#day 5 is a reference to that part in s2 where he's just watching kids shows in the back

[krinklefry87]

more shizaya week yay

#drrr #durarara #izaya orihara #shizuo heiwajima #shizaya #shizayaweek2023 #without the color filter izaya's hair is purple cause his hair is purple coded to me #day 5 is a reference to that part in s2 where he's just watching kids shows in the back #i rarely draw characters kissing be nice to me #my art

[lost-walmartbag]

Stan x Reader S2 Pt 5

Warning: N/A

Background: Sarah and you have a conversation before bed

Status: Ongoing

Previous part

Next part

Do you?

"Where's Papa?"

You pause for a moment, looking down at Sarah's soft features. It had been a while since Kyle left without saying a word. You knew what he was doing of course but it didn't stop you from worrying. Stan was unpredictable sometimes. Not that he would ever hurt anyone, but you were worried he'd hurt himself.

"He's just making sure one of his friends is ok." Gently brushing a strand of her hair out of her face and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Adults do that a lot. Say something that's supposed to comfort, with little detail to shield their kids from the harsh truths of the world. And as you look down at Sarah you can tell it didn't work.

"He's ok I promise."

"He was really mad before...when that man was here."

Stan. Of course, she didn't know who Stan was but hearing her refer to him as only 'that man' killed you inside. What if that was you? You could only imagine the pain Stan would feel if he heard that. He was her father and yet here she was not even understanding who he was.

"That man was...he's a friend."

"Why were you yelling at him?"

"It's hard to explain, but I'm so sorry we scared you." You whispered, gently stroking her hair.

"Was he bad?"

"No honey he wasn't bad, he was just...angry." Maybe not the best choice of words but you knew they were the only ones Sarah would understand.

"At you?" She asked furrowing her brow. You knew she did this when she didn't fully understand something and as much as you didn't want to say it you knew she was old enough to know the truth.

"Yeah. At me." You whispered looking at the headboard behind her rather than her face. "Mommy...Mommy did something that hurt him and he didn't understand why."

"Why did you?"

Children were naturally curious. Asking you what the meaning of life was at least once a day was normal with Sarah and you loved that about her. Couldn't help but hate it now though.

"His name is Stan. He was friends with me and Papa Kyle when we were in high school."

"Before me." She said not as a question but as an observation. Sarah had an interesting way of understanding time. There was before her and then after her and that was all she knew.

"Yeah before you." You said gently shaking her leg. "Well, when we were friends...he did something. And it hurt a lot, and we stopped being friends."

"Did he mean to?"

"Hurt me? I don't think so, honey." And you meant it. Stand didn't leave to hurt you but that didn't stop it from hurting.

"Do you forgive him?" She asked, making you ponder on her question.

She was a smart kid. She understood a lot more than you ever did. You couldn't read people the way she read you.

"Yeah. I forgive him."

"Does he forgive you?"

Does he? Can he? You got to spend Sarah's entire life with her and all he got were an Instagram post and 4 seconds watching you comfort her. And it's your fault.

"I don't know, sweetheart. I want him to, but what Mommy did was bad, and if he can forgive me it'll take a long time."

"Like five days?"

"Maybe a little more than that."

"That's a lot." She said in a serious voice that made you chuckle.

"Ya it is, but sometimes it's ok to give people time."

"How much time would you need for me?" She whispered, looking up at you with those sparkling blue eyes she got from Stan.

She was so much like him. People wouldn't notice. Kyle didn't. But you did. You spent years hating him and then weeks loving him more than anything before he was nothing again. And every time you look into Sarah's eyes, kiss her soft face, watch her happily sing in the living room. It makes you fall in love with him all over again for giving you such a wonderful person.

"I wouldn't need any time for you. I could never feel anything but love for you." You whispered making her brow furrow again.

"You can love someone and not forgive them. I loved Papa Kyle even though he ate my cookie." She said with a small pout.

You loved Stan even after he left. Even after he broke you and left you to glue and tape yourself together again. But you didn't forgive him. You loved him even when you went through the pregnancy alone. And you love him even when you look down at your daughter indirectly telling you how much smarter she is.

"You're right. You can love someone and not forgive them."

"But you do."

"Yeah, I do forgive him."

"No. You love him?"

You pause before taking in the way Sarah looks at you. It is way past her bedtime. "Yeah, I do."

"Does he love you?"

"Who knows." You said softly before kissing her forehead. "I love you, sweetheart. Get some rest ok?"

"Night night Mommy." She whispered, with a small yawn.

"Goodnight my star."

A/N: Hey guys sorry I haven't been uploading it has been a long few weeks. I hope you enjoyed this chapter I still love ya'll thank you for reading 🩷🩷🩷

Taglist: @jessiegerl

#south park #south park x reader #fanfic #south park x you #x reader #stan marsh #stan marsh x reader #kyle broflovski

[cheesy09]

Hi!! I've had this question since a long time and i finally decided to ask it now that i found someone who looks like knows a lot abt Kiro haha. So, i've heard many players say that Kiro is autistic and always has been since his early age but where was that mentioned? It's so nice to finally see a thing that doesn't make autistic people stereotyped so i'm really interested as to how it was brought to players! Thank you for all the Kiro contents you post~

Hi Nony! Hope you're having a good day/evening wherever you are ~ヾ(・ω・)

Yes, Kiro was an autistic orphan when he was a child. You'll find it mentioned in his R&S: Top Experimental Subject!

There's actually a collection of Rumors and Secrets that never made it to the EN server, so not many people know about Kiro's past (I cry about that every single time T-T). The reason why they never showed up on the EN server is because there were some issues with the event on the CN server. But since the devs have recently revived it on the CN server, it should come to EN at some point (thank goodness)!

Aside from the Rumors and Secrets though, Lucien also hinted at it in S1 Chapter 5 (tho you probably wouldn't realize it unless you read the R&S first):

Kiro's what you would call a musical savant. Despite his autism, he had a great talent for music.

But Kiro didn't become just a musician. He became an actor as well. An entertainer.

Also, there's something very important that MC mentions here:

The reason why I say this is important is because Kiro is often referred to as "a child of the stars"; stars also being one of the main motifs of his character. And he is often alone - Loneliness being a strong theme with his character as well. One of his future S2 karmas is even titled "Lone Star". You'll know the meaning of that title once the Chapter comes out, don't worry (ಥ﹏ಥ)

Besides that, this chapter also plays a HUGE PART in Kiro's Astral Date - a date that has been released on the CN server and will come to EN in a few months. Which is why knowing Kiro's background is important, because otherwise the date won't hit as hard.

‼️SPOILERS BELOW‼️:

The Date starts off with Kiro and MC attending a charity concert held by Madam Seidel Eve (one of Kiro's benefactors) in France.

This concert was held for the benefit of the autistic children, especially those with a talent for music. And Kiro happened to be one of the sponsors for these children. The inspiration for the concert came from a program that Kiro himself developed for the sake of these children. (Though he never revealed the fact that he was the one who developed it to anyone other than MC).

Here's a snippet of the conversation that Kiro and MC have within the Date about the show that she made in S1 Chapter 6:

MC: I told you before, I once did a program about children with autism.

Kiro: Was it "Children of the Stars"? I've seen it.

Kiro: I think you did a very good job with that episode.

Kiro: Really. How should I put it... it just resonates very much.

Kiro: You did not sympathize and alienate them, but treated them as independent individuals to face and accept.

Kiro: As a viewer, I saw their shining points, not the pitiful side of them as autistic patients.

Kiro: That's great.

Kiro's tone was extremely sincere, as if... he had watched that episode many times.

This is just a small part of the conversation. In the date, Kiro and MC talk a lot more about this topic and how they want to help these children in whatever way they can. And you'll realize just how important and serious this is to Kiro from his expression, demeanor and tone of voice.

A little something he mentions when MC asks him about the autistic child he helped out earlier at the concert:

MC: Is your help to that kid today considered as a light projected for him?

Kiro: Maybe.

Kiro: But such little light is definitely not enough. People with autism need a lot of sunshine and a lot of love.

Kiro knows what he's talking about because he empathizes with those children. After all, he had been in their shoes once upon a time. And it's obvious how much of an impact his words have on MC seeing how determined she was to play a role in this after hearing these things from him.

I once mentioned before how Kiro inspires MC to become a light, and this is exactly how - By lighting the way for others.

Anyway, thank you for the ask, nony! It allowed me to ramble about Astral Date there for a bit. That date will forever remain one of the best Kiro dates ever released imo.

Also asdfghjkl thank you for reading my Kiro content posts! (/▿＼ ) Istg I'll never get tired of talking about this boy, ever.

#nony asks #cheesy replies #mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc kiro #i didn't expect this to turn into a ramble post when i first started writing it lmao im sorry nony

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

..."STAR-CROSSED LOVERS"??? YES.

Thank you so much @cheri-translates for translating Victor's SAND AND SEA DATE. You're an angel. 🥺🥺🥺

Now I'm gonna start blabbering since I've many feels about this date LOL~ 🙃

⚠️Warning: There are some spoilers regarding Victor storyline from the main story chapters that haven't been released in EN yet.

🌹

From "I won't save you a second time" [CH 1] to "I don’t need you to save me a second time." [The date in discussion]-- LOL as hilarious as this is, the irony.💯

Ngl this date felt like, the writers thinking since, under the context of the theme, the physical pain of time travel & crossing countless of dimensions & timelines is not possible-- let's just nearly kill him by spilling blood & dehydration but still we gotta nearly kill this man cause he wants to be in love.🙃

Idk why I'm getting so emotional LOL but there are so many call-backs I can remember on top of my head right now--

[The lines & moments from the date are indented & in bold letters.]

MC: "Victor, I’m helping you look for a water source. Let go!"

🌹 The sad broken cup scene from [CH 18-16], MC urging Victor to let go & him stubbornly refusing, until she gives in.

MC sacrificing herself to revive the river, part of it is to save Victor- other part of it is also for the greater good of the people in the city.

🌹 [CH 18-18] MC's monologue- "This time, put everything on my shoulder & let me be your hero one last time."

& sacrificing herself for the peace of the world even though it only made more chaos.

Victor releasing the hand that supported him at the edge & deciding to sacrifice himself with her. & the vow- "No matter what awaits you, I’ll be with you."

MC's monologue: "It turns out that no matter what the ending is, he’s willing to be with me."

[CH 18-28] Victor deciding to use the sundial watch one last time despite knowing that'd kill him for sure & might lead the world to perish as well. Dummy & Selfish in that moment. His final vow before MC disappeared, "No matter where you are, I'll always find you."

[CH 19-6 Dream World Victor route]

MC: "What if this really is a dream. Then what?"

Victor: "Then I'll turn it into reality."

[CH 25 phone call- In the Hospital]

"No matter what you are facing in other space-times...Wait for me."

[CH 36-10, after Victor returns from his 10K years time travel]

Victor: I thought you are never going to be afraid again?

His warm breath moistens my eyes. I inhale through my sore nose. Resisting the urge to bury my face in his chest, I look up, staring straight into his eyes-

MC: I will never be afraid again. Because you really came back. Victor is standing here before me like a treasure once lost and now found. What do I have to be afraid of?

Victor is stunned for a moment. The corners of his lips loosens a bit, while the contours of his face softened a lot. He raises his hand to wipe the wetness from the corner of my eyes.

Victor: It seems that this dummy has grown up a lot during this period. Listen carefully, I will never return to a world where you are not.

[CH 37 PV line]

"Whatever choice you make, I'll always be here."

[CH 37 karma by-line]

"I will accompany you on the road leading to the future."--

Basically the eternal insistence of him having an internal MC GPS tracker LOL ALWAYS being by her side.

Kidnapping incident.

🌹...[CH 30-7 to 30-10] Agio Street underground gambling den mission- wants to say a hello.🙋‍♀️

Abandoning the honor & glory of leading a comfortable life as a feudal lord to restore the river & to find the fateful couple, probably hoping to find his love too, but won't admit cause even if it's AU, he be like- "I'm still Victor" LOL

[CH 11 karma by-line]

"I won't let go of you & the world."

The physically-mentally painful exhausting wait & time travelling of 10K years, walking through endless dimensions & timelines, only to start from the very beginning every single time- hoping to find a way to save the world & protect the girl-- wants to say a hello too 🙋‍♀️

MC's monologue: Still, I want to have one more look at Victor… before leaving.

🌹 This specifically reminded me of a [CH 37-5 Victor split route] monologue from MC--

"It didn't matter what was waiting for me. I would face it with my head held high. Even so, I still wanted one last second...just one second. Let me call his name one more time...let me take a good look at him...just one last time..."

Victor: In that case, stay here. Stay by my side.

🌹 He has said the same sentence in different ways under various circumstances but one I can remember right now,

[CH 24-12 Black Cabin reunion]-- "But right now...Just stay by my side."

MC noting down how she always finds herself in his arms whenever she's fainting or getting in trouble. How Victor has been quietly taking care of her & protecting her. How the person before her walks in steady steps with forceful heartbeats.

When she was in her most depressing state [CH 18], he was there like the steady pillar of support, helping her in every way he could. He was pretty much the glue that kept her in one piece.

Again, in winter world, he stood by her side even as a stranger.

Not just these two incident, throughout the entire game, especially in the latter part of the story, they work together like partners, she learns to trust him with pretty much everything & they work through everything they can together.

Those few mentions in the date-- could be referred to how Victor has always been the constant source of warmth, encouragement, strength, support, protection in her life. No matter what world or when, he never really changes. He is still the same man. & His constant state IS choosing MC every single time.

Victor lies on the sand quietly, and it’s as though everything has returned to the beginning when we first met.

🌹 Indication towards how their storyline ALWAYS goes back to square one or comes in a full circle-- from Victor saving her from the car crash as a kid [& this being repeated many times afterwards, even in winter world], to the lightning incident [MC jumping in front of Victor both as a child & an adult], to both being in coma for week, staying in the hospital & taking care the entire time [MC in CH 11, Victor in CH 32], to stabbing each other countless times. [CH 18, CH 36-- & every other times Victor has seen those incidents happening before his eyes while time traveling.] *que tears*

🌹▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️🌹

I could possibly make a full blown essay which I already kinda have out of some other specific call-backs I can remember right now. Specifically the theme of the date being star-crossed lovers-

Legend tells of two lovers. Because of the pressures of their nations, they could not be together, and decided to drown themselves in a river for love.

