#(both in the dialogues and in the visuals) something else something cool

[ginkovskij]

gin, we need your critical opinion about megalopolis. was it really that bad?

i mean.

is it unwatchable? no. but also it is not good for sure. would love for it to be a case of "so bad it circles back being somehow good", but unfortunately no, becasue in order to achieve such a thing coppola should have gone camp and embraced the style instead of taking himself too seriously.

there are. ideas. that considered by themselves sort of make sense if you are desperate to find sense in this insanity of a movie, but whether within or without context for the large part they remain disjointed. and are anyway very cringe at core. i don't know how to put it kindly but the script just sucks. and choices were made.

[anti-dazai-blog]

back by popular demand (3 people are interested :D)

classic lit authors and what abilities I think they should have

(I have a very clear preference for psychological abilities)

-abilities can be based on the plot, themes, or just the title itself. not gonna clarify which it is, but it should be self explanatory enough

Jane Austin -- Pride and Prejudice -- cupid-esque, makes people fall in love.

John Knowles -- A Separate Peace -- reads people's emotions. cannot do anything useful with the info he gets from this.

Charles Dickens -- Great Expectations -- midas-esque, turns what he touches into gold. (I think it would be cool if he could also turn things into liquid gold, which can harden to trap a target. however iirc gold is not very strong so... but also it's magic so anything can happen)

Miguel de Cervantes -- Don Quixote -- tells one lie a day that one listener (intended target) will believe. It wears off the following day. Third parties are not predisposed to believe the lie.

Edith Wharton -- The Age of Innocence -- temporarily removes all ill-intent from a target. ALL includes both intent towards her and towards anyone else.

Ray Bradbury -- Fahrenheit 451 -- literally just fire. classic elemental fire ability.

Willa Cather -- My Antonia -- one way telepathy: can talk directly into people's minds but cannot receive mental messages back. this is entirely because I hated this book so much that I wished it could just be zapped into my brain so I wouldn't have to torture myself by reading it.

George Bernard Shaw -- Pygmalion -- medusa-esque, turns people to stone through eye contact

Homer -- The Odyssey -- basically geoguesser. teleports people into a random location anywhere in the world. cannot choose where he's sending them. (all I'm imagining is him trying to use it in a fight and the person teleports like 2 inches to the left. then punches him.)

Sophocles -- Oedipus Rex -- gives people random personalized prophecies. never makes sense until after it's fulfilled.

Eugene O'Neil -- Long Day's Journey into Night -- I'd like to imagine this guy's got that 'illness personified' aesthetic. the ability should be something to do with disease and decay. but I care more about the visual portrayal of the character as something physically rotting. (visually distinct character design my beloved <3)

Baroness Emma Orczy -- The Scarlet Pimpernel -- shapeshifter. I've posted about her on my main too,, I really think bsd could use a shapeshifter. That's a much more grounded sort of chaos that could lead to higher stakes situations without this whole "world ending vampires whatever fyodor's got going on."

-in all seriousness I think if Asagiri would make use of more psychological abilities or psychological threats he could have as many high stakes stories as he wants without power scaling/power creep. but that would involve writing actual mysteries in the detective story. so.-

-I'm so sorry asagiri :( -

Franz Kafka -- The Metamorphosis -- turns into a bug. same way Natsume turns into a cat.

Alexandre Dumas -- The Count of Monte Cristo -- deflects attacks. Any attack that hits him inflicts that damage onto the attacker instead.

Lewis Carroll -- Alice in Wonderland -- shrinks and grows things (including himself).

William Golding -- Lord of the Flies -- causes conflict among groups. I'd like to think the mechanics of it could be interesting-- like it shows him different dialogue options [video game style!], indicating which line would cause the most conflict.

There would often be no context for why that line would cause conflict, and he has no way of knowing if the conflict will be directed at him, or just within the group as a whole. He can choose a more harmless option, or he could risk it on the big conflict option in an attempt to eliminate enemies.

George Orwell -- 1984 -- spies on set target, like a camera trained on one person. can only spy on one person at a time.

Harper Lee -- To Kill a Mockingbird -- frames a target for a crime. the reverse of Mushitaro's-- generates fake evidence for a crimes instead of removing real evidence.

Oscar Wild -- The Picture of Dorian Gray -- essentially immortality so long as one designated item doesn't get destroyed.

Niccolò Machiavelli -- The Prince -- influences targets. not strong enough to truly be considered mind control, but fairly strong persuasion. see my The Prince post where I explain so much in the tags.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry -- The Little Prince -- allows him to understand people. thoroughly. please please go see my the prince/the little prince post, I explain so much in the tags. I have so many thoughts about these two.

Robert Louis Stevenson -- Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde -- compels people to act on their temptations and impulses. cannot convince people to do things they would have no desire to do otherwise.

Victor Hugo -- Les Miserables -- I think it would be very funny if it just made them unrecognizable to law enforcement. not shapeshifting, just all cops cannot recognize this guy's face. (they could recognize his muscles though, as per lore accurate les mis.)

William Shakespeare -- To Be or Not To Be (I am not naming this Hamlet. strictly for vibes.) -- gives people existential crises. If they have existential crises regularly already, it doesn't do anything.

I'd like to imagine he'd use it on a character who usually comes across as relatively well adjusted and. nothing happens. Like if atsushi/kunikida/chuuya were to be targeted they'd just be like "yeah idk nothing happened... sorry man. better luck next time."

Issac Asimov -- The Feeling of Power -- ability allows him to do any math- no matter how difficult or complex- without a calculator. I'd like to think he's insist that he doesn't have an ability, he's just really good at math. basically the opposite of ranpo.

Reginald Rose -- Twelve Angry Men -- the antithesis to Harper Lee, finds evidence proving anyone innocent. or at least can prove plausible deniability.

Arthur Conan Doyle -- Sherlock Holmes -- understand in full what anyone's ability is, and what its limits, strengths and weaknesses are.

we don't have enough ability-related abilities in bsd. too much offense and defense, not enough middle ground stuff.

Tennessee Williams -- The Glass Menagerie -- turns people into 'glass', or drastically decreases their durability. doesn't harm the target in and of itself, but the target needs to leave any combat because now they can be killed in one hit.

Arthur Miller -- Death of a Salesman -- communicates with the dead. We're gonna need something like this if Asagiri keeps killing off characters at the rate he's currently going.

[just-b-wilde]

Okay, I just saw S02E07 and I have so many thoughts and feelings about this episode!

Many people write that Five would do anything for his family and they build his entire personality on that. Which is definitely true, he has done so much for them! But at what cost? Also, what did he get from them in return?

When Five accepts The Handler's offer and kills the Board of Directors, you can literally see that he's trying to exhaust all other options. He doesn't want to do it, and his frustration comes through with the food vending machine scene, trying to stall the moment as long as possible... and when the chocolate doesn't fall out of the machine, it's the imaginary last straw of his patience.

Is the axe scene cool? Visually? Absolutely! But otherwise, it's deeply disturbing and you can see on his face many times that he's ashamed of that he did it. He did it, he was a professional at this, of course. But he never really wanted to do it. It certainly wasn't an act he was proud of himself for.

You know, his sarcasm and scenes like these make him a beloved character. But you know, sarcasm is a defensive gesture in many, many cases. I'm pretty sure that he's so uncomfortable at many points in his life and doesn't feel comfortable opening up to anyone that he just operates in that mode of his.

