. 

Honestly the bet part was seeing my old friend, and meeting his fiancee. It was a truly awesome time. I grabbed mom and we said our goodbyes before heading back home. 

7/20

The next night I was booked by Var to perform on his Comic Shop show. It was my first time doing comedy in a barbershop so I was pretty excited. I had heard the last few were pretty fun, an dI think I am the first white comic who had been booked on it. 

I get there and get to talk to Var. It was nice to finally get to have a conversation with him. Then Mike Jay, T Harris Jr, and Chris St. John showed up. We were hanging and shooting the shit. It was a lot of fun. Then Jayron showed up as well. 

The show started and this dude Juice went up. I’d never heard him before but he didn’t really click with the audience. He got some laughs, but he was super unpolished, and you had to work for their attention. 

After him it was time for T Harris Jr. He was outside having a smoke break or something. So there is this weird lull in the show. I stand up and motion I am ready to go up. So he brings me up. I go into my act and start busting balls. There is legit like 5 people on their phones and this one chick not smiling at all. I got some ok pops. I am proud of the set I did and I had some good crowd work moments. I didn’t really crack them, but I did do way better than I expected due to how the crowd was acting. 

I definitely learned a lot, and it was cool to be the dude that was ready to go at any moment. I’d give this set a C as well. I could have done better, but I didn’t. I adjusted as well as I could, but honestly half of the audience didn’t seem to give a flying shit about the show. The people who were into it dug it and that’s all I can ask. I talked and hung for a bit before heading out to hang with some friends. I then headed home. I was ready for a day off. 

7/22

The next night I drove all the way to Charlottesville for The Southern. I set everything up, and got to catch up with the GM Danny, and Jeyon. We talked about future shows, and I was ready to try some new jokes.

Then the power went out. That is right the power went out. So we waited until 7:30 to make the call, but we ended up cancelling the show. The few comics that came out all decided to go to Applebees and grab a bite to eat. It was me JR, Kenn, Chris, Johnny Rad, and Jaye. 

We had a good meal, and talked comedy and all types of other shit. It wasn’t the same as doing a mic, but it was better than doing nothing. Afterwards I headed home and passed out.

7/24

I had off the previous night as well since there were no shows in town. So I was really excited for today. I was going to hit up two open mics, and also check out my friend’s at the funnybone. 

On my way to work I hit a pothole and messed up my wheel. I called roadside assistance and the dude who came was a dude who was a fan of mine. I had met him a few times. He called and was like are you from Richmond. I told him no, and he was like oh that is weird because there is a comedian who has the same name as you. I was like yea that is me.

He was super helpful. His name was Richard and as soon as he said his name I remembered him. He got my spare on and I went to my grandads shop. I needed a new wheel they said so I was stuck with no vehicle.

So I drove it on the spare to my uncle’s body shop. I dropped it off and had my aunt/uncle on my dad’s side pick me up. We went to lunch and had a really good time. Talking about dad and everything else. Then they drove me to my mom’s car at the dealership where dad used to work. I grabbed the vehicle and headed home. By this time it was too late to really do anything so I hunkered in. Another night without comedy is a huge bummer, but I know I have a lot of shows the rest of the week. I did some writing and passed out. 

7/25

I was stoked to finally be able to do some comedy this week. I had The Winstmas Games and a super good lineup. It was going to be team Charlottesville vs team Richmond. I had Chris Alan, Paige Campbell, and Heather Kilburn going up against Patrick Buhse, James Muñoz, and Brandon Beswick.

I got there crazy early to set up everything. I am hoping for a good turnout, but the summer is tough. You never know what is going to happen. Some of the comics start to show up and we get the hang going. I have about 8 or 9 people on the guest list so at least there will be a few guaranteed there. 

I am also excited because Kyra Elizabeth of Kyra Elizabeth Photography came out and was going to take some pictures of the show. She does killer work, and it was awesome that she was willing to come out! I can’t wait to see the pics!

We start the show a little late and eventually we have around 30ish people there. This isn’t terrible, but I am definitely disheartened. We start the show and I start to bring everyone out. The energy is pretty weird for the first 20 or so minutes. Like good jokes aren’t getting any laughs. So everyone is trying really hard.

Eventually the show picks up and becomes really fun. The crowd enjoyed it and we did a good 70 minute episode of the show. My only problem was I felt like I was getting talked over the entire night. Which is incredibly frustrating when hosting. Like the thing I am best at is sitting back, and waiting to have a response to some of these jokes and I wasn’t getting n opportunity to do that. 

I knew if I kept trying to do it then it would only hurt the show. So I was more silent than usual on the show. We still had a great show I just didn’t have as much fun as I usually do. I kept the games moving, but as far as making my own jokes I didn’t get a chance to do it. 

Beswick and Muñoz did really well. They kept trying to one up each other. Buhse had some killer callbacks. Heather was pretty silent. She didn’t have much to say, but when she did she had some pretty funny lines. Paige and Chris both also did pretty well. 

We ended with Sex With Me Is Like and that seemed to go well. I might do this going forward because it guarantees the show ends on a laugh. I’d give the whole show a B, and my own personal performance an F. I really didn’t enjoy it, and I felt like I sucked.

I hung out with some friends a bit after and then headed home. I had a long weekend ahead of me.

7/26

The next day after work I hopped in my car and headed up too DC. I was going to be working the Improv the next few nights. I get off work an hour early! I’m hoping I miss traffic, but this is not the case. It took me 3 hours to make an hour 45 minute. It was miserable. 

I finally get there and park and walk to the club. I am stoked. I am hosting two shows in the lounge. It is the standup showcase. The lineup is myself, Alex Scott, Ross Benoit, Paris Sashay, and Tony Woods. It is legit one of the best lineups I’ve ver been a part of. All of these folks are killers. 

