#however its a bit subtle and stuff . it was mostly just for me tbh

[gay--dog]

also heres the initial screenshot i took for reference & also some of the progress shots of it if anyones interested ^_^ thanks for all the kind words on this piece btw it really means a lot,, im glad so many people like it hehe

In the lion's garden the air is clear and smells like drying blood.

+alts :P

im not sure how much i like this, but ive been working on it for over a month and i really wanted to finish it before artfight ^^; either way it was a great learning experience! and flesh of the killer (as well as anthology of the killer as a whole) really really means a lot to me, so it was super awesome and fun to be able to put a lot of thought and effort into some fanart for it :3

[spongebob-connoisseur]

thoughts on spongebobs voice throughout the eras/seasons?

Oh hmm I think the way how his voice changes is interesting tbh

I'm gonna start off with the pilot. Did you know that Tom Kenny sucked helium to get his like that in the first episode? He did and I think it's funny the way how he described that but I can hear it since Sponge's voice was a little bit inconsistent in the first episode. He still keeps that distinct voice for all of season 1. It's my favorite voice personally. He sounds not quite a kid but not quite an adult. He sounds like a normal person and yet distinct. I also like he has a very particular way of pronouncing certain things. There's a test audio of Tom Kenny doing Spongebob's voice with Stephen Hillenburg doinf Squidward. Spongebob's voice is more lower pitched in that one but the pronounces things (can I call it an accent? I don't know how to describe it) is more distinct and noticeable in that clip and in season 1 it gets slightly toned down but probably still really noticeable during the first half of season 1. Oh also Tom Kenny uses that similar way of speaking for Carl from Johnny Bravo. Usually a dead give away and let's you know its Tom Kenny voicing the character but Carl often sounds too much like season 1 spongebob.

I like how season 1 spongebob talks I think it's interesting. I never usually notice these subtle patterns of speech like how people are able to tell which part of the country you're from or specific regional accents unless it's REALLY distinct like english isn't your first language kind of way. I think that's mostly because of growing up around a lot of people who are immigrants or children of immigrants. I can't tell at all how people are able to determine that you're Canadian by how you pronounce "bag" it sounds the same however you say it.

I'm getting off topic here. Sponge still keeps his way of speaking in season 2 but his voice gets noticeably higher pitched. Throughout season 2 he sounds more kid-ish but also slowly loses his accent(?) I remember years ago I assumed this way of speaking is because he's not from the Bikini Bottom. He said it himself in Home Sweet Pineapple that his parents live out of town. Maybe he is from out of town and that's just a remnant of that. And maybe throughout the show he loses his accent the longer he's in the Bikini Bottom.

Season 3 feels like the most adult of all the sponge counterparts. He even behaves more maturely. He's still goofy but it doesn't have much of the same child-like naivety he had before. He just seems kinda oblivious and his bigger flaws are sometimes praise and stuff goes to his head and that he's too trusting. For some reason this voice sounds more like you pitched up Tom Kenny's voice. Sometimes rewatching season 3, it feels like you can literally see Tom Kenny doing the voice because it just sounds a little too close to his. Maybe that's just me. I don't hate this voice but I find it a bit curious.

The 1st movie, I actually rewatched it a while back and it actually confused me as to why his voice sounded so high pitched. It felt like a distinct change from the classic seasons. Idk what was the planned direction or if they just wanted him to sound more kid-ish in the movie because season 3 was the season where he sounded the most like an adult but this voice did make a big change for the series. Seasons 4-5 and onward sticks with his movie voice.

His voice gets higher and higher from 6-8. I don't know how to exactly explain, how he talks is a little different too. His voice sounds a little more of a tinging sound. I don't know how to explain it properly. It sounds kinda squeaky. Which is suiting since he's a squeaky clean sea sponge! Jokes aside though, I didnt like his voice from this era much as a kid. It was distinct and unique. You can show a voice clip from this era and you'd just know its 6-8. I don't think it's bad at all now and I was being unfairly biased. I remember not liking that twangy sound in his voice. It sounded squeaky and didn't suit sponge much at all. Yeah he's always had an annoying squeaky voice. That's what we all love. But as a kid specifically there was something about it from this era that I found uninteresting and dry. It felt like it was missing something. But its likely just nostalgia making me biased.

His voice gets slightly deeper post 2nd movie. It's not a huge difference but I always assumed this change happened because Tom Kenny became voice director for the show so he can have input and stufd now about how characters sound so it's probably his own choice. What I have noticed is he sounds more enthusiastic. Probably to match more with the quicker pace of the newer episodes. They have a different flow compared to the middle seasons.

3rd movie. Tbh when I was watching this movie in theaters, it had me a little confused since his voice sounded deeper than the main series spongebob. The part in the movie where he was talking about how they accept people's flaws ans that they kept squidward. His voice was noticeably deeper but not in the same way the classic seasons are. It sounds more like modern spongebob if you pitched it down a bit. I really wish they would bring back the way he used to talk in the earlier seasons but also I don't want to sound like a "bleh modern spange BAD only old seasons good" because I still like how he sounds.

Post 3rd movie is pretty much the same as post 2nd movie. It hasn't been going on long enough to talk about. I'll tell ya what I think later on when more episodes come out 👍

I'm not gonna mention spinoffs because I don't feel like it. He definitely talks differently since he's a young adult or a child in them. This is strictly main series Spange if you don't mind.

[disaster-fruit]

could you tell us more about the brarg family au with the 3 babies and trans luci?

I definitely can! This au has been living rent free in my head since i started that drawing and I was actually sketching more stuff for the AU right before I got this ask so- I definitely can ramble more about it

This was supposed to be just a collection of a few hcs and now it’s a multi-pages word document the size of a fanfic so – Im really sorry.

I didn’t think a lot about their backstories tbh, though I have it in my mind that Luciano transition in his late teens and that he and martin either met after that or knew each other before luciano came out, lost all contact, and then met again after (and you can blame oxiosas fic for that yeah im not even subtle)

But I imagine them having some sort of meet cute and kinda progressing really fast in their relationship without realizing – yk, its just a fling, no big deal, yeah ive met his parents, yes I basically spend every weekend in his apartment, yeah I have a spare key now, ops I guess we’re adopting dogs and plants together- oh I think we’re married. Yeah. We’re married.

Ok but for real Luci does the proper proposal-with-a-ring-and-knelt-down-on-a-special-day thing and Martin is just bright red saying yes over and over again

It is Afonso (port) the first to be all WHERE ARE MY GRANDCHILDREN like… the night of their wedding.

They live in a house in a not too big city with two dogs, one cat, one parrot and all the birds that Luciano feeds and names that aren’t actually theirs. Still, they choose the house with two spare rooms because they always talked about having two kids.

In this AU they can buy a nice house and don’t have to worry about money and can raise kids like the world isn’t ending.

I think right after they got married they got in line for adoption. However, everything indicated that it would take a long long time so they started talking about the possibility of trying to have a biological kid. I think luci was the one to suggest it when he noticed martin had been thinking about it but not saying anything for a while.

Lots of boring doctor visits and confused doctors looking at luciano and trying to process it like the dumb cishets they are. Boring exams and all that, but everything is on track eventually, luci pauses his hrt and keeps his jockstrap on the drawer and they’re googling the best positions for fertility on those weird cishet sites and doing it like bunnies etc etc

Getting pregnant the natural way after years of testosterone is not the easiest thing in the world, so it takes a while. But eventually it works.