And his family? All they do is tell him all the time how it's his fault they got where they did! But neither of them realize that without him, they'd all be dead. Both Allison and Vanya are experiencing their equivalent of the "strawberry greenhouse", Vanya in particular is very selfish about this and doesn't want to give up her happiness. She even stands up to Five, she has no idea what Five must have done for her and the other siblings and in his face it's just - pain and frustration.

Diego and Luther see him covered in blood and just ask what he did. But no one actually asks… I don't know… are you okay? Sure, he'd probably tell them to fuck off for asking that question, but I wonder if anyone ever really asked him. Sorry, I don't quite have a memory for every dialogue.

I think part of the reason he did what he did was because he felt guilty that everyone had gotten into the past at a different time and that he was constantly being blamed for it. But he doesn't take the blame for how his siblings live their lives.

Both Allison and Vanya would take their partners with them no matter what. Diego never once mentioned that he wanted Lila to leave with him (he just said he wanted to say goodbye to her before he found out the truth) but more on that later. If Klaus could have been with Dave, he certainly wouldn't have hesitated a minute either. Luther's heart is broken, so it probably doesn't matter where he is. But if Allison told him to run away together to who knows where, I think he wouldn't hesitate either. So - Five is bad for wanting to be with someone he loved and was happy with? Literally any of his siblings would do that!

And then if his family doesn't get together and he loses his suitcase? He is so very angry and frustrated because what he did was ultimately unnecessary! God, seriously, I don't think his family has ever been able to appreciate what the Five have ever done for them (again). Yes, he's often quite hard on them, but I actually don't blame him in many ways. And yes, they don't know many things. But why might that be?

Five has done a lot for his family, but you know what? I don't feel like they've ever given back to him in any way. Or that anyone would be willing to do something like that for him. Often his family sees him as just a crazy man who foresees the coming apocalypse and disrupts their lives.

And Lila (and Diego)? Well...

I'm pretty sure that if Diego left and never saw Lila again, he wouldn't have any deeper problem with it. Yes, I'm sure he liked her in a way - but at the same time he didn't know her. When he found out the truth, he wanted nothing to do with her. But still, everything else was more important to him. He wanted to save the president and be a hero, that was the main thing that drove him forward.

The fact that Lila kidnapped him was simply a rebellion against her "mother". By the way, I'm really sorry about how Elliot ended up... because that was just really bad and he deserved to at least be buried, Lila, really... Well, back to topic... Lila is scared of her and repeatedly talks about her fears for her safety and literally not sure if The Handler's plans include making sure nothing can happen to her. Maybe that was part of the reason she wanted to get the job that Five got. To show her that she was useful and necessary in her plans.

Honestly, I don't think Lila "enjoyed killing" any more than Five did, but I think it was her way of defending herself because she knew how dangerous her "mother" could be, even to her. Yet, at the same time, it's quite odd that she dragged Diego into this situation, as if perhaps he could be some sort of shield, which he most certainly is not.

This arc isn't actually very well grasped, and seeing it again, it just strikes me as odd. Yes, that was an interesting reason why Diego didn't come. But other reasons? And the foundation of their relationship is questionable at the very least (even more so than I remembered).

Well, I'm gonna go watch another episodes...

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! I have a question about characters with a facial difference and animal attributes (like, Kemonos).

A story I'm planning has the protagonists coming from our world to one with magic, where the magic usually shows on your body, like someone with light magic having glowing hair and stuff like that.

One of the characters has strabismus. In my original idea, she was going to be an animal shapeshifter, since she studies zoology and likes improv theater; her visual cue would be being a mix and match kemono (like, a rabbit ear, a dog ear, and a lion tail, or something like that). She'd keep the strabismus in all forms.

But I think while scrolling the blog I saw something about disabled people/people with FDs often being likened to animals, so now I'm worried that it might fall into that trope, though it wasn't intended. There will be other characters with FDs who aren't Kemonos (including another main character), and there's other kemonos and characters with animal-based magic who don't have a FD, but if it falls into an uncomfortable trope, I can come up with another magic for her and give the shapeshifting to someone else.

Thank you all so much for all the hard work you're doing on this blog, by the way!

Hey!

This sounds fine to me, mostly because of a few things:

she isn't originally an animal, and even then only has animalistic attributes;

she chooses to transform into an animal, and the decision is related to her passion rather than “all characters get innate magic and the visibly disabled one just 'happens' to be the sole animalistic one”;

ears and tails are almost* always fair game IMO;

there are other characters with facial differences who aren't associated with animals;

there are other characters without facial differences who are associated with animals.

*- things that are exceptions to that (for future reference if anyone wants it): - rabbit features + cleft lip; - cow features + vitiligo; - rat anything + anything, I actually like rats a lot but as an animal they gotta stay away from being associated from like 99% of minorities' representation; - “funny animal” + strabismus/drooling/skull conditions, as a rule of thumb: if the character looks like a wojak it's time to stop.

So yeah, I don't see anything wrong with it. It sounds pretty cool.

I'm usually not a fan of animalistic characters with facial differences (unless we are talking about a story where everyone is an animal, that's a completely different thing) because I, and quite a lot of people I know, have been compared to them as part of bullying or a microaggression. For me personally, it was both by people who were intentionally trying to harass me, as well as genuinely well-meaning people who just didn't consider that maybe telling someone his face reminds them of a dog's one is kinda fucked up.

The reason I don't think that's what's going on here is that you seem to be aware of the trope's existence and try to avoid it, along with giving your character actual agency. The magic giving her animal features isn't because of her disability (which is clear based on the fact that there are other characters with one but not the other trait), it's because she as a character likes animals!

I will also say that I'm not really against all kinds of animal-related magic when it comes to characters with facial differences. If there was a Disney princess with septicemia scarring on her whole body who talks with deer, it would go hard as hell. But the 99.9% of animal-related characters with FD I see are more akin to “scary scarred man is likened to a [predatory animal] because he's so scary and has scars, also he's drawn in a collar and half his dialogue tags are animalistic”, thus the blanket “no animal people with FDs please” statement you saw on some of my previous posts.

Hope this helps and explains my reasoning. Good luck with your writing,

mod Sasza

[socialemotion]

Why Aki and angel are my favorite doomed love

I haven’t read chainsaw man in like two years but even with my poor recollection Aki and Angel had an everlasting impact on me. Its contrasting and ambiguous and is the most intimate thing I’ve ever seen in my LIFE. The og yearners. However I’m not super interested in escalating the romantic aspect. It’s rootless and fleeting and I think that is absolutely perfect.

They challenge each others values but not in a contradictory sense, it’s kind of a grey area. There’s a big visual aspect to this. Aki having a dark, cool toned muted color palette makes him appear reserved and harmonious. He’s driven by very human emotional burdens, something Angel has only a loose concept for. Angel appears in lighter colors but not overwhelmingly such. It’s similarly neutral and consistent but feels less threatening, especially taking his androgynous look into consideration. His body language is not disciplined like Aki. Angel is lacking urgency and has a more inattentive, numbing aura.

Together they both appear withdrawn but grounded, working together very casually with little dialogue but it’s a comfortable silence. It’s not hesitant but rather a mutual understanding. They aren’t reflecting the chaos surrounding them, it’s as if none of it is even there.

