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f4liveblogarchives · 4 years

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Fantastic Four Vol. 1 Annual 1977

Tues Aug 27 2019 [12:59 AM] Wack'd: We open with Johnny testing an experimental racecar [12:59 AM] maxwellelvis: As he does [01:00 AM] Wack'd: Truly life is a hurricane here in...*checks notes*...Nassau County [01:00 AM] Wack'd: So Crystal and Lockjaw materialize in the backseat of the car and snatch Johnny away on some urgent business [01:01 AM] Wack'd: Poor Ted, who is the guy who designed this racecar! I feel bad for him despite the fact that he doesn't even rate a mention on Marvel Wiki [01:01 AM] KarkatTheDalek: That's another reason to feel bad for him, I think [01:02 AM] KarkatTheDalek: What must it be like to be a near complete non-entity... [01:02 AM] Wack'd: Marv Wolfman has apparently decided that Lockjaw's bark sounds like "wurf" and therefore his teleportation is called "wurfing". I agree with both these decisions [01:02 AM] KarkatTheDalek: That's amazing [01:03 AM] KarkatTheDalek: Who needs *BAMF* when you have wurf [01:03 AM] Bocaj: Amaze [01:03 AM] Wack'd: So the Great Refuge has been conquered! Again! Every goddamn week, with these people [01:03 AM] Wack'd: Sure

[01:04 AM] maxwellelvis: Is that one of the yetis? [01:04 AM] Wack'd: I...don't think so? I hope not [01:05 AM] Wack'd: He's a one-off villain from the Inhumans book [01:05 AM] Wack'd: He never appears again after this [01:05 AM] Wack'd: Johnny blows up his gun but he has a force field, which is very good [01:06 AM] Wack'd: Also apparently Crystal can now call down lightning from the sky like she's Storm or something [01:06 AM] Wack'd: Also tornadoes! She has definitely been confused for Storm [01:06 AM] Bocaj: tornadoes is just air [01:06 AM] Wack'd: Not that this does any good. It's a really good force field you guys [01:07 AM] Wack'd: Honestly, like. He would have to just sit in there forever, I think? Not really conducive to ruling a city. [01:07 AM] Wack'd: Maybe he can move the force field around, I dunno [01:08 AM] maxwellelvis: Somebody get some club soda! [01:08 AM] Wack'd: Meanwhile in Hollywood a Fantastic Four movie is being made. It is going poorly [01:09 AM] Wack'd: Sue is irritated that the actress playing her looks nothing like her and is wearing a low-cut bathing suit. Ben is irritated he's been replaced by a giant robot [01:09 AM] Wack'd: Reed is irritated Johnny's been written out because the effects are too expensive [01:10 AM] maxwellelvis: Somewhere, Jessica Alba and Carl Ciarfalio feel insulted. So does HERBIE. And none are sure why. [01:10 AM] Wack'd: And in case you're wondering the Fantastic Four cartoon series that couldn't get the rights to Johnny because they were tangled up in a movie deal had entered production at roughly this time [01:10 AM] maxwellelvis: Spooky [01:10 AM] Wack'd: Or, you know [01:10 AM] Wack'd: People at Marvel knew what was up [01:11 AM] Wack'd: Seems more likely than precognition [01:11 AM] Wack'd: Why do I feel like this guy is a parody of someone specific?

[01:12 AM] maxwellelvis: Dino. [01:12 AM] maxwellelvis: That's who. [01:13 AM] Wack'd: ...from The Flintstones? [01:13 AM] maxwellelvis: The robot, the accent, the emphasis on gimmicks [01:13 AM] maxwellelvis: DeLaurentiis. [01:14 AM] Wack'd: Oooooh [01:14 AM] Wack'd: Brainfart [01:14 AM] maxwellelvis: and of course, the glasses [01:14 AM] Wack'd: I know of him by vague reputation but was unaware of his...peculiarities [01:15 AM] maxwellelvis: The onion smell, I thought was a reference to SenSurround, but I don't know if he had anything to do with *Earthquake!* [01:16 AM] maxwellelvis: But he was an odd man. [01:16 AM] Wack'd: Anyway the giant Thing robot goes berserk. Who could've seen this coming [01:17 AM] Wack'd: Oh hey at least one person can be proven to have liked The Gong Show 😛

[01:18 AM] maxwellelvis: The emphasis on spectacle that the robot provides sounds just like him. As does cutting Johnny from the movie entirely to save on expenses. This is the guy who had a big argument with Sam Raimi over how many explosions should be in the climatic battle in Army of Darkness, after all. [01:18 AM] maxwellelvis: That caricature of Jamie Farr is kinder to him than real life ever was. [01:19 AM] Wack'd: He was kind of transphobic so I'm okay with this [01:20 AM] Wack'd: Ben throws a gong through the robot's neck, decapitating it [01:20 AM] Wack'd: I did not see The Gong Show being plot-relevant but here we are [01:21 AM] maxwellelvis: The Gong Show was probably taped, but I'm pretty sure that's gonna make the final cut anyways. [01:22 AM] maxwellelvis: If anyone has the connections to get the Four to sign off on that, it's Chuck Barris. [01:22 AM] Wack'd: They do keep it in the show [01:22 AM] Wack'd: It gets a 6 [01:22 AM] maxwellelvis: Heh [01:22 AM] maxwellelvis: That's good. [01:24 AM] Wack'd: So Johnny, Crystal, and Lockjaw come back and wurf Ben back to the Great Refuge [01:24 AM] Wack'd: And also stopped to pick up Reed and Sue off-panel [01:25 AM] maxwellelvis: Probably because Ben would have the funniest reaction. I'm getting the feeling this Annual is focusing on humor. [01:25 AM] Wack'd: Well, that bit was [01:25 AM] Wack'd: Ben mostly just grumbles that they ruined his chances of a regular gig [01:26 AM] maxwellelvis: I could see Ben as the new Unknown Comic, honestly. [01:26 AM] Wack'd: So uh apparently a buncha stuff happened in the Inhumans book [01:26 AM] Wack'd: The Great Refuge was destroyed and the Royal Family retreated to space [01:26 AM] Wack'd: Thraxon tried to organize a rebuilding effort but Pietro accused him of trying to usurp Black Bolt and got real mad [01:26 AM] maxwellelvis: Did they finally build Attilan yet? [01:27 AM] Wack'd: It's just what the Great Refuge is called apparently [01:27 AM] maxwellelvis: Huh. [01:27 AM] Wack'd: So anyway Thraxon points out that Pietro is not Inhuman and this gets all the other Inhumans sans Crystal to turn on him [01:28 AM] Wack'd: The Inhuman Royal Family returned and Thraxon kicked all their asses [01:29 AM] Wack'd: We're spending a lot of page time on what's frankly kinda a foregone conclusion, honestly. I'm skipping over a lot of fight scenes that impact literally nothing [01:31 AM] Wack'd: The seldom-seen little sibling of "Sue tries to do something awesome and gets her ass kicked", "Sue does something awesome and literally falls unconscious from the strain"

