#I’ve got my critiques of it but it’s overall a great time

[iamchickenhearmesquawk]

I think I need to watch RoB and RTTE again

#honestly it’s so good on worldbuilding with all the dragons #I’ve got my critiques of it but it’s overall a great time #love snotlout and hookfang #the way thw desecrated so many of the side characters makes me appreciate the show more #also the main characters too tbh #rtte #riders of berk #HTTYD #thw criticism

[omgthatdress]

Re-living my childhood and working on doing a fashion history spam of the American Girl dolls!

Oh my god I can’t begin to tell you what a huge part of my childhood those dolls were. Before I go on, let me clarify my family’s financial circumstance growing up: I was a pretty solidly middle-class only child. I definitely wasn’t rich, but my mom was willing to spend a lot of money on buying me a shitload of American Girl stuff because A.) she thought they were cool, and B.) they provided a much smarter alternative to Barbies. And when I grew up and got too old for them, I was able to give my stuff over to my younger cousins.

Looking at what the brand has to offer now, it’s pretty clear that the brand has changed over time and that the emphasis has gone from the historical dolls to the modern ones. Honestly, that’s not a 100% terrible thing. I fully embrace change as a part of the universe, and if it’s a part of the survival of the brand, so be it. As long as the historical dolls remain in tact and the brand integrity is respected. And for the most part, until very recent years, it looks like it has been.

Mattel bought the American Girl brand in 1998, and from then on, you can see the brand shifting away from the original five dolls. I’m going to get waaay more into this with the spam, but really, the historical dolls until very recently have actually remained pretty great. If there’s one really broad critique I could give, it’s that the overall color palette skews towards the modern, with a lot of very bright colors and a heavy emphasis on pink, but when taken individually, the pieces remain very accurate.

HERE’S THE THING! In 2016, a new historical girl was released: Maryellen, repping the 1950s. She’s blonde and has blue eyes, following shortly on Julie, who repped the 1970s and also had blonde hair and blue eyes. You can kind of see a theme developing here. The girls from the 30s, 50, 70s, 80s, and 90s are all blonde with blue eyes. You’d think that girls in the 20th century were only blondes. But anyway I’m getting away from the point. Maryellen was released with only TWO books! The fuck?! Maryellen’s collection remained the same very immersive collection that I love about the brand, but clearly, shit’s changing.

The next historical dolls, Nenea (repping Hawaii after Pearl Harbor), Melody (repping Black girls, Motown, and civil rights in the 60s), Courtney (repping blonde hair blue eyed girls with 80s nostalgia and very little historical engagement), Claudie, (Black girl in the 1920s Harlem Renaissance) and Isabelle and Nicki (again blonde girls repping 90s nostalgia with little historical engagement) all only have two books. The brand has LITERALLY been diminished. The books were an equally important part of the playset, not only providing context for the garments and objects you were playing with, providing REAL, often complex lessons about history, making history feel real and relatable, but they fleshed out the girls, their lives, and the worlds they lived in. They made what you were playing with more than just a playset, more than just a dollhouse or Barbie accessories, they were a whole universe for girls to explore.

Like I said at the beginning, I didn’t grow up rich. I definitely had more privilege than others out there, but I still wasn’t the rich kid villain from a 90s kids movie. I had a lot of American Girl shit because my mom saw the value in the brand and was willing to spend a lot of money on it in a way that she wouldn’t be willing to spend a lot of money on Barbies.

Honestly, I don’t know the toy industry, I don’t know what little girls today want out of their dolls. I know that times change, and that what’s beloved in one generation isn’t necessarily going to be carry over to the next. But I find it hard to believe that little girls straight up no longer are interested in history, and that moms no longer want to give their daughters toys that will actually teach them things. I’ve read a lot of articles about how the brand is struggling, and I don’t think it’s a generational divide. Mattel has fucked up the brand, and I am not just saying that out of Boomer toxic nostalgia that says that everything from the past is GOOD, everything today is BAD, and that anything that changes is inherently not only bad but a personal insult. The stuff that made these expensive dolls worth buying just isn’t there.

#American Girl #American Girls

[nicotrashie]

random thought about lavendertowne’s most recent hazbin video

i agree that her first designs weren’t that great, and her redo of those designs are so SO much better i’m obsessed, but as she explained in her hazbin redo video she was going through some stuff and her first video was the best she could manage

and overall that just got me thinking about the pressure on artists online/artists who make a career out of it. when you do something professionally, when you set the bar so high for yourself, it makes it REALLY difficult during times where you have off days, where your work either isn’t up to standards that people expect from you, or gives people who already hate you more of an opportunity to do so

and yes, when you post stuff on the internet, you’re going to open yourself up for criticism no matter the reason. i get it! i’m very critical of stuff too and think critique is incredibly valuable for people to grow as artists! but there’s something to be said at the absolute hate and vitriol thrown her way over…what? subpar designs? that’s it? yes she accidentally drew over fanart but she addressed that and good that she did that!!! but most of the hate was directed toward her redesigns

it makes me think about where i’m at in art school right now, where a good chunk of this semester has been spent on “off days,” where i know i could do SO much better but am just frustrated that i can’t or didn’t for some reason, it makes me think of my art prof who was like “at least you won’t kill people if you make a bad drawing!” which is true but a lot of people online act like you will, it makes me think of beginner artists who get harrassed off the internet or even harrassed out of doing art entirely just because their art is exactly where they should be as beginners

and i know lavendertowne isn’t a beginner at ALL, i know she has an art degree, i know she’s successful and this ultimately won’t affect her career all that much and i know she has some flaws in her art that i’ve grown to notice as i got older and i know i’m HEAVILY biased as a longtime viewer of hers, but i just want to make connections to a broader topic on how the internet is with artists and content creators as a whole

#moral of the story be nice on the internet! idk #controversial but i think a lot of what i said can apply to vivziepop too #and i’m still wrestling with that as someone who both likes hazbin bc it appeals to me Specifically in a lot of ways #but also has a lot of critiques of it as a writer and an art student #and then i know viv has controversies but idk much about those so i won’t talk about them #ok i’ll stop talking about hazbin tho and i refuse to tag any more hazbin stuff bc the fandom fucking SCARES me #lavendertowne #art community

[starrysnowdrop]

Patch 6.4 MSQ Reaction

Here are my first thoughts, opinions, and overall reactions to the 6.4 MSQ. Since I had a lot to say about Pandaemonium Anabaseios, those reactions were written in a separate post, HERE. Note that these are my personal thoughts, and not meant to be a critique on the MSQ story in any objective manner.

I’m in love with the opening scenes of the patch! The bonding with Zero over eating the spiciest ass curry imaginable was fantastic, and it spoke to me so personally, as my favorite food is Indian curry, and it’s something my mom and I have always loved eating together. So that’s probably way different from most people’s experience, but I took a ton of screenshots of this scene because it felt so personal for me.

Then we got the Estinien fan service scene and ohhhhhh boy, I was DYING laughing and giggling at it!! This is because I’m not an Estinien shipper myself, but I have some friends who are, and I knew that they would die of thirst. Then I got to thinking: WHY can’t we get a scene like THAT with Aymeric?? Throw us Aymeric shippers a bone, I beg of you Yoshi-P!!

Maybe the best part of that scene was Zero’s reaction… Ma’am please!! You are killing me over here!!

Then we got to go back to Labyrinthos briefly and I am just personally so excited for Hali to be coming home to Labyrinthos and Sharlayan soon, but alas, I had to play the patch on Yume, so it didn’t have the same feeling as it would be if it was Hali being there. Nonetheless the brief Sharlayan scenes were really good.

Fourchenault’s backside comments are going to spark a thousand smut fics, I just know it…

I’m so happy that Krile seems to be more in the spotlight going forward, as I love her and I’ve always felt that they’ve done her dirty by always having her stay behind. I’m glad that it looks like she’s going to get more love soon!

Also glad that Erenville made a cameo, as I find him to be a very cool character and like an Everyman. He gives a good perspective that kinda gets lost sometimes when the Scions are always talking with the leaders of nations and such.

The Aetherfont is very likely my new all time favorite dungeon in game. It’s absolutely gorgeous, the music was great as usual, and the fights were really fun! Once Hali gets there, I’m going to take a ton of gposes there!

The Thancred cameo was really nice, but my only beef is that he leaves immediately afterwards. WHY?!?! I’m so annoyed at that.

Probably my favorite part of the patch, storywise anyway, was the Garlemald section. I’m SO glad they are finally addressing how Garlemald and the Garlean people are going to rebuild and their future going forward. It was a nice touch, and I appreciate how Vrtra was able to come up with a great compromise and to let the Garleans have some dignity. Very good stuff in my opinion.

Then the Thirteenth Moon section was pretty much how I expected it would be. Meet the lopporrits and have a cute scene again, open portal, find Azdaja, fight Golbez, yadda yadda yadda.

I will say though, I loved the Golbez trial! The mechanics were challenging yet fun, and I actually enjoyed it very much. The gamer in me was pleased, regardless of the writer in me being just meh about it all.

What I wasn’t expecting, however, was that this Void story arc would still continue into 6.5. To be perfectly honest, this has been my least favorite part of the entire MSQ, in the whole game. Yes, it has trumped everything else as the stuff I least care about. Outside of Zero being an awesome character and wanting Azdaja freed and brought home, I really could care less about everything else. It still feels like an anime filler arc, and though it has gotten a bit better, I’m still not sold. I just want to get to 7.0 like immediately. And if it has anything else to do with the Thirteenth, I might scream. I’m so sorry if anyone is liking this arc, but I just can’t get into it myself.

With all of that being said, I very much loved Pandaemonium way more, and that’s where my mind has been since I finished it yesterday. Therefore, that’s all I’ll say about the MSQ, and I have probably much more to say about Pandaemonium in my next post. Thank you all for reading, and feel free to tell me your thoughts about it all as well!!

#patch 6.4 #ffxiv spoilers #endwalker spoilers #patch 6.4 spoilers #msq reactions

[onaperduamedee]

Hello! I watched the wot show and liked it but I’ve been really curious about all the complaints that people made about how the plots don’t fit with what happens later on in the books. My assumption is that it’s not that major a thing but is just the critique people latched onto and repeat. But as you’re now a way through the series and I appreciate the thought you put in, would you say this might be a problem or is it overblown that some later plots can’t be salvaged already? Is part of it true

Hello, that's a really interesting question!

I’m trying to keep this vaguely spoiler-free with the exception of elements from The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt covered on the show, but this still got long.

I do think it is overblown, but I also liked the changes made, so I might not be the best judge here. I'm trying to approach your question from the angle of what is there and how it affects the story.

From where I stand in my reading, the majority of the changes in the show can be categorized in:

moving forward some arcs (dagger theft, visit to Tar Valon),

new material introducing important groups and dynamics early (Aes Sedai, warders),

plainly streamlining those THICK books (cutting the 14578 villages Mat and Rand visit, merging certain elements)

To me, those changes will serve the story going forward, both in terms of pacing and clarity, and do not affect the core of later arcs. The plot points still happen, just differently or later. The complaints about some changes are honestly hair-splitting, like making the girls ta'veren or Lan not being stony enough: it’s POV adjustment, not plot-damaging.

