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brendancorris · 6 years ago

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Thundercats Roar thoughts...

So a friend of mine showed me this trailer a few weeks ago, and for a second I didn’t believe it was real. But, before I get further into my thoughts on this thing everybody else on the internet has already covered, let me go into my history with Thundercats.

Despite never drawing much fan art for the series, Thundercats is a property I love, and one of the biggest parts of my life in my earliest years. Born in ‘86 with three older siblings, I was just in time for the original Thundercats. My family already consisted of die-hard fans, so it was naturally one of the first franchises I got into. From the time I was born to when I was about 4, Masters of the Universe and Thundercats were what it was all about. It wasn’t until ‘89 that I got my first TMNT toy, and about a year later that was literally all I cared about.

But before my TMNT obsession, there was Thundercats. While I do have many fond memories of watching the show, my most beloved memories of it are simply being a fan. Collecting the action figures, listening to my siblings talk about the show, and playing Thundercats. Not a video game, though. On nights when my Mom was out, my Dad would host He-Man or Thundercats games where he’d be either Skeletor or Mumm-ra, my oldest sister and brother would be She-Ra and He-Man or Lion O and Cheetarah (while my other sister would be... somebody) and I, being the baby, would always get stuck being Orko or Snarf. All us kids would wrestle our dad and beat up on him as he’d try to defeat us. Epic stuff. Some how the younger of my two sisters would usually end up horribly injured after each game, though...

Simply put, Thundercats was the real deal with my family when I was little. The action was great, the evil beasts were awesome, the toys were a blast, and Cheetarah, along with the He-Man girls, made me feel things my tiny self wasn’t yet ready to feel.

It wasn’t until I was in high school that I revisited the show, and, honestly, I was surprised how much it held up. Especially considering in high school I was “too cool for everything” yet I still acknowledged its quality. Yes, it was corny in the way all old children's’ shows were at the time (I have nothing but love for that tone, but I can see how it would be hard to digest for later generations), but it still had great, smart, sophisticated writing for its time, amazing animation and artwork, good characters, and one of the most hype intros ever.

In 2011 a reboot was made. This reboot was far darker and more built on political commentary. It was an understandable progression. The fans had grown up, so the franchise did too. While I wasn’t a huge fan, I can respect the quality of the writing, art, and over all work that went into it. It was a sophisticated piece of art. I felt it went a bit too extreme with the tone it was pushing, and as a long time fan of the original, found lots of the changes and design choices hard to digest. But again, it was a good show, and I respect what it attempted to accomplish.

However, the show was canceled before season 2 could air. This left a lot of fans mad, confused as to whether it was low ratings, low ratings as a result of its switched time slot that was far from ideal, or just a business decision to sacrifice a popular show just to make way for a potentially more popular future show. While I can understand the upset from fans 100%, I didn’t feel it as I wasn’t a regular viewer.

So, fast-forward to earlier this month when my friend shows me this trailer. As I said, at first I thought it was a joke, like College Humor or something. Then when the realization sunk in that it was real, I hated it. But, quickly I told myself that I don’t know enough about it yet to fully judge. I haven’t seen an episode. Sure, it looks awful from what I’ve seen, and I can clearly see the “monkey see monkey do” going on here with the copying of other successful modern cartoons. But, again, I haven’t seen it. Before I get into my final thoughts thus far, I need to address the elephant in the room...

...the similarities everybody has seen in this and Teen Titans GO!

While I wasn’t a die hard or anything, I did watch the entire first two seasons of the original Cartoon Network Teen Titans series when it was new, and I did like it. I thought it was very well-written, well-acted, had great characters, great character development, great stories, and great action. The characters worked off of each other beautifully. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I had some issues with it.

UNPOPULAR OPINIONS AHEAD - PREPARE TO HATE ME

Since its release I have always found the art style to look very under-developed and unappealing. It looked like an awkward imbalance of the (already bland in my mind) Justice League cartoon style and a newbie anime style. The best way I can describe it was it resembled the artwork of a junior-high kid who just started drawing anime. Also, I found a lot of the anime-inspired elements to feel forced. When characters would mutate into chibi disasters or tropes like sweat drops scrolling down their faces would happen, it was always a bit cringy and out of place. It felt like it was shoehorned in rather than rightfully fitting in.

But the most notable thing about the show was it was a pretty huge departure from the original DC comics. Gone was the realistic art style of the comics. Now the characters all had big, round heads, twig-like limbs, huge hands and feet, and big anime-eyes. Everything was very simplistic, sharp, and jagged. There was far more comedy, some great, and some that cringy chibi stuff I mentioned. The integration of anime tropes and far more kid humor was a huge departure from the comics. So, basically, despite being a good show, Teen Titans, the show, was a huge departure from its source material.

Then comes Teen Titans GO! and overnight it becomes one of the most hated (and most popular) cartoons of this age. I didn’t quite hate it, but wrote it off as crap without seeing it. It is a shame that the original show was canceled before it got to be finished, but putting fans’ anger towards that aside, the creation of TTG makes perfect sense. The characters proved extremely popular and marketable, largely because how comedic they could be when bouncing off each other (and the original show had been canceled. Continuing a canceled show years later is a difficult task, regrouping the team, dancing through the legal BS, and finding enough staff and people to fund it to be on board, as well as a network to accept it). More simplistic art styles were becoming more popular, and after the post-Adult Swim days, hyper, wacky, odd comedies have become the norm.

To be honest, any time I have seen Teen Titans GO!, which has only been about three episodes or so, I laughed. I don’t care what people say, the show is legitimately funny. Is it the greatest show ever? Not by a long shot. Is it better than the last TT show? Probably not. Is it a shame it exists while the original never finished? Kinda. But is it a bad show? Honestly, no.

TTG knows exactly what it wants to be and delivers. It may not be the sequel show old fans wanted, but if you put aside the hatred, you’ll see it’s not only a funny cartoon bursting with energy and very well-defined and appealing character designs reminiscent of shows like Dexter’s Lab, but also a huge love letter to the Titans, the last show, and all things DC. It is clearly made by DC fans. I may be biased because I love Weird Al and The Golden Girls, but, man, this is funny right here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ICmOMLX3rQ

Admittedly, even the movie trailer looks funny, and I’ll likely see it, despite not really being a fan of the show. Just like the 2011 Thundercats, I see what the TTG team is intending to do, and I appreciate how well they do it, despite not being a regular supporter of it.

And, well, that brings us back to ‘Roar’. Will I like it? Based on what I’ve seen so far, likely not, but who knows. It could end up being the next Sonic Boom. I do strongly dislike the art direction for Thundercats Roar, and the footage shown thus far did not make me laugh (except Mumm-ra learning about the cats being on Third Earth by reading it in the newspaper. That actually got a chuckle from me). But, as much as my gut is telling me to hate this show, I won’t pass judgment until I’ve at least seen a couple episodes. It’s definitely not the Thundercats I love, but to be honest, I didn’t want a TC reboot. I was fine with it just being as it is. So if somebody’s going to reboot it for a new generation, I’ll be glad to see my favorite franchises get passed down, so long as it is done lovingly. If the show truly is a love letter to the history of the franchise as it claims to be, and if it’s a decently quality product that obvious care went into, I’ll be fine with it.

It would be so easy to tear it apart and hate it, but as I get older I find myself growing more accepting of such change. I’m not EXPECTING to like it, but who knows, I also wasn’t expecting to like Sonic Boom. Basically, so far I’m not digging what I’ve seen, but I’ll keep an open mind and stay hopeful. Here’s hoping they can change my mind with the final product.

The End

#thundercats #thundercats roar #reboot #Brendan Corris #BrendanCorris

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masqueravess · 6 years ago

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2018 was a good year of art for me! I got to practice more mediums since I had art class in the second half of the year, and I include a lot more color in my art with digital art!

Template by DustBunnyThumper on dA (https://www.deviantart.com/dustbunnythumper/art/2018-Summary-of-Art-BLANK-775001715)

Info on each piece under the cut!

(*Note: A bunch of the art I have listed here isn't posted on my art blogs. whoops.)

January - Sayori (https://www.deviantart.com/cursedcrystals/art/sayori-727939899)

Tried out painting digitally, I was still trying to get a hand on blending colors and stuff.

February - Red Riding Hood Full Page Sketch (-)

I got a new sketchbook and pens, so why not try drawing a full page with red pen? I'm pretty proud of this one. Also, a good attempt at actually doing backgrounds.

March - Gift for my sister (-)

I used a OC meme for this one. Heh. I should probably link that meme.

April - Penn Revamp (OC) (-)

I did some lineart on paper, and then colored it in medibang. I still don't like doing lineart digitally lol

May - N2-M1 Reference Sheet (-)

Yup, I made a fangan. Probably one of the seasons in NDRV3. I'm still working on it, so I won't talk about it much.

June - Ajioka and Takeuchi (-)

More fangan stuff, and also, I started developing a cartoony/chibi-ish style! And!! Lineless art 'cause I hate lineart!! Really proud of this one.

July - Fangan doodles (-)

Not much finished art this month, but lots of fangan doodles. At least I used color lol

August - Tsumugi Copic (https://notbraveart.tumblr.com/post/177170477233/august-2018-first-post-on-my-art-account-v-it#notes)

I started up my tumblr and insta art blogs! Also, practiced some copic, finally!

September - Scratchboard art (-)

Some scratchboard art we did in art class. Not much hahah

October - Inktober Week 4 / Vampire Cynthia (OC) (https://notbraveart.tumblr.com/post/179701711168/inktober-week-4-her-birthdays-in-october)

I actually had time to do some art for Inktober! I may have dried up my gray copics by making this piece, but I'm really proud of it.

November - Quest for Meaning (-)

This is actually a group project for school that I had to do. I snuck some OCs in there, naturally.

December - Wes Winter Heart (https://notbraveart.tumblr.com/post/181418272413/my-ds-secret-santa-for-teethcake-who-asked-for)

I had a lot of art for this month, because of gift art and secret santas, but I chose my favorite secret santa piece! It's a fully finished piece of art, and hopefully I can do more art like this in 2019, even without a secret santa gift forcing me to do it. lol

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mystic-one-shots · 7 years ago

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Hiiiiii! Could I request a one-shot based of a picture? I'm not sure if you've seen it, but it's one where there's a chibi-ish, nervous Seven holding a clipboard which says 'your very personal info' on it, except the "very" has been crossed out. I'd be super happy if you could write it, like I'm thinking some angst and cuteness? I dunno, anything you write is fine but THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

You’re *very* Personal Info [707]

You startled a very concentrated Seven from his work by jumping onto his back and squeezing him tightly.

“Gah! MC, what are you doing? I’m working right now!”

Seven’s hands flew up in exasperation before he shielded whatever he had been doing with other windows and tabs.

“You didn’t come to bed last night; you haven’t gotten a wink of sleep since yesterday after Vanderwood called you.” You said with a pout, but soon growing serious and adopting a strict motherly tone.

“Honey Buddha Chips and Ph D. Pepper is all I need to stay awake.”

You shook your head, wrapping your arms around him once more and giving him another tight squeeze as you nuzzled your head against his back.