Now this is the part where I start to forget important details but I’m going to do my best. Their relationship becomes strained by their values as time goes by. Angel grows more damaged by his situation and feels the weight of what he’s done, deciding he doesn’t care if he dies. Aki feels a growing need to conserve the relationships he has and chooses the vulnerability of connection to do so. He grabs Angel, sacrificing some of his own lifespan without hesitation to save him. He tells Angel he doesn’t want to see people die anymore. This puts worth in Angels life, something Angel did not bother himself with. It’s throwing them both in a vulnerable moment, challenging what they were comfortable with wanting.

I could literally eat my phone right now THIS TENSION WILL NEVER BE RECREATED OH MY LORDD. Ok I say that but I was going to bring up a point of how their dynamic means something to me because this is a common trope taken for a completely different spin. It’s not at all new to have an angelic man attract a human man especially in anime I mean hell I was obsessed with evangelion and chainsaw man at the same time TRUST ME I know. Both of them depict an emotionally burdened human being enticed by an angelic figure but Aki and Angel don’t develop into anything they just coexist in this feeling. It has no impact on their fate. THEIR LOVE EXISTS WITHOUT PURPOSE. That’s why it sticks with me. Their relationship pulls you in and gives you tunnel vision in a situation where this trope doesn’t change a thing because it was never meant to. Now this trope is famously doomed, I’m not saying everyone else got what they wanted my point is it was never about saving each other in the first place, nothing about how they felt was rebelling against anything but themselves. I mean for gods sake they are side characters lord kill me I think they are genius

Oh and one last thing…Angel devil and shinji have the same dub va. It’s not related to anything it’s just funny as hell

[shredsandpatches]

@irate-iguana asked for some followup on this post and, okay, I don't need much arm twisting to go on and on about textual choices in the final scenes of Doctor Faustus so here we go!

The edition my colleague gave me, as I mentioned in the previous post, contains a composite text drawn from both A and B, and the B-text has a lot more fire and brimstone near the end of the play. It also has a more definitive exit for Mephistopheles, whose final lines in the A text are the ones where he agrees to summon Helen of Troy ("this, or what else my Faustus shall desire / Shall be performed in twinkling of an eye").

Here's how the B-text handles the transition between Faustus' farewell to his colleagues, and his final soliloquy:

Everything in italics is omitted in the A-text: it goes directly from the exit of the scholars at line 73 to the beginning of Faustus' soliloquy at line 122. This may be partly to avoid the need for any extravagant visual effects (especially if A is a cut-down touring script), although you can certainly include the angels' speeches without the visuals (as the handwritten alterations at lines 110 and 117 indicate). I think it's interesting, though, that the people using this edition decided to cut Mephistopheles' B-text exit but retain the two angels' speeches.

I mean, I would actually cut all of the B-text material in this sequence, personally. I've never liked the angels' speeches much and I also think that Mephistopheles-B's admission that he directed Faustus' biblical reading in the opening scenes disrupts the play's careful theological ambiguity a lot more than I'm comfortable with--that question of whether Faustus has free will or not should never be resolved in the text. And I think going directly from Faustus' surprisingly tender goodbye to his distraught colleagues to his facing the abyss alone is a lot more powerful than the B-text's fireworks, which undermine the soliloquy considerably. I'm just kind of amused by the choice to keep those but leave out a more final exit for a major character. Maybe they did something cool with him onstage. There's so much you can do with Meph in those last scenes even without dialogue.

...as a side note, most of the versions I've seen in performance (other than the Burton film, which doesn't include any B-text material) retain some or all of this material but move it around. The 2011 Globe version moves the good angel's speech up so that it follows the exit of Faustus with Helen (I think the production I saw last summer did so as well), and delays the final dialogue with Mephistopheles until the entrance of the devils at the end of the soliloquy; a lot of the evil angel's speech was reassigned to him as well. The production I saw last summer kept Meph's and evil angel's speeches in their textually assigned place, and they played it as Meph being like "STEALING YOUR GIRL...IN HELL" because that's what you get for wanting to have sex with the most beautiful of all mythological women (whom the audience also knew had been the evil angel all along) instead of your loyal demon who has been with you for 24 years and has eyeliner that is ON POINT AT ALL TIMES. You know, like you do. Meph and evil angel sashayed off together at the end of the scene with their arms around each other's waists which is the most heterosexual thing done by any stage Mephistopheles ever in the history of the play. But it was obviously a very performative breakup moment so that's all right. Anyway, this is another case where stage versions can do as they please/what's most effective, but I think I'd just want to make that final sequence as claustrophobic as I could. You know, before the doomed toxic romance ending.

[echo-of-the-eye]

Wow! Ok. So that’s it. I guess. I did it! I finished echoes of the eye! Meeting the prisoner was truly something and I got super emotional. I had heard about the and somehow I thought it would be earlier and not the end of the game? So I’d anticipated it a lot and it was really exiting to finally reach it! Got a bit uncertain at the end cause it wasn’t very clear if that was the actual end or not but it seems that way. I couldn’t really go anywhere since I killed myself to get there so I was just stuck until the loop ended (or I ended it myself by going in the water).

Final thoughts! I guess?

• goes without saying but the music and visuals and just. The world were absolutely beautiful and I loved it so much!!

• puzzles were really hard (maybe too hard? But that might just be me). But when I figured things out myself it felt really good! Even if I needed more help than I’d hoped it was still very much an “ah of course! That makes sense” feeling when I realized. The puzzles were really clever it was just too clever for me lol

• story was nice and I like the lore it adds! Didn’t feel as emotionally invested as with the nomai since there was no dialogue and we didn’t get to know them as individual people, but I understand the need to do it differently (both in game and out. Translator obviously wouldn’t have worked and it needed to be distinct from the main game). But I still liked the way it was constructed a lot and the end really got to me! (It just wasn’t as emotional throughout like the main game, instead all the emotions came at the end)

• really liked the gameplay mechanics? Not sure how else to describe it? But the travel with rafts was fun. I loved how the game uses the light and dark. The reels were fun and different (even if they weren’t quite as impactful as the nomai writing). The simulation was super cool even if it scares the shit out of me. The glitches and stuff were really cool. Once I realized it was a simulation and there were rules to it it made it slightly easier (tho still scary) and really interesting

• so so scary but I’m proud that I got through it without reduced fright mode! (I’m curious how that actually works)

• like I said I was a bit unsure at the end so it felt. Kinda anticlimactic? Don’t get the wrong I loved it so much and meeting the prisoner really got me but I kinda wish there was more? But I guess it is a dlc and there wasn’t really that much more that could be done? Since I couldn’t leave the simulation and it was only so much I could communicate with the prisoner. I think it was just that it wasn’t clear enough that this was the end. The final message was really sweet but I thought it meant they wanted me to come with somewhere? So when I couldn’t find the prisoner I got confused. And since there was so much time left (not sure how much actually) it felt weird to just. Wait for the loop to end?

All in all incredible game I loved it so much (even if it terrified and frustrated me a lot hehe)

[filmmarvel]

PJO Series Overall Thoughts + Pros and Cons

Disclaimer! First of all, there are a lot more cons than pros here, and if you loved the show and don’t want to hear my criticism just keep scrolling. Second, I’m not someone to complain just because it isn’t exactly how it was in the book! I have quite a range of feelings about story changes. In regard to the ones I’ve listed as cons, i’m just irritated that they haven’t been able to match the book in frankly any capacity. I believe that if you’re making changes, it should be a) out of necessity, b) to improve upon the material, or c) taking positive creative license to try a new spin on an element from the source material. But the changes I’m complaining about, for the most part, haven’t met any of those requirements.

