#I haven’t seen it (yet) but i endorse the aesthetic

[kenkamishiro]

It took a couple days more than I expected since I was busy and distracted by Chen Gong memes, but I finally finished Ishida’s review which is essentially him rambling about his favourite parts about the Tokyo Ghoul S movie lol.

The other thing of note is that we finally know the kanji for Sui? 帥 which means ‘commander’, but who knows if it was like that originally or if Ishida added it after the fact.

The original can be read here. If you find any mistakes please let me know!

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“Have you seen Matsuda Shouta's portrayal of Tsukiyama Shuu?”

The other day I was finally able to go see the movie "Tokyo Ghoul S".

Since posts on Twitter have to be 140 characters or less, I’ve been struggling to cut down the number of characters each time and fit together the necessary information like a puzzle, but to put it bluntly it’s a pain in the ass. So this time, I’d like to share my written thoughts...or should I say endorsement of the movie via this new web service. I apologize for making you read my poor writing.

Oh, just as a precaution, I’ll be touching a bit on the contents of the movie, so if you want to avoid spoilers, I’d advise you not to read any further.

Also, although there were lots of little details that I liked, I’d like to focus on Tsukiyama Shuu played by Matsuda Shouta. (Please don’t get me wrong, all the other cast members were amazing. It’s just what I want to talk about in particular…)

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Matsuda Shouta’s portrayal of Tsukiyama was the best ① His waking up scene was the best It took place early in the movie, but it’s the scene where Tsukiyama is selecting his outfit for the day. I loved that scene.

It’s when the recently awakened Tsukiyama heads for his bureau, calmly yet seriously deliberating over what he should wear for the day.

Going like, “(What about this colour...no, this won’t do. How about this fabric? Good, now then a handkerchief to match…)”

The audience may think, “Whatever, it doesn’t matter…!”, but this is something extremely important to Tsukiyama. His passion of aesthetics came across perfectly in this scene.

At this point in the movie, I was already moved by how Matsuda-san was playing the role of Tsukiyama.

② Tsukiyama whenever he was with Kaneki was the best He was hilarious (delightful) from their first encounter.

The scenes of when they first come in contact, when Tsukiyama visits Kaneki’s university and invites Kaneki to the cafe, and the scene at the cafe itself were very interesting. Particularly when Tsukiyama was waiting at the cafe with his handkerchief. And what he did with the handkerchief afterwards. I was having a blast the entire time. (When Tsukiyama said, “I’m going to wash my handkerchief,” and headed for the bathroom, warning his reflection in the mirror to be flat*)

[T/N: Assuming ‘flat’ means some form of ‘calmato’.]

③ Tsukiyama was strong It’s a given that he'd be strong. He didn’t take any damage at all. The battle scene during the climax was beyond amazing.

In the scene where Tsukiyama was single-handedly tormenting the two people, and even after he released his kagune he was suuper strong.

(Ah, Tsukiyama was so cool…) Is what crossed my mind.

The fight itself was interesting, but his actions outside of it were also fully enthralling. (I really liked when he “set the table”...)

④ Conclusion Tsukiyama fans should absolutely go see the movie. That’s what I want to share.

Live action adaptations of manga are prone to character exaggeration and will occasionally remind you that it’s fiction, but Matsuda Shouta was able to reconstruct Tsukiyama’s rich character with a dose of reality, which makes me think he truly is a rare breed of actor.

I thought that this Tsukiyama can be enjoyed as a character in his own right, even to those who have yet to read the original work.

I was so moved by this character, that if I had the chance to speak to someone who’s being made to read the manga, I’d want to ask, “Have you seen Matsuda Shouta’s portrayal of Tsukiyama Shuu?” He went beyond my expectations.

Starting from the bottom left going clockwise:

Bottom left:

Tokyo Ghoul S Movie Personal Highlights by Ishida Sui

Top left:

Shuu-sama choosing his outfit for the day Looking serious

Top right:

Mask of the moon’s surface. If you look closely you can see it's transparent. Good since it's kinky. Every gesture of his has class to it. His hand attached here looks very elegant.

Bottom right:

So strong! Holding his handkerchief Tsukiyama: Don't worry about it... (Kaneki): I'm sorry.

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Other things I liked ① Kaneki’s reactions Kubota-kun as Kaneki was amazing as always.

About Kaneki’s development in the movie, there were many instances where he was still quite passive, but every little detail in his reactions I saw was amazing.

That is to say, no exaggerated movements or shouts at all, but within his subtle movements and expressions implying the anxiety in his heart or suspicion that doesn’t reveal itself in his face, it made me think that that man is a genius...

