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mobius-prime · 4 years

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175. Sonic the Hedgehog #107

Crouching Hedgehog, Hidden Dragon (臣人豪猪臧龍) (Part Two)

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Ron Lim Colors: Frank Gagliardo

Yes, those are the same Chinese characters as last time. I was kind of hoping they would have used different ones so we could have a second nonsense phrase to laugh over, but alas. The morning after the dragon's attack, Sonic and Tails are playing video games when they're called to a morning meeting with Station Square's president. Once in the meeting, the president begins to explain his strategy for taking on the dragon, but Sonic is less than interested.

Sonic suddenly realizes he recognizes the team as the one that captured him at the beginning of Sonic Adventure 2, and promptly bursts into hysterical laughter, remembering how easily he disarmed them last time. Sally is quick to salvage the situation by claiming that it's Mobian tradition to laugh at their allies as a show of respect, and a confused president and annoyed Paladin Team look on as every Mobian at the table howls with laughter to keep up the ruse. Sonic, however, is not pleased with the tough-guy, humorless attitude that every member of the team exudes, and Sally, Rotor, and Antoine stay behind in the city as Sonic, Tails, and Bunnie airdrop in with the team to Pyro Island, where the dragon is believed to be hiding out. The Mobians are cheery, singing and chatting with one another, but the leader of Paladin Team admonishes them for not taking things seriously. While everyone is distracted, two of the Paladin Team members lag behind everyone else, not realizing that there's a shadowy, snakelike figure stalking them from behind. As the Mobians and humans begin to argue, they suddenly notice the disappearance of two of their team members.

While the humans angrily head out to find their missing team members, Sonic, Tails and Bunnie press on into the trees, trying to figure out where a dragon might hide. Tails spots a cave behind a waterfall, and they duck inside, to be immediately greeted by… Dulcy! It's been a while since we've seen her! Her arm is in a sling, but otherwise she seems fine and happy to see them. Suddenly, the red dragon emerges from behind her, but Dulcy quickly explains that this is Zan, and she's in a relationship with him. However, he begins to act aggressive, insisting that the others are their enemies and shouldn't be here, to her dismay.

Well, that changes things a bit. Everyone tries to convince Zan to settle down so they can talk things out peacefully, but Zan becomes even angrier when Dulcy agrees. He's interrupted from scolding her for relying on them when a net entangles his mouth, shutting him up, and the humans all rush in with guns drawn, ready to kill both dragons. Sonic utilizes his super speed to take apart all their guns before they can fire, but then Zan breaks free of his muzzle, gloating that now that they're unarmed he can kill them easily. Sonic steps in the middle to prevent that from happening either, and then Dulcy, from the back, quietly speaks up.

So this isn't the only "surprise domestic abuse" plot in a Sonic canon. Anyone who's played Sonic and the Secret Rings knows that an abusive romantic relationship plays a big part in that game's plot as well. But it still does come as a big shock here. Sonic freaks out, infuriated that Zan would hurt his friend, and begins wailing on him, while Tails and Bunnie rush outside to check on Dulcy. She repeats certain stock phrases that are common of abuse victims, such as "he loves me" and "maybe it's my fault," while Bunnie reassures her that she's not at fault at all and deserves better than to be treated this way. It's honestly a decent portrayal of the guilt that abuse victims become stuck with, just very condensed, because this comic doesn't have time to throw in a whole long subplot about Dulcy's emotional recovery. Instead, it takes a fast-track approach, as while Sonic and Zan fight, Paladin Team sets up explosives and blows up the entire cave, with Sonic and Zan still in it! That'll solve it!

Everyone outside is horrified and rushes forward to try to dig them both out, but Sonic emerges safely, tunneling his way out from under the rock. However, Zan isn't so lucky. The team contacts the president, informing him that the dragon that menaced them is dead and the city is safe again, and he agrees formally to take in the Overlander refugees, while Sonic, Tails, and Bunnie stay with Dulcy at the ruins of the cave till nightfall, letting her mourn despite the abuse.

Fittingly, our character file for this issue is for Dulcy! She's an outlier in almost every way compared to the other characters so far. Since she's a dragon, you'd expect her to be bigger than the others, but I wasn't expecting her to be so massive. She's a whopping 240 cm or 7'10" tall, and weighs 111.8 kg or 245.9 lbs! That's easily taller than Big the Cat and E-102 Gamma, the tallest characters in the games (not counting bosses such as Iblis or Dark Gaia), though not nearly as heavy as either of them. Her wingspan also comes out to 169 cm or exactly five feet, which correspond well enough to how they're usually drawn as proportionately small. However, that's not the most interesting thing about her file. Based on her behavior and this recent relationship of hers, how old would you say Dulcy is? Seventeen? Eighteen?

She's thirteen.

I was honestly shocked when I found this out. This means that most of the previous times we've seen her, she was literally only twelve, not even a teenager yet. This actually puts a lot of her behavior into perspective - her somewhat crybaby attitude and nervousness in the face of danger, all that is due to literal immaturity. This means she was only about two years old when the war against Robotnik started, with her birthday being August 23. The file explains that when Robotnik began his coup, he heavily targeted dragons before any other creatures due to their sheer power. One such dragon, Sabina, sought protection for her daughter Dulcinea (Dulcy's real name) among the Kingdom of Acorn before she too was captured. Dulcy grew up over the years and helped the Freedom Fighters, though she mainly lived outside on her own due to her massive size. Interestingly enough, the file also attempts to provide a bit of a retcon for the whole "dragons can sense truth" plot hole that I pointed out all the way back during Endgame, instead suggesting that Dulcy in particular is just a very trustworthy individual who doesn't like telling lies and has an instinct for knowing when someone is being truthful, which I can accept. It's a lot better than the handwave from before, anyway.

Reunification (Part II)

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Dawn Best Colors: Robbie O'Quinn

Lien-Da is pissed. Apparently, she actually didn't expect Knuckles to be able to reverse the effects of the Quantum Beam, despite Dimitri not only promising Knuckles he'd do so himself, but even encouraging Knuckles to do so on his own. Dimitri is also shocked, though more at the sheer extent of Knuckles' power, which exceeds even his own when he was Enerjak.

What, Lien-Da? You think you're gonna recruit Remington or something? Remington's an upstanding guy, man, I think your chances are… uh… well, I suppose we mustn't forget about the time traveler girl who apparently thinks he's gonna murder Knuckles. Remington asks her for her name and she gives the name "Jani-Ca," though internally she notes that she's trying to hide her own identity, meaning this isn't her real name. Wynmacher and Lara-Le rush up, concernedly asking after Knuckles, and while Remington states he hasn't seen him, Jani-Ca hides her surprise at seeing a younger version of her grandmother. Wait - grandmother?! Then that means she's…

The Chaotix are back as well, having landed right back in the ruins of the Grand Conservatory, with their dialogue again suggesting that they haven't been away for long due to the slower time scale within the Twilight Zone. In Haven, the various members of the Brotherhood are dismayed to find the place trashed from Knuckles' earlier bursts of uncontrolled power, though they instead suspect the Legion's hand. They notice that Matthias and Hawking are no longer there, realizing that they've both died and headed on to the "next evolution," AKA echidna heaven. They sense one more soul with them, whom we know is Tobor, but they can't figure it out. Locke briefly worries that it might be Knuckles before hearing Knuckles' ghostly voice reassuring him that he's fine and currently in the city. Far from reassuring Locke, this only makes him worry that instead of his great plans for Knuckles to be a savior, instead his worst fears have come to pass. What, Locke, you starting to think that maybe genetically engineering and irradiating your unborn baby wasn't a good idea after all?

*sigh* So, yes, everyone, this is Knuckles' future daughter Lara-Su. Anyone who knows Penders and his whole lawsuit debacle will know exactly who this is. Now, she's kind of an unpopular character because of this (and because many people essentially dismiss her as Penders' Mary Sue OC), and there are definitely valid criticisms to be made about her inclusion into the comics, but I'm not going to immediately jump into hating her just because of the circumstances of her creation. After all, we still know basically nothing about her, not even how she came to be, and anyway you all know that I prefer to judge a character or story on its own merits and not on how likeable its creator is.

Everyone's conversations are interrupted by a flash of light, and Dimitri materializes in the middle of the group. Remington, of course, steps forward intending to arrest him, but Knuckles stops him much to his shock. Dimitri grins in a super-duper-not-an-evil-villain way and says that Knuckles has finally seen that he and his Legion only wish to rejoin the rest of echidna society, and that they're prepared to do whatever it takes to reintegrate…

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sth 107 #writer: karl bollers #writer: ken penders #pencils: ron lim #pencils: dawn best #colors: frank gagliardo #colors: robbie o'quinn

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dentalrecordsmusic · 4 years

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Album Review: No Momentum - “everything's whatever”

Words by Ari Jindracek

I became acquainted with No Momentum at Sled Fest, as I did with many bands, and after seeing them live, the chance to check out their first full-length LP was one I knew I had to jump on. I left Mount Prospect that night with their CD in my bag, though various holiday circumstances meant I couldn't actually check it out until January, and the second I listened, I was in. The more I listen, the more in I get. No Momentum feel like the sort of band that would result if you took topics that the DIY scene spends a lot of time on, like love, nostalgia, and modern Internet culture, chopped up a weird and sometimes distressing therapy session, and shoved everything into a food processor with early Fall Out Boy. That's a bad metaphor for a good band, but you might get my point: there's a bit of old, a lot of new, and the result is wholly terrific.

The first few seconds of “yr telescope” feel like a cool day in a small park in the middle of the city, soothing but with a sense of modernity still there. This impression goes away as soon as it came and I must admit the transition into the more bouncy, vocally-fried song was jarring. The lyrics take a backseat, for me, to the rhythm which singer Will Bowman spits them out; if I brought this song to my sophomore year class on prosody (look it up), my professor would probably listen to “I’m not defined by rhymes or lines,” look at the class, and say something in his deeply profound voice about how he thought it was cool as hell. It feels like every word of this song falls perfectly into its right place, a perfectly-played game of musical Tetris. I long for a return to the serene beginning just so it doesn’t seem like such a one-off, but this song latched in my brain and I think of it sometimes, unprompted, on walks to the train, wishing I could listen to it on my phone.