Pros:

Sets and Visuals

It was so magical seeing camp come to life!

The Underworld looks fantastic, the visuals are super cool, especially the Fields of Asphodel. That was a really cool spin on the books- the CGI was pretty good, and the concept there was really interesting.

Olympus was very cool looking too! It reminded me of Asgard.

Overall I Just Think There’s Lots of Potential!

Since the leads are fairly inexperienced (and kids), you can’t expect them to be incredible. They’re doing just fine, but I think they have a lot of potential, and I’m excited to see them grow over the course of the series!

Generally I still really like the casting and have high hopes for these actors, I just wish (for our sake and theirs) that they had better material to work with.

Plot Changes

This ones kind of a pro AND a con: Generally, I really like the flashbacks! They add a lot more depth to Sally, and her relationships with Percy and Poseidon. That being said, the episodes typically feel far too short to be adding material that wasn’t in the books. I thought it was fantastic in episode 7, but in other episodes it didn’t quite work when so much else was cut, or there were opportunities left untaken as a result.

I also liked that they included a few flashbacks with Luke in the finale- there was so much training and time at camp that didn’t fit into the first two episodes.

They got rid of the “names have power” stuff which is great (never made sense in the books).

They did a really nice job humanizing Medusa, but still creating conflict with her, and simultaneously setting up further issues with the gods.

I also agreed with their decision to move the fight from Santa Monica to Montauk, to save time.

Cons:

Dialogue and Writing

The dialogue is definitely less charming than in the books. It’s a huge part of what makes them fun, and the dialogue here is honestly pretty bland. The characters don’t totally feel like themselves, but it isn’t only the acting. Forcing the characters to be explaining stuff to each other nearly every time they have a conversation makes them a lot less personable.

Honestly, this series feels kind of elementary in comparison to the middle grade books. I’d imagine that, like the books, they were aiming to create something that could be enjoyed by young kids and adults alike. But I didn’t find it as successful as the book in this regard.

And the dialogue is consistently so surface level! Stiff, boring, and above all, CONSTANTLY telling over showing. This affects the likability of the characters, and the ability of the actors. Both parties are deterred by the info dumping, as they aren’t really given as many genuine lines or interactions as they should have.

Honestly, it kind of feels a bit like they gave some of Percy’s personality to Annabeth in parts of the show? I saw someone else point out that they’re kind of giving Annabeth the Hermione treatment (ie giving her some of the other characters good moments), which I kind of agree with. However, a lot of that was towards the beginning and middle of the season and has somewhat improved since.

I posted a whole rant earlier about the Lotus Casino episode, which I’ll just summarize: theres a consistent pattern in the show of having the characters figure out what’s going on immediately, removing the danger, and more importantly, not allowing the characters to make mistakes, which weakens both them and the plot. In addition, I didn’t like that they brought up May Castellan already, primarily because it was just another info dump, which (in my mind) gets lost amongst all the other info dumps and removes the poignancy from the reveal. Now, there’s absolutely time to fix the May Castellan situation and ensure that it still packs a punch later on, but for this season it wasn’t great. Go check out my last post if you’d like to hear the rest of my argument on that episode!

Some additional examples of the ‘not letting the characters experience danger’ thing: Procrustes (obviously), and Kronos- forget whether or not Percy should know who Kronos is, the biggest issue is that there’s very little evidence or buildup, so (again) there’s no tension or shock at the reveal. And finally, with Luke. I was so annoyed when Percy figured it out! I could’ve believe that they were doing it AGAIN. I still enjoyed that scene because Walker and Charlie were great, but that was disappointing for sure.

The thing with the pearls honestly amounted to nothing, and there was no reason for Annabeth to not be present in the underworld: that was just a tearjerker for the sake of being a tearjerker (manufactured drama).

Lowering the Stakes

I just wish they’d made it SLIGHTLY more mature- don’t get me wrong, it’s a kids show! I’m very well aware of that! But this feels a lot tamer than a lot of kids (PG) movies involving monsters and stuff.

Gabe was a real piece of shit in the books, but in the show they just kinda made him look lazy and turned him into comic relief. And I don’t believe in the argument that they had to make this change to benefit a younger audience- they didn’t really need to change anything there.

Throughout the majority of the season, I felt like they weren’t allowing the gods to be truly intimidating, or powerful. First with Ares, who wasn’t BAD but generally didn’t have that kind of dramatic presence that he had in the books. Again with Hades, who wasn’t shown as being REMOTELY intimidating, and perhaps the biggest offense of all- Zeus. Having the deadline pass with seemingly zero consequence or threat of consequence does absolutely nothing (and certainly doesn’t increase tension like I’m pretty sure Rick Riordan said was their reason for changing it). Up until the finale, viewers had very few reasons to fear the Gods. Even Dionysus and Hephaestus! In the books there’s a clear line- you can interact with them, but you DONT want to offend them. There’s a clear threat of power, and that just wasn’t remotely present for a while.

And again, I just want to clarify- this is an overall writing problem! It’s not that Ares, or any other one of the gods I just mentioned has a different personality than in the books, it’s that a show like this (KIDS OR NOT) should still be compelling, and part of that includes having real danger and clear stakes.

I would add that they did a much better job with this in the finale! Lance Reddick gave such an amazing performance, and truly made Zeus an intimidating figure. The fight on the beach with Ares was great as well. So I’m optimistic about this criticism moving into season 2, but I stand by the idea that this was an issue for the majority of the series.

Overall, it felt like they weren’t taking the serious parts seriously, AND they didn’t take the comedy as seriously either? So it isn’t as lighthearted OR as impactful as the books. It feels so much more bland and watered down by comparison.

Episodes Were Too Short

Everything just flowed really well in the books, here the pacing is off and the dialogue isn’t as natural (again, they’re forced to rely on a lot of telling instead of showing which takes away from genuine moments). Many character details and personality traits were cut for the sake of additional verbal explanation

As many others have pointed out, the fight scenes also feel pretty rushed, and haven’t quite conveyed the sense of urgency that they should. It all just lowers the stakes.

This Ones Kind of a Joke, but the Casting for Hephaestus

It’s mostly my book bias. This guy was NOT giving Hephaestus. Mainly because Hephaestus is the god of the forge, and I can’t picture this guy anywhere near one of those. He kind of looked like one of Santa’s elves, he’s giving tinkerer not GOD of the FORGE. This is also something they can absolutely fix/win me over in time lmao

Changes

I already mentioned most of the changes (good and bad) already, but there’s one more. I kind of wish they had kept Percy’s dream about Tartarus, especially given that they decided to have Percy figure out Kronos is behind it all earlier- it just would’ve clicked a little easier.

Finishing Thoughts

I don’t want to totally sound like a hater! I’m still enjoying the series, and I really hope it gets renewed for season 2! I was just disappointed in the weak writing. I hope that the writers will be able to recognize these flaws and improve for season 2.

Alright, I don’t really expect anyone to read this whole thing, but if you made it: thanks for reading! I’m curious to hear your thoughts, so I’d really appreciate comments, just keep it civil!