Both of them are kinda freaking out with this whole first pregnancy thing. Martin is the ultimate protective husband, and spends way too much time on the internet finding out what luciano can and can’t eat, what exercises he should do, and going to every single doctor visit. He’s very committed to it.

Luciano has to drink non-alcoholic beer and hates life. There’s a single teardrop shed every time he buys it. And drinks a lot of lemonade like it’s the same as caipirinha. Poor guy. Martin doesn’t help on that, life isn’t fair, he buys his own beer.

But he also has to drive absurd lengths to find the weirdest fruit or make the most hideous, blasphemous pizza toppings because Luciano is constantly craving absurd shit. But poor baby actually really NEEDS that chicken M&M pizza at 8am.

They’re super proud daddies though, and both their instagrams at this point are just baby belly pictures. Luci had top surgery on this au on my hc so also. Lots of shirtless pics. He looks like an old uncle with a beer belly and he’s PROUD. Just. Baby bellies all over.

Martin picks the entire baby layette. Because of course he does.

Their baby shower is a huge deal though. Their dads are there, Antonio brings an entire trunk filled with diapers and tells everyone how many tincho used to need when he was a baby, Afonso is cooking for everyone and talking about how he’s gonna be a grandfather (!!!). Iracema (pindorama) is scolding Luci about his bad habits while also quietly being a super proud grandma. Zola (angola) bought toys because she knows that’s what kids actually like, Samero (Mozão) keeps asking if they installed all the necessary security stuff in their house – we will, chill, we still have some months to go – Vera (Tomé) is teasing Simão (Timor) about him no longer being the family baby, Fatima (g.bissau) is another one who bought a huge amount of diapers, Rosinha (cabo verde) is taking pictures of everyone and everything, Sebas and Dani are discussing if the kid should speak Portuguese or Spanish, Maria brought a huge pink plushy as a gift, it’s quite a party.

Once they’re late in the pregnancy, Luciano mostly spends his time on Martin’s oversized t-shirts asking for foot rubs and not getting much sleep because the baby keeps moving. Martin on the other hand is a little nervous about being a dad, but absolutely loves feeling the little kicks and talking to the baby all the time, except when its 3am and he wants to sleep but Luci cant because of it so he just does his best to keep him company. He mostly ends up falling asleep on his chest though and doesn’t help much

I wrote all of this but I still don’t have a name for the girl lol Anyway, she’s finally born, and if martin was overprotective when Luciano was pregnant, he’s ten times more with his baby girl. Tbh theyre both kinda going crazy with this whole parenting thing, both are overprotective, tired, and have no idea what theyre doing.

Zola and Sebastian are the girl’s godparents. Sebastian isn’t very good with kids so when he takes care of his niece he either puts on a tv show and lets her eat whatever crap she wants, or relies on Daniel to do the actual taking care, since he is good with kids.

Luciano and Martin are very much neurotic first-timers and have all this schedule of what their girl can eat and when and when she has to sleep etc etc.

When Zola takes care of her, she just ignores it and does it her way. She helped raised Luci since he was a baby anyway, he survived just fine and even married and reproduced, she knows what to do better than both the dumbasses, and they never even find out.

Afonso on the other had follows everything when he’s with his granddaughter, determined to be a better grandfather than he was a father, and the baby loves him so he’s doing a good job.

They’re a very cute family yes yes

She grows up well and happy, a bit shy maybe but very smart and sweet, loves the dogs and her aunts and uncles and granddads (afonso more than antonio though)

By the way, Iracema is soft like butter with her granddaughter.

When she’s about four or five years old they start talking about having a second one, considering the age difference and all. So back to doctors, Luci stops the hrt again and they go back to trying, but again it’s not the easiest thing in the world to do it naturally after years of hrt.

But god listens to the prayers of such good catholic family, and right after they start thinking about a second child, they receive the news they will finally get to adopt a baby.

Luciano is the one to receive the news, he’s working at home when the social worker comes to tell him they can finally adopt. He’s extremely happy, he hugs the poor lady and is barely able to concentrate as she explains the paperwork that is left and the details of it because he can’t stop smiling.

He immediately texts martin saying something like “CALL ME RIGHT NOW WE NEED TO TALK” and it’s in happy caps but martin understands it wrong and thinks someone is dying or dead but then his phone is what dies so he gets home as fast as he can thinking all the worst scenarios just to find luciano jumping on him with a smile for ear to ear. It’s such a shock he takes a while to react but when he does you have two idiots so happy they can’t function.

It’s another girl, she has big brown eyes like her sister and it’s a few months old.

They quickly reassemble the crib and paint the second room to get everything ready in time to take her home, and the next week or so it’s nothing but all the family visiting to meet their new baby.

Since they managed to adopt, they decided to stop trying to have another kid. Luciano goes back to the doctor do some routine exams so that he can go back to testosterone and the doctor just awkwardly explains that, well, that won’t be exactly possible. Not for the next eight months, at least.

He’s quite shocked at that, and takes him a while to tell martin. They just got a new baby and do they even have space to raise three kids? Eventually it just escapes from him and martin is shocked as well, but ultimately both of them are just worried about their place being too small, and once they relax about that they can’t shut up about having another baby on the way to anyone.

Still, it’s not easy to manage, martin is just as worried as he was with their eldest, except that this time he’s simultaneously worried about their new baby and about Luci’s pregnancy. Poor dude needs a break asap. So he’s trying to do most of the work of caring for a little baby to spare luciano from the stress, while also taking care of him as well as he did the other time.

Luci is more chill about being pregnant, he’s done this before, he’s fine. He’s even a little too chill about it, as shown in the art, he still wants to carry their kid on his shoulder and having a few sips of martin’s beer is no big deal and honestly he’s fine, he can help with the baby, and Tincho just needs to relax and it will all be fine.

Again, poor tincho needs a break.

Some things don’t change though. Them being super proud daddies who do nothing but take pictures of their kids and Luci’s belly every chance they get. And they’re really happy and excited to have their house full and this big family.

Just a good cute family AU where nothing bad ever happens thank you very much.  Yet it took me almost 2k words to say it. I have no self control and I’m very sorry. However, if anyone has their own hcs to add about this whole au, I will be more than happy to hear and talk about this AU even more than I’ve already done.

[anime-grimmy]

Little Witch Academia and missed opportunities

Sooo, since I seem to go on a tangent every few months, have another one.

I recently watched the series Little Witch Academia. Now, I did see the original OVA and movie, but that was a few years back, so except for the concept and rough understanding of the characters I went into this show kinda blind. Also, knowing that the series started its own story and changed up a few things got me really interested.

I watched the series and you know what, it was real fun. Great animation and quirky characters, as expected of Trigger. What I didn’t expect was that I got really interested in the story as well. From what I knew about LWA (so, it’s memes) I thought it was mostly an episodic anime, which it was in its first half, but they still carried on the aspects of those single episodes.

However.

The biggest problems I have with the show lie with its characters and the missed opportunities. I do like (most) of the characters, but sometimes it felt like Trigger originally had more planned with them or they just outright shanked them. That is why I’m gonna ramble for a while, go over each character (I care about) and talk about what I like about them but was just not explored enough. Do remember, however, that I still really enjoyed the show and I am considering rewatching it again right away, but these were just some points that got on my nerves while watching.

Well, strap in I guess

(Spoiler warning btw)

Akko

Let’s start with the protagonist, shall we? I’m probably going to mention her a lot with the other characters as well, but first I want to look at her by herself.