I’m chilling in the back and the comics start to show up. The hang is pretty fun, and Alex Scott and I start shooting the shit. Then Ross gets there. We talk about our upcoming show on Thursday, and just generally catch up. 

The show is pretty packed. It is almost sold out. I am hoping it is a pretty fun crowd, but I haven’t gotten to so standup since Saturday and I feel so damn rusty. The show starts and I go up. 

I do an ok set. Honestly it was just weird. I didn’t do poorly and I opened them up. I just know I could have done better. I stumbled on my words a little bit and it took me longer to connect to them. I honesty just need to be more confident, but I am so scared performing in DC. I’d give this first set a B-.

After me Alex goes up. He has a pretty good set, but they are still a little tight. Same thing for Ross. They’re all doing better than me, and it isn’t a bad crowd, but it just doesn’t feel like they’re loving the show. Then Paris goes up and she had a killer set, which was followed up by Tony Woods have a good one as well. 

All in all it was a fun show, but I really hoped the next crowd was going to be better. I just wanted to step up and provide an even better show than the first one. 

I chill for about an hour waiting for the second show. People start to file in and the pre show energy is awesome. They seem ready to go. It is also getting pretty full. I am way more confident than I was the first show. The first show reminded me that I know how to do this.

The second show starts and I go up and have a dope set. All of my stuff is working. They clicked with me from the beginning. I was smiling more, and we were all on the same page. There were moments I didn’t feel perfect, but for the most part it felt like I knew what I was doing again and deserved to be there. Hosting in the lounge can be tough. It is a different vibe than the main room. Sometimes they are crazy loose, and other times they are tight af. I am so glad this was the former. I’d give this set an A-.

The rest of the show goes great. Everybody is killing. Alex Scott kills, Ross murders, Paris slays, and Tony Wood absolutely destroys. He brings the house down. From top to bottom it is one of the best shows I have ever been on.

After this I head over to Big Hunt. I hang with Dom Rivera, Lafayette, and a few others. We are shooting the shit and hanging out. Andrew Cook comes out and is looking for someone to go first. I volunteer. I love going early here. No just because the audience is still there, but because I love the idea of getting home relatively early.

The show starts and there’s a pretty good crowd. Sami Sfeir is hosting and he has a solid opening set. He brings me up and I have a good one. I try a few new jokes and one goes over really well. I also get my R. Kelly joke to work the best it has in a while. I can’t wait for this to be the only thing I do. I’d give this set a B+.

After this I walk to my car. I hop in and drive to Fairfax. I get some snacks from the 7-11 and head to my buddies house. I get there and TJ gives me one of his Pony Gang t-shirts. It looks super dope and I am psyched. We watch a few episodes of Last Chance U and then I pass out.

7/27

The next day I pretty much just slept. I am trying to get caught up on how little I have slept the last month. TJ made burgers and we talked a bit before I went and took another nap.

I head into DC and go straight to the improv. There are less comics on the show tonight. It is just Ty Davis, Alex Scott, Ross, and myself. Matt Brown had to drop off because he was featuring at Magooby’s. 

The show is absolutely packed. It looks like it is going to be a light crowd, but like five minutes before show time people start to pile in. 

I go up and this might be the best show of the weekend. Everything works and feels good. I have a hot one and even try a new joke. That even works and I am just feeling it. I bring Ty Davis up and she kills. Then Ross, and Alex both destroyed. We had a super killer first show. 

After this show ends a little early I am just hanging out talking to the staff. They say the second show is sold out so I am anticipating a fun one. I was wrong.

I hated my set. I felt like I was bombing my dick off. I felt like no one was enjoying it. I’d get a laugh and then nothing. Then I’d get another laugh and then nothing. It was just awful. I was so upset about this set. I’d give it a D. I am better than this and I can do better than this.

Everyone else after me did well. They had to work a little harder than they did in the first show, but I felt like I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I felt like a hack. I hate comedy when stuff like this happens. You can do well and then the very next set it looks and feels like I have never done comedy before. 

After this show I headed to Big Hunt. It is an incredibly light crowd there for the open mic. But Sean Patton who was headlining left and was like, “ladies and gentleman that is how you don’t headline a room.” He said he felt horrible the entire weekend about the shows. This made m feel a little better. If this absolutely hilarious dude who is headlining feels this way then it is ok for me to. 

I get to go up 8th. Dylan showed up and we get to chill a bit. It is always fun to talk comedy and see him. We chat about our shows, and then start to watch. I get to see some of my friends go up like Lafayette, Denise Taylor, Ross, Maddy, and a few others. They’re all doing pretty well. The crowd is hard to crack because they are all wasted and there is only like 15 of them. I tell myself I am going to try some new stuff when I go up.

I go up and I actually do pretty well. I get some pretty big laughs, and I tried a handful of new things. All but one of the new things worked. My energy felt good, and I just felt comfortable. I definitely felt like this was a very productive set. I really want to keep working at it and moving my way up the chain here. I’d give this set a C.

As soon s I am off stage I grab my stuff and say goodbye. I dipped out and started walking to my car. I have off tomorrow and I was so excited to just pass out at home and wake up and relax.

I get to my car and have absolutely no traffic the entire way back home. I get there around 3 and watch a little tv before passing out. I am ready for a day off. 

7/29

Today starts pretty good. Get to go bowling for a field trip at work which was killer. Then I get a fb message from Kyra and she sent me some absolutely amazing photos of The Winstmas Games. At least it looks like the show was amazing. Legit hope she does some more because I was extremely impressed.