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Nah, your mention of the teacup scene was honestly perfect, because, just like P-Z it just feels so weird, and just kinda pointless/disjointed. Heckers, even the people I know who LIKE the story of totk, did not seem to like the teacup scene. Also, if I can throw in: It felt like a scene that, in its idea, should have been in the DLC. Maybe actually focus on just Sonia and Rauru as people, instead of the weird "talking around the bush, your powers don't work, Link, and the other piddly talk." Like in the botw DLC, the focus was more on a "slice of life" peek into the Champion's life. It's such a waste of main-story content, and literally established nothing new. Heck, I actually hate that scene because it's just such a lazy way for Rauru to find out who Link is, and then later tell Ganondorf about Link. Additionally, while we're talking about disappoint scenes/bad writing. Zelda's "I didn't remember anything from being a Dragon." It was such a bad cop-out, and it annoyed me to no end. They didn't need to mention it, leave it up to the player to interpret if Zelda remembers, and what she might have remembered or forgotten. The way it gets dropped is also like a hard rock. Riju: "So how was it?" Zelda: "Lol idk, don't remember." It's weird how you can put Botw-Zelda's sacrifice against Totk-Zelda's sacrifice, and Botw she just sacrificed a lot more, even though Totk really plays up the severity of the "Sacrificing yourself to become a dragon"-thing, only for it to just be the most overhyped McGuffin to get Zelda back into her time.

Hey, thanks for the follow-up!

Yeah, agreed. I have talked extensively about the dragon problem somewhere??? I'll try to find it. Here! Which is basically that even if I agree the dragon thing is super cool and powerful and visually jawdropping and emotionally something, it's... kind of not a lot of what it claims to be.

But in addition to that, you made me think of something else by having this comment; there are multiple times during voiced cutscenes specifically where lines are used (I say used because every voiced line costs *so much money* so producers will always beg you to keep them to a minimum) to reassure the player that nothing truly bad is happening.

The thing with Zelda telling you she doesn't remember her time as a dragon is a great example, but there are many more. The first time I actively noticed it was during the Sealing cutscene where Rauru dives in to put his hand in Ganondorf's uhh tender heart (and he steals his magic? I wish something was actually done with that it could have been great if Rauru was corrupting himself voluntarily or something), and there is a whole dialogue where Ganondorf goes "hahaha thousands of years will pass in the blink of an eye", which could be a way to just brush off Rauru's actions as negligeable, but could also be a way to minimize the toll of time taken on both of them the same way it did for Zelda, especially since they semi-turn to stone immediately after. There are a lot of dialogue bits that feel like they are here for damage control and reassure us that the nice things are nice and the bad things are bad (a lot of the gerudo Sage dialogue also reads like that to me as well).

But yes, in general, it is a game that is incredibly averse to consequences, which does a lot of harm to its narrative tension in my opinion.

[madraleen]

Seraph of the End - Takaya Kagami/Yamato Yamamoto Vol. 12-14: An "I am enjoying this!" commentary

-yuu at mika: "i guess i was too busy looking at you to see anything else." you just went ahead and said that with your whole chest, huh?

-JUSTICE FOR SHINYA!

-i could read pages and pages of just yuu-mika dialogue, they have such chemistry, and it shines through even in the simplest of moments.

-mika's faces are everything. they are everything, his expressions are everything. he's just stewing or exploding in the background, i love him.

-WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH FERID, AKANE'S HEAD!

-FERID, STOP BEING SO FUNNY, IT'S ENDEARING!

-ah, we've got a bit of a smeagol/gollum yuu going on here, cool cool. the drama! i'm enjoying this.

-wdym this is the drug guren is taking, guren isn't doing so well on the demon possession department. is that supposed to be a good thing

-FERID WHY ARE YOU CHOMPING YUU

-WHY ARE WE RENDEZVOUSING WITH GUREN, FERID, WHAT IS HAPPENING

-LEST KARR, YES! MORE VAMPIRES! i love his design.

-ASURAMARU IS KRUL'S BIG BROTHER AS A DEMON?!?!?! OMFG!!!

-the first progenitor is still alive somewhere?? where?? what is he doing?? why was he interested only in asuramaru? THE PLOT THICKENS

-URD GEALES! YES! MORE!

-i hope you'll keep repeating the progenitor ranks and who is whose son, 'cause i ain't gonna retain all of this.

-dude, ferid serves looks in some of his panels, no joke.

-let me take a serious sec and say- the world and the dynamics are so nuanced and interesting!! the vampires completely dominating humanity (or trying to) but also inadvertently protecting them 'cause they need their food? their different approaches to humans (eg japan vs russia)? the factions on both sides, that subtly or not so subtly undermine each other? the vampires' relationships with their creators, hating them or having hated them, but also relying on them/vibing with them? GUREN provoking the angels and being the cause of the virus?? and why DIDN'T all the adults die, was it random? it goes so deep!

-okay, father created krul, rigr and urd, which makes them siblings. rigr created ferid and crowley.

-gekkouin! in the flesh! (well. not really, but.)

-omg asuramaru reacted to krul's presence. i low-key gasped.

-i fear. i fear that some day in the future either yuu or mika will have to choose between reviving the other and sacrificing the world, or letting the other die. i fear.

-oh my heart, mika apologizing to the gang and alluding to thinking of them as friends

-yuu is so funny when he's being the comic relief. i *think* he's supposed to be the comic relief, i'm not even sure. maybe it's just yuu being yuu.

-”yuu really is just that dumb" lmao mika, omg

-hold up, hold up, mika is a vampire AND a seraph though, right? doesn't that add an unknown variable to EVERYTHING that anyone knows about vampires? or did the seraph part vanish when he was turned?

-"my feelings toward yuu haven't changed much at all"-says mika, and in the next panel shinoa makes a really interesting face. that's the face of someone thinking "50k, friends to lovers, slow burn, misunderstandings, hurt and comfort."

-i can't believe i'm actually interested in crowley now.

-why isn't there a s3 of the anime? this is visually impressive and immersive in manga form, it could be absolutely stunning in animation.

-THE ONES REVIVED WILL ONLY LIVE FOR TEN YEARS?! THEY'LL JUST DIE ON THE SPOT IF THEY FIND OUT THEY WERE REVIVED?! (the guren gang)

-yuu made sure to eat a lot just in case mika needed to drink from him, my heart, they're so sweet :')

-when yuu and mika do something intimate, it's so often followed by a panel of shinoa, and i honestly cannot decide if it's her being her astute self and thinking "i wonder if this bond will get us in trouble/i wonder where this will take us" or if she's thinking "are they into each other...?"

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Ghosts of Geonosis"

Packaging this two-parter as one big episode because shut up, you're not the boss of me.

I could have sworn I had a live reaction version of this already, but I can't for the life of me find it. Oh well.

This cue here sounds like it comes from TCW, maybe Saw's theme if he had one, anyone wanna confirm that for me?

This whole opening interaction between Ezra and Sabine is cute, she watches him as he plops down into her seat, gives a long-suffering eye roll, and dope slaps him across the back of his head for asking a stupid question and aside from a silently-mouthed "ow" he doesn't object to any of it lol.

Sign of the tightly-written continuity, we are returning to Geonosis to check out the missing populace and also pick up a Saw Guerrera guest appearance post his prominent role in Rogue One. (Out of text-wise that is.)

Empire cleaned up their mess pretty well.