The way “gts” starts steeply contrasts the way “yr telescope” does, opening with harsh, metallic, picky noises that make my teeth itch before opening into the guitar-backed vocals, and sliding into a bouncy rhythm like water off an umbrella. The vocals lapse into traditional nasally emo, into a rasping, into screaming. The range of sonic texture in this song alone is stunning and makes me think about how some hardcore bands have separate people giving clean vocals and screamed vocals, unable or willing to cover all that territory. A lot is going on in “gts”, so much that I feel like it slipped off my brain on the first few listens. The first half of the lyrics are grounded in simple reality (“You’re probably used to it by now / you’ve probably got your script out” reminds me of that now-dead meme about the “I’m at capacity” text script. I’m on Twitter a lot, sue me.), then after a beachy instrumental interlude, the song collapses into murderous imagery, ending with what seems to be the death of the listener at the hands of the speaker. The first line, “my brain feels like it’s overloading”, is right. I’m not mad about it, but feel like I’m missing something between verses.

“not my home” grabs my attention almost immediately with the way “dot dot dot” smartly multitasks, working on the levels of both lyric and catchy, pop-punky sound effect. This song feels colossal, partially because the two before it are so short, a billowing blanket castle that takes up half the house. The line “you said this body’s not my home anymore” is the most powerful of the song to me, though I’m not sure if it hits for me, a transgender person, for the same reasons it might hit for the band. The song feels like it comes in waves--soft-loud, gentle-fast. Every time I get used to the sound I’m hearing, it flips again. In the end, the slow rhythm underneath the tragic-sounding apologies gives way, almost naturally, to the more intense moment that follows, which slows down again as the song fades out. The beginning of “painted yellow lines” feels like it follows naturally, in much the same way. Again, the cadence of the lyrics in this song grabs my attention. The vocals feel like a rhythm instrument in their own right for the way they seem to be hammered out, exactly on every beat. This song was the first one that outright surprised me with how good it was. The lyrics read as a simple but painful testament to mental illness and intrusive thoughts; “who’s to say some painted yellow lines can quell impulse / but that’s not me, no that’s the disease” and “maybe I’m damaged goods but I’m good” both hit me hard. The former feels very visual, an image of an image in someone’s head of steering their car out of its proper lane, crashing headfirst into traffic; the latter, an almost-too-easy denial of the very distressing feelings that might make one want to steer into traffic. I love the ghostly effect of the effect-riddled vocals behind the guitar solo, and the thick bass in the breakdown right before the end of the song makes me think of it as a headbanging moment.

The beginning of “chill’d,” the first single off the album and first half of “chill’d / passenger,” echoes that of “gts” but feels more suspenseful, from the chords and growly bass to the little triplets. This effect dissolves when the vocals start, much like it does in “yr telescope.” The band does echo this in the chorus, though, which I’m grateful for. My primary thought about “chill’d / passenger” is that it feels like two songs--and not like one two-part song, as I would have expected by the two-part title. Both are remarkable, don’t get me wrong. “chill’d” is high-energy with remarkable drum fills and one of those bridges I love that slows down before picking itself back up. After a second of tuning, “chill’d” lapses into the much slower “passenger,” which glitters like black ice under streetlights. The breakdown of the song, screams of “what are you scared of?” is raw and stunning. My main problem is that these two halves don’t feel like they cohere, which is sad because they’re both such brilliant halves! The feel of the two songs, however, both lyrically and musically, is just too different for me to connect them as one and the same without a little more transition work than those quiet seconds that it takes to twist up one or two guitar strings. There are smoother transitions on the album between songs that are listed separately. I think picking “chill’d” as a single independent of its mate was a good choice--it’s a lot more fun and less gut-wrenching. Honestly, if my only problem with a song is the transition between it and the next song, even if they’re both the same track, that’s pretty high praise.

My first impression of the second single “my dad invented punk and he’s gonna cancel your band” is obviously tied to the title, because I judge a book by its cover more than I should. It’s a good impression--feels very mid-2000s--and it doesn’t let me down. The opening guitar grit feels familiar at this point, a thread woven through earlier songs. Bassist Dan Watkins’s part feels extra distinctive, partially because the guitar largely drops out at the end of the first verse to give the bassline extra room, but also because it drives the song as it crashes forward through the brush. Lyrically, I love “deify me, crucify me” as a couplet, and as a quick summary of the way cancel culture works in the music world we all live in: musicians and their work are so important we end up idolizing them, until they step over a line, at which point the scene, metaphorically, cuts their heads off. The ending is abrupt--like the end of a smaller band’s career if they cross that line--and I wish I had some more of it to sink my teeth into, but I also have no problem with the song slamming the brakes in a way oddly similar to how it started.

“orange julius erving” kicks off with that scratchy guitar sound that seems to be a No Momentum signature sound over lush rhythms. I feel like I could listen to the drums at the very beginning on their own and they’d feel like a song in their own right. The subject matter feels very domestic, in great contrast to the very-online subject of the previous song: brushing teeth, kitchen towels, and love for someone with the sort of deathwish that makes someone crash their car into a wall. The guitar solo slots in perfectly after the second verse and I love the way it feels so tonally clear. The slow tremolo at the end of this solo creates a great springboard for launching into the final sequence of screaming, loving but brutal to feel.

The song “yes, momentum”, obviously named with tongue in cheek, is also very aptly named: it builds from the wash of sound in the first few notes, into a first voice sung normally, into a slower bridge, into a final minute of screaming. Even in the slower verse, the line “sit on my hands and scream too loud” indicates what is to come, and Marty Headley on drums keeps the energy up even as the instrumentals fade out. The whole effect of this build feels like I’m trying to walk down a steep hill--tentative, then walking, then running due to the buildup of, well, momentum. The end of the song after “the buck stops now” feels right, because if the song had kept going any more, it seemed like it would spin itself out and wreck on the side of the road, so great was the force behind it.

"donettes" is a great example of a type of song I-- probably wrongly, let's be real -- refer to as "grand emo ballads.” Out of my top five songs of all time, I would classify three under this heading. That is to say, "donettes" falls into my favorite flavor of song: characterized by slow-tempo instrumentals that take up a lot of real estate in a long song full of lyrics that contain significant emotional depth. Think of the richness of the instrumentals here, paced much slower than almost anything else on the album so far but pulling just as much attention in as the killer songs earlier on. The drumming in the final two minutes is phenomenal. The lyrics, though there aren't as many of them as one might expect from a song almost six minutes long, hit me like bricks every now and then. “What made you think that you could outrun time?” got me immediately, as did the slow, heartfelt rendition of, “tell me what you want, what you really really want.” The imagery in the last verse is vivid for how grounded it is, all sugar sweet and nostalgic.

There is a rawness in the love there, shown in the desperation of the vocals, the cries of the guitar. It all comes together into pretty much my platonic ideal of a slow song by a fast band. The album's title track follows, another slowed-down closer. "everything’s whatever" begins with a doubled guitar that isn't present elsewhere, probably because No Momentum only has one guitarist. It takes more than a minute and a half for the rhythm section to come in, and the first time they take the foreground is more than halfway through. Most of the song has a sonic feel like a gray-skied day by the shore of a lake. Lyrically, there is apathy and neutrality showing in lines like “I’m waiting for some things to fall together so I can start living.” It's very relatable but there is a distinct undercurrent of forcing it--there is more emotion under the facade. “Can’t seem to stop the room from spinning” feels like the beginning of the cracking of that facade to me, a crack that leads to a crumbling in the last full minute; after that, there are explicit mentions of pretending regularly, subtext fully made text. In the end, the song gets musically much harder, more wrenching, and you can tell that the end is nigh. It feels like light is slipping out through the places where the mask of not caring has worn thin.

While working on this review, I found myself wanting to listen to everything’s whatever more than just when I was at home with my good headphones on, flipping through MP3s, with my orange CD player waiting for when I needed it. No Momentum at times remind me of some of my favorite bands. Sure, there are a few blemishes on the album, but the sheer caliber of the work means I am all too willing to ignore those little scrapes and stage-dive into a crowd about it instead. No Momentum’s work is going to make it into my rotation, absolutely, and when they blow up and start headlining national tours, you can catch me in the pit.

everything’s whatever was released today, 2/14. You can listen to the album here on Bandcamp and be sure to catch up with No Momentum on all of their social media.

Ari Jindracek wants some powdered sugar donuts now. Ari doesn’t even like powdered sugar donuts. You can find Ari on Twitter.

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#no momentum #everything's whatever #everythings whatever #punk #punk rock #emo #emo punk #poughkeepsie #poughkeepsie new york #new york #indie #indie rock

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tigerlover16-uk · 6 years

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In a way its really wierd to me how angry people get over Super. It's clearly just trying to be a simple comedy action series aimed at kids. Though I suppose there is the ageold ruining my childhood thing. But it doesn't really strike me as very provocative to inspire such strong negative feelings. Im just mostly looking at what it's trying to be. It doesnt strike me as tryhard either. The most powerful being is a audience selfinsert that just wants to have fun. Its so selfaware on many levels.

A lot of people obsess over Dragon Ball and want it to remain this (In their heads) perfect, untouched work of art I think. I’ve never agreed with that sentiment, but Dragon Ball IS one of the most iconic and influential anime and mangas of all time and has a special place in millions of peoples hearts. With that kind of pedigree, I get a lot of people having very high standards for any kind of a follow up.

There are legitimate grievances to be had with Super, and plenty of things that can theoretically go wrong with continuing Dragon Ball’s story (Just look at GT for proof of that).

So it’s perfectly reasonable to have concerns… but, unfortunately the Dragon Ball fandom has the same problem as the Star Wars fandom, Sonic fandom, and really a lot of other major fandoms out there: They let their nostalgia and obsession with the series get completely out of hand, and treat every mistake, big or small, as a sign that the end times have come and that the series is ruined forever.

Some of this does come from nitpicky aspects of the series that only certain obsessive fans actually care about and the majority of viewers are actually casually ignorant to (Like power scaling), some of it does come from places of genuine concern (Animation issues and messed up production early on, stuff like the Future Trunks saga ending, the show running in circles with certain characters rather than letting them progress further, etc), but a lot of it is, frankly, people just wanting an excuse to complain because “It’s not like Z!”.

As someone who grew up with the Star Wars Prequels and 3D era Sonic games, and prefers them to both franchises earlier outings (Mostly… 06 WAS a complete mess, nostalgia aside), I tend to have little sympathy for people whining about how a flawed sequel has completely ruined their favourite series and thus their childhood forever.

And while I do sympathise with more reasonable fans who have fair reasons for disliking it, I think people in general are being incredibly myopic if they think that Super can actually damage Dragon Ball as a whole.

Like, you want to know why I keep comparing it to the Prequel Trilogy? Because for all the handwringing from petulant manbabies about how their precious (Dated and somewhat overrated, FTR) sacred movies had supposedly been ruined forever… the movies didn’t actually hurt Star Wars much in the long run, let’s be honest.

The Original Trilogy still exists. They’re the same movies they’ve always been, and if you don’t like the Prequels you’re free to ignore them and enjoy the original three movies for what they are, since they do function as a self contained story. There’s still plenty of tie in material from the old and new EU for people who want MORE Star Wars content not related to the Prequels too.

