#which is a weird thing to say considering the misery i'm writing but i've just loved vtm for nearly 20 years now so i'm indulging in that

[sisterdivinium]

I hadn't sat down to rewatch s2 in a while and now that I'm doing it (for pure entertainment purposes but also for ref for a fic I'm not even working on yet as I have been run down by the VtM doctor superion AU after writing the gen VtM WN AU ahem) I'm kind of amazed at how the feelings are all still there. The excitement, the laughter, the hatred I have for Vincent...

Ah, this show. There is nothing like it.

[some-pers0n]

hi hey just wanna let u know that i (this anon in particular) would always want to listen to your thoughts about The Thing youre excited about regardless of the reason or my knowledge or the time-space continuum!

YOU! Ohhh anon you poor soul. I'm terribly sorry. I have been holding onto this ask for a while, at least until the next time I felt as Energized about Them again. Shaking. Twitching. I don't quite know how to explain it. I can only take potshots at attempting to rationalize my thoughts behind them. With that said, here's more rambling about Engiemedic, the only thing I seem to care about

I've rambled about Engiemedic a fair amount of times before, either jokingly with goofy remarks about them or writing a giantass fic about them. They scratch a certain part of my brain that is difficult to really describe and pin-down.

Like I've never really "shipped" anybody before them. Did I like ships? Yeah sure of course. I've always liked considering relationships and thinking about how they intersect and are written. It's probably definitely the aroace bit of me talking, but I only really get involved in ships when there's really some substance to them.

It makes Engiemedic this weird fucked up anomaly to me then because what the hell do you mean that this decently popular non-canon pairing that's had all of like 30 seconds of shared screentime and maybe seven panels where they're in the same room at max has become so engrossing and fascinating to me. It's not like the usual ships where this happens to people; the ones with lengthy tragic tales tied to them or spend so much time with one another. It's just two silly guys

It just...perplexes me. It's odd. I can't describe what about it really draws me in, despite the fact I've written so much. I can at least try and figure out what it is though

I think the thing that made me first interested was simply the dynamic and jokes to be made. They are exceptionally silly, wherein I can fully believe them sticking together and doing weird experiments for hours upon hours. It's hard not to imagine them getting excited over whatever project they've been throwing themselves at. It's fun

Because ultimately both Engie and Medic are both unethical murderous science people, Medic obviously while Engie is a tiny bit more subtle. Their dynamic is interesting in that regard 'cause, when paired together, now you've got two weirdo freaky smart people tossing back ideas and before you know it now they're trying to create some sort of nuclear-powered contraption that explodes bones

It calls out to me in a way that other ships don't, especially Heavymedic. No shade to Heavymedic shippers out there, I think it's still a fun ship, but I don't find it as compelling with their dynamic. Heavy is a reasonable and level-headed guy. Yeah he kills people and laughs about their misery and whatever, but he's more stable than most other mercs. If Medic was to say "I want to self-isolate for days on end while I work to create the bubonic plague 2.0" Heavy would have concerns and try to stop him from doing it because What the Hell

Engie, however, would endorse it. I think Engie and Medic are very similar in that regard. They're dedicated to their crafts and understand the nuance and skill that it takes to partake in it. Engie obviously still has qualms and is there in case Medic clearly ain't right, but he's more likely to get caught up in whatever experiment that Medic is trying to do

Which brings me to my next point: the way they influence each other. When together, I think they are at their best and worst (morally at least). It's like that trope with two smart people coming together and being dumbasses, but instead it's with them making weird creations and doing odd experiments that ultimately do not benefit anyone. They simply do it for fun

On a more personal level, I think Medic draws out the parts of Engie where he tries to hide and represses. Headcanons, obviously, but I think Medic taps into Engie's more sinister nature as a maniac with a god complex and a hankering to kill and really draws it out. It's infectious and hard not to try and match his energy. Medic makes Engie want to get more creative with his projects and drives him to be more experimental and, of course, murderous