Early establishing of the plot complications of the underground tunnels blocking comm signals, which features throughout the episode as a major element. The GFFA equivalent of establishing "no cell service", essentially.

The sandstorm also obscures things, visually and sensor-wise. And provides us with much humor as Sabine complains about it frequently.

Ho man, I remember how much I loved the banter and dialogue this episode, it was so much fun. Felt like a return to the early days of the show.

This episode was another really great one for subtly showing off Kanan's blindness. He mentions the stillness of the air, his hearing picks up on Klik-Klack before anyone else does, Saw has to let him know to watch his step...

As we already know, abandoned helmet = they 100% dead. The showrunners would use this visual shorthand very effectively in the promo image they did for "Heroes of Mandalore", with a whole pile of empty Mando helmets littered across a scorched landscape.

Kanan plays the voice of caution here, almost like he's the genre-savvy one in a horror movie, lol. Fitting, some aspects of the episode are played up like one. (We got the "Monster POV" shots, we got the cryptic remains left behind, we got no cell service, we got a storm.)

Badass boys shot. <3

Unlike Kalani's decrepit troops, these B1s and Destroyers have been better maintained and repaired, and give the group a bit more of a hassle until Saw shows up.

There's excellent teamwork between all the hero parties involved, Kanan and Ezra work smoothly as oil to slice up the Destroyer once its shield is gone, recalling Obi-Wan and Anakin from TCW.

Something I loved about this season was that characters would offhand mention, "Oh, we don't have this." or "The Rebellion really needs this." and then a couple episodes later they would manage to either acquire them or have them come into play.

Some examples: Proton bombs, this shield generator, spacesuits...

Ooof, was I the only one who caught the similarity between Saw urging them forward to satiate his obsession, Ezra agreeing, and Kanan choosing to trust him and, well... [gestures vaguely to the whole Malachor thing with Maul].

The tension this episode is great, the communication problems lend a sense of urgency and anxiety during both groups' separation and you get a feeling like the messages are coming almost too late to save them.

The Zeb and Sabine banter. <3

Kanan asking Ezra to look for him. <3

There he go, lol.

Kanan is really impressive, Force-wise, this episode, tossing Ezra aaaaaall the way across that chasm, separating and levitating that bridge for Saw and Rex to cross, and still somehow having enough energy and stamina to leap across himself.

And the Force theme that accompanies said above is lovely. <3

Ezra's pretty cool himself, using Force sense to find Klik-Klak when it seems like the bug has given them the slip. His theme is even excerpted a bit.

(Possibly he actually forms a connection, because he's very empathetic towards Klik-Klak after this and defends him from Saw repeatedly.)

Already having some Concerns about Saw's methods lol.

I love how this show depicts Ezra's compassion as one of his major strengths. It's natural for most Jedi and combined with Ezra's natural affinity for connection it's practically a superpower. Ezra's really sweet with Klik-Klak. :)

DEATH STAR-SHADOWING. Oh man the Dramatic Irony was painful, like any time TCW alluded to or called forward to Order 66 and a mental scream rings in your head and you want to yell at the characters and shake them as if that can somehow help them avoid the inevitable doom. Same feeling.

Saw, those binders do NOT have a tracker in them, don't lie.

Obligatory "Stab the TCW fans in the heart" moment.

Ezra seeing shades of himself in Saw's grudge against the Separatists, god his face this whole scene.

Once again touching on those Star Wars archthemes about breaking the cycle of revenge, about not turning your internal pain outwards on the rest of the world, no matter how righteous your cause, about not becoming a monster in your efforts to slay the dragon, about showing compassion to everyone, even your enemies. Saw is representative of the Well-Intentioned Extremist, and even though his ultimate goal is noble--destroying the Empire, exposing their secret superweapon so that the galaxy will finally wake up and deal with the tyranny they've come to complacently accept--Saw loses parts of his humanity in the process, emotionally and ultimately physically. He becomes almost like Vader in the bitter end, for his efforts. (And he's also a shadow of Thrawn.)

Brunsen! I love her.

Saw's personal grudge against the Separatists in general for killing his sister and his squad is blinding him. Ezra points out that Klik-Klak is basically the only survivor of a planet-wide massacre and is understandably a little defensive about invaders, trying to live up to his name again and "bridge" the differences between the two factions, only it doesn't work this time because Saw is too fanatic.

"Saw, we had this argument back at Command." Oh DID YOU now, Rex? Really could have forewarned the team that Saw might get a little deranged in his quest for truth.

I love Saw, he's the best example of an actually Morally Gray character in Star Wars. Unlike Thrawn, his "greater good" reason for going to such extremes, doing whatever it takes to achieve the goal, is actually directed outwards towards the whole of the galaxy, he doesn't selfishly focus inwards on his own interests. Part of it is of course that Saw has already lost his people and planet, so there's nothing left for him except to prevent it from happening to other people. We're encouraged to sympathize with his pain and sense of loss, but not necessarily be comfortable with his actions.

The narrative both condemns his extremism and, ultimately, vindicates him in regards to the Death Star. There's the same sense of futility about him in that neither he nor the Senate and Jedi before Order 66 could uncover the plot quick enough to avoid their fate.

Back to the action, though. Love how the Ghost is so infamous now that their capture/destruction leads to big promotions lol.

This music cue sounds full of adventure, I like it. :)

Klik-Klak trusting Ezra because Ezra was nice to him aww.

"Neither have yours." Saw has a reputation, oof.

It's cute how Klik-Klak keeps tugging on Ezra's wrist.

Yeeeeeeeah I don't think we're supposed to sympathize with Saw in this moment. It's very deliberate, they even have him throw Ezra across the room.

"Your methods are soft, Jedi." Shades of Tarkin much, Saw? I know this annoys people to hear but even if you're fighting fascists, there are lines you don't cross. Saw points a blaster at a baby for heaven's sake. You do not become like your enemy in order to destroy them, because then you're just taking their place, exchanging one kind of cruelty and violence for a different one, for your particular flavor of one.

War is hell but you don't have to become a demon.

Saw's long hesitation after Ezra uses the word "family", Ezra got to him a bit I think, lol. Rex reinforces that tactic, ha ha.

My only minor nitpick this episode, the show once again using the Empire as a Diobulus Ex Machina to make Saw play nice with the others. One more Persuasion Check would have done it I think.

Cue a very excellent action setpiece.

IIIIII think I heard this cue before, back in "Imperial Supercommandos" when Rau ambushed Ezra and Sabine in the shuttle. Interesting choice.

A nice little badass moment for Ezra. :)

And a hero shot for Sabine as we prepare to show off her new jetpack.

He adores her.

Kanan's the only one who can't see how awesome she is. :(

Her little "That's cute." shoulder pat when Ezra says he wants a jetpack too. <3

Love how this Imperial's hat gets sent askew slightly from Brunsen's slap.

HHHHHNNNNNN ONCE AGAIN THE DRAMATIC IRONY IS MENTALLY SCREAMING IN MY HEAD, NO NO THAT'S NOT WHAT HE MEANS.

Saw listens to Ezra this time, next time we see him he's even more apathetic towards the beings in front of him who need help now.

HOW AWESOME WAS IT FOR HERA SLICING THROUGH THIS LIGHT CRUISER? Eh? Eh?

You get such a sense of the speed here.

Ugh, the pictures of the canisters aren't enough, ow, that feels like some kind of Politically Relevant commentary.