And on that note, we’ve had PLENTY of good Star Wars content since the Prequels came out too, with the tv series Star Wars: The Clone Wars frequently being hailed as one of the greatest works in the entire franchise, if not one of the best cartoons ever made, with some Prequel detractors even arguing it SALVAGED those movies. And let’s not forget how the first installment of the sequel trilogy became the first franchise film to gross over $2 Billion at the box office.

That’s not even getting into the fact that the Prequels also brought in a whole generation of new fans and lead to their love of the franchise, myself included.

For whatever problems the Prequels had (Real, imagined or grossly exaggerated), in the long run… Star Wars was fine.

Even now with the Last Jedi, which many argue is a horrible movie that hurts the overall story of the Star Wars Saga (Funnily enough, I’m actually in that camp this time), I think similar logic applies. I, and other fans may not like it or a lot of stuff the Sequel Trilogy has done, and with stuff like Solo the Star Wars franchise may be going through a bit of a rough patch in terms of public interest at the moment… but honestly, I don’t think things are going to be bad forever.

People will eventually move on with their lives. People who don’t like the Sequel Trilogy can move on and enjoy the old movies while pretending they don’t exist, and enjoying whatever other spin offs they like, while fans who do like the Sequel Trilogy and modern star wars content can look forward to more stuff they enjoy.

I can complain about certain directions the series has taken, but as someone who’s endured having people tell me that my childhood favourites ruined their lives (To which I have to say… please go outside and get some air, for Christ’s sake), I have no interest in wangsting about the state of things when I have a lot of better things I should be doing.

That’s not to say no one should complain of course, there are legitimate failings to the Sequel Trilogy and Last Jedi in particular and people have every right to complain (As long as they’re not the toxic fanbrats whining about the “SJW AGENDA!” And bulling the cast, those people can jump off a cliff along with the people who bullied Jake Lloyd and drove Ahmed Best to contemplate suicide). In fact, it’s a good thing for people to be critical since actually constructive criticism is necessary and good feedback for studios responsible for these pop culture franchises.

Going back to Dragon Ball, I personally enjoy Super. I think it’s done a lot of good things, though also had various missteps along the way. But despite those issues and while I hope future works take steps to fix and improve on things, I’m fairly happy with the current state of the franchise and eager for more.

I do think you have a point too, anon. Super itself isn’t honestly trying to be anything revolutionary or even on Z’s level. If you actually examine the show as a whole, it’s basically extended filler that mostly serves to expand the universe, create a big sandbox for future stories to possibly build on, and further develop several characters. The only time it really tried to do anything particularly ambitious was in the Future Trunks saga, where we had villains who questioned the state of humanity and there was an ideological battle going on between them and our heroes, mostly Future Trunks.

Other than that though? We got two movie retellings that were basically self-contained conflicts, a small-stakes tournament that mostly served to introduce a bunch of new recurring characters, and a multiversal tournament that, while it did do some interesting thematic stuff here and there… was mostly an excuse to introduce EVEN MORE new characters, give old ones a chance to shine and develop some more, and have a lot of cool looking fights.

Super isn’t really trying to be Z. It just wants to be a fun show for kids and which nostalgic fans can hopefully enjoy. If anything, I think it was mostly a test run to see whether continuing the franchise with more stories beyond the occasional movie was viable.

There’s certainly gripes to be had, but really Super’s status as a fill-in for a time gap in the Z anime to me just makes it feel a lot more low risk than an immediate sequel to the end of Z, since things do still end the same way they did regardless at the moment. It exists for fans to enjoy if they want to, but it can be easily ignored for fans who don’t and prefer the previous series.

And personally, I don’t think it’s really possible to truly “Ruin” Dragon Ball because the story already got an ending. The original manga, and the two anime adapting it, are a complete story on their own. One with a very open ending that leaves the door open for future stories, yes, but it’s a complete story nonetheless. Whatever directions future series may take, good or bad, it’ll never truly change the story as it originally was, because that manga and it’s anime will always exist for people to enjoy as it was intended.

I hate GT and I’ve complained about it plenty, but while I have very personal reasons for why it annoys me… at the end of the day, it’s irrelevant now. We got a different continuation that ignores it, it’s divorced enough from the original canon that I can just go about my days pretending it doesn’t exist, and I got my closure over it with that last re-watch sorting out my feelings on the series.

So, really, flawed as it is there’s nothing to be REALLY mad about, is there? It exists, but it doesn’t do me any real harm, and it’s there for people who do enjoy it (For whatever weird reason, lol) to watch at their leisure. So in effect, it’s harmless… or at least it will be once we get another post-EoZ series to prove it didn’t completely close the door on those being made.

Dragon Ball’s kind of lucky in that way. It got to a point where it had a satisfying resolution where it can hopefully stand the test of time as a classic work of fiction, but people who want more still have the opportunity for that.

And people who don’t think it should continue, or just don’t like those continuations, are free to not watch those works and enjoy the series the way they want to. Or, even if they don’t like Super, it’s still possible a better series or other products like movies can be made down the line that they can enjoy better.

Just like with Star Wars and the Sonic games.

I may have issues with Super from time to time, but overall I think it did a lot more good than bad, and most of it’s faults could be improved on in future series. The worst thing it actually did was destroying the original future timeline, but even that’s fixable if they just have another story with Future Trunks coming back and have somebody go “Hey, maybe we can use the Super Dragon Balls to bring your timeline back”.

I get having personal attachment to the series and it’s characters, I do too. And I get people getting emotional when they feel something they like is being disrespected in any way. If people think the show handled Goku’s character badly or did something to hurt the overall ongoing story, then they’re within their right to complain and be upset about that. TO A REASONABLE EXTENT.

I do also get the feeling a lot of people just can’t handle Dragon Ball having a flawed follow up, aswell. Given that Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are influential classics, it makes sense that a lot of people would be unhappy with anything that didn’t live up to that quality. But I think some people do get overly worked up about it.

Fact is, all franchises have both flawed installments, and a number of duds to show for them. Star Trek has bad movies and the bad series here or there (Enterprise). Doctor Who has had bad seasons. Marvel and DC have had plenty of bad comics and media adaptions. Mario and Sonic and Pokémon and lots of others have had bad games or adaptions. But that hasn’t ruined everything that was good about those series, or stopped them from putting out good new content.

Every piece of media has it’s flaws to be frank, and every franchise will inevitably stumble here or there. Dragon Ball has had plenty of duds before Super. The Broly movies, GT, Return of Cooler, Episode of Bardock, a bunch of bad video games most people don’t even bother to remember, FREAKING DRAGON BALL EVOLUTION. And plenty of stuff about the old series themselves has aged terribly (Especially in early Dragon Ball). But none of that has managed to kill the franchise.

We’ve had bad, mediocre and decent though heavily flawed Dragon Ball stories and products in the past, and we’ll have plenty more in the future. And while there’ll be stuff that is worth griping about, really at the end of the day it’s not the end of the world, and people who do get legitimately angry thinking it is need to relax now and again.

I get people thinking that things should have just stayed the way there were, thinking that Dragon Ball shouldn’t have been continued if that continuation wasn’t going to live up to it’s predecessors. And I’m never going to argue that people shouldn’t complain about things (I certainly do).

But realistically, Dragon Ball was going to have follow ups sooner or later. It’s the biggest franchise Toei and Shueisha have, and one of the most iconic series of all time. Whether I or anyone else thinks Dragon Ball needed a follow up or not, it was bound to happen because we live in a world where milking popular franchises is the name of the game.

People can complain about it, people can and should have issues with flawed products. People can insist on Dragon Ball’s legacy needing to be preserved. But like I’ve said... the series as you loved it isn’t going anywhere. No one is obligated to support everything the franchise does. So I don’t think getting overly angry or worked up about Super or GT or whatever not being everything they wanted them to be is something to freak out over.

Fact is, for all the complaints... a lot of people still love Super and enjoyed it. A lot of people still love Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. Super has brought Toei nothing but monetary success, and interest in the franchise is at the highest it’s been since Z finished airing in the West over a decade ago and the franchise went truly dormant for the most part. If anything, I think Dragon Ball actually gets more respect these days than it did for most of the latter half of the last decade, where it became sort of an internet laughing stock in the West.

We’re still getting plenty of high profile and quality products, like FighterZ, which along with Super itself and the movies preceding it has helped draw in a lot of new fans and brought back a good chunk of lapsed ones. There’s a generation of children the world over that are going to have grown up on Super as their first Dragon Ball series, and it’ll be an important part of helping them get into the franchise and the previous series, much like Kai before it.

And we’ve got a new movie coming out that’s generating a lot of hype and which looks to be giving the franchise a much needed and exceptionally positive visual overhaul, which it’s needed for a while now.

For all the ups and downs, and there have been plenty... Dragon Ball is doing fine. Regardless of what any individual person thinks of Super, Dragon Ball’s legacy isn’t in any danger. The franchise isn’t collapsing, and the overall story and all of it’s characters haven’t been completely ruined beyond repair.

Things could be better. But Z and Dragon Ball could have been better in a lot of places too. It’s okay to be unsatisfied about the current state of things and to voice complaints, as much as it’s okay to be loving the thrill of having Dragon Ball really make a comeback.

Things will be fine. With Super currently off the air, I think now’s the time for everyone to just take a chill and relax. The world didn’t end, and it’s not going to any time soon. (Well, unless Trump throws a hissy fit and launches nukes at everyone but, you know, hopefully that won’t happen).

#dragon ball super #dbs #dragon ball #dragon ball z

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105ttt · 6 years

Text

I’m just going to ramble about how we see Shadow’s character develop throughout the Sonic games (mostly the Dreamcast era with some modern era stuff thrown in there) and why I think his character is a lot more than just being an “edgy hedgie with a gun”. Everything is going to be below a readmore, since this is going to be really long.

Yes, it’s an old complaint that Shadow is not just some edgy teenager with a gun who gets angry all the time and solely lives to pick on Sonic, but if you actually take time to sit back and consider all of Shadow’s actions from his first appearance in SA2 onward, he actually seems less evil and edgy than people make him out to be.

Shadow’s character changes a lot in my opinion from SA2 to Heroes, but there are reasons that he acts differently in these games. Starting in SA2, Shadow is depicted as a villain who helps Eggman in trying to destroy the world with the ARK, and of course his tragic backstory combined with his evil actions makes him look like a stereotypical edgy angst magnet. But we need to consider the reason why Shadow helps Eggman in order to make a judgement about how evil he really is.