Akko is Trigger’s typical high energy character with just a bit of sass. What I like about her is that she is loud, obnoxious, selfish and annoying and the other characters think that too. I normally really don’t enjoy these kinds of characters, even more so when I binge a series, because they get so exhausting. What I like in LWA is that even Akko’s close friends often tell her to calm down or straight up to just shut up. Akko’s character is even more enjoyable because of her great VA (actually the reason I finally picked up the anime). Her animations and reactions are super enjoyable too and tbh, even if she is annoying, she is also the funniest part of the whole show.

But, I’m here to rant, so on to the things that bothered me. Like I said, she is annoying. I can kind of see that it’s not that big of a deal on a weekly basis, maybe then it’s even uplifting. But when you sit through episode after episode it gets exhausting.

What bothers me too is that Akko barely changes. I know not to expect that much subtle character progression from Trigger, since they go from 0 to 100 fast, but it’s even stated in the show. Like the whole thing with patience. Akko was never the patient type but the episode it became the focus, they turned it up to eleven. She became unbearably twitchy and whiny, which was basically your indicator that this was going to be focused on. But after the whole lesson of the ep, in the next one Ursula even says ‘didn’t you just learn to be patient?’. I don’t wish for Akko to take big steps after she gets a lesson, but just show subtle moments where the lesson takes effect. I think it only really bothers me so much because after the ep Akko seems even more impatient.

Another thing is her selfishness / self-righteousness. Diana and Andrew even tell that to her face, that she just shoves her believes in other’s faces without considering how they feel and what their situation is. But she never, even once, doesn’t do it. I get it, it’s her character trait, being the dangerous combo of head-strong and stubborn. But it never, not even once, brings consequences. I thought it would finally happen with the whole Diana situation, because Andrew even points out Akko’s faults, but it all ends well anyways and Akko doesn’t learn at all from this.

I know this is a Trigger protagonist but at some point it just got so frustrating. It’s even sadder when you see what they did with Ryuko in Kill la Kill. Yeah, she’s still her abrasive self in the end, but she does have a more gentle and open side to her too after the show. Akko kind of stays the complete same after the whole show, only that she can do magic better and finally fly (which was honestly a cute ending, ngl). The worst parts, however, were her sad moments towards the end. And I’m not talking about her reaction to learning about Chariot, that was totally ok (though I do have some things to complaint about, but on to that later), but the thing before when she climbed that never-ending tree. Her outburst and her frustration came kind of out of nowhere, at least continuing on from the last episode. Her reasons for being so frustrated and angry make perfect sense, but the build-up is just missing, even in the episode itself. It would have been enough to make Akko look desperately at her Chariot poster a few times or just look really desperate in general after being told ‘no’ by Ursula. But she just looks her usual pouty self when that happens, so her outburst and mistrust in Ursula are very surprising. I do like that that ep is right before the Chariot (betrayal) reveal, because they just made up and got closer, but the episode itself felt so out of left field, it really bothered me.

 Sucy and Lotte

Before you say anything, I’m only lumping them together because what bothers me is not their characters by themselves, they’re great and very enjoyable, but how Trigger fucking dropped them halfway through the show.

Sucy and Lotte seem very similar to their OVA and movie selves, though Sucy seems just a tad bit less evil and Lotte not that much of a typical nerd. In general, I really liked those two and their friendship with Akko.

That said.

I find it terrible how little focus they get in the second half of the show. I mean, it’s great they are those kind of friends that don’t necessarily have to hang around the MC all the time, like in the Diana-centric episode where they go ‘We know you want to go after her, so here, have your stuff and go. We’re going to support you but not take part in it’. Things like that are great! But Akko, Sucy and Lotte are supposed to be best friends,  the main trio, Sucy and Lotte are supposed to be Akko’s mayor pillars of support. And this is beautifully shown in the earlier episodes, but later in the show it just feels like those two lose significance. What pissed me off the most is that in the second OP you see them grasping each other’s arms, a reference to the tapestry about the 7 lights. But in the end, Akko unlocks the staff and the big magic source by herself. I wished they’d gone more for a ‘Luna Lana’ equivalent. That’s just another thing! I watched the OVA and movie yesterday and their friendship is so much better in those! You see them laugh and fight and stick together, it’s so nice. You don’t get a cool moment like ‘Luna Lana’ in the series and I think they really should have. And no, the missile chase doesn’t count, that involved all girls.

Ultimately, I just think it’s sad that those 3 are supposed to represent this close friendship but the later show doesn’t show it at all. I wished other character-centric episodes, like with Constanze or Diana for example, would have happened sooner so that later episodes could push Akko, Sucy and Lotte’s friendship a bit more.

Speaking of Diana, oh boy, here we go.

 Diana and Andrew

Yes, I’m lumping them together because both could have had so much more.

First, Diana. I was actually surprised about her character, because from the little I remember about the OVA and movie, I thought her to be more of a bitch. And I was right. In the first two instalments she is a snobbish, stuck-up, rude bitch, so a Tsundere, but fun in her own rights. Her dynamic with Akko is truly amusing. In the series, however, she is still a bit stuck up, but more just a determined, stern and smart rich girl. She does chastise Akko and is shown as a know-it-all, but she respects others way more and mostly just talks because she knows she’s right. Though, I wish she would have turned out to be something right between the two.

Diana is supposed to be Akko’s rival, so why isn’t she? She’s supposed to be the Viral to Kamina/Simon, the Satsuki to Ryuko, but she just isn’t. Before her little arc, she’s kind of that ‘big goal’, the ‘perfect witch’, so the familiar obstacle that is the rival. Diana even gains some respect for Akko but also gets disappointed in her shortly after (tbh, same). But all this progression is kind of one-sided, because Akko’s perception of Diana barely changes. They don’t really have a dynamic going on in the first half, more so their own development. Heck, in the second OP it’s shown that they’re supposed to mirror Chariot and Croix but they honestly don’t. Because Chariot and Croix were two friends that were striving for the same goal but due to how differently they tried to reach it, they grew apart. Diana is striving for the same power that Chariot and Croix did and Akko, well, she doesn’t, she just goes along because she wants to meet Chariot. Which is fine, but it feels like this ‘rivalry’ is being forced onto them. Maybe that’s also intentional, but it feels weird. Diana even once says ‘I never considered us rivals’, which is understandable, but to me it was more of a surprise that Akko saw her as one. To me, it always felt like, even if Diana didn’t realize it, she viewed Akko as her own goal to reach. Akko on the other hand just gets really miffed with Diana, and yeah, she strives to be as good with magic as her, but there’s no real rivalry, not even an implied one.

Then the whole thing with both being Chariot fans and Diana getting Akko out of her slump. I already said it once, but I still think it should have been Lotte and Sucy who ultimately got her to perk up again (I’ll describe how I think this whole thing should have gone. Again, this is only cos I was unsatisfied with the resolution, the original is fine in itself though). What bothers me so much about this is that it feels like they shoe-horned this whole thing in because that’s how it was in the original. I get what they want to do, get a parallel between Akko and Diana, even more so because they both lost their magic to Chariot, and since they’re closer now than at the beginning Diana manages to reach her. But in the end, it feels forced. Both girls had one adventure together and Diana was just starting to open up to Akko, where the hell did all that understanding come from. It’s even harder to believe because it’s shown that Diana is good at relaying facts and choosing the most logical course of action, she’s not known to just openly share her feelings, more so to someone she just learned to consider a friend. And it also feels kind of lazy that a pep talk from a fellow fan and victim would just push Akko out of her slump. Instead of somehow cramming that fact in and making Diana have lost her power too, they could have gone along the route of ‘so what if she stole your magic, you’re too stubborn to let that stop you!’