[01:31 AM] Wack'd: Apparently Thraxon expanded his force field over the whole city. So that's his game [01:32 AM] Wack'd: But not anymore [01:32 AM] Wack'd: Another part of Thraxon's plan is to literally strap the Royal Family and Pietro to a rocket and shoot them into space [01:33 AM] Wack'd: You know, the place they just came back from [01:33 AM] Wack'd: Sure [01:33 AM] maxwellelvis: At least this time she was just faint for a moment and not out for the rest of the fight. [01:34 AM] Wack'd: So fortunately Thraxton loses his powers because the person who gave them to him, "the Dreaded One", has deserted him [01:34 AM] Wack'd: For some reason [01:35 AM] Wack'd: The Four take their own rocket and follow the Inhuman rocket and-- [01:35 AM] Wack'd: C'mon I just made a Mystery Science Theater 3000 joke

[01:36 AM] Wack'd: It's weird realizing only this year do the Four suddenly exist in a world containing Star Wars

[01:38 AM] Wack'd: fuck ooooooooff

[01:41 AM] Wack'd: I'll save you the trouble--a Nova villain who menaced the Four and the Inhumans enough to make it into two issues of the Fantastic Four: Foes miniseries. Also fought the New Warriors and Night Thrasher. Last seen in a Howling Commandos arc from 2016

[01:42 AM] maxwellelvis: He's terribly mysterious [01:43 AM] Wack'd: Character shilling! Also apparently Aaron's staff did eat the staffs of Egyptians what were also turned into snakes. Did not learn this in Hebrew school

[01:44 AM] maxwellelvis: What were you taught? [01:45 AM] Wack'd: Moses turns his staff into a snake to prove God is real but Pharaoh writes it off as a stupid trick [01:46 AM] Wack'd: Presumably because we as kids would be a bit baffled by the idea that all other Gods are fake but also Egyptians had real magic on hand [01:46 AM] Wack'd: It is indeed a bit of a puzzlement [01:46 AM] maxwellelvis: Yeah, the version I'm aware of had the Pharaoh bring in his best magicians to show he's not impressed, but Moses is the one who shows that the other is doing a cheap trick, because his snake is bigger and kills the other two. [01:47 AM] maxwellelvis: Prince of Egypt makes it into a big smoke-and-mirrors routine. [01:47 AM] maxwellelvis: Literally. [01:47 AM] Wack'd: There's no, uh. Rationale in the Bible? [01:47 AM] Wack'd: It's literally just "some other Egyptians turned up and turned their staffs into snakes also, and then Aaron's snake ate them" [01:48 AM] Wack'd: No big reveal or anything [01:51 AM] Wack'd: So anyway this nameless extra from Exodus is exiled for his failure and finds a magic amulet that gives him superpowers and the ability to live forever [01:52 AM] Wack'd: And now he wants to harness Black Bolt's power to hypnotize all of Earth. Somehow. [01:53 AM] maxwellelvis: That's not how his power works. His voice isn't hypnotic, it blows stuff to smitheroons. [01:53 AM] Wack'd: He basically wants to use Black Bolt as a battery to power his hypnosis [01:53 AM] maxwellelvis: Ahh [01:55 AM] Wack'd: Anyway they scuffle for a while before Sphinx gets nervous he might actually get his ass kicked and throws them all out the airlock [01:55 AM] Wack'd: Lockjaw has meanwhile freed the Inhumans. He could've done this at any time probably but okay [01:57 AM] Wack'd: Look dude, sure you manage to miraculously crawl your way to the 21st century, but you still don't even have 100 appearances. Godly power only means something if you have popularity power to back it up

[01:58 AM] Wack'd: ...is this a thing Black Bolt can do? I feel like the answer is "no"

[01:59 AM] Wack'd: Anyway the day is saved by...Black Bolt [01:59 AM] Wack'd: Not much of an Fantastic Four annual [02:00 AM] Wack'd: Sphinx is blasted into space and then everyone goes home [02:00 AM] Wack'd: The end [02:00 AM] maxwellelvis: SPHINX!

#1978 #Marv Wolfman #Keith Pollard #Bob Hall #The Main Book

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manbehindtheshadows · 4 years

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Alright so, managed to file myself for unemployment, so I got that going for me which is nice, fiance and I got our financial shit sorted out so we should be good for the next month or so.

Overall significantly calmer than I was last week so.... yeah. 👌

Blog got a bit of an internal makeover last night, so things should be a lot more up-to-date and significantly easier to navigate. Backstory got mostly covered.

Right then.

Back to brainfarting on drabbles and picking away at the artists block.

#should be back!#sorry for the MIA #out of the lab

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phoenix · 4 years

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Name Game Pt. 2

Yeah I have more thoughts since writing this post. But also, for now, until I settle on something, I’ve decided to go by Jamie.

(I also meant to post this yesterday on my birthday because that was appropriate, but because I’m me...! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’m not 100% happy with it, but I do like the sound of it, it does have some resonance to me, and because my parents always called me J, it lets me keep that for anyone who isn’t sure what to call me, or wants to address me in spaces where I’m not out.

And the rest, I shall slap under Ye Olde Cutte...

I DO have a shortlist of names I like;

Jamie Nicole Caitlin Zoe

I’m sure there are others, but I am brainfarting right now.

AND HA HA! I actually remembered! There IS a female name associated with healers! And get this, it’s Brigid! So if I went with that, A) I get to keep the same associations with my old name, 2) it’s largely Irish, and C) She is also associated with fire! That name popped into my head and reminded me of the associations two days after my first post, of course.

So that sounds like a pretty perfect name, but I’m not sure if it ‘sounds’ right to me/for me, or if that’s just ‘need time to get used to it’ weirdness.

I’m gonna stick with Jamie for the time being though, because I don’t want to get too annoying with “And TODAY my name is...!” plus to just give things a good trial period.

Also, and I admit this is silly, I am really invested in Killer Frost this season on the Flash, as she is on a quest to find her own identity, find out who she is now that she is becoming an actual person, and part of that is picking an actual name for herself besides “Killer”. So I kindasorta wanna wait to see what she picks, and if I like it. ;) But since that plot thread got dropped HARD and hasn’t been mentioned in almost eight episodes (Okay fine, Crisis, but c’mon) and they’ve all just been calling her “Frost” it might be a non issue.

Also also, there’s a trans kid showing up in X-Factor’s relaunch whom I am also really curious to learn more about.

Also also also, just because she’s coming out at the same time, I am interested to see what this new female Cyclops inspired character’s name is.

Like I said, those are all mostly silly curiosities (Although I am more serious about KF) that I just wanna see what happens there, more than anything else. If I’m in a holding pattern and see stuff coming, might as well take a peek.

But for now, Jamie is a good placeholder, so yeah, hi, I’m Jamie.

AND THAT FEELS REALLY WEIRD TO TYPE

#Foenix rambles #Foe's transventure

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thepatchworkcrow · 5 years

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The Friday prompt for this week’s @2019grimoirecchallenge deals with replenishing energy and, I’ve been chewing over how to write this post all week... mostly because I can’t find a lot of good literature on the topic, just a lot of “How to Get Rid of Energy Vampries” articles and stuff tied to the actual vampire subculture, which I really don’t want to attempt to speak for. That said, I’m going to wing it.