Shadow wasn’t helping Eggman just because he wanted to see the world burn out of some innate sadistic desire or a desire to have power over everyone else for no reason other than being evil. He helped Eggman because he incorrectly remembered Maria’s wish before dying as her wanting revenge for her death. He was also somehow made to believe he owed Eggman a favor for waking him up from cryostasis (literally calling him “Master” and saying he will grant him one wish).

Speaking of cryostasis, a friend of mine brought up the fact that from Shadow’s point-of-view at that point in time, he had literally just plummeted to Earth after watching his only friend sacrifice herself to send him to safety and then be murdered by people he doesn’t know for reasons he doesn’t understand, was then captured and imprisoned by said people he doesn’t know for reasons he doesn’t understand, and now has been awoken by someone he hardly seems to know and is expected to fulfill that person’s wish of destroying the world. Shadow’s mistaken memory conveniently matches up with Eggman’s desire to destroy the world, and while it’s not justified to kill innocent people just to get revenge for the unjust death of one person, Shadow didn’t necessarily want to murder people out of sadism or some evil desire - his actions in SA2 are done out of his devotion to Maria, a trait which we see in later games.

Shadow’s actions take a dramatic turn when he eventually remembers what Maria really wanted after Amy convinces him to help the others stop the ARK. After that point, he abandons his stubborn refusal to help and leaves Amy immediately to go join up with everyone as quickly as he can (even though he had been Sonic’s nemesis up until that point throughout the entire game). He even goes as far as to fight the Biolizard for Sonic and Knuckles so they can stop the Chaos Emeralds and later joins Sonic in his super form to stop Finalhazard, only to sacrifice himself to save the Earth in the end. These actions are clearly linked with the fact that Maria’s true wish was for Shadow to protect the Earth, and we see here that again, his actions are done out of devotion to Maria and possibly a genuine sense of heroism.

What do I mean by heroism? Well, even as early as SA2, we see that Shadow is quick to defend or protect innocent people and his friends, and he doesn’t let innocent people be endangered if he can help it. One major example I can think of in SA2 is when Rouge is trapped on Prison Island. After running late in escaping the island on her mission to get the Chaos Emeralds, she calls Shadow and lets him know she won’t make it off in time with the Emeralds. Shadow naturally wants to save the Emeralds because he needs them to achieve his goal, but when he uses Chaos Control to get to Rouge, does he simply grab the Emeralds and leave again? Absolutely not. He takes Rouge with him right before the island explodes, thus rescuing both her and the Emeralds. When the two talk later, Rouge brings this up, and Shadow claims he only came to save the Emeralds, but that may be a cover so that he doesn’t show Rouge he cares (this connects to something I’ll mention later). After all, he could have, in theory, grabbed the Emeralds while Rouge was still shocked from seeing him use Chaos Control and then left Rouge to die in the explosion.

Shadow actually shows this same willingness to protect others in Sonic Heroes and Sonic ‘06, both incidents involving Rouge as well. The example from Heroes is really striking because it’s implied that Shadow forgot everything that happened in SA2 after falling back to Earth again. In the opening cutscene of Team Dark’s route, Omega awakens when Rouge tries to unlock the capsule holding Eggman’s “secret treasure” and opens fire on her. Shadow wakes up to notice this and, instead of immediately facing off with Omega to stop his reckless shooting, actually pushes Rouge out of harm’s way and then tries to stop Omega. What’s significant about this interaction is that Shadow supposedly doesn’t remember Rouge at all, and yet he decides to keep her safe even though he doesn’t know her. He could have left her to die from Omega’s gunfire and used that to stall Omega so he could take him out, but he decides to make sure she’s safe first. On the other hand, he attacks Omega because Omega seems like a threat to him - Omega attacked first, and so Shadow feels the need to stop him. This scene brings up another interesting point in Shadow’s character we see a lot: Shadow doesn’t attack someone who doesn’t threaten him first or otherwise causes him some sort of problem. This may be why Shadow was so quick to fight Sonic in SA2 despite not knowing who Sonic is. Sonic often posed a threat to Shadow by trying to take the Chaos Emeralds away from him or otherwise just demanding a fight, to which Shadow obliged. The same is true for the inter-team boss fights in Sonic Heroes, where Team Dark faced off with the other teams because Rouge was worried they would get in Team Dark’s way. Rather than being the aggressors who pick a fight for no reason, both teams involved typically had a reason to defend themselves.

But getting back to Shadow’s heroism, the example from Sonic ‘06 I mentioned earlier is equally important in showing this facet of Shadow’s character. When Rouge and Shadow are on a mission to get the scepter holding Mephiles, they are ambushed by Eggman, and at one point Rouge is struck down from the sky. Shadow had a choice at this point to either keep his hold on the scepter and let Rouge crash or save her and let the scepter break. He goes for the latter and catches Rouge just in time, but as a result, the scepter breaks, and Mephiles is freed. This decision to save Rouge over keeping whatever dark power trapped inside the scepter contained shows that Shadow prioritizes his friends’ safety greatly, even if it means he has to sacrifice something else.

Shadow really is a kind and loyal person at heart, though sometimes his emotions get the best of him. The same friend I mentioned earlier pointed out that Shadow’s aggression in earlier games like SA2, Heroes, and ShTh was probably just a side-effect of him being so confused about who he is - and more importantly where he is. Keep in mind that Shadow had never been on Earth before SA2, and now that he has to face this brand-new world, all while not knowing what his intended purpose was in life, must have driven him to be aggressive. His dedication to achieving his goals probably fed this aggression as well, since it may have been the best way to deter any impediments to his goals. My friend also brought up the fact that Shadow, while being chronologically 66 years old, is mentally and physically 16 years old. He’s going to act and think like a typical 16-year-old, albeit with some behaviors found in people who experienced trauma, because that’s what he is. He likes blowing things up and being powerful because he knows how powerful he is (he brings up the fact that he’s the ultimate life form all the time), but he doesn’t use that power for evil or just for kicks, as we see in many games where, when Shadow acts like his true self, he uses his powers for only good. His overconfidence in games like SA2 and Heroes also stems from the fact that he is, in fact, a young teenager with lots of power at his fingertips and a new world to explore. In this respect, he and Sonic are very similar: both are kind and a bit prideful, but they don’t put down others unless they prove to be evil or a threat.

An interesting side note on Shadow’s power is that he seems to get untold amounts of strength from his love for and devotion to the people he cares about. We see this multiple times in the true ending of ShTH, where Shadow is able to instantly recover from the effect of Black Doom’s paralyzing gas through his accumulated memories of Maria and later when he breaks free from Black Doom’s mind control after seeing Gerald’s message to Shadow about the Black Comet. The entire premise of Heroes being that each Team grows stronger through teamwork and the friendship between all three people in each Team also remains true for Shadow, despite people typically seeing him as a loner-type. And just as much as Shadow gets strength from his loved ones, he encourages them as well when they need strength. Throughout the entire Finalhazard fight in SA2, Shadow constantly checks on Sonic to make sure he is okay and even compliments him at one point, saying with a laugh that he believes Sonic may be the actual ultimate life form. In Heroes we see this same kind of support towards Sonic when Shadow offers to distract Metal Sonic during the Metal Madness fight so that Team Sonic can go super, and later in Generations Shadow says the infamous line: “You’ve got this, Sonic!” as an expression of genuine encouragement and faith in Sonic’s abilities.

Just as Shadow believes in his own power and others’ power, Shadow also has a capacity for understanding right from wrong, and though ShTH shows that he understands that some choices aren’t black and white, he knows when evil needs to be punished. It is ironic that people consider Shadow a villain simply because of his appearance when he has spoken out against evil multiple times in multiple games. In Heroes, during the Metal Madness fight, Shadow actually criticizes Metal Sonic for stealing data on all living life forms in order to become strong, showing that he doesn’t believe in unfair methods of obtaining power. In ShTH he shows the same kind of sentiment towards Black Doom, refusing to give him the Chaos Emeralds and becoming angry at Black Doom for tricking him into collecting them for him in order to enslave the human race. Shadow’s distaste for evil is shown directly in the lyrics of “Supporting Me”, where the “air of darkness” is said to be “disgusting”, and yet Shadow “never [loses] out” to it, indicating that he doesn’t let his past evil actions get him down or discourage him from wanting to change for the better. He even outright states in his victory phrase after defeating Finalhazard that he wants to destroy “all the evil [Professor Gerald] has created”.

Another point in Shadow’s character that is similar to Sonic but also shows his own unique perspective on life: he values his freedom just as much as he values his friends, and doesn’t let his past get to him. The Dreamcast era games really focused on Shadow’s identity issues, but they also showed that he handles them in a way that doesn’t let them bring him down. In fact, Rouge is the one to mention Shadow’s identity problems in both SA2 and Heroes. In SA2, Rouge confronts Shadow about the fact that his memories may be fake and that he may not be the real end product of Project Shadow, but Shadow doesn’t respond with sorrow or a typical “angsty” answer. He instead asserts that even if his memories are fake, he is who he is now as a result of his actions throughout the entire story of SA2, and he is content with the identity he has made for himself. He then doesn’t dwell on the issue any longer and focuses on his own goal. A similar situation occurs in Heroes, where, upon finding the Shadow Androids, Rouge attempts to console Shadow, who has gone silent. Rather than breaking down, Shadow simply tells Rouge to disregard the Androids and to keep moving. This action ties back to the point I made earlier about Shadow not letting others see that he cares all the time. Possibly because he doesn’t want to burden others with his problems or let those problems affect who he is as a person, Shadow doesn’t let Rouge dwell on what he may have felt upon seeing the Androids and decides to ignore them. We see a similar reaction in Sonic ‘06, after learning that Omega was the one to seal him away in the future, Shadow doesn’t go off on Omega or cause an uproar. He simply walks away, probably to give himself time to think or just to avoid burdening Rouge and Omega with his feelings at that moment.

During the final stage of Heroes, Shadow makes a declaration reminiscent of the one in SA2 and affirms his identity as who he is currently rather than what he was in the past. ShTH really brings this together during the True Ending, when Shadow outright declares to Black Doom after breaking free from the paralyzing gas, “I’m Shadow the Hedgehog. I’ve left the past behind me. No one can tell me what to do now!” Shadow not only retains his freedom to determine who he is but also his destiny - which brings up another quote from Sonic ‘06. After Mephiles shows Shadow his future self imprisoned in a capsule permanently for fear of his power in order to convince him to take revenge on the humans who imprisoned him, Shadow simply tells Mephiles to quit the act and that he will never listen to his futile persuasion. Upon Mephiles asking if Shadow will really forgive humanity for his fate, Shadow says only one thing: “I determine my own destiny.” We even see in ShTH that Shadow doesn’t let his memories of Maria and Gerald haunt him: in the final cutscene of the True Ending, Shadow tosses away a picture of himself and Maria while saying “Goodbye forever, Shadow the Hedgehog”, signifying that he won’t let his past define him or haunt him any longer. He doesn’t let anyone - whether it be his own father, Maria, Gerald, or even his friends - determine his path of action and his choices. The entirety of ShTH is spent with Shadow determining his course of action in order to get to what he believes in the truth, demonstrating his belief in his own strength and sense of right and wrong (which is shown to be less black-and-white than it seems at first). All of Shadow’s character songs tie back to themes of freedom to be oneself or confidence in one’s identity created through one’s actions, and these songs often give off a feeling of being victory songs because victory for Shadow is asserting that he is who he is no matter what may have happened in the past.