(1) When Tsukiyama went to the university and called out to Kaneki, and Kaneki goes, “...huh?” in confusion. His confusion was as if a middle-aged man you've never met sitting next to you suddenly speaks to you.

(2) When Kaneki is carrying the injured Nishiki to his room, Kimi appears at the front door. Kimi embraced Nishiki in his beaten-up state without thinking. During that time, Kaneki couldn’t let go of his shoulder he lent to Nishiki, and as a result, when the three of them ended up in a scrum-like position, it somehow felt like he was trying to make himself inconspicuous.

...those were some examples of the little details I enjoyed a lot.

② Kaneki was strong There were enticing parts that looked like they came straight from a kung-fu movie, with confrontations that went, “undergo intensive training → see results of intensive training → fight strong enemy”, and there were also parts where the battles were simple yet interesting. Whenever I see cool action scenes, I get excited.

I heard from Avu-chan who’d already watched the private showing, that, “He was flying like, fwoosh!”, which made me a bit worried because, “He was flying like, fwoosh…!?” But (I didn’t go to the private showing, so I didn’t see anything from the movie until after it was completed), although there definitely was a part where he flew like fwoosh, I wasn’t the least bit concerned. I was surprised it was so cool.

③ Yamamoto Maika’s portrayal of Touka In the previous movie, how should I word it, Sen-chan* portrayed manga Touka perfectly. It felt as if I dived straight into the manga and was looking right at Touka herself. Her acting was divine, and I liked it a lot.

[T/N: Touka’s first actress, Shimizu Fumika, who changed her name to Sengen Yoshiko under Happy Science.]

For the recent movie, I went to go see it nervously wondering how Yamamoto Maika’s version of Touka would feel like.

Yamamoto-san’s Touka was powerful. I mean that in a good way.

First of all, how high she can raise her body trained through karate. Her blows and strikes fit well in the action scenes, and they were physically strong. She had an impressive battling style in both the “intensive training” scene and the “vs. Tsukiyama” scene, and if I were to pick a fight with her, I can easily imagine that it’d be one-sided and I’d get utterly thrashed.

And more than anything, the power of her presence. I think it’d be quite hard to stand out between Kubota-kun’s Kaneki and Matsuda-san’s Tsukiyama.

However, she became a character that stood out in her own right even standing with them, and character-wise I felt her assert her dominance.

This is just how I personally felt, but to me it seemed as if Yamamoto Maika was angry against the world. That aura fit Touka well, and it looked great.

As an aside, when I saw an interview with Yamamoto Maika the other day, she said, “I haven’t read the original work because I don’t know how to read manga,” and I was very impressed by that.

④ I like the music Rather than the grand majestic melody like last time, this time it was a tad mellow, yet distorted melody interwoven into the taste. That was my favourite feel in the entire movie.

The scene at the beginning especially caught my eye. I was drawn into the movie’s world by experiencing the gorgeous Tokyo and the sense of loneliness you feel there. It fitted well with the atmosphere of both the movie and the manga.

⑤ The Helter Skelter duo was alluring Uta was played by Bandou Minosuke, and Itori by Jiyoung. It was fun seeing the charm and allure of those 2 people who make up Helter Skelter. Jiyoung-san, who made her entrance in this new movie, was a stunning visual who was originally a member of KARA. It might be because she’s from Korea, but although she looks close to Japanese, there’s a subtle air around her that suggests that she isn’t. She was gorgeous in a sultry beauty kind of way.

Things I was concerned about It’s inevitable as an adaptation, but I felt like there were a couple scenes that were a bit difficult to understand if you hadn’t read the manga. Certain words or characters, for example. However, I think it was addressed during the script-writing stage so that they’d be explained throughout the movie (thank you Mikasano Chuuji*…)

[T/N: Also the scriptwriter for the anime.]

Additionally, Kaneki, Touka and Tsukiyama were very compelling characters, so I thought it’d be a fun movie to enjoy. My reactions ended up being late, but I’d be happy if more people go to watch it starting from even now.

Thank you to the directors Kawasaki Takuya and Hiramaki Kazuhiko, the producer Nagae-kun, and everyone who was involved in the making of this movie.

I don’t often go see the same movie in theatres, but I’m thinking of going to see it again.

[smallcowplant]

I was tagged by @viiavi! <33

Rules: Post 57 facts about yourself and tag at least ten people. When posting include the tag “57 facts” in order for people to find out more about you and perhaps find a kindred spirit to talk to.

I used to pretend that I was Stevie Nicks when I was a kid. I’d take my mom’s scarves and necklaces and twirl around like a maniac mouthing the words to Timespace.