After work my mom picks me up since my car has been out of commission. She drives me to go grab my car and the bill ends up being half of what we thought. I ended up needing two wheels, but they sent one that had a flaw in it and they let me keep it for free. So I basically got two wheels for the price of one. Which is amazing and honestly I really needed it. 

I grab my car and head up to Charlottesville. I met Keaton Ray for dinner. We talked comedy and about when his show was coming back at The Bridge. We go over some bits, and destroy some Jack Browns. Samantha Padgett and her significant other Lucy show up. We talk to them as we are leaving and tell them we will see them soon.

We head over to the Southern and I start to grab all of the PA stuff. I also take down all of the chairs, and get the tables moved. I don’t set the PA up yet because last time I did the damn power went out. So I just go and kind of relax as other comics show up.

JR shows up and he sets the PA up. A few people show up an hour beforehand and they aren’t even performing which is pretty cool. Some people brought friends and we have a pretty big lineup. John Marg showed up. As did Jack Gerow, Kenn Edwards (after I left), Jake Snyder, Paige (as I was leaving), Dylan, Sam Wood, Sam Padgett, Jack Johnston, and a lot more.

The hang is super fun. I go outside and Sam P called me over. She was being hassled by a weird dude trying to get a hug and sell her some drugs. It was sketchy af so I just chilled next to her until she was able to move. 

Chris and I shoot the shit and are riffing inside before the show starts. It was nice to just kind of unwind and bust balls. It had been a minute since we had been able to do that. I really missed it.

The show started at around 8:15 and we had an ok sized crowd. Chris goes up and is having a fun hosting set. He actually tried some new jokes, and was busting everybody’s balls. As he went on I started to feel pretty sick. I don’t know what it was. 

I honestly think a lot of it is stress from my dad. I haven’t slept much, and I have been having horrible stomach problems due to anxiety. I also think the greasy burger and fries I ate (as delicious as they were) did not help the situation. 

Over the course of the show more and more people show up. I am up fifth, and before that I am running to grab chairs until we have a pretty awesome packed house for the open mic. Dylan went up first and he had a solid opening set. 

Then a few more comics went up. They all did ok. The crowd had been enjoying it and kind of hot, but they hadn’t really popped yet. There was a gay comic from New York who said he used to do comedy in the 80s. He defiantly had an 80s vibe, but he also had a few jokes I enjoyed. I hope he keeps coming out.

Then it was Sam Wood’s turn. She goes up and I start to get mentally ready to try and have a hot set. I want to do better than I did the last day in DC. So I get new jokes ready, and I just want to go.

She brings me up, and people start to get up to talk and get drinks. So I am just patient and bide my time. I ask a few questions and use the first minute or so to just get people on my wave length and have them ready for the show. 

Once people are settled in I proceeded to have a really good set. My jokes were working, and I was able to get some stuff tighter than it used to be. I also did some crowd work I really enjoyed. I got this one dude involved and pretended he was one of my favorite porn stars. I kept calling him Mike Rod and he was there with his mom. It was a lot of fun. 

I’d give this set an A-. There were like one or two things that didn’t get the pop I wanted, but overall a great set. I got some big pops and woke up the crowd. I felt like I did my job, and at the same time got to work on some new material. 

After my set I started to feel incredibly sick. I had to leave. I hung around for a few more comics and talked a little bit, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I packed my stuff up and said goodbye and headed out. I caught Paige on the way out and told him I felt shitty. After this I hopped in the car and headed home. I chilled for a bit with my mom and then just passed out. I needed it.

I AM CAUGHT UP AGAIN! You can’t keep me down laydees! I am defeating this damn blog one way or another. I refuse to not do it. I need to write about some other stuff that isn’t just my shows. I will figure it out baybees! Until then I love you so much and thank you for reading! See ya soon! xoxo

[sierrabinondo]

woodland creatures tour - final thoughts

all right y’all, it’s time for another fuck-off, super long novel about our yearly one week tour lmao. which is why i separate it from social, so that i’m not that guy that floods your feed, but touring is so important to me. it’s a special event that (unfortunately) comes just once a year.  

before i begin gushing over how wonderful this tour went, i wanna put something into perspective. truth is: the night before, i was not excited to leave. i was feeling insanely anxious and, embarrassingly enough, regretful that we were going out at all. i was nervous about how tour was going to go and i was scared of having bad performances every night again. while tour has always been an exciting experience, it has also been stressful for me. this whole year i've been making a concerted effort to be a more consistent performer and to try to enjoy shows more. i am so relieved that this tour brought me insanely closer to that goal. and if that's coming from me, it must mean i actually believe it lmao i think i can speak for my bandmates when i say that this tour exceeded our wildest expectations. we had the most fun we've ever had on the road and we played awesome sets more often than not. we played to an engaged crowd every night. no matter how many people were there, there was some person in the room that was digging us or already knew us. we were not expecting this at all. and most importantly, to see so many people come out for pulses., on their first. tour. their FIRST tour. was heartwarming and incredible. i have so much love for all of the southeast musicians we got to play with on this tour. creating and sharing music is such a vulnerable thing to do; we are all in this together. i loved watching you all play every night and getting to know you. it is honestly so cool to feel like you belong to a network bigger than yourself and to meet such talented people across state lines. thank you for supporting us. i’ll be rooting for you from new jersey.  thank you kris khunachak for joining us on tour. seriously so so thankful that you could come with us. we were cutting it close with your jury summons LMAO. i had so much fun hanging out with you. you are such a valuable talent as an artist (also musician GD it). i can't wait to continue working with you, and i’m so glad so many doors are opening for you. i peripherally knew of pulses. due to all of the swanposting groups and knew they were from NOVA. i reached out on a whim last year hoping they would play our VA date. we managed to click at our falls church show together and we kept in touch. i wanted to repay them for playing with us by inviting them to come play jersey. i strongly felt more people needed to know about them. i loved not only playing with them, but i loved hanging out with them. they invited us to come play the bouquet. season finale this past january, and after such an amazing weekend together i proposed touring together to kevin. i was honestly sweating it for a minute because i wanted it to happen so badly lmfao. the chemistry we have as friends, both our bands, is incredible. we absolutely love their music and, great news, they’re all amazing people. some of the funniest, most talented, determined people i’ve ever met. they deserve the world and more. there is a reason why people gravitate towards them and their music. their genuine energy as people shines through their music, and it is infectious. it’s fun. it goes hard. and that’s why people love them. i truly believe their new music will bring them to another level. i’ve had the privilege of hearing a couple new songs and i am so excited about them. 