So first off, what IS an energy vampire? Simply put, it’s someone who feeds off the energy (be it psychic, emotional, sexual, etc. etc.) of others. People who are energy vampires do this for a number of reasons, a lot of the things you’ll see are about people who unconsciously do so. There might be some manner of mental or physical health issue that causes them to sort of latch on to other people’s energy. They might just be low-energy naturally. It might be something that is a passing phase in someone’s life. Others might do it intentionally, whether that be for malicious intent, because they have a consensual relationship with whomever they’re sharing energy with, because they are part of the aforementioned vampire subculture... The reasoning can be sort of endless.

How do you know that you ARE an energy vampire? Well, let me put it this way. Do you feel lethargic and low energy when not around other people? Do you catch yourself coming back to yourself, your experiences, your problems, etc. while talking to people, or have others pointed out that you tend to do this? Do people around you seem irritated, tired, on edge, etc. after you’ve spent time with them but you feel fantastic? Do you often feel kinda ‘blah’ and empty for long periods of time, but spend a few hours somewhere crowded or in a natural place with a lot of energy, and you suddenly have new life? Do you get restless to go places, just to be around other people, whether you’re interacting with them or not? Do you get caught in these self-victimizing, “woe is me” thought patterns? Then, chances are you might have some psychic vampire tendencies.

This can also be something brought about by psychic burnout. Symptoms vary, but can result in: migraines, light sensitivity, body aches, disorientation, etc. And I’m not talking about just the few hours after a particularly large working, I’m speaking something that lasts days.

Okay, so maybe I’m an energy vampire, what do? First of all, don’t panic over it. I’ve seen, in scrolling the internet trying to write this piece, seen some meditations that try to “cure” energy vampirism, telling you that you’re “awful for being a drain on your friends and family, and that you should just...stop doing that damn it.” And it just feels... toxic (which feels ironic given some of the super “love and light” fluffy websites I found these on, but I digress). SO, I’m going to try to give some helpful advice...

Regarding “recharging” because you can’t solve the issue while you’re feeling low/crappy: So. I absolutely do not advocate just taking energy from people without asking. If you’re going to share energy with someone (via whatever method you choose: physical touch, visualization, intimacy, charging an object and using said object, whatever) always always always ask first. Things I’ve noticed that have helped me personally are: holding crystals that have been charging on my altar (or lighting a candle and spending time in front of my altar reaching out to my gods for that matter), going out and connecting with a tree or other part of nature, or getting out of the house or whatever scenery you’ve been in and getting something to eat somewhere.

In the first few instances, you’re recharging with pools of energy that have developed because of your constant use of the spaces and the energy/spirits that you contact there. Obviously, harms no one, yeah? Going somewhere out in nature also doesn’t drain other people though you should still ask trees and plants before you just go taking energy from them too. But they’re a lot more... sturdy than other people, usually, and I think this is a pretty low-impact way to recharge. You might even draw upon energy from the sun or moon too.

Now, going and getting food and eating somewhere where other people around allows you, for one, to get some nutrients in your body, increase your blood sugar, and such; but also allows you to sort of tap into what is usually referred to as “ambient energy,” that is, the energy of lots of people bustling about and going about their business. This is not drawing upon the energy of the people around you, but rather the energy of the PLACE you are in that is generated by their presence. This is important, because just drawing on other people you don’t know is shady and immoral.

My method for dealing with ambient energy is usually to find somewhere comfy to sit- if it’s by a window so I can soak up some sunlight energy all the better. I take a deep breath, maybe a couple bites of whatever delicious thing I’ve gotten, and then ground and center as best as I’m able. Then I focus on the energy of the place: is it buzzy and like TV static? Like waves that seem to ebb and flow? Then, kind of like I visualize energy from the earth or the sun flowing into my own during grounding and centering, I visualize whatever energy is around me doing the same until I feel like I at least have enough spoons to carry on with my day.

SLEEP is also something that helps a lot with this. After doing something that will help raise your energy a bit, nap if you can, because the body and your energy does replenish after sleep.

BUT, I’m not gonna stop there and I’m gonna give ya advice for not being the stereotypical psychic vampire. So, the biggest thing I think is to get to a place where you’re not feeling bogged down and energetically low yourself first. It’s a lot easier to get going on the rest of this work when you’re not running on E.

After that, though, I really want to emphasize taking time to identify what triggers this behavior in yourself. For me, it seems to flare up in times of stress, and is usually hand in hand with my depression episodes. I am cognizant of this, and can work to minimize the things that trigger the stress and anxiety. In my life, this has meant more careful planning, making sure I’m communicating my plans and feelings to the people I’m around so that if/when things go wrong I either have a plan B, or I’m not blindsided by it -which makes me less anxious; ya see where I’m going here? A big thing for me was also learning to drive, which makes me anxious, but makes me less reliant on other people, and will give me more freedom and control over my life in the long-term.

Another thing you’ll want to do (and this takes time but as long as you make an effort, I think that counts for something) is try to be aware of how you speak to other people and really listen to them if they tell you you’re being negative / toxic. Sometimes, my humor comes across as flippant and harsh. Sometimes I chuckle about a brainfart and then am compelled to correct them which can be hurtful and grating. I, like many, hear someone’s story, and will often jump in with my own example from my life. But by trying to take time and JUST listen to people’s stories, and stopping myself from adding my anecdote, or apologizing when I realize that I’ve come off as mean and judgmental, I work towards being less of a psychic vampire to the people I’m in contact with. Exercises in mindfulness and positive thinking can really work wonders in this case.

And finally, take care of your health! Go to see a therapist if you’re able. Make sure you’re taking care of your hygiene. Eat things that are healthy and nutritious. Keep your living environment clean. You would be surprised how much those things help!

So! That’s my little spiel. I am hoping this can help people who realize they’re draining to others recharge and maybe work towards becoming... less draining/drained themselves. And I’m hoping it’s less... cringe inducing than some of the other things floating around.

/|\ Rachel

#energy vampire #psychic vampire #witchblr #2019 grimoire challenge #witchcraft #energy work #personal #personal path #psychic vampirism #energy vampirism #druidry #paganism #vampire

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medea10 · 5 years

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Medea Rambles - Changing Voice Actors (in anime)

Your favorite character! You love the way they look, the way they act, and in many cases, the way they sound. Yeah, voice actors are a vital role when it comes to bringing life to any character in animation. But what happens when your favorite character doesn’t sound the same as he/she used to?

It could mean your favorite character’s voice actor has CHANGED.

Don’t fear! This happens all the time and many factors can come into play to make that happen.

Because I’m bored today and have nothing better to talk about...

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BETTER TO TALK ABOUT!

(seriously, I do like this movie)

I want to talk about voice actors! Because I like talking about them. I have the highest respect for these people and these people give it their all with the characters they voice. Every scream Sean Schemmel ever gave as Goku, every cackle Sayaka Ohara gave as Beatrice, these performances can be considered remarkable and memorable as time goes by.

But we must all remember this. Voice actors are just like you or me. They are human. No one lasts forever. And when the unthinkable happens and a voice actor dies, many creators grapple with either retiring the character or hire a replacement.

In the anime world, it’s most likely the latter because there’s no way in fuckdom Professor Oak would EVER be retired as a character (R.I.P. Unshou Ishizuka).