Some important discarded encounters will obviously come up later when there is more time. I get the frustration of fans who wanted to see those relationships play out now instead of new material (Nynaeve/Moiraine dance battle, how I mourn you), but I disagree shifting them around altered the story. The Eye of The World consists of A Lot of traveling and encounters, with a clear focus on Rand, despite the established five main characters. I think these changes allowed the show to lay the groundwork more evenly, particularly for the girls. 

Now, the biggest change that could affect storylines soon is Moiraine being cut from the source. It could change her arc significantly, short and long-term, but I don't see it as a major hurdle since Moiraine gets a meatier arc that is thematically relevant to book 2. I have qualms about how it could make later arcs redundant, but the execution will do a lot of work here. Mirroring is good in a narrative. 

Another aspect is Siuan/Moiraine potentially affecting their respective story. It may require some reshuffling/cutting characters, which will happen anyway with so many side characters gallivanting. But I'd absolutely argue their love life is not the most important element on their gripping journey in the books. Also, although I loathe admitting it, being together now does not necessarily entail being together always: there's wiggle room here, even if I don't want it.

Giving Perrin a wife only to kill her is dumb, but does not really change his later arc, come on. It will certainly add a certain weight to the story, like with Siuan and Moiraine.

Overall, I find the criticism all the more unfair that fans admit the first book is not representative of the rest of the series (it’s mainly Lord of the Rings references with more innkeepers and jugglers). To me, there's a fair margin of improvement in the books, pace-wise and story-wise. If fans come from the books thinking not one line should be rewritten, of course they're not going to enjoy the show doing away with dated or slower elements. I do. Ultimately, we don’t know how the story will be told: even if certain plots seem barred to them now, it may not be always so.

I hope I answered your question and I profoundly thank you for asking it because I could talk about these books/this show for hours.

#remblai #rescribo #wheel of time #not really meta but hey #I'm not kidding everyone in my family and among my friends and at work knows I am reading these books because I cannot shut up #obviously it's got something to do with the length of the series but also I have many thoughts and no one here has read those books #also shoot me but I don't think damaging certain storylines would be such a bad choice #and certain things in the books don't even fit with other later things because the writing process is like that #lore will shift #it's no big deal #I wonder if my perception will change now that I've read the books #it didn't bother me that much with Rings of Power and His Dark Materials

[whisplion]

After a full day to process the new episodes and just finished rewatching the last three episodes I have collected my overall thoughts.

Before I began I just want to say that despite my small critiques and wishes I did very much enjoy this finale.

I think my biggest issue with this new batch of episodes was the episode 19. The second hand embarrassed I felt from Jawbreaker was a lot to say the least. I enjoy his character was looking forward to seeing him get his alt mode. I like that Elita and Hashtag were also involved in this episode it makes sense as they all were involved in JB deciding to wait for his alt mode. JB’s behavior is very reminiscent of a child which makes sense but it overdone in a sense like his personality changed and I didn’t really like it that much. I’ve seen some people point out that his dinosaur design is a bit weird mostly that it doesn’t have a beak.

It basically takes away from the overall design of the dinosaur as a whole. Now as for how he got his alt mode. That felt way too brushed over like it is something they could have talked about more. Though I’m sure in s2 we we will explore it more. I thought Grimlock was great in here and I love that his nor any of the trauma anyone has experienced is brushed aside.

Episode 20 was not bad I do love the lore dumping as it’s something I highly enjoy in any franchise. Just Optimus opening his chassis and having the Matrix was *chef’s kiss*

Also that line from Dot got me so emotional.

Episode 21 was fantastic I’ve been waiting to get a proper introduction of Starscream! I’m not that familiar with g1 or any of the other installments (yet) so I don’t much about his and Megs history. I can appreciate them addressing the fact that Megs was awful and is still obviously working on doing better. Millions of years of behavior can’t just be changed in short periods of time. I think Hashtag is the perfect mold in this situation and I feel with her involved in further in trying to help Starscream and Megs to have a good long talk of some kind.

I also thought that the Dweller would may be involved in the finale guess not 😅

Episode 22 while good I think would have fit better maybe earlier in the season. The kids having tools to have fight is awesome really! I also think that Robby having a shield and Mo having a sword is very befitting especially with the opposite roles that Twitch and Thrash have as fighter and protector.

Episode 23 I was happy to see Bee back and up my bby 🥺 I have to talk about that meeting with him and Optimus! I said this to someone else but I feel like him and Optimus have a bit of strained relationship after being apart for so many years. It’s shown throughout the season how they do small talk and it is awkward sometimes. In this instance Bee is mostly just a soldier not the apprentice and young scout anymore. Maybe this will be touched upon in s2? (Hopefully)

His relationship with the terrans is so sweet I adore it and them wanting to help their teacher. Scholder being a Bumblebee fan is so funny to me but I totally understand. Also Optimus standing by Megs in these past few episodes is perfect!

Episode 24-26 were amazing to say the least I feel like it got stalled in a few spots but otherwise a rollercoaster of emotions. I honestly wasn’t expecting to see with Shockwave again but it was good. Mandroid he’s really good for a villain I’ll say though I honestly thought Croft would be the overall antagonist. Them killing her off felt so underwhelming she could have been a really great overall series baddie along with Mandroid though he’s still around.

Twitch coming into her own as a leader was beautifully done this entire season but in this last installment she really stepped up

I was so happy to see Breakdown back! Though I was hoping that arm of his we saw was actually him missing an arm. Would have made for good representation as a character with disability and angst. I do love that the Decepticons didn’t admittedly join the Terrans if makes sense. They’ve been treated like fugitives and hunted like animals.

The climax was a lot of fun with everyone calling together one more time and fighting the Autobots. Just the whole Optimus running into Bee was hilarious also OP confirmed metal head is so funny lol.

Thrash protecting Twitch was really good also and

her busted optic 🥺 I think it would have been interesting if some of them had kept some damage done to them though.

I know some feel that the ending felt underused but honestly if felt right for the first season’s ending. GHOST is over and the Decepticons stuck around to help. It feels like a new clean slate so going forward the more heavy stuff can come to the surface. As many things feel uncertain for the future but for the time being everything is come.

#transformers earthspark spoilers #tfe spoilers #tfes spoilers

[replaybf]

hey adam what did you think of the metamorph concert? oh funny you should ask! here :3

hi guys. i’ll pretend i know staging directing and anything more about music than “i like sounds” here 👍

first, critique:

the concert felt and was rather short. i understand why, but it was still sad to had it end so soon lol

my personal opinion here: i wish we got more older songs other than the iconic ones, but again, this is the guilty album concert, so i understand

he really did not do well on “not over you” and i’m glad he acknowledged it too, not just moving past a subpar performance

“want” also wasn’t the nicest imo? he sang that weirdly low, or at least that’s what i heard

maybe again, just my audio, but it really didn’t sound as if he actually Sung “advice” lol

this one i’ve said before but honestly, even taemin can’t do “move” now - the dance i mean. maybe it was the clothing here though bc on the show with akmu it was great. but yeah the red cloth outfit didn’t pair well with “move” imo and made the key hip movement look messy

this is not about taemin; the beyond live style of concert kind of deprived us of actual cinematography of it :/ like tell me why strings and black rose looked so much better on random fancams from 7 rows behind than… on the actual screen lol

general commentary:

he was so nervous. really. like i get why, again, i understand it all, and even that didn’t stop him from delivering some absolutely delicious stages, but ohhh brother he was nervous

why was the audience so. dead. like why did you hype up my man when he did good huh. i have to do everything in this house myself next time i’ll be the hype man nr 1

this is my lukewarm take: i didn’t enjoy the “criminal” rock version that much. it was very boring? the chord progression of the guitar sounded too much like a sample without much twist, and there were better ways to incorporate rock into that song imo

i think overall the ratio of lip sync to backing track to no backing track was reasonable and i do like that he didn’t try to lip sync much, just letting everyone see “yeah this is playback”

and now <3 praise and what i enjoyed <3

even though i really don’t like “the rizzness”, that opening was fucking insane. imagine starting a concert while hanging upside down. and singing while it. wow!

all the ment segments were so precious. it was clear he missed the audience for his solo stuff too. i know he’s been touring with shinee for half a year now and all but i imagine it’s different to know that these people came here only for you, you know? the interactions were cute and it was just… well it’s good to see the both sides of lee taemin :)

as i mentioned, the ratio of supported vocals to raw vocals was reasonable, but when he did actually sing… oh lee taemin. this is obviously a biased opinion because i genuinely love his voice, it was what made me fall in love with him as an artist in the first place. notable mentions of vocals imo:

“heaven” was perfectly delivered and a feast as always. the bridge in “heaven” is probably my top 5 taemin bridges, so it’s not surprising, but the energy on the stage while he performs that is So Good. MWAH

“light” was fun! i was dancing along, the playing with the dancers choreo is entertaining to watch and it’s a good time over all

after the flop of “not over you” he payed back with both “night away” and “blue” to me. “night away” especially, it felt so warm and so… just lovely. he nailed that

even though i don’t particularly enjoy “black rose” i can’t deny, it was so good. the choreo is always captivating and he sung it well

“door” … where do i even start. “door” is one of my favourite taemin songs of all time, and to see it executed in such a bold way was absolutely incredible and so enthralling, i felt enchanted listening to each new note and line. genuinely an amazing experience

some miscellaneous thoughts that i don’t know where to place:

i loved “impressionable,” the energy was so right for it, especially, well the D2 unzipped pants :)

the “strings” choreo is so sensual and sexy and yet in this classic taemin style of subtlety about it, it’s so nice to watch, to see him get lost in the pain/pleasure the song talks about. and there is almost, a grown aspect to it now, the aspect of like fully owning his body and what he does with it. very nice

“she loves me she loves me not” was cute, the choreography was very simple but still nice to look at, and i loved the energy on stage of it. the girl gang TM smiling and all :) good time!

rearrangements/special concert versions of songs:

as i mentioned above, i have lukewarm feelings about “criminal,” i didn’t dislike it, but it could have been better

LOVED the whole “danger” stage so much as well as “famous,” to me they’re like two sides of the same coin tbh. and something about both of them being in the same section as want mmm…

i wish i didn’t have to talk about “guilty” but i think i have to mention “guilty” too. the staging was absolutely gorgeous, the orchestral pieces at the beginning and before the bridge, the change in choreo of the dancers as if ensnaring him… it was delicious! such a good stage!

a separate section for the encore because i feel like it deserves it:

i don’t think it’s too untoward to think of jonghyun’s passing when it came to the date of the concert. i saw a few other mentions of it too, so i know i’m not alone in this belief. and this is not to suggest it was somehow planned this way with this date in mind, but rather, soemthing to just keep in the back of your head, i guess?