over the years i have met so many musicians who are just willing to step on other people’s feet, talk down on their peers behind their backs or do whatever it takes to make others perceive themselves as ahead in the game. we see it all the time in jersey and in the genre of music we play. i’ve distanced myself from many i know because i have learned to trust no one. people want to be cutthroat and pompous. for what, i don’t know. and yet, pulses. are the biggest breath of fresh air. so great at what they do and yet so down to earth. they kept me laughing until i cried constantly on tour. it was a joy spending more time with them, taylor and tyler on tour. it’s always great to have another girl on tour and taylor was the best company; she kept me from going crazy. tyler is such a genuine guy, i only kind of knew him before this run and we had a lot of good talks throughout the week. i’m really glad we are friends as a result of this run. 

i’m eternally grateful these people fuck with us. their friendship and their support is one of the most validating things we treasure as a band. the fact they want literally anything to do with us is incredible hahaha. but if they do, it must mean we’re doing something right. i trust them so, so much. they keep me sane and continue to keep me sane through all of the bullshit that comes with being a struggle band (i have coined this term from them lol) and playing music. i know that whatever happens, beyond music, they are friends i will treasure forever. 

lastly, my bandmates. i am so proud of you all. you all did an amazing job this tour. i find myself completely at home with you guys. thank you so much for continuing to embark on this journey with me. i could not do this without you. you are some of my closest friends. every year when we come home from tour it is the most heartbreaking thing because it’s a taste of what could be. what we could experience if we could do this full time. but i have come to realize that no matter what happens, everything we have shared together will always be enough for me. we have experienced so many obstacles this year or i guess in general, and y’all can probably tell it has run me down as a human being. before, i lost my way and i was uncertain of the future. but after the tour we had there is no way we can slow down now. i am even more excited at the prospect of what we can achieve together. now, i cant wait for everything that comes next. i love you guys. thank you. 

last year when tour concluded i fell into a slump that seemed to last for an entire year. i wasn’t taking care of myself physically and emotionally. i felt doubtful of my purpose in life and whether or not i was actually meant to be a musician. a lot of events had transpired over the course of the year that have slowly lifted me up from that place. obviously starting therapy helped, and i have done a lot of work on myself so i’ll give myself some credit. but i fully attribute getting better to having the pulses. camp in my life, my bandmates, and the people who believe in me. despite where life takes me or any hindrance i face, i’m not going to just stop making music or growing because of some perceived ageism gatekeeping. i am honestly the best i’ve ever been at my craft now. i can’t wait for everything that’s in store. in fact i’m just gonna rest for a couple days and get back at it. cause i feel like i can.

can’t wait for woodland creatures pt. II next year 🦊🦉 (also can we get a goddamn red panda emoji by then) 

[makeste]

I'm not sure if you've already addressed this, but have you seen any of the English dub of BnHA? (and if so, what are your opinions on it?) Feel free to ignore this if it's a repeat ask. Also, I just want to mention how awesome it is to see someone else with a crush on All Might. He's literally perfect, and it's a shame how many people sort of lost interest in him once he stopped being at the forefront of the story.

I have indeed seen some of the BnHA dub! my feelings on it are kind of complicated. or well, not really, I guess, but it’s more like they have evolved over time. the very first time I saw it, I couldn’t stand any of the voices. like, it was bad. we’re talking misophonia, literally-had-to-turn-it-off-because-it-was-making-me-physically-uncomfortable bad. but then I started to feel bad afterwards because I felt like I hadn’t given it a chance. in general I really dislike when people bash on English dubs, because it reeks of gatekeeping to me and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. so I ended up watching a couple more episodes, and to my surprise (and relief), I warmed up to it a lot more.

what I found was that there seems to be a significant gap in quality between the first and second seasons of the dub. now granted, I’ve still only seen a handful of dubbed episodes, so that’s not much of a sample size. but from what I recall of the two episodes I used as a sampling (Deku’s first day of school in season 1, and the first half of the cavalry battle in season 2), it was shocking to me how much of an improvement there was with the latter episode. I feel like the English VAs maybe watched the Japanese version in between the two seasons, and made more of an attempt to capture the feel of original. the performances are much, much better, and I actually enjoyed them a lot for the most part. 

pretty much the only things that still bother me are the pronunciations of certain names (I cringe every time I hear “ee-ZOO-koo mid-DOR-ree-yuh”; can’t help it. way too much emphasis on the second syllable in both names when there should be no emphasis. it’s all the more frustrating because they pronounce almost every other character name correctly, and yet the protagonist’s name is messed up every time), as well as small things like Mineta’s bizarre lisp. but for the most part, I liked it enough that I eventually plan to go back and watch all of season 2 dubbed just for the hell of it. maybe I’ll check out season 1 again too and give it one last shot, but I’m a little more wary of that lol.

and as for All Might, OH MY GOD YES. I love him so much. and I don’t know what it is that makes him so attractive to me tbh. he’s not objectively hot like Aizawa (yeah I said it, Aizawa Can Get It is just scientific fact), but for me it’s like… well basically,

Me: I’m not that attracted to All Might

All Might: [does literally anything ever]

Me: oh yeah that’s right I’m attracted to him

and he is perfect, omg. yes. he’s so great!! and like you said, it’s a shame he’s not appreciated as much lately since he’s become more of a supporting character. but whatever. I still love you, All Might. have my children please

[backpackbrigade]

Backpack Playlist 5/27/19

I no longer have a radio show so this is where I’m gonna be posting my thoughts and playlists! Have fun, who cares. Apple Music/Spotify links at the bottom. Enjoy. 