In the end, I think Shadow is a kind, loyal, and determined person at heart who knows that right and wrong aren’t always easy to discern at first but still wants to protect the world from wrongdoing and help those in the world who are symbols of goodness, and who also values his freedom and loved ones more than anything.

#NOOT WANTED ME TO MAKE THIS POST BLAME HER #I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY NOOT #I JUST TYPED 2720 WORDS ON A GAY ALIEN HEDGEHOG #I'M SO PROUD #I HAVE BEEN HOLDING THIS IN FOR A LONG TIME OKAY #Also y'know why it makes sense when people draw art of Shadow being affectionate #BECAUSE HE IS!!!!!#HE REALLY IS!!!!#Maybe not all the time and not always physically but HE CARES!!!!!#And seeing him do things with friends is refreshing because he feels comfortable and happy #anyway I LOVE MY SON AND I WOULD DIE FOR HIM #THANK YOU FOR MY SON SEGA #I'm sorry this is so long I got carried away #Honestly I have more but it's just more of the same #anyway take this I worked hard on it #sonic #I'm not tagging I'll die before I do that #I'm gonna... save this #UPDATE: ON WORD IN DOUBLE-SPACED 12-POINT TIMES NEW ROMAN AND WITH 0 SPACE BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS IT'S 8 PAGES LONG #IT'S LONGER THAN MY GREEN ESSAY OH MY GOD???

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lyralumina · 7 years

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How about Kaiba for the ask thing?

Character: Seto Kaiba

1: sexuality headcanon

I actually headcanon Seto to be Bisexual.

2: otp

- BlueShipping (Seto Kaiba and Kisara) This ship will always be number one within the fandom because the show sets it up. Not as nicely as it should be but that is because the season it was basically set up in was dealing with the writers tossing in a grand slew of ways to end off the series with no plot holes but that failed in the end. The season this was all set up in had little time to fully show anything between the two for example, the fact that Seto is a different person than Priest Seto is. That Kisara now has to deal with two Seto’s running around. Other than that, It’s a wonderful ship. - PuppyShipping/VioletShipping (Seto Kaiba and Jounouchi Katsuya)This ship has been with me since middle school. I started shipping it back then. I had to keep that secret tucked away because not a lot of people generally liked Yu-gi-oh! Or a ton of other animes, if you liked anime then you were simply outcasted and my performing arts ass could not let that be. Sure I openly stated that I was into anime but they left me alone pretty much, also I hid that well with my Sonic the Hedgehog phase. The show had countless times where Jounouchi and Seto interacted together, whether it be good or for bad but whatever the outcome was, the fandom just snatched up any moment the two had screen time together and took it from there. It’s a good ship but some things here and there make the pairing unhealthy.

- AzureShipping (Seto Kaiba and Anzu Mazaki) This ship was one of the first ships I ever had watching this show as a kid and I will ship this in hell thank you very much. As a kid I was far too busy shipping Yugi Muto and Yami Yugi (Atem) to even consider Yugi ever loving Anzu back, kid me was wild. As a kid I also really liked the ’ main female is in love with the bad guy ‘ trope so Seto and Anzu just took itself from there and quite honestly, I love this pairing so much. Sure it could never happen but I like to dream. Its a good ship but again some parts here and there would make this an unhealthy relationship.

3: brotp

Mokuba Kaiba because, They are already extremely close, they are siblings after all. They love to get work done as soon as possible so that they can spend time together with such little time they have. Somedays are harder to do so since Seto is extremely busy going through mountains of paperwork and having to handle taxes and all that other stuff grown ups have to do. Seto actually taught Mokuba how to do taxes and how to write checks because the earlier he learns the better. For when they do hang out, They love to just play a game like chess and not have to stress as if their very lives are on the line. They also talk about future plans with no stress lurched on their shoulders, Seto will maybe once or twice crack a genuine smile to his younger brother. They have a nice cup of tea while they are at it. Mint and Rose hip are both of their favorites.

Anzu Mazaki because, She is the only one within Yugi’s friendship gang that he can tolerate well because unlike Jounouchi, she is well mannered and knows when enough is enough. She just has class while the other three boys don’t know when to put a cork in it. While they don’t ’ hang out ’ very often, they are on great terms with one another. Anzu is actually the runner up for when Seto has to bring a ’ date ’ or someone else to some formal event and with that being said, Seto has her cell phone number. They text and send each other things they would find interesting. Also another good reason as to why they have each others cell phone number is because Mokuba really likes to hang out with Anzu, she is like an older sister to Mokuba.

Yugi Muto because,Okay Yugi is also someone he can tolerate but to a certain extent, he will get cranky the second Yugi starts talking about friendship and then drone on about the ’ Heart of the cards ’. They still are on good terms with one another and yes, they have each others cell phone numbers, they text often rather than having to schedule meeting times since Seto is busy on his end and Yugi is busy on his end as well. Both have busy yet so different lives and they know that well. Yugi will sometimes send Seto a really weird meme that he does not understand and he has to ask Mokuba what does it mean and sometimes Mokuba is on the ground in a hysterical crying mess. The most recent one was the ‘ oh worm ‘ meme and Mokuba snorted as he was busy filing paper work in chronological order.

4: notp

-There are people who do ship TabloidShipping, Seto Kaiba X Mokuba Kaiba as far as I am aware. Its incest and I am not up for that. I don’t know why people would ship that but- here we are in 2017 I guess.

-There is a ton of people within the fandom who ship PrideShipping, Seto Kaiba X Atem and I am not one of those people. Sorry you guys. Sure,

Some stuff may be cute and sappy like, “Oh Seto can teach Atem what the world has to offer.” “Atem and Seto vacationing in the after life without anything truly bothering them.” But I just cannot find it in myself to ship them together.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

Seto is a great dancer. He might not be on Anzu’s level of expertise but he knows quite a lot which surprises a lot of people, even his younger brother. Seto really loves ballroom dancing, he is a sucker for live jazz bands playing, the girl is in a flowy dress and the lights are dimmed down to really set the mood. He once went into detail about that to Mokuba and Mokuba was very surprised that he would like that, not that his brother did not have any class but he thought that his brother would not like dancing one bit. Other than that he also likes watching royal ballets. This is something both he and Anzu love talking about together over a nice hot cup of tea. Seto and Anzu do dance together on their free time if they can and to Anzu, Seto is an amazing partner, probably the best too. He’s really tall and knows what he is doing, he will even ask her if she is comfortable during a lift. If he feels he is harming her or even hears a slight hiss of pain from her he will get all antsy and tell her if she is alright and what can he do to lessen the pain. Anzu will laugh and say that she is fine but she will have to deal with ribcage or waist bruising for a while. Seto has a problem with soft gripping but Seto is afraid of dropping her. He has dropped her before and it scared him because one injury can actually hurt her professional dancing career.

6: one way in which I relate to this character

The Blue Eyes White Dragon is my favorite monster/dragon of all time and nothing has come close to stealing its throne. My deck is favored to it and I currently have eight of them on my deck, which is either a good thing or a bad thing. I’m not sure but I just really love the BEWD. One of my nicknames back in elementary school was actually Seto Kaiba because I was one of the best duelists within the school and I was the only girl who even liked Yu-gi-oh!, everyone else were boys. I used to have a duel disk too and everyone knew I was ready to throw down 24/7 but then my Littlest Pet Shop phase happened.

7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

There is nothing that would make me embarrassed about liking Seto to be honest. A lot of the fandom really like Seto for who he is honestly. Some might not like him and that is fine no one is asking or forcing you to. I actually used to have a childhood crush on Seto back when I was a kid and no one honestly knew that, which was a good thing because that could have ruined my performing arts reputation within the blink of an eye. I valued my reputation more than my own self, I had things to manage and better things to do than love an old school anime, I had to dance, I had to run track, I had so much more to do. It was not about being bullied, it was about how you can strive and make it into the year books with fame and a good reputation.

8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Both actually. Season 0 wise he was an evil boi who just wanted to rule the world and who also had green hair further more my nickname for him within Season 0 is long green onion boi.Duel Monsters wise : I LOVE HIM! THAT’S MY BOI WHO I WILL LOVE AND PROTECT WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE. I LOVE MY EXTRA BOI! Dark Side Of Dimensions wise : SETO YOU CAN’T JUST YEET YOURSELF INTO THE AFTERLIFE FOR ATEM LIKE THAT! WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS???

#sibbinthegivengibbon #yu-gi-oh!#seto kaiba #This has been sitting in my inbox for a solid month #I am so sorry for the long wait

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shada-was-in-the-area-and · 7 years

Note

video game ask: all remaining evens

i feel like this is nhi getting revenge for dodging her question earlier

but im game

Sorry for the Long Post, Friends

______________

4. Who do you play with now?

Recently, I’ve been playing a lot of online Overwatch with friendos! It’s a really rockin’ roaring good time.

6. Ever buy strategy guides?

I’ve never done this.

8. Rarest/Most expensive game in your collection?

IDK ABOUT RARE BUT i do have a broken, Taiwanese version of Sonic Battle that took a month to ship. TALK ABOUT A WASTE...OF A PURCHASE....

Other than that, my games are kinda normal.

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours?

Nope!

12. Ever get picked on for liking games?

Nope!

14. Favorite game music?

YAAAAAAAA’LL I LOVE VIDEO GAME MUSIC I can’t possibly pick one track that is my Favorite Game Music. So I can just name a few.

- Ghost Trick’s Entire OST

- All Versions of Cornered from PW

- P-R-O-G-R-A-M from Kirby Robobot (A lot of other kirby tracks too. I love all the Air Ride tracks)

- ALL OF SONIC

16. Favorite game to play with your friends IRL?

Probably Overwatch right now.

18. Would you date someone that hates gaming?

not really a dater

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand?

i’ve beaten Ghost Trick more than five times. highlight of my 14 year old career was helping a streamer/content creator i liked through the puzzles live while he was streaming. i feel like if i tried i could speed run it.

22. Do you wear game related clothing/accessories?

I have very little gaming clothes/accessories, mostly because i get very embarrassed when wearing them in public. They’re mostly stuff for pajamas, and i don’t usually go out and seek them either. They’re gifts!