the whole encore was magical. opening the concert back up with “idea”, the orchestral version nonetheless, and staging that mixed both the hell and heaven aspects of the concept (light blue iridescent suit + dark stage lighting and fire) was delicious to witness and a great way to get the energy in the audience back up again

i don’t think i can talk much about what “pansy” means to me as a song without crying. maybe it’s stupid, because that’s exactly what the song was meant to do, but the fact that taemin co-wrote it too just… makes it so special :( and to know what… the sentiment of the song is probably even doubled now, to know that he came back from the enlistment, because so many fans kept loving him and his music and we stayed by his side even when he wasn’t there. this is just me being sappy i know but to hear “pansy” again made my heart sing

“i think it’s love” is a beautiful song and he sung it beautifully. it was a great encore choice, just an overall masterpiece

finishing the concert with “identity” of all his songs, on a concert named metamorph after the idea of metamorphosis, the imagery of cocoons and blooming and growth seen throughout the concert, with, once again, the significance of the date… it meant so much. it means so much. it was genuinely a moving performance, one that hooks you in and keeps you there, not letting you go. the emotion the execution the meaning behind it all… it just felt right, for that song to close the concert

CLOSING THOUGHTS

i’ve seen every taemin concert, save for the beyond live one in 2021, and this one fits into the theme beautifully. it’s a comeback, it’s a reminder that he’s still here, that he is Back, and he is back for good! as he said in one fan sign, this will go on for as long as he wants to and he will be the one to put the stop to it. i’m grateful for everything taemin did musically this year and i can’t wait to see him grow even more, as an artist and as a person. love you! if anyone read this whole thing leave me an 🍎 emoji in the replies hah <3

#txt #note: this is nearly 1.5k words long so proceed with caution lmao

[thefearandnow]

Audio Drama Sunday: 12/18/22

The Sheridan Tapes

Alright so I’ve officially finished season one of the Sheridan Tapes and I think overall it was a great run. I’d say the first half of it was a little bit frustrating for me but that the last 6 episodes or so really started to feel much more consistent and focused. I get why the first 14 episodes are the way they are but for me it just felt like so much build up that never fully satisfied me. It’s probably my editor brain kicking into gear but there was a lot of early episodes that I think could’ve been simplified.

That said, I think there is an art to writing a podcast that can anticipate fandom and can play off its audience and I think The Sheridan Tapes is an incredible example of that. It’s not really my style of audio drama but the fact that it’s been able to sustain a fan base and grow a community around the story and characters is really inspiring. It’s that fandom that makes other people want to listen and it’s always amazing to watch that magic play out via different corners of the internet. And quite honestly I’m sure the things that I was frustrated by in terms of plot and pacing are what avid listeners love about it. Even if I had some issues with it, I’m glad I finished the first season and gave it a shot! The people who make it are lovely and I’ll probably at least start the final season (which got fully crowdfunded!!)

Shipworm

Two-Up Productions has produced some of my favorite fiction podcasts (36 Questions, season 1 of Limetown) and though I'm not sure this is really the "first" feature length audio drama piece, it might be the most memorable. Something that I think Two-Up does really well with their audio projects is that they treat the listener's position with a lot of care. In the case of Shipworm, the space for the listener is claustrophobically intimate and yet alienating, cleverly using spatial audio to put the listener in a liminal space between technology and consciousness. This relationship between the listener, Wallace (the main character) and the voice that may or may not be real is the main crux of this piece, holding all the character development, causing story twists and fueling a tone of paranoia throughout. The music and scoring is cinematic and impressive, the acting is masterful and even though details of the story could get confusing, there was never a point where I stopped trusting the writing to fill in the blanks and hold my hand. I recommend finding time to listen to it in all one go, I think there are some natural pause points where you'd expect an episode to end or an ad break to break up the flow but it was an incredible experience to absorb the whole story in a 116 min sprint. I can imagine relistening to this a couple times just to experience it all again, the immediacy and style was such an entertaining listen.

Joy to the World

This holiday limited series from audio drama vets like @starplanes and @innbetween is so cute and wholesome, a perfect feel good listen written for all ages. It’s a sweet little collection of audio Christmas cards in the form of holiday conversations shared over the radio waves, hosted by a lonely astronaut, Joy. It’s got some Charlie Brown Christmas references mixed with Delilah-esque intimacy and some nuanced discussions about family, vulnerability and queerness. Each episode is a snack sized scene that melted my heart, there’s 7 episodes out that I listened to all today. Really looking forward to the rest leading up to Christmas Eve! My favorite one so far is “Dorothy, Out at Sea”

Also for me, Christmas and radio is such a classic combo and it’s so cool to have holiday audio drama like this to listen to. I’m curious if there are other holiday-themed fiction podcasts out there?

Edit: didn’t realize they have a tumblr! @jttwpod

Burning Gotham

This week I listened to episodes 6-7 as well as a behind the scenes bonus episode and it unfortunately is just not doing it for me. In addition to all the other critiques I've had of the show over the last few weeks, what I realized this week is that the thing preventing me from liking this show is my editor brain flagging missed opportunities. Of course, this is kind of useless and selfish feedback because the underlying mentality is "this is what I would've done." But I think for my own ears there are a lot of choices in terms of pacing, structure and aesthetic that feel more distracting for me as a listener than engaging. And it just takes me out of the experience. Like why was there sound effects and 1835 scene audio all the way through the bonus episode? I understand the cutting into the scenes for reference but why is it present throughout people's interviews if this is the non-fiction part of the show? I can hear and see the shape of influences like 1865 or even something like NPR's Throughline which is why I was excited to listen but there isn't any particularly strong commitment to a recognizable style to get me excited to keep listening. I think there's only one episode left so I'm probably going to listen to that last one but I probably won't write about it.

Honorable Mention:

This is just sorta becoming my non-fiction podcast corner but I listened through all of the second season of Cover Story and I’m still just floored. NY Mag’s investigative series was one of my favorite podcasts last year and this season is similarly jaw dropping. In the first thirty seconds they say that most of the people they interviewed lied to them and then from there it’s an absolutely bat shit story that I won’t spoil. So many cringey texts and emails, amazing storytelling and brilliant scoring. It’s only 6 episodes and each one is just as addictive as the next!

#audio drama sunday #fiction podcasts #audio drama #the sheridan tapes #season 1 #shipworm #shipworm podcast #two-up productions #joy to the world #burning gotham #cover story #season 2 seed money #new york magazine #my writing #dunno if I'll do another audio drama sunday this year #this has been a ton of fun writing though #getting some practice #and it's gotten me inspired to do bigger projects in 2023

[hamliet]

Hello, Stranger (Things)

So, Hamliet finally watched Stranger Things, motivated by the promise of a super hot squid villain I mean, 80s nostalgia and a good story. 

Overall, I enjoyed it. Eleven and Max are my daughters, and Will is my son. Steve and Eddie are too pure for this world (so were Alexei and Bob). Robin and Erica are amazing. Nancy is my girl. It is a good story. 

The writing itself varies wildly, with characterization inconsistency as the story’s main flaw. Seasons 1 and 2 were extremely tightly written and well done. Season 3 is definitely the weakest, with several characters just doing what the plot needed them to do for Reasons, but it ironically has what was, for me, the most satisfying climax. I also found Season 4, while also having some very, very, very obvious flaws in its writing, the most interesting in terms of themes about the past, choices, parents, and more. We’ll see if they continue to explore those in Season 5. If they do, it could be great. 

The Part Where I Complain

Y’all know critique’s coming so let’s get it out of the way before I gush about other things and give theories. 

Season 1: 

The subtext around intercutting shots of Nancy choosing to have sex for the first time with scenes of her BFF literally dying is decidedly Not Great. Yes, I know it is a deliberate flouting of the typical horror movie trope in which the dark-haired girl who has sex gets murdered. But it still relies on this premise that women choosing to have sex for the first time is a negative and results in losing your friends and not knowing who you are anymore. 

Season 2: 

Season 2 introduces the good victim/bad victim dichotomy between El and Kali, and Max and Billy (which continues into Season 4 with Henry). The writers also don’t seem interested in exploring this deeper. 

Also, the writers are addicted to sacrificial death starting this season. 

Season 3: 

If you thought I was going to complain about Billy’s death, you’re not wrong. But it’s honestly decently done so writing-wise it’s not terrible, and now I’ve complained a bit so let’s go on.

Why did Steve and Billy never interact again? After that fight in Season 2, there was unfinished business. I can only conclude the writers were terrified of the sexual tension. (I kid. Kind of.) 

Mostly, here is where the inconsistent characterization emerges. Hopper’s character is the worst victim of this. His arc could have worked, but the execution didn’t. It makes a lot of sense for Hopper to struggle with anxiety and to have all his insecurities stirred up with having a daughter again. But how controlling he was to the point of threatening a child? It wasn’t shown how he got there at all. Hopper deserved a way better arc than acting controlling with El and Joyce without the substance behind that being explored.

Jonathan was also somewhat inconsistent in Season 3, again not because his conflict couldn’t work, but because the writers didn’t put the time or effort into making it work. Jonathan being mad at Nancy for pursuing the rat lead was a bit nonsensical, and then being furious when they lost their jobs--the conversation about their experiences with sexism and classism could be an excellent source of conflict for them. However, it’s brought up just once and then dropped. If you’re gonna bring it up, explore it. 

And I know the show isn’t over and these issues could come back, but like. Patience only gets you so far when you’re telling a story in serial format which inevitably affects the experience consuming it.

Season 4: 

Why is the Upside Down’s poison air now gone? Do you know how obvious a worldbuilding inconsistency has to be for me to notice and care? 

Brenner’s characterization was also a retcon that puts BNHA’s Enji retcon to shame. ~He may have abused and been a monster, but he still really loved them~ The complexity, again, is not inherently bad, but it wasn’t even remotely hinted at earlier and four seasons is a long time to suddenly be like “surprise!” But I am glad El chose not to say she understood at the end. 

Ye old "the way the world is is actually a prison and we should change it" is again the ideology of a villain. Like... really, it’s a bit tiring to see revolutionary ideas always framed as dangerous. Not that I’m advocating violence or Vecna’s solution, but.  Vecna's making points. Since we can't have that let's show him slaughtering innocents to show us he's wrong even though--well--some of it ain't wrong. 

The clear neurodivergent and gay coding of Henry Creel is... here is where I’ll invoke patience. I’m not entirely ready to say I don’t like this yet. It really depends on how the show handles it next season. 

The Parts Where I Liked Things

Will’s sexuality (and also, just. Will) 

Going into Stranger Things, I only knew a few things. I did know that many people were complaining about Will being a queerbait-y character, and went into the show expecting Will’s sexuality to be a subtextually teased thing that I would complain about. 

Not the case.

Even before Season 4 Volume 4, and actor interviews aside, the show is very upfront about Will’s sexuality from like the first 20 minutes of Season 1 Episode 1. If people didn’t get that Will was gay, I’m sorry, but--how? Joyce literally says that he’s “sensitive,” and other kids call him “queer” and other things. Season 3 has Mike directly state that Will does not like girls. Yeah, kids say stupid shit all the time and people develop at different paces, but it’s a story, not real life where we say dumb things that don’t matter. In a story every detail should be important. The writers are trying to set expectations. Something that is repeated multiple times across seasons is obviously intentional. It doesn't need to be spoonfed to the audience be abundantly clear that Will is gay. 