Like I said, I’ll go into detail about this scene later, but first.

Andrew.

Oh. My sweet boy, they did you so dirty.

I’m going to say it right now, I love Andrew’s introduction episode, it’s probably one of my favourites. And I also like his addition to the series in general, because whereas Diana is Akko’s feud in personality and ability, Andrew is supposed to be her opposite in ideologies. But he isn’t just a male Diana who doesn’t like magic, though at first they make you think that.

I love his introduction ep so much, because they don’t just introduce an obstacle for Akko, but once again show that the show can play with your expectations. Andrew is first shown as this typical snobby, stuck up rich kid, which he is, but even when faced with someone he disagrees with, he shows a level of respect. Then further in the episode, you see that he is in fact a calm, helpful when a bit teasing individual. It also shows that he actually has fun when in danger, which is a nice change to normally one-note characters. But what I love most about this is, that he is not just this ‘snobby non-believer turned enthusiast through one outing’ cliché. Andrew gets to have a bit of an adventure with Akko and get to see amazing magic at that, but he stays pessimistic. He doesn’t just change his world view in a second, because that’s not what he was raised to do.

Having established all that, every time he shows up, he kind of matters less and less. The whole party episode was fun and all, but with Akko still being stuck in her narcissistic world view, the effect of the ep is small. Because what it really is about, is to show on one hand that Andrew is very subordinate to his father and that his perception of magic isn’t necessarily his own opinion, so there is a possibility to change his mind. On the other hand, it’s to show Akko that some people make decisions not based on their own volition and sometimes their opinion can’t just be changed like that.

But in the end Akko doesn’t learn her lesson and even if they do play a bit with changing Andrew’s mind, there really isn’t much to it. When I heard that originally it was planned for Akko and Andrew to be together at the end, but they scrapped that idea, it made so much sense why Andrew felt so out of place in the last few episode. Because he was. Honestly, it really shows now how they weren’t so sure what to do with him at the end, because he was not supposed to be the one to make that big of an impact, neither on Akko nor on the plot as a whole. He does say something very significant to Akko though, to be her own witch and not try to be Chariot, but that gets kind of brushed under the rug, because again, he isn’t supposed to be the one to make an impact anymore. Same thing with his ‘I believe’. It’s just there to be there, because even if he opened up more to magic and Akko herself, I don’t think he would have been snapped out of his ideology that he got punched into him since he was young and just abandon his father’s decision he had just started to doubt.

I think all of this would have flown better if the whole Diana arc would have been earlier in the series. There would have been more time for Diana and Akko to find a common footing and become believable friends, Andrew would have more reason to be mesmerized by witches and magic, because he didn’t just get to see determination from Akko but from Diana as well (and you kinda have that ‘go against your family’ stuff too) and then, in the later part of the series, there would have been more time for the main trio to develop a bit more.

But even if that hadn’t happened, I just want to get to changing up the scenes after Chariot’s reveal, because I think if they had handled all that a bit better, then the original ending would have felt even more sincere.

 Cheering up depressed Akko

Like I said, I find Trigger’s solution to this small arc lazy. Because you start up with Andrew and Akko meeting up to give her hat back, Andrew says stuff that not only gets Akko thinking but himself as well. Then you got the reveal, everybody searching and Diana being the only person needed to cheer her up. I know it can be argued that, only after Lotte comes in crying with the others in tow, Akko cheers up, but I think most of it can be chalked up to Diana, which is such plot convenience. Again, the things that bother me are the whole ‘Chariot fan and victim’ thing and how Lotte, Sucy, Andrew and the others are not really significant in this moment. The biggest thing that bothers me is that they start this mini arc with Andrew telling Akko to be herself and reach her goal with her own strengths in mind, not because she is chasing someone else. But then with Diana, it’s basically a ‘I could do it, so you can do it too’. I know they’re trying to build a parallel between those two and show how Diana opens up to Akko, but I think that just misses the point of what they had sat up.

Before I get to describing my idea, again, you can totally disagree with me, heck, you don’t have to like what I come up with at all. But just know that this is supposed to be a rant and I purposefully highlight the things that bothered me. I still love the show and only rant about it because I know Trigger could have made this already fun show even better.

Anyways, here is how I’d handled this arc:

The start of the arc is still the same. Akko and Andrew meet up, he tells her to believe in her own strength, Akko gets distracted and runs off, Andrew gets thoughtful. You have the whole reveal with Chariot, Akko vanishes and Diana and the others go search for her.

Now, what I want this arc to accomplish is, that Akko learns to believe in her own strengths but also to show how her friends have her back. Because that’s what the whole ending is about, right? Showing how Akko changed people, how they believe in themselves and even more so, believe in her. So, I want all of her friends to play a part in cheering her up, but make Sucy and Lotte the biggest influence of them all.

I’d start the changes from where Diana is nearly at Akko’s location. This time however, she finds Andrew close by. After the whole Parliament meeting stuff, him and his father are still in town and he went out at night, wandering around, deep in thought. He somehow managed to make himself think about his own situation with all that he had told Akko.

Diana, knowing that Andrew had met up with Akko, approaches him and asks if he had seen Akko. Since he is confused and worried after hearing she’s gone, Diana explains the situation and Andrew decides to help them search.

He is also the one that finds Akko first, right on that bench, covered in snow. (this part is a bit inspired by a post I read). He runs over to her, shocked at how cold and unresponsive she is. He gives her his jacket and he brushes the snow from he hair. He sits quietly next to her, worried glances and all. He thinks about what Diana told him and mulls over an answer. In the end, he basically repeats to her what he told her earlier that day and maybe something along the lines ‘and honestly, I wouldn’t believe you don’t have magic, because to me you are truly bewitching’, just so that you have nod back to the party, only now it comes from the heart and not because of a potion. That gets her to perk up and Andrew just gives her a reassuring smile.

Then Diana comes in, finally finding the two. Diana takes Akko to the café, Andrew staying behind. (here Akko could keep his jacket, so that in the end you have the parallel of him bringing her the hat and her returning the jacket). The café scene is kind of similar to the original, but I’d change the reason for Diana’s loss of magic. Instead of her losing her magic abilities all of a sudden, maybe she could have had a tough time manifesting them from the start. But Diana shares with Akko that she was inspired by Chariot too and that kept her going, believing in herself and her magic and finally succeeding. She tells Akko the whole thing with how she got envious of her, but at the same time that, just like Chariot, Akko had kind of become an inspiration as well. Now you don’t have the ‘I could, so you can too.’ but more Diana cementing that Akko has powers of her own and is already influencing people.

Then in come Amanda, Jasminka and Constanze. Amanda goes straight to shaking Akko and ruffling her hair, shouting something about ‘who am I gonna cause trouble with if you go’. Jasminka offers Akko her candies and Constanze shoves plans in her face, trying to show her that she needs her assistant. It’s just small things, but it would allude to the three of them caring about Akko and in Amanda’s and Constanze’s cases, that she had made an impact on them, tying in previous episodes.

Lastly come in Lotte and Sucy. Lotte is still crying and asking her if she was leaving. But they would kind of go into more detail, like a small recap of all that happened and how important she was. They would also talk about how Akko has grown so much already and so what if Chariot had taken her magic, she still inspired Akko and Akko therefore grew into her own witch that now inspires people.