I didn’t leave the island I grew up on for twenty years (not even for vacations or trips). When I left, I didn’t have any intention of ever going back. 

My brother and I are seven years apart and he is my closest friend. Coincidentally, we are both libras (my mom used to joke that we balance the family out).

Drinking coffee is a huge part of my creative process. 

I’m right handed and definitely right-brained.

I tend to form better relationships with people who are older than me. As a adult, all of my irl friendships/relationships have been with people who are slightly-to-significantly older than me. 

I get lost in daydreams often. 

I’m 5′ 6′‘.

I can’t drive and never wanted to learn. It’s a legitimate problem.

I’m slowly learning to cook and I really enjoy it.

I hate the taste of alcohol. If I drink, it has to be something sugary + frozen or wine-----otherwise I’ll probably vomit.

My lucky numbers are 4 and 6. I don’t really know why? I just associate those numbers with good things. 

Proud Hufflepuff. 

My little brother and I were once being stupid at home (I was probably around 10 or 11) and thought it would be hilarious to “pretend to call 911″. My dumbass accidentally did (and hung up quickly after that). Two cops showed up. They asked a couple questions and left after a few minutes of sussing us out. Not even five minutes after they left, my mom pulled into the parking lot. Close call. 

I’m a romantic and thrive on affection and love.

I’m the kind of person who will spend an hour on my makeup and virtually none on my hair. 

My first fictional crush was on Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Both animated and in the live-action movies, lmao.

I thought that I was a cat person until I adopted my dog! Now, I definitely consider myself a dog person (who still loves cats).

My circulation is shit. I get cold super easily.

I love rainy weather and storms. 

My favorite food is spaghetti.

I’m a very sentimental person and put a lot of value on gifts/cards/personal objects.

Christmas and Halloween are my two favorite holidays! With an emphasis on Christmas, lol.

I had a truly amazing experience when I took shrooms. Not trying to endorse drug use, but psychedelics are fascinating. 

I love movies so much. Film-making and cinematography are such incredible things to me. I would love to be part of that creative process.

If I could have lunch with one famous person, I would definitely choose Lana del Rey. She’s been such a massive inspiration for my writing and personal aesthetic....I would love to meet her and have a conversation.

Tied to that last fact, LDR has been the only artist I’ve seen live! I went back in February and I’m still not over it!

I haven’t had any close IRL friends in years. I only vibe with certain types of people and am very picky when it comes to who I let in.

I used to write fanfiction. Big yikes.

My middle name is Ray.

I love pretty clothes but I hate wearing them because I feel like I’m going to ruin them.

I really love the vibe of airports. Not flying, getting through check-in, the stress around it, or any of that, though! Just the feeling of walking to your terminal, of the air conditioning, the smell of black coffee in the air......it just really ticks something for me?

Aliens are real and so is magic.

I desperately want to meet and hang out with an alpaca.

I’ve never been to a wedding.

I almost drowned in the ocean and it was the single most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me. 

I saw Wicked in NYC at the Gershwin Theater and it was magical.

I love the idea of getting a tattoo but I also can’t commit to any tattoo concept, so I’m not sure if I’ll ever get one. 

However, if I was to get a tattoo, I think I’d get a portrait of my dog and a sleeve featuring different cryptids!

My least favorite foods are oranges and purple grapes (yes, I think there’s a distinction between purple and green grapes, and YES, I prefer green grapes).

I want to have a duck once I own a house.

^^This is because I used to be an Aquatics Specialist at a pet store and I had one client come in often to buy crickets. She’d bring her pet duck (I think his name was Percy) in and I’d give him little scratches and head pats. I LOVED HIM. He’d wiggle his lil butt when he’d see me and...……..wow, what a guy.

I think my handwriting is horrendous but other people seem to like it.

I’m very observant and detail oriented. 

In elementary school, I used to be a JPO (Junior Police Officer), which is basically a mini-traffic director. 

This is the only social media platform I have. You won’t find me on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter....they kind of squick me out.

I got my CPR + First Aid certification twice----only to never use it for a job. It has long since expired. RIP.

I have a large oval brown birthmark on my upper leg.

I love red lipstick but I haven’t found my perfect shade yet.

I’ve never broken any of my bones. I am sincerely surprised, tbh.

My favorite color is pastel pink.

I wish there were more opportunities to wear costumes/fancy clothes because I love looking Extra Af.

I used to collect Pullip dolls and BPAL perfumes. 

When I’m sick, I will marathon Twilight Zone episodes until I fall asleep.

I can be extremely stubborn and set in my ways. 