Because of this, the River Goddess was enraged, and she cursed the land nourished by the river which was under her control. Since that day, the Socya River gradually dried up.

The Goddess left an exhortation-when the fateful couple reappears on this land, the river will be surge once again...

& This perfectly echoes the canon theme of Victor x MC storyline--

🌹 As in, Victor being someone who, objectively speaking, seemingly has everything & yet sacrificing practically everything--

[giving up over-seas university offers, staying in the city instead of moving abroad even though his business could be expanded more, relentless search of 17 years, appointing private detective for 6 years, building up Souvenir etc.]

--- to find MC & then in the mission of keeping her safe, even at the cost of his own existence. Trying everything beyond his limits to prevent the destined deaths of MC he has foreseen- from happening & it being doomed to no end every single time.

🌹 Every single time he had to give up the ONE thing he wanted to protect the most or wanted the most.

🌹 Both of them being so willing to put each other in the front line just to give each other happiness.

🌹 Another running theme of their storyline-- both of them keep losing each other countless times & then find each other again.

• Victor losing MC as a kid, finding her as an adult. Victor nearly losing her in CH 10.

• MC losing Victor due to the time rift in CH 14 & finding a way to contact each other through the sundial watch.

• Victor losing MC in CH 18 first-hand. MC leaving Victor behind in CH 19- dream world.

• CH 24 Black Cabin reunion & CH 27 OG timeline reunion

• MC nearly losing Victor in CH 32, due to him going to coma

• MC losing Victor in CH 34 due to Victor going on the time-travel journey of 10K years

• Final reunion in CH 36 [Then we have the journey to S2. But that's a whole new discussion.]

🌹So...both of them being able to truly be with each other is actually-- defying fate & writing their own destiny. *SOBS*

🌹I wanna end my blabbering with two precious moments from [CH 36- Victor split route] that echoes this theme even more.

MC: "I've always chased after your silhouette and I was never afraid. Because I know you'll always be there waiting for me. Victor, if you really disappear... I will be with you, and we will both be forgotten by the world."

MC's monologue: "Victor, once we have crossed countless dimensions and futures, and returned to each other’s embrace. If everything has to disappear with time, as dust into the wind... Then, I'm glad that we have our final promise."

[She's referring to the promise she made of being forgotten by the world to be with him & the promise Victor made earlier to never leave her again.]

#classic tragic love story at it's finest #yEs #mlqc victor #mldd victor #mr love victor #mlqc li zeyan #victor #li zeyan #mlqc zen #mlqc #mr love queen's choice #mlqc spoilers #mlqc cn

[artpastmidnight]

I posted 709 times in 2021

94 posts created (13%)

615 posts reblogged (87%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 6.5 posts.

I added 195 tags in 2021

#personal - 37 posts

#bucky barnes - 23 posts

#asexuality - 22 posts

#my art - 21 posts

#i came out to have a good time and i'm honestly feeling so attacked right now - 18 posts

#chronically ill artist - 18 posts

#mmm love it here - 16 posts

#art: the struggle is real - 15 posts

#trauma - 13 posts

#chronic pain - 12 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#ok but cellphone charms kinda come from the samurai putting 根付('netsuke'=charms) on their swords so this is actually recycling the trend!

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

i wish we could've watched The Falcon and Winter Soldier Finale in theaters because i KNOW the theater would've lost their shit the way we did when steve caught mjolnir when sam showed up as the NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA

What a great moment for Anthony Mackie,

I hope u heard us cheering, ✨KING✨

59 notes • Posted 2021-04-23 09:15:28 GMT

#4

does anybody else get their whole body sore the day after an extreme panic attack kinda like they have a fever, or is it just me?

65 notes • Posted 2021-07-05 02:15:28 GMT

#3

i watched the part in the mandalorian s2 where mando finally learned grogu’s name and he just keeps calling him and laughing softly to himself when grogu reacts and then gets so excited grogu can use the force that he curses to himself cuz he’s so fucking thrilled his son can use his powers and grogu gets scared because he noticed his dad cursed and mando’s like “no, i’m not mad at you” and he just looks admiringly at grogu saying “you’re really special, kid” with so much feeling on a loop last night because it’s just so damn ADORABLE.

like toxic masculinity??? i don’t know her

104 notes • Posted 2021-01-03 02:56:45 GMT

#2

Being brought over to the US from Japan at the age of 5 was detrimental to my self image. In Japan, I was treated as a ‘cute child’ (meaning ‘a normal kid’) but when I was brought over to the states, I was bullied constantly for having a “flat face”, “short, disgusting legs”, etc…
 Always being compared to impossible white beauty standards, I grew up to have a LOT of internalized racism towards my looks. (I am still working very hard with many issues of “straddling two worlds🇯🇵🇺🇸” with my therapist)

However, on my trip to Kyoto this time, my Mom wanted me to do a ‘maiko (geisha apprentice) transformation photoshoot’. 
I was reluctant about it because I hate seeing myself in pictures, and I didn’t want to do something so touristy. 
But, since I sometimes draw geisha/maiko for thank you cards, I thought I could get some pose references or insight into how things would move.

This was a blessing in disguise because for the first time in my life, it made me look at myself completely outside western beauty standards.
 I was looking at myself for what I am: a Japanese woman. Although I knew it in my head, it *FINALLY* CLICKED THAT I WAS ALWAYS STRIVING TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE, BECAUSE I AM NOT WHITE.

so to all the people that bullied me and convinced me I was ugly and therefore worthless because I couldn’t fit into your beauty standards, i say…

FUCK YOU, I’M GORGEOUS!

127 notes • Posted 2021-10-29 16:16:43 GMT

#1

signal boosts are deeply appreciated🥺

hey, i know we’re ALL struggling so i know it’s a hard time to ask, but my lil sis is getting married and i’m really sad i can’t get anything for her bc i’m disabled and unemployed. basically the only thing i can do is draw. i don’t do shippy art, but i can do face closeups pretty well (stylized or not) for like, icons and stuff. i think i’ll only do faces/bust ups for speed’s sake this time.

would commissioning me be something ANYONE would be interested in? and yes, i am temporarily lifting my ban on spn commissions. PLEASE SEND ME AN ASK IF YOU’RE INTERESTED 🖤

here are some samples of what i’ve done over the years in no particular order:

please click on the image if it’s blurry.

thanks again for considering 🖤

411 notes • Posted 2021-07-07 21:51:43 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #none of my art posts made it in the top 5… #i really bombed this year :’( #this year i spent a LOT of days in bed from excruciating migraines where i was praying for death #i hope i have enough good days so i can create more next year

[kaypeace21]

why is there so much denial of Will being gay?? Like, nothing Will has done has shown him to be anytging but possibly gay. Like, nobody thinks he'z gay because he's a nerd that doesn't have a girlfriend!! We think he's gay because of all the fucking subtext!!!!

There are a few reasons for this, and they’re all (for the most part) rooted in homophobia. 1) There are those who (may or may not) notice the subtext, but ignore it with the excuse of “he’s too young; stop sexualizing him!”. All while shipping lumax, and mileven. Whether they want to admit it or not, this is homophobic! They view (subconscious or otherwise) being queer as inherently sexual, dirty, and adult. And that only straight relationships can be pure and innocent and based on compatible personalities. Straight kids can have innocent crushes (but in their eyes) queer kids can’t- they may not even exist, to them. 

 2) There are some mileven shippers (who whether they want to admit it) hate Will, because the possibility he has powers or is gay- threatens their precious het ship. Because a lot of them don’t see El as her own person (just a part of their ship) or a vessel for being a badass with powers. They don’t appreciate her for the nuanced character she is.  They either get angry at the idea of Will being gay or having powers, or are only happy with him being queer if he’s sad and in an unrequited one-sided love/ or is single forever. Or they’ll say “why don’t you just ship him with someone else… like Dustin?” Ignoring the fact Dustin hasn’t been queer coded like Mike (or had romantically coded scenes with Will), or that people ship byler for Will and Mike, not cause it’s simply m/m. I mean, can you imagine byler shippers saying ‘Just ship El with Dustin, it’s a guy and girl… it’s practically the same thing”? No, of course not! It shows their bias- and how they feel privileged and entitled to their straight ship even though there are millions of similar ships in media to choose from- unlike queer ships which are far and few in between. However, we’re supposed to be the ones who pick another option- and are told our ships are ‘all the same’. Whether they are aware of this bias, they consider queer ships a joke, and all the same.

3) Those who relate to Will and his struggles,  hate the idea of relating to a queer character. There is a reason why shows like ‘Will &Grace’ in the 90s were popular, but even today the second a character who people assumed was straight is revealed as lgbt+ viewers get angry! It’s because they feel ‘tricked’ into liking, relating and empathizing with a character that they would otherwise have immediately put in a ‘box’ and  distanced themselves from . Whether they are aware of it or not, they would immediately attribute stereotypes to them and never try to empathize with them, because ‘they’re gay, and ‘how can I relate to that’? They don’t want to relate to them (because subconscious or otherwise) they think being gay is bad or just too foreign.They don’t see queer people as full-fledged people. They’re just gay- nothing more.

Which is why when they angrily say “he’s just afraid to grow up, HE’S NOT GAY!”  They are essentially saying a gay, abused kid, who has ptsd, and was violated by the MF (and was also hinted m**ested by Lonnie too) can’t be afraid to grow up, since he lost his childhood. Only straight people have these type of human-fears and characterizations!

Forget the fact, that Will also wouldn’t want to grow up- because than he’d have to acknowledge his sexuality (at a time where all you heard about gay men was they were evil , mentally ill, going to hell and dying of aids as a punishment by god). Not to mention Will’s ptsd and the fact he lost 2 years of his childhood on top of that.He even says “I’m not … going to fall in love” (not convincingly) , right after the movie date with Mike.

4) They’re so used to straight media, and everyone being presumed straight and having media catered to them (the straight audience)- That they’ll ignore or miss every hint there is a queer character. 

So what are the hints of Will being gay (or at least- some other lgbt identity.

Called many homophobic slurs  since s1 ( specifically ”queer, fag, fairy, and gay”) by his dad and bullies. Jonathan in s1 tells Will to “not like things just because people tell you you’re supposed to, especially not him” ( ‘him’ referring to their dad). Is positioned behind a rainbow apple poster in the av room (ref. to Alan Turning the gay creator of computers), dances with a girl with a rainbow hair-clip, has rainbow bandaids, has his mom says she’s ”so proud” (lgbt+ pride ref) of the rainbow ship he drew . When Will disparages himself as a “freak”, Jonathan asks Will, who would you rather be friends with-  David Bowie (who was openly bi since the 70s) or Kenny Rogers? Will says Bowie, and Jonathan agrees saying “see, it’s no contest”. In the pitch to netflix the Duffers described Will as having “sexual identity issues”. In the leaked s2 snowball script it says “he’s not looking at the cute girl- but Mike.”

All of s2 directly paralleled ‘romantic s1 mileven scenes’ to ‘supposedly platonic byler scenes’. No joke, they had identical scenes, with almost identical framing and dialogue, but it’s all dismissed as friendship (even though the scenes are identical).Byler was also  paralleled to Jancy, Stancy, Jopper, bob/joyce and others. . You can headcannon Will as whatever you want, but like it or not- Will is queer and m/m! We could debate his exact queer sexual identity , but Will was never written and will never be written to be ‘straight’! Stay mad!

If Will was Wilma, the majority of the fandom would be byler shippers. Think about it! Mike having byler scenes that are identical to s1 mileven scenes, and then additional unique byler scenes. Mike staying by Wilma’s side 24 hours a day for several days (not even changing clothes), carrying her out of the hospital, grabbing her hand (with a zoom in shot),constantly asking her if she’s okay at least 5-7 times, putting his arm around her twice, being the only one who could tell something was off with her (and it wasn’t her normal type of quiet). Calling and running all the way to her house and banging on the door to check on her, desperate. Proclaiming “i’m the only one who cares about Wilma!” Watching her sleep cause he’s so worried, that shed scene reminiscing about how they first met in perfect detail, saying “I asked, I asked if you wanted to be my friend. You said yes, you said yes. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. (like a marriage proposal)”  The “crazy together” scene. Them being close since they were 5 vs the girl he knew for a week (but is somehow in love with?). If the witness said about El in s1 , “ same height… it could be the Byers girl”, instead of ‘boy’ (pointing out the resemblance). Mike getting into fights and getting upset (almost crying) about the bullies insulting Wilma. Mike having a whole binder of her drawings and caressing one of the drawings, after he thinks she died.  Being the only one of her friends to stay awake at the hospital, waiting for her to wake up- so he can see her and hug her first. Almost everyone would be team byler if Will was a girl- they probably would of started shipping it the second Wilma stared at him and was the only one who didn’t lie to him, in the first ep! Another parallel to El! 

And again think about s3 if Will was a girl.They paralleled the (comedic) mileven breakup vs (the sad/serious) byler breakup. Then Mike just complained and burped on the couch vs apologizing to Willma multiple times/even going into a storm to apologize a 2nd time (and to ‘talk’). Willma having a breakdown over the fight vs El laughing and high five-ing Max after.The shed vs the pool shed scene- “best thing I’ve ever done” vs “you’re the most important thing in the world to me”, “blank makes you crazy’ (as El stares confused) vs “crazy together’ (where Wilma says ‘yeah, crazy together). Mike going on ‘movie dates with Willma all the time’ right after making out with El. The last mileven kiss where Mike has his eyes open the whole time, doesn’t kiss back, and says he doesn’t remember saying “I love her” to El (and doesn’t say ‘I love you’ back). Right after having a talk with Wilma about playing games when she comes back (the crux of their fight). Mike getting excited that he’ll be able to visit El and Wilma on Thanksgiving and them visiting him on Christmas (those are holidays where family usually introduces their S.O.) Having the last scene of Mike,  be him looking back at Wilma’s house, and have that whole monologue in that scene be about “feelings changing”, and then he goes to hug his mom like the s1 byler scene where he thought Wilma was dead. And that’s not even all the scenes- and every time byler won by a landslide. If Will was a girl, it would be obvious writing on the wall, that Mike would eventually choose Wilma over El by the end of the series.