“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” - Kate Bush, Hounds of Love (1985, EMI)

A gay icon, not much to say beyond that. We love some extra as shit background vocals.

“Bags” - Clairo, Immunity (2019, Fader)

First single off Clairo’s new LP coming out at some point this year. Literally all I can think when I hear the guitar line in this song is Avril Lavigne, and I say that with the utmost respect and love. Big ups to VW alum Rostam for the production on this track and Danielle Haim for drums - does this mean Clairo is now part of the PC Music squad AND the VW-adjacent rap/indie rock squad??? Her career is definitely pretty strange so far, but I’m hype to see her blow up beyond the world of the Youtube algorithm chewing up and spitting out DIY music videos. This track is also kinda full circle for her - in her big Pitchfork feature last year, she talked about being starstruck after seeing one of the Haim sisters on a plane listening to SOPHIE, and now she’s got one of them on a track. We love growth.

“Kisses 2 My Phone” - Sega Bodega, self*care - EP (2018, NUXXE)

Lona (aka MANIIK aka BABY GAMELAN) shared this EP with me last year, and it’s been rattling around in my head ever since. Some glitchy trap beats and subtly depressing lyrics about sending kisses to your phone and losing love. Scottish experimental pop kid who gets in your ears and won’t leave.

“Even the Shadow” - Porches, Pool (2016, Domino)

A classic, both Pool and their newer album The House (2018, Domino) remind me of a very specific time in my life when I was spending 12 hours in the photo studio every other weeknight and played Porches on shuffle to get through it. Very sad stoner synthy alt-pop for gay kids with lots of insecurity but dreams of 2014 soft pale tumblr aesthetic escapism!!

“Hatin” - Rico Nasty & Kenny Beats, Anger Management (2019, Sugar Trap)

Remember when Rico was just a Soundcloud kid with a stellar remix of “The Race” under her belt?? When I first heard that track in the background of a friend from high school’s Instagram story, I literally dropped my phone trying to lyric search it to see who sang it. Big ups to Lafayette (a newly minted Howard University grad :,) ) for putting me on. Rico’s always been bffs with Kenny, so this collab record isn’t surprising, but I didn’t expect it to be this good!!! Very excited to see her blowing up on Tik Tok rn, maybe she’ll finally get what she’s owed. And she deserves more than just a 2 second cameo in the Old Town Road music video………

“Dig” - Lance Bangs, Lance Mountain - EP (2016, Citrus City)

Reminds me of screamy jangly indie rock from the summer after my first year when I lived in a commune and got a stick and poke from a friend who was three mojitos deep. Also, Citrus City is awesome and we love to support VA labels!!

“Livin’ On a Prayer” - Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet (1986, Vertigo)

Mostly putting this on here because it’s the ending soundtrack to a great little animated short film I watched recently called WORK (2009) by Michael Rianda. It’s a super 2009 short, but it’s fascinating because it feels like the aesthetic halfway point between Don Hertzfeldt’s Rejected (2000) and Bojack Horseman (2014-) style absurdity. It’s not the subtlest anti-capitalist cartoon out there, but it’s very cute and funny.

“20 Ghosts III” - Nine Inch Nails, Ghosts I-IV (2008, The Null Corporation)

Put this back to back with Bon Jovi because the weird guitar/vocal growls sound like the “Livin’ On a Prayer” digital doo-wops put through an insane pedal filter. Heard it for the first time when I was watching Laura Poitras’ documentary Citizenfour (2014) - she used it for the super haunting opening and closing scenes, and I can’t think of any better use for Trent Reznor’s sad garage dad phase guitar music.

“Guap” - Yaeji, Yaeji EP (2016, GODMODE)

No introduction necessary, hopefully. Gives me third year queer party vibes, and if you know what that means, congratulations. You’re part of an in-group now. Listen when you need subtle hype up music.

“Indica” - Dizzy Fae, Free Form Mixtape (2018, self-released)

When I showed a friend a picture of Dizzy Fae, their first response was that she’s probably from Amsterdam or Berlin or something and floats between secret clubs all week long before performing herself. She’s actually from Minnesota and is way younger than either of us assumed, so big ups to her for projecting the coolest vibes imaginable. Her vocal distortion is a little FKA Twigs, but she knows how to fuckin rap on the rest of the EP. Well worth a full listen.

“Flower Moon (feat. Steve Lacy)” - Vampire Weekend, Father of the Bride (2019, Columbia)

Best track on this new album, imo, but I can’t stop thinking about Vampire Weekend for a completely different reason. When this album came out, literally everyone was making fun of it for sounding like a Paul Simon redux. A lot of people praised it for the exact same reason lol. But Paul Simon’s relationship with cultural appropriation is a lot like Ezra Koenig’s, and not enough people have made that connection. Remember when Paul Simon broke the cultural boycott with Apartheid-era South Africa to make Graceland (1986)?? Everyone shit all over him for not only straight up taking South African music styles and centering himself in their vocal story, but doing it all in the midst of the largest cultural boycott in modern history. It’s a good album, I won’t pretend it’s not, but it’s deeply problematic and disappointed a lot of people who expected something better from a guy who knew what he was doing. Reminds me of 2008-2012 Vampire Weekend!! Anyway, listen to this track for Steve Lacy, if nothing else.