“MC…” Seven sighed softly, resting his arms atop of yours, which were still ringed securely around his torso.

“I waited a long time last night… And you won’t even tell me what you’re doing.”

Seven sighed once more; he felt pretty bad now.

“I’m sorry, MC. I was… I was just trying to get YVPI. That’s all. It’s very important and I had to get everything as soon as I could. I’m sorry I didn’t come sleep with you last night.”

Seven pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes.

“I should’ve at least said goodnight. I’m sorry.”

You loosened your grip and leaned to the side, meeting the tired redhead’s golden eyes from below. You instantly forgave him. You knew Seven could get really busy at times, but you worried about him, especially his health.

“It’s okay.” You assured, making him smile in relief. “What’s YVPI stand for?”

Seven tensed but quickly attempted to cover it up with a laugh.

“Nothing, nothing. Just some top secret information. I can’t tell you.”

You gave him a sad look. One you knew had the capability of breaking him.

“You don’t trust me…?”

Seven became agitated and waved his hands side to side repeatedly.

“No, no, no! It’s not like that!”

He continued to avoid answering your question, but your expression just kept growing sadder and sadder, to the point he actually thought you were going to cry.

“It’s… YVPI stands for ’Your Personal Info’.”

Your brows furrowed in confusion.

“Your Personal Info…? What’s the ‘V’ stand for?”

Seven’s smile grew very nervous, and there was hesitation in his reply.

“Your… Very Personal Info…?”

It took you five whole seconds to fully grasp it all. Then you gasped.

“Saeyoung, how could you!?”

Seven cowered under your raised voice and covered his head with his hands, rambling out apologies one after another.

“Jesus, Saeyoung! That’s what you’ve been doing this whole time? Looking up my very personal information!? Saeyoung, you can ask me about myself! I’m right here! I live with you and instead of getting to know me better yourself you ignore me and try getting a bunch of documents about my life!?”

Your anger and disappointment continued to pour out in the form of accusations and flying fists. Your heart ached in an odd way. It almost felt as if he’d betrayed you, although that would be a slight exaggeration.

When you could no longer express your sadness, your fists were left shaking in the air before dropping down to your sides and clutching the hem of your shirt. Your eyes watered, not really because of this incident, but from all the other times in which you worried over Seven and days he was very withdrawn. It had all piled up after not letting it out for so long, and now you struggled yet succeeded in keeping the tears from leaving your eyes.

When you stopped talking and had lowered your head, Seven finally removed his arms and looked at you.

His heart broke. He swore he heard it crack in his chest.

He felt horrid. He felt regret. He felt so bad for making you feel this way. He hated to be the source of your pain. He wished to be the one to give you joy and happiness. To wipe your tears away, not be the one to cause them. To hold you and assure you that everything would be alright. But how could he do that when he was the problem?

He called your name softly. Once, twice, then, “I’m sorry…”

He wrapped his arms around you. Tentatively. Uncertainly. When you didn’t react, he hugged you completely and rested his head atop yours. He stroked your hair, breathed in your scent, felt such sadness as you trembled lightly against his chest.

It made him feel worse to see that you did not pull away from the person who was clearly the cause of your pain.

“Saeyoung…”

He shushed you quietly and gently to make sure he spoke first.

“I’m so sorry.” He said, voice quiet and hopeful. Hopeful that you would understand. “Vanderwood called yesterday…” He took a deep breath before continuing. “Saying he was ordered to take over my work, so I spent my free time gathering info about you. I’m so, so, so sorry. I… I want to know everything about you. You know why, right?”

Of course you knew why.

Because he loved you.

The several seconds in which no reply was made stretched on forever, threatening to choke the young genius.

You nodded. Grasped his shoulders and berried your head in his chest.

“You’re right, MC. I’m really, really sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight. I should get to know you myself. The right way, by talking and spending time with you. God… This was so stupid, I’m so sorry.”

Seven nuzzled his head even further in the back of your head, holding you tightly and close to his body. You grasped the material of his shirt at his shoulders and made sure you were as close to him as possible.

“I’ll delete the documents now.”

He pulled away, but not before cupping your face, wiping a stray tear from your cheek, and planting a kiss on your forehead.

He took a deep breath once in front of the screen.

“Here goes over 800 GB of information…” He sighed, hesitating before finally pressing down two keys. You saw all the data erased from the screen.

Seven closed his laptop and returned to you, kissing your forehead, both of your cheeks, and finally your nose before hovering a centimetre away from your reddened lips, waiting for your approval.

You leaned in and closed the gap between your mouths.

Seven’s right hand slid up your back and pulled you close, the other wrapped around your waist.

He kissed your mouth three times with sincere love and apology before speaking.

“I won’t ever do that again. I really regret doing it… Please forgive me.”

You couldn’t help but smile, blinking the moisture from your eyes as he kissed the tears from your lashes.

“I love you so much.” His voice soft as silk, he lifted your chin and guided your lips to his. He made sure you knew how apologetic he was.

“Saeyoung… I’m sorry.”

The redhead was taken aback.

“What?” He asked, confused. “What are you apologising for? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

You shook your head.

“I understand you have a lot of work and the information you handle is very sensitive. What you do is confidential and I understand that. I’m sorry if I make you feel guilty for not spending time with me. I love you so much, but I see you work hours on end and not sleeping at all. I just… I want to help you but I don’t know how.”

Seven’s grip tightened around your waist. He said your name sternly and made sure you looked him in the eyes, all seriousness.

“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. I can’t believe… I can’t believe you would even blame yourself for the way I act. I didn’t know I made you feel this way… Jesus… I’m so sorry. I’ve…”

Seven’s eyes moistened as he pursed his lips. The blame he put on himself was very apparent. He was beating himself up for it.

“I’m going to make it up to you. For all those times I kind of ignored you when I had a lot of work, when I didn’t come to bed, when I would brush off your advice to rest and take care of myself.

“This job… It takes a lot of my time. It keeps me away from you. I felt like I had to know everything about you. I still think that way, but I wasn’t thinking straight. This wasn’t the right way do it. I’m going to make it up to you. Please, just forgive me. Forgive me for being so selfish and blind. Please give me another chance.”

A tear slid down the apologetic hacker’s cheek, and you made sure to kiss the droplet from his skin, stroking his cheekbone gently with your thumb.

“I didn’t want to make you feel bad. You shouldn’t, because this is your job and it’s very important work. You should feel bad about getting my information… But, I understand. I know you’re always doing your best.

“I worry for you because I love you.”

Seven’s eyes flooded with teary emotions. He cupped your face and placed his mouth over yours, salty tears shed by both of you wetting your lips.

“There are a lot of times I think you’re going to leave me since I’m not good enough.” He confessed, voice muffled against your hair. “It kills me just thinking about you not by my side. I never want to let you go. But you I’m not giving you all that you deserve.”

Seven kissed you two more times, gently and lovingly, before murmuring four words.

“I love you so much…”

You hummed against his lips, deepening the kiss as you slid your hands through his fiery red hair.

“I could never leave you, Saeyoung. Never. I love you more than anything and anyone. I can’t bear the thought of not being with you. Please don’t think I’d leave you. I never will, I promise. It’s impossible to leave someone so precious to me. Put that thought of your hand this instant. I will always love you, and I will always be with you, no matter what.”

A shaky sigh of relief escaped Seven’s lips. Hearing you say that took such a huge weight off his chest, making his heart flutter uncontrollably as tears sprung into his eyes.

He squeezed your shoulder and a wobbly smile formed on his mouth. Without releasing your hands, he clicked a button on his keyboard; all the monitor screens went black save for two, which seemed to be security footage.

“Let’s go to bed.”

You gave him confused look.

“But it’s still so early…”

“I know,” he said, giving your hand a light squeeze. “I just want to lay in bed with you. We’re not gonna sleep.”

You smiled softly, allowing him to lead you to the bedroom. The two of you crawled under the sheets and lay on your sides facing one another, fingers laced.

A few moments of easy, peaceful silence passed.

“You didn’t delete those documents, did you?”

Seven’s eyes widened, mouth falling open yet no words coming out.

You chuckled lightly, shifting forward to kiss his forehead.

“It’s okay. Just don’t look at them. And if I choose not to tell you something… Don’t go looking for answers that way.”

“I won’t, I swear to God that I won’t.” Seven promised with utmost sincerity.

You smiled. You trusted him completely.

“You now what they say; secrets are more attractive when kept secret.”

Seven chuckled, kissing your nose.

“And what they say is very true. God, you’re so perfect. Too perfect for someone like me.” He sighed, caressing your cheek with his thumb adoration crystal clear in those enchanting orbs. His golden eyes were unbelievably soft and brimming with love for you.

“Says the most perfect man in the world.”

You both laughed and shared one last kiss.

Soon enough, Seven had fallen asleep from exhaustion, curled against your chest with your head above his. One of your hands was in his hair, the other around his waist while Seven had an arm wrapped around your torso, the other kept between the two of you, palm laid flat above your heart, its rhythmic beating lulling him to a sound sleep.

You planted a gentle kiss atop his head before closing your eyes, drifting off to sleep where you met Seven waiting for you in your dreams.

#Mystic Messsenger #Mysmes #MM #Saeyoung Choi #Saeyoung #707 #Hacker #Luciel Choi #Luciel #Seven #God Seven #Your VERY Personal Info #707 One-Shot #RFA #Otome #Mystic Messenger One-Shots

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glapplebloom · 7 years ago

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EVO was yesterday and while I didn’t see all of the tournaments, I did see every reveal trailer that came from it. And here is my list from least interested to most (when it comes to what is being revealed, game interest is MUCH different).

#8 - Arika’s Fighting Game

While may are calling it Fighting Layer EX, apparently Arika has not decided on a name. This came from an April Fools joke but got so widely loved they decided to make it into a game. And for many, this is a great return of a beloved franchise. But for me, its just not interesting. I got introduced to these characters via the Street Fighter EX series and thanks to that, they seem fanfic-ey to me. Doesn’t help that Kairi killed Akuma in the EX timeline. Makes it seem too Broly for me. The game does look fun and now without the SF license that fanfic-iness would be removed. And Skullomania is still a fun looking character.

#7 - Dragon Ball FighterZ: Trunks

Trunks being in DBFZ is pretty much a given. I expect to see Piccolo, Krillin, 18, maybe Beerus and Ginyu, possibly Broly being the next set to be introduced. At this point, I’m more interested in the game itself than the Roster. Many of the possible characters have been in Dragon Ball fighting games before. Heck, many of them even had 2D Fighting Game appearances. But seeing a fighting game based on Dragon Ball with the people behind the Guilty Gear series? That excitement trumps these character reveals. If they released the game right now as is, I would try to get it ASAP.

#6-5 - Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite: Gamora and Jedah

Capcom decided to simply show off their two new characters than making a trailer for it, so that’s nice. But like DBFZ, I really don’t care about whose in the roster. What got my interest is the Story Mode. This is Capcom’s second attempt at once and while I did enjoy their first attempt, it did have problems (one round is realistic, but just not as fun as a two round system). And this is only ranked higher than DBFZ is because we get to see live game play over a trailer.