But since they are 2 boys, we’re delusional, because queer kids don’t exist … apparently.

#byler #byeler #will byers

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Misfit of Demon King Academy 1 | Healin’ Good PreCure 13 - 14 | Lapis Re:Lights 1 | God of High School 1 | Muhyo and Roji’s BSI s2 1

Misfit of Demon King Academy 1

This originally had the ecchi tag on its anime entry on AniList…or, at least, that’s how it was in my memory…but now that I see it doesn’t have that, it’s just another reincarnation isekai-type series. Let’s dig into it!

I…think this guy is meant to be portrayed as “hot” because he has the piercing eyes and he’s tall (against the girls in what will presumedly be his harem), but he kind of looks like your standard Potato-kun in a white outfit…so, uh…*shrugs*

Uh…is that guy meant to be Indian? You can’t get more obvious than the “Indu” family. Update: You see his brother later and Leorg has fairer skin, so maybe not.

LOL, “Flame of Darkness” makes someone nothing but a chuunibyou.

Uh…this is called The Misfit of Demon King Academy, y’know? Anos (Anoth?) is gonna get in, you bet your butts.

The owl is cute.

…guy, that 3 second rule thing was actually funny, but the more you think about the joke, the less funny it gets. Show: 1. Me: Infinity -1

Just from appearances, I wanna guess Misha is an ice or light magic user, or whatever equivalent the show has.

Is this what Assassin’s Pride could have been…?

How did the mother (Anoth’s) think her kid maturing that fast wasn’t weird?

Mushroom gratin? Is that an actual dish?...Yep, seems so. Sounds nice. I like mushrooms.

What’s up with young mothers in anime these days? Then again, the only other point of reference I have is Masamune-kun’s Revenge…

I thought it was the other Indu guy we saw earlier. This guy’s…not that bad-looking, though (LOL, my preferences ring out loud and clear…)…welp, spoke too soon. There he is. Update: Leorg kinda looks like Hakuto Kunai from Demon Lord, Retry!, come to think of it.

If Zepes died several times over the course of this episode…would one more death actually matter? (Not really, to be honest. Zepes is a scumbag.)

Come to think of it, this anime got postponed due to COVID, yeah? Was that why there was a sakuga spot earlier…?

Was that Sasha (Misha’s sister)? I found her name while checking if the anime was postponed.

I like the colour choices in this show, at least.

I don’t think this show has the best sense of comedic timing. Let your jokes breathe, dammit! That’s what comedic beats are for!

In a season with more offerings, I might get rid of this or pause it, but the season’s fairly sparse as it stands (darn virus!) so it stays.

Update: I didn’t notice, but an Anime News Network staff member wrote that Anoth’s surname is familiar…if you read Harry Potter.

Healin’ Good PreCure 13

Gotta start in the middle for this and work our way back. Note I did watch the 1st 2 eps without subs earlier this year when they were on the official PreCure YouTube, so I’m ahead of most people.

(From wandering the wiki and the news) I’ve seen nothing but pink/blue/yellow Cures these days, so I kind miss the more adventurous colours like green and orange…but then again, I never really liked green. It’s the colour of envy and…as petty as it sounds, I think I developed that bias because green is stereotypically the colour of rot, vomit (aside from anime’s rainbow vomit) and stinky things.

I didn’t notice this, but there’s a faint highlight on the Cures’ eyes (red for Grace, purple for Fontaine and blue for Sparkle).

It’s a drone! In PreCure! Yay! (It finally hit me exactly how much of a distant dream it’s been – from watching Suite and episodes of most of the other PreCure ‘til now – watching PreCure legally as a simulcast is! It’s crazy and it only took, what…5 years between Suite and this? 16 if you count from Futari wa to Healin’ Good.)

Is it that drone?

Hah? This is almost like the electricity-themed PreCure I came up with on the fan wiki. It’s not like I could sue Toei for it, though…they own that stuff, I only own what came out of my own imagination.

The subs say “Rate”, but “rate” has a meaning in English. No wonder the initial wiki translations say “Latte”, especially because the queen is “Teatine” to match.

Okay, so Mei is the sis and Yota is the brother. Got it.

Hey! What if there was a PreCure where the villains had devastated another world before? That would really raise the stakes.

“[T]hunders” (sic)? Thunder is the sound, lightning is the flash. Which one is it?

I see. As soon as they identified it as the Element of Lightning, I sort of guessed they could add it to their repertoire later, and I was right.

Its’s nice to see they put a woman in the moving company as well. Proves that girls can do anything they set their minds to, even what are supposedly “men’s jobs”.

I guess from the face I should’ve expected the element to talk, like the Fairy Tones from Suite, but I didn’t really figure that out until I saw it talk,

I feel like Hinata should’ve gone to see how Mei made her juice. That way, the two might be able to make similar-tasting juice…but that’s just an idea.

Healin’ Good PreCure 14

I feel like Byogens were responsible for Nodoka’s sickness, much like they are for Latte.

“Energy Source” seems to refer to a place where energy appears…I know that sounds a bit dumb if you don’t realise genki hakken means something like “appearance of energy (for a person)”, but…yeah, the PreCure series is like this. Unfortunately, that’s what you have to deal with.

I feel like this “teamwork overcomes all hardships” message is important in this time of COVID-19.

Guaiwaru = “condition is bad”, or ill health (guai ga warui).

Is that the element of air? I thought the PreCure would’ve used their element of lightning to fix the steamer, but hey, teamwork works too.

I’m a weeny bit peevy they translate minna to “girls”. It’s correct in context when it’s been translated that way, but minna means “everybody”.

I imagined Hinata saying “Watashi no smartphone ga!” instead of “Atarashii sumaho ga hoshii!”

Lapis Re:Lights 1

Eh…COVID-19 means I gotta sample things I’m not so crazy about.

Why is one of the first lines in this show “My behind hurts!”?

Bristol? Is this England?...Nope, it’s a place called “Mamkestell”.

I was thinking this girl…I think the reviews said her name was Tiara…was going to sing to the flower to make it perk up again, but nup, she whistled to it. That seems a bit irrelevant, to be honest. (I would prefer an all or nothing approach to a wish-washy approach like this…as in, if this is an idol show, then either go all in with the singing and dancing, or do something else that’ll catch my attention.)

Tiara’s face looks hella generic.

For some reason, I get this ominous feeling when the word “witch” is mentioned…must be the instinct from Madoka popping up again.

Lemme guess. Lynette is the bookworm?...*sigh* Just another method of showing a character is a bookworm without actually showing their reading a book, which I think is counterintuitive.

Get some protective gear, girls!

Rosetta keeps saying “Yes” (in English).

Lemme guess…people ship the dumb one and the smart one? They’re like a gender-flipped Dice and Gentaro, only the smart one is more uppity and the stupid one is more sporty.

The word appears to be noumei, but that exact word doesn’t seem to exist. Lavie seems to say the word is the opposite to something else, but I can’t tell what that is either…

Albino rabbit, eh?

…people probably ship Rosetta and Tiara too, right? *sigh*

So there’s…no singing in this fantasy/idol show. Whistling is how you invoke magic…so how is someone who can’t whistle supposed to invoke magic?!

Whose idea was it to put the OP in the middle of the episode?

It was “Neechan, daikirai!” “Forget you” is a fairly loose translation…

Little Miss Rosetta = Rosetta-chan.

I think Tiara called Rosetta “sensei” when the former wanted the latter to take care of her (i.e. take her to their dorm).

Titi = Tiara. I didn’t actually figure that out because I thought it referred to the rabbits.

Gah! These almost-real-world names (or real world names, in regards to “Bristol”) are gonna drive me NUTS!

*sigh* Boob jiggle.

*sighhhhhhhhh…* Lemme guess, there’s a potential expulsion on the horizon? Update: Yep. Dropped.

God of High School 1

First Webtoon series I’m covering here.

Oh, I checked out the first chapter of the webtoon because CR linked it to their anime page. The only difference I’ve seen from that, aside from fleshing out the backgrounds, is…that creepy skull (?) on the wall.

You can tell it’s Korean when I don’t understand what the text says. (I don’t know Korean, but I do know some Chinese and Japanese.) Update: This is Japanese-dubbed, but they left the Korean text in.

That intro is much more powerful now that the backgrounds are fleshed out.

Ooh, the colours in the OP are very nice!

Hmm? They’re starting with the grandpa, rather than starting with “I’m Mori Jin, 17 years old”? Good choice.

The expressions in this show are funny. I like them already.

Waittttttttt…I dunno how Korean names work. Is Mori Jin’s first name “Mori” or “Jin”? Update: I checked it up, and I got even more confused!

KORG Arena seems to be…from Marvel? Like BnHA references Star Wars???

*sigh* Moonbucks? Again?...and of course the girls only talk about “hotties”. We need a Bechdel test in this thing.

The comments on ch. 1 said “A new Luffy is born”, so now I agree with it…but they’re not going to show how Mori Jin was enlisted for GOH (as they seem to abbreviate it)?

There’s Japanese, English and Korean in the afro dude’s comments.

I’m amazed that tall dude with the spiky hair wasn’t more surprised about Mori Jin and the girl passing by…

Would those glasses on Mori Jin’s head be any help? Update: Turns out those aren’t “glasses”…they’re a sleeping mask.

Kamina glasses!

They put CR and Webtoon advertising over everything in this anime…geesh.

These red parts of people’s noses are gonna bug me, aren’t they…?

It should be battle royale, right? Update: Okay, so I checked and both are correct spellings.

This seems like the sort of thing that would never get funded because you need to pull off every battle scene right.

They cut the initial fight with “Blondie” out, but that actually makes things more interesting! Good choice.

Lemme guess – Mori Jin is going to have to fight this Kang Manseouk guy at full power one day? *shrugs* (Can I stop referring to people by their full names already??? I can’t stop until I know which is the first name and which is the last.) Update: So the wiki finally helped me out and Mori is the first name and Jin the last, meaning I can call him “Mori”. Got it.

*Mori suddenly pulls the prisoner’s pants down* - That was…random.

I liked it more than I thought I would! (Just for reference, the other protag dude is called Han Dae-wi and the girl is Yoo Mira.)

Muhyo and Roji’s BSI s2 1

(Update for the Tumblr fans: I finished s1 outside the seasonal format.) 

Kokkuri-san never goes well in anime…

Where does Nana work again…?

I don’t think Muhyo and Roji are legally (magically legally?) obligated to tell Nana anything about what they do.

Yay! Goryo is animted for the first time! He has such a beautiful voice~!

Notably, Roji wouldn’t have had a smartphone in 2004 (or whatever year close to that when the manga put this bit out).

Goryo (5) vs Muhyo (6). Didn’t figure this out at the time I read the manga.

I think the subbers misgendered Goryo. Goryo is a dude, as can be gathered from the name “Daranimaru”.

“Waka”? Does that stand for “young head [of the office]” or something?

Okay, whose bright idea was it to pair Now on Air (female vocalists) with Muhyo and Roji’s (a series dominated with dudes)…?

Ah, Funimation is on the production team of this anime. That would explain the dub rights.

#simulcast commentary #Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation #lapis re:lights #god of high school #healin' good precure #misfit of demon king academy #Chesarka watches HGPC #Chesarka watches Muhyo and Roji's BSI

[revengeisalwaysanoption]

Skam Meeting @ Gaystatale - Part 2

In PART 1 I forgot to write that, when Pietro was asked how much of himself there is in Filippo he said that inevitabily, since he is part of LGBT portaying a gay man, there’s a bit of Pietro in Filippo.

Back to the where we left off:

- So basically the question was if Ludo thought Italy was ready for S2, and he said that yes of course, there have been LGBT characters even on Rai (Italy’s national broadcaster) 

- So Izzy (the girl interviewing Ludo and Pietro) praised how down to earth and real the language feels in Skam Italy. Ludovico was glowing as said it was the best praise he could get, because making his characters sound 17 and from Rome when he 35 and from Milan... Then he admitted that he got there, to deliver that ‘realism’ thanks to a long process that he and his crew have been taught by the Norwegian team, through interviews and meetings. Still, the realness has also been brought by the actors themselves who had room to improvise (and Bessegato downright refuses to write “ao’ “ and “daje” on his scripts) and showcased their talent (ALL of them). 

- For the Pride speech, since he is a straight man, he felt that the best solution was to simply translate from the Norwegian and then let Pietro act it out as he saw fit. 

- The only one for whom it is a bit different is Beatrice, because Sana is very far from who she is as a person, so she needs a bit more guidance and to stick to the script.

- A lot of the moments and quotes that we love the most are improvised, a part from “zozzoni” who came from Bessegato himself. 

- He concluded by saying “c’è tanto dei miei ragazzi in quello che sentite” awwwwww.... (”there a lot from/of my kids* in what you are hearing”)

*kids as in a gender neutral version of ‘guys & girls” *

- Then the clip with the Gay Test was shown, and he repeated what he had already said in Rome: he got a 2, so he had to take the test a couple of times to get a 0 and direct Fede to do the same.

- The clip was used to introduce a question about stereotypes and how much Bessegato felt the need to go against them and if he felt like he succeded.

He said that he felt like he did and it’s one of the aspects he is most careful about in Skam Italia (avoiding stereotypes) especially because all S3 by Julie Andem was about breaking the stereotypes concering two guys falling in love and how a gay guy is supposed to be.

That led him to the choice of having the coming out while the boys where playing FIFA, because it felt like the symbol of “a hetosexual friendship between two guys”... But he is aware that now and then “qualche cazzata l’avremo pure detta” (we probably ended up saying some bullshit). 

The stereotypes can be true, after all, but it’s important to show some other aspects of reality as well.