The scene in Vol 2 of Season 4 where Jonathan and Will talk--where Jonathan is clearly telling him that he knows Will is gay and he loves him--is beautiful, one of the show’s best scenes. 

Give Will a Boyfriend please (Mikhail, anyone?) 

But, more on Will later. 

Season 4′s Themes

Like I mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed Season 4′s questions about the past, about parents, about the difficulties of growing. Everyone regressed this season: Jonathan being Mr. Mom, Joyce was absent (even w good cause), Max isolated herself, El thought she was the monster again, Steve obsessed over Nancy, etc. 

Steve: Too Pure, Too Good For This World

Speaking of Stancy/Jancy... the writers really don’t need to draw out this love triangle. Unless a major retcon is coming (not impossible), Jancy should be endgame as it’s always been set up to be. Steve and Nancy will probably have another moment, but there’s enough weird framing of Steve’s feelings in Season 4 to make me doubt any possible endgame for them. Despite Dustin and Robin insisting it’s true love, Nancy never once said it was love herself, and the problem is that Steve also says--after Dustin has already suggested he get Nancy back--that he would date Robin if she was not a lesbian. Hence, I’m not convinced the story wants us to buy Steve really loves Nancy, or if he just loves an idea of hers.

The thing is, Steve already has what he says he dreams of. He wants six kids. Well, that’s ironic considering he has six kids Robin explicitly identifies as “your kids”: Dustin, Mike, El, Max, Lucas, Will. He also says he dreams Nancy is there with them and the kids--and she is. She already is, even if not romantically. My guess is Steve will realize this at the end of his arc. 

Honestly, Steve’s arc is a fantastic deconstruction of toxic masculinity. Which... don’t hurt him Duffers. Don’t. I’m begging you. 

Max Will Be Fine

Seriously, I promise. Max will be fine. You don’t leave a character in a coma unless you plan to wake them up, unless you’re the latter two seasons of Angel levels of horrifically bad writing which, for all of my complaints, Stranger Things is not. 

Max is heavily foiled with Vecna (and Chrissy): traumatized, isolated child subject to the whims of their unstable mother. Vecna tells Eleven that he wants them to make their own rules, essentially to be gods of the world. Max, way back in Season 3, tells Eleven that “we make our own rules.” 

Max’s words are what El remembers when she brings Max back. No, this isn’t negatively framing El bringing Max back. It’s showing that there might in fact be some nuance. Max’s rules are based in love and friendship, in hope, in love of humanity, while Vecna’s are based in hatred of humanity. To uphold Max’s message--which the story needs to do--Max has to live. 

Eleven, I am Your Brother!

Okay, now let’s talk Squid. 

Henry’s whole story is Star Wars. Actually, Season 4 was just Star Wars (makes sense given the 80s stuff). Brenner was Yoda, telling Eleven that she wasn’t ready to leave just yet, that if she ran out to save her friends she’d fail. I know the prequels weren’t until the late 90s-early 00s, but Anakin killing the younglings is clearly the inspiration of Henry’s rainbow room massacre. And Henry’s “join me, Eleven, to build a better world” speech is essentially Vader’s speech to Luke and Kylo Ren’s speech to Rey braided together. 

With that said, I fully expect Henry to get some kind of human ending. Will he atone? Don’t think so. But the foreshadowing is pretty obvious. (More on that later.) 

Brenner tells El that she and Henry are not alike: “that’s where your similarities end.” Brenner’s the least reliable narrator about this. (Also, you cannot give the abuser--Brenner--a redemptive death and not give that compassion to his victim.)

El and Compassion 

El’s true superpower isn’t her telekinesis. It’s her compassion. It was her compassion, her empathy with the abused child in Billy, that inspired Billy to sacrifice himself. Her compassion saved Will. Yeah, she’s human and lashes out, but she loves deeply. Her compassion freed Henry and then her uncontrolled powers turned him into Vecna (not that she’s at fault; she isn’t). But her compassion should ultimately be what helps save the world.

Vecna himself asks El this. "Why cry for them after everything they did to you?" Well, let's see Vecna. Why does Max cry for Billy? It’;s kind of a theme in Stranger Things. Even without forgiveness (like El not forgiving Brenner), she still acknowledged his humanity. I don’t have to love it to see the theme as it is. 

I strongly suspect the main question at the end for Vecna will be "after all I've done to you, why cry for me?" But compassion is what Vecna’s missing, what he lacks in his view of humanity. It’s the true magic of being human.

Henry and Vecna, Unreliable Narrator

Did Vecna choose to become the monster like he proclaimed? Yes. And no. 

It’s not a coincidence that an abused child targets other abused, isolated, and traumatized children. Even if Victor loved Henry, his mother was clearly implied to be considering locking him up and lobotomizing him. Like... woof. There’s a lot there subtextually. He’s clearly targeting himself as much as he’s targeting everyone else. I’m not sure the writers will entirely explore this, though. But I do think they will have him experience humanity again. They should. 

Honestly, Victor should die trying to save/stop his son. If Victor’s alive, and if he mourns his son--which he does--he should have to consider whether he loves Henry despite everything that Henry has done. If he does, he should try to convey that even if it kills him. 

But who will the actual key be to stopping Vecna? 

Will as the Key

So, there are two characters--and only two--who have survived the Upside Down for any significant length of time. Vecna, and Will. 

I actually think Will is the one who can reach Henry. It can't be Eleven, because Henry sees her as having hurt him. But a “weak” helpless boy who is an outcast, gay (Henry is absolutely coded this way) and has just been suffering his entire life still choosing love (or even choosing corruption for a time and going back to love/friendship even though I doubt the writers have the balls for this particular plotline)? 

Vecna thinks he and El are the two most alike, but it’s actually Vecna and Will. And Will is so human, in everything Henry thinks he hates about human beings. He’s not superpowered. He’s a sad boy in unrequited love with his best friend. He just happens to have a mom and brother who love him. 

Plus, tbh, structurally Will should be the focus of season 5. Season 1 was Mike (the heart, which Will called out funnily enough in Season 4), Season 2 Lucas (the mind), Season 3 Dustin (the body), Season 4 Eleven and Max. 

Obvious Foreshadowing is Obvious

I’m not sure how much clearer the D&D game at the start of Season 4 could be in terms of foreshadowing. 11 couldn’t defeat Vecna. 

But 20 did.

How interesting that the three kids still alive are 11, 8, and 1, which totals 20. 

Henry--Vecna’s humanity--is probably going to be key to stopping himself. No, I don’t think he’ll get any sort of classic redemption, and he certainly won’t survive it, but I can see him pulling a Zeke Jaeger where he doesn’t exactly repent but still chooses to sacrifice for some bigger goal like destroying the Upside Down or something in a moment of compassion in the end. 

#hamliet reviews #they will be fine #max mayfield #eleven #peter ballard #vecna #henry creel #stranger things theory #stranger things meta #stranger things season 4 #victor creel #jonathan byers #steve harrington #nancy wheeler

[hisui-cotton]

Hello Hello! Today I’d like to talk about my experience in going to digital art as my primary workflow over the past 5 or 6 years and what I’ve kinda wanted to do for my art in the past and now in the future. Overall I wanted to share my thoughts on the two primary programs I use, how I critique myself and what I’ve learned about art on a personal level.

To preface, as this is a newer format, you expect a level of self-reflection in this that may seem odd! This is both a report to my own brain cave (in lore it's Ithod my "home planet") and a personal exploration of aspects of my life that have taken my interest. This is one of my big steps into finding what I enjoy creating as a VTuber. So please look forward to it as the future has more of this type of blogging but on a variety of topics I find interest in in addition to my Art posts!

Alright let’s start from the…beginning? One of the first times I got a genuine chance to use digital art was in 2013 on a Acer laptop and a tablet I can’t remember the brand of. I didn’t learn too much, I kind of just went for it. It’s hard to explain that I was not really looking at digital art as something I needed to relearn compared to traditional art, not to mention that I was still not improving my art in a….genuine way? I think I was just trying things out to explore how it works. The main problem was that I just didn’t know what I wanted to be using it for at the time. Like yes I wanted to draw but what did I want to be using digital art for that I could use traditional art to do? Overall I didn’t do a whole lot with that tablet other than play around with it but that was a good entry nonetheless.

Sometime after that in 2016/2018-ish I began to draw on my phone and I got a Windows Surface Pro. These were the two steps that really gave me perspective on some of the stuff I can do in digital Art compared to traditional, especially since I had also by that point learned way more about concepts in art and planning my work. This is really where I leaned into taking stuff I learned concept wise and played around with the ability of digital programs like layers, clipping, and being able too revert to old phases of the process without having to totally restart. I played around a lot with making sure I was atleast TRYING to get fullbody work in my compositions as I noticeably struggled with getting body gestures down. Everything felt stiff and I couldn’t figure out how to get rid of that while getting line art in. A lot of that went on to mean that I just did a lot of sketching, studies and generally drew things I felt I had a vague idea for. I typically didn’t go beyond the testing/planning either there because that wasn’t what I was really aiming to do. If I wasn’t thinking of an image beyond it’s initial idea then I had no need to try things beyond that. This wasn’t like a bad time for my art though. In the one year of drawing on a Surface Pro I went from basic fanart doodles to a fairly well developed digital style. I hadn’t even really looked back at the progress of that first year of drawing on the surface pro till now. In the year before I had been drawing fairy consistently on my phone but it was doing basic little portraits and stuff like that. If I had to say I learned one specific thing in the time I used the surface pro (which was for about 3 years) it’s likely that the screen/tablet type you use has a greater effect on how you draw that you may realize.

The ability to draw in my phone was great for at work during lunches or for jotting down sketch ideas which I could use/develop later if I wanted to. I very much loved this convivence because I didn’t want to risk taking my Surface Pro to work or something like that and then it breaking or getting stolen. So the phone usage was very nice especially in our modern era where a good mini-stylus or just the right free app is enough. Specifically I worked in Pixiv Sketch, and still do when I draw on my phone. It’s got a great basic variety of brushes and then a layer function with a decent amount of layer limits.

The Surface Pro’s ability to make the process feel smooth and clean even at various pen pressures was really interesting to realize after switching to an XP-Pen Tablet. It was also really nice to have something to just pull up a full drawing program but also be able to lay in my bed lmao. It may not have done much for my quality but it made me feel like drawing wasn’t something that I had to be up and ready to do if I just wanted to doodle. It also ran really well with decent memory space. This bring me to Paint Tool Sai, the program that I’ve been using for most of my digital art.

I bought Paint Tool Sai back on my Acer laptop. It was $75 at the time which was a lot for me but now looking back…I’ve had like a lifetime art program that can be used at a professional level. I remember recently watching one of the BTS of Genshin Impact and seeing Paint Tool Sai open in on one of their PCs was really refreshing lmao. It was the same hat meme. It was great. But also the fact that it’s made by one guy in Japan, who has been developing the 2.0 for the past few years is crazy because it’s honestly such a great program. I got the 2.0 upgrade for free as well which was even nicer in regards to the fact I only paid for it once also 10 years ago.