#4 - Street Fighter V: Abigail

I will give credit to Capcom for one thing, he is the most unique reveal of EVO. He’s not an established character in a series’ history, or from a movie, or an online web series, or from another company’s franchise. He’s a boss character from the original Final Fight and never had another appearance except this game. And honestly, he just looks like a fun character. He slams someone’s head through a roof and uses them as a punching bag, despite being out in the open! That is just hilarious. While game interest is definitely below DBFZ and MvCI, this was a fun trailer.

#3 - Blazblue Centralfiction: Jubei

While I’m not into the Blazblue mythos like other fighting games, I do have to appreciate that they are bringing in an important character to the franchise as a playable character. Jubei, the person who taught Ragna everything he knows, is finally a playable character for the first time. He is considered a powerful person and it will be nice to actually see if he can live up to such a reputation.

#2 - Blazblue Cross Tag Battle

Like DBFZ and MvCI, I really don’t care who is in the roster because I’m more interested in the game itself. And while I’m not into Blazblue, Persona, or Under Night In-Birth (and I like Chibi RWBY over RWBY), the idea of a crossover fighting game is something I can’t look pass. With the title like that, I expect that the roster will have mostly BB characters and the other half will be a hodgepodge of other franchises. Expect to see a Guilty Gear Rep soon since they need a respriting (as their recent game is actually 3D, not 2D Sprites). And you know what other franchises Arc System Works owns? The Double Dragon and River City Ransom franchises.

#1 - Tekken 7: Geese Howard

Hey AkumaTh! We heard you didn’t get Tekken 7 yet despite putting in Akuma. Well, how about we throw in your favorite villain from SNK? That’s right! Get Akuma, Heihachi and Geese Howard ALL IN ONE GAME! ~ What it felt like when I saw the trailer. Geese FRIKKIN Howard! The guy who keeps getting thrown off skyscrapers and keeps coming back. To have three of my favorites in one game without MUGEN is just a fantasy coming true.

And for those curious about my interest in games among these...

Tekken 7

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite

Street Fighter V

Blazblue Cross Tag Battle

Blazblue Centralfiction

Arika’s Fighting Game

#mod post

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bronyinabottle · 7 years ago

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TROTCON 2017 EXPERIENCE

Well my 2nd trip to Trotcon has wrapped up. And as with my first time to give some general thoughts on the trip as well as a breakdown later on of the stuff I got while I was there. So head on after the break if you'd like to hear how things went.

Let me get one thing out of the way first though. Admittedly this trip started out a bit rough at first. And for a little while, and in some ways it's still true. It feels like I had an overall better time the first time I went two years ago even though I was only there for at most 5 hours. As opposed to nearly a full day this time around. It got much better by nighttime. But things like almost forgetting my ID, traffic jams, my computer for some reason had no way to connect to the Wi-Fi there, and when I tried getting a coke from a vending machine it didn't dispense any. Presumably because it was empty for that particular one. (I went to the front office about it and got a replacement out of it, so that was rectified. Buuuuuut yea…). Most of these are pretty minor and by the end of the trip I enjoyed being there despite the hiccups that happened. Just makes it sound like a bummer compared to my first trip where I had so much awesome stuff happening one after another in the few hours I spent there two years ago. The only bad thing that happened two years ago was throwing up when I got back in the car (Apparently my body had an adverse reaction to having a full Steak n' Shake lunch and a few hours of Convention fun all at once.). But then again that's also high expectations I put on the trip since the first one was so special being my first ever convention and everything. Again I still had plenty of fun and got some cool stuff that I don't regret going for. Just besides some minor inconveniences and moments where I sat in my room and/or walked through the building out of boredom it definitely was far from perfect.

But with that out of the way let's get to a few things that definitely livened up the trip.

REUNITING WITH PIRATE DASH

First of all of course I had to see the mod of Pirate Dash again. Very nice to see him and chat a little. Got a few things from him including a small Twilight print and 2 buttons. Though the true fun with him began with something that I'll get to not too long from now.

M.A. LARSON AUTOGRAPH

Also coincidentally M.A. Larson returned to Trotcon the year I went to again. He wasn't here last year. But it was awesome once again to see my favorite writer of the show. Last time I got a photo with him and that's it. This time I just got an autograph. But what exactly did I have him autograph? Well it's something I decided to make real fast last week where I did a spirited thing for each of his episodes that he's credited as a writer/co-writer for. I'll show them here as digital versions.

This one he would sign and give back to me

This one I would give to him as a gift.

He really liked it and asked what my favorite episodes out of them were. And I said Cutie Mark Chronicles, Magical Mystery Cure, and Amending Fences. And with that I had the autograph and everything. I did come across Larson a few more times while walking in the hall. Waved to him at least once, and noticed him at the bar wearing what I believe was a Detroit Tigers hat which was interesting. But yeah it was definitely great seeing my favorite writer from the show in-person once more.

DARKEST EPISODE OF MY LITTLE PONY PRESENTATION

At about Nighttime I went to a panel about the Cutie Remark about how it's the darkest episode of the show and some theories about the episode. While that episode is kind my least favorite out of the Finales it is definitely an intriguing episode to give some thoughts about. And the thing at the end where he explains a major part that is often unmentioned is how Starlight prevented Spike from being born. Or at the very least, not born under the same circumstances where he would of been helpful (Even putting up the possibility that perhaps an untamed dragon Spike born in Equestria ended up being the cause of the timeline where there's nothing left of Equestria) even showing clips of the first episode where indeed Spike assisted in even getting Twilight to meet the Mane 6. So while Twilight was trying to save their timeline, Spike's entire existence may have been at stake here. A scary, but interesting thought. I don't think it's going to change my opinion on the episode too much, but again very interesting to hear and it was good to hear from who he said to be a Spike fan since I'm somewhat one as well (If I wasn't I sure wouldn't give him the attention I've done for him in I Dream of Twilight Sparkle heh)

RUSTY NAIL MEMORIAL AUCTION/PARTY

But I think the absolute best time I had at this year's Trotcon was at they Rusty Nail memorial service. Now I'll say this. I've been a member of Tumblrpon for a while though I never had the opportunity to meet Rusty Nail. So unfortunately I had no personal attachment of my own, that said I still feel condolences for those who were. And when Teej asked if I'll be there I said I could. Now of course while they were serving drinks, I didn't drink any alcohol since I avoid that at all costs. Basically all I did there was sit, watch the auction and the Quiplash game with plenty of adult humor, drink a coke, talk with a few friends like Teej and Out of Work Derpy's mod and laugh. But that was enough for a great time. Cause there were so many humorous moments and for an event that was in memorial to someone recently deceased, it had a really fun tone to it that basically said that while Rusty is gone. The spirit of the pleasure he gave his friends and the Tumblrpon community still lives on ^^ I did donate a dollar to the proceeds for the diabetes. Also hope a recording of the livestream that was going on will make it to Youtube or something. Would love to watch it all over again. Also awesome that the total proceeds after the whole event was all done was over 1,300 dollars. It was definitely a night worth attending ^^

VENDOR HALL/TRAVELING PONY MUSEUM STUFF I BOUGHT

Now last but not least is the items I got while there. I'll start with the two non-pony items. I got Pac-Man branded pocky that's milk chocolate and cream in the middle. Never actually had any kind of Pocky before but gotta say it was pretty good. Now Pocky Twi's mod will be proud of me :V

Once I saw this Sonic figure in the corner of the Traveling Pony Museum, I was instantly come over with the urge to get it. And get it I did. It's certainly an awesome figure with so much more articulation then probably any figure I've had before. Plenty of potential for poses (Though admittedly I have had trouble just getting it right for certain poses without it falling over). Really glad I got it. It looks really cool on display.

There's some Tumblrpon stuff including buttons from PD that I mentioned, stickers from Out of Work Derpy, a card from Ask Rye Drimer when I met him. And there's also the badge I got with the convention guidebook. Also apparently I so happen to choose the faction that won. Not that I really cared too much about that heh. I didn't really get the chance to go play in any of the nerf gun battle things. There was probably a point where I could of done that instead of just walking around but I just couldn't find myself to do it. Oh well.

I got a 4DE Twilight plushie for myself. I know I already got a Twilight plushie from last time. But this one has the wings opened instead of permanently closed like the one I got last time. And admittedly when I compared the two when I got home the 4DE plush looks much better. I mean no offense of course to LunarShine as I still like the ones I got from him. If a certain episode coming up in Season 7 works out to what I hope. The Velvet plushie I got may suddenly become a very worthy investment

The Guardian of Harmony Twilight is pretty neat. I've always kinda wanted a better official model of Twilight. And this works pretty well considering this is part of Hasbro's first attempt to gear MLP for both genders that has come up in the past year or so. The changeling figure is cool too but I mostly got it for action figure Twilight pretty much.

Last but not least at least for items for me is this large print I got from Bobdude0 AKA the adorable Sweetie Belle art guy with this very cool picture of Twilight teaching magic to Sweetie like Celestia once did for Twilight. He said it was a collab with Viwrastupr and it's just beautiful work altogether. I also got it signed. As a fun little note. Bobdude0 had a thing where he had a 20 sided dice and if you were lucky you got a free item. And guess what, I got a 20 right off the bat! That meant that I could of gotten a free smaller print. Though I downgraded just a little for a sticker on the back that has a chibi Twilight and Spike. At that point I was apparently only his 3rd Natural 20.

There's actually one more item I gotta mention. But it's not in the photo of all the stuff I got because sooner or later it won't really be mine. And it's a 4DE Pinkie Pie Plush

You see, last year I met the family of my Mom's best friend and they happened to have a little girl who's a fan of the ponies herself. Her name's Josie and she's almost like the little sister I never had at this point. Her favorite pony I found out early on was Pinkie (It may be at least partly because Pink's her favorite color though given how hyper and excitable she can be I could easily see why else she likes Pinkie a lot). So keeping that mind coming into the con I definitely had to pick up something Pinkie related for her. And I think this worked out best. At the point I've put this up I most likely will not have gotten it her yet. But upon the next visit to their house I'll certainly have it as a surprise for her. On a side note this family I plan to see the MLP Movie in October , and Josie's probably just as if not more excited for it then I am. So that should be a fun time whenever that comes.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Anyway, that's all for now on my Trotcon 2017 experience. I can't say this one was quite as amazing as the short time I spent at Trotcon 2015 but it nonetheless had it's moments that was plenty fun and I'm definitely still glad I got to go again. Even more general stuff such as having my own hotel room for nearly a full day was very nice as the bed was very comfy and they have a nice bath in there. There is possibility I go again some other time. Maybe even next year as my parents haven't ruled it out. But definitely no promises on that in case things come up.

Thanks to all who bothered to read this and thanks to everybody from fellow friends I talked to, the entire Trotcon staff for another fun convention. ^^

#Trotcon

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seven-for-president · 8 years ago

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Loved your HC about sleep talking MC. Could you do one with the RFA +V & Saeran about an MC who crochets things for them like blankets, hats, scarfs, even stuffed animals? Thanks!