And of course Filippo (and Pietro) listen to Britney Spears ;D

- And that’s where Pietro added his bit about not fighting the stereotypes by marginalizing/hurting/insulting those who fit them. If the message you are trying to deliver is meaningful, you need to handle the way you communicate with great care or it will get lost.

A gay guy who is a effeminate or a lesbian who is a butch, for example, should be admired because they feel comfortable in their own skin and by the way who are we to judge others without knowing about their journey towards acceptance.

And what’s wrong by the way, about challenging some heteronormative macho behaviour (he used manspreading as an example: if one wants to be a decent human being and sit properly, he should, without worrying about not looking straight enough or something). No man really fits into the ‘alpha male’ stereotype, but straight men probably feel less bound to challenge it. And whilst his straight friend only cries when no one can see, in his own room, he feels free to do it in front of everyone, after spending two years crying his eyes out towards self-acceptance

- Bessegato knows how important it is for the audience to feel that the characters are relatable (then why doesn’t he get the need for rep? who knows) so, unless it’s a reality that he knows well by himself, he always speaks to people belonging to that community so that he can give a realistic picture. He referred to Sana again (which made us start wondering if he’s currently writing her season, huh ;) ?), saying how he is consulting with a Muslim friend of his.

- Pride clip, and Pietro underlined again how making it resonate so much as has been a team effort from everyone (writers, director, Federico, etc.)

- S2 has been written AFTER the 4th of March 2018, when we had the elections that would lead to the Salvini-Di Maio government. Izzy asked why they left Italian politics out of the show, he basically said it’s more important to show people something about worlds/realities they didn’t know about before, making them deep and meaniful so that people can empathize. He got loads of messages from people saying that thanks to Skam they had the courage to come out to their friends and family, that’s the kind of response he wishes for.

That’s what bringing politics into a series like Skam means to him: affect the society around you by showing and encouraging virtous behaviours (one of the reasons he decided not to change the coming out scene, though he was tempted too). Showing good people, instead of wasting time critizing the bad. 

“I want to inspire, not to destroy” . And by the way, having a character insulting Lega (Salvini’s party) doesn’t do any good: who was already against him will say ‘yeah, I think so too’ and who supports him will go like ‘oh great, now they’re insulting me’ and it will only serve to radicalize the latter.

Again he talked about Sana and how to show a true friendship between her and the girls can come to be is more important than giving a judgement about our current political situation (giving how islamophobic Italian society can be, I do agree with him that Sana’s season is going to be quite important for our country)

- Pietro stressed that in our society, the coming out IS a political act. Trans’ bodies are a political act. Our identities, our lives... Just telling our stories is  a revolutionary political act. Every day we do politics just by being true to ourselves, not choosing a way that would be more comfortable and reassuring. Which doesn’t mean you are an asshole for not coming out of the closet, though.

- I don’t really know why he digressed by complaining about how we insult him and the cast when the clips don’t come out or things were better in the og and such, but he did.

- By the way they had Filippo saying “fascisti di merda” because Rome has a big problem with neo-nazis from Casapound beating people up in Gay Street, it wasn’t a jab to the government itself.

- Effettivamente: it was really important and meaningful clip for him. He was tempted to give it a dramatic turn, with Giovanni not accepting Martino straight away. He said ‘you generally use this trick: I’m not mad about the matter itself, but about you not telling me: it’s Fiction 101.’ and that it’s the kind of conflict that would be resolved pretty soon.

(Personally: I said that when Yann went to Lucas and said “tell us what’s wrong or solve whatever it’s going on and then come back to us”  he gave me the vibe of someone who would make a coming out about themselves, not necessarily in a bad way, but more like ‘why haven’t you told me before, am I such a bad friend???’ and I could tell without watching the show, but just that one clip... because it’s the way storytelling works)

- He praised David for changing the scene. He personally hasn’t seen Skam France - all directors basically mind their own business and take care of their own remake - but he gets that after SkamOG and SkamIT it was wise to have changes and that if it worked for Yann as a character then why not? The fact that we were still talking about it on Monday afternoon meant David’s change wasn’t that bad after all, huh?

He couldn’t go through with his idea because it would have been OOC for Giovanni to react that way, given how Ludovico Tersigni fleshed him out through S1 and S2 up to this clip.

Moreover, he felt like ending ep 6 on a sad note after all that happened to Martino at the end of ep 5 and up to Effettivamente would be too much.

Like Nicholas in the bloopers he said “He saw Rocco kissing his girlfriend”, instead of ‘Niccolò’, which made us all laugh ;D

- He said that he wants every remake of S3 to be loved and appreciated, given how important it is, that we shouldn’t make it into a challenge. The Norwegian team gave them Skam so that the message of love and acceptance could reach as many people as possible and that’s what all the directors care about (they sometimes give each other advice). So he personally will never take part in any feud against and back up who disses other remakes.

- Pietro: “there isn’t a ‘right’ formula. Personally, I cried while watching this clip. I wasn’t there when they shoot it so I saw it when it came out, just like you. Because its message is about the importance of communicating: Martino gets into a fight when he doesn’t know how to express his emotions, or he can’t, but then he bravely takes that little step that opens new scenarios to him... So, do we want to tell people that they are allowed to come out to their best friend and that the worst it can happen it’s telling them to fuck off? That sometimes people, even those you would never expect to, when they see that there’s something deep there, there’s a history behind it and a feeling and when you can get those emotions across to the ones you’re speaking to, then maybe it won’t result in being beaten up?

- Then every reaction, even a negative one, is still meaningful: it gives me more info about the person I came out to. Communicating opens the door to emphathy, which is also the reason why Filippo doesn’t take it to heart when Martino says those things during the Pride clip, because he knows Martino is in the middle of his journey and sees the potential in it. It’s about showing the shades of emotions that can happen while interacting. 

- Ludovico said that we should be forgiving with Martino’s dad, since his reaction wasn’t that negative from an estranged father who doesn’t really communicate with his son. He said we shouldn’t stigmatize reactions that are not immediately 100% supportive and ideal.

Thanks Ludo, but no thanks. He might not be homophobic, but he still feel like an asshole to me.

- To him the crucial message of Skam is: people need people. Talk to them, you’ll find them more ready to listen than you’d expect. People are the solution, not the problem.

- Yes/No question to Pietro about Emma’s words to Martino in the last clip of episode 5... He said no, of course. People still care if you are gay in 2018/2019.

- How do they choose the music for Skam Italia? Well, it a lenghty and expensive (in terms of royalties) process and sometimes the songs we hear are not even their first choice but the 4th or 5th. Some of the proceedings became urban legends, like going to LA to get Britney’s approval to use one of her songs... Some are chosen by the music consultants, some are suggestions from Bessegato himself or the cast.

- Question about MI: he approached it with care, as Julie did in the original. He got some pointers from a psychiastrist on what he should modify to tell his story... He still ended up receiving a letter, recently, from an association of doctors who deal with these MI (he said ‘doctors’ not psychiatrists) telling him that he mixed elements from BPD and the bipolar disorder (and pointing out the inaccuracies of the OG as well, before someone uses this to diss on SkamiT) but that the end of the letter they thanked Skam because, apart from the inaccuracies it is good that someone talks about MIs a bit more in depth and that it doesn’t label people with MIs as ‘crazy’, people that you don’t wanna hang out with because they aren’t right in their heads but it’s rather a situation that can be dealt with, that can be managed and that have different levels of severity...

I also walked up to him later on to personally thank him about changing Nico’s MI, because after we discussed it and complained about the inaccuracies - he smiled when I said that - it led us all to get some more info and a deeper knowledge of BPD.

Okay, now that’s all X°D

#skam italia #ludovico bessegato #pietro turano #gaystatale

[televisor-reviews]

Everything of note that I have to say about Wakfu season 3:

I get that it’s old news at this point, but I finally got around to watching the new season of Wakfu & I really do have a ton to say about it... in list form!

1. It’s very good.

2. SPOILERS... duh...

3. I think I should’ve watched The Search For The Six Eliatrope Dofus first. I think the characters reference what happens in that a few times & whenever they did, I was like “what the fuck are they talking about?”

4. I don’t know why they changed the English voice cast, but it wasn’t a very good idea. It took me a few episodes to get used to them, & though I did get used to it & they did a fine enough job. Just not as good as the original cast.

5. I think this is why half of the words change pronunciation. Iop & Ruel are pronounced like how they’re spelled, which sounds like a good thing, but I always felt like pronouncing them like “Yop” & “Ruul” sounded more realistic. Adding that extra syllable is creating more work for whoever’s saying it & I think in a world that’s supposed to seem like it’s existed for millenniums, those kinds of words would’ve been shortened down to 1 syllable. I wouldn’t be complaining if that’s not how they were pronounced in the first 2 seasons.

6. Adamai is a surprisingly good villain. Of course, I think he’s much better as a protagonist, but as the antagonist; he’s a menacing figure that every member of the Brotherhood Of The Tofu have a history with, & the animation does a great job at showing the struggles he has when fighting them & vice versa.

7. I fucking hate the Dragon Ball Z-esc design for Adamai! It could just be my general disliking of DBZ, but that design really doesn’t do anything for me.

8. I think they made Adamai a bad guy because Oropo isn’t a very interesting main antagonist. Granted, it’s not like this show is known for its great villains (in fact, Oropo is by far my favorite of the them so far), but he ends up being pretty disappointing. Particularly because the framework is there for a great villain: a connection to the heroes, a memorable plot, a great motivation... it just never comes together for a very interesting villain.

9. I think it’s because most of that stuff isn’t really focused on until the last couple of episodes, making him uninteresting for most of the season & when it’s finally focused on, it’s too little too late.

10. Evangelyne & Percedal are great parents! This really is the natural continuation of their relationship after they had their “happily ever after” at the end of season 2. And whenever they’re on screen together, they have so much romantic chemistry it literally kills me.

11. I fucking love they’re kids too! It’d be so easy to make them one-dimensional slabs to motivate Percedal, but they have just as great & interesting personalities as any other member of the Brotherhood. Of course, I prefer Elely mostly because we spend more time with her, but I also just prefer her character type.

12. I don’t like that they have Eva, probably the most badass protagonist, as the “damsel in distress”. I get that they don’t want a pregnant character out in the front lines of battle, but still.

13. Every season has a fake-out death: S1 had Percedal & that lasted for a few episodes into the next season, S2 had a scene & a half of Ruel faking a heart attack, & S3 had Evangelyne almost die. It was kinda ingenious: for a minute, it genuinely had me worried, wondering if they had the balls to kill off a pregnant main character. Good thing they didn’t, probably for the best.

14. Holy shit, they actually had the balls to show a baby’s birth! I’d imagine they’d have an easier time getting that death past Netflix!

15. I haven’t looked up what the consensus is on this, but I’m willing to bet I have a controversial opinion on this: I actually really like the romance between Amalia & Yugo. It feels very genuine & natural; they have a ton of chemistry between them. Unlike with most romances, where it’s pretty obvious they’ll end up together by the end, I honestly didn’t know if that was the route they were going to take because Yugo still looks 10!

16. Keeping Yugo looking 10 was a great way to add more tension & drama to the already dramatic & tension-filled story.

17. Past seasons have had a good mixture of dramatic & comedic elements, but this season pumped up the drama & backed off of the comedy. I guess this is expected since this is the first season made by Netflix & their shows have been significantly more dramatic than most cable TV animated shows, largely because they’re meant to be binge-watched instead of once a week.

18. Netflix also tends to strip down its shows to the bare minimum for the story it’s telling. This is normally a good thing, but I think Wakfu was one of those shows that utilized filler episodes really well to show more of a connection & backstory of the characters. Basically, I wanted more filler episodes.

19. I don’t know why Ruel was in this. I get that he’s one of the main characters & they try to have him seem like he has a point by throwing in his wife for no real reason. He’s getting too old to fight & he doesn’t throughout most of the season. I’d bet he’d end up staying behind to babysit Eva & Dali’s new baby next season (if there is one).

20. Each of the demigods the Brotherhood fight are interesting & unique in their own right, they all feel like they’ve always existed & were merely waiting to be introduced in the show rather than feel like they were invented in a day for their exact episode.

21. The show in the past has always felt like it was aiming for a pretty young audience (like “Baby’s First Engaging World”), but between the focus on more dramatic elements, all of the couples getting together, & Adamai’s new design; I think the new target audience is closer to older children/young teenagers. Those just old enough to be nostalgic over anime like Dragon Ball Z & Naruto but just young enough to embrace the more childish nature moments of past seasons. A natural evolution of this long-running franchise.

22. The world & universe this show has spent the better part of 2 seasons to build is built up even more throughout the entirety of season 3. It really feels livable, like you could just walk right into your TV & right in this world! This is an element that’s really hard to nail (only done well in the most prestigious of franchises with huge fanbases like Star Wars & Harry Potter... & My Little Pony) & it does so perfectly!

23. This is easily my favorite season of the show so far, building upon the incredible blocks already created by the first 2 seasons.

24. I really hope there’s a 4th season! There’s been word from random websites & blogs by so-called writers saying there will be one either 2019 or 2020. I do think it’s inevitable considering the show is at peak popularity & critical praise & this season ended on a cliffhanger. I just want it before I die of old age!

25. I think Wakfu, though more popular than ever before, is still nowhere near as popular as it deserves to be. I always called it, “that show all your animator friends really like,” & that still rings true. If you have any doubts about whether or not to watch it, just do it! It’s a great show that deserves all the praise it’s gotten from fans & critics (& that’s a lot of praise!).

#wakfu #adamai #yugo #persedal #evangelyne #amalia #ruel #season 3 #oropo

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S2 Ep4: How to Go on a Date Without Actually Going on a Date

Ah, summertime! Love is in the air, can’t you feel it?

Well uh...thunderclouds. I guess. It’s ominously pouring rain. It’s as if the show has turned in it’s squeaky swivel chair said to us “look, we’re giving you a date episode...but don’t you be gettin’ any ideas!” and then swiveled right back around to face a blank wall.