Because of it’s program nature with various brush folders and texture folders, it’d similar to Clip Studio in it’s customization for brush textures and settings. You can create your own textures, brushes and such and import them into the program. I find it’s overall feeling when drawing is really smooth even in a lot it’s brush settings. It’s got great reaction time and feels a lot like traditional art for that reason. Even with a really high Stabilization it’s reaction and accuracy to the line is really nice. The digital coloring on the other hand doesn’t really feel as good. I like to use the marker tool because I personally enjoy the look of washed colors so it isn’t too bad for me but when I need flat colors or blended rendering I tend to personally struggle with getting it done at a decent speed. But all the conveniences of the placement for in-program functions like new-layer, merge layer, copy/paste and blank layer are in the same place which I prefer over Clip Studio’s spread out options. It’s possible I can move them around more but the built in thought of the placement for a lot of things in Paint Tool Sai is a nice start for someone looking to just get started within digital art and needs a program with just enough stuff beyond the essentials to let you do really good quality work.

Now I’ve upgraded to a full PC, which I got in 2020. I use an Omen as I expected that if I wanted to use other art programs or draw on even bigger canvases that I should need a more robust system than what I used on the Surface Pro, but I didn’t need anything too crazy that would require a custom system. I also took this as a time to get a slightly larger tablet. Currently I use a XP-Pen tablet which is noticeably different to use than a surface pro. Since a surface Pro is also a laptop/tablet it had a smoother screen, untextured and such, where as the XP-Pen has a slight Matte to it. The XP-Pen also has a layered screen, where theres a slight slight space between where your pen is and the actual place it’s drawing at.

My use of Sai has gone down in the last month however as I finally began using Clip Studio. I admit that theres still something about the feel of the program I don’t like in comparison to Sai but it’s a better overall experience for making higher quality, more complete work at this time. Partially because I still haven’t figured out my art process. Clip Studio has made the convenience of coloring much more accessible to me on a variety of levels. It let’s me feel like I’m not overly perfectionist on my sketch process or lineart in comparison to just laying down a few colors because I don’t have confidence with them. Now even without confidence in my color choices or usage I at least feel like I’ve been able to fake it. In sai it was very dependent on you knowing what colors you wanted to use and what tool you’d use to lay them down. So far it doesn’t feel that way in Clip Studio. I can choose a basic brush and paint bucket and get color laid down in about 20 minutes if I wanted or take more time with a slightly varied brush and get that washed style I like while also being able to properly fill the spaces of the work.

Overall in my art process itself it’s been a lot faster as well than in Sai, perhaps because I’m still taking it slower with the express reason of really learning to use it for efficiency. My progression through the years has sort of allowed me to take that previous knowledge I’d gained and use it in what I do next which is generally what one does when making a change to their professional processes. A lot of doing things new successfully depends on how much you can make it work with what you already know.

Finally let’s talk about my art process itself, what my sort of mentality is behind it. A lot of what I do is based on “Oh I really want to see something like this!” or “That would be a fun/cool image” if I’m drawing for myself. I start with a thumbnail sketch, enlarge that and then do another more detailed sketch on top of that. Typically I haven’t done lineart in the past because it adds a lot of time to the process and I never feel like it looks good compared to sketch. Now that I have clip studio though and the coloring process can go a lot faster with better lineart, I’ve been trying to do a bit cleaner sketches or full lineart. Coloring usually is flat colors first, washed shading next and then multiple layer styles on top of that of highlights and shading. I usually do washed shading as a sort of “sketch” for the shades. Usually a rough colored drawing takes about 2 hours? Sometimes a bit more depending on how much I clean up the lines, sometimes less if I just slap on the colors and lines.

The things that I feel I need to work on the most are usually in regards to colors and composition. I tend to focus up my character compositions to fill the whole page either by intentionally drawing them large or by enlarging the sketches to fill the page size. But if it’s a composition that isn’t character focused or has some more environmental aspects then I tend to struggle. My color choices also are hard to do because I don’t usually consider them in my sketching phase. Since I usually go into pieces with an idea of what person, character or outfits I’m drawing then colors tend not to be something I think too much about. This is something I notice a lot in environmental drawings though because the colors get so clashed when actual lighting and such needs to be planned out against a certain layout. Which sucks because I absolutely LOVE vibrant coloring and such but I don’t know how to make that work with environment stuff yet.

A lot of what I want to draw, in both style and “substance”, is character driven. I like action that shows a lot of atmosphere or feels very in character. When a still image can feel like it captures the feeling of a moment or feels like it was made with a real idea in mind that means a lot to me, so that’s what I try to go in with when I’m drawing. For characters and such that can be a variety of things from just lounging around or hanging out to getting dressed-up or a variety of actions. It’s really fun to see so much more in the things that I like and to be able to share those things through art is wonderful.

To send you off I want to say that…I like being an artist. It’s so nice to know and learn a skill like art since it can be a sort of perspective into a person’s views. People’s ability to connect over concepts and such is so cool and I feel like even today when we have fine art, fanart and everything in-between that it really sets up the fun of creativity and community. Right now there’s an ongoing official art series of Miku and Pokemon drawn by various artists. Some people have begun taking that concept and drawing it themselves, putting their own spins on it in their version of the pokemon style and outfits. It’s so cool that looking through it all I can barely tell which ones are official and which are fan made. Like it’s a clear cut conversation where everyone can give it a shot with their own ideas and can still be talking about the same thing. I think that’s lovely.

For my art in the future, I want to be able to design and draw a buncha stuff. I really like stationary and want to make some stuff in the future for it. These report logs are one place I’ll be playing around with that to test it a bit so I’m excited to continue these. I also want to better my Background drawing because I really love the idea of being able to put characters in a location, somewhere I can imagine them being. I’ve gotten better at character interactions but I want to think about how much further that can go if I add an environment. For the future of my style…I don’t know! I like to have a very dreamy or washed style but also bold colors and expressive lines. But I’ll definitely be thinking about it even more in the future as I start developing a finished my process (getting fully rendered colors, lineart, etc.).

#digital art #digital illustration #long reads #long post #clip studio paint #paint tool sai #paint tool sai 2 #digital aritst #thank you for your time I'm giving some stuff a go! #i'd love to hear about what other's experiences are with programs and learning digital art has been over the years #it's been a really really weird learning curve in that most of the learning was just...futsing around #Hisui Notes

[tutuandscoot]

I find it interesting that you praise Tessa and Scott so much for so many things, including their athleticism, but that you put quotes around “sport” when referring to ice dance today. While no team may live up to what Tessa and Scott brought to the sport, don’t you think that athletes today, even those at a lesser level or who don’t push the boundaries of art and possibility, still deserve some level of respect? Like Chock and Bates, I don’t watch them all that much but I can certainly respect improvement, dedication, and their own innovation without loving watching them like I did VM. Would you really look at what they are doing and not call C/B and others athletes? Curious to hear your thoughts.

LONG POST AHEAD:

It’s not that I don’t respect other teams.. I just don’t care that much about the sport.. I’ve watched a lot of it but predominantly only competitions from VM’s era- so im much more familiar with teams they competed against.I think I’m able to speak so specifically and with such nuance on VM because I adore them and I have studied them with such precision.. other teams I haven’t done that because i dont feel the connection that i do to VM. Anon I’m interested why you pulled out that specific word air quoted? Honestly I didn’t think about it, I put quotes around things all the time and it’s hardly the first time i or anyone has questioned Ice dance’s legitimacy of the sport.. remember when it nearly got kicked out of the olys. This is all to do with standards and I don’t feel the sport is at a high standard at the moment, not where it use to be and it’s disappointing when there are people who could be so talented are being held back by some shitty ISU rules, not allowing or rewarding strong technical skating and athletic excellence. (There are people who know far more than me who have said this same thing on here).

If I’m being perfectly honest there were things I saw when I first watched VM that I didn’t think we’re great:

Eg: I didn’t like the stat lift position in Mahler

I thought there were some sloppy moments in various Carmen performances (and while i love it for everything that it is it is and why they did it it’s not my fave program and they could’ve done it much better)

I don’t ‘LOVE’ their Latin SD from 2011/12

And various other nuanced moments because I’ve been trained (through high level ballet) to critique things.

As I’ve watched more and more I’ve been able to appreciate really nuanced things in their skating/dancing and overall partnership. I love them and appreciate them because they are the one team I feel that fully balances sport and dance, and on top of that they have this unbelievable chemistry that creates an odd illusion of seeing two people experiencing a relationship, but are so connected and have this physical advantage that kinda makes it so you are only seeing one of them. On the sport and dance matter, case and point: when I showed them to my mum who was with me all through my dancing and has seen a lot and nothing much impresses her, she’s not a dancer but she can tell what’s good and what’s not unbiasedly: watching some ice dance she said ‘the sport is ice dance right, i don’t feel like they are dancing’. Watching TS, ‘they are dancing. I feel them dancing, telling a story, I fully believe them, I don’t care they are on ice in skates, they are dancers’. She like me through dance is quite judgmental of skating, gymnastics etc, when there isn’t turnout of pointed feet or drab performances, she says so. TS she never felt that. She recalled seeing them years ago probably from YVR or Sochi and she thought they were beautiful but she thought everyone was like that.. then when I made her watch a comp she said ‘oh god TS aren’t even on the same level.. there’s no way you can judge other teams against them because they are doing something totally different that you can’t possibly compare in the same way to everyone else’

Above all- (if I were to try) comparing TS to every other team I’ve ever watched (and while I may not have watched every other team to the in depth level of TS, I have watched multiple.. top 10 vm era teams multiple times) TS dance where as every other team I feel simply skates. I don’t feel any other team has the inherent connection to music or movement that takes it from skating, to dancing, to art. No other teams (maybe TD exempted, but since VM) have pushed past the requirements of their sport in the way TS did. I don’t know how many on here have the unique vantage of viewing purely from the perspective of ‘dance’ rather than skating or even laymen who just enjoy the sport. Dance is a sport, it its athletic and requires you to be strong, flexible, determined, creative and hard working. All teams competing at this level are no doubt skilled and talented and work hard, and many have been waiting for the opportunity to win/medal a worlds title, but the fact that one of them this year will imo is not because they are the standard deserving of it, its just in their field there is no one better. For people who were there through VM’s career or even those who came along after and dived into their skating and the environment around them, i think.. i feel it must me hard to accept the sport has changed and maybe not for the better in that the skill level and overall boundary pushing has clearly dropped. I feel that way both athletically and artistically. For those who are able to happily watch current ice dancing and enjoy it for what it is, that’s great, i don’t necessarily wish i could because i never really cared about the sport to begin with (but i’ve enjoyed learning about it and it’s history) Being able to accept the current standard as world title worthy is not something I’m personally able to do. If 10 is the level of VM’s performance and chemistry than no team would achieve anything close to 10, but 10 is not defined by a other team, its defined by whatever the ISU has made up (or paid to say is) worthy of 10. I understand the sport doesn’t and can’t work like this, but it makes it hard for me to watch it knowing there has been so much better.. and forget ‘better’, that i just feel more connected to as a viewer. Its not to say there won’t be a team that comes along, but right now there isn’t and theres a lot of factors contributing to that beyond any specific team.