Even though no one could match the charm of Unshou Ishizuka as Professor Oak and many other roles, we accept the change. But it’s not just death. Life in general can get in the way. Many voice actresses have long-running roles to voice even when they’re pregnant. So when they go on maternity leave, they’ll need a replacement. However these are thankfully temporary so we were able to get Mariya Ise to voice Bonnie on Pokemon again and soon Brina Palencia will be back to voicing Juvia on Fairy Tail (and congrats to her for the birth of her first baby).

Child actors in anime will probably not have the same voice they had 10 years ago and if a role is making a revival in the present, that person will more than likely not play that same role. Perfect example there would be Aaron Dismuke who was a young boy when playing roles like Al on Full Metal Alchemist and Hiro on Fruits Basket. When FMA: Brotherhood came out, it was very clear that Dismuke was well past puberty and so his role of Alphonse had to go to someone else.

And voice actors who sustain injury to their voices during production. Jessica Calvello, the original voice of Excel from Excel Saga literally blew out her vocal chords for this role and had to have her role replaced for the second half of the series. Was it noticeable? Fuck yeah it was. But it was for the greater good. Plus her replacement wasn’t that bad. In fact she did a good job with the wacky behavior of Excel. The dubbing company was on a deadline and it had to be met. So what’s done is done. I’m just happy Calvello healed from that and is still a voice actor.

And other issues like scheduling conflicts and controversial issues come into play throwing a monkey wrench in productions. But we all move on for the most part.

WE ALL MOVE ON!

Anyways, for the most part these are just singular acts concerning one or more characters at a time. What happens when AN ENTIRE CAST IS CHANGED?!

Well...it happens! It just depends on the circumstances with the anime. And let’s face it, some of these changes can be for the greater good. Take Sailor Moon for example. Yes, we all know this tale! Sailor Moon was originally licensed by DIC for the first few seasons. And then the next few seasons it was taken over by (the thankfully gone company) Cloverway. With both companies, the anime was given the royal fuck-over with skipping episodes, chopping or editing scenes, Americanizing everything, downplaying homosexuality, shotty voice work, and blow off an entire season. And during the transition from DIC to Cloverway, some of the voices were changed and it was noticeable.

Decade later, Viz Media swoops in and gives the fans what they waited for. The entire series redubbed with original names, Haruka and Michiru are lesbians, Fisheye has a penis, and season five can finally be shown. But for many of us, we were delighted to hear the voices to the characters we grew up with finally getting some justice. While many of us loved Sailor Moon growing up, it was kind of painful to hear some of the voices. I once again point to Haruka’s original voice (or Amara as they called her). And the same could also be said about the first dub to One Piece. This redub needed to happen! No one objected to this, nor should they! But that’s just one person’s opinion here. Others, not so much. Especially the next one!

POKEMON! Yes another anime that went through a giant change. In 2006 (right in the middle of a fucking arc mind you), Pokemon switched the dubbing rights from 4Kids to TAJ/Pokemon Company. To which we all said...

And then they got rid of all the voice actors who have voiced these characters for YEARS and replaced them. To fans of the show from the very beginning it was noticeable and STILL IS. To people who were born in 2006 and are watching this now as a teenager (fucking shit I feel old just realizing that), they probably wouldn’t give it a second thought.

I know it hurt fans and voice actors at first but look at the bright side, a lot of them went on to do great things after Pokemon. Veronica Taylor is busy doing Sailor Moon. Eric Stuart is still touring. And Andrew Rannells...I don’t think I need to bring up Book of Mormon. As it has been over 13 years since the change I think many of us have gotten used to or have accepted this.

Does that mean you’ve accepted Tracey’s new voice?

No. Fuck no. And I never will.

Yeah, Tracey’s a different story. I refuse to accept that change.

Anyways back to voice actors changing! Pokemon and Sailor Moon were kind of special cases as those had a bunch of in-fighting to get what we got. Same with One Piece because no one wanted to watch that hot mess get raped with censored items, Americanized names, and a horrific rap song that even Vanilla Ice would say that’s too much. But sometimes, an anime that has finished its airing and has been dubbed and released in the states, it will be out of print or its license will be expired.

Animes like Berserk, Squid Girl, Rozen Maiden, and Shakugan no Shana were all owned, licensed, and dubbed by a company. But then their licence would go belly-up and their title would no longer be available for purchase (at a decent price) or streamed on a website. Luckily, these titles were eventually saved. Kept the same is a different story there.

All four of those titles had one or more of their seasons dubbed and anything else the series had that wasn’t dubbed was now going to be dubbed by their current licencor. In many of these cases it was changed due to the fact that many of the original voice actors for these roles are not where this certain anime is being worked on. Like in the case of Shakugan no Shana, many of the voice actors reside in Vancouver BC and FUNimation, the licensing company is in Texas. Hence, you get the second and third season sounding way different from the first season. Yes, it’s convenient or cheaper to use people in your studio instead of waiting to hear from Canada. So that’s a possibility of why they do that. Or of course, scheduling issues/conflicts or wanting to do things their own way. Haven’t decided on which one to believe.

And then there are some animes like Escaflowne (an anime that was already dubbed and licensed and released in the late 90s) only for the whole thing to be redubbed by FUNimation decades later. Reasons? They re-licensed it? There was over 8 minutes of new footage found that was never dubbed? They found it necessary to do that? Take your pick!

Now most of what I’m talking about is mostly America problems. Does Japan redub classic anime? To my knowledge, no. But if they remake, reboot, or give a sequel, the cast might change. In recent reboots such as Fruits Basket, Berserk, Sailor Moon, and Genshiken, the entire cast will change to either appease the original creator’s wishes or start over with a clean slate. And if a series makes a return after several decades, of course they’re going to change voices, are you insane?

Why did I find the need to spew a bunch of useless information today? I felt inspired after Netflix decided to grace us with IT’S presence.

Neon Genesis Evangelion.

A classic in the anime community. A gateway anime for many. A massive mindfuck wrapped in a brainfart. A clusterfuck of many proportions.

The television series was licensed and dubbed by ADV back in the 90s. But of course that company went belly-up and so this series has been unreachable in terms of purchasing for over a decade. Even when Japan gives us reboots in the forms of movies for the Evangelion franchise, only those movies would be picked up (by FUNimation). They didn’t even touch the series. Didn’t they realize fans would pay through the nose to get a blu-ray release of this series? The most fans could get were split-up copies on DVD and old VHS tapes. This was a goldmine.

Alas, FUNimation was not the one to save the Neon Genesis Evangelion series.

It was Netflix.

But...all things come at a price when you make a deal with the devil. Netflix found it necessary to redub the entire series (both movies included) without giving word or even consideration to the original cast (that has been doing the voices to these characters for over 20 years). Spike Spenser, Amanda Winn Lee, Tiffany Grant, and Allison Keith wanted to help with this as they all had a lot of input in the original (especially Lee). Now before I cast stones upon this, I do give this dub some credit. They do make an effort to make this sound like an improved version of the 90s dub. And in some aspects I find the new voice to Shinji bearable. And I’m okay with many new casting changes. I mean NGE was okay, but the dub wasn’t the greatest. My only gripe with the change...

Downplaying Shinji x Kaowru.