I’m sure that they will put in some sort of cute backdrop...eventually.

While mopping the gross purple floor and talking about Joey’s nuts soap opera family.

Y’all did they get reference for this shot? I sure hope so. I sure hope that in some animation studio in Japan, two dudes fumbled together to assemble this particular formation, and then a third dude was like “Perrrrfect, now can you hold that for five minutes for me so I can draw it out?”

(read more under the cut)

So here and now, suddenly inspired by the very romantic tableau of threatening rain and thunder, Yugi sees an opportunity to fill out that bucket list, as it is the end of the world and all. So, he cracks his knuckles, remembers the advice from his Grandfather, wisely decides to forget that advice, and stumbles through the absolute weirdest way to officially ask out the girl you’ve been unofficially dating since you were like 10:

...

Start over.

So...he goes up to Tea...starts asking her out--but then makes it into a blind date with the ghost in his body? Because he’s...concerned about Pharaoh?

OK kid.

It’s just very Muto in that not only does he ask this girl out in the pouring rain, probably hoping for a lightning cue that thankfully never came, but this date can only be done through the medium of a very sad dead guy.

And even Tea wonders “I talk to Pharaoh kind of a lot, what the hell are you going on about?”

But what do you do, girl? Looks like you got stuck on a date trap with a dead dude! At least he has the better butt!

Now, you might say “Rach, he didn’t use the word “date” so this isn’t a date.” but y’all must’ve had a very different high school experience than I, because, unless forced to go to a socially obligatory dance, High Schoolers generally never say “lets go on a date,” they make sneaky date traps.

This is universal, the classic “I REALLY need your help with something I can easily accomplish myself. Meet me at the mall, although we could do this probably right now at school. Don’t bring Joey.”

So, Yugi either has a lot of trust in Pharaoh, or he’s seeing this as a clever way to avoid the actual dating part of dating Tea.

Dude...he’s on to something here. This is an ascended level of friend-zoning. Here I was thinking Yugi was pretty worthless with that puzzle, and then he just BAM unlocks it’s actual, true potential with the ultimate dating dodge. Like, Tea can’t even be mad. He’s on the date even. But also--*not on the date*--gets to enjoy the fun stupid stuff-- *doesn’t have to do any boring stuff*--Goes on a date--*but can’t call it a relationship if it wasn’t hypothetically with yourself* like this actually a pretty great set up and at first I was like wow, what an idiot, and now I’m like 5 paragraphs later and low key jealous I can’t do this Schrödinger's Date nonsense myself.

Anyway, despite how awkward he made it, Yugi is SUPER excited about this date. It’s ALMOST as if he’s going on it himself--which again, he is not. He’s just fretting in a mirror going all “Pharaoh’s gonna freakin love this. I love setting up my friends! Especially when they share the same body as me! Hahaha don’t think about it!”

But apparently Pharaoh was totally sleeping when Yugi was talking to Tea (and probably is whenever Tea shows up, lets be real) because he has no idea that Yugi has done this.

First off--Yugi’s art on the wall.

Ok, glad we all saw it together.

Second off, I love the motif of “kid is going on a date, so he throws everything he owns onto his bed and throws on the other half his closet to make the most ridiculous joke combo” because here it means Pharaoh has to wear the same weird ass outfit.

Y’all I cannot believe this anime is doing this three-way I just cannot. It’s been like a full season building up to it but it still feels VERY sudden.

And, as you know, I have a superpower that makes me immune to shipping, I dunno...maybe it’s because I grew up with the nuts Harry Potter era of ships (freakin Snape/Lily)? Or maybe that I come from the era of Kingdom Hearts-style romance twists (whooo will he eat ice cream with)? I feel like I can’t throw too many rocks at this ship because I know when my house is glass. Especially since I enjoy shows that are bonkers, I’ve seen some weird ass dating stuff that didn’t make me bat an eyelash. I watched Season 2 of Seaquest where at least 2 people accidentally ask out their own Mother. I would double check, but it was so awful Netflix pulled it (or trust me I’d be recapping that show, too)

Personally, I have never wanted to date a ghost but I guarantee other people have thought about it. And, youknow, if it’ll make the 2002-era tweens that were super excited about this ship happy, lets get these kids on a date and get this over with. With the Pharaoh that died at hell knows what age, was reborn so hypothetically you could also argue he’s only like a couple years old, and was mind wiping up until basically a couple weeks ago. Whatever, it’s a new season, he’s a new boy, just, don’t think about it, sit back and enjoy it for what it -- HOLY CRAP

What fake-goth funeral date are you going to here!? Wow. This is...This is a bad choice of clothes! It’s the middle of the day! Other people are in shorts. He is wearing so many chains from his neck, to his bracelets...also he still has that massive bike lock chain on - the one that went through a FIRE.

And does his shoes have freakin studs?

At least neck belt is still here.

I’d say he doubles as a stage tech but with those 7 bangles he’s got on, he would make too much noise. He’d sound like a freakin wind chime.

Anyways, Yugi switches places and Pharaoh freaks the Hell out like he’s been pranked. I wish it were a prank, y’all, I wish it were. But this is actually happening on this television show where the only other legit romance we saw was Pegasus macking a ghost.

MAN ghosts gets a lot of action in this show.

Now, this anime gets a lot of flack, but it does do one thing, and that’s make me appreciate something I forget a lot of the time when I see character designs in pictures rather than in motion. And it’s that that character design’s aesthetic includes physics. Sometimes--like very often in Yugioh--the aesthetic is mostly about those physics and what all these separate pieces do when they move.

In Yugioh, the designs are a hot mess. I can’t say they aren’t. But, there is a reason why he has all those moving bangles--it’s because he holds cards a lot and that’s where is camera is. I guarantee, when jacket comes back it’ll be flowing in the wind 100% of the time. Every single one of Yugi’s weird bangs can sway around like a weather vane.

So, while this looks not great from the get go, by the time you’ve watched Yugioh for a while, it all comes back together somehow. That’s the thing--that’s what Yugioh proves, it’s that no matter how freakin weird and abstract your design is, if it has the right physics, you’ll have a good time, and that’s an aesthetic all in itself that can’t be described in photo caps.

BUT

but

but, it’s still hella fun to roast Yugi for it because like--look what he’s wearing.

First stop on their date: a diner of lies that gave us no anime food. Just some nondescript milkshake. Every time we see a diner and I don’t get to see anime food my heart shrivels a little smaller like the Grinch.

Yo I assumed the neck belt was attached to the belt-shirt before--but I guess not. Oh man was belt shirt a turtleneck the whole time??? A belt TURTLENECK?

Tea decides to pull out her idea. The idea that Yugi asked her to give Pharaoh--that she could have just...given...straight to Yugi...but here it is. Here’s the big Tea idea.

Tea suggests “Listen, you don’t know who you’re going to be, but that’s true of everyone” which kind of ignores destiny and prophecies and the end of the world, but she’s gonna be a dancer, OK? And because Pharaoh hasn’t seen very much of the world, and is as impressionable as a newborn lamb, he just soaks it right up.

And so they decide not to go to the Museum because Pharaoh’s not feeling it. Probably also has a sixth sense that the museum is currently staffed by the most boring Millennium Item.

FYI this is exactly what my local Dave & Busters looks like floor to ceiling. It’s a real disappointment. It has only 1 DDR machine and one off brand DDR machine, unlike this place.

Yugioh has more diversity than most Anime I’ve seen, but it’s still a work in progress. Also, it’s hard to spot but keep an eye out for this guy’s fringe moccasins.

...Someone brought their briefcase to the arcade? Wh...why?

This whole episode is a whole lot of why.

WHAT?

Everyone just kinda watched this go down?

Again, I’ve never actually played DDR at an arcade because it’s always taken by two sweaty high schoolers who are sweating like ALL OVER the handlebars, and I’m just like...I could ask them to move or...I could not touch their sweat? So, long story short, if DDR involves elbowing each other in the face, this is news to me, and I have been missing out.

Long story short, she wins. We actually get to see Tea use her one and only useful skill--dance fighting. We’ll probably never see it again. Glad they gave us a very long narcissistic Tea dancing montage while they were there. Wish it was done to ska, but you can’t have everything.

And right when this settles into a romantic sunset I start to worry because we’re getting VERY close to a non-vague situation. The show senses this too and just, out of no where, pulls any distraction to get them away from said sunset.

Y’all how do you even manage to draw a spike mullet with dreads?

And here we all thought we’d get through this episode without cards!

JK, you were absolutely right for thinking that.

In her defense, he did try to elbow jab her in the head.

Anyways, after seeing Tea tear through Johnny Steps, Pharaoh feels like maybe he can handle whatever crazy thing happened to him 5000 years ago. He decides “Lets go recklessly open that Pandora’s box!”

I just noticed his second belt has a fanny pack on the butt for his cards.

Well, that was...still vague somehow. Good. Got me worried there for a second.

Next week, on Yugioh:

Bets on how long it takes for the show to never mention this date again and immediately forget these two were an item, I’m betting at the very beginning of the next episode? Are we going to get the same exposition but for the second time--will I even have anything to recap? In the dark is Yugi just a pair of swinging arms?

#yugioh #yugioh recap #s2 ep4 #yugi muto #tea gardner #johnny steps #so many belts #so many bangles #the other day it came to my attention that the tag for yugioh is ygo #and that is the most 00's thing I've ever heard #hell did that happen #obligatory date episode #would you even date a ghost #if the ghost shared the same body #as your most awkward freind

[jbuffyangel]

The Season 2 Effect

Something's been gnawing on me the last couple days. Well, for most of Season 5, but it reached a high point after I read the TVLine Winter preview. It mentioned the new character, SCPD Detective Tina Boland. TVLine said she and Oliver would form a “connection” (TVLine’s words - not Wendy’s. That’s an important distinction) because (and these are Wendy’s words), “she has been through her own hell, her own sort of ‘island.”

There were, of course, some immediate concerns that Oliver and Tina will be in a romantic relationship. Just to get this out of the way - no, I don’t think they will be in a romantic relationship. I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m just saying I think it’s unlikely. 

First, we still haven’t ditched Susan Williams. They’d have to unravel Oliver’s relationship with her and with Felicity while starting up a new relationship with Tina all by season’s end. That’s a lot to accomplish in 5B, even by Arrow’s standards. Not impossible, but unlikely. 

Second, “connection” is an arbitrary term, which is probably why TVLine used it. It doesn’t necessarily mean romantic. 

Third, Tina has to form a connection with Oliver. She’s going to be the new Black Canary and join the team. Anyone who joins the team A) has a connection with Oliver and B) goes through some kind of “island” at one point or another. That’s the show. The fact that Tina already went through hers I’m viewing as a positive. They want to get her up and running fast. Fine by me. She’s a guest star at this point and the less time we have to spend on her character the better. I’ve had my fill of newbies right now.

But that’s not what this post it about. No, when I read the article my first thought (and what’s been gnawing on me) was, “Man this feels a lot like Season 2.”

Then I recalled something Marc told me at SDCC.  He said he hoped fans got more of a Season 1 or Season 2 vibe from Olicity. Lord, he wasn’t kidding. 

Now, I’m not saying, “Hey Arrow Season 5 is just like Season 2! Everything is wonderful! Problems solved!” Uh... no. I think those who are unhappy have valid reasons. I also think those who are happy with the season also have valid reasons. I am joyfully in Switzerland for the most part on this topic. Truthfully, I think entertainment is subjective. Everyone likes what they like (or dislike) for their own reasons. Arguing about it is as arbitrary as arguing about whether or not you like cheese. I am quite content owning my choice and believe everyone has a right to theirs. (For the record, I really like cheese.) I’m simply pointing out some similarities I’ve noticed between Season 2 and Season 5 in terms of Olicity and promotion.

I think the cast and crew get an overwhelming amount of feedback. One of the consistent things I’ve heard over the years from fans is that Season 2 is the best season. So, I have to believe that Marc, Stephen, etc have heard it to. Stephen actually made reference to Season 2 in a recent convention. He said he watched a few episodes and he thought it was “okay.” Translation: He doesn’t think Season 2 is as great as everyone remembers. Or at least that’s my interpretation of the remark.

When Marc told me he hoped fans got more of a Season 2 vibe from Olicity, I internally started screaming. I felt a little better when he said there’d be longing looks and tension, but in general I wasn’t overly jazzed. Whenever fans start screaming for S2, I am screaming just as loudly, “NOOOO!!!” Why? I don’t feel a need to return to their earlier dynamic. I liked where Olicity had evolved to. Certainly there are aspects of Season 2 I loved (Slade, OTA, action, etc) and I loved Olicity, but I don’t have a yearning for the days of yore. Season 2 was freaking STRESSFUL for me as an Olicity fan. 

I wasn’t online when Season 2 aired. No blog. I wasn’t participating in fandom. I was, for the most part, an enthusiastic viewer working her way towards obsessed. I’d been watching Arrow from the beginning and very much loved the show. I hated the L&uriver love story, adored Olicity, but wasn’t sure if Arrow was actually going to go there.

After 2x06 and 2x07, I felt confident Olicity was in the game. However, they were throwing plenty of love interests at Oliver - Isabel, Sara, Laurel and Felicity. Technically, Sara, Laurel and Felicity were all viable options for whoever “Oliver loved the most,”  which I quickly deduced was the romantic theme of the season. I was nervous. Laurel was sobering up. Oliver and Felicity had barely shared a freaking scene alone together in 2B. Maybe I was imagining what I saw between them. Maybe I was crazy. Would Arrow actually throw the Plan A love story overboard for a character that started out as a guest star? Man... I don’t know!

So I hit the internet. I was looking for ANY signs from the writers or cast in interviews that Olicity was a thing that was happening. I found... nothing. And I do mean nothing. There was some talk from Stephen about Oliver being domesticated. Yeah - that was about his relationship with Sara. 

In fact, I found lots of interviews and comments on Sara and Oliver’s relationship. 

Some discussion about Laurel and Oliver’s relationship (boo! hiss!!)

Stephen made some remark about how Oliver wasn’t jealous about Barry and Felicity, but “curious.”