So, after I googled what to crotch means xD, here you go! ≧ω≦

_Yoosung_

° You always thought that he was cute

° so you made cute things for him (*^▽^*)

° little gadgets you crotched for him like scarfs or hats

° he loved those and cherished them

° but you realized that he couldn’t wear 3 scarfs at the same time… ( TДT)

° it was physically impossible to do so no really ?

° you made up your mind and decided it was time to make something else

° you worked day and night on your new project

° in the end you made a cute little doll from a LOLOL character (*≧▽≦)

° the things you made were never bad or ugly but this one….

° it was a masterpiece!

° of course there weren’t many details, it was more like a chibi Version

° big head and eyes, small body, on one word: cute

° so perfect for Yoosung

° cute and cute mix well right?

° he came home late because of his club activities

° you patiently waited for his return

° when he arrived you rushed to the door and greeted him with a hug

° “Did something happen MC? You seem very cheerful today.”

° “I made something for you.”

° his face was saying: please not a scarf again!!

° lol

° “What did you made this time?” (・_・��

° he was a Little scared but you overheard the this in his voice and dragged him to his Computer desk

° “Look, it´s a little figurine. I thought you have enough scarfs by now.”

° at first he was relived, at least not another scarf thank god!!

° but when he took a closer look he saw it was the character he always played in LOLOL

° “OH MY GOD!!!! MC this is just perfect!!” o(〃＾▽＾〃)o

° you were really glad he liked it, all of your hrd work payed of, finally

° “I´m glad you like it Yoosung.”

° you were happy that you could give him something he seemed to like very much, so you were pleased with yourself

° as a thank you, he went on the most romantic date you could imagine

° awwwww

° so in the end, everyone was happy yay o(≧∇≦o)

_Jaehee_

° you kept yourself occupied with handwork whenever Jaehee was away, which was often but that´s nothing new ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

° soon there were new blankets and pillows all over the house

° at first she didn´t notice them but after a few weeks it clicked

° “MC, did you bought a new blanket again?”

° by the Looks of it, they were handmade and very expensive because of the good Quality

° “I didn´t bought anything.”

° “But where are all these things from? Blankets, pillows and even tablelothes…”

° “These? I made them.”

° you got up from your place on the Couch and set the new hat you were working on aside

° Jaehee looked like she didn´t believe you

° as a proof you showed her the work in Progress

° she couldn´t believe her eyes… （＊〇□〇）

° she never knew you were so talented

° suprise Jaehee!

° as she saw your talent she asked you to make a few things for her

° scarfs, hats, a Poncho, gloves, and even a stuffed toy from Zen

° you had nothing to do anyway so you agreed

° as the weeks passed you got more and more work to do

° soon everybody from the RFA wanted to have something and you happyily made it

° Jaehee then had a brillinat idea, you could open your own online-shop

° with a little help from Seven, you made him a PhD Pepper-can-plushie in return, your website went online

° more and more requests arrived each day and your Hobby soon becae your fulltime Job

° on some days you were as busy as Jaehee but you never gave up on making little things for her (●♡∀♡)

_Zen_

° you first had the idea to crotch something for him as a present for succesfully performing his new Play

° it was a small pillow and it said congrats for rocking the theatre

° super cute, right? o(^▽^)o

° he never noticed on what you were working all the time but he saw that you did something

° he was confused why you always kept it a secret from him

° but hey, he understood that everybody has their secrets

° so you finished just in time for the first Performance of his new Play

° but you were a Little shy and didn´t gave it to him directly (*´∀`*)

° you decided to throw it onto the stage llike other fans did it with flowers and candy

° I wish someone would throw candy at me…

° your crotching skills may were quite well, your throwing skills weren´t

° which resulted in the pillow landing directly on his face

° ouch

° he looked irritated and then Kind of passive-aggressive （；¬＿¬)

° you knew you did something wrong, but was it your fault that you weren´t good at throwing pillows??

° now it seemed like he startedto cry, your sense of fault was bugging you even more…

° but he eventually saw from who the pillow was thrown and his mood changed immediately

° the look on his face said that you´ll have to talk about that after the Show

° the Show was a bid succes (what else?) and you went to Zen´s Dressing room

° he was already there, with the pillow in his arms

° “This was you MC, wasn´t it?”

° you looked down, embarassed and nervous

° “Yes, it was me. I wanted to give you a suprise but it ended up hitting you. I´m sorry Zen.” (⌣_⌣”)

° “Why should I be angry at you? You´re not the first Person to throw somrthing at my face and you´ll surely won´t be the last.”

° he came towards you and kissed you

° “More importantly, I´m honored and very happy that you made me something so Special. I´m moved and I almost cried tears of joy.”

° so that´s why he cried…

° “I´m happy when you´re happy Zen. I just wanted to give you something since you´ve been practising so hard These past few weeks.”

° “So you mean if I Keep practising hard you´ll make more for me?”

° he looked like a Little child on Christmas morning o(≧∇≦o)

° “Sure, if you want that I can make more for you.”

° he picked you up and spun you around while you screamed in shock

° “Zen out me down, if I knew you´d be happy about this Kind of Thing I would have made something sooner.”

° from this day on you had to make something for every new Play he acted in

° oh, and the Foto from Zen who was crying came in the newspaper by the way XD

_Jumin_

° face reality, you didn´t had anything to do in his huge Penthouse

° exept for Petting Elisabeth and waiting for Jumin´s return of Course

° so you made up your mind and decided to find yourself a Hobby

° first you tried teaching Elisabeth some tricks, failed

° then you wanted to start Yoga, failed

° after painting and the attempt of playing the piano, which caused the Violation of Elisabeth´s ears, you tried crotching

° to your and everyone elses suprise, you seemed to have a Talent for that

° of Course you had a few Troubles at the beginning but you became better really quickly o(^∀^*)o

° you started small and soon Elisabeth had a cute Little cape, and then 5

° when you thought she had enough you made something bigger

° first scarfs, then hats and pillows and after a while even whole blankets

° the penthouse looked like a cute little shop from an old Lady

° at first Jumin didn´t really care, he noticed the new things for his beloved cat but didn´t questioned it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

° then there were all of these pillows

° they didn´t look bad and fit into the living room well, so why bother saying anything?¯\_(ツ)_/¯

° but he started to get a bit confused when the blankets started to appear all over the Couch

° “MC, where do all these crotched things come from? Not that they look bad but there are more by each day.”

° he didn´t sound angry or like he would ask you to throw them away, just confused

° “I started crotching and made all these things. If you don´t like them I can put them away or give to someone.”

° you didn´t mind if they disappeared, it was only a hobby to kill time to begin with anyway

° “No, don´t take them away, I like them and I think you hold a Special Talent for crotching.”

° you were pleased with yourself and kept crotching, now for Jumin

° he was more than happy to receive the small presents you made especially for him

° it only got a bit embarassing when he wore a pink scarf to work XD

° anyone who looked weird at him got fired

_Saeyoung/Seven_

° some People are good with Computers, some have amazing cooking skills

° you had neither

° but your Talent was crotching, doesn´t Sound too amazing, I know but it came in handy from time to time

° Seven sat infront of his Computer the whole day and sometimes the night too

° he had a good chair but even a high Quality object gets uncomfortable sometimes

° so you made a small blanked on which he could sit

° it was made from good wool so the fluffyness didn´t vanished right away and he was able to sit comfortable

° at first he didn´t notice any difference about his chair

° he just wondered when his ass didn´t hurt like hell after 12 houres of work

° but hey, not like he would complain about it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

° he got up to fatch some cans of PhD Pepper along with some Snacks

° please don´t eat like him…. it´s not good

° when he came back he noticed something was off

° there was a small blanket on his chair which he had never seen before

° he felt Panic creep up in his mind and thought that someone had broken into his house ◑.◑

° however that is possible for the average human being…

° he sat down and was about to open a tab for the CCTV when you exited the bedroom

° you wanted to get youself a drink when you saw a very panicked Seayoung

° “What´s wrong with you? You look like you saw a ghost.”

° “MC, we have to leave. I think someone broke into our house…”

° he looked around to see if he could find anything out of the ordinary

° “Sure, what did this Person do? All of your cars are still here as well as your Computers and robots.”

° he packed you by your shoulders and looked deeply in your eyes

° “MC, they placed a small blanket on my chair….. I´ve never seen it before so it has to be from some intruder.”

° you looked at him

° then you laughed your ass off XD

° he was even more confused than before and tillted his head to one side

° “Why are you laughing? Don´t you take me seriouslay??”

° “I do but I doubt your eyesight. I made this blanket for your chair and placed it there before you started working.”

° at a closer look it really did look homemade and he noticed it was in his favourite shade of red

° after he calmed down you went to bed again and forced him to join you

° but he coulden´t sleep over all the exitement that he had because of your gift Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

° it didn´t look like much to others, youself included, but you thought about something usefull and it made him happy, especially because it was handmade

° seeing him overjoyed like Little kid overa simple blanket you decided to make more o(*>ω

° he fealt bad and made you a lot of Gadgets in return, you both were happy, giving and receiving small Gifts from each other

° but he still tightened the security, if that even is possible… XD

_V_

° you often thought about Things you could give him

° he was a fotographer but giving him Pictures was Kind of …… difficult

° he also didn´t really care for specific bands, which excluded CDs from the gift-list as well ＼| ￣ヘ￣|／

° the only Thing left you thought of was something like a plushie or a nice pillow

° but you thought it wasn´t a present from heart if you just bought some random stuff

° so you thought of croching something for him

° your grandmother thought you how to do simple stuff like scarfs and later how to make figures

° but you knew you needed some practice again in order to make something decent

° it wasn´t hard to hide it anyway…

° that sounds Kind of mean

°so you practiced and practiced

° the first of your works were offerd to Yoosung, beacuse he lost his scarf and to Jaehee

° later you made a small cat for Jumin and another one for Seven

° of Course V noticed and he slowly became …..jealous

° just a few minuites before his present was almost finished he took the Courage to confront you with his Feelings

° “MC, why do you make all These Things for the RFA?” (*ﾟｰﾟ)ゞ

° you heard that he sounded a bitt nervous and quickly catched on with what was going on

° “Because Yosung neede a new scarf and Jaehee would have gotten sick…”

° he fidgeted with his Hands nervously

° “But why the small cats for Juimin and Saeyoung?”

° “They like cats and both of them helped me out o much over the past few months. Why wouldn´t I Show my gratitude.?”

° “ I understand. But I´d ish for you to make me something as well…”

° he spoke tha last part so quiet tha you almost didn´t heard it and you pretended you didn´t

° “Well, now that I´m finished with my masterpiece I´m going to give ot to it´s rightful owner,”

° he looked hurt ~(>_

° but only for a Brief Moment untill you placed the soft figure of a stuffed camera in his Hands

° “Here, I made this for you. As present. I practiced hard and I gave the practice products to the others. You know I tink you deserve only the best.”

° he was moved to tears as he Held the small camera Close to his heart

° he even started to cry for gods sake!

° “Thank you so much MC. I can´t express how happy you made me by doing this for me.”