I turn 22 next week Wednesday. 

I’m 110% positive that my dog is my soulmate.

Not tagging anyone bc this is pretty intense and I don’t want anyone to murder me lmao!! 

[iconiceyesleedswestyorkshir-blog]

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Subsequently, their small accumulation of capital and the earnings which they obtain from skilled providers throughout the African (or White) neighborhood make them seem wealthy in comparison the low economic status of nearly all of poor delusion of wealth is supported by the myth of African business. Fortunately, section 195 of the South African Constitution does direct the general public administration that, Folks's wants have to be responded to, and the general public have to be encouraged to participate in policy-making," and in accordance with this directive, the proposed Draft Online Regulation Coverage has been opened for public remark, which remains open till June 15. i need a graphic designer iconiceyes.co.uk Leeds, West Yorkshire like Right to Know have already been mobilizing in opposition to the proposal, and are amassing supporters for a petition and social media campaign, which EFF heartily endorses. Consequently, the (global) public sphere will grow to be extra complete by encompassing a wider spectrum of social collectivities and by reaching further right down to very low levels of society (e.g. the extent of tiny communities and insignificant voluntary associations). The situations of poverty, over-crowdedness, lack of police management and the prevalence of police corruption, breakdown of family mores and construction, basic social anomie and an enormous "Apartheid Hangover" which has been contributing to what Frantz Fanon called "Colonial Mental Disorders," excessive incidences of rape, crime and anarchy, all render completely different results and impacts on the African inhabitants. The White Paper which preceded the Telecommunications Act 6 also commented on the principles in regard to the interception of call visitors particularly, that the very proper of presidency to intercept telecommunications visitors should be stringently controlled; that the Interception and Monitoring Prohibition Act needs to be reviewed with a view to ensure ample safeguards are in place and that such a assessment should of necessity contain public debate and the participation of other Ministries, reminiscent of that of Safety and Security. Although website designer near me give us an image of how Africa makes use of social networking, it does not tell us concerning the segregated growth and entry of Africa and other so-referred to as Third and Second World International locations who haven't any wherewithal to be as superior and developed as their Western counterparts, elsewhere. When we start to learn and have a sense and more concrete data about our tradition, by trying it as it in it its whole wholesomeness(Holistically), we begin to grasp, see and recognize, and observe more similarities in dancing types, hand-clapping, voicing, circle-formations, and half moon patterns crisscrossing strains, snake-like, and choreographic backwards and forwards movements in-sync and patterned exactly, with a flurry and changing shapes, and varieties on and of their similar vivid and energetic colours, Polyrhythmic syncopated sounds, explosiveness, and rhythm of all of the eleven(eleven) African people as one unified and diverse, variegated and one frequent national entity. Instead, the users and consumers of data all sorts of information are low logged into these social media, and what makes them common, it is their capability to allow peculiar of us to partake or control the flow of information with out having 'gate-keepers' censoring or adjusting what is data or what is reported. But Gwala's colleagues have little doubt about what happened that evening: the assassination of a conspicuous and vocal thorn within the facet of native authorities and officers from the ruling African National Congress as he fought corruption within the allocation of social housing. In the days of social media and the Web, these have been delivered to bear and in the front of society within the US. What this means is that, the numerous races and different communities, races, and so forth, snapped when the Grand juries, in numerous states of the United States discovered the cops not guilt or responsible for the homicide of Garner and brown, and these had been captured on video. The eyes of the world are actually more targeted on the offers that governments and enterprise did collectively, on the methods in which public procurement contracts have been determined and who benefitted on those actions by which individuals in power that have hitherto not been sufficiently topic to public scrutiny and oversight-have their actions laid naked within the viral stream.

[mindhost]

Kvetun Armoury leg guards

We recently placed a combined order with Russian HEMA manufacturer Kvetun Armoury, and I thought I should write a brief review of their Leg Protection Set with inner padding, as I haven’t seen anyone comment on these yet.

How to Order (price and options)

They don’t have a website or online shop, so you have to go to their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/kvetun/) and message them there. Having said that, they respond quickly and communicate very clearly. I wanted the base model, which is a knee and shin guard combo (priced at 80 € plus shipping), but this can be extended further by adding a side of the knee protector (+10 €), calf protectors (+15 €) and even thigh guards (+15 €). They have other armour options as well, so I’d suggest you look through their photo album, which contains more examples and detailed specifications.

Unlike other vendors, these leg guards are always made to measure, so the first thing they do is ask you to take the following measurements and send them to them. More on this later.