Netflix, you just undid like a decades worth of change when it comes to homosexuality in anime. You just took us five steps backwards! Kaowru says he LOVED Shinji. “Like”? No, you like a pair of pants. You like that new Bruno Mars song. Kaowru said he LOVED Shinji. Why the fuck didn’t you keep that translation? The 90s dub was kind enough to have Kaowru say that and the 1990s were run by a bunch of prudes! I thought we were past this shit when we put an end to the old Sailor Moon dubs!

Now with this Netflix dub, many characters on Evangelion officially have 2-3 different voice actors. Or in the case of the character Toji, Johnny Young Bosch is the fifth person to voice him. But some platforms can have the anime itself, just not get the right with the english dub probably due to some legal loophole.

Whew, a lot of changes in anime, right folks? It almost feels like these dubbing companies want to erase the past, right? Well to be fair, everyone seems to be doing that. Disney keeps giving us live-action remakes to classic Disney animated films. Classic anime titles are being rebooted. Dubbing companies are taking older animes and redubbing them. I know it feels like they want us to forget these dubs existed. But I know they just want to improve them.

No matter what, everyone will find fault with everything. And in the anime community, it feels like a never-ending flame war. Older animes will get hated on by how crappy it sounds or looks. And nostalgic fans will hate on the new dub because it’s with new people who sound nothing like the original.

YOU CAN (NOT) WIN!

Heh, I made an Eva-build joke.

With these redubs, many names get pronounced the correct way, many translations will be accurate to the Japanese version, and in some cases it’ll sound a lot better. Dubbing companies try to aim at new viewers and to introduce a new generation of anime fans to an old classic. But for people who grew up with animes like Pokemon, Escaflowne, Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, and many others, we grew accustomed to the dub. And when hearing it changed, it’s kind of a kick in the ears hearing anything penetrated or different from all the years you spent watching these animes.

Everyone has their own opinion of what they like and don’t like to hear. I like to give things the benefit of the doubt for the most part. Especially when I watch an older anime for the first time that has several dubs. When I began watching Rurouni Kenshin about 7 years back, I was warned that there were three English dubs to that. And I heard all three. I made my choice of which one I prefer, which one was okay, and which one needs to be set on fire. In case you don’t know, the original TV series had the best, the OVA series was okay, and the redub Sony did needs to be set on fire.

And that would be my advice to new anime watchers. Give both dubs a chance and make your decision on which one you like best.

Sadly, these changes will continue to happen whether for the better or the worst. While there are some changes that upset me, some I’m okay with if not pleased about it. But with the recent upset over fans hating on Evangelion’s new dub and change, do you think the fans will get a revolution and their old dub/old translations back? Let me put it to you this way. If Pokemon told us to sit and spin after many of us outraged over the cast change, what chance do Evangelion fans have against Netflix? But you never know, stranger things have happened. Maybe a miracle will occur and the old dub will get a blu-ray release.

In the meantime, I’ll have to re-write my thoughts on Evangelion with the ADV dub, FUNimation dub, and Netflix dub. TOO MANY DUBS!

This has been another Medea ramble. I’ll go back to doing whatever it is I normally do around here.

#pokemon #escaflowne #neon genesis evangelion #evangelion #sailor moon #Shakugan no Shana #Full Metal Alchemist #excel saga

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deltaengineering · 6 years

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Bummer Anime 2018 Part 2: shoujo to the rescue

It got better, mostly because it could hardly get worse. That doesn’t mean it was a smooth ride, of course. I would like to state, for the record, that I’m not trying to be the funny guy who hates everything here; the season’s just that unusually bad. As before, the source for the ad copy at the end of each block is this.

Asobi Asobase

What: A bunch of assholes play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

✅ It’s another exuberant comedy, and unlike Chio-chan, I can’t catch this one on the execution: It has the technical chops and honestly good comedic timing.

❌❌ Initially wants to make you believe it’s a pleasant cute girls doing cute things show, but what it actually is is a brutally annoying and ugly explosion in the reactionface factory. Since the production values are there, it’s rather too good at that.

❌❌ I was trying to compare it to something, and the best I could come up with was rage comics. Yeah, it’s anime rage comics. It’s that bad.

❌❌ I would feel more benevolent towards it if it were shorter, but at full length its high energy screaming based assault is mostly just tiresome.

♎ This is one of those rare shows where even I will say your mileage may vary. It’s really good at what it does, but I hate everything it does. Hooray for the subversion, but at the end of the day you’re still annoying and ugly.

ANN sez: “It's this exact mix of stupid crassness and innocent naiveté that I think truly defines high-school life, and Asobi Asobase nails it perfectly. “

Hyakuren no Haou to Seiyaku no Valkyria

What: A smartphone with a light novel protagonist attached time travels to the bronze age, establishes a incest-fascist harem regime with the power of Wikipedia.

❌❌ read the synopsis again please

❌❌ there’s more idiocy than that, believe it or not (ex.: smartphone hotline to his actual imouto, for the feels), but I haven’t got all day.

❌❌ Basing your isekai shit on “history” (i.e., a LN author’s idiotic idea of history) instead of an MMO or whatever only serves to piss me off even more.

❌❌ Actually not better than Isekai Smartphone, which makes it one of the worst anime episodes I have ever seen. Congratulations. The only thing it has over Death March is that it doesn’t spend 80% of the time in menus, but it makes menus look pretty good so it’s a wash.

ANN brainfarts: “Yuuto also seems to be limiting his phone searches to historically accurate things as well, which shows that he's really thinking about the fact that he's in the past – no one's inventing the rocket here, they're just learning to grind grain and use the phalanx formation for battles.”

Phantom in the Twilight

What: Chinese girl travels to London, inadvertently inherits her great-grandma’s vampire harem.

✅ Step 1 of every otome harem appraisal is determining how much of a wet blanket the protagonist is; Ton here is pretty spunky and even gets to kick some ass, so well done on that.

✅ Some of the right kind of nonsense for my taste, stuff like chav goblins and Jiangshi with miniguns is always appreciated.

✅ Random shows ending up with bizarre minimal techno soundtracks is still something that I approve of.

❌ Still not the glorious kind of nonsense that Dance With Devils had, nor the disregard of actual romance in favor of comedy that Dame x Prince exhibited. It’s an otome-ass otome harem and that’s not inspiring confidence for the long term.

❌ Looks cheap, and that won’t be getting any better.

ANN sez: “The fantasy worldbuilding here also felt far more sturdy than in many similar shows; this isn't a world where the Good Fantasy Guys fight the Bad Fantasy Guys, this is a world where creatures like goblins and spriggans and werewolves all exist, all possess their own cultures and priorities, and uneasily rub shoulders with each other.”

Jashin-chan Dropkick

What: Demon snake girl wants to murder the chuuni gothloli that summoned her, gets owned right back.

❌❌ It’s the second coming of Dokuro-chan, with every punchline being torture. Quite literally for the characters, and consequently for the audience as well.

❌❌ Needless to say, the entire cast (there’s some additional supernatural babes, none of which make much of an impression) are jerks and the show being wantonly mean-spirited towards them does not cancel that out.

❌ Somehow the second anime about eating reptile ass in recent memory. But Maidragon, as lame as it was, wasn’t as terrible as this. Jashin-chan won’t get into insipid family feels any time soon, but the alternative is worse.