24. First Pokemon game?

Pokemon Emerald!

26. Ever form any gaming rivalries?

nah, i’m a chill gamer

28. Ever play in a tournament?

I thought very briefly about playing in a local smash tournament at school, but stopped myself because of Anxiety. That and they don’t play Smash 4 because they’re Melee Only

30. How many consoles do you own?

Right now, I currently have around 8+, counting the DS’? I still have my original DS and a DS Lite, 3DS and Max 3DS and my Gameboy SP is still around somewhere. PS4, Wii U, Wii

32. Did you ever play a game based on your favorite show/cartoon/movie/comic

When I was younger, I did this a lot! I have the Spongebob Movie game, a Powerpuff Girls game. A Kim Possible Game. One of those Nick Crossover games. I had a Shrek Game and a lot of spongebob/powerpuff/kim possible games.

34. Do either of your parents play video games?

I taught my mom how to play COD when I was younger and she actually turned out pretty okay! She also LOVES Mario Kart, and she actually introduced me to it/taught me how to play 64 back when we had a Nintendo 64. We play Double Dash all the time, as it is her favorite. She’s very good.

36. Have you ever shed actual blood, sweat or tears over a game?

First game I cried over was Ghost Trick, it’s been a downhill battle ever since with video games.

I think I sweat when I play Overwatch every time because of Stressful Lucio Situations.

38. A game you’re ashamed to admit that you like?

I actually didn’t hate Sonic Chronicles but I literally have no defense for it. It’s awful, but i enjoyed it when i played it. Babies First Owned Sonic Game Nostalgia.

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls?

cool

42. Maybe it wasn’t your first game, but what was the game that started you on your path to nerdiness?

kirby kirby kirby thats the name you should know

44. Arcade machine that has consumed the most of your quarters?

OKAY i don’t know Why we had it but. When I was growing up we had an actual Original Donkey Kong arcade machine? And it kicked my ass? All the time?

46. Do you like relaxing games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon?

I don’t usually like this kind of game? But I played Tomodachi Life for a long time and it helped me when I was overrun with Crippling Anxiety. I lost the cartridge and I’m kinda sad about it, but c’est la vie.

48. How long does it take your to customize your player character?

It has to look like me and if it doesn’t I riot

52. A game that you begged your parents for as a kid?

I wasn’t really a begger for Video Games? I was satisfied with whatever I had at the time and played it forever until my mom decided it was Time For Another (hence my low game pool). I think the only game I really got on my parents for was Pokemon Emerald, because I had played the demo earlier in the year and was Smitten.

54. Do you give in to Steam sales?

my frugality is unparalleled.

56. Did you ever play Roller Coaster Tycoon and kill off your guests?

Never had the games!

58. If you can only play 3 games for the rest of your life, which ones do you pick?

Ghost Trick

Pokemon Moon

Kirby Robobot

60. Do you know the Konami Code?

Yes! Up Up, Down Down, Left Right, Left Right, B, A, Start.

62. Ever buy a console specifically to play one game?

I was very, very tempted to buy an XBONE just to play Titanfall, but i didn’t and got the PS4 instead, that I never use.

64. Ever make a TV or monitor purchase based on what would be best for gaming?

I have a gaming computer now

66. Did you ever have have an old Nokia with Snake on it?

these are two ancient words i never thought i’d see again (no, i never did)

68. Ever save up a ton of tickets in an arcade to get something cool?

The last arcade I went to was at Planet Play, and it’s been so long since i’ve been (like, it’s been more than a decade) that I honestly can’t remember how Young Me used to save her tickets in there. I think I held onto them, because i’m a horrific hoarder and even in my youth i kept Everything.

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foursprout-blog · 6 years

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26 Girls In Strong Relationships Gush About Cutest Thing Their Boyfriend Has Ever Done

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/happiness/26-girls-in-strong-relationships-gush-about-cutest-thing-their-boyfriend-has-ever-done-2/

26 Girls In Strong Relationships Gush About Cutest Thing Their Boyfriend Has Ever Done

Unsplash / Vitor Pinto

1. He keeps me company while I cook dinner.

“Whenever I cook us dinner, he sits on the chair in the kitchen and keeps me company instead of just watching tv or whatever.” — Satanfister0218

2. He makes sure we have time to eat together.

“He works nights and I work days. Some days he brings breakfast home to me and we will sit and eat it together before he drives me to work and then comes home to sleep. I will come home from work and make dinner for him and wake him up with it. Its a nice system we have.” — dickback_timothy

3. He tucks me into bed at night.

“Almost all nights, even though we’re both grown ass adults, he’ll tuck me into bed. I go to bed 4ish hours before him and having him tuck me in is just a super warm fuzzy for me. Every now and then, he’ll also just lay there and hold me until I fall asleep. It makes my heart so full and happy. I hope he does this forever.” — shreksnumber1fan

4. He kisses my forehead.

“Sometimes while cuddling, my boyfriend will lightly kiss the top of my head.” — Bunjora

5. He calls me beautiful, even when I look like a complete mess.

“He tells me I’m beautiful when I wake up, when I’m sick, when I look god awful he is always there staring at me with a loving smile, like I’m the most beautiful thing he has seen even though I look like a zombie from lack of sleep.” — The-Goat-Lord

6. He always holds the door open for me.

“My boyfriend always lets me go through the door first. Most of the time he holds it open for me, but sometimes I get there first and he’ll smoothly grab the door behind me and say, ‘Go ahead babe.’

When he puts his hand on my leg while he’s driving.

But my favorite is when he pulls me closer in his sleep.” — lil-legend18

7. He expresses his feelings without holding back.

“He tells me loves me and often. He’ll stop what he’s doing and kiss me. Whenever you are having nice feelings about your SO, say them/text them/whatever. Whether it’s love or compliments or physical touch.” — awkwoman

8. He spoils me during that time of the month.

“Every time I get my period he treats me with ice cream. Since my first two days of every period are really bad (because of cramps and back pain) his little routine cheers me up so much.” — recherchecr

9. He takes care of me when I’m drunk.

“One night at a party I’d had too much to drink and was passing out. I woke up in a big comfy t-shirt all tucked into bed — he’d taken off my earrings, rings, shoes, socks, everything!!” — MeanGreenLentilQueen

10. He surprises me with flowers.

“To me, it’s the little things.

He randomly calls me to tell me he loves me, expresses his feelings for me, etc. Also, he will send me long, sweet texts randomly when I am sleeping or throughout the day.

When we’re cuddling in bed and I reach over the side to grab something, he will watch me and keep his hands on my back because he doesn’t want to let go of me.

He calls me every single night we aren’t together to fall asleep on the phone with me.

He wakes me up, whether it be in person or on the phone, to kiss/tell me goodbye, I love you before he leaves for work.

If I tell him I’m craving something, he will bring it the next time I see him if not right then. Doesn’t matter how long it’s been.

He surprises me with flowers amongst other things.

We are somewhat long distance (he lives an hour away), but if I am upset, now matter how serious the matter, he will come to me.

There’s so many things he does, big and small, that make him so amazing. It’s refreshing, my ex never did so much as take me to the movies in our three years of dating. He is everything my ex wasn’t.

God, I love him.” — Iiferuiner

11. He draws a bath for me every single night.

“He instituted a time called ‘second soaks’. It is basically just him running me a bath every night so I can lay amongst the bubbles. He also snuggles me every night in his sleep, I don’t even think he is aware of it but it always makes me feel safe and comfortable.” — Applesauce28

12. He feeds me.

“He’s my husband now. So listen up guys!

While we dated, he’d show up to school with food for me (I always order the same thing and he remembered what I like from like 10 different places). After class we’d go to Sonic and get half price milkshakes and just talk for hours. He also cooked whenever I came to his house, he’d have tea to drink too.

So basically food. He fed me, so I stayed.” — ochemimmunohem

13. He acts like my best friend.

“One thing he does is makeovers and girly stuff. He knows I don’t have any girl friends or a best friend so he is my best friend as well as my boyfriend. ” — Asheswin

14. He is careful not to wake me up too early in the morning.

“Sometimes he has to get up and go to work earlier than I do.

He flops the blankets over my head so when he turns on the bedroom light to get dressed, it doesn’t wake me up.

He pulls them back down once the light is off. He turns off the box fan because he knows I like to sleep in silence. He needs the white noise of the fan to sleep, so once he’s up and out of bed he turns it off for me to continue resting.

Then he kisses me goodbye, sometimes when I wake up and get ready for work I’ll find he left me a treat on the counter to take with me, like a chocolate rice crispy bar or some pop tarts.” — MermaidAyla

15. He orders me food when I’m starving.

“He takes care of me. When I’m sick/in pain, or depressed he’ll take care of me and get me stuff when I can’t. He also orders me food.” — Keyra13

16. He warms up my cold feet.

“You know when you stick your cold feet on your SO and they squirm? When I come over and we sit on the couch together, he takes my cold feet and puts them under his thighs so he can warm my feet with his perpetual warmth… I didn’t know someone could be so kind…” — boopboopadoopity

17. He pays close attention to me when we’re together.

“He’s content with laying down next to me, just talking and being next to each other. He barely uses his phone, he deleted his social media, he said all of that was just a distraction. He said he got me now, he wants to focus on me. It’s a whole different feeling, just feeling the love even when youre just next to him.

I appreciate that so much.” — 7teen38

18. He cheers me up whenever I’m having an off day.

“If he knows I’m having a bad day and has a moment, he’ll take a break to get me flowers and/or Starbucks and drop by my work with them. I’ve even come in from field work to find surprise treats in my office.” — Saltwaterblood

19. He defrosts the car for me before I leave for work.

“My boyfriend takes my dog out in the morning and this morning he went out and then popped back in and told me to give him my keys so he could start defrosting my car for work. Then I heard him out there scraping the ice off my windshield.” — kkcshuber

20. He keeps my personal items at his place.

“When we first started dating my boyfriend surprised me with a bottle of sensitive body wash and moisturizer to use at his place.

He said he had noticed that I had sensitive products in my bathroom and used sensitive washing powder and didn’t want me to be uncomfortable when I stayed at his place.

I had never mentioned it to him, but he had just paid attention.” — kazburger

21. He opens the car door for me

“When we’re walking to his car and get close, he’ll jog up quickly and open the door for me. He knows I can do it myself, but he likes being old fashioned that way and treating me special by opening the door for me.” — NavyRoses1105

22. He comforts me when I’m feeling uneasy.

“I have a lot more tasks to complete before going to bed than he does, so when I come to bed he’s always on my side, warming it up for me, and then he slides over.