And as I said before, the narrative lets Saw get off (this time) with some stern looks from the others, but it's still not completely approving of his actions. He's not the Empire, yet, but he'll come closer and closer to their tactics and methods.

This two-parter episode is almost perfectly paced and it's really well-written. Everything about it works so well.

Solid Rebels content. <3

[cantsayidont]

June-July 1972. Following Orion's brutal but inconclusive battle with Kalibak in "The Death Wish of Terrible Turpin," THE NEW GODS #9 finds Lightray in Orion in a more reflective moment. This is probably my favorite scene from the original Fourth World books, and an excellent example of Kirby's approach to characterization, so let's take a more detailed look at it.

Orion is not merely battered and scarred in this sequence: The ferocity of his battle with Kalibak has revealed his true face, which we previously learned he alters using his Mother Box. Lightray is Orion's friend and so knows not to press this point; at the end of the previous issue, he handed Orion his helmet and said only, "I saw scars---both new and old--taken in the cause of New Genesis!"

Consequently, while Orion is in a decidedly bitter mood, he is conscious of Lightray's feelings. Lightray, for his part, is laying it on a bit thick deliberately in hopes of cheering his friend up:

I said before that the dialogue in Kirby's Fourth World books often has a theatrical tone to it, with a cadence like something from a stage play. That appears to have been intentional, as evidenced by the fact that Eve Donner, the woman in the pink coat, is a playwright. (She could just as well have been anything else that would justify her very expensive apartment, so the selection of her profession is obviously a deliberate choice.) Note that while Orion seemed to soften for a moment when it was just him and Lightray, Eve's presence has brought his sardonic streak back to the fore:

The book cuts away for a bit to a different plotline (involving the Bugs of New Genesis). In the interim, Lightray has apparently persuaded Orion to lie down and take a nap on a cot Eve has brought out:

The dialogue has a stage play vibe, but this is clearly a cinematic moment; you could do this on stage, but not with a closeup like this.

Note that while Lightray is superficially more polite than Orion, his condescension about "primitive" Earth customs remains in full force. (The people of New Genesis do eat food, so Lightray is just being a dick about that.) Eve, meanwhile, puts her hand too close to the fire and gets her fingers burned:

Writers other than Kirby who've used Orion have a tendency to make him a sort of insensate rage monster, sometimes literally foaming at the mouth, but here, there's a clear shift between his simply being bitter and irritable and his actually losing his temper. Note that while he's annoyed by Eve's patronizing attitude, what sets Orion off is recalling that the battle is still undecided. From Orion's perspective, Kalibak, captured by the Metropolis police in the previous issue, has escaped. (At this point, Kalibak is actually in a cell downtown, but I don't think Orion knows that here, or would care if he did.) And, of course, Kalibak is just a pawn of the true villain. In any case, when Orion really loses his cool, everyone in the neighborhood knows it:

Note the visual contrast with what Lightray did on p. 7 above: Lightray brings light to Orion's world, or tries to, but Orion's presence brings shadows. Eve, meanwhile, is smart enough to know she should be scared now:

Eve may be frightened, but she's not so intimidated by Orion that she can't immediately cut through his bullshit:

Note that even when he's furious or full of contempt, Orion is never less than articulate; he's just bitter. After this, he leaves, but not before remarking to Eve, "And, though I pay for victory with death---I shall seek you out in that final moment! At that moment, madam---you'll have the choice of greeting me with scorn---or a tear!" Eve seems unsure whether to take this as a come-on or a threat, but when it comes to Orion, there may not be much difference.

Is this realistic dialogue? Not especially, but it is mostly very well-crafted, and while there are some wording choices that clunk a bit (to say nothing of Kirby's eccentric punctuation, which is a pain to transcribe), the characterization in this scene is very sharp. (The anatomy of Lightray's fingers in the last panel not really so much, but that's another matter.)

[a-nicer-picture]

I enjoyed Rebellion. But it'll take a long time for me to understand it. I'm not surprised it was a straight up surreal narrative of queer unmaking, with not much else going on plot-wise. But somehow I expected something that wasn't so parallel to my current understanding of the series, despite knowing that Homura would have to be the character to choose the next iteration of reality, and her daily experience being made up of parallel contradictions. Still, it's bizarre to encounter a film that I wish had both more and less exposition, that used both more and less symbolism.

More under the cut.

I thought it was visually spectacular and intuitive to understand emotionally (cried!!! in the first half, because of how sweet that alternate reality was). But it's Japanese sapphic in a completely different way than the series was Japanese sapphic. Also, it's very chaotic and full of visual noise in a cool way. I wish it were less anime exposition-y in dialogue ("what is that?? desire? Instability?" like yeah yeah on-the-nose line I got it. Obviously Homura will interpret it as love, whatever it is. I liked Homura's explanation that she's felt so much pain for so long that she's come to treasure it as part of the whole experience. Dramatic as ever).

I'm trying to wrap my head around the symbolic inversions this film made and why. What's living, what is fulfillment, and what's a future? Gay ass questions, so the thematic conversation followed nicely, if not neatly. Maybe the point is that uhhhhh. Sorry you were a teen lesbian well into adulthood and imploded in the most spectacular manner possible, Homura. But also. You couldn't become the devil even if you tried. lol

I feel like there is a lot of implicit commentary in pmmm overall about the West, Christianity, and America's influence on Japanese sexuality and philosophy. One lesbian experience is a Western-defined mental illness because of its sinful action and attachment to worldliness, the other the cure due to the pure and detached spiritual love of a senpai and kohai, thus the catch-22 preventing dual fulfillment for their wishes? Maybe.

[the-mspfa-200-favourites-project]

Conjoined Session

Okay, here we go. Here’s another MSPFA that I’ve been wondering about for a long time now, mainly because it just looks so…stylish! And people who are “in the know” also say that it’s a good one, which as always piques my interest so much. The people who are in the know would know, right? Exactly.

Conjoined Session is always getting points for this trippy gif of a hand about to open up the door out of the session. That’s a cool little reference to a Homestuck Panel but with the comic’s own unique flare, and that always is a good thing to see. It kind of reminds me of Hylics, tbh, but I’ve never played that game and have only seen a couple of screenshots, so maybe I’m wrong to compare this gif to that. Whatever, it’s cool, that’s what I’m saying here.

I love how both characters are lol-ing but we get to see the other character’s emotions immediately and they’re just. Passive. Just passively typing, not even laughing out loud or any other emotion at all. That’s a good bit. I love it when dialogue and visuals come together like that.

This is kind of reminding me of some zines I’ve read. Now, I don’t read zines often, the ones I have read are often sort of…jittery? That’s the word I would use for this art style, anyways. Jittery. Very janky, but in the way that Jank can be cool. It’s very cool and very jittery and very janky and very unique, and I like looking at it.

I also love how sometimes the dialogue boxes have like. messages to open and close, which is something other MSPFAs do, but I forgot to mention before now. Probably I have encountered some that do that. It seems odd to not have encountered that technique before now. Anyways, I love how one of the message box’s “open” messages is “anger” and then you click it and it changes to “fury even.” Very good bit.

Oh I just realized what the art style reminds me of. You know that future funk city pop song, you know, “Soda City Pop,” and it’s accompanying music video? It’s that art style. That’s the *exact* flavour (and yes, it is a flavour) of coolness on display here. A coolness I can vibe with, 100%.