I know someone will probably say ‘how are you able to say you don’t think a team is deserving when you haven’t watched them closely’, which.. fair. im probably not. I don’t actively seek out current skating to watch.. I watched CanNats.. wasn’t impressed.. but I see results just coz the IG algorithm gives them to me, clips of performances etc.. also and I’m not ashamed to admit this, I am biased to VM, and I’m fine with that because in what way will me quietly loving them affect anything in this world?? I have watched plenty of these teams (that competed with VM) many times from previous years, the Beijing olys, and when I occasionally read something current on here it seems clear there’s are others who feel the standard has dropped too.. but that’s not everyone’s opinion.

I don’t know how many teams have or are actively striving to extend their legacy beyond the boards of skating rink through what they perform in a skating rink- hell i don’t even think VM necessarily strived for that, i don’t think they had some big grand plan and they will tell you they didn’t but simply through their own desire to push themselves, they achieved this. I don’t think anyone should or need to achieve this but the fact is VM did, they were the special two that did. I often go back to my love for the Beatles and how J+P’s story is similar to VM- a random meeting of two people who happened to have what it took through passion, hard work, a favourable set of circumstances that lead to achieving a level of greatness that no one else in their industry will… for a very long time at least. They changed their field of art for the better, but it didn’t necessarily stay that way.. the music industry has gone to shit (through tech/manufactured ‘artists’) the skating world has dropped (ISU not doing their fucking jobs, certain coaches/countries doping etc.. different things affecting different disciplines) VM rose in a period of relative stability and that was favourable to them. This chance meeting and stars aligning was the same with vm. They had the right personalities, dedication, etc and favourable timing and they inadvertently changed the sport in ways they didn’t even set out to. It just happened and it happened to them. Its kind of matter of natural selection..

I don’t know if I’m conscious to it or but I think I use the world ‘sport’ when I’m referring to the sport of ID and the rare times other teams as SPORT and when referring to TS I say art or dance is because they have completely bridged that divide and have become artists that can’t be simply defined as skaters because they were just that extraordinary. I don’t watch them and think about edges or judging or elements because they are so much more than that, all those things are irrelevant when you watch them because it’s so much… more than that (idk how else to put it).

That thing I said about being very scrutinising of TS when I first watched them, well only because a) I fell in love with them as people let alone dancers and b) I have watched them so much and realised this essence they have and appreciation for what they do, I have remained scrutinising about the rest of the sport because no other team, and for that matter very few skaters in general (sui/han, Yuna, yuzu, Misha Ge, Jason brown, Carolina, Patrick to an extent) have ever made me forget about scrutinising and just watch and enjoy what they do.

I was gonna put out a request for this before I did this but since it’s kinda on the topic of this ask I’ll do it now.

My opinions on (again, roughly top 10 of VM’s era) ID teams (prefacing this by warning this will be critical and as said above I am critical of this sport and I am biased to VM, however as you yourself admit TS set such a high standard). I have more personal opinions on some of these teams/skaters that I don’t feel appropriate to share to their full extent because I can admit to myself they are unwarranted to have in the first place since I don’t know them as people and can only judge the character that I see.

Also.. this is weird and it won’t make sense to anyone, but for me having grown up in competitive dance, I watch a lot of ID teams and associate them with ‘styles’ of various dance studios I used to compete against. Not dance styles (eg ballet or hip hop) but studio styles. Eg, ‘Shibs are very JGSOD and CB are very iDance’.. those studios names won’t make any sense to any of you but I just thought I’d mention that’s a weird way I watch ID teams, and highlights the fact that TS I don’t relate to any one style or school or company in the dance world I have ever seen before because their style is simply THEM.

D/W: Cleary consistent. Work well together having skated for so long. I do not like their style, I don’t feel they have any connection, it just feels like two people skating, they skate well, but no emotional connection that comes from an honest place, only performative. (I haven’t watched a lot of programs of theirs) but through their movement I sense a lack of creativity, it’s very clean, cookie cutter, but they don’t take artistic risks. I’ve seen many other posts highlighting their addiction to war horsy programs that are relatively safe themes and don’t challenge the judges or audience.

P/C: simply jumped on the popularity of the moody, melodramatic contemporary style taking over the competitive dance world, found that it worked and stuck with it, rose to prominace in an unchallenged field- no team still competing from the VM/DW era was able to step up to fill the void. (+French Fed/didier). PC’s style and a lax of ISU technical scrutiny somewhat leading to the simplification and lack of innovation in ice dance. I watched the Beijing olys and while there were teams not doing this style, both athletic ability and dominance/favourably from judges of the themeless contemporary style prevented anyone from breaking through as a team with a vision and will have to try and make their mark in the current quad. And you know what.. I partly put some of the blame for this on IAM.. all their teams post VM kinda blended into one for me without any of them standing out with their own personalities.. (again- not basing this purely on programs because I haven’t watched all of them, but just a general observation because I’ve have seen this happen in the dance world I’ve come from). It is inevitable when you have 20 some odd ‘top’ teams all trained by the same people, it takes individuality and desire to differ yourself (VM) to stand out in this environment and actually succeeding in doing so often comes down to rare, raw talent (again this is subjective so just because i don’t view a team as being capable of this doesn’t mean other’s don’t). I don’t know PC personally obviously but certain instances have made question and therefore dislike their character as competitors: ‘we were hoping, praying for TS to mess up and when they didnt we were like ‘shit’, ‘we only lost PYC coz of the costume (which was her fault) and deserved to win if not for that’, ‘knowing they would win Beijing because they were unchallenged and that gold was the one they deserved from 4 years ago’ ‘not challenging themselves or the sport, yes creating their own distinct style but eventually they will be forgotten when the style becomes obsolete’. They are good, but not anywhere near VM and the fact they think they are (just from what I gather from their character, esp her) makes me dislike them. VM never thought they were holier than thou, when told they are the goats they reference T/D. yes they spoke out when they felt they weren’t scored fairly but other times when they clearly were (cough Sochi) they didn’t and maintained they were beaten fair and square. It’s not just about athletic talent, it’s also about character bc good, kind character comes through in performances as honest and genuine.

Shibs: technically clean, did the essentially the exact same program for 3 seasons (coldplay, after the rain (16/17) and coldplay again) in the same costume just different colours. Did not have one lift that was attractive or that stands out as innovative or something you’ll remember. Some people are fine with the sibling team thing and others aren’t. Generally I’m not really a fan of it (i agree with T i think its kind of odd) but if a team can convince me otherwise I’m fine with it. Cathy and Chris reed I thought were fine, Z/Z from Israel I thought were fine, the Kerrs creep me out.. Alex and Maia were clearly the best of the sibling teams of this era but to me they just looked like 10-13 year old siblings at a recital and never broke out of that visual for me.

WeaPo: I’ve never liked them as skaters, as people they seem lovely. They are team that clearly improved A LOT- 20 something at worlds when VM were 6th, 17th (I think) the following year when VM were second (yes they had only just paired up and TS had been together 11 years). Even improvement between like 2012ish and 2017ish you can tell. They obviously became a top team deserving of placements but were still farrrr behind TS the whole time and were fortunate in VM stepping away for 2 years allowing them to win titles they wouldn’t have otherwise. I find them quite awkward, obviously Andrew is very tall so he needs a tall partner, but K seems not quite tall enough. None of their programs stand out to me. The best for me are probs their 2014 olys FD and their 2018 olys latin was ok- bit different to rest of the field. I’ve never connected to them emotionally, I find their performances quite forced and un balanced, K going for it too hard and Andrew not knowing where the hell she is emotionally and kinda just has one look on his face dependent on the tempo (brooding for anything slow/dramatic)

Bock:……. Meehhhh.. i just don’t feel anything for them, they have very plastic expressions. It feels like when you are teaching little kids dances to perform and you say ‘smile here’ ‘ok be sad here’. It’s like their emotions have been choreographed for them. I keep forgetting they are actually a couple because you wouldn’t guess it watching them skate. On a skating level I’m not knowledgeable enough to say how specifically they improved. Energy and performance wise i see very little difference between 2014, 2018, 2022. Sometimes i think they are capable of more than i think ‘no they really aren’t’. No doubt they are one of the top teams now, but that is because the standard (party as a result of ISU rules) has gone down the drain. In almost any other field they would not be considered world champ material, and in this field i don’t consider that either, but i don’t consider anyone particularly deserving of a ‘World Champions’ title. (I really hope they win just so gilorier don’t because that I can’t will struggle to live with). Sometimes its who you don’t have to beat. PC were able to (somehow) rise because VM + DW were gone, W/P got some titles they other wise wouldn’t have gotten, its like if you took the top 50 tennis players out of a grand slam, it would be way easier for a lower ranked/skilled player to win. They are just kinda forgettable to me (same with G/F, LoLo/Nik).

Gilorier: ughhh.. they remind me of Ken and Barbie when the skate/perform.. 10x more plastic than C/B.. i don’t think I’ve ever seen paul move his spine/neck/have a genuine/natural expression. As someone who actually has 3 metal rods in their back i think i can bend and express more than he does. They try so hard to be so creative and different with their programs (this seems like a carol thing since @ otherteams) it becomes hard to watch. I actually kind of liked their James Bond dance, but the plastic expressions kind of suited that. Their themes cover up for their.. average (until recently maybe- I’m judging them in the VM era) skating skills (idk, someone who knows more tell me if their skating skills are good). I see them as the ‘gimmick’ team. You don’t have to be sooo outrageous, its distracting. I adore TS always with the view that they want their costumes to be minimal and not distract.. we’ll its easy not to notice the actual skating when you’ve been blinded by tangerine jumpsuits.. it was like looking at an eclipse. Also them being the top Canadian team right now is even harder. .esp watching the Beijing olys and VM saying they were the best medal hope out of literally every discipline.. like im sorry my bbys your legacy and the 2018 team’s legacy could not be passed on. (thats a whole other subject)

H/D: I’m nervous about this one bc a lot seemed to love them… but i honestly don’t get it. They were great skaters by the end, no doubt the strongest and should not have been so far behind PC in any way shape or form.. but thats where my praise kinda ends.. im gonna be honest here because i don’t know how to say it nicer.. Zach seems like a complete douch.. i already said it on that post everyone is angry at me for.. it was sooooooooooooo freaking obvious he was obsessed with Scott and tried to be like Scott. Its great Scott had such a positive impact on other male skaters and so many looked up to him.. but Zach was just trying soooooo hard to be like him. When i reference TS being so soft and caring of each other in public- on ice during warm ups, and in the past I’ve referenced other teams ‘trying’ to be like this.. Zach is who im referring to. it was not soft, it was creepy.. It just looked so fake, from both of them (hd) for that matter, Trying so hard to convince the audience of a connection. i don’t know where people saw the chemistry in them because i never did. They always skated really angry (like with an angry, frantic energy) very ‘commercial’ style- music video style with the low angle steady cam all in your face. I think they think they thought they were connecting and performing to each other but to me it often looked like they were conflicted whether to perform to the audience or each other and neither quite worked. TS have this thing where they find each others eyes like magnets, HD seemed to have to try so hard to find each other’s eyes. So often they lost that connection and focus. Every team has less then perfect performances but they were an inherently flop team for so long. They definitely deserved their medal in 2022, probably one higher than bronze for that matter, but i didn’t like their programs. Obviously i don’t know them, they are probably great people, but i just am not attracted to them. The little bit of that oly channel series on IAM that i watched, one part was just them yelling at each other in front of Scott and im sitting their watching like ummmmmmm… (whatever works for them but christ can u even imagine TS talking to each other like that???) And then yeah the ‘STAT. LIFT BASE!’ I mean the commentary in the K+C.. ‘just give us +5’ i HATE that kind of cocky confidence (same as PC) Scott could at least admit he was cocky and improved and changed his demeanour so much as he matured into a truly beautiful artist and person.. but i never saw him acting like he and Tess were the best thing since sliced bread- egging on a high score for a sub-par performance, let alone an amazing one in the k+c. Character has a lot to do with it.