“Ur Phone” - boy pablo, Roy Pablo - EP (2017, self-released)

Another Youtube algorithm kid, boy pablo was in everyone’s feeds because this EP is the perfect summery shimmery gaze-y indie rock. His newer album is a little more uptempo than I personally like, but this track is *chef’s kiss*

“Can the Circle Be Unbroken” - The Carter Family, Can the Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music’s First Family (2000, Sony; original recording 1935)

Really not trying to wade into the country music discourse today, but this track is genuinely full of intense longing and sadness in a way that so clearly changed country/rock music and its relationship to the guitar.

“Before the World Was Big” - girlpool, Before the World Was Big (2015, Wichita)

Their new stuff fucking slaps, and seeing them come to terms with their gender identities is fucking beautiful!! But I always come back to these weird ass nursery rhymes. It’s literally just their harmonies and two guitars, and legend has it if you turn this up to full volume in your car and drive through your hometown, your unrequited high school crush will appear with their spouse and two kids just to rub it in.

“Vroom Vroom” - Charli XCX, Vroom Vroom - EP (2016, Vroom Vroom Recordings)

I mean. It’s Charli’s early work with SOPHIE, you’ve gotta just blast this shit and ruin someone’s life. The return to queer hyper pop over the past few years is the only thing sustaining my fucking mental health.

“Xternal Locus” - Chynna & Oklou, Single (2018, self-released)

Another track Lona played for me after I picked her up from work in DC. Lowkey enough to ***** to, highkey enough to **** to ;)

“Cinema” - Kero Kero Bonito, Totep - EP (2018, self-released)

KKB really did an about face with this record, but I still fucking love them. It’s still sunny and glittery pop, but with a chilled-out vibe. Their intense pop records are like the come up, and this is the chill smoke sesh the day after. Just vibey enough to let you chill out and kick back, but keeps you on your toes with some unexpected samples and glitchy moments.

“Jack the Ripper” - SadGirl, Breakfast for 2 - Single (2018, Suicide Squeeze)

We love surf rock, and that’s all I’m gonna say for this. You either vibe with it you’re bored as shit.

“watch you sleep.” - girl in red, Single (2019, self-released)

Music To Sleep To.

Playlists

[swampgallows]

blizzcon recap, basically a big stream of consciousness text dump while i still remember things and i will make a refined post later i think

Thursday morning I went to bed around 3am, woke up at 630am, and then again at 730am to board my 840am train bound for anaheim. I had originally intended to drive myself to the con but decided against it, as I didn’t want to pay $60 for parking nor endure the stress of driving on the freeway solo for the first time. 

I took a lyft to my hotel and met up with sun​ (who gave me kandi!!!) and their husband aaron, then we went to claim our badges and make some store purchases.

after feverishly texting reglei we caught sight of each other in line, got tired of waiting, then made our way to disneyland. there we met up with zach and kept missing fitze by mere moments; finally caught fitze & friends at the river belle terrace (a place i have never been in before because despite my many years of being a passholder, there was never a reason or time for a sit-down restaurant experience at disney, so when i opened the door i IMMEDIATELY closed it thinking i was intruding on a private dinner event LMAO). we knocked out everything on the western side of the park (including a fry-filled splash mountain) and got some good pics. the ride on indy was one of the best i’ve had in years: no stalling, great speed, and tons of jerks that nearly threw me out of the jeep hell yeah. perce made it to disneyland in the evening and we got to enjoy space mountain, star tours, a second round of pirates, a VERY invigorated spin on the teacups, then left at closing. zach generously dropped us all off at our individual hotels before heading out himself.

around 2am i woke up convulsing with an anxiety attack and took half a med. i was scared i had woken up sun and aaron but they were coincidentally also awake. after some talking and goofing off with them we made the very informed decision to postmates some del taco to the hotel at 3am. my god was it worth it. i had selected the “fries and secret sauce” option, unaware that these ingredients were not sides, but components to be added to the inside of the burrito. wasn’t bad!

7am wake up for day 1 of the con. met for “breakfast” with perce and reg at the hilton starbucks, which said that they accepted rewards but then didn’t :| i sincerely dont even remember what we did first as everything in the con was so purely awesome and overwhelming. The opening ceremony brought tears to my eyes, of course, as it displayed “WELCOME HOME” on every stage. We mostly just traveled around the con, taking pics, learning the layout, and mentally digesting everything. We attended the VA panel in the early afternoon which was a GREAT decision (no spoilers if you haven’t watched the virtual ticket stream yet!!!) and then made our way to the main stage, where we parked for a good 5-6 hours for the WoW and HotS “What’s next?” panels, then the following WC3 reforged insight panel and, finally, the entire community night. i really want to make sure i grab clips of some of darin de paul’s mcing that night because the man was sawing at my heartstrings like a viola bow. i got very close to crying many times. have no fear put on another amazing performance—this time a wow track called “war mode”—and won the talent contest! we had the privilege of running into them after the performance to congratulate and get some pics w them. i also met up with hinz who i haven’t seen in forever and we got to talk about his brewing and the con! had blaze pizza for dinner then passed out.