And also I guess I should talk about the story and how it’s being framed and stuff in these notes. Well, here goes: this is another MSPFA that, in fact, assumes that you already know most of the deal with SBURB mechanics. You know what it takes to get people entered into the medium, you know exactly what’s going on with characters that type in giant green text and the character in question is a completely eyeless and all-powerful, you already know what a troll looks like, etc. This means that it can go faster than normal, because we already know these elements, we can just kind of introduce them to you and the story understands you’ll be able to handle it, because you’ve seen it before, so the story itself is going down smoothly, unlike this run-on sentence you are currently reading.

Okay yeah this thing’s insanely stylish and you owe it to yourself, if you have even a passing interest in being cool and drawing cool and stylish panels that don’t look like anything else on MSPFA, to check this one out. It’s the nuts, as some might say.

[chelzone]

just played thru Goodbye Volcano High finally, to completion

here's me thoughts, under a spoiler block just like i did for after i beat Snoot Game

story flows nicely from start to finish, though i feel like a tiiiiny bit could have been trimmed cus it did feel a bit too long for playing through

affinity system is cool, feel like i hadn't seen people dig into that one as much as they should've. i was unable to get the Rosa gender reveal sequence cus i didnt max out her stuffs BUT they still throw in moments prior that telegraph it very much so so that's still something!

gorgeous backgrounds, absolutely zero complaints about any of them. while the characters animations can be a tad bit stiff at times, i feel like i can still most of the time realistically imagine them within the scenes properly

i understand you had to have 3 L&L segments for it to make sense as a DnD sessions sort of thing but,, i didnt like the segments in general. i feel like you could have still explored Reed's character without dedicating far too much time to these

music for the rhythm game segments is definitely NOT my personal taste, so i cant rlly say much about the content that wouldn't be heavily biased. i feel like also the controls were a bit too complicated, especially on keyboard. perhaps it couldve been easier to play on a controller but like,, visually there's still way way way too much to keep track of so it gets overwhelming at times. also very very hard to focus on the scenes going on while trying to play the rhythm segments, and i feel like that hurts the final one with the montage

Naomi and Fang is a match made in Heaven, what else is to say? jumps the gun a wee bit but idk i kind of like that shit and i do that for me own characters at time. wishing those two the best in dino heaven

was not expecting Fang to be so selfish throughout the entire game, it's genuinely a bit jarring at times. the way it's patched up in the end feels a bit too rushed, but then again i said the game felt a bit too long so no idea what the solution would be

Swamp Babies i wish u got more screentime, but i digress. Curtis having no voice let alone dialogue was a bummer

i hope they keep patching it cus i did get softlocked multiple times and there were many times where backgrounds failed to load in for a bit during many scenes ;w;

fave characters from this iteration gotta be Stella, Sage and Reed. funnily enough, two of their iterations in Snoot Game are also a delight! sad to see Sage didnt make the latter cut aside from positive text messagez

the logo and poster design stuff paired with the picture day sequence were pretty cool!

not a fan of the twitter stuff in-game just cus i loathe the real life equivalent, sorry ;w;

all in all now that i've done a full single run for both games (i am not replaying either, this is too much of a time commitment for a narrative-heavy experience), i think i can say i give Snoot Game a 9/10 rating and Goodbye Volcano High a 6/10

pleasantly happy with both, despite any complaints or criticisms! looking forward to drawing more fanart of both series too, as well as having a blast hanging out in discords with folks from either communities. met some good people in a cruel world

[mitziholder]

I was catching the perfectionism vibes, it's shame if it hinders your progress. Your characters and style seem so cool so I wanted to probe. Comics really are a marathon to create. Losing steam is natural and maybe switching up your conception of your project can help. Not trying to pressure you in any way, just hoping to provide some food for thought.

How do you feel about comics as a medium? You mentioned you mostly "skim" comics for inspiration and love Wimmen's Comix but is it a medium you feel very connected to in general and for your story idea?

I've seen multiple webcomic artists unfortunately struggle with the labor needed for drawing panels and incorporating prose along with art and regular comic panels to maintain progress. If you are more into writing than drawing, maybe incorporating prose along with comics/art is an option you'd be interested in. Don't have the best examples but thinking of Homestuck's long script-format convos that follow panels. And for a comic that later incorporated prose, the webcomic Paranatural went from all comic panels to mixing prose and art. I'll be honest that I stopped reading Paranatural as a teen before the shift so I can't speak to its writing/art quality.

“skimming” was a little disingenuous. I have read a lot of comics, but very rarely have I felt that they fully utilized the affordances of the medium. the reasons for this vary; comics are plagued by many issues deriving from the fact that they were, at one point, both extremely popular and cheap (low-brow) - kneecapped by the CCA and warped into something stupid and trivial for children. even today, that perception remains. I would say the majority of people aren’t capable of recognizing comics as a mature medium. lots of comic writers have a chip on their shoulder about this… particularly Alan Moore.

I bring him up because Watchmen was one of the first pieces of media that really opened my eyes as to what comics were capable of as a graphic medium; people regularly recognize the visual artistry of film, the (often) invisible work done in blocking, cinematography, effects, and editing that makes movies feel like art. comics should be art. every frame should be a painting. panels should fit together into a larger picture composed with thought and care. Dan Gibbons did so - with regard not only for how panels fit next to each other but also for how they fit within the page and the page within the chapter and so on… rich with detail, of equal weight to the dialogue in conveying narrative and thematic meaning. it amazed me because of how little the art actually matters in so many comics, only there by obligation (because without art it would no longer be a comic). why is this? I don’t know. profit? but you see it in indie comics, too. that part confuses me. why would you make something if you don’t want it to be good? what’s the point?

anyway, I found that the story I wanted to tell would not fit within the bounds of a stage play. it has continually resisted (with some notoriety on this blog) my attempts to fit it into prose. the dialogue is what moves it, and with my sort of shaky aptitude for art and love of the medium’s potential, I felt that making it a comic was the natural choice. I don’t particularly enjoy the process of drawing, but without art I felt something was missing - a void that couldn’t be filled by anything else. I never wanted it to give the impression that the art was done by rote, incidental/inconsequential, a pure and thoughtless representation of the dialogue… but that is sort of what it has to be at this point. I wish that integrating the visual half came more naturally to me, but I’ve accepted that it’s a skill I’m going to have to hone with much practice. it’s something I’ve struggled with quite a bit as someone who is borderline aphantasic. very little of the art that I make comes directly from my brain. it is not intuitive to me at all. I am so reliant on references, have no imagination, am very rarely struck with the idea for a bit of visual humor or detail that adds meaning rather than merely visualizing the existing script - the words. I am obsessed with words, clearly. meaning and rhythm and punctuation. I’m a word person. I want to be an art person. I want so baaaadly for my work to be good. I try so hard.

I’m often tempted to throw in the towel and admit that my brain doesn’t work that way - that I’m aiming too high, stubbornly set on something I can never really have - not to an extent that I’m satisfied with. but if I gave in to that feeling, I would never finish anything. I feel like once I am done with my classes and my living situation is more stable, I’ll be sort of okay - or at least more consistent - when it comes to the art stuff... worst-case scenario, I cave and go the homestuck route (which is not something I thought I’d ever say). I don’t know. we’ll have to see. once this semester is over...😮‍💨