Sure looked pretty freaking jealous to me Steve, but okay.

But as far as romance? I couldn’t find much from the writers. Heck, I didn’t even find that many comments from Stephen because I was outside the fandom and I didn’t know where to look. Whatever comments I did find seemed pretty vague.

Hmm... vague is pretty similar to ambiguous isn’t it? Yes it is.

2x23 was a mind blower for me. First, I was elated because Oliver said he loved Felicity. Then I was confused because it was all a ruse? 

Then they were smiling at each other on the beach and I didn’t know which end was up. 

I hit the internet again and found a tweet by Marc Guggenheim that said Felicity was the unthinkable act and it all made sense. 

Then the next few days were mostly Stephen doing damage control interview after interview. I settled down and rejoiced in the fact that I WASN’T crazy to see what I saw in those subtle scenes between Oliver and Felicity.

When I started this blog, someone asked me, “When Did Oliver Fall In Love With Felicity?” It is, to this day, by far, my most popular post. I thought it was an incredibly fair question. L&uriver fans were telling Olicity fans we were nuts to have hope. Oliver was asking Sara to move in with him a few episodes prior to his big confession in the finale. So, I pieced together all subtle (and not so subtle) moments that, ultimately, were the narrative thread of Oliver’s Season 2 journey with Felicity. I pieced together why that love confession made absolute sense. Arrow didn’t ignore Olicity. The beats were there. It was like following breadcrumbs along a path.

So, when Marc told me that Arrow was returning to a Season 2 vibe with Olicity, one singular word flashed in my mind, “SUBTLE.” 

I took a deep breath and buckled up because I knew we were in for a long journey. Also, Marc said it would be a long journey. Hehehe. Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting very much movement in 5A. Those wildly low expectations were met.

The moments between Oliver and Felicity have been so subtle, I’ve even thought (briefly) am I nuts? Am I seeing things? Especially during the 5x09 flashback. Some fans have been told they are crazy to have hope. It’s like a freaking time warp.

I’m not stressed out, thankfully. Season 2 was a big learning experience to me and I have Season 3 and Season 4 added to the pile. 

Arrow follows through on the narrative beats they thread in, for better or for worse. In Season 2, we didn’t have a lot to go on other than “hope” for Oliver and Felicity and those beautifully crafted scenes. Five years in we have an entire EPIC love story. Felicity Smoak is Oliver’s great love and we have more than enough story evidence to back that up.

So, I was never particularly concerned that Arrow was dropping Olicity. That said, I think some feel they are. Many anti Olicity fans feel this “Back to Basics” tagline means no more Olicity. The subtle approach to Oliver and Felicity’s scenes has these same people screaming that Arrow is done with them. Olicity fans are crazy to have hope!

Personally, I’ve never heard Marc or Wendy say anything about “Back to Basics” meaning they are done with Olicity. They haven’t even come close to saying that. Whenever they are talking “Back to Basics” it’s almost always in the context of stunts, a return to the gritty street fighting and a more “Arrow-esque” Big Bad. 

That’s not to say there’s been an overabundance of promotion, although it is different than Season 2. Now, Olicity is almost always a topic in any article written. However, the answers are very Season 2. Vague. Ambiguous. At times, Marc and Wendy are pushing the other love interests way more than they are Olicity. We’re hearing all about Susan. They couldn’t stop talking about Billy and the guy had like 10 minutes of screen time. Now, Tina is popping up. We are not hearing very much about Oliver and Felicity in terms of romance. And that feels very familiar.

What was successful about the Season 2 promotion was that it maintained the 2x23 surprise. I think one of the reasons I loved 2x23 so much was because I was legitimately surprised. 

I am a spoiler hound by nature, but even I can admit we were spoiled too much in Season 3 and Season 4. There wasn’t a big moment for Olicity that we didn’t know was coming - either from the promos or leaks. I do feel like Arrow is cracking down on spoilers and returning to a format that helped them maintain a level of surprise. Hence, all the vague non answers about Olicity from Marc and Wendy.

Now, I’m not saying the approach is working. Especially from a promotional standpoint. Olicity was coming off a very poorly received S4 storyline. Our beautifully organic couple was broken up in an inorganic way. 

It left many fans nervous, distrustful and angry... and it’s okay to feel that way. The “off hands” approach to the marketing certainly hasn’t helped cement confidence. Furthermore, going from Season 3 and Season 4 where Olicity’s romance was a primary focus (front and center), to a more subtle approach in Season 5, has been jarring for many.

It, however, is not Un-Arrow. At least not to me, because it’s an approach they’ve tried before and it was successful -- universally praised by fans. I think the writers chose to go back to the more subtle approach because they were trying to slow Olicity down and it worked for the narrative this season. I also think they believed it would be well received because... it was well received before. All they hear is how much fans love Season 2. 

Let’s look at it from a purely Felicity standpoint. Felicity was back burned in 5A. There’s really no other way to describe it. She had virtually no independent storyline outside of Team Arrow and a boyfriend that, to be honest, I still can’t figure out the point of... yet. She was back to being comic relief. No more CEO. No more mom or dad. Any independent storylines (other than the boyfriend) all, but disappeared. Even her PTSD storyline was fairly Rory focused. 

This is not unlike Season 2. Felicity had no independent storylines. Her scenes revolved around Team Arrow and Oliver. She was frequently the comic relief. There was the pseudo boyfriend moment with Barry, but that was all intended to push Oliver’s buttons. 

Here’s the problem, while I understand why the writers may have believed the return to these Season 2 elements would be well received, the characters have evolved past that. Felicity is now the female lead. She was not in Season 2. She has grown leaps and bounds in her role on Arrow. Felicity Smoak was always more than comic relief, and I think the writers know that. However, they expanded on the character so much in Season 3 and Season 4 that this hands off approach feels ridiculous. It’s left a gaping hole in the first half of Arrow’s fifth season.  

If there is anything Season 3 taught us with John Diggle, back burning any of the core three is always a colossal mistake. 

The saving grace is, thus far, it’s only been half a season. Diggle languished on the bench for a full season and I don’t think they are intending to do that with Felicity. He was also the only character back burned in Season 3. Felicity has Lance and Thea to keep her company.

That’s not to say Felicity’s “independent” storylines are in abundance in any other season. At the end of the day, this is Oliver’s show and Felicity is a supporting character just like anyone else. But if I’m comparing seasons, then... yeah. I think 5A pulled focus off Felicity more than S3 or S4. 

And why did all of this happen? I don’t think it’s out of any desire to get rid of Felicity. I think Arrow overdid it on the new characters so much that even their female freaking lead got benched. 

Like the newbies or not - they required screen time because Arrow had to build the characters. Lance, Thea and Felicity all took a hit. Certainly, Felicity played a major role in managing those newbiews (and did a fantastic job), but it felt primarily supportive in pushing Oliver’s and the newbies’ storylines forward. 

I also think Arrow may have pulled back on Felicity’s more independent storylines like the company and her parents because they are trying to drive her to a darker place. I think the intention has been to isolate Felicity a bit more, so she reaches this point where she’ll do “morally questionable” things. That remains to be seen. That will require a full season to know if I’m right. I also believe we don’t get handed everything in the first half. Felicity’s company is going to be a big part of her arc and, while the writers are taking their sweet time getting there, I do think they have a plan for this character. 

As for all the love interests, this feels like the same white noise as Season 2. More so than Season 3, because the only other viable love interest was Ray and that was a singularly focused storyline. Season 5 has Susan, Billy, maybe Tina and heck they might even squeeze in another one for Felicity. Who knows? 

There’s a lot of love interest options at the moment and that feels very Season 2. We aren’t suppose to know which way is up so that when Oliver and Felicity do find their way back to one another it feels more surprising than predictable. That’s just my guess.

@louiseblue1 and I often say figuring out the pacing on Arrow is next to impossible. However, even the pacing from an Olicity perspective is feeling very Season 2. We’ve had three very significant scenes early on:

Green Light - 5x02

Is it Real? - 5x05

Mortal Lock - 5x05

The nature of these scenes are completely different from what Oliver and Felicity discussed in 2x06

and 2x07 

but the narrative beat feels similar. By that I mean the placing of the plot points, even though the plot points are wildly different.

Then, we shifted into some other love interest drama in the mid season finale.

2x09 - Barry coming between them

5x09 - Billy coming between them 

Concluding with a series of shots and dialogue that point to Felicity as the person Oliver loves.

2x09

5x09

All very similar! I’m not saying this automatically makes all the storylines good in Season 5. I’m not saying people who are unhappy don’t have reason to be. That said, I’ve really enjoyed Olicity’s scenes this season when we get them. My point is simply that Marc’s remark about Season 5 Olicity feeling like Season 2 Olicity is turning out to be more on the nose than I thought it would be.

It gives me a lot of hope for 5B. We know how Season 2 ended, so if there are similarities between the seasons I think it can be a good thing. Yes, even if all those similarities have led to some unsuccessful aspects. There is one difference between Season 2 and Season 5 that gets me excited about the back half of the season. In Season 2, Olicity’s focus was primarily in the first half. After 2x10 the writers backed way off and things didn’t get revving again until 2x21. I feel like the writers backed off in 5A, so I’m hoping things get revving again in 5B. Hopefully, the stronger focus is coming in the back half of the season. Time will tell. 

Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if we languished a bit in the middle of the season. As much as I hem and haw about Arrow’s pacing, after five years, I do think there is a pattern to how the writers break down the season.

Episodes 1 - 7: Tie up loose ends from previous season’s storylines, set up new season storylines.

Episode 8: Crossover (this is new as of Season 3 of course). Although Barry did make his first appearance in 2x08.

Episode 9 (Mid Season Finale) - This is when something “big” happens to launch the next half of the season. Big Bad is revealed in some way.

Episodes 10-17: Deal with the fallout from the mid season finale & the storylines it launched.

Episodes 18-20: Something “big” happens which launches the final three episodes.

Episodes 21-23: Deal with the fallout from the last big event and race to the finish line.

Now, I don’t want anyone screaming at me about how events are taking place at different episode numbers than I listed this season. This is a FLUID pattern y’all. I’m not laying out hard and fast rules, but a generic “high level” musing. But for anyone expecting big Olicity movement in the 10-14 zone... I’d really get comfortable with the idea that this will be a season long journey.

Now, I know many will argue that going back to any type of Season 2 dynamic is repetitive. Other love interests are repetitive. Sure, that’s a fair complaint and I can understand why some feel that way. However, there are repetitive aspects of Arrow every season for me, just like there are storylines I love and ones I hate every season. That goes for a lot of television shows for that matter. So, that’s not necessarily a deal breaker for me. 

Nor am I ready to deep six the other love interests quite yet because I haven’t watched the full story yet. That said, I’m not loving them - although I wasn’t really expecting to. I was definitely hoping for more with Billy. If he’s Prometheus - great! If he’s simply the little wind that blew down the house of cards... okay. I can probably accept that. I do see some growth with Oliver, so I’m less cranky about Susan. That has nothing to do with Susan though. That’s just about Oliver being hopeful & trying to move on. We could insert any love interest and get that. I think it’s pretty stupid that Oliver is dating the reporter that has tried to bring him down, but 90% of the show’s drama is derived from Oliver doing stupid things. I also think Oliver and Felicity are dating the anti-Oliver (Billy) and anti-Felicity (Susan) for a reason.

But I’m getting off topic. Anyways, I’m sure others have pointed out all of these things before, but I just wanted to put them down on paper for my own sanity. We shall see if these similarities pan out all the way to the end of the season.

#arrow #olicity #arrow spoilers #olicity meta #olicity season 2 #olicity season 5 #spoiler theoretical

[robinthephoenixs]

Agents of Shield: Why you should watch/spoiler free review

So seeing as the 100th episode is coming up very shortly I decided to re-watch seasons 1-4 (no I didn’t have the time yet here I am) and then thought well why not review it! I’m sure there are some people who are mildly interested especially with the buzz around the landmark ep, so if your thinking bout it or wondering why it has such dedicated fans read on! As the title suggests this is gonna be as spoiler free as possible so I’ll be calling characters certain names and not mentioning others, so if you’ve seen the show and are a bit confused, that’s why. Ill be laying it out with headings in bold so if you’re just interested in a particular thing, just jump to it.Ill also not b reviewing season 5 as its not done yet. With that lets dive in with a small intro on how to watch!

To binge or not to binge?

I’m sure 100 episodes feels daunting and it certainly is with episodes averaging 43 mins and about 22 eps a season its not something to take lightly if your a busy person. Genuinely not trying to sound elitist but I have been watching from its inception so I have experienced both kinds of viewing and as far as which is better I feel it depends on the season. I barley remember watching it back when it first aired, but what I do remember is being excited for every episode and as far as the latest seasons go Id say an episode a day is better. I found I easily binged the first 2 seasons but slowed down at 3 so I think its up to you and how much free time you have but both ways are definitely viable. With the tedious stuff out of the way its on to the good stuff, what makes Agents of Shield so good! 

The Characters

To say the characters are the life and soul of the show is an understatement. One of the joys of re watching the series was seeing just how far each character has come. It is also one of the only shows were I can confidently say I liked pretty much every single character that has come through the roster. From my favourite Skye, to May, Jemma, Fitz, Coulson, Mack, Yo-Yo, Bobbi, Hunter, Trip, the Koenigs, General Talbot, Radcliffe and so many others. Even villains, which some are particularly good in a “Can I kill them myself?” sort of way. With a lot of these shows the characters tend to go in a loop or just become stagnant, Arrow comes to mind (I’ve actually not really seen many other made for T.V hero shows so Arrows gonna be my main point of reference, sorry if your a fan of that show) Yet here its a natural progression. They react and change depending on the situations and events they’ve gone through and they all change in different ways. They’re are all unique, with their own personalities and goals. 

Villains

So where would the characters be without some good villains and for the most part they’re a lot better then your regular MCU villains. There are some pretty complex well thought out villains who last for more than one season, they’re always there lurking in the back. The villains also effect the characters in some pretty huge ways, there not just there for the lols and then gone again, well some are. You can also sympathize with a good few of them as they are pretty well developed.They have motives and history and their own character development. They can be pretty imposing when they want to be as well. There are, of course, your throw away baddies and your cliched ones but there are as I’ve said ones with real dept to them.