breakfast at coco’s for day 2 of the con, this time with sun and aaron in tow. all i needed was hot cocoa and a slice of dark chocolate chip cheese pie. it was...so goddamn good. we started off the con with the warcraft sounds panel featuring the zone of drustvar and concluded with some great performances by david arkenstone and the tavern band. they performed the zandalari zocalo music and bloodsail, an old favorite! we puttered around the darkmoon faire until the build-a-panel featuring zone design in warcraft but couldn’t hear anything due to the acoustics of the stage, so i left to pick up my blink purchases with fitze. there i met a girl wearing kandi and traded with her; she gave me a rubber bracelet from a podcast she’d attended called ‘pwncast’ that reads ‘we bow to no one’ which is VERY garrosh. other than that we had a grand old time of waiting in a line we didnt have to wait in and then made our way back for the warcraft Q&A. the second i saw metzen i immediately screamed with awe and terror and then sobbed into my lap. perce and reg comforted me, and the rest of the panel was fairly uneventful. I think i was the one human being who shouted ‘woo!’ at the scott johnson’s mention of his interviews with metzen, lol. we were waiting for meggo to have a chance to ask her question but she didn’t get the opportunity :(

after the q&a we went over to the unofficial tumblr meetup organized by questifer which was a huge privilege and a lot of fun, and we even made some new friends. i spilled my spaghetti about garrosh to actual blizzard quest developers and im very embarrassed that i did. lmao. i really liked the casual atmosphere of just chilling on the floor though. fitze had to leave halfway through :( but the quest discussion went on for almost 2 full hours. it was really a humbling opportunity.

by that time, the closing ceremonies were underway. reg and i missed out on the hots finals so we just bummed around the overwatch arena for a bit just to see the thing and catch a few minutes of kristian nairn’s set. again, cool stuff, but nothing i can go nuts to lmao. it’s questing music to me. on our way out of the hots stage i ran into a dude wearing KIKWEARS and gave him kandi!! it was awesome lmao. we spent some ducats at the darkmoon faire, but the real prize was won as we were walking out and scored the literal actual absolute last three available boxes of lucio-ohs!!! mine had a hole punched in it so we ate a bit of it before returning to blaze pizza for dinner again. the cereal tastes like lucky charms to me! it’s very sweet, but good!

sunday morning perce, reg, and i secured a breakfast at dennys. when i went up to pay the check i saw the cashier was wearing a piece of kandi and i had the perfect piece for her, the “short stack” piece with the pancake eraser. she traded me the one piece she was wearing (!) which said ‘insomniac’ (obv haha). i made that kandi a while ago and it feels like it was fate for this moment to arrive. reg and perce and i all parted ways back to our individual hotels. i was just chilling in the lobby when i saw a woman wearing kandi, so i went over and introduced myself. she traded me a piece that said mermaid on it, due to my “mermaid hair” :> we started talking about phat pants and she said her daughters now wear the pairs she used to wear! and the kandi she chose was the “a book for ants” with the miniature bible on it, as she found it appropriate for her halloween “christian protest” where she blasted tchami and malla and had a totem that encouraged ‘sinners’ to dance with her, lol.

i excused myself for the restroom and she invited me to “come back and hang out!” so i did!! and when i returned the group was playing a fun card game called chameleon. and have no fear was playing with them!! daniella, one of the performers from the talent contest (they sang the song about vanilla wow), had also joined us. so i got to play the game with a few members of the group and made some new friends, leigh (who gave me kandi) and jaime/ace, who i talked to about old school raving and kandi for a bit. there was a point where everyone but ace went up to the room for their luggage so it was just the two of us sitting there talking, and a pair of guys came up to us holding some merch. “Do you guys want these? we bought too many loot crates.” i was stunned!! they handed me a shadow plush and a clip-on ganymede to ace.

when they all returned, they were trying to plan what to do next, and i told them i had to grab a lyft and start heading to the train station. leigh offered me a ride there!!! i really felt PLUR for the first time in ages, lmao. we all hugged each other and said our goodbyes.

arriving at the train station, i ran into other blizzcon people and we talked about wow the ENTIRE ride home. for the first leg of the journey it was a super full train and we all had to stand but it was okay. we were all enthusiastically talking about wow with zero awkward pauses or any points of contention. it was so amazing just thriving on each other’s hype. at one point another person on the train said “do you guys play this game or MAKE this game?” because we were talking about it in such detail LOL. we all traded battletags before i had to go. it felt really amazing to be able to just literally talk to strangers about something i love and have such an amazing conversation like that. it felt so awesome to just be connecting to people so deeply all the time. 

im going to try to preserve the memory of being able to connect to people like that, as i came home and felt isolated and disconnected from everything again. i want to keep riding the coattails of this positivity as long as i can so i’m not going to go into the details of that. a lot of us really felt we could come out of our shells; i kept stressing how “safe” blizzcon was; with all of the focus i’ve been making in therapy on vulnerability, connection, isolation, and the need to feel worthy of being loved, i want to keep these memories at the forefront while i try to forge a better future for myself.

i really hope i can go again next year!

[snkpolls]

SnK S3E07 Poll Results (Anime Only Version)

The poll closed with 118 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated! 

Please note this is the anime only viewer version of the poll. Manga readers, please click here for the results of the manga reader poll!

RATE THE EPISODE 110 Responses

Another episode with an overwhelming amount of positive feedback and high ratings!

20 minutes of everything that makes the series great

Best episode of the season by far. Rod is a poor guy. Historia did Destroya.

Best so far!! This season is truly getting better with every episode. Idk how I'm going to survive to the end of it tbh, I'm already dead!!!!

WE FINALLY GOT TO HEAR THE TWO NEW VOCAL TRACKS. YOUR REACTIONS?

Out of the new tracks, Kenny’s remix had its fans, but Historia’s headstrong theme got the most love!  Anyone excited for the OST’s release?

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WERE YOUR FAVORITE SCENES? 107 Responses

The rematch between Levi and Kenny was most compelling, closely followed by Historia remembering Ymir’s and stand-up against her father.  Viewers also seemed to enjoy Mikasa slicing some MPs and Eren’s emotional breakdown.