After that, Akko finally snaps out of it totally, maybe grinning full force before sobbing and burying herself in Lotte and Sucy’s arms.

I think in general with a recap of the show so far and showing Akko’s journey, it would be a good set-up for the end. You got Akko back on her feet, her faith rebuilt but also her believe in herself strengthened. You got the bond between the characters established which makes the chase after the missile more impactful and you actually got more reason for Andrew to cement his own believes more. (maybe have him walk in the café too, just so he sees how many people Akko has inspired but also how much people can believe in magic)

 But like I said many times already, this is just my take on what could have been handled better a bit. I still really love the show and its characters. I don’t necessarily want a whole new season, since they did wrap up many things already, but I’d love a movie or some OVAs to explore some characters more in depth.

 Speaking of which, I’m just going to drop this here at the end, because I do want to talk about it but not that in depth. The thing about Ursula/Chariot and Croix. I kind of enjoyed the OVA-Ursula more, because she was kind of spunky and you could tell that she believed in her own strength. Series-Ursula is a freaking Jedi, but she is just so meek and nervous, and that even as Chariot, which I didn’t really like. Croix is an interesting character and I love me my evil scientists, but she turned generic antagonist at the end. As expected, tbh. The only thing about Croix I want to highlight is that I believed so hard that she and Andrew were somehow linked or related. Because when you binge the series, Croix shows up shortly after Andrew’s introduction. And in a series with so many unique eyes, they have the fucking same. I just thought that Trigger was hinting at something, because not only do they have a very similar shape and the exact same string green colour, the first few episodes with them heavily focus the camera on their eyes. Especially with Croix! It felt like the anime told me ‘look, look close at those eyes, seem familiar, right?’. I waited so long for something to happen but it never did, what a shame. Though, maybe they did have something planned but just like the initial ending, they scrapped that idea but left the designs untouched.

 Anyways, I’ve been ranting for over 4000 words now, I think that should be enough for one little analysis. If you have your own thoughts, feel free to share them with me!

[justastraightupmess]

💘 p e r i s h.

where they first met and how

touma dropped his fkin burger and levi laughed his ass off at how distraught he seemed. then touma was like “doki doki” but in an art way and wanted him to be his muse, to which levi obviously said yes ://

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved

Hmmmm, for levi it was a gradual thing. he’s fairly quick to catch feels, but the just rlly started getting more and more serious. it started off with, oh hes cute, then i wanna smooch his face, then i wanna date & fuck him.toUMA is still all. fkin touma i guess so ://// levi would like to know exACTLY how he feels for him immediately pls. 

who fell for who first ( if applicable )

Levi. definitely.

where their first date was and what it was like

Touma probably took Levi to some art exhibition and it was boring as shit for Levi but he was just happy to be there, Touma felt bad though and tries to pick better places in the future. 

who asks who out and how ( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? )

lmao. Levi confessed his feelings bc he was acting like a jealous asshole and ruined Touma’s date so does that count??

who proposes first

I mean. It’d have to be Touma bc Levi refuses to be the one to propose he wants to be proposed to, only he’s dropping not at all subtle hints for like 6 months so. 

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away

loooooool. hidden. very much hidden. 

where the proposal happens and how ( kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded by ducks? at a disney park? )

It’d probably be more on the private side of things. I feel like either Touma would try to make it a lil romantic, nothing like massive, but just some cute meaningful things, maybe over dinner. Or alternatively he fucks up royally/chickens out too much, and like Levi finds the fucking ring in his sock draw and comes out crying like “tf is this??? are you-- omg yesyesyesyeyes” and touma’s like “gfdi i didn’t even propose yet levi u cant say yes yet jfc my life is a mess”

if they adopt any pets together

Levi loves pets !!!! he loves animals !!! he’d want a pet. except touma would want a snake and levi refuses to be anywhere near it while he feeds it ://

who’s more dominant

ahhhhh i mean, i feel like Levi is definitely capable of being more dominant, but as it stands at least he sides a little more on the submissive, or at least like just a bit of a brat rather than dominant side of things. levi loooooves it when touma sudden;y gets a little dominant like hes wEAk for that. But i think later on when Levi tops bc its gonna happen at some point his more dominant side will come out. Anyway they’re both switches so I guess it depends ??

where their first kiss was and what it was like

that one time on the couch when levi just said he wanted to rest on touma but then it turned into cuddling and then oops he kissed him then oops it turned into more :///

if they have any matching couples stuff ( mugs? sweaters? pillowcases? )

levi would adamantly encourage this behavior, but he’d have to force it on touma. probably just small things around the house tho definitely not something they’d wear in public or anything. 

how into pda they are

well -- levi is super into it but he is taking it very very slow for touma 

who holds the umbrella when it rains

either or ?? they dont have a big height difference so it doesnt matter

where their usual ‘date spot’ is ( if applicable )

at home bc touma has no money and never leaves his fkin house 

who’s more protective

probably neither rlly?? but maybe levi

how long it is before they sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ )

mmmm it probably won’t take long lmao. levi is ready to go whenever touma is 

if they argue about anything

I’m actually surprised they don’t argue more often bc levi is a shit, but touma is such a pushover he lets him get away with too much. I think down the track they’ll definitely run into some issues abt levi feeling neglected and also pda stuff tho

who leaves more marks ( lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. )

it’s pretty even. they both leave a lot off hickeys in a lot of places, but levi also likes to leave some scratches from time to time

who steals whose clothes and how often

LOL LEVI WOULD NOT STEAL ANYTHING FROM HIS WARDROBE SOZ TOUMA BUT NO. and touma doesnt care abt that stuff so he wouldn’t either

how they cuddle ( spooning? facing each other? )

near constantly and it’s mostly just levi lining to touma for dear life. levi is on him all the damn time. any kind of cuddle he can get tbh.

what their favourite nonsexual activity is

that doesnt exist to levi :// maybe just ?? chilling at home ?? watching smth ?? cuddling ??

how long they stay mad at each other

touma is a pushover so not long. levi can hold a fkin grudge and will until touma apologizes then he’s over it, so however long that takes, but also hes petty so he’d bring it up again.

if they ever have any children together

pls never let either of them have a child together pls they are not ready. maybe when they’re older but i doubt it

if they have any special pet names for each other

uhhhhh minou, mon amour, tou, lev, senpai-kohai 

if they ever split up and / or get back together

yIKEs. big potential for this but i fkin hope not. they’re are a lot of things that could go wrong

what their shared living space is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? )

clean, levi doesn’t like a mess. he had to designate a special space for touma to paint bc he cant deal with all that mess

what their first christmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like

sad and lonely probably bc levi was away from home and touma is a shut in. 

what their names are in each other’s phones

touma would literally just have “levi” with nothing extra or emojis and levi would have “touma” with one thousand emojis

if they have any ‘couple traditions’ ( buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking every friday evening? )

they probably don’t have anything like that tbh

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first

touma falls asleep first and levi wakes up first 

who’s the big spoon / little spoon

they switch

who hogs the bathroom

fucking levi ofc

who kills the spiders / takes them outside

touma for sure if he thinks levi is going near that spider he has another thing coming 

where they first met and how

at school and they didn’t rlly like each other at first :/

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved

they didn’t have a fkin flirting phase they had a friends phase then everett caught feels and now they’re friends that fuck. feelings from luke are just starting to get involved but they’ve got a while to go

who fell for who first ( if applicable )

ev fell first like the dumbass he is

where their first date was and what it was like

luke tried to take him to a movie and then dinner all traditional and romantic but its dumb and they both hate it

who asks who out and how ( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? )

i guess luke “officially” asks him out. probably just being dumb and all shy abt it tho

who proposes first

luke. probably has to a million times bc ev is all fuk the man and stuff

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away

a secret bc ev can’t and luke rlly doesnt want it getting out right away

where the proposal happens and how ( kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded by ducks? at a disney park? )

it’s only probably rlly dumb, like they’re just sitting on the couch watching tv, ev has half a soft pretzel shoved in his mouth and luke just looks over like “will you just fkin marry me you idiot ??”