Likewise and, again, mainly headcanons, I think Engie helps Medic tap into a slightly more "human" side. I think Medic generally struggles with caring about other people, discarding them in favour of working on his own projects and being by himself. Engie is one of the first people he's encountered that not only likes him and enjoys his company, but is just as wacky and weird as he is. Engie is more charismatic and outgoing and, while still not too terribly great with the whole emotions thing, helps Medic out in case he's Not Doing Good

Their personalities intertwine so much they make me ever so slightly ill. They don't seem alike really at first glance. Medic is over the top, eccentric, and generally a giggly mad scientist. Clear to see the archetype he's based on. Yet, when you look past Engie's charming little quips about Texas, he's very much alike Medic. He has a god complex, is highly intelligent, morally bankrupt, etc and etc. He's just as eccentric and wacky as the doc is, but is only slightly better at keeping it under wraps

I just think they're really entertaining when put together honestly. Sure yeah I love me my angsty and fluffy stuff with them, but I think they're simply great when just working on some project and talking to each other. Their personalities bounce off of one another exceptionally well and it's hard for them not to get so caught up in their work that Oh No it's been Four Days and they haven't left the workshop/laboratory

Ultimately, yeah. I think they care about each other a lot that way. Their work is...intimate in a way. They're lab partners. They spend all of this time together, defying God's will with whatever unholy machination they've crafted, they got to have some sort of bond

What makes me happy is that I think a lot of people really like the concept of Engiemedic in any form. Platonic, romantic, whatever. I personally go for QPR stuff (something about their love being undefinable by normal standards blah blah), but I think it's a neat observation that makes me like it more. It's hard to deny that they're really fun together

Speaking of their connections, let's talk about their roles in the actual game. Y'all heard of the Heavymedic duo, with Heavy running around with a Medic pocketing him the entire time, but have you ever considered the Engiemedic duo?? Engie and Medic are the BACKBONES of this game honestly. All it takes is one Engineer or Medic on a team to shift the balance entirely. Everyone wants a good Engie and Medic, but it's a hard role to fill and nobody really wants it. However, they're needed. They're necessary. They're the main support roles of the game than, say, Sniper or Spy ever are. They're the underappreciated, yet incredibly vital parts of the team.

Honestly the Engiemedic duo is far more prevalent and makes far more sense than the Heavymedic duo, because tbh you can say that Medic is closely connected to any class. Soldiermedic duo where Solly just spams rockets and wipes out the entire team. Demomedic duo where Demo just spams pipes and annihilates every building. What makes the Heavymedic duo any special? God I'm sorry for being a little Heavymedic hater, I promise I think the ship is alright, but idk. I like Engiemedic a lot

Anywho, I think Engiemedic is extremely fun to write about as well as just generally experience. There's so much you can apply to them. It's hard to think of anything they can't do, really. They're great with humor, what with shoving them into a room with some cadaver and letting them have at it. They're great with angst because, with headcanons, they can be really heavily fucked up people trying to make things work. They're great with fluff because they're so silly and it's easy to think of them doing cute things with one another. The list goes on!

They're...special to me. They're certainly something. I could go into all sorts of other things too (more esoteric and metaphoric I'm talking), but eh who cares. I don't like delving too much into headcanons and my own weird readings with these more generalized rambles. I just think they're silly :]

[mechanicalinertia]

STMPD Anti-Recommends Bubblegum Crisis Fanfiction: J. Austin Wilde's Farewell To Night City

Well! New year, new fanfic reviews. Just like I said a few days ago, I have no intention to stop doing this. Anyway, for the new year, let's get all philosophical and talk about a BGC fanfiction that isn't a BGC fanfiction: Farewell to Night City.

Here, by the way, is the author's page. There's a shit-ton of weird Ranma fic in there, most of which I have no intention of reading, because it looks too self-serious to be good Ranma fic. Seriously, what's with some of these people? Writing Ranma requires one to loosen up in every sense of the word.