Others: B/S- fine nothing amazing i liked their later FDs but never loved them. C/L: cute.. gonna sound hypocritical here but they really suited the traditional, operatic, period, Italian folk vibe really well and whenever they departed from that they lost it for me. The lifts were always very hijinxy- often unnecessarily so, theres innovation then theres tricks for the sake of tricks- thats a delicate balance. Im glad they won a worlds and euros but with VM back in the field sort of 4th/5th/6th is fairly where their skill kept them. StepBuk: (why not let’s throw them in) they probably had the most genuine connection of any other team around this time. I understand they had been together since kids so that helps, but as I said the other day.. it’s the quality of TS relationship that makes them so much more believable as being in love.. fuck it just caring about each other and seeing that through their dancing. DW I didn’t get that feeling/PC i definitely didn’t.. so it’s not just being together so long and using that to an advantage.. you have to work for it (not to say others haven’t but we’ve been over this TS prioritised it every fucking day). All the other top teams in VM’s early senior career were good for the time but as VM (and DW) overtook them the skill, performance and overall talent gap became obvious; B/A, D/S, F/S, P/B etc..

I don’t understand where the argument comes in that you have to love and appreciate all teams… why do I have to randomly praise teams I don’t like? I’m not actively trashing them (like some people do on here and have done to VM) I just don’t think they are that good and I said so like.. once or twice out of how many posts on here..

I don’t love skating- I learned about it through VM. I was critical of it before discovering them, I’m critical of it now. When VM do something I don’t love I will say so. It’s hard to love and appreciate a sport when there’s only really one team/person you are invested in. I have lots of opinions about other teams and the sport in general, some might be valid, some not, none of my opinions are gonna change the sport for good or bad.. my opinion on vm or any team takes nothing away from what said team has and will achieve whether I agree with the result or not. That’s literally the extent of my thoughts on the subject..

I know anon you aren’t saying this but others have, who is anyone to criticise someone else for loving something? Why do people have to criticise why I love VM, or what part of them I admire. I know I said I don’t get why people like HD but I wouldn’t go so far to call someone out on it personally. Each to their own. There is room for everyone, but not everyone is equal in a field where some are just better.

#ask #you’re welcome this took all of my day off

[mickgaydolenz]

@tantamount-treason tagged me to list my top 10 favourite movies (thank you so much dude fr 💖🥹!!)

so i’m going to go a bit crazy here and get into why i like these 10 movies as much as i do because today i am feeling extra passionate about movies. so buckle up bby because i’m about to get hella long winded ✌️😔 (p.s these are in no particular order except for the first two which are forever and always my all time favourite movies💖)

1. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - i could literally go on for YEARS as to why this is both the BEST and the most UNDERRATED WWII movie of all time (no literally i could i made a whole slideshow presentation and write up to convince my irl friends of this very thing) but i’ll keep it short and simple here. why i think this movie is so spectacular is because it purposefully undermines the glorification of war and violence while simultaneously retaining a very human narrative. Nagisa Oshima, as a japanese director, does a particularly phenomenal job of critiquing japanese societal views on the war, which at the time (the 80’s) were still largely sanitized or skewed to view japan’s participation as a relatively harmless one, by simultaneously highlighting the hypocrisy and humanity of japanese soldiers through their engagement with british POWs.

2. Labyrinth - the movie that got me into David Bowie 💖😔. the nostalgia i have for this film is off the charts and i love it with my whole heart. my twin and i watched this movie so many times we wore out the vhs. i can quote this movie in my fucking sleep 😴. it has such a feel good vibe to it, and i have a particular fondness for classic puppetry (a dying art form in my humble opinion) and practical effects which i think are major highlights of this movie!! just overall a great time

3. Death by Hanging - another film from Nagisa Oshima that i adore. i’ve only seen it once, but it captivated me right away. it’s a film that, on the surface, deals with a group of people that have to decide what to do after a man sentenced to death survives his execution. beyond that it’s a fantastic critique of the japanese death penalty, police corruption, and japanese prejudice towards korean people.

4. Mishima a Life in Four Chapters/Patriotism - so i’m cheating because these are two separate films, but they both deal with Yukio Mishima (an author i am unhealthily fascinated by). the first film (Mishima a Life in Four Chapters) is a really interesting blend of fact and fiction as it details the events leading up to Mishima’s suicide with intersecting snippets from his various books to better contextualize the viewers understanding of Mishima as a person and his ideologies. the second film (Patriotism) is a short film adapted, directed, and starring Mishima himself based off a short story he wrote. it is a super interesting example of everything Mishima wanted to embody as a person, and ironically serves as a near blueprint for how he’d later kill himself.

5. The Game - this is one of those movies where i don’t even really know why i like it as much as a do, but there is something about it that just does it for me. it’s an interesting psychological thriller about a man who starts participating in this game that quickly gets out of hand. it’s mind bendy and the first time i saw the ending i spent a good five minutes afterwards just going 🤯

6. Perfect Blue - the most perfect psychological thriller ever made hands down. i love this movie SO MUCH!!!! a fantastic peak into the super sketchy, super skeevy world of japanese idols and all the exploitative, disgusting hoops they were expected (and still are expected in some cases) to jump through in order to further their careers beyond the idol realm.

7. The Spirit of the Beehive - actually just rewatched this today, but a super atmospheric movie with beautiful visuals. it’s a spanish film set in the 1940’s about two young sisters that are greatly impacted after watching frankenstein for the first time. this film deals a lot with death and how children come to internalize the conflicting concept of mortality. (it also deals with the franco rule/regime in spain but i am woefully uneducated in that area and am unsure exactly to what extent that is present in the film)

8. Head (1968) - duh.

9. Kiki’s Delivery Service/The Cat Returns - two of my other childhood staples! both of these ghibli movies were big comfort movies for me, and i still enjoy watching them if i just want to have some nice cozy viewings :)

10. Interview With the Vampire - trash. i know. and yet this movie is one of my best friends <3. in general i just love the little bitch ass that is lestat de lioncourt and his sad little drowned rat lover louis de pointe du lac 😔🙏. oh. and antonio banderas as armand is simultaneously the funniest and BEST casting choice anyone has ever made. (also this is probably the only movie i’ve seen where tom cruise actually does a decent job acting).

wow sorry that went on forever. anyways i tag @reignoerme @tomvorikandharry @repurposedmeatlocker @vintagecocacolainthesun @birdie-hop @kuryakincore @distortedfractals @rollingthunderevue and @kvetchs (as always no pressure and feel free to ignore if you do not want to do this 💖✌️😔) i also tag anyone who wants to do this fr!!!

#thanks again for the tag!!! it was so much fun to do 💖😔🙏 #my favourite movies everyone :))))

[naomisnews]

One surprising thing about this year is that I’ve really got back into reading! Something that I’ve loved since I was a kid but never had the time/focus until now - so far, I’ve finished 3 in 3 months and now want to complete a book a month.

Let’s go through my first 3 of 2023:

1. Who Censored Roger Rabbit by Gary Wolf: if you’re expecting a novelisation of the classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit, this ain’t it, chief. In fact, despite inspiring the film, the book is very dark and has a lot more adult crime noir elements, eg. Jessica is actually horrible and pretty much the femme fetale temptress stereotype. It’s a great mystery but it takes so long to get to different points that it’s a struggle to keep going. A lot of unneeded elements that honestly makes me long for the later 80s film. Overall, not a bad find, but one that really needs attention of a hawk. 6/10

2. How Love Actually Ruined Christmas aka Colourful Narcotics by Gary Raymond: nice bit of film critique of the supposed “Christmas Classic” that actually presents new viewpoints and interesting reasons why he despises the 03 film. The book doesn’t force the reader to change their opinion, rather offer a perspective, but an accessible perspective that is understandable, especially comparing the film to what’s acceptable in 2020’s. A great read for those who love, hate, or find the film mid. 9/10

3. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid: yep, I was suckered in to read thanks to the Prime show - but I’m glad I did because it’s now become one of my all time favourite books! The journey of the band, how they came together, their friends, all bringing an interesting and captivating story of Rock n roll mayhem is right up my alley. Surprise, heartbreak, and humour can all be found in its pages and I hope the show brings more people into reading this stunning novel. 10/10

Which books should I read next? Always open for suggestions

#daisy jones and the six #who censored Roger rabbit #roger rabbit #bookish #booknerd #books #love actually #how love actually ruined Christmas #bookblr

[farchanter]

Pokémon: Scarlet Version

I think it’s time to show you that real life isn’t all just being true to yourself...

When I first played Pokémon: Red Version some twenty-five years ago, one of the very first things I did was look at the world map included in the instruction booklet. The land of Kanto seemed so vast. Even when I started playing, I returned to that map. I couldn't even really picture what my journey might look like when I reached the game's furthest reaches. What Pokémon would I encounter? What would my own team look like? How would I even get there?

None of the games in the series since have quite made me feel the same way. Some of that is nostalgia lying to me: Pokémon games have only gotten larger, but my own familiarity with the series formula, a better understanding of how to play games, and frankly just getting older have made the game worlds feel much more within my grasp. Part of it, however, it must be said, is a deliberate design choice. Clear quest markers and other forms of game help have made Pokémon feel much more linear and— while I get it— it wasn't what I wanted.

So, before I get into any of the finer details of Scarlet and Violet, I want to highlight the most important aspect of this review:

For the first time since I realized Gold was only halfway over, I opened the world map of Pokémon: Scarlet Version and said "oh, wow."

A lot of the commentary around Scarlet and Violet has focused on technical aspects. And, let's be perfectly clear: the game is kind of a mess. Performance suffers, the procedural AI which places and moves Pokémon makes some baffling decisions. The graphics aren't great, even though the game chokes when asked to draw too many things. These are all absolutely, incontrovertibly true.

I do not care.

Scarlet is a joy. It captures that sine qua non open-world adventure games must have where I delighted in simply walking around, in wondering "what's over there?" Exploration is essential to this experience, and it's energizing.