ANN sez: “If this is your taste in humor, it may be worth giving a second episode to see if it starts pulling that off.”

Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes

What: Handsome genius antique dealer appraises old pottery and his assistant’s soul.

✅ I have to admit that if you somehow decided to make a otome version of Sherlock without anything so crass as murder, this is how you’d do it. It works.

✅ The leading pair has simple but effective chemistry.

✅ The studio behind it has mostly done porn OVAs before, which is the kind of meta-humor I can get behind.

❌ Based on a series of novels, so naturally the talkytalk gets out of hand.

❌ Doesn’t have the highest budget, tries to make up for it with rainbow-colored garishness. Not a dealbreaker but it could get tiresome.

ANN sez: “While Yagashira cuts a handsome figure as the bishonen, Aoi has more of an ordinary appearance – perhaps deliberately so, since I suspect that the source novels were originally aimed at female audiences.”

Shinya! Tensai Bakabon

What: Showa-era gag manga gets on air again after decades, repeatedly points out how hilarious that is.

❌ Beat-for-beat the same first episode concept as Osomatsu-san.

❌ The main difference is that Bakabon is more willing to look old as fuck, but when they arrive at the non-ruse look at the end of the episode, it’s the same as the non-ruse look that Osomatsu-san ended up at the end of its own first episode.

❌ So guess what, constantly takes potshots at Osomatsu-san, despite being a blatant ripoff of it.

❌❌ When it doesn’t reference Things You Know (if you’re a middle-aged Japanese salaryman), it references its own sorry showa-era gag manga self.

❌❌ I didn’t even like Osomatsu-san but this is an embarrassment.

♎ On the bright side, not as likely to provide fujos with incest shipping material. I fully expect to be proven painfully wrong on this.

ANN sez: Nothing. Way too Japanese for them, I suppose.

Angolmois - Genkou Kassenki

What: Historical action show wherein a bunch of misfits in medieval Japan fight the Mongols.

✅ Fairly decent action and animation thereof.

✅ Characters seem alright for this sort of thing. Maybe a bit too tryhard violent for my tastes, but that’s still within acceptable parameters.

❌❌ The looks are ruined in postproduction. I could live with the heavyhanded color correction, but what really kills it is the same omnipresent static paper texture over every single shot. It’s bad when it doesn’t change between shots but it’s devastating when it doesn’t move along with zooms and pans, which this show has a lot of.

❌❌ Seriously, I haven’t seen anything as senselessly destroyed by a single AfterEffects layer since Garo: Vanishing Line’s Parkinsonscam, but at least that only affected impact frames. Here it’s literally every frame. Delete that PNG you damn fools.

❌ So yeah, it’s okay-ish but that’s not enough to survive one boneheaded executive decision that’s impossible to ignore. It just comes out as a net negative.

ANN sez: “From its beautifully animated, choreographed, and directed fight scenes to its generally dynamic compositions and keen understanding of visual economy, Angolmois is a visually stunning production.”

Lord of Vermilion - Guren no Ou

What: Tokyo gets enveloped in red mist which raptures most of the population and turns the rest into JRPG characters. They start fighting, we promise.

❌ Has the shape of an obvious Persona clone, but isn’t one; it’s actually based on an arcade CCG. So the source material isn’t very classy to begin with.

❌❌ Haphazardly thrown together so it’s hard to care about anything, especially not the characters.

❌❌ Opens with a flashforward to the climax, so we know this will just end up as overdesigned dudes and dudettes having allegedly epic battles that the show can’t afford to make look good, but can afford to make very red. Thanks for the heads up, I guess.

❌ So it’s quite bad, and not even funny-bad like Caligula was.

ANN sez: “There are always a few action shows like this every season, and they're always entirely overshadowed by that season's versions of shows like My Hero Academia and Banana Fish”

Grand Blue

What: City slicker moves to a beach town expecting to end up in Amanchu; ends up in Animal House instead.

❌❌ Say it with me: Every punchline is the protagonist making a shocked face at dumb meatheads doing something stupid.

♎ For something that I feel like I should hate every second of, I actually didn’t hate it all that much. I even thought it was mostly sort of enjoyable. I don’t really know what exactly does it but I can offer some ideas:

✅ While the punchlines (well, punchline) may be bad, the jokes themselves aren’t. This is a real sitcom with larger-scale comedic setups than you usually see in anime, jokes build upon each other and keep escalating.

✅ Sleazy fratboy humor about partying hard and drinking like an idiot isn’t very profound, but rare at least in anime. And it’s amusing that the overall conceit is that it’s preventing iyashikei from taking place. Novelty counts for something.

✅ Manages to build awkward comedic situations about buff dudes with their dicks out without resorting to the same old gay panic jokes. Just regular panic, no homo.

✅ Makes a good Friday beach bum combo with Harukana Receive, which incidentally also got better by embracing its more prurient side.

ANN sez: “If Grand Blue Dreaming has a major Achilles heel, its that it isn't self-aware enough to recognize when a joke has run its course. ”

Happy Sugar Life

What: Yandere sociopath adopts a preteen girl (from a parking lot). It’s cute, only not.

✅ Is fully aware that everyone in this show is an asshole and is honestly trying for subversive. At least on the surface.

✅ Goes all on on the imagery, which works. At least on the surface.

❌❌ Simply exploiting the contrast between cuteness and insanity got old about a decade ago; this cranks up the presentation on both sides but doesn’t really add anything new.

❌❌ About as mean-spirited and unpleasant as Mahou Shoujo Site, while having even less to say.

❌ Doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere; it’s just going to be the main character pwning other people that are just as flamboyantly fucked up as she is, but not as good at it. Starting with a flashforward to the (very edgy, of course) ending like Lord of Vermilion doesn’t help either. And even if they end up rusemanning what is implied there it won’t be much better.

ANN sez: “Happy Sugar Life was on my list of most-anticipated anime this season because its combination of disparate elements seemed so utterly perverse that I was curious to see how they could possibly fit together.“

Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight

What: Girls slowwalk in an academy for stage arts by day, get into metaphorical superbattles by night.

✅✅ What can I say, it’s Love Live x Marimite with a glossy coating of Ikuhara-style operatics. A total deltabait concept if I’ve ever seen one.

✅ Clones the storytelling approach of Ikuhara but not many of his specific directing mannerisms; Since I’m tired of the latter but a sucker for the former, this is a good thing.

✅ In a similar vein, this trades Ikuhara’s functional ciphers for actual characters and his enigmatic arthouse plots for something that obviously makes sense.

✅ How gay? So gay.

❌ Has the opposite problem of Grand Blue: This is a show that should blow me away, but doesn’t. In fact, if it didn’t bring the big damn musical theater complete with one of the best and most appropriate henshins I’ve ever seen near the end, I’d say it was fairly lame.

❌ Probably has something to do with that in the course of casualizing Ikuhara, the “real” world ended up too bland and the characters too generic. I get that it’s for contrast, but it can be done far better (see Yorimoi for an example).

✅ In any case, it still seems easily worth watching even if it’s not as good as it could be. Maybe it’ll even get better.

ANN sez: “All I can say for certain is that it comes completely out of nowhere, and that it raises all kinds of questions about what kind of series this is going to be.“

Yuragi-sou no Yuuna-san

What: Impoverished ghost hunter checks into a haunted hot spring and interacts with the harem that happens to live there.