Anyway...

Well, I wouldn't say I lied that we're going to review Farewell. But we're going to do some other things, too.

So let's get that out of the way: The corner of Megatokyo Priss lives in is called Ninsei, or Night City, which miiiight be a Gibson reference but is more likely a reference to Cyberpunk 2020.

Let that decision marinate a little, dear reader. What is Wilde trying to do here? Well, this:

Priss is hooked on super combat drugs, strung out, broke, and without the Knight Sabers, living in a shipping crate, needing rent soon before the couple next to her gets her little living space. She won't go to any of the other Sabers, she left her old band, and she's about to go back... and that's it. The fic ends. No Boomer stuff, no other characters besides a drug dealer with a racist accent, just a grumpy, edgy Priss. It's well-written, but you can tell that the author's trying to put Priss in the worst situation possible and then presumably make her even more miserable once the plot kicks off. It's grit for grit's sake, in other words.

Why this? Well, remember when I said that this wasn't really a BGC fanfiction? Here's the author's note:

"Despite its billing as "The Animated Cyberpunk Classic," I never saw much cyberpunk in "Bubble Gum Crisis." For me it was soon-to-be-standard Cute Girls In Mecha fare, with some mediochre J-Pop music, and a few obvious references (visual and otherwise) to the movie "Blade Runner" for color. It was enjoyable, but not what I consider cyberpunk."

"I've often thought about doing a BGC fanfic, and I decided that if I did one, I was going to write it in a truly cyberpunk vein. Something Gibson or Sterling would write. A story that was dirty and mean, about a cast of losers scraping by in an ugly world of fantastic wealth and hope pitted against grinding poverty and despair."

"Priss is, quite obviously, the central character of this tale for that reason. I know there's a general dearth of 'fics that focus on Linna, and I hope to address that issue in some small way in this story, but this is primarily about Priss and how she deals with her life in a post Episode #8 MegaTokyo."

"I know I'm going to piss off some of the core BGC fanfiction readers out there with this story. Maybe not with anything from this Chapter, but as you can see, I've just begun. Some of you will note that my characterization of Priss is closer to what Adam (love him or hate him) Warren did in his own BGC effort for Dark Horse Comics than the canonical Priss of the anime."

Wilde had not, of course, just begun. But the implications are clear, aren't they? Bubblegum Crisis simply wasn't cyberpunk enough for this author's tastes, and cyberpunk, to Wilde, meant misery, sleaze, dark and gritty alleyways in the slums of some megacity or another.

Which... okay, fine, Crisis doesn't really have that. And maybe it's okay to change that (see: Meat Jacket). On the other hand, in Crisis's case, rarely does an attempt to make the setting more miserable go well (see: Grand Mal, which has its moments of brilliance marred by that same frustrating edginess).

So... would this have been a good fanfiction had it been more than a sliver of a prologue? I somehow doubt it. It would have likely been a chance to make the Saber's crusade eternally hopeless, make GENOM unstoppable... and goodness gracious, we all know what I think of that.

I'm not really a big fan of this fic, or the ethos of What Cyberpunk Should Be that it encapsulates. In fact, I kind of want to push back on the conviction that cyberpunk is inherently nihilistic nastiness in the vein of street-level Cyberpunk 2020. Yes, that's right, because in Gibson's novels the good guys do often eke out a win against corporate megapower, and the world does change in new, invisible ways, so this conviction that 'this is how the masters do it' is a lie: Farewell is more Pondsmith than it is Sterling, and it would be nice if Wilde was a little more upfront about that.

It's okay to let the Sabers win, folks. If anything, the genre hybridization of cyberpunk, superheroes, and sentai-esque anime almost calls out for small victories, a sense that even if the world is miserable now it will be a little less miserable tomorrow. That's what Wilde is rejecting so violently in that author's note. That's why Farewell is a BGC fic that isn't a BGC fic.