He also knows I get nervous during turbulence on airplanes, and holds my arm/hand to comfort me, without making me feel like it’s silly to be nervous.” — jerusha16

23. He surprises me with little treats.

“My husband is super sweet. He makes breakfast on the weekdays. He makes sure I am tucked in and warm in bed every night when he pushes the covers off himself if he gets warm. He loves to cuddle. He will get me little treats occasionally. Sometimes he’s squirrelly about holding my hand but I think that’s more of a game and gives in eventually.

I’m gonna keep him for a while longer. Ten years and counting.” — throwingwater14

24. He gets along well with my dog.

“The way my dog looks at him. I knew from the second my dog and now-husband met that they were soulmates and I may as well come along for the ride.” — parvoqueen

25. He plays music to help me get out of bed.

“I have a really hard time getting out of bed in the morning. My fella will give me a few chances to get up on my own, then blast a song on his phone, usually with a ‘morning’ theme. Think Good Morning Starshine, Mr Blue Sky or Chop Suey! It’s cute.” — HerSmokeRoseUp

26. He is completely and utterly accepting of me.

“Maybe it’s not really a thing he does ‘for’ me, but he is so accepting of my body and what I choose to do with it and that is such a wonderful feeling. Want to shave half my head? Fine! Wanna grow it long and dye it teal and purple? Cool. Want to get my septum pierced? Sure. Don’t wanna shave my leg fur in the cold, dark winter? Go for it. Wanna go to the gym? Yeah! Wanna eat a huge bag of peanut butter M&Ms after the gym? You bet. My fashion choices have done a complete 180 over the last five years and he has never said a bad word about it.

I look the way I do for me, and not for anyone else at all. It’s refreshing.” — juniper-mint

#Happiness

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foursprouthappiness-blog · 6 years

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26 Girls In Strong Relationships Gush About Cutest Thing Their Boyfriend Has Ever Done

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/happiness/26-girls-in-strong-relationships-gush-about-cutest-thing-their-boyfriend-has-ever-done/

26 Girls In Strong Relationships Gush About Cutest Thing Their Boyfriend Has Ever Done

Unsplash / Vitor Pinto

1. He keeps me company while I cook dinner.

“Whenever I cook us dinner, he sits on the chair in the kitchen and keeps me company instead of just watching tv or whatever.” — Satanfister0218

2. He makes sure we have time to eat together.

3. He tucks me into bed at night.

4. He kisses my forehead.

“Sometimes while cuddling, my boyfriend will lightly kiss the top of my head.” — Bunjora

5. He calls me beautiful, even when I look like a complete mess.

6. He always holds the door open for me.

When he puts his hand on my leg while he’s driving.

But my favorite is when he pulls me closer in his sleep.” — lil-legend18

7. He expresses his feelings without holding back.

8. He spoils me during that time of the month.

9. He takes care of me when I’m drunk.

10. He surprises me with flowers.

“To me, it’s the little things.

He randomly calls me to tell me he loves me, expresses his feelings for me, etc. Also, he will send me long, sweet texts randomly when I am sleeping or throughout the day.

When we’re cuddling in bed and I reach over the side to grab something, he will watch me and keep his hands on my back because he doesn’t want to let go of me.

He calls me every single night we aren’t together to fall asleep on the phone with me.

He wakes me up, whether it be in person or on the phone, to kiss/tell me goodbye, I love you before he leaves for work.

If I tell him I’m craving something, he will bring it the next time I see him if not right then. Doesn’t matter how long it’s been.

He surprises me with flowers amongst other things.

We are somewhat long distance (he lives an hour away), but if I am upset, now matter how serious the matter, he will come to me.

God, I love him.” — Iiferuiner

11. He draws a bath for me every single night.

12. He feeds me.

“He’s my husband now. So listen up guys!

So basically food. He fed me, so I stayed.” — ochemimmunohem

13. He acts like my best friend.

“One thing he does is makeovers and girly stuff. He knows I don’t have any girl friends or a best friend so he is my best friend as well as my boyfriend. ” — Asheswin

14. He is careful not to wake me up too early in the morning.

“Sometimes he has to get up and go to work earlier than I do.

He flops the blankets over my head so when he turns on the bedroom light to get dressed, it doesn’t wake me up.

15. He orders me food when I’m starving.

“He takes care of me. When I’m sick/in pain, or depressed he’ll take care of me and get me stuff when I can’t. He also orders me food.” — Keyra13

16. He warms up my cold feet.

17. He pays close attention to me when we’re together.

I appreciate that so much.” — 7teen38

18. He cheers me up whenever I’m having an off day.

19. He defrosts the car for me before I leave for work.

20. He keeps my personal items at his place.

“When we first started dating my boyfriend surprised me with a bottle of sensitive body wash and moisturizer to use at his place.

He said he had noticed that I had sensitive products in my bathroom and used sensitive washing powder and didn’t want me to be uncomfortable when I stayed at his place.

I had never mentioned it to him, but he had just paid attention.” — kazburger

21. He opens the car door for me

22. He comforts me when I’m feeling uneasy.

“I have a lot more tasks to complete before going to bed than he does, so when I come to bed he’s always on my side, warming it up for me, and then he slides over.

He also knows I get nervous during turbulence on airplanes, and holds my arm/hand to comfort me, without making me feel like it’s silly to be nervous.” — jerusha16

23. He surprises me with little treats.

I’m gonna keep him for a while longer. Ten years and counting.” — throwingwater14

24. He gets along well with my dog.

“The way my dog looks at him. I knew from the second my dog and now-husband met that they were soulmates and I may as well come along for the ride.” — parvoqueen

25. He plays music to help me get out of bed.

26. He is completely and utterly accepting of me.

I look the way I do for me, and not for anyone else at all. It’s refreshing.” — juniper-mint

#Happiness

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paulisded · 6 years

Text

Live Ledge #314: Best Records of 2017

As I was putting together this year’s list of my favorite records I came across a article from a music journalist claiming that lists such as this are idiotic. Since it’s impossible to hear every single album that was released over the year, nobody has the needed knowledge to proclaim anything as the year’s best records.

Come on. This is ridiculous. Nobody is claiming to have the definitive look at the year in music. I’ve never read any music critic claim to have heard each and every record.

But that doesn’t mean these sorts of think pieces aren’t worthwhile. Every writer, fan, or publication has an area of expertise, and if they’re honest they’ll admit to their cultural shortcomings. Mine just happens to include pop, hip-hop, and bro-country. I know that the new Kendrick Lamar is probably the year’s greatest musical achievement, but it’s not my thing. At the same time, I don’t need to hear the latest records by the likes of Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, or whatever Jonas Brother that still makes music. Why would I waste my time when I know I’m going to hate it?

The purpose of these lists aren’t for people to proclaim themselves as the world’s biggest music expert. They exist mainly because as fans we want people to discover records they may have overlooked. I look at dozens of these types of articles, from giant publications to local music nerds, hoping to discover something that I’ve missed. Inevitably, I find quite a few, and I hope that my yearly list does the same for others.

This is a good year for this type of exploration. It’s been the best year in music in quite some time. Oftentimes, finding 40 records worthy of inclusion is not easy. This year, I started with over 80 candidates, and it took quite a bit of soul-searching to cut it down to my usual length. It’s such a good year that artists that routinely reside near the top (The National, Spoon, Steve Earle) didn’t make the cut.

What is it about 2017? Why was this a fertile year for music? Given the state of the music industry these days, there really shouldn’t be such an abundance of fabulous tunes. My theory is that as the possibility of fame and fortune fades away we’re left with artists who just HAVE to create. It’s in their blood. A musician and/or songwriter is who they are, and they’ll carry on as long as they can.

What’s even more surprising to me is the number of great releases by veteran artists. So many of my favorites from years past came out with their best records in decades. Who would have predicted the return of The Jesus and Mary Chain? Or that Robyn Hitchcock would put out one of his best records? Or that Guided By Voices would release not one but two albums that weren’t full of half-assed, seemingly unfinished tracks?

So here are 40 records that I consider the best albums of the year, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on my picks. Let me know what records have turned your crank this year. Tracks from each of these albums were also aired on Live Ledge in a reverse, countdown format. Click here for Live Ledge #314, or nab it via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, or many other online spots.

1. Bash & Pop, Anything Could Happen. Anybody that knows me well probably knew this would be my favorite record of year. Yet the return of Tommy Stinson’s first post-Replacements band is even better than I ever predicted. It’s every bit as good as the 1993 Bash & Pop debut. In fact, it may be even better, as the original was Stinson’s first serious stabs at songwriting. Almost 25 years later, Stinson’s skills as a tunesmith has deepened, and combined with the Faces-ish feel of his outstanding bandmates this would have been towards the of any year’s list.

2. The Courtneys, II. The best description I’ve read of this great Canadian trio is “fuzzy, slacker pop”. Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Yet that would be meaningless if it wasn’t combined with sugary, singalong melodies. There’s a bit of a Blake Babies influence, but I also hear elements of late 80’s post-Jesus and Mary Chain bands such as The Primitives.

3. Ty Segall, s/t. James Brown used to be called the “hardest working man in show business”, but he’s a slacker compared to what Segall accomplished in a given year. Besides his usual album and a handful of singles, he’s involved with at least a half dozen other bands, and is inevitably a contributor as a musician or producer on a ton of his friend’s records. This year’s main release is also among his best, as it flows in and out of a number of styles.

4. The Jesus and Mary Chain, Damage and Joy. It was a big enough surprise that the warring Reid brothers reunited for a tour in 2007, but few thought that would result in a new album by the groundbreaking 80’s noise-pop veterans. The fact that it took a decade for it to happen is probably a sign that not all wounds have healed over the years. Yet this album is a pure joy for any fans of the original run. Yeah, it rarely deviates from the patented J&MC formula, but if it works why fix it?

5. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, The Nashville Sound. Easily the most acclaimed Americana album of the year, and it deserves each and every accolade. Isbell is at the top of his game, as rousing anthems comfortably sit next to heart-wrenching looks at crumbling relationships and the difficulties of chasing the American dream.

6. Guided By Voices, August By Cake/How Do You Spell Heaven. Robert Pollard has always been one of rock’s most prolific songwriters, and is also quite possibly the worst at quality control. Each and every year has seen a handful of albums that are frustratingly dominated by half-baked song fragments. 2017 saw the release of his 100th and 101st albums, and both of them Pollard’s best efforts in well over a decade.

7. Juliana Hatfield, Pussycat. How can a record of bitter politics sound so sweet? Juliana Hatfield is not happy with what’s happening these days, but it’s somehow inspired her to write some of her catchiest songs ever.

8. Warm Soda, I Don’t Wanna Grow Up. Let’s get this out of the way. Matthew Melton found himself dropped from his label earlier this year for comments he and his musician wife said about immigration. Having said that, the final record by Warm Soda is easily the best power pop record of the year. Can one separate the music from the opinions of the person who creates the music? That’s definitely a major question these days, and I’m not sure that’s entirely fair.