Quality of Service (response times, dealing with issues)

As mentioned above, they were really quick and efficient. The guys behind this manufacturer are historical fencers themselves, so they know their audience well, what we want and how to deliver it. Unlike some of the other HEMA-dudes-into-gear-design-and-manufacturing that I won’t mention, Kvetun seem to prioritise prompt and concise communications, which makes a huge difference. The chap handling my order was Alexander Stankiewicz, who I distinctly remember from Swordfish a few years ago, in particular his elim fight with Carl Ryrberg. 

Aside from that, we placed a joint order for various products, but a club friend and I were both doing so at the same time, on two communication fronts, and as a result of that one or two items did not arrive with the first shipment. This was due to a simple misunderstanding. We reported this to Kvetun, who immediately sent out the missing items in a second package without charging us for shipping, plus they sent us a little extra for our troubles. So A+ for problem resolution.

In both cases we received the invoice after delivery (this is an important distinction), which was clear and without surprises or hidden costs. They described the delivery path to us to set our expectations; from Bryansk to Helsinki, then routed elsewhere in Europe, with an expected 1-2 weeks delivery time, but in fact in our case it took even less than that, 6 days for the second package. Once they shipped the order, Kvetun sent a Russian Post URL and a tracking number which worked fine.

Quality of Product (comfort, durability)

The leg guards are made of Polythene (ie common plastic), with added inner padding, and are fastened to the leg with velcro, with four strips.

The shins are attached to the knee guards with elastic cords, so in theory they can be detached from each other and used separately, or with some other armoured protection if needed. 

They look a bit bulky, but are in fact very light - they weigh about the same as Red Dragon leg guards - and are clearly based on medieval armour designs rather than other modern applications (Police riot gear, BMX, baseball etc). 

In fact I like everything about these guards with two exceptions, which can be easily corrected:

1. The clasp of the lower strap of the knee guard. 

They say you should never try new gear out in a competition, so of course I wore these for the first time at a local rehearsal tournament. When tight, the strap has the tendency of squeezing through the gap in the clasp, coming loose.

It’s not a huge concern and was easily fixed by replacing that clasp with another loop-type thing:

2. The length of the shins. 

I’m not sure if I measured incorrectly point 4 of the diagram above, but both me and the other friend that received a pair of these, experienced some discomfort while wearing these due to the pressure on the foot from the lower part of the shin guards. As you can see in the pic above, it’s right on the foot. 

This has a relatively easy fix, since you can just cut this plastic with any sharp knife, and even sand it down if you need to:

I’ll pass this on to Kvetun so they can maybe describe the measuring diagram a bit better, or take it into account when making new guard, as this step should be unnecessary. Once shortened, the guards became quite comfortable, as there is sufficient clearance to the foot. The armour doesn’t drop down significantly when moving around, thanks to the strap design.

I can’t say much about their durability yet, since I’ve barely used them, but they seem to have adopted the Sparring Gloves design philosophy; make the sections that are more easy to replace be the parts that are prone to material fatigue, instead of the important bits - it’s easier to replace a bit of string or a strap of velcro than it is to replace an armour segment.

How it Compares

I can’t say this is the best knee or leg armour ever made for HEMA, because I’ve never really tried the Leon Paul ones - but then again, the LP’s cost £435, which is completely ridiculous so maybe they can go EABOD. So I’ll compare it with the gold standard of leg protection, which, within competitive longsword circles in any case, is the Knee Pros with field hockey shin guards. 

I think these solutions are roughly equivalent to each other in terms of comfort and protection. Depending on where you can find them, the Knee Pros + hockey guards can be similarly priced, or a maybe bit cheaper (about 40 € + 25 € or so); particularly when you live in a country in which field hockey is popular, as you often find the shin guards in the discount bin. Football (soccer) shin guards are not quite as effective, as they don’t usually cover the ankle. 

In terms of ease of use, so putting them on and off, and transporting them with your gear and so on, they take less time to put them on than Knee Pros and hockey shin guards, and marginally more than Red Dragons or Brush-cutter shinguards, not that I much recommend either of these two for longsword fencing, particularly the latter. They do take quite a bit of space in your gear bag, so I’ve had to rethink how I pack everything, but thankfully all those years playing Tetris have not gone to waste.

The differences are down to the buyer; do you like the look of them, and more importantly, are you able to fully benefit from the customisation?

Aesthetically some may prefer the slimmer look of the ankle with shin guard tucked within the sock, others may prefer the more robust built-for-purpose look of the Russian product. If you happen to have an average size leg and are perfectly well served by your Knee Pro + shin combo, maybe this is an upgrade too far, but if you are exceptionally tall, or short, or just can’t stand the stink of the inner shin guards any longer, these might be the absolutely perfect choice for you. 