❌ As generic a 90s ecchi harem comedy as they come; my correspondents tell me that this is extremely reminiscent of Love Hina. Shockingly it’s actually based on a 2016 manga, but you wouldn’t be able to tell.

❌ As such, an abundance of accidental boobplants and other saucy accidents makes up the bulk of what’s going on this show.

✅ The main ghost girl is fairly cute; The main dude is also relatively bearable and has at least one good joke in his backstory (which I won’t spoil), so the core dynamic is surprisingly fine. If the rest of the harem weren’t there, this wouldn’t be such a bad setup.

❌ Features those dastardly breast-hiding light rays, reportedly even in the AT-X version. This doesn’t affect a large part of the show (the majority is more like the cap above), but boobies are probably still the only reason anyone cares about any of this.

♎ Certainly not good, but the lame shit of yore is not what I’m going to spend energy getting mad at in 2018. The 24 minutes I’m ever going to spend with it felt more nostalgic than anything.

ANN sez: “Ninja girl Sagiri comes off the worst from the situation, with nearly all of her dialogue spent promising to beat the crap out of anyone who doesn't measure up to her moral code. I imagine there must be more to her and the rest of the supporting cast than what we've seen so far, but at the moment they seem an awful lot like stock characters.”

Sirius the Jaeger

What: A broody werewolf and his team of assorted bad dudes hunt vampires in 30s Tokyo.

✅✅ Looks ace, this is an action show with deluxe everything. It better, because being directed by Masahiro Ando is pretty much the start and end of this show’s unique selling points.

✅ Interwar Tokyo with a bit of a gothick twist is a cool setting, and this show can afford to portray it properly.

❌ Seriously though... edgy vampires and edgier werewolves. Come on, son.

❌ Just like Banana Fish, this is a highly polished implementation of something that fundamentally isn’t very interesting to me.

✅ I’d still take it over Fanana Bish because this doesn’t seem to take itself so bloody seriously and is far more comfortable with just being moody action schlock. It’s also less showoffy, believe it or not. What else are you going to watch? Sirius the Jaeger is what you’re going to watch. Sorry.

ANN sez: They only have a preview from Anime Expo, and that boils down to “The second episode is where things start to get interesting.“ I sure hope so.

Well, we got a few acceptable shows in if nothing else, I’ll leave it up to you to figure out which ones those are. I’m cutting my losses here, see you in three months for a hopefully more bountiful season.

#anime #summer2018 #impressions #Asobi Asobase #Hyakuren no Haou to Seiyaku no Valkyria #Jashin-chan Dropkick #Phantom in the Twilight #Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes #Shinya! Tensai Bakabon #Angolmois - Genkou Kassenki #Lord of Vermilion - Guren no Ou #grand blue #happy sugar life #Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight #Yuragi-sou no Yuuna-san #sirius the jaeger

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hatari-translations · 3 years

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JóiPé and Króli - B.O.B.A. (B.O.M.) - translation

Requested by anon, this song featuring JóiPé and Króli's interesting taste in women already has the Icelandic lyrics on Genius, which is good because I would have had no clue about some of this if I were trying to transcribe. English translation below.

English translation

BUBBI MORTHENS (spoken on recording): It was a total bomb! I say and I spell it, B.O.M!

CHORUS: B.O.M., it's a bomb I don't like good chicks, only the bad ones On the first date I pull up in an i30 Hyundai Bad girls make me so rousey like Ronda

B.O.M., she's a bomb I don't like good chicks, only the bad ones On the first date I pull up in an i30 Hyundai Bad girls make me so rousey like Ronda

KRÓLI: I like girls that swipe my card Tease and talk and chat a bit and love a little bragging, shiii Yeah, she's my biii And if she needs a ride, she'll call me

The answers are uneven and only sometimes And she can only sometimes tell me and my dad apart But hey, yeah, I love this gal And see, she shows me attention, although just a little

CHORUS: B.O.M., it's a bomb I don't like good chicks, only the bad ones On the first date I pull up in an i30 Hyundai Bad girls make me so rousey like Ronda

B.O.M., she's a bomb I don't like good chicks, only the bad ones On the first date I pull up in an i30 Hyundai Bad girls make me so rousey like Ronda

JÓI PÉ: B.O.M. bomb I like a girl who's pretty bad who's difficult to bond with and won't call whenever A girl with bling, yeah she's bad Pull up uninvited, no, ding dong

She doesn't like my songs, but I don't mind One thing's for sure, this girl's a dodgy lady She's always mean to me, it's become a habit I would do anything, anything for her

CHORUS: B.O.M., it's a bomb I don't like good chicks, only the bad ones On the first date I pull up in an i30 Hyundai Bad girls make me so rousey like Ronda

B.O.M., she's a bomb I don't like good chicks, only the bad ones On the first date I pull up in an i30 Hyundai Bad girls make me so rousey like Ronda

B.O.M., it's a bomb I don't like good chicks, only the bad ones On the first date I pull up in an i30 Hyundai Bad girls make me so rousey like Ronda

B.O.M., she's a bomb I don't like good chicks, only the bad ones On the first date I pull up in an i30 Hyundai Bad girls make me so rousey like Ronda

Translation notes

The recording at the beginning of the song is a famous 2002 recording of well-known singer-songwriter Bubbi Morthens commenting on a boxing match. He said some blow was a "bomba" (bomb), then went to emphasize by saying "I say and spell it B.O.B.A.!" - which obviously is not how "bomba" is actually spelled. It may just have been the regular sort of brainfart we all have, but Bubbi does describe himself as "skrifblindur" - dyslexia manifesting mostly in difficulty writing/spelling than reading.

Since the point here is he's trying to spell out "bomb" but misspells it, I rendered B.O.B.A. as B.O.M. in the translation - a plausible English misspelling of "bomb", where the alternative "B.O.B." would just sound like the name Bob.

It's pretty funny that these baby rappers, born in 1999 and 2000, are here in 2017 referencing something that happened when they were like two years old. I feel so old.