9. Kevin Morby, City Music. One of my favorite new finds of this year. Formerly of Woods and The Babies (not the 70’s pop band), Morby’s fourth album has been described as a tribute to New York City. While there is a definite nod to the Ramones (“1234”), the record’s nods to the metropolitan experience works with almost any skyline.

10. The Feelies, In Between. Hoboken’s greatest band’s first album in six years actually feels like a sequel to 1986’s The Good Earth. Those same loud/quiet dynamics are again the focus, but not in the Pixies/Nirvana way. Instead the record’s best songs feature a gradual buildup that ultimately turns into a cacophonic roar.

11. Beaches, Second of Spring. Certain albums deserve to be played in full. This is one of those records, even if it’s a 17-track double album. Each and every song of the all-female Australian psych rockers’ third album perfectly fits with what precedes and follows it. Sonic landscapes of fuzzy instrumentals dissolve into catchy pop nuggets, which then spins into more experimental fare.

12. L.A. Witch, s/t. This fabulous new trio is pretty much impossible to pin down. There are elements of 60’s girl groups, but it’s mixed with surf, rockabilly, psych, and garage rock. It’s sort of like if The Runaways had a bigger record collection (and minus the dictatorship of Kim Fowley).

13. Matthew Ryan, Hustle Up Starlings. Only a handful of songwriters can create intense environments with (relatively) quiet sounds. Matthew Ryan is one of them, and it’s simply because he completely inhabits the identities of the subjects of his songs. Those subjects tend to be the forgotten members of society. The people who struggle to find work, let alone keep their jobs. The people with regrets over past mistakes. People who need their voices heard.

14. Danny Dodge, Baby Let Me Be Your Mess. I know next to nothing about Danny Dodge except that I love this record. Discovered via bandcamp, the only information I’ve been able to find is that he’s a veteran of various garage and glam bands in Portland. This album definitely has elements of those genres, but there’s also a does of sugary jangle pop.

15. Waxahatchee, Out in the Storm. I’m not going to lie. I’ve found most of Kate Crutchfield’s prior releases to be a bit hit and miss. However, her fourth album under the Waxahatchee name is great from beginning to end. Credit may have to go to producer John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth), who primarily recorded the band playing live in the studio.

16. John Moreland, Big Bad Luv. After the success of 2015’s mostly acoustic High on Tulsa, it would have been pretty easy for Moreland to just copy the sound and production of that record. Instead, he wisely expanded into a full-band sound that accentuates his hook-laden songs of heartbreak.

17. John Murry, A Short History of Decay. Murry has lived quite the life. A second cousin of William Faulkner, his childhood was marked by undiagnosed autism. He eventually turned to drugs, and was hospitalized for both psychological and drug issues. Music may have saved his life, but it also led to other issues too numerous to list here. His second solo album was recorded in five days with help from members of Cowboy Junkies, and his heartbreaking songs detail much of his life’s lower moments.

18. The Cairo Gang, Untouchable. Discovered due to his summer appearance in town, Cairo Gang leader Emmett Kelly is best known for his presence on the last two Ty Segall records along with various Bonnie “Prince” Billy releases. The fifth album under The Cairo Gang, produced by Segall, is truly a solo album, as Kelly plays that vast majority of instruments.

19. The Buttertones, Gravedigging. Another great bandcamp find, the debut release by this Los Angeles band is sort of like rock and roll history condensed into one full-length album. What other record combines surf, rockabilly, post-punk, garage, and psych with elements of The Clash and Cramps?

20. Meatbodies, Alice. I’m not going to lie. The name Meatbodies threw me off a bit. Yet once I heard this latest album by Chad Ubovich and crew I was itching for the rest of their discography. A little bit of research explained exactly why. Ubovich has spent time in Mikal Cronin’s band, and also plays in Fuzz with Ty Segall and Charles Moothart. Yep, it’s part of that L.A. orbit of musicians and bands.

21. Hurray For the Riff Raff, The Navigator. This record could have easily made the top ten, as the first half is about as exquisite as one could expect. Most of the second side doesn’t live up to that standard, though, so while it contains one of the year’s most inclusive record. Inclusive? Yes, leader Alynda Segarra combines various elements of Latina styles with classic American doo wop, folk, gospel and Motown sounds.

22. Alex G, Rocket. Alexander Giannascoli started off as a bedroom singer/songwriter who somehow got the attention of Frank Ocean. This led to his guitarwork appearing on a recent Ocean album, which has given him a weird notoriety that has very little to do with the lavish dream pop-ish sounds of his latest album.

23. Together Pangea, Bulls and Roosters. I first discovered this great band thanks to Tommy Stinson, who recorded their 2015 EP, The Phage. Their sound is firmly established in garage rock, but a bit quirkier than most bands of this type.

24. CFM, Dichotomy Desaturated. Here we go again. CFM is Charles Francis Moothart, who we’ve already noted is Ty Segall’s drummer. He’s also toured in Mikal Cronin’s band, is the guitarist/vocalist with Segall in Fuzz, and also participates in other Segall side projects. CFM is his band, though, and this second album is a great companion to that self-titled Segall album at the top of this list.

25. Old 97’s, Graveyard Whistling. After a few albums where the alt-country veterans took some mini-detours, this year’s model harkens back to the mid-90’s revved-up country roots. Leader Rhett Miller is still a master at turning a clever phrase, and the rest of the band has not lost a step.

26. Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile, Lotta See Lice. This is something I’d love to see more often. Two critically acclaimed songwriters befriend each other on the festival circuit, and decide to collaborate on an album. Each of them brings some new tunes, and they both sing a song written by the other. Plus they cover a Belly song, and another tune written by Barnett’s girlfriend, Jen Cloher.

27. John Wesley Harding, Wesley Stace’s John Wesley Harding. Let’s get everything straight. The artist known as John Wesley Harding was born Wesley Stace. He uses his birthname on his novels, and has also put out a few records under that name. This year’s album, his best in decades, attempts to clear up the confusion over his name. His writing is still full of wit and snark, and who can’t love an artist who makes fun of the music industry? It’s also worth noting that his band on this album is The Jayhawks, who do a masterful job at staying out of his way but adding whatever elements are needed.

28. Flat Worms, s/t. Flat Worms would be considered a supergroup in some circles, as everybody in the band has played with artists such as Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Kevin Morby, and Dream Boys. Regardless of where they’re from, this collaboration doesn’t rely on the usual sounds that generally come out of the Segall/Cronin/Thee Oh Sees circle of friends. Instead, this is a bit of a tribute to the heavier postpunk bands of the past. There’s a bit of Wire, later Buzzcocks, and even some pre-grunge Seattle in their sound.

29. Wand, Plum. You know what I love about this band? First off, they’re prolific, as this is their fourth album in three years. They’re also a band that’s constantly changing, as none of their albums sound the same. Plum may be the best of the bunch. It’s certainly their most varied, which makes it next to impossible to describe as it flows in and out of various subgenres.

30. Dream Syndicate, How Did I Find Myself Here? Here’s another band I never expected to see release new music. And I certainly would have never predicted that anything they did record would be so great. Their first new studio album since 1988 is similar to the new Feelies record in that it’s like there hasn’t been any time between releases. It’s a perfect companion to their neo-psychedelic classics The Days of Wine and Roses and Medicine Show.

31. Palehound, A Place I’ll Always Go. Palehound leader Ellen Kempner recently lost her grandmother and best friend, and poured all of her grief into her second album. While that may sound depressing, it’s tempered by the fuzzy, alt-rock guitar rock that fans of Waxahatchee should love.

32. Son Volt, Notes of Blue. It’s been quite some time since anybody but the biggest Jay Farrar fans paid any attention to Son Volt. Weirdly, it took a recent obsession with Skip James and Mississippi Fred McDowell that led to a record that’s reminiscent of the band’s classic early records.

33. Robyn Hitchcock, s/t. Again, a veteran artist puts out his best album in decades. For his 21st album, Hitchcock actually gives a few nods to his Soft Boys power pop days, and that energy permeates through the entire album.

34. Ne-Hi, Offers. Chicago’s place in indie rock circles has certainly grown in recent years, thanks to the likes of Twin Peaks, Whitney, and our very own The Kickback. As they told me in an interview before playing Total Drag earlier this year, Ne-Hi originally formed to record a soundtrack for a friend’s film, and it worked so well they decided to become a “real” band. After a debut recorded in a basement, they hit an actual studio for this record, but the resulting still feels like the result of a marathon jam session.

35. Micah Schnabel, Your New Norman Rockwell. Two Cow Garage is one of our country’s most underrated musical jewels that took Americana and gave it a Replacements-ish edge. This record may be a solo record, but it’s really a more stripped-down version of a typical Two Cow Garage album. Which means, of course, that it’s brilliant.

36. Daddy Issues, Deep Dream. This list doesn’t have enough snotty all-girl punk rock, even though it’s been a great year for bands such as this. As my friend Gorman Bechard says, they’re so good that they can even make a Don Henley cover (“Boys of Summer”) sound great.

37. POW!, Crack an Egg. This is a record that one needs to hear on vinyl. The first time I heard this was a digital version, and it was way too dominated by their propulsive synths. The vinyl version, though, obviously still has this despised (by me) instrument prominently in the mix, but the analog version is highlighted by the deeper, fuller sounds of the entire band.

38. Damaged Bug, Bunker Fun. John Dwyer is another artist who obviously had little to no free time this year. Besides running a busy, successful indie label that’s well-represented on this list, Dwyer released records under the names Oh Sees and OCS. (Thee Oh Sees name was retired after two 2016 releases.) He also had time for his solo side project that relies more on electronics than his other bands. His third release under this name is a bit heavier, a bit funkier, and heavier on prog elements than his main band.

39. Greg Ashley, Pictures of Saint Paul Street. Although a veteran of Texas garage-punk bands, along with a number of solo records, this record was my first hearing of this interesting songwriter. From the very first song, I heard a bit of Flowers-era Stones, mid-period Kinks, a pinch of Dylan, and even a touch of Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen. Ashley’s songs may primarily deal with despairing, hopeless characters living on the fringes of society, but he manages to turn them into messengers of righteous anger.

40. David Nance, Negative Boogie. Describing this lo-fi Omaha musician is next to impossible, as he’s anything and everything. There’s a bit of Crazy Horse at their one-take coked up best, quite a bit of Pere Ubu-weirdness, and maybe a bit of the Velvets and The Chills, and even a touch of 70’s outlaw country. Yet it somehow works, even when he throws in a surprise shambolic cover of Merle Haggard’s “Silver Wings”.

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