In Conclusion:

If you’re 100% happy with your current leg protection for longsword, sword & buckler or military sabre then don’t bother, but otherwise these might very well be the last set of leg protection you’ll ever need to buy. Probably great for pole weapons, horsy things or any class warfare related riots in your area as well. 

Edit with feedback from Kvetun: 

I had a chat with Alex and here are some notes from that exchange:

1) The plastic is a low-pressure polyethylene, which is much better than simple polyethylene, and will live long, taking only scratches as a cosmetic damage. 2) The clasp of the lower strap was done like that on purpose, to be able to remove this exact velcro if people don't like it. However, the suggested idea is more solid and practical for the majority of fencers, so it will be fixed in this way.  3) The shin height issue. Kvetun are developing a new, more precise measurements scheme. They recognise that it is a challenge to measure how each person's foot is connected to their ankle, but they are working on finding solutions that will improve the accuracy of the measurement.

We specifically discussed how to indicate the point of flex when the leg leans forward (foot dorsiflexion). The image above is a draft preview of their new & improved measuring chart, which is a step towards mitigating the length calculation issue I pointed out in my review.

In any case, they are really trying to get this right and are listening to the feedback they receive, so I’m really happy to endorse them as a HEMA manufacturer. They make good solid stuff, you should buy it.

[darspeaksout]

“I Am A Pimp”

I know some pussy boy fellas who are all about the gossip

Wondering why they’re so far behind in life while I’m out here progressing

Saying they avoid negativity yet everyday having tsismis for breakfast

All huff and puff in the comments section, but when I pull up to the poetry slam

I render them breathless

 I fill my mind with knowledge and it shows in my behavior;

You fill your mind with gossip and it shows that you’re a loser

How are you gonna pride yourself on enjoying piping hot tea

When the tea wasn’t even yours to serve, so you’re basically waiting tables for free

If you’re salty that I’m winning at life, then you haven’t seen my behind-the-scenes

If you’re salty that I’m winning at life, then you were never really a friend to me

If you’re salty that I graduated with high distinction

Then replace Pornhub with a dictionary for once

And maybe you’ll see some improvement

 Jealous bitches will say that I got to where I am

Because I got lucky –

Luck comes and goes, but the blessings have been consistent

Therefore it’s in my destiny

 Jealous bitches will say that I got to where I am

Because I knew the right people –

But you’re still where you are today

Because you continue to hang with the wrong people

I don’t need to be the center of attention

To command other people’s respect

But you need to be the loudest person on Instagram

Just so your crush opens up your DM

I wear my shades inside the building ‘cuz I’m a fuckin’ pimp

You wear your heart on your sleeve ‘cuz you’re a fuckin’ simp

You want to be mad that I have boss style and boss attitude?

I’d say be mad that you smell like a stank hoe whose shower is long overdue

 You probably see right now that you and I are two different species

I’m dripping in cologne and you’re dripping in feces

Every day I smell like a different person, I got my haters confused

I switch up my poetry topics like how I switch between my perfumes

I keep my fragrance different so people stay wondering who just walked by

It’s just me, Darwin G, gay but still catching your girlfriend’s eye

So whipped for me she slid into my DM’s

Told her if she got a dick take a pic and then press send

Broke her heart when I said I was gay

She said, “Where can I find the straight version of you?”

I said, “Honey, I’m a freak. Let me take you out and you’ll see what I can do”

 If I post a pic with my crew, don’t comment “FOMO”

The reason I didn’t invite you in the first place is because

I don’t mix with the tsismosos

If I ask you what’s new in life and all you have to offer

Is other people’s business

I’ll question if you have any values of your own

Or if you’re gossiping to mask your own emptiness

And I’m not stupid, behind their backs you’re talking about them with me

So no surprise when I exit the room you’ll turn to them and it’ll be the same story

Jealous bitches will hate from a distance ‘cuz they’re too pussy boy to do it directly

 My crew is outfitted, perfumed, and intelligent

Don’t look my way if you’re crusty, smelly, and barbaric

You want to be impressive but to all the superficial people;

I keep my circle small and trust only a few people

You think just because we’re in the same scene that we have the same friends

But I cautioned them about your gossiping, which is why they stay away from your ends

You’re on a Discord call with my bestie

But who’s on his spam account?