° he gave you a big hug and a sweet kiss

° with this you decided to never give someone exept him a homemade-whatever

° needless to say he was very happy about that ;)

_Saeran_

° he was edgy (this is my word of the week by the wayXD)

° so he needed edgy stuff in his room

° unfortunately he didn´t like common pillos or blankets

° so yo had to dye all of the bedsheet black and the pillows too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

° while you were at it you dyed yours as well

° but his room still looked Kind of lonly, there was only a bed and a wardrobe, all painted in black

° you made up your mind and made some decors yourself, all black and Grey obviously

° first it was a small blanket to put on bed when it wasn´t used

° then there appeared two identical cute pillows on eac side of the bed

° followed by more pillows and after some time two small figurines, repreenting you and Saeran cute

° he was happy, although he was a bit shy to admit it to you in Person

° instead he showed his happiness by sharing his most important Thing with you

° ice cream

° he bought a big bucket of Ben´n´Jerry´s and invited you over for a DVD night, although he hoped it wouldn´t just saty by watching onlx DVDs if you know what I mean ( ° ʖ °)

° you arrived at his place and he opend the door for you, gesturing you to step inside

° you made yourself a home on his Couch hile placing the new pillows you made on it

° they were black with the letters S and C, Saeran Choi (or if your Name starts with C you can Interpret it as that XD)

° he joined you there and started the film, noticing two new items in his Collection of Things made by you

° “MC, I know I never said thid but I´d like to thank you for all of the Things you made. I realice I don´t Show it very good but I´m extremly happy about them and I value them. Forever, I promise.”

° he gave you a sweet kiss and you were at a loss of words (｡♥‿♥｡)

° a tear started to fall down on your cheek and Saeran thought he said something bad again

° “I´m happy you likethem. And even more that you told me so. I love you Saeran.”

° “I love you too MC, more than I´m able to express.”

° you hugged him and took this a s an offer to turnoff the TV beacuse he was turned on now

° wasn´t that a brilliant choice of words? XD

° all I say from this Point on is that he didn´t Need the day-blanket for a while now wink ( ° ʖ °)

So, I´m finally finished. I apologice for taking this Long but I´m on Holidays in Malta right now and so I don´t have a lot of time writing actually. Before anyone complains that I have time when I´m on Holiday, I actually go to School here to improve my english….But anyway, I really hope you like it and that it makes up a tiny bit for taking so Long

#mystic messenger #mysme #mystic messenger zen #mystic messenger v #mystic messenger headcanon #mysme headcanon #saeyoung choi #saeran choi #yoosung #jaehee kang

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mewkwota · 8 years ago

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Doodles of Mew Circa 2009-10: The School Edition

Oh boy!! This one actually was a wonderful and colorful surprise of goodies and AHHHHH!!!, the latter of which I tried to share only the “good” ones.

Keep in mind, these are doodles drawn from my 1st high school planner.

These really take me back, and since there are so many, I’ll attempt a Read More this time around! So expect a mix of random things below!

First off, a very basic doodle of Kirby and Kirby! One of which was a tentative gijinka based on my super-old, and sadly discontinued Smash Bros. fanfic comic, Smash Force.

Here is said characters from said fanfic comic, can you guess who’s who? Just think of the Subspace Emissary, and you’re golden. ( ‘ v’)b

They all had special outfits I had them wear and it was basically a super random, patchwork action series. This is of no scene from the comic, but more of me playing with the space provided in the Calendar’s section of my planner.

This is Icarus! The kid of the same Greek story. Back then, I had a huge thing for Greek mythology and their characters, and even have a place dedicated to them in my imaginary world. So you can tell from this it’s why I got really into Pit when he emerged from nowhere in Brawl.

Here’s Tsux and her old-never-met friend, Remiko. Her story can found in her given link. I guess they were searching for Teh Holy Leek of Randomness XD, or something. I recall that much of this doodle.

(AAAAHHHH THAT LANGUAGE HURT TO TYPE)

Speaking of Tsux, 2009 was the year of her creation and everything, at least prior to her becoming an actual UTAU a year later. Here’s yet another rare shot of what she used to look like, obviously her bangs were intended to be split.

I am trying my best to ensure they stay split even if their form has changed now, best to keep that in mind when drawing her!

Thank you, past Mew. I will be remembering this date until the day I die.

(I knew keeping dates of random character creations would mean something!!)

That being said, here’s an old shot of my OC Robin, in his casual clothes we saw in this development post many moons ago! Look how smug he looks. :T

This... Uhh, this is the only cronge I will share with you. I remember this being some attempt at a super “elaborate” look for Dark Link, drawn around Halloween, hence the occasion.

The advice from these planners are really something, but this one in particular really means a lot here, for me and maybe for others too.

However, this doodle is something I’d rather not have remembered of me.

Another old picture of a newly-learned character! This is actually supposed to be Classic Megaman reading a book. I can tell it’s him because I used to actually draw him with receptors back when I knew nothing about him.

I think I drew this based on the advice written in the planner below him.

It’s Pita again!! And since this was around Easter, I drew her befittingly with bunny ears. Did you know that she was originally meant to work at a maid cafe after retiring as an idol?

What a life she had, almost Barbie-like now that I think about it. It seems better now that Pita chose to drop it all for a quite retreat in the countryside instead.

Towards the last days of school, the weather got hotter. So I drew this to portray that feeling, featuring my high school OTP: Marth and Ike.

Of course, this shot only reminds me of how awfully poor I depicted the two together, especially with making Ike something of a relentless jerk. Super OOC from both sides, it hurts me beyond words, uwahh....!!

Thank goodness I learned to do my research and depict him better now. D:

More of those date-saving records. I remember greatly that this was done during Art Class. The left characters are of Laku, my late beta fish, and Ginger, a late class pet from my 7th grade Exploratory Class. I wanted to revive them as a part of a species of kemono-kids in my imaginary world, so they could live on there.

The right side has more of those strange fruit-vegetables known as Tomoranges, and the process of how they are harvested for the mainland.

You can still see the “teh” in my writing, oh goodness. There’s a lot to explain.

More of Icarus, and a really pretty-n-colored drawing of Matin from the Epic of Zektbach series. I remember that song she and her brother featured in~

It’s been so long since I listened to their music... ( * v*);

Last but not least, some neat colored chibis of KAITO, Tsux with her old character item, and a super old UTAU by the name of Zanda Kurane. This was the year that UTAU was sprouting into the world, so someone like him being an overseas UTAU was something of huge importance to me.

Sadly he’s not active anymore, but his name will remain in my heart.

Well! I hope you all enjoyed a trip down the mind and works of my 14-yr-old self.

I hope to find more of these that we can admire and reflect on in the future. Plus, I’d love to have these archived somewhere, so why not here?

#Mew's Art #Old Art #OC #tsux namine #robinson liir #pita melodias #utau #there's too much to tag here I won't even bother too much aside from archiving my OC's ^^;#what a wonderful walk down memory lane!

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neon-serpent-llc · 8 years ago

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Here’s to 365 days of polygonal worlds, shot point-blank at our grey matter, some catching fire, others fizzling to the void! It must be that oh-so-pointless time to give out video game awards! For the third year running I present a cheeky list of spills and chills like no other (spoiler: Overwatch wins nothing). Anyway, blahblahblah, here's the awards already:

Game I Forgot Existed Until I Looked Up "Game Releases of 2016" Award

Quantum Break

Like previous winners Watch Dogs, and Evolve, this is a shining example of a game that simply vanished after it was released. Probably took hundreds of Artists four years to make, and then *poof* gone overnight. But alas, most games do, eh? Was the TV show any good?

Best Case for Virtual Tourism Award

The Division

Say what you will about the game itself, but this lovely facsimile of NYC is killer. And super accurate. If it weren't for all the invincible, hoodie-wearing street thugs it would be a pleasure to cruise this digital remake of my favorite city.

Genius or Madness Award

Zero Time Dilemma

A game that walks the line perfectly between the two. So clever, and yet maybe too clever? The twists are ridiculous when they work and outrageous when they don’t. Even so, its sheer confidence of going eight steps beyond everyone else, narrative-wise, is so refreshing. Truly a piece of Art that only works in the video game medium. Speaking of Art...

Most Unplayable Work of Art Award

The Witness

Conceptually, The Witness is flawless. Especially once you've seen the "real" ending, that perfectly frames the point of the whole experience (I watched it on YouTube). Unfortunately, to get that real ending is a monumentally painstaking chore. But, this isn't "difficult" Art in the sense that its meaning is opaque or it’ll challenge your worldview. Its simply that I have zero patience for puzzle games. If The Witness is an encapsulation of what it means to be Johnathan Blow, then it's clear that he and I couldn't be more different. And that's why it works as Art.

Don't Want to Be the Guy That Says, "I Told You So," but.... I Told You So Award

No Man's Sky

Even with its countless features, the spiritually-similar Spore got boring fast. How, then, was this bare-bones knock-off, No Man's Sky, going to keep people interested? And that was with the assumption that it would at least look nice. However, it absolutely did not. The novelty of seeing procedurally generated ANYTHING gets old fast, and it's made far worse when you're presented with a never ending stream of ugly, barren planets made of mud and more mud. Next year’s winner: Star Citizen?

Biggest Social Phenomenon Since the Wii Award

Pokemon Go

It didn't last long, but for a month this summer, everyone was out hunting in the parks of the world. Sure, we still mostly ignored each other, but there was a touch of bizarre camaraderie knowing we were all playing the same giant meta game. Like the Wii before it, it was a game-related subject you could talk to ANYBODY about, and they'd not only know what you meant, but have an opinion on the matter. How often does that happen? How odd was it to see a fifty year old business man asking where the nearest Clefairy could be found?

Welcome to the 90s Loading Time Award

Deus Ex Mankind Divided

I think I spent more time riding the subway in this game than I have in real life.

You Don't Know Your Audience Award

Metroid Prime Federation Force

As a new Nintendo IP this would have got tons of attention. Who doesn't like crazy new Nintendo ideas? But as a Metroid game it could only possibly get bad press. Why play as Samus when you can play as more-generic-than-Master-Chief, chibi space marines instead? A top tier faux pas.

They Finally Got it Right Award

Dragonball Xenoverse 2

After decades of awkward DragonBall games, they finally hit the sweet spot for over-the-top action with fun controls and interesting content (granted, I never played the first Xenoverse). In the year of Street Fighter 5, who would have thought I'd prefer the new DragonBall fighting game?

Well Deserved Retirement Award

Dark Souls 3

Still fun despite almost no alterations in what is clearly a formula now, but I'm glad this is the last hurrah, at least for a while. As I said when Dark Souls 2 came out, the magic is less pronounced with each additional entry. None will have that Demon's Souls impact anymore. But when it returns in 5 to 10 years, it'll be nostalgic to see the old tricks in action again.

Everyone's An Asshole Award

Dishonored 2

At least that's what the talking Heart makes it seem like. Half the populace has secretly killed their husband/wife, whereas the other half have burned down orphanages or something.