if they adopt any pets together

probably at some point i feel. maybe a dog or a cat. and then ofc ev is like “we dont need to have kids we have the cat/dog” and luke is like “no”

who’s more dominant

HA. Luke easily 

where their first kiss was and what it was like

on the couch, everett teasing him followed by luke losing his shit right after 

if they have any matching couples stuff ( mugs? sweaters? pillowcases? )

god no. everett would straight up refuse and i highly doubt luke would want any of that anyway

how into pda they are

not very ?? i doubt they’d be much different to how they are now anyway?? 

who holds the umbrella when it rains

luke bc he’s taller and also bc hes a big strong man obvi

where their usual ‘date spot’ is ( if applicable )

i doubt they have one since someone refuses to go on dates :////

who’s more protective

they’re actually both pretty damn protective tbh, but definitely luke bc he borders on/is super possessive lmao 

how long it is before they sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ )

...........well if u count blow jobs it didn’t take long at aLL but uh. actual sex will take a while bc ev is a virgin and luke is a little scared to go that gay :/

if they argue about anything

HA. IF. good joke. they argue about everything, literally everything. 

who leaves more marks ( lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. )

I think they both would leave their fair share of marks tbh

who steals whose clothes and how often

Eeeeevvvvvvvv all the time. half bc hes just trying to be a brat and educe luke :/

how they cuddle ( spooning? facing each other? )

at first probably just spooning until they get a little more comfortable with each other and then face to face too 

what their favourite nonsexual activity is

does fighting count?

how long they stay mad at each other

oh boi. they can both stay mad for aaaaaagggeeessssss. it probably just depends on whether luke is willing to give in first bc as soon as he mellows ev does too

if they ever have any children together

B|  well. they’re at a bit of an impasse rn so we’ll see lmao

if they have any special pet names for each other

maybe all of their countless insults?? also ev and lu/lulu

if they ever split up and / or get back together

idk. i don’t think they’d split up unless they meant it for reals. they’ll fight but they’d both stick it out and try to fix it unless it was something that rlly couldn’t be fixed. so if they split up it’d probably be for good. or at least for a few years or smth ??

what their shared living space is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? )

probably clean bc luke makes a good househusband and cleans up when he’s bothered 

what their first christmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like

just happy. luke would be happy to be chilled and relaxed and with ev and not with his parents lmao 

what their names are in each other’s phones

it’s probably “dumbass moron” and “giant prick” 

if they have any ‘couple traditions’ ( buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking every friday evening? )

yeah no theres no way they do that shit

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first

they probably sleep at the same ish time and ev wakes up first

who’s the big spoon / little spoon

usually luke is the big spoon but i also love the idea of everett just wrapping himself around luke sometimes too

who hogs the bathroom

ev more than luke, luke doesnt rlly give a shit abt his looks he’s in and out done. 

who kills the spiders / takes them outside 

luke hates them but he’ll catch them and put them out, cringing the whole time

where they first met and how

andrew “saved” daiki from being hit on and it was all downhill from there

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved

uhhhh. well i guess from daiki the two were interchangeable??? andy caught feelings pretty quickly but he just doesn’t realize what they are

who fell for who first ( if applicable )

i guess daiki did in his weird daiki way

where their first date was and what it was like

what fkin date all daiki does is get frisky :///

who asks who out and how ( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? )

daiki does except he does it through trying to fuck him all the time

who proposes first

daiki would it honestly wouldn’t even cross andy’s mind and then he’d be shooketh

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away

they wouldn’t hide it but i dont think they’d broadcast it to the world either 

where the proposal happens and how ( kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded by ducks? at a disney park? )

probably mid-fuck or smth honestly daiki is trash. he probably just says “i wanna fuck u for the rest of my life bunny~<3″ and suddenly andy is wearing a ring and hes like ??? wait wUt?? 

if they adopt any pets together

well there’s mottle, andy very very very slowly warms up to her but thats abt it

who’s more dominant

oh andy obviously ://///

where their first kiss was and what it was like

the day they fkin met bc daiki is trash

if they have any matching couples stuff ( mugs? sweaters? pillowcases? )

i could see daiki ironically buying smth rlly dumb for them both to wear

how into pda they are

if by pda u mean daiki trying to fuck him in public -- very 

who holds the umbrella when it rains

Andrew brought it with them but Daiki holds it

where their usual ‘date spot’ is ( if applicable )

any place they go camping 

who’s more protective

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiki

how long it is before they sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ )

B| not very fkin long jesus

if they argue about anything

abt daiki being possessive and violent, and also eventually abt him not treating andy like a person and treating him like a fleshlight constantly 

who leaves more marks ( lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. )

Daiki, bc hes a possessive fuck

who steals whose clothes and how often

Uhhh andy does sometimes?? not often. just bc it was cold and his hoodie was there so :/ he ends up getting fucked in it tho so

how they cuddle ( spooning? facing each other? )

Both, except it doesn’t stay as cuddling for long bc daiki is trash

what their favourite nonsexual activity is

nonsexual activity ?? don’t know her 

how long they stay mad at each other

andy is weak, so most of the time not long, unless it’s something serious then he’ll hold his ground. 

if they ever have any children together

please dear god don’t let daiki procreate ever no

if they have any special pet names for each other

bunny. 

if they ever split up and / or get back together

it’s possible. if daiki doesn’t change his act and stop being conSTANTLY sexual and if he doesn’t stop his life of crime. 

what their shared living space is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? )

Clean bc andy is organized and clean

what their first christmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like

shit bc daiki only gives sexual presents and andy actually puts thought into his gifts

what their names are in each other’s phones

“bunny” and “daiki” bc andy is simple

if they have any ‘couple traditions’ ( buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking every friday evening? )

their couple tradition is making andy cry

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first

andy falls asleep first and wakes up first 

who’s the big spoon / little spoon

andy is the little spoon daiki big spoon

who hogs the bathroom

neither rlly ??

who kills the spiders / takes them outside 

daiki. 

where they first met and how

adonis was hired for a job and it went horribly 

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved

i dont think they rlly flirted so much as it’d just be friendship and then caught feels

who fell for who first ( if applicable )

it was probably adonis tbh, after he got passed his initial anger he realized mitsuki was a good person and got a big ass puppy crush on him 

where their first date was and what it was like

playing video games and mitsuki realizing just how terrible adonis is at them, they try like so many different types to see if he’ll be better at them but he is not

who asks who out and how ( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? )

it probably wasn’t anything special?? just confessing and then asking naturally through that??

who proposes first

idk but i kinda like the idea of adonis doing it

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away

they wouldn’t hide it tbh they’d jsut walk around holding hands or smth and ppl would know ??