You send to him your daddy issues

I send e-transfers to his bank account

 People see that I’m a pimp, and back the fuck away

I am not some pussy bitch simp bowing to your every “hello” and “hey”

If I like you I’ll say hi, and if I don’t I’ll say nothing

‘Cuz I can make friends easily if your value to my life is lacking

 A fake friend with a fake bag, I don’t endorse counterfeit

Stay away from me ‘cuz going broke looking rich and human trafficking are not part of my aesthetic

I heard from a reliable source that your Louis is fake

How are you gonna flex it online when the world knows you bought it off eBay?

If I shop luxury, best believe I’ve been planning it

I got my finances in order, I don’t make impulse purchases

You go to the luxury stores to pose with the bags, take photos,

Then leave without buying

I pull up to the boutique, keep it discreet, then walk out

With all the pieces I’d been eyeing

I’m not worried about the hype, ‘cuz the hype lives and dies

Instead I keep it elegant because elegance will remain timeless even after I die

I’m not worried about the logos, ‘cuz I got nothing I need to prove

Instead I wear what I’m comfortable in, ‘cuz I’ve already proven everything I needed to

 If you dress like a pimp, make sure you have the funds

Don’t pull up to campus in your Balenciaga tracks only to ask for lunch money

‘Cuz your debit ran out of funds

If you’d rather flex your cash than be able to eat, your priorities are misaligned

Being helpless isn’t cute – get your shit together before my ring gives you a black eye

The word “broke” is one that simply does not exist in my vocabulary

My mindset is of abundance, I’m too rich to afford a broke mentality

I paid for my new watch with this scholarship money

You couldn’t pay your rent until you asked your sugar daddy

Everything I wear, I bought it independently

Only man in my life is Jesus, I split the bread between me and him evenly

 I am a pimp, don’t forget it

 Amen

[floggingink]

Riverdale, “Chapter Eighteen: When a Stranger Calls”

good afternoon, this episode made me lose sleep

Jughead doesn’t even have his framing narration voiceover, because he is in too much pain, RETROACTIVELY, to WRITE IT DOWN

this is a great episode, but it’s especially a great episode for Betty’s left eyebrow, Alice’s left eyebrow, and Jughead’s pecs

there’s a very STEALTHY ticking clock sound in the background of Betty and the Black Hood’s phonecall, taken in spirit, I hope, from Hans Zimmer’s Dunkirk soundtrack, where you don’t notice it but the protracted effect makes you feel like you’re going crazy

Jughead is Betty’s “mystery-loving boyfriend”

Alice was fond of Jughead so long as he was on Betty’s newspaper staff and showed Alice compassion when her family life was crumbling, but now that he lives in a different zip code she’s over it

Archie in green is always his best choice

Archie of course walks Betty to school and of course promises not to tell a secret before he hears it

does Betty enlist Archie as her handmaiden because he’s the best choice (will do as she says, will not branch out on his own, will refuse on moral grounds to abandon her) or because she can do so with the least amount of fanfare?

“BETTY, YOU HAVE TO TELL THE POLICE, EVEN IF IT’S NOT HIM.” Archie drops some vintage bon mots today!

The Blossom spawn: it’s incredible that the Black Hood knows where Polly is when it seems like Betty doesn’t even know

Dilton Doiley is a canonically great dancer: Dilton’s stunt got the southside into more trouble, which seems like exactly the amount of power he wants to wield

remember last season when Dilton caved to Jughead’s threat of exposing him as a gun-loving loon? Dilton has purged his life of all semblances of normalcy, out in the open, so no one can do that again

apparently now we can all chill in Hiram’s study with him

Veronica was rich: Hiram’s true crime is gentrification! sounds about right!

Certified pedigree: Veronica perks up and Hermione and Hiram look at each other and agree to the same game plan silently: pimp her out

Sweet Pea is, I think, showing commendable patience towards Jughead, for someone who does not necessarily have to, for still having this particular girlfriend and best friend (“your boy, Andrews”) after day after day of southside-reasons not to. Jughead is like….I know….I don’t control them….

Jughead did not see Veronica shooting a gun coming! poor Jug is so out of the loop!

I guess Fangs earned his stripes? was it by getting an engineering degree?