Late to the Party Award

Steins;Gate

Another game I played years after release. And damn it's good. Far more novel than game, but I don't mind for a story of this quality. Why wasn't I reading this earlier? Haven't got to Steins;Gate 0 yet, but I'm working on it.

Xenogears Disk 2 Award

Final Fantasy XV

Like Metal Gear Solid V last year, another all-around excellent game that suddenly sprints to the end, jumping vast stretches of story in an instant, clashing hard with the slow burn style of storytelling established before that. Much like Xenogears of yore, this is a game that tried to be far bigger than time/budget allowed.

Honestly, I wish these overly-epic games would get chopped in two, a la Kill Bill. At the point where the story would start getting rushed, end part one. Just end it. Then let its sales fund part two, the remainder of the story. Then again, you run the risk of a Too Human situation where you announce a trilogy and then don't sell enough to finish it. But honestly, Final Fantasy and Metal Gear would handily sell enough. I’m sure they’ll make a FFXV-2, but at best it’ll attempt to reassemble the pieces of its predecessors fractured ending.

Didn't Burn the House Down Award

Uncharted 4

The writers said the ending would "burn the house down" in terms of closure. But it didn't, at all, even slightly. Uncharted 5 could EASILY be made based off this exact ending, with no retcons and no changes to the game’s formula. They'd just have to make Drake constantly say, "I'm too old for this shit!!"

It Shouldn't Work, But it Soooo Does Award

Dragon Quest Builders

I don't like Minecraft. As a professional level designer, I find Minecraft��s game building tools too crude to enjoy using at length (what a snob, eh?). And I don't like Dragon Quest. Too much grind, not enough story. Too simple. But for some reason when you combine the two it's fucking great! Dragon Quest adds the personality, charm, and flavor Minecraft was sorely lacking while also bringing enough story and tangible goals to make the building feel like a game and not like a chore. Plus, the game’s worlds are fairly handcrafted and feature proper level/zone design, which is greatly appreciated. The surprise hit of the year.

Best Game Industry Trend of the Year

Virtual Reality

I'm glad we're all working on it seriously now. Sure, the current headsets are uncomfortable as fuck, (can’t emphasize this enough), but its a step towards sunglasses-size VR in about ten years or so. Plus, by then everyone will be over their VR sickness so we won’t have to keep watering down the experiences we create. It’ll be sweet!

Worst Game Industry Trend of the Year

Infinite Sales

Between Steam, Good Old Games, Humble Bundle, Greenman Gaming, PSN Store, etc there is always a massive, store-wide sale going on somewhere. Wait a year and any game you want will be a mere $10. Why buy an unknown indie game when you can get a supremely polished, lengthy triple-A game for the same price? Indie developers basically need to charge $1 to get anyone's attention. Or make their game free *cough* ULTRAWORLD.

Best Game Awards of the Year

Obvious

Worst Game Awards of the Year

The Game Awards

A transparently corporate affair, the winners have all be carefully selected based on what needs to sell at Xmas. Companies won't even show up if one of their high profile games doesn't get an award. Even setting those complaints aside, it's hard to get interested or excited about a 2016 award show that happens with over a month of 2016 left; when wonderful games like The Last Guardian haven’t even been released yet. Speaking of which...

Game (Experience) of the Year

The Last Guardian

There's a layer of disconnect between the player and Last Guardian. The boy, Trico, and the camera all seem to disobey the player constantly. Many marked this as a flaw, but I think it's 100% intentional and part of why the game is so cohesive, thematically. For me, there's an added sense of surrealism when things are out of control. The chaos of physics interactions seem like they shouldn't work, yet suddenly you've made it to the next section of the castle. Did you really play that last section, or merely guide the chaos? Since you’re playing as a helpless child, lost in towering labyrinthine passageways, this obtuse disconnect feels entirely appropriate.

I feel it's intentional because Fumito Ueda and his team have managed to capture this sense of surreal play for three games in a row. Everyone manages to get to the end despite the feeling of disconnect. Trico is so aloof, yet will always get you where you need to go. Eventually. If everything functioned 100% predictably, God-of-War-precise, it would be FAR less memorable...as an experience. You, like the boy, legitimately struggle to escape the castle. Who has the guts to purposely make their controls imprecise to service the game, and theme, as a whole? It's amazing. A true work of Art. Game of the Year.

Non-Game of the Year

ULTRAWORLD EXODUS

The expansion and finale to whatever the hell this thing is. I liked it, but I think I'm literally the only one.

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

So that's the year, says I. Looking over my list, its clear I didn't play many indie games, even though I complained about people not buying indie games (which is bad Karma for me, but I'll live). As always, if you disagree: good. All awards are pointless, just fluff opinions with a bow on top. Your awards are as good as mine, good as the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, etc etc forever. Til next year!

2015 Awards 2014 Awards

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zemymoon-blog · 8 years ago

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Sailor Moon: The Viz Dub - Episode 1

I’m excited for this, you guys. I know I always say how stoked I am to watch the DiC/Cloverway dub because it’s notoriously bad and all, but there’s a part of me that’s hoping the Viz dub is going to be equally bad but for different reasons: I feel like the harder you try to repair something like this and make it not terrible, the unintentionally worse it ends up being. It’s like how Hollywood keeps trying to redeem the DC Universe but they just keep making it worse.

I’ve also never seen a complete dubbed episode of Sailor Moon before. I don’t know if I can handle hearing anyone but Kotono Mitsuishi speak whenever Usagi opens her mouth, so this will be interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind dubbed anime, I just know about this particular show’s reputation when it comes to American adaptations, and I know that it usually involves a lot of people groaning and saying “Just watch the Japanese version”.

Anyway, here we go! “Moonlight Densetsu”, it’s been too long. I haven’t touched the original anime in ages, honestly. I have to say, I kinda missed it!

A voice-over narration is telling me that the name of this episode is “The Crybaby: Usagi’s Beautiful Transformation”, which is not the usual translation of this episode’s title that I’m familiar with, but okay.

From what I remember about the title cards, it’s always Usagi reading the episode title, so I’m going to assume this is Usagi’s dub voice I’m hearing. So she’s not as high-pitched as Kotono Mitsuishi, but then again, who is?

We open on the ever-classic shot of Usagi oversleeping, and immediately we get this gem: “Hi, I’m Usagi Dzoo-kino.”

Excuse me? What the hell did she just say? Usagi Zucchini? Usagi Digiorno? Is Viz retconning Usagi’s name because she eats a lot? I would have gone with Usagi Tortellini personally, but that’s just me.

Ikuko Linguine barks at Usagi to get up and the stereotypical “oh no, I’m late for school!” scene from every anime ever commences, sans toast-in-mouth. Ikuko tells Usagi not to forget her lunch, cueing the dorkiest “thanks, Mom” I’ve ever heard in my life. I’m starting to feel like maybe Viz took the whole “Usagi is clumsy and a dweeb” thing a little too far when voice directing. Isn’t Usagi supposed to be immature but still cute? She’s kinda giving me Kimmie Gibbler vibes here, and not in a good way.

So Usagi books it down the sidewalk and comes across a bunch of shitty kids kicking a cat. Animal abuse aside, why are these kids not in school? Where are their parents?

After chasing them off, Usagi peels a Band-Aid off of the cat’s forehead and somehow it doesn’t rip a bunch of fur off along with it. If this show wasn’t already unrealistic enough, the cat just sits there and lets her peel the Band-Aid off. Usagi chooses to be weirded out by the cat’s crescent moon-shaped mark on its forehead rather than the fact that this is the most passive cat that has ever existed. Seriously, it doesn’t claw her eyes out or anything!

So the cat does a sick backflip and then Usagi runs off to school, loudly wailing and ruining her vocal chords along the way. Her teacher, who also cannot pronounce “Tsukino” correctly, makes Usagi stand outside in the hallway.

I’m going to pause here for a moment so that I can bring up how much I love how stubby Usagi is in the first season. Remember how she looked in Stars? She was like 7 feet tall! Being a Sailor Senshi must provide an excellent source of vitamins and minerals because everyone else gets tall as hell, too. Shit, even Chibi-Usa is WNBA material by the end of SuperS.

Anyway, Usagi stands out in the hallway and her teacher, Haruna, comes out to scold her, and for a brief moment she almost has a Brooklyn accent, which got me super excited because I know Naru in the old dub had a similar accent and I find unnecessary obnoxious accents hilarious and wonderful. Haruna gives Usagi shit for failing a test, which is big talk coming from someone who is leaving their entire class unsupervised so that they can go yell at a 14-year-old for not understanding their schoolwork. Stay in your lane, Haruna.

Naru and Usagi are talking outside when suddenly Umino shows up and HIS VOICE IS SO BAD, YOU GUYS. Like, way worse than I ever could have imagined. It’s really terrible. I can’t even describe it in words. Usagi is so uncomfortable with Umino’s voice that she becomes even more stubby. Naru’s voice is surprisingly bland, which I guess is preferable to “awful”. Maybe it’ll grow on me in time. I hope so, because Naru is the best character in the show (after Usagi’s dad, a.k.a. Yung T$ukino).

Naru brings up Sailor V and Viz had the audacity to replace the classic “SAI - LOR - V” sound bite with what I assume is Sailor V yelling her own name really awkwardly. Did that really need to be dubbed over? It wasn’t even in Japanese.

Speaking of which, why won’t Toei just suck it up and animate Codename: Sailor V already? It’s the perfect story length to be an OVA.

So Usagi pretends not to know who Sailor V is, which I have a hard time accepting because Usagi’s entire life revolves around video games, television, and comic books, and Sailor V is supposedly a hot media franchise in the Sailor Moon universe. There is no way Usagi hasn’t heard of Sailor V before. Even Umino has heard of Sailor V, and Umino doesn’t come across as the type of person who would keep up with media celebrities.

Naru immediately begins sympathizing with some jewel thieves that Sailor V caught because apparently “jewelry is just so beautiful, I can totally understand why someone would want to steal some of it”. Doesn’t your mom own a jewelry store? Don’t you see and handle jewelry basically every day? You’d think someone who is around something all the time would be unfazed by it, and aside from that, wouldn’t someone whose family relies on their jewelry store’s business to survive be a little less sympathetic towards jewel thieves? Whatever Naru.

That high-pitched, early 90′s, “dungeon-level-from-a-SNES-RPG” music is playing to signify the scene switch to the Dark Kingdom, and I’m honestly terrified of what Beryl is going to sound like.

Queen Beryl asks if anyone has found the Silver Crystal yet and I’m relieved to say that her voice is actually pretty decent! On the other hand, the group of monsters responding “No!” is hilarious and awful.

Jadeite shows up and just sounds absolutely aroused at the very thought of being an evil villain. His voice is dripping with uncontrollable lust as he explains that his monster, Morga, is busy collecting human energy, which is a thing evil villains do, because of reasons.

Suddenly the scene changes to Naru’s mother’s jewelry store, which is packed full of people taking advantage of their big sale. I bet I can guess where the human energy is gonna come from!