where the proposal happens and how ( kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded by ducks? at a disney park? )

nothing big, but probably a little cheesy. adonis says smth like “will you be my romantic interest forever? without u there’s nothing to drive me towards my character development” or some shit idk. but it’s cute and hes laughing as he says it and all blushy and adorable okay

if they adopt any pets together

well they’ll have that devil dog so i guess :/

who’s more dominant

somehow mitsuki is :/ but maybe one day adonis will be able to

where their first kiss was and what it was like

probably terrible and messy and they hit each other’s faces or smth

if they have any matching couples stuff ( mugs? sweaters? pillowcases? )

ohhhh adonis would love that. give him the matching mugs 

how into pda they are

not super, adonis just wants to hold his hand. but also apparently super in pdsexual intercourse

who holds the umbrella when it rains

either or??

where their usual ‘date spot’ is ( if applicable )

finishing mitsuki’s manuscripts 

who’s more protective

hmmmm it’s probably equal?? not super protective or anything but they’d stand up for each other when they needed to 

how long it is before they sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ )

apparently not long rip

if they argue about anything

they argue abt mitsuki being gross

who leaves more marks ( lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. )

adonis leaves a lot of scratches 

who steals whose clothes and how often

adonis rlly likes wearing mitsuki’s clothes bc they smell like him and its nice

how they cuddle ( spooning? facing each other? )

probably facing each other and being super mushy and gross and pure

what their favourite nonsexual activity is

games. even tho adonis sucks

how long they stay mad at each other

not long at all

if they ever have any children together

i doubt it, neither seem that interested in having kids

if they have any special pet names for each other

Suki and Adonny

if they ever split up and / or get back together

Doubt it. They dont rlly fight or anything so??

what their shared living space is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? )

Not super messy but not super clean either

what their first christmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like

well -- santa ended up riding his reindeer 

what their names are in each other’s phones

“Adonyais” and “Mitsuki <3″

if they have any ‘couple traditions’ ( buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking every friday evening? )

every year they buy a new game for adonis to play bc it literally takes him a year to beat the game sometimes that snot even enough

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first

adonis is first for both, being awake at night time without sun is actually pretty draining for him

who’s the big spoon / little spoon

they swap

who hogs the bathroom

adonis but not a lot

who kills the spiders / takes them outside 

mitsuki

[mint-sm]

LOS CAMPESINOS! REVIEW/ANALYSIS: Sick Scenes

Note: I haven’t found a full album post video and some of the songs aren’t available on Youtube for me to cite like with my other reviews, sadly. Listen to it on Spotify or something lol

---

So... that was a long time, wasn’t it? Not just the gap between my last review, but between albums. There was a four-year gap between “Sick Scenes” and the band’s last album, “No Blues,” a product that I could see some appeal in but was personally unsatisfied with, but I was still eager to hear another record from them. Unfortunately, we had to wait this long gap, since things have changed, and simply put: the band has grown up.

Not necessarily in just a literal or maturity-level sense, but the fact that the world we’ve been living in has kind of grown unkind to everyone in the last few years. Not only has the music scene the band was affiliated with been changing to something else that’s -- for the lack of better words -- kinda boring, and not only has it also become less profitable, with the band resigning to day jobs for a while (thank God for commemorative football jersey sales!), but this has been a long stretch of time where everyone’s gone much more weary, especially as the world starts bombarding you with crappiness.

Worrying about a quarter-life crisis, fighting physical and mental illnesses, watching all the things from your youth slowly crumble away while past generations trivialize and demean your current problems, watching all your current interests go to shit, and also becoming increasingly uneasy with how crappy and seemingly suicidal the world at large has become, especially with the US presidential election, the Brexit vote, and most importantly, Euro 2016 being largely terrible.

I bring this up because it finally seems to provide the backing for something I desperately missed from “No Blues”: Context. I’ve went over the musical issues I had with “No Blues” a bit more in-depth in my review of it, but lyrically and thematically, there was just a sort of vagueness and a lack of a definite focus that also really turned me off from liking it very much. “Sick Scenes,” however, feels like it’s much more of a return to form in that finally, we do have a more concrete approach to the album, in that we actually know what went behind its philosophy, and now there’s actually more to latch onto and relate to other than vaguely pretty, overly-precise and clean production.

ALL THESE / SICK SCENES PLAYED OUT IN MY MEMORY / WAKE UP / I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING HONESTLY /

The album has actually toned down a lot of that overly pristine mixing and production of “No Blues,” and there’s actually a lot more grit, texture as well as tightness to it. It’s not “Romance Is Boring”-levels noisy, but there is a certain rawness and thump to a lot of the instrumentation again; one standout thing is the snares and kicks like from the song “Sad Suppers,” which feel a bit more crackly, but also god-loads tighter, and in a way that actually has a sort of “dirty” quality to it that I’m a huge fan of for this type of music.

“Sick Scenes” has also been a step-up compositionally as well. The melodies feel a lot catchier, with many of the bangers feeling a lot faster and more driving than those in “No Blues,” and they tend to have a consistent or growing momentum to them that actually feel powerful. “Renato Dall’Ara (2008)” is an awesome opening track because of this, starting off with like these awesome “spiralling-down” backup vocals, a really catchy chorus and more definitive sonic evolution as it goes on, it’s just great (as of this writing, there’s now word this song’s getting a music video next week! Can’t wait!)

THEY WOULD PLAY MY REQUESTS AT THE GUESTLIST’S BEHEST / ANY DISCO ALL ACROSS TOWN / BUT THINGS CHANGE, NOW STELLA’S A LAGER / AND BOY SHE IS ALWAYS DOWNED /

Los Camp have even much improved most of their slower ballads, or at least their sort of “breather” tracks, which now actually have a lot more going for them musically and lyrically. “5 Flucloxacillin” and “The Fall of Home” are especially surprising since basically, praise heaven almighty, GARETH CAN ACTUALLY SING! Like I don’t know what the hell happened in these last 4 years, but holy god Gareth can actually pull of being gentle and melodic, and in a way that actually conveys a lot of emotion and isn’t boring, especially with the subject matter.

Like I said, “Sick Scenes” feels like much more of a step up from “No Blues” and even “Hello Sadness” in that it definitely feels more about actual definite things, but a lot of the mentalities that I did think could’ve made both of those two albums much more interesting than they ended up being are still present here. It took me a while to figure out what made it so different, but I think the early days of “Hold on Now, Youngster…” fell more along the lines of being more actively emotional and visceral, trying to thump these feelings of weirdly upbeat melancholia into your head, whereas things like “No Blues” and this album seem to want to treat it more playfully, look at it with contemplation and humility, trying to find a dryer sense of subtle wittiness to it.

In that sense, “Sick Scenes” feels like it’s sort of blending the best of both worlds by approaching the focused definition, viscerality and sound of the “Youngster” days, but mixing it with a much more self-reflective and mature philosophical method. It’s a reasonable approach for the album considering its subject matter and consistent sense of fond nostalgia, and while it does tread a bit more of older ground as a result, it feels a lot more comprehensive and less overly stuffed or boring, while giving a bit of a wink back to the days of old. Hell, “Renato Dall’Ara (2008)” seems to directly reference “Youngster,” not just with the general feel and attitude (and it’s snarky as hell and I love it), but also that title (hint hint, the “2008” in the title is NOT referencing the Renato Dall'Ara).