The Actors

Now the characters wouldn’t be very good if the actors were shit now would they? Luckily the quality is very high with everyone in the main cast being superb. Saying that we have to talk about that elephant in the room, a certain character that may have put you off watching the show, Phil Coulson played by Clark Greg. To me I see his style of acting as unique, quirky yet it can be seen as stilted and just plain bad acting which is understandable. The first season is not his best but if you give it time he can put on some amazing performances and he has become much more natural to it. Still I feel like he is the Marmite of the show. As for the other actors there are some truly amazing performances. The chemistry between the actors is insane and its what gives them so much life. In particular Elizabeth Henstridge who plays Jemma and Iain De Caestecker who plays Fitz. Their scenes together are just fantastic from season 1 they blow you out of the park with heart wrenching scenes and in season 4 both have gut wrenching performances and both play off very well with Skye played by Chloe Bennet. Particularly the mid season episode in season 2 (I think) with Fitz and Skye and episode 15 in season 4 with Jemma and Skye, but there are so many more little moments between all the characters (a point I’ll get to in another paragraph). Some other performances I want to point out for the shear range of their skills are Brett Dalton - Ward and  Mallory Jansen - Aide. I’m not kidding when I say their performances should have gotten rewards, I thought they were excellent. And finally one guy who never fails to make me laugh or cry with the amount of emotion he’s able to display, Henry Simmons as Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie. A true joy to watch, no one brings more emotion than him, he is the sweetest and deserves more recognition for his performance.

Writing

Just as a precursor I’m studying law/classics so I’m not an expert when it comes to the next few points but I’ll be damned if I don’t try my best! Overall I think the writings pretty decent, it has its ups and downs, as I’ll try to explain. With the first season the first half is pretty episodic but it does have those big pay off moments and I think that’s more what Shield tries to make itself about, even if that doesn’t happen. They have a lot of these mystery's that they build up to and getting there its pretty tense but the payoff doesn’t seem to last. Its a bit hard to explain. This only really happens with the one mystery element they insist on having. Season 2 is the biggest culprit but that doesn't take away from other moments that build up into something bigger. They usually sneak up on you. The example episodes I mentioned in the previous paragraph are some of the best and if I could go back and watch S4Ep15 fresh Id do it in a heart beat. The writers are very good at creating tension, its there specialty. I often find myself on the edge of my seat, even re watching the old episodes it brought back the same tension I felt the first time and when they want to bring the emotion the writers sure do deliver. Now for all the good stuff there is of course the pacing issues and odd dud arc. I didn’t notice it two much for seasons 1 + 2 cause it was like I was watching it brand new cause I have the memory of a gold fish but when I hit season 3 that was a struggle. The pacing just ground to a halt after the first half even though that season has one of the most unique episodes in the whole series it also has the worst. The first third of season 4 also suffers from the same pacing issues but it picks up soon so its not too bad. Apart from a few dud lines, the writing overall is pretty decent and the stories can be a fun watch but as I've said, it’s the characters that bring the heart to the show.

The Fight Scenes

Whats a good hero show without some action, right? Well Shield brings it in spades with seasons 2 + 3 being the highlights, particularly season 2. There’s an amazing one take fight with Skye that’s so fluid and the choreography is just perfect (little fact Chloe Bennet fractured her arm during this scene didn’t know and kept going doing other scenes!) There’s another fight with May, you’ll know the one, which just shows how technical they’re willing to get and still make it look great. They aren’t obsessed with 500 cuts a second although they aren’t immune to some dodgy cuts, they just know when to do it and make it seem so real and clear as to whats going on. I was genuinely stunned when i went to watch Arrow S4 and the fights were just so bad. It has something to do with the camera. In Arrow the fps seems higher or something making it look really bad while in Shield the cameras smooth. I don’t actually know what the difference is but if you watch em side by side you’ll know what I mean. Unfortunately the fight quality dips in season 4 I found. The punches don’t look like the connect and they started to rely on jump cuts more which is a pity. I’m not talking about S5 here but it seems to be mildly better than 4. Either way it is still always fun to see the fight scenes and they were very enjoyably to re-watch.

Special Effects/Practical Effects/Make-up/Sets

For a TV show Shield has some damn good effects going on. The first season is obviously going to be a bit rough and it is but they really step up their game in season 2. The way they show powers and the CGI behind them are pretty high quality for a lot of the times its used. This extend into S3 + 4 thankfully and especially with a certain someone in S4. It is a pity though that the team hasn’t really got a grasp on landscape green screen. Its fine if its just a quinjet, which I think are very well done and as I’ve said when powers are in play they can be very realistic but as soon as you slap someone in front of a green screen it turns to shit. The biggest culprit is the S2 finale where the bad CGI effectively ruins the big climactic scene, its really bad, I’m not exaggerating. Its not like it was even a complicated background, it actually looks really dull, I have no idea what went wrong but bad backgrounds are a running theme. If there’s no people in the shot they tend to look good, so that’s something! As for the practical effects they have that down to a tee. Explosions look good, props are realistic and the guns feel they have weight to them with the sparks and holes they make. The stunts are also quality and the makeup is superb. The bruises and cuts all look very realistic and if a character needs to look like shit, they look like shit. The production design is well above that of other hero shows on TV, its a credit to the team. Every location (when there’s not bad green screen) looks real and used. They really do a good job of making every individual set come alive!

Diversity

Diversity is a key issue when it comes to any TV show, hero or not and luckily Shield somewhat provides. In terms of people of colour and where people are from in the world it has a lot to offer. Its lead actress, Chloe Bennet, is Chinese-American and she did a great piece on how Asian American actors/actresses are treated, I highly recommend you look it up. With Chloe we have, of course, the amazing Ming-Na Wen who is reason enough to watch the show tbh. There’s Henry Simmons and B.J Briit who are both African American, Natalia Cordova-Buckley who’s Mexican and Gabriel Luna who’s Mexican American. There is also a couple characters from Britain which livens up the accents a bit so they’re not all just American. There is of course more poc but those are the main characters, so Shield doesn’t disappoint in that department, something which can’t be said for LGBT+ representation. I originally thought there were no LGBT+ characters but while watching the second time it turns out there is a singular gay character in the show as far as I can tell, which is something I will always be disappointed in. Whats worse is the character just kinda disappears, so I wouldn't get attached. It is such a pity they never had more LGBT+ characters and it is a stain on the show as a whole. (Just an aside I am Irish so if anything I said above is offensive just let me know, I know how important diversity is so I wanted to include this as a point cause it could be a deal breaker for some, myself included, especially when it comes to LGBT+ characters, so just say if anything sounds bad to you and if it is I’ll change it immediately)

The Little Moments

So here’s what I’ve been alluding to through out the review. It’s one of my favourite things about Shield is how they have these little moments, these scenes that just come out of no where and hit you in the gut. It shows how dedicated the actors are, they’re at 100% all the time. I find it really noticeable in the earlier seasons as with the later ones its just emotion all the time, but there’ll still be those nuggets of just two characters talking and having amazing chemistry. These moments have the ability to turn a mediocre episode into a great one such as S3Ep13 which was a fairly average episode that had the most tear jerking scens and even thinking about it is making me tear up. (I swear Mack in that scene ack I can’t) So if you do decide to watch the show look out for the little moments, they are just so amazing and sweet and when combined with the great acting and characters they really bring the show together.

For the final bit I’m gonna rank the seasons worst to best and try and explain why, still no spoilers obviously and it is going to be a bit biased but here we go!

Season 3

Probably get hate for this but I did not like season 3. The first half is pretty good but my god the second half is so slow and tedious. It should have been great, I really liked where they were going but it took so long to get there I nearly feel asleep. It also has my least favourite character (introduced in season 2 for reference) in the spot light to much and he just really badly effected my favourite character so much so that it carries over to the 4th season and causes them to be very whiny for too long (it’ll make more sense or less if you watch it).

Season 4

Another controversial pick but I just didn’t really like the first third of this season. It had pacing issues and I wasn’t very invested in the story. After that though its a banger of a season and the latter half really lets the actors show off their skills and by god they do. Its great the first time round, not so much the second but still good. A great season overall.

Season 1

This was tough for me, I really enjoyed the first season. I think its more the fact on second viewing I know where all the characters are going to end up and seeing them all so innocent, so pure is just heart breakingly good. I remember watching the mid season finale back when it first aired and just being riveted to the screen. I was as worried as the characters on the show! Also gotta give it props for having one of my first crushes, Skye, still love her to this day <3

Season 2

Ah season 2 how much I love yet feel bad loving you. If you don’t know I’m not the biggest fan of a certain group of characters and they make their appearance in a big way. So you’re probably wondering why I like it then. Well instead of following the comics (kinda) with these characters they make them more like the X-Men so even though their name sends a shiver down my spine every time I hear it I think they’re done very well so I can put my hatred behind me as long as there’s no royals in the future I’ll be good. This season also has my favourite series of episodes 11-15. These episodes are just so, so good. The tension in the first few, my God and there’s a specific scene with Fitz and Skye that is just so heartbreaking and good argh I love it. This season also introduces Bobbi and Hunter two great character and I also discovered that i have a terryfying fear of having shit being stabbed under my nails or having them pulled off so that’s great! (Its actually a horrifyingly good scene, the most gruesome in the series and once again great tension)

Conclusion

There’s so much more id like to say but I’m just so bad at putting it into words and also its long enough as is, don’t you think? If by some miracle you read all that, thank you and if I have convinced you to try the show or re visit it please tell me what you think, Id love to know! If you have watched the show and read this for some reason please add on anything I missed. As long as its spoiler free go ahead, positive or negative! (As long as its no like ugh this show sucks, at least give some points) So I guess that’s it! Thanks for reading and here’s to the 100th episode!!

#i didnt even mention ships #or how they have great female friendships #or trauma #my god #Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #agents of shield #Phil Coulson #melinda may #daisy johnson #skye #jemma simmons #leopold fitz #mack #yo yo #review #i put it in word to see how long it was thinking it might break a thousand #its 3063 #wtf #long #text

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Shield Hero 11 - 13 | Price of Smiles 12 (FINAL) | Morose Mononokean II 12 - 13 (FINAL) | Spec Ops Asuka 11 - 12 (FINAL) | My Roommate is a Cat 12 (FINAL) | Mob Psycho 100 II 12 - 13 (FINAL) | Yu-No 1 | Fruits Basket (2019) 1 | We Never Learn 1 | Kimetsu no Yaiba 1 | Kono Oto Tomare! 1 | Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin 1 | Fairy Gone 1 | Rendai Utena 1

Notably, Sarazanmai’s first ep isn’t here, but it’s a huge contender for making my spring watchlist.

Shield Hero 11

Okay, someone’s trying to remind me of Goblin Slayer, aren’t they…? *grumble grumble grumble*

I wonder if Naofumi has a Thunder move like those guys…?

Why isn’t Raphtalia, who was cursed by Rage Shield, affected, but Filo, who was eaten by the zombie dragon, is???

Price of Smiles 12 (FINAL)

Is Huey…not an a$$? Is he just really tsundere…?

Fingers don’t move that way, Layla…

Post-credits segment. Keep watching…

I feel like making Stella and Yuki meet off the back of Layla’s death was a bit much and pushing the button together was a bit…much-er, if that’s a concept. Anyways, see you next time!

Morose Mononokean II 12

The Cobweb = Above the Spider (by literally translating that ep title, that is).

I’m finally listening to Koura’s voice. Koura sounds like she’s always teasing Itsuki…

Jinja = Shinto shrine. That nuance is missing from the translation.

Why did that one track (when Itsuki was escaping) sound like Mission Impossible…?

What’s an analeptic? I can’t seem to pause the video…Update: Apparently my ad blocker was stuffing with the pause button. Also, an analeptic appars to be a restorative drug, or describing a drug as restorative.

Rippou sounds so enthusiastic (sarcastic) when Shizuku offers to make him tea.

Spec Ops Asuka 11

Wat. A girl in Thailand going “nya”? Update: Uhh…apparently the girl in Thailand…was Peipei??? Wuh???

Hmm…I never actually put 2 and 2 together regarding karate and the whip. It makes sense in retrospect, though.

“…sever the…” – Sever the…what, exactly?

I thought human!Giess didn’t exist anymore under that armour…so seeing him surprised me.

Sometimes I feel like I sympathise with Chisato more than Asuka or Kurumi…that’s how developed Chisato is.

Mob Psycho 100 II 12

Serizawa is playing Bomberman.

I like the symbolism of the umbrella as a “light”.

My Roommate is a Cat 12 (FINAL)

The ep title is “Kimi to Boku to” (You and I and…). Presumably it should end with “everyone else”…or something.

Wait, wasn’t Subaru’s umbrella handle round before??? It’s straight now!

What a waste of a perfectly good umbrella!

Somehow I knew Subaru would go to Nana once he needed cat knowledge.

*Subaru rescues Haru* - *cue Lion King song* Ahhhhhhh ze ban yaaaaaaaaaaa…or something like that.

Why is it that I want a dub for this so…darn…badly???!!! Wait…*record scratch* it already has one. Scratch that.

Shield Hero 12

“I can’t stop trembling,” Raphtalia says as she stands there, still as a statue…geesh.

I’d assume there’s a Meteor Shield in there for Naofumi as well…?

Come to think of it, we never learnt that weapon merchant guy’s name until now, huh? Elhart. I’ll try my best to remember it.

Spec-Ops Asuka 12 (FINAL)

Twin-headed Dragon Peipei, huh?

Morose Mononokean II 13 (FINAL)

*Fuzzy gets punched away* - Fuzzy, noooooooo!

In the same way Mob became a so-called “bishonen” for s2 ep 5 of his show, Hanae became kind of hot – but also kind of weird – for the finale.

Notably, the “Ashiya” Abeno is referring to is only Hanae…not Sakae at all. Hmm.