Enter Usagi and Naru, who are both a little weirded out that Naru’s mom is way too into selling off all this jewelry. Naru’s voice is starting to feel a little too mature for her character in my opinion, though at least she’s actually attempting to voice act, unlike Usagi, who sounds like she is just now reading her script for the first time. You remember in school when you had to read in front of the class and whenever you had to read a character’s dialogue you would put the tiniest bit of effort into sounding like a person emoting, but not too much, and still ultimately sounded like someone who’s just reading text out loud? That’s what Usagi sounds like through this whole episode.

Predictably, Naru’s mom is revealed to the audience as Morga pretty much immediately.

And then she says it. She actually says it. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, but these words really come out of her mouth, straight out of a 12-year-old’s fanfic:

“Foolish humans.”

She really says that! And then she mentions a “great ruler”, which I assume is supposed to be Metalia, but the way she says it sounds like she’s in a cult or lives under a dictatorship or something, and it just sounds really awkward.

The jewelry starts sucking all the energy out of the women in the jewelry store, and I have to wonder, if the Dark Kingdom really wanted all this energy from all these people, why wouldn’t they just have Morga give the jewelry away for free? It seems like it’d be more effective, because I’m sure not every visit to this store results in a sale. This leads me to believe that Morga’s actually in it for the financial gain. Morga knows she could just give it all away, but she also knows that she can still make a hefty financial profit from marking down prices due to the larger influx of customers than usual, and with the extra money they’re making from the sale, the Dark Kingdom can start investing in stocks and bonds, and maybe someday they’ll be able to afford to not live in a cave, or at least have some plush carpet put down to brighten up the room, or something.

Naru gets her mom’s attention and suddenly Morga remembers that she should probably stop smirking and saying “foolish humans” in public, and she puts the “normal human woman” act back on. She offers Usagi a big discount on a diamond ring since she’s Naru’s friend, and then Usagi is promptly flattened by a stampede of sale-obsessed shoppers who are continuing to handle and try on expensive jewelry completely unsupervised in a very large store that has no visible security guards, metal detectors, or other employees. See, this is why jewelry stores get robbed in this town! Where’s Sailor V when you need her?

Usagi laments that although she’s pretty spoiled, she’s not that spoiled, and her dad, Big Money Kenji, will never agree to buy her expensive jewelry after the bad grade she got on her test. That’s okay, maybe he’ll buy you an iPad, or a better voice actress. Frustrated, she leaves the store and chucks her balled-up test at a random passerby’s head.

The passerby is understandably annoyed at having garbage pelted at him and calls Usagi “bun-head” in a way that for some reason sounds like he’s implying her head looks like a butt. Well, I mean, it kinda does, from the back. If that wasn’t brutal enough, he un-balls her test and immediately starts making fun of her shitty score and comes dangerously close to blatantly calling her a dumb-ass.

Usagi takes her test back and tells the guy he needs to mind his own business, which, quite frankly, I agree with. What kind of 35-year-old man ridicules a preteen for their test scores? Usagi proceeds to stomp away and says, verbatim, “stupid jerk and his purple pleated pants”, which is the funniest thing I’ve heard all night. She almost sounds offended that he’s wearing purple pleated pants, as if that’s the most problematic aspect of her interaction with him just now.

Usagi looks back at Purple Pleated Pants guy, or PPP, and sees that he’s checking out the jewelry store. I also can’t help but notice that suddenly the entire 50-person crowd that was outside the store 2 minutes ago has vanished. I also can’t help but notice that under any other circumstances, a guy wearing dark sunglasses and scouting a jewelry store in a town that is known for jewelry store robberies would be suspicious, but this guy didn’t smirk and say “foolish humans” to himself while menacing music played in the background, so I guess he can’t be all bad.

Usagi passes Game Center Crown, the local arcade, and notices this poster in the window, which I absolutely love. I wish there was a real-life reproduction of this poster for sale somewhere. I would buy it in a heartbeat. Just look at it! It’s got everything: an anime schoolgirl superhero, random mobsters with laser guns, Space Invaders aliens exploding out of the corner, and a minty green backdrop that just screams “early 90′s bathroom”. I’m a little uncomfortable with the guy inside the arcade, though. Not the guy playing the game, but the guy behind the counter. Who the hell is that?

Seriously, am I the only one creeped out by this dude?! He reminds me of the bartender from The Shining.

After whining about how jealous she is that she doesn’t get to live the high-activity, high-responsibility lifestyle that comes with being a crime fighter, Usagi heads home, but not before she’s spotted by that cat from earlier who apparently has the ability to speak, although not well enough to pronounce “Tsukino” correctly. This cat is relieved to see Usagi, which makes her the only character so far who views Usagi with any emotion besides contempt.

Commercial break!

I wonder if they’ll keep the--no, they dubbed over it. And boy, does it sound awful.

Over at Usagi’s house, which for some reason looks like a Renoir painting (check out Based Kenji’s purple pimpmobile!), Ikuko Frappuccino greets Usagi at the door and asks what grade she got on her test as if she expects anything other than an F. Ikuko seems legitimately surprised and angry that Usagi got a 30, but I mean, surely this can’t be the first time Usagi brought home a low test score. She’s also chronically late for school, forgets her lunch, and easily distracted. Instead of having Usagi tested for potential ADHD, Ikuko makes the rational decision of kicking her middle school-aged daughter out of the house. Usagi cries and bangs on the door to be let back inside, but then Shingo just walks right up to the door and opens it, so the problem isn’t that Ikuko locked the door, the problem is that Usagi is too stupid to use the doorknob and Ikuko knows this. Usagi decides to roundhouse kick the door like a caveman and instantly shatters her kneecap.

And man, Shingo has a shockingly deep voice! His voice is deeper than Jadeite’s, even! And he talks like a TOTALLY COOL DUDE while mocking Usagi and almost sounds like Sonic the Hedgehog while doing it. What the hell kind of 10 year old boy sounds like that?!

Back at the jewelry store, the shoppers continue to have their energy drained away by the jewelry they’re wearing, and...hey, that fat woman was there earlier, too! Damn, lady! You’ve been there all day! Don’t you have other places to be?

Bargain hunters start dropping left and right, and if the spooky purple tint over the store isn’t indication enough that something nefarious is going down, Naru’s mom finally reveals herself to Naru as a monster! Her “evil” laugh is really bad.

Logically, it seems like Sailor V should be around for this sort of thing, but she’s nowhere to be seen. Where is she? She was apparently on the scene recently for that other jewelry store robbery, but today when an actual monster appears, she’s just completely AWOL. Is “actual monster” just where Sailor V draws the line? Honestly, I can’t say I blame her. The monster even has its own Psycho violin screech!

Back at Usagi’s place, Usagi flops around on her bed while talking to herself about how exhausting it is to be bratty and spoiled. I guess the cops finally showed up and made Ikuko Rigatoni bring her pet howler monkey inside. Predictably, Usagi decides against doing her homework and takes a nap instead.

But then the window opens!

I dunno, man...With all these jewelry store heists and robberies going on in this town lately, I’d keep my doors and windows locked at all times.

But as it turns out, the intruder is even worse than a robber. It’s a cat. And it talks.

Usagi seems surprised that “the cat with the bald spot” is in her room, and her voice actress really over-acts while attempting to sound...I dunno...dismayed? Shocked? Upset? Hungry?

The cat is quick to correct Usagi in that it’s not a bald spot, which sounds like something someone with a bald spot would say. She introduces herself as Luna and thanks Usagi for removing the Band-Aid earlier, but Usagi’s not having it and goes back to sleep. Like any spoiled brat, Usagi remains unresponsive until Luna appeases her with material goods. Luna literally backflips into the air and farts out a shiny piece of jewelry, and somehow this is enough to make Usagi suddenly trust this talking cat entirely.

You know who else is very forthcoming with enchanted jewelry? The Dark Kingdom.

Luna tries to explain to Usagi that some bad shit is going down in Tokyo lately, but Usagi just ignores her and admires herself and her new shiny trinket in the mirror. Then Luna calls her a “guardian” and I just...Ugh. “Guardian” is such an awkward translation and I hate it. When did everyone decide to start using it instead of “soldier”? I even would have taken an untranslated “senshi” instead of “guardian”. Maybe I’m just picky. Anyway, Luna explains to Usagi that she needs to find the other “guardians” and also their princess, and Usagi is surprisingly accepting of this new information compared to how accepting she was of a talking cat 30 seconds ago, which was “not very”.

Luna continues to lecture Usagi and then...Wait a minute! There’s a Sailor V book right on Usagi’s dresser!

Look, see? It’s right there! I knew Usagi was full of shit! She’s known about Sailor V this entire time!

Anyway, Luna tells Usagi to say “Moon Prism Power, Make Up”, which she does, triggering the first of many, many, many transformation sequences throughout this show. Sailor Moon immediately freaks out about having transformed, even though she seemed super stoked about it before she did it. What is there to even be upset about? You even got your own theme music, which is more than you can say about any of the other Sailor Senshi this season. Her voice actress rather unconvincingly yells and whines during a scene where her character is meant to sound confused and upset.

Sailor Moon’s Stranger Danger™ hair bun shields start flashing and she can hear Naru crying out for help, and I just realized that she never, ever seems to have this ability ever again for the rest of the show. Were they just one-use-only, or what? Is that why Luna ends up giving her a communicator device later on? Sailor Moon seems strangely calm about the fact that Naru sounds like she’s in grave danger, and Luna tells her that it’s her duty to go save her friend. Wouldn’t it normally be Sailor V’s duty to fight bad guys, or has Luna just given up on Sailor V doing her damn job?

Across town, Naru is actively being strangled by her mom, because we all know best friends like to get competitive, and Naru is trying to one-up Usagi on who has the worse mom.

Except it’s not really her mom, it’s a monster! A monster with incredible business sense!

Morga’s exact words after this are “I’ve locked your mother up in the basement, and after I’m done killing you...I’m gonna kill her too? And then send the both of you! To the world of the dead!” and it’s delivered so poorly I had to pause the video until I could stop laughing.

But just when all seems lost for Naru, Sailor Moon arrives on the scene!

Sailor Moon introduces herself as a “pretty guardian”, showing unwarranted confidence for someone who makes bad grades and has a head that looks like a butt. Morga responds with, “Are those stupid catchphrases supposed to scare me?” which is something I’ve always wanted a monster in this show to say, but the fact that it’s a dubbed-in line and not part of the original dialogue somehow makes it a little less satisfying.

Morga awakens the zombified customers and they all start attacking Sailor Moon, including Big Mama who is still rocking those emerald earrings. Sailor Moon suddenly realizes that being a crime fighter involves fighting, and she starts to panic, knowing that the only thing she’s ever destroyed was an entire cheesecake in one sitting. Then this one lady comes at her with a broken bottle, like it’s a bar fight! Holy shit!

Luna expresses dismay that Sailor Moon isn’t fighting back, but it’s not like you bothered to teach Sailor Moon any of her attacks, so this is partially your fault too, Luna. Sailor Moon starts crying, sorta, though she mostly just sounds tired.

But then out of nowhere, someone throws a rose at the ground like a dart! I guess this is enough to placate the monster, because it stops trying to kill Sailor Moon.