PICTURED READING KARL MARX BESIDE HIS PARENTS’ POOL / FACING RIDICULE HE BLEATED / “THAT DOESN’T MAKE ME RICH, NO WAY, / IT’S ONLY OUTDOOR AND IT ISN’T HEATED” /

Unfortunately, a bit of a strike against this more grown-up-approach is that it means some parts of the album fall into the same trap as with “No Blues,” in that sometimes the lyrics can get a little too witty for their own good, and can get a little too obsessed with esoteric referential wordplay rather than actual content or coherence. “For Whom the Belly Tolls” (couldn’t find a video for this) to me feels like one of the weaker links on the album, in that the music isn’t particularly dynamic nor all that catchy for me, and would be ultimately rather unremarkable if not for that spontaneous choral bridge at the halfway point... which to be honest, transitions AWESOMELY.

Also, there are just some occasionally “No Blues”-esque deadpan moments on this album, which again, I can totally find appreciation for, but for me tend to end up kind of samey-sounding and a little boring, especially later on the album with “A Litany/Heart Swells,” or “Got Stendhal’s.” I dunno what to really say about these tbh, not only do they just kinda get repetitive after a bit, but they also feel like retreads to stuff Los Camp’s already done before, like with the “Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time” from “Doomed” or “What Death Leaves Behind” from “No Blues.”

However, with all that said, just about every other song on the album has something to offer as I’d expect from Los Camp’s standards, in that the music and subject matters feel diverse and intricate, eliciting conflicting yet consistent feels, and I do mean “feels,” since while this album is mostly much more vibrant than these last few albums, it’s actually still very gloomy and impending at times. Honestly, while that cover art above is still that popular pastel-y pink color that I kinda hate, it actually does feel rather indicative of the album in a good way: This kind of vacant, slacking and tired, nearly zombie-like person that’s so utterly fed up with how life and the world is playing out that they just want to lay there in the middle of a supermarket like an idiot who’s been up all night thinking about how shitty the world is. It’s indicative, interesting, kinda bleak, but also really funny.

(IT SEEMS UNFAIR) TO BE A ROTTEN HORN OF PLENTY! / (IT SEEMS UNFAIR) TO BE CADAVER FOR A CURSE! / (IT SEEMS UNFAIR) TO BE AN OVERFLOW FOR EMPTY! / (IT SEEMS UNFAIR) TO TRY YOUR BEST BUT FEEL THE WORST! /

Tracks like “I Broke Up in Amarante” and “A Slow, Slow Death” manage to encapsulate a lot of complete and utter frustration in an incredibly bombastic and grand veneer. Even though they do feel like they’re about completely different EXACT subjects (which I’m pretty sure are the aforementioned Euro 2016 and Brexit, respectively), they manage to feel oddly cathartic, but in a weird, kind of restrained but still natural-feeling way. There are also a lot of references in the songs like with “No Blues,” but overall it doesn’t feel as overbearing with these tracks, since the lyrics feel like perfectly comprehensible metaphors as is, and I find them pretty charming and relatable, as well as accessible.

“Here’s to the Fourth Time” (couldn’t find a link for this one) is also pretty humorous but also kind of awesome, and it honestly feels like the closest the album gets to “Romance is Boring”’s sound. The melodies are pretty poppy and catchy and have like this sort of just “grooving” and textured flow and feel to them that I love, and the last third of this song goes onto like this really noisy but badass-sounding breakdown with looped drums, distorted guitars and vocals, but in addition to that, the lyrics manage to be probably the most charming on the record, in that obviously the situation is cringey as hell (it’s about sex, and sex in a Los Camp song can never end well) but also kind of awkwardly hilarious and sympathetic, especially given the context the bandmates, now being 30-something-year-olds contemplating their quarter-life crises.

“5 Flucloxacillin” and “The Fall of Home,” once again, do feel the most indicative of that mentality of “I’m so fucking done with this place”-ness, but they approach it in such unique ways to what you’d expect from typical Los Camp fare. “5 Flucloxacillin” is kind of like this livelier indie rock ballad, with again, Gareth’s great vocals, but it’s surprisingly more “mellow” than “gentle”: the vocals are smooth and lively, but there does sound like a bit of deep-seated resentment hidden as the lyrics go into the frustration and bitterness that one would have with taking a lot of medications for things like acne or depression, and growing up in a world of utter chaos while being shittalked to by the people who made it that way whilst undermining your problems, and how even though years have passed and you probably should’ve grown out of them… you still haven’t.

(Hint hint! This song is about baby-boomers being assholes! Do you like this song yet?)

AM I A PIGGY BANK OF OBSOLETE CURRENCY? / AN ORDER OF MERIT FROM COUNTRY KNOWN FOR TYRANNY? / ANOTHER BLISTER PACK POPS, BUT I STILL FEEL MUCH THE SAME / THIRTY-ONE AND DEPRESSION IS A YOUNG MAN'S GAME /

“The Fall of Home” takes a much more intimate approach to these subjects in a way that feels rather basic, but gut-wrenching. It’s a guitar ballad, and while this could’ve easily been boring, it just sounds so nice, with like these great piano and violin accompaniments, and Gareth’s gentle, almost kind of fragile-sounding but beautiful singing, basically listing all the miserable losses of everything you once loved, locally and nationally, going down to shit by simple virtue of time having passed by and the present not being kind to them. It manages to be the simplest, but most poignant track on the entire album, and is honestly probably one of Los Camp’s newest classics.

BATTERY DIES ON YOUR MONTHLY CALL / BUDGET CUT AT YOUR PRIMARY SCHOOL / ANOTHER FAMILY FRIEND FELL SICK / GAVE THE FASCISTS A THOUSAND TICKS /

The ending track, “Hung Empty,” is alright. It’s got some great flow to it and a very catchy chorus hook, and it ends in a way only Los Camp can really get away with, valiantly shouting “Feels like I've been waiting on it, nearly all my life, but what, if this is it now, what if this is how we die!?” in a way that almost feels defiant or daring. It’s a creditable finisher, but at the same time it kind of feels… expected, you know? It feels like a typical Los Camp finisher, but it’s also just kinda basic. It’s actually kind of a microcosm of the entire album for me: it’s good! But some parts of it feel like they’ve been done before.

Like I’ve said, this album does feel like a much more pleasing return to form for the band’s earlier works but approached with a more grown-up, more exposed-to-the-world and vaguely “doomed” mindset, and for the most part, it’s very compelling! It’s got some great songs, and its feel feels a lot more definite and impactful than their last albums, it’s just that there’s a bit of crows feet here and there, and it kinda feels like even with the new perspectives it explores, some of it feels a little by-the-numbers at this point.

Not in a ruinous way, but I hope that for next album they do go even more adventurous than they did here. Again, I do think they already made a good effort; I was going to give this more of a 3.5/5, but after being given more time to appreciate the little intricacies of this album and realizing where a lot of it is coming from, it’s grown on me pretty well, it’s just I kinda wanna see more in the future, y’know? Who knows? Maybe they actually will, and I’m kind of excited by that prospect. We’re just going to have to wait and see.

Maybe if they manage to sell another thousand more of those “Doomed” football jerseys. I don’t care much about football, but goddamn I kinda want one anyway.

LC!4LYF (4/5)

FAVES: “Renato Dall’Ara (2008)”, “Sad Suppers”, “I Broke Up in Amarante”, “The Fall of Home”, “5 Flucloxacillin”, “Here’s to the Fourth Time!”, “Hung Empty”

aaaaand there you have it! Reviews of all the major Los Camp albums! Ahh… fuck

I might do more reviews of different albums in the future, but maybe not. Iunno, maybe I’ll do a few one-shots of albums I wanna talk about, like Gorillaz or something, but I don’t really know what I can really offer for that lol. We’ll see.