#jóipé #króli #b.o.b.a.#lyrics #translation

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k9jocks · 7 years

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So last year it was "I can't believe I did that" while this year it was much more "Why yes, this is my life". I also felt like I belonged there even more so than last year. There were nerves, but no overriding anxiety so yeah. I feel very good about everything. I had a wonderful time connecting with my friends (and actually made some new friends - my social anxiety just disappeared and it is weird AF and seriously, do people without social anxiety ever stop and realize how absolutely wonderful it is to be able to do the things?) Saturday I ended up reminiscing with my friend who got me addicted to disc and how my very first throw was horrible and went straight into a tree - which didn't deter Prowl in the slightest and he tried to jump into the tree to get it. Streak did amaze-balls for a 15 month old dog. We only had 2 catches for far out but still managed to come in 10th in the Women's division. For Throw'n'go he caught everything and came in 11th overall. 4way play was a wash because I was having trouble with rollers on turf, but we managed to do better for spaced out and we got a new personal best for timewarp using only 2 discs. I also found out Streak was 6th overall for cumulative points in level 1 4way play for 2016. I can't wait until he can do big dog catches. Prowl didn't catch anything for far out and only caught about half his throw'n'go catches. He still had fun and tried (just maybe a bit too hard). 4way play was great and we would have beat our personal best but Sal had a huge brainfart and screwed that up. We did get a PB for Spaced Out. Timewarp was a bit of a heartbreaker. We got over our zone 1 to zone 2 issues, but the zone 3 jump was just out the far end of the zone and it went downhill from there. At least we learnt a lot and it should help us in the future. Oh, and he was also the 7th overall points earner in level 1 4way play (he was just edged out by his younger brother). Bernoulli played! She had two small little bouts of stage fright, but I managed to get her happily back in the game. We did end up clearing two zones and placed 18th. She was also the second overall points earner in level 1 funkey for 2016, and 4th overall for level 2. I threw horribly for the first two throws for Ratchet, so he rightfully checked out on me Friday. He still had fun running though. Saturday he was a little stiff, so I got him a massage. He was not sure about it, but was mostly a good boy. It was nice to know that he is enough of a flyball dog that the massage therapist could tell just from him muscles and she figured out which way he box turned. I forgot the SD with my podcasts at home, so I was stuck listening to whatever radio stations I could find that weren't creepy AF. So yeah, the SD card is now on my "must have" list. Same with a heater because I completely forgot it for some reason. Thankfully the campground let me borrow one of theirs so we didn't freeze. Also, i have the freestyle bug right now, which is really weird for me since I'm not super into tricks. I started teaching Prowl a shoulder stall last night and have tweaked his freestyle routine for 2017. Streak is also old enough now that I can start to do some basics, so I'll probably start that. If anyone has any requests, let me know and I'll see if I can get a video of the training up. Between all the border collies, I probably have someone I can teach.

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aflyingcontradiction · 3 years

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The Magnus Archives Relisten: Episode 78 - Distant Cousin

Jon: I… er…We… we didn’t…

What is Jon starting to say here before he stops and goes on to read the statement instead? 'We didn't know'?

It’s weird to think about people who knew you as a child. You change so much, and when you talk to them again, they’re not talking to you. They’re talking to someone else, someone you used to be. The person they think they’re seeing has been dead for years, but they didn’t see the change. They’re looking at a complete stranger, and they have no idea. - Statement of Lawrence Moore

a) Yeah, yeah, that sounds about right. Though I've only really had that experience from the other end, actually. Meeting up with old friends and just ... finding a stranger in their place with whom every conversation is awkward. I suspect they felt the same about me, though, I just wouldn't have necessarily noticed. Also I've had that experience with myself, re-reading old diaries. Most of it is all 'Okay, yeah, that's clearly me' but every once in a while I stumble across a moment of 'WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?' and I'm ... not a fan. At all. Not that the changes between teenage!me and now!me haven't mostly been an improvement, but I don't like the concept of changing in ways I can't perceive except in hindsight, can't even remember going through until I see them in writing and sure as fuck can't steer. b) I like the connection they make here between the Stranger and just ... the experience of growing and changing as a person. It's actually really quite unsettling!

He looked at me for a long, off-putting second as a wide smile crept across his face. “I know it’s been a long time, Lawrence,” he said, “but surely you haven’t forgotten your cousin Carl?”

The reaction here implies (at least to me) that the Not!Them doesn't necessarily KNOW in advance who the person that knows them for what they are (that is, their ACTUAL victim, the person whose fear they feed off) is? Hence the smile growing wider.

I could feel panic beginning to rise in my chest, and I started asking everyone who might know Carl, and all of them told me the same thing. When my aunt gave me a withering glare for asking who her son was, I had to leave.

I'm really glad that they didn't draw this scene out any more than that because at this point it was actually becoming genuinely hard to listen. I can deal with and sometimes actively enjoy being unsettled in a fear sense (otherwise I wouldn't be into TMA in the first place). But being unsettled in a second-hand embarrassment sense (as was clearly triggered in me by the scene of everyone at the wedding silently judging this poor guy because in their minds he was either having a break-down or playing a stupid prank) ... yeah, I can't handle that very well.

Neither of us said a word. He just stared at me, smile still wide and something twinkling in his eyes that might have been amusement. Or triumph. He showed no desire to make any sort of conversation, and I was too terrified to say anything at all.

Oh god, this isn't pretty. Not at all. Nope.

Standing there was another man I’d never seen before. He was black, dressed in a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a thin necktie.

... and I completely missed that Adelard Dekker is black. I don't like how my mind glosses over that and settles on default-white, I'll have to work on that.

We placed it [the big box] down in the middle of the living room, and I instinctively went to lift the lid. I caught a brief glimpse of dark, varnished wood before he slammed it down, almost trapping my hand, and shook his head once. “It’s not for you,” he said.

This isn't Dekker being rude, is it? This is Dekker protecting Lawrence from being Webbed as well as Strangered.

I didn’t return to my house until the next morning. Dekker’s blue van was gone, and in its place was another one, dirty white. There was something printed on the side, but I couldn’t make it out under the grime. I watched two men in overalls carry that same box out of my house, load it up, and drive away.

Breekon and Hope, obviously, but I really wonder how exactly they got this "job" and also I'd love to know the exact trajectory of this table before it ends up in the Archive.

Sasha (recording): Hello! I see you! Show yourself! Not!Sasha (recording): Hello? I see you! I see you! Jon: And now I see you!

Oh god, this is so good! Just. The juxtaposition. The 'seeing' thing re: the Eye and Jon. Also it's a pretty important character moment - I think this is the moment that Jon first decides to stop being passive and take the fight to them. Well, Not!Them, I suppose.

Jon: Yes…. Yes. And I’m… I’m sorry. About everything. Martin: J-Jon… look, are you –

Okay, yeah, I mean, if a person I knew was obviously tying up loose ends by way of apology and then making sure they are completely alone, I would be genuinely wondering whether I'll ever see them again alive. Martin's got good reasons to be reluctant to leave.

Jon: I don’t know if destroying this is going to kill that thing… but I am damn sure it’s going to hurt.

Oh god, this is such a stupid decision. Jon literally JUST READ the statement obviously describing the binding of the Not!Them to the table by Dekker. And even without knowing about the Fourteen, he's got enough information to know the table is related to spiders and webs and shit and the Not!Them isn't. Jesus, Jon, what are you doing? I mean, yeah, you're all 'VENGEANCE GRAH!' for understandable reasons, but there's no need to be so STUPID about it!

Michael: That was very stupid.

YES! YES IT WAS!

My impression of this episode

Oh god, there's a lot going on here. First of all, the story of the cousin was disturbing in multiple ways, both the fun horror one that I came here for and the less-fun one (as previously mentioned, there are various scenes in it that set off my "Hiding under blankets and sticking my fingers in my ears until the awkward bit is done" reflex and fighting that was actually quite difficult). And then - well - seeing Jon genuinely fucking FURIOUS and ready to kill, not in self-defense but in revenge, is interesting! Of course, he ends up going about it in the dumbest fucking way and I honestly don't think there's a good explanation for Jon's complete brainfart here. But for me, that bit of rather weak writing is outweighed by the reappearance of Michael, who I love. so. much. So yeah, this is a pretty good episode, all things considered.

#tma relisten #the magnus archives

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