That said, some critiques:

I didn't really enjoy the new Pokémon as much as the creatures introduced in Scarlet and Violet as much as other recent games. Sun/Moon (Hawaii) and Sword/Shield (England) embraced the real-world areas their game maps are based on, and it lent the monsters their own collective character. Although there are some Pokémon inspired by real-world Spain, the new roster as a whole felt somewhat underwhelming. Enough old friends return that it doesn't drag on the overall experience, but it was a bit disappointing. That being said, however, I felt a closer connection to my team members than I've felt in other games. The moment of getting a shiny Rookidee, one of my absolute favorites, is going to stay with me forever. That she got to tank the final boss was even better. That she'll get to come with me forever through Pokémon Home integration is better still.

Although the performance problems have been overblown, in my opinion, I do feel that Game Freak has to do something about it before whatever the next game is. Watching a Shellos inexplicably launch into the heavens or your player falling through a seam in the earth counts squarely as the funny sort of bug, but one could easily see a world where the game is unplayable. The gap between "glitchy (fun)" and "glitchy (bad)" is a really perilous tightrope, and Game Freak got really lucky to land on the right side. I don't think they can necessarily count on doing so again.

I think there's also a problem with the open-world structure here. It's a bit nuanced, so bear with me.

Part of the fun— or, at least, the challenge— of open world games is what happens when you wander too far afield. For instance, if you stumble into a monster you can't handle in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the game fundamentally changes. Your combat skills are now repurposed into escape skills— or you lose (a common experience early in Breath of the Wild is triggering a fight that's killed you before you've even really processed that it's started). Some of the best experiences with games like this come from organic moments like those, where you barely escaped with your skin and only survived through some feat of derring-do.

Pokémon necessarily works a little bit differently.

As a turn-based RPG, there's not really an "escape" form of the game mechanics that translates the same way an action RPG would. Nor is there really a way to "trick" your way through a lot of fights. Although strategy is a vital part of Pokémon, at a certain point you're facing a losing math problem if you encounter something much higher leveled than you. Losing in Pokémon also tends to be frustrating (if it's a fight you can't possibly win) or time-consuming and expensive if you need to expend excess resources to get through it. This contrasts with the same experience in games such as Breath of the Wild, where such encounters are terrifying, brief, and cheap.

I bring this up because there seems to be a deliberate game design decision to resolve exactly such a problem: because player-underleveled encounters are an undesirable part of the experience, Scarlet makes it unlikely that you accidentally wind up in such a fight. Even ostensibly aggressive Pokémon will give you several seconds of warning before actually pursuing you, and quickly give up the chase if you wander off. This means that, unless you run into a monster yourself, you're unlikely to trigger combat. Sometimes you do that unintentionally (some Pokémon are very small and blend quite well), but you will never actually be hunted down. Other than a few story encounters, Pokémon trainers will not fight you unless you talk to them yourself.

This resolves the problem of getting frustrated by a bad battle, but... I don't know, I think we lost something along the way. Relatively early in the game, I made an excursion to Glasedo Mountain (I wanted this jerk). On paper, that was a horrible idea. I would have gotten destroyed by just about anyone on the mountain. Because the monsters are so passive, however, I simply played a fairly straightforward keepaway and never really felt threatened by this late-game area.

I'm open to the idea that other people prefer this. It certainly makes for a more relaxed open world game. It made me feel like I had fully opened the game world sooner than I expected, which is the point at which an open world game is (functionally) solved. Essentially, then, Scarlet was over sooner than I wanted. While I'm reluctant to wade into the Scarlet/Violet vs. Legends Arceus debate, it's worth noting that the monsters were more aggressive there and the game was much scarier for that reason— but, of course, player combat mechanics are different in Legends Arceus.

Those were a lot of words complaining about an ultimately minor thing, so let's get back to the good stuff.

Scarlet introduces new ways of playing, new ways of "beating" the game beyond the traditional gym challenge. In my opinion, the gyms still felt like the main attraction, but these new objectives were a lot of fun. If you finish all three questlines, you get an additional endgame mission that resolves the story of one of your companions.

Those companions are quite well-fleshed-out for Pokémon characters. Of the three, two are dealing with some pretty heavy trauma, from school bullying to neglectful parents. It felt good— truly an sincerely— to help these characters. In that final endgame mission, your companions travel with you and talk with each other, and it made me wish that was something we had gotten to see more of.

Between raid battles, probable DLC, and traditional Pokémon competitive content, I think I'm going to be playing a lot of Scarlet. If you want to recapture the magic of Pokémon as a game of exploration, you owe it to yourself to play.

#completion list #games #completed #todo #review #rpg #nintendo #game freak #the pokemon company #the pokémon company #pokémon #pokemon #pokémon: scarlet version #pokemon: scarlet version #pokemon scarlet/violet #scarlet and Violet #pokémon: scarlet #pokemon: scarlet #pokémon scarlet #pokemon scarlet #pokémon: violet #pokemon violet

[bleachposting]

just finished bleach anime and

i really feel the arc it has gotten to take as a shounen anime has been perfect and i’m really glad i got to experience it at this time.

i started bleach in december of last year, just before it was confirmed it would be returning as an anime. i remember tearing through the soul society arc, back when the show had great pacing (haha) before i finally ran into the announcement trailer so this news came as a gift(!) rather than a suggestion to watch the show. in some ways i feel like i’ve been bingeing bleach all year (but can’t be true otherwise i would have finished long ago) and in other ways i feel surprised i beat the deadline to have caught up to the anime (i had to set a goal to watch one episode a day).

i think some people would scoff at this opinion but i really think bleach is getting the perfect run as a shounen and by that i mean, it’s a series that has been fortunate enough to be a classic long-running weekly anime, existed for a while in the era of seasonal shounens then gets rebooted at a perfect time in terms of great animation, pacing and just general hype around anime! even the fact that ya okay there were a lot of tedious filler arcs to distance itself from the manga but rather than continue with that until the manga concluded, they chose to seemingly end the show in respect of the story’s pride (laughs in byakuya), it’s like bleach got the best of both worlds. like silly filler is really just a mark of 2000s era shounen and honestly like ya im eternally raging when im in it but its definitely a product of that period and all those shows which was an iconic time. but at the same time it was never so saturated with filler, or maybe more true is it was self-aware enough when it was filler, that it never made the overall storyline overly convoluted and off-putting. 

i also feel arcs 1-15 were very classic weekly shounen energy, like similar energy to naruto, but the lost agent arc was getting closer to the new-gen of shounen that i feel emerged around 2012 with shows like aot and tokyo ghoul. i feel like those shows became a lot more contained within a season, so had better pacing and idk if this was just different subject material or a product of the pacing, but a psychological aspect was added to the anime. i don’t know how gassed up or critiqued arc 16 is, and even for me i wouldn’t be like ‘wow fave arc’ at all but there was something rewarding about the mystery of ichigo regaining his powers. it just felt like an entirely different show and even though i knew it wasn’t filler, i really had to double check that the arc was in the manga as well as if it was still a weekly running, rather than seasonal (it was). also just the improvement in animation and set design that season really made it feel like it was a complete different season of bleach. and all the tropes of that season! the time skip, the losing/regaining powers arc, that the usual allies don’t appear (mostly) until Ichigo needs them pov story-telling, the character redesigns, the absolutely new all-knowing cast of characters, like !!! so perfect!!! just iconic anime tropes that deserved to be explored in bleach!!! idc if people say that’s cliche, i say its signature!!! 

it makes me so glad that this new season will probably bring that same energy, mainly in the redesigns. although i’m not a manga reader, it seems lost agent arc was a tedious but necessary story to get ichigo his power backs and get the plot to a point where an epic arc can be told so I’m glad it was covered in 2012. 

:’) just feeling v v glad i timed my watching of bleach right and that it was the shounen i chose to revisit at this age. it had just the right amount of nostalgia, in that i’m under the impression i watched but barely retained the first two arcs (in anime) and read the manga sporadically (i remember owning the physical volume with ulquiorra on it!!) about ten years-ish ago so i’d have slight moments of deja vu for characters but for the most part it was a new story.

but ya i guess this is gonna be a bleach fan blog lmao if any one wants to gas up bleach together, has advice on best anime blogs to follow, etc! also if anyone knows how to hide tags so i don’t get spoiled would also be lovely to know hehe tumblr has changed A L O T since i was last here and i don’t want to read the manga, just want to experience the anime fresh ;u; (also this blog will be pretty soon i just want to express my feelings haha also silly but i been sitting on this blog/url for like six months which is c r a z y)

also hisagi is best boy no.1 and urahara and hirako are tied for best boy no.2 and i live for hisagi x kira broship this has been a psa

#bleach #bleach anime

[thebigpalooka]

I finished Sonic Frontiers!

Copying my Twitter thoughts over here because I had a lot of thoughts!

This is gonna be a sort of general review, gameplay and experience type stuff. No spoilers (gonna make other posts for that), although I do mention the names of locations and minor combat stuff so if you’re trying to be TOTALLY without info going in, I’ll put things under a read more anyways, here we go:

My overall sensation emerging from credit roll was that, when it comes to the gameplay itself, almost every specific critique I read was fair, but the game is fun in spite of all of them, and occasionally it's SO great that it kind of resets the I-ain't-putting-up-with-this-shit meter to zero.

I struggled with the controls quite a bit but it felt like a skill issue to me, lol. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve never actually played any 3D Sonic games, only watched playthroughs, so this was my very first time. I didn't notice any of the glitchy behavior others reported (like falling through the map etc) and was usually too task-focused to be bothered by the pop-in, EXCEPT on Chaos Island where it's legit hard to see what's going on due to the 2D camera lock, which was my least favourite part of the gameplay by far.

Ares Island definitely felt like the high point in pretty much every respect.  Shark Guardian was FUN AS HELL, as one example, and Ares Island also has the absolute best, coolest, dumbest, most fun Titan fight in the game.

I saw a lot of folks talking about pacing issues towards the end, which ... I didn't have a problem with like, the rate at which things occur, but there's def a bizarre halt of natural momentum at the end of Rhea Island, and I really felt like the order of the last two islands should've been swapped.

Without spoiling details, the plot point which happens at the end of Rhea Island should've happened at the end of Ouranos Island, and either you proceed right to the final boss fight OR proceed to Rhea Island at that point. But yeah, feels like the game is building a sense of urgency and then just... changes its mind lol.

Anyway.  Having said all that, the dialogue and character interactions are definitely a highlight and while I don't think you'd HAVE to be a Sonic fan to like the game, I can easily see losing patience if you're not.  The story itself never felt in-question, and there's basically zero surprises but that's ... not a bad thing? Not for me, anyway. I got exactly what I expected and am satisfied. And the music is A+++ without exception. So yeah, in a way, it feels like the game's themes of growth and improving yourself are hugely fitting for the game itself as a whole. It’s got a lot of rough edges but a huge amount of potential.  Really feels like the same experience I had with the Sonic movies, where I really loved the first one in spite of it being obviously imperfect and missing some cool opportunities. My hope is that we get to see the same arc, another game that builds on what was established here and is sort of more confident about what it wants to be.

#sonic frontiers #sonic the hedgehog #no spoilers #lol please interact with me regarding sonic frontiers #i'm not okay and i'm not normal #could still be fun tho