The source of the rose dart introduces himself as Tuxedo Mask and, in the same breath, tells Sailor Moon that crying isn’t going to solve any of her problems. This immediately turns out to be false, because Sailor Moon starts to cry even more and somehow her Stranger Danger™ hair bun shields amplify her bad voice acting into 100% WEAPONIZED WHINING.

Somehow this causes the army of bargain-hunting zombies to faint, and I guess the one-use-only rule applies to this hair bun power as well, because this is the only time I remember it happening.

Luna finally tells Sailor Moon to throw her tiara and say “Moon Tiara Action”, and sounds surprisingly pissed while doing so! Damn, Luna, what’s gotten into you? The animation sequence for Moon Tiara Action starts and...am I crazy, or is the background for this sequence not usually green? Usagi Fettuccine throws her tiara like a hot pizza pie (a joke that is going to come back and bite me when she actually does throw a pizza in Stars) and hits Morga with it, turning her into dust.

Can I just comment on how huge Naru’s mom’s jewelry store is? Naru’s family must be loaded! Jadeite, who I assume is supposed to be hanging out in the Dark Kingdom instead of actually helping Morga, curses the Youma of Wall Street for failing him. To be fair, she was doing a pretty good job of collecting energy (and money!) until Sailor Moon showed up, and this is literally the first time Sailor Moon has ever appeared anywhere, so how could Morga have predicted that would even happen? Morga’s not really to blame here. If you were so worried about her safety and success, why didn’t you send a couple more monsters to act as backup? I blame Jadeite for this one.

Tuxedo Mask congratulates Sailor Moon on a job well done and tells her he won’t forget what happened here tonight in a tone of voice that sounds really creepy. Instead of immediately calling the police, Sailor Moon decides she’s in love with him, and hearts fly out of her eyes. Wait, what’s the appeal here? You could barely see his face, and he didn’t even do anything aside from throw a rose at the ground. He didn’t even participate in fighting the monster. He literally just showed up in his Abraham Lincoln hat, gave some bad advice, and then jumped out a window. Whatever floats your boat, Usagi.

The next day at school, Naru (who suddenly sounds 20 years older) gushes about the cool dream she had last night: a superhero named Sailor Moon showed up and saved her from a monster! Two other nameless girls apparently had the exact same dream, but I have to wonder...If all of these girls were at the jewelry store last night when Sailor Moon fought the monster, wouldn’t they have been passed out by then? Did they somehow retain some level of consciousness while physically comatose? Not gonna lie, that’s pretty horrifying. Naru tries to get Usagi’s attention, but she’s just so incredibly tired! “Nighty night.” Ah, classic Usagi. Roll credits!

I don’t know, you guys. I was hoping this new dub would be really bad, and it was, but aside from a couple moments here and there, it wasn’t bad enough to be funny. It was just kind of boring. Somehow the stilted voice acting of the protagonist and the strangely-casted voices of a couple major characters just made the entire episode feel really plastic and hollow. All of the charm of the original was lost behind a constant need to talk really slowly/loudly or just howl uncontrollably, and half of the characters just sounded like they were reading off of cue cards. I mean, from an objective standpoint, it’s a better dub than the DiC adaptation from the 90′s, but it’s also a lot less entertaining. I think Queen Beryl’s voice was the only one I actually liked immediately.

So, there you have it! That’s Episode 1 of Sailor Moon with the Viz-dubbed English audio enabled. As bland as the first episode was, I still have high expectations for later episodes when the show has more characters. Hopefully the other Sailor Senshi will sound at least half competent and will drown out the sound of Usagi enough that it’ll actually be a watchable dub. Or maybe it’ll just sound even worse, and it’ll be awful enough that I’ll find it funny. Who knows? Either way, here’s hoping Episode 2 has more to talk about.

Until next time, pasta fans.

#sailor moon #bishoujo senshi sailor moon #season 1

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i-am-the-entertainer · 8 years ago

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An Attempt At A Comprehensive Review of RWBY Volume 4

I did a couple of posts reacting to RWBY4 as it was coming out, which you can find in the rwby4 tag on my own page. But I figured now that it’s been a few weeks I can write a more comprehensive review.

FULL SPOILERS FOR RWBY VOLUME 4. And sorry this is long.

First thought: IT WAS SLOW AS FUCK.

I mean sweet jesus, that dragged. If I were to think of the whole volume as one long movie, I could count a full hour of content going by without a single fight going on. Which, I mean, you can get away with in a full-length movie, but with a show like RWBY, which was co-created by a guy known for his fight animation, that comes out in 20 minutes spurs every week? That’s really, really bad. I mean, I guess they sort of got away with it in past volumes (not really though), but that’s mainly because the episodes were a lot shorter. And the World of Remnants coming out at seemingly random points made it all the more worse. I mean, I sat down and watched the whole thing through recently, episode by episode, and honestly it was alright. But watching it in process? That was torture. Plus it didn’t feel like the more interesting arcs going on were getting enough development time.

Second thought: Pretty good world building

Okay, slowness aside, for me the World of Remnants painted a fascinating picture of...well, of the world of Remnant. A lot of thought was definitely put into the mechanics, and Vic’s voiceover as Qrow getting increasingly drunk made them all the more entertaining. But again, I’d prefer it if they came out concurrently with the episodes rather than in place of an episode. As some have noted, that doesn’t build hype, it pisses you off.

Third thought: Meh Fight Choreography

RWBY’s was interesting to me in the first place because of the fight choreo, though I stuck around because I wanted to see what happened with the characters. Since we don’t have Monty and Shane on hand anymore to animate RWBY, their animation which to some extent was RWBY’s signature is gone. Of the fights in RWBY4, I felt that only two felt like something resembling Monty or Shane’s work––the character short and Qrow v. Tyrian, though both of these fell flat.

Fourth thought: Animation style and design was beautiful

Barring the snore-worthy fight choreography, the switch to Maya this season definitely improved the quality of animation drastically. The animation in Volume 1 was deplorable, the animation in Volume 2 was better but still kind of lacking, Volume 3 was an improvement but they could still have done better. With Volume 4 the design elements were done really well, and in the Maya engine they came out in ways I don’t think Poser could have achieved.

The Grimm this year were especially terrifying. I loved the added touch of the black smoke they emitted, and the Nuckelavee Grimm was pretty cool.

But again, I think there’s a problem when you at first have good fight choreography and poor animation, and later have good animation but poor fight choreography.

Fifth thought: Too Many Plotlines

Six different stories and about 3 hours to tell them? Really, really bad idea.

This is something you do in a show like Game of Thrones. I get that RT Animation is fairly small, but if you’re gonna have this many plotlines you need much, much longer episodes, at least 30 minutes per chapter I reckon. But 10-20 minutes means a plot that starts one episode doesn’t pop up again until almost a month later, by which point you’ve forgotten about them or ceased to care.

Sixth thought: Underdeveloped Plotlines

I would call this a side effect of the previous one. I think the first...three or so?...episodes introduced quite a few compelling plotlines (at least to me). Cinder’s recovery following the number Ruby did to her at Beacon, Yang learning to live without her arm, Blake running away from her problems, Weiss dealing with her parents, Oscar.

But as the season dragged (and boy did it drag) a lot of these plot points were seemingly dropped or at most didn’t serve as much importance as the first few eps implied. For example, I thought they would have more about Cinder’s recovery or how the team was dealing with Pyrrha’s death, but most of it only appeared in a few eps and would be brought up––sometimes randomly––several episodes later. Yang’s arc felt especially truncated––the prominence in the opening made it seem like it would be a major point this year, but they had only two episodes of her dealing with PTSD, and all of sudden she has the arm and is all better. I mean, I liked what little I saw, but I really really wish they’d shown more. If you’re gonna take on a topic like that you need time to show it, and the way this season was set up there wasn’t enough time.

The thing is, the way this year went you can sort of tell when Miles and Kerry went, “Oh crap, we went in over our heads.” I think it was around episode 4, when we had a World of Remnant, a RWBY episode, then another World of Remnant, which I think is the first time a WoR has appeared so soon after a previous one. To me that inconsistency signals a point where the team realized they were nearing the halfway point and the plot wasn’t going fast enough.

That’s a failure of the production structure: if you’re gonna take the show to an epic scale like this, you need to have everything ready before the first episode, or at least somewhere in advance. RWBY is largely produced as it’s being released, and the result is they don’t have enough time to review everything and realize when something’s not working. If Rooster Teeth Animation doesn’t have the capabilities or the time to take a plot to its full potential, that plot needs to be dropped.

The only really good plot this year I thought was Weiss’s arc. Well-written, good performances by the voice actors (more on that later), and fairly well-developed. But it was stretched out over a long period of time, so in retrospect that made it a little difficult to follow.

Seventh thought: Voice Acting Was Great

Maybe it’s experience or the fact they hired more professionals, but the voice acting this year was really good. All four of the Team RWBY voice actors were great, but I’m singling out Barbara Dunkelman and Kara Eberle for best performances, as I think their arcs provided the best range of emotion for them to portray; this especially shows in comparison to their performances in the first volume, which I rewatched back in December while this season was in full swing. I think ultimately though Yang’s plotline was too truncated for us to see how much Barb has improved since 2013. Kara, after portraying Weiss’s icy personality in the first few volumes, really showed a surprising range of emotion for Weiss’s realization of just how vain her family and acquaintances are.

The real MVP of this season was Neath Oum. He’s by no means a professional voice actor, but knowing he took on the character in honor of his younger brother and the surprisingly substantial role Ren and Nora served this year, he honestly killed it.

Minor thoughts

The best moment I thought this season was Qrow and Raven’s discussion in Higanbana in “Chapter 4: Family.” Great voicework from Vic Mignogna and Anna Hullum, well-written dialogue, good camera angles, and an interesting way of developing the plot. Only problem is it was a few minutes in an early episode, and the discussion was never brought up again––hopefully next year?

The best episode was “Chapter 10: Kuroyuri.” I thought the voiceover work for young Ren was kind of eh, but I liked that we got more of Ren and Nora’s tragic backstory, which was only alluded to in the first few volumes. We get a glimpse of Ren’s semblance and the start of their friendship, plus a genuine glimpse at what kind of enemy the Nuckelavee is. But I think it happened too late in the season––at that point I was just too invested in what would happen to the other characters to really want a flashback episode. The stakes needed to be raised earlier, and though we got hints at the Nuckelavee in Chapter 2, there wasn’t enough in the rest of the episodes to make us aware how big of an enemy it was.

Moving on/Too Long; Didn’t Read

As a general assessment, this season had vast improvements from previous seasons, but overall the result was a disappointment. Too much going on with too little time to tell it. Moving forward I think RT’s best decision is best case scenario make longer episodes, worst case make more episodes. I suppose a better in-between ground is reuniting Team RWBY, but at this point that’s probably not gonna happen until the end of Volume 5.I was, again, disappointed, but I was invested enough in the characters that I want to see what happens to them next year...this September...whenever the hell they start up. So for now I say goodbye to RWBY proper, and look forward to whatever ridiculousness they bring to RWBY Chibi this year.

#rwby #rwby4 #rwby volume 4 #minor rwde

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