That's why I reviewed it.

[kinetic-elaboration]

April 27: Daria Episode Recs

I saw the question again so I've been thinking about it: what would be good Daria episodes to use to introduce someone to the show? I've been pondering this since B said that he'd tried to watch it and couldn't get into it, not because I am going to try to convince him to--I feel like that's a jerk move and also sort of a waste of time--but because I get why he didn't get into it, and I think starting Esteemsters is not a great way to try. Because the thing is that it is a show about teenagers and high school and he is 34 years old. It's definitely possible to get into Daria as an adult; I know people did during its original run and probably still do now. But it's never going to weasel its way into your brain and permanently change your DNA if you watch it for the first time in your 30s, the way it did to me when I watched it for the first time at 13. I think in some ways I love Daria so much because it grew with me--which is to say that yes it is the sort of show that can do that, but one of the prerequisites for a growing-with experience is starting out with the media when you're not-grown. It's really impossible to say what I would think of the show if I'd watched it for the first time in my 30s or even my 20s.

Anyway, I think part of the issue with trying to get anyone into the show by just starting at 1x01 is that the early episodes, while they aren't bad, are much more one-note and simplistic than the later ones. The show at its best was so thoughtful, developed its characters so well, included so much nuance--but you're not going to see that in the first half of season 1, which is mostly just Nerd Fantasy: smart outcast makes fun of other people and comes up with various schemes to make herself the winner of all the weird and embarrassing situations she finds herself in as a high school student. I do like these episodes, I'm not trying to say I don't know, but they're not the strongest and they don't show off the diversity and intelligence of the show very well. I find them the least-rewatchable.

Not even I started watching at 1x01. I think the first episode I saw might have been Write Where It Hurts, which is the last episode of S2.

On the positive side, most of the episodes are sufficiently stand alone that you don't need to start at 1x01 to understand what's happening.

So--what would I recommend to someone who wants to give the show a try but doesn't want to commit to watching the whole thing, or even the whole first season, up front?

1x13 The Misery Chick: I think this episode is the closest this show comes to a thesis statement, and is one of the best episodes for 'decoding' Daria's character. It uses most of the main cast and shows off several different characters and dynamics. It includes a couple of different registers--the darkly comic, the serious, etc. And it's in S1 so it gives you a sense of the show's early era, while still being more complex than, say, College Bored. (Boxing Daria is the other episode I consider to be truly essential for understanding Daria as a character--but I cant recommend someone start at the finale lol.)

1x12: The Teachings of Don Jake: A good episode for Morgendorffer family dynamics but honestly I just consider this one such a Classic I have to include it. I think it also is a good test of whether or not this style of humor is for you.

2x05 That Was Then, This Is Dumb: I think this episode places the show pretty well in its cultural context: that Daria is the Gen X daughter of Hippie Parents (actually she's probably an older Millennial technically, but the show is very Gen X). Also, even though the Yaegers are mercilessly mocked by both the narrative and Daria, this is one of the episodes where she does question her assumptions and judgments ("People believed in stuff back then.")

2x13 Write Where It Hurts: Another episode that really goes into Daria's character and inner life. Also as I said I think this was my first episode, and it worked to get me interested in the rest of the show.

I think I would start with those. There are others that spotlight particular parts of the show, like particularly good Morgendorffer family episodes, or Jane episodes, or Lawndale High episodes, and so if I thought someone was showing an interest in some specific aspect I might have more recommendations. There are also some personal favorites, like Road Worrier or Lane Miserables, that I didn't include because I didn't think they were really representative of the show. And I don't think anyone should really start with anything in seasons 4 or 5. Those are too different, and I think they need to be appreciated in context. But if I were to rec from those seasons, I'd probably say Lucky Strike, which is one of my overall favorites, and maybe something like Psycho Therapy or Groped by an Angel for character-centric episodes that are still understandable as standalone episodes.