Eren's emotional monologue broke me. I teared up even on the second watch. Maybe I'm just too invested in this show lol.

Mikasa's pose when she kicked a bitch in the face

HOW EMOTIONAL DID SPRINGLESTEIN’S FIRST KILLS MAKE YOU? 105 Responses

For the most part, viewers more or less had some feelings toward Springlestein’s first human kills. They grow up so fast!

jean best boi

TRAUTE HAS A LOT TO SAY ABOUT HER LOYALTY AND KENNY’S DREAM. WHAT’RE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT HER AS A CHARACTER? 108 Responses

Almost half of you believe Kenny’s right-hand woman to be bright and rational, while there is nearly an even split between not having much of an opinion and thinking she’s being manipulated by Kenny. Two of you compared her to Annie: “bootleg Annie”/ “grumpier Annie”

She just has a different ideology than Erwin and co. and is prepared to fight to death for it.

Honestly there was just so much going on I didn't really think about her

I am open to more of her.

I’m loving her just as much as Kenny, she’s a fun villain.

HOW HEARTBREAKING WAS EREN’S BREAKDOWN? 108 Resposnes

There were a variety of responses for this one, though overall people found Eren’s breakdown to be a bit of a tearjerker.

It's traumatizing right now, but he will get through this.

Now's not the time Eren. You can do this at any other time just not right now.

HOW BADASS WAS HISTORIA YEETING HER DAD? 108 Responses

A vast majority of viewers are applauding Historia throwing her father on the ground and calling him on his bullshit!

Damn that girl always gets the best music whenever she does something awesome

Good for her:) She took a stand on her own.

I liked the reminder that she is actually a fuckin' soldier, when she tossed her pops and threw his spine out.

FAVORITE KENNY-ISM SO FAR: 108 Responses

Kenny has quite a few quotable moments, but people find his introduction line to be most favorable.

HOW’RE YOU FEELING ABOUT EREN RIGHT NOW? 107 Responses

72% of the voters sympathize with Eren’s despair and want people to cut him some slack, while a fair amount believe this is not the time or place for him to fall apart.

It's nice to see him actually consider the consequences of his actions for the first time basically ever.

Always been a cry baby and spoiled brat

I mean... they've all been through a lot.

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FOR EREN’S EMOTIONAL STABILITY AFTER HIS HEAVIEST BREAKDOWN YET? 104 Responses

Despite his breakdown, a majority of voters believe this is just another bump in the road for Eren.  There are some that think this is just the beginning of his stability worsening.

It'll take some time but with the help of his friends they'll level him out. Needs a good talking to from Mikasa

He’ll pick himself, but it will take a while.

I'm expecting a change in his demeanor. I've been reading that he sheds his hot-headed persona, so I'm looking forward to that.

He's gonna be a cooler, wiser and more mature character.

WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO HISTORIA TOSSING THE SERUM? 106 Responses

Again, the support for Historia’s actions and words is overwhelming!

DID YOU EXPECT KENNY’S (NOW-ABANDONED) PLAN WAS TO HARNESS THE POWER OF THE TITANS? 106 Responses

While a decent amount of viewers suspected Kenny wanted to ultimately take the Reiss’s titan power for himself, a majority did not expect his confession.

HANGE: DOWN OR OUT? 106 Responses

Despite being grappled and thrown against a pilar, 79.2% are confident Hange will pull themself together!

My theory: Hange will be in a coma from her injuries, but wakes up upon Moblit coming back to give her a kiss :)

They foreshadowed Hange going down masterfully

HOW MUCH DO YOU TRUST ROD’S EXPLANATIONS? 106 Responses

Rod did a lot of infodumping about Grisha’s sins and his family’s secrets the past couple episodes.  What’s the truth and what’s a lie?  Most believe there is some truth to what he is saying along with a few lies purposely placed.

He is telling the truth. At the same time he's a selfish, manipulative villain hellbent on using Historia.

I trust Rod about as much as I trust the old tub of sour cream in the back of my fridge dated "12/04/2011".

The very first thing he did in the episode was manipulating Historia's emotions with her dead sister. Fuck that guy.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

And the oscar for best performance goes to... YUKI KAJI!

First legitimately great episode of Season 3. Not hindered by the breakneck pacing and/or infodumps.

I hate Rod. I feel bad for Eren. I'm excited by Kenny. Historia is doing better for herself.

I don't think anyone is getting eaten so either Rod's dumb titan form will be a threat some other way or we will finally know how people can can turn into shifters without eating another shifter.

Was It Armin who figured out Kenny's troupe maneuver gear weaknesses? Because the anime kinda implies that... And this is awesome.. he os brilliant

Fights are awesome

This was the weakest episode so far. On paper, it should be one hell of an episode, but regrettably the the way it was executed left a lot to be desired. In particular, I found Historia's and Eren's scenes to be quite disappointing. The storyboards and direction for those scenes were the most insipid and uninspired so far in the anime's entire run. The VAs did all they could, but the directors let them down. The scenes paled in comparison to Reiner+Berthold's reveal and Eren's breakdown from S2. Lastly, the art was pretty awful at various instances throughout the episode. From what I read about the production on Twitter, it seems WIT has already started to experience difficulties managing the production for this season, which probably means the art will keep on getting worse. I'm now deliberating on whether to go ahead and read the manga and watch the anime once the Blu-rays are out.

Shits getting good now.

The smokescreen was fucking awesome. And I had a laugh with a friend after we repeatedly said we would never go on an assault if it meant attacking through a narrow door.

Moar Squad Levi plz now and for forever

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 102 Responses

Thank you again to everyone who took the poll. See you back on Tuesday!