Mob Psycho 100 II 13 (FINAL)

“Bishonen” Mob returns!

I keep getting the feeling that Mob will sacrifice himself this episode. It’s a very Mob thing to do, but…I worry about him, because without him we have no show.

*explosion* - I wanna yell “KANEDAAAAAAAAAA!” Is that appropriate for this scene?

I LOLled at Dimple wearing Serizawa’s chunk of hair, haha.

Anyways, that was way too fun (and way too worrying at the end). See you next time!

Yu-No 1

Okay, first episode of this particularly meager season…coming right up!

I’ve never had to watch an ep on phone for subs before…I much prefer a bigger screen.

Okay…as soon as I heard Potato-kun say “Panties?” I knew I was in for a bad time. I’m watching based on the title and the series image, not the fact it’s based on an adult VN.

I can’t believe we have to be told about these ladies from the guys first…I feel sorry for Yuki.

I-Is Arima-mama the kind of person one would call a “MILF”…? I dunno since I don’t swing that way.

Seriously, how long ago did Potato-kun’s father die??? (I know his name is Arima Takuya, but…he’s “Potato-kun” to me, even as a joke.)

Potato-kun is so obviously following his…pen island, so to speak.

Ah, Potato-kun. The only time you make me laugh is when you humiliate yourself on public news. Thank goodness this show isn’t particularly lewd…yet.

It’s like Grand Blue…only with less drinking.

Seriously, why does Yuki call Potato-kun “boss”???

The one time I hear the name “Neumann”, it’s this time travel show, of all things…*remembers von Neumann architecture* Yup, that’s where I remember his name from. By the by, Googling “Neumann space” yields this site on travelling to the…stars? Wrong frontier, folks.

Okay, that was probably the least exciting way to pull off a big reveal like that. Drop.

Shield Hero 13

To be honest…I like Rise better…

“You’re are surrounded.” – I know you’re in a hurry to sub your content, CR subbers, but seriously?????

It’s always funny to see Motoyasu get a good socking from Filo, LOL.

Fruits Basket 1

I have zero experience with OG Fruits Basket outside 1 episode I didn’t really finish (but finishd the entire manga and may have caught a tiny bit of it - not enough to mark on anyone’s anime list as “complete” - while it was on TV), so…this’ll be interesting.

This is exactly as I remember it! Beautifulllllllllllll…so beautiful I wanna cry…(Keep in mind I binged most of the manga years ago, so it’s getting harder and harder to remember the exact story every day.)

Holeeeeeeeeeeee…sugar. I just realised how old Fruits Basket is! Also, rumour has it Motoko has differently coloured hair in the OG version, but I didn’t watch (or didn’t remember) that part, so…I don’t have a standard to hold her up to, really. Plussssss…I love how Motoko and her Prince Yuki fanclub are like Mean Girls. The reason I had to check up how old Fruits Basket is is because of that comparison. Mean Girls is from 2004, thereby being 5 or 6 years younger than Fruits Basket.

The angelic “ahhhhh” in the background really sold how good Tohru’s food was (for Hanajima).

This CGI fan is going to haunt me until the end of my days, isn’t it…?

Ouch…I think I just realised why Fruits Basket is so powerful (at the part where Tohru is working hard at her job). It resonates strongly with those who are lost in life. I found I couldn’t really relate when I first read it though, which may have been attributed to the fact I was…what, 13?...at the time.

Shigure, you a$$!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanna kick you for laughing at poor Tohru!!!!!!!!!!!

Photorealistic clouds…no. I think that Indian festival with the dye (I don’t remember which one it is off the top of my head) happened to my eyes…(i.e. my eyes…my poor eyes…)

I didn’t think Vickeblanka was capable of doing slower songs. This song’s kinda nice…but only because I heard the last few seconds of the ending (the rest was obscured by background noise and I don’t have time to play it again).

Between the comment about Shigure and the comment about the clouds, I was internally bawling about how stupid and spoilt I’d become. This is the power of Fruits Basket!

We Never Learn 1

Hmm…I thought the manga of this (or what I saw of it, at least) was kinda vanilla, so…this’ll be an experience, one way or another.

Yuiga’s face game is spot-on, LOL.

Aw, this show encourages the growth mindset…how cute. *does Kaguya-sama face*

The eyecatch is about what classes the main trio are in, but Furuhashi is taking it as related to boob size…*sigh*

The sign just says “library”. There’s no need to contextualise it more than that…

Yup, this is vanilla like ice cream…

Come to think of it, why did I pick this series up? I’ve read the manga parts that correspond to this episode…Well, I remember when this series was still new. I think it was that it was refreshing to see these guys so gung-ho about uni, because recently I’ve been in doubt about my own future (and to tell the truth, I’ve been thinking different things about what I want to do at different stages of my life anyway). I’ve literally only settled on the things I’m doing because I suck at everything else, but I can do whatever I put my mind to…for most things I try. Much like Fruits Basket is for those who are lost in life, We Never Learn is an affirmation that you can change your future…or something like that, anyway.

…The disembodied mouths creep me out…anyways, this show isn’t bad, it isn’t 100% a keeper either (unless I get co-opted into a collab for it). It’s just squarely in the middle.

Boob grope…eesh. That brought down the keeping factor down a little.

Kimetsu no Yaiba 1

[big chunk of information redacted because it’s me stressing over what has to be done before I go overseas...and also it reveals I had a collab for this lined up, which I’m trying to keep a surprise at the time this post went out]

To be honest, I don’t like 1st person cam.

Hmm…there’s more CGI than I’d like to admit is in here…

I remember reading a while ago that the “Tan” in Tanjiro is the word for “charcoal”.

Take = bamboo, and he’s a woodcutter kid. LOL.

This is exactly as I remember it! It’s kinda cool, since the smelling thing is obviously foreshadowing.

I remember I didn’t quite get the idea that Nezuko was growing in size in the manga…well, now I just did.

Oh-hoh-hoh-hohhhhhhh! Giyu Tomioka, me boy! There he is!

I didn’t know Giyu Tomioka was basically a ninja, LOL.

This is definitely one of the better series out there this season. It might not be the best due to its sheer amount of shonen trappings, but it’s still dang good! (I like Giyu Tomioka already, but now that I think of it, I’d like to see Lightning Boy in action within the show and not just the OP…hmm.)

[Sarazanmai 1 is not here because I saw it at the anime club first. I do intend to cover subsequent episodes here though…]

Kono Oto Tomare! 1

I find Funi’s video player unwieldy, to be honest. Maybe it’s because I’m too used to CR’s…

Oh! It seems like the Defence Club has a legacy now!

Surprisingly, this is very funny…!

Hmm…this seems like a show where you should ship people, but there doesn’t seem to be enough of a connection between anyone that I can see anyone shipping. I guess that’s why this thing is basically a shoujo in appearance, huh…?

By the way, who’s “Nadeshiko”? Takezo…?

Do you guys even know what a koto is? If you do, that’s great, but if you don’t, you’re going to have to infer…that’s a bit nasty for an ancient instrument the West doesn’t know about. Then again, this clearly isn’t something made for the West.

I’m wondering why the culprits confessed so easily…

Well, that was…alright. I went “aw” more than I expected and laughed more than expected. It’s not going to top the other shows I’ve got though.

Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin 1

For some reason, I’m just not used to calling this show “Midnight Occult Civil Servants”…that sounds clunky. That’s why I’m calling it “Mayonaka” for short…oh yeah, right now Funi is undergoing maintenance which is why I had to shuffle Mayonaka forward. I was meant to be doing Fairy Gone in this slot, to be honest with you.

Hmm…*thinks about time talking with Plyasm* *thinks about how Seo trid to kick this Reiji Kyoichi person* I see a resemblance here…with the kicking and all…Update: There is a guy called “Reiji” in this show, I just read “Kyoichi” wrong because I was trying to type up comments here.

Somehow it never actually occurred to me that Seo was a gender-neutral name. I’m normally quite good with these things…or maybe it was Ply keeping me up late that’s making me not notice…or even the fact I’m not listening to Seo’s voice, since that’s sometimes a hint to a person’s gender in particularly ambiguous cases (I’m currently not listening to the audio). Update: Okay, that’s definitely a man’s voice coming from the effeminate-looking Seo.

Oh yes…I forgot to mention, this show does an awful lot of telling and not showing.

I keep noting this episode is set on April Fool’s Day…what a day for pranking, huh?

I’ve seen a Cait Sith in anime before…so there’s a dog version too (Cu Sith), huh?

Tape? That’s so mundane…then again, I guess this is what happens when you have boring jobs in interesting places, huh? Reminds me a lot of my own stabs at this kind of story.

This is…angel-tengu Romeo and Juliet…

Now this is the real Reiji…I think?

Ohhhhhhh crab balls…these CGI angels look terrible.

I never thought cherry blossoms could look so terrible…urgh.

I’m of two minds when it comes to this show – on the one hand, I like its plot (it’s better than Charlotte in this field, at least). It’s a bit cliched, but it might lose against competition like Sarazanmai or even Kono Oto Tomare. On the other hand, its visuals are kinda…ugly.

Fairy Gone 1

Fa-Fanatica…? What sort of name is that??? (That’s not a good sign if I question the first name on the screen now, is it?)

Lay Dawn, would you please…lay down? (Okay, that joke only works with a particular pronunciation of “down”, but you get the bad pun…right? Right?)

So this is Spec-Ops Asuka without the huge boobs, I expect? That would make Fairy Gone at least 10 points (on my anime list) better than the thing I’m comparing it with.

I think the tiny symbols under most of the credits are stylised English, although I was looking at a credit for a guy with the surname Yamamoto and it wasn’t quite working.

The CGI is one of the better efforts I’ve seen, but still slightly obvious.

Veronica’s run reminds me of Akira from Devilman Crybaby. You know the one GIF of him running while leaning forward at an impossible angle? That one.

Post-credits scene…keep watching.

This is another anime Jesus…(the first one was Kagura’s dad in Ga Rei Zero.)

Rendai Utena 1

(Update: This was an anime I had to watch via VPN. Notably, the last time I resorted to one was B Project...however, no one remembers that but me, so the last big time I had to use a VPN was for Sakamoto Desu Ga?.)

Uh…yeah. This is the one Buddha anime this season. But before you run off, screaming about how blasphemous I must be to Buddhists, I’ll have you know I was originally not intending to watch this…if you know me well enough, you’ll know I like bishies. Only after I compiled my to-watch list for this season did one of the star bishies show up and convince me to watch…yeah, now you can run away screaming. (Oh and if you’re interested as to what image caught my attention enough to make me watch a show…it’s the top image on this CR page – not the thumbnail, the other top image.)

Okayyyyyyy…for a show about bishies, you sure aren’t capturing me right now with this plight of a salaryman.

Aw, dangit. I actually liked the few moments this was a zombie anime! Give me High School of the Dead, but with bishies instead of jiggly-boob girls! *shakes fist at cloud*

Oh, great…I can’t even tell who’s who around here. They even had little name cards and everything! So much for my great memory…*grumble grumble* But hey, at least I recognise some names…not from being Buddhist, but from other anime. I mean, Miroku is the guy from Inuyasha and Fudo Myouou is the guy who inspired Okurikara in Touken Ranbu, yeah?

Uh, hey. Isn’t sloth meant to be a vice? Isn’t “lounging around” a vice???

Another thing. I get the feeling that putting these guys in tracksuits is just trying to coast on the success of Touken Ranbu. Touken Ranbu is nice, but only because I was familiar with the source game and a bit about the fandom. This? I have no such basis.

Lotus Head – Bonten – his nagging is starting to get on my nerves already. I came for Taishakuten, not you!

Yeah…even in Touken Ranbu, they have washing machines. Convenience, but also…vice in terms of that old-timey Buddha stuff, I guess…? Update: Actually, I thought about it and I don’t think they’ve ever shown a washing machine in Hanamaru, but I think they might’ve had a fridge.

Wait, wait, wait…the bird was a bishie tooooooooo?????????????? I think that’s the biggest bending my brain’s going to get all premiere season (for this season)! Even more so than the entire debut of Sarazanmai!

Wait, wait, wait…Bonten likes porridge?! D’ya mean “congee” or “oatmeal” kinda porridge? I can’t tell because I’ve got the volume off, but if it’s the latter then Bonten wouldn’t have known about it. Update: It appears to be the latter. How Bonten would’ve ever known about porridge…I don’t know.

New aesthetic – Taishakuten’s hair. I like me a man with a ponytail (which is why I fell hook, line and sinker for him in the first place), but his hair done up like it is in the bath…*swoons, then goes back to normal* That is all.

What’s up with Paomi anyway…? And…this is kinda petty if the central conflict is just getting Shaka to get off cooking duties. That’s too low a conflict for even Hanamaru, methinks.

So…you introduce all these Buddha guys and then expect me to care about some human who doesn’t even have a name? Wuh…?

Okayyyyyyy…I’ve never seen an earthquake that was that fast before.

Wait, wait, huh???????? The guy who voices Taishakuten is…Choreo (Brave Beats)??????????? Oh no, I should’ve listened to it! Anyways, I’ve decided I’m dropping it, simply because if I want Taishakuten only for his looks, I can just find a wallpaper of him.

#simulcast commentary #mob psycho 100 #Mob Psycho 100 II #my roommate is a cat #doukyonin wa hiza tokidoki atama no ue #Mahou Shoujo Tokushusen Asuka #Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka #the morose mononokean #the price of smiles #Egao no Daika #tate no yuusha no nariagari #the rising of the shield hero #Kono Yo no Hate de Utau Shoujo Yu-No #yu-no: a girl who chants love at the bound of this world #kono oto tomare! #Sounds of Life #Sarazanmai #Fruits Basket #fruits basket (2019) #namu amida butsu!: rendai utena #We Never Learn #Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai #mayonaka no occult koumuin #midnight occult civil servants #Fairy Gone #Kimetsu no Yaiba #Demon Slayer #Chesarka watches MGSOA #Chesarka watches Doukyonin wa Hiza Tokidoki Atama no Ue. #Chesarka watches MP100