What damn high school in America: okay wait, I missed before when they explained that “Fogarty’s cousin” is “in the Army” and was “going to build us something.” I can’t believe they actually FUCKING EXPLAIN IT

Sweet Pea did not know who he was talking to when he tried to hit Jughead with “It can’t get any worse.” Jughead is like, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING—

“You can’t be half a Serpent”: it’s FASCINATING TO ME how the actual on-the-ground Serpents deal with Jughead, who is familially a Serpent but not an indoctrinated one, who has been baptised but not confirmed, if you will, who keeps telling them to knock it off with the gang stuff, and yet they’re like, very careful about giving him latitude to move around in their world without having paid his membership fee, you know? I just think it’s amazing how, and I know it’s a TV show and not like a documentary, but I think it’s an interesting choice how Sweet Pea isn’t just like, Get fucked, Jughead. he hears Jughead’s objections. he explains himself

These students are legally children: the grown-up Serpents either ghost-endorse the Serpent kids taking matters into their own hands or have no idea it’s happening. either way, these kids may not have flashy extracurriculars, but they have moxie

Toni calls Sweet Pea an idiot, which is great

Veronica says she and Nicky were the “will-they-or-won’t-they” of her old “jet-set”

admirably, she immediately tells Archie not to worry about him

Betty is barely hanging on to patience for absolutely anything

I want it on the record that Jughead not wearing his fleece jacket is slightly jarring after all this time and that he still looks great in the leather one

Sweet Pea calls him a “northsider” when he walks in, which seems like a callback to a World War II sergeant calling everybody “ladies”

I’ve seen Brick like thirty times: Jughead is lit from behind by one of the yellow lamps, casting a glow around his hat like a fucking Renaissance painting

Gay?!: SERPENT DADDDDDYYYYY is going to “initiate” Jughead, because Riverdale loves me

Toni is looking at Jughead like she truly regrets his death, which is probably right

Archie, chilling out with Betty in her bedroom, totally without sexual pretence and just there to listen to the phone call on speaker, is GOOD ARCHIE

when Betty parries the Black Hood’s demand with her own, Archie mouths “WHAT ARE YOU DOING,” because he set a game plan

Betty is blue is her best choice

“Wait...is that…” ...VINTAGE TWIN PEAKS-ERA MÄDCHEN AMICK??!

the baby Serpents lined themselves up classically, in descending order from the middle, for Jughead’s aesthetic benefit

is it possible Toni is the only one who knows Jughead’s name is Forsythe?

Archie is pretty okay with Betty building this relationship with the Black Hood, as you will remember Archie is just as obsessed with him. also, Archie is taking it pretty well that it turns out BH is into Betty instead of him. he’s not insulted or anything

he’s SO RIGHT about Alice always ragging on all of them, too! Archie’s sudden flashes of insight are revelatory

the St. Clairs are appropriately fur-covered and smug, and Nicholas St. Clair, AKA ZACH FLORRICK FROM THE GOOD WIFE, is adorable and that actor has looked exactly like that for the past seven years

why didn’t Nicky and Veronica ever sync up? they’re both schemers and that’s a difficult needle to thread? like Blair and Chuck?

I am insulted on Betty’s behalf that Alice would think Betty would write the cipher herself, in that I would hope Alice would know Betty would have more sense than to be so obvious as to use a Nancy Drew code

Jughead is officially Betty’s “Serpent boyfriend”!!!! we have arrived, Alice!

50 Shades of Betty: Betty straight destroys her mother after getting eye-rolled at

Archie does bicep curls on his bed because he’s THAT good-looking

Toni’s FLANNEL TIGHTS are great

Jughead calls Sweet Pea an idiot too, after Toni opened that gate

OF COURSE Jughead is only joining the Serpents to try and keep the peace, because he finally found a cause to martyr himself to that is as grungy and doomed as possible and with no goshdarn way he can succeed

I’m down with the six rules! but I don’t think the show has told me exactly what being a Serpent entails yet. like what do gangs do? the Serpents aren’t a particularly druggy gang, apparently, like the motorcycle dudes in True Detective (the Ghoulies) or anything. it seems like they mostly exist to get ragged on and take care of their widows, like a very sad union

Jughead is truly scared to stick his hand in that tank and if Kevin were there he would have burst into tears

in fond congratulations, Toni calls him “Juggie,” which set off a synaptic transmission in my amygdala first time around. Jughead does a double take at it and Toni herself looks kind of like, Whoops, but then sort of pleased at her own daring

POP DOESN’T JUDGE. HE WAS HERE DURING THE RIOTS AND HE DOESN’T JUDGE

Betty having her own fucking newspaper makes me so fucking happy. I fucking love Betty goddammit

Betty’s splash of sparkles on her sweater is great too. YOU’RE ALWAYS SO PRETTY BETTY

Hermione made a flan. Hermione kind of cooks! ...unless it was Andre

Nicky’s bullet is kind of cute, in a stupid way

Archie was blindly terrified to drink rum, so I don’t think he’s going to snort cocaine

in the beginning of this episode, in the beginning, Nicky basically IS Veronica. just watch it and pretend Camilla is reading all his lines. he calls Archie “Big Red” and everyone “country mice” and says things like “What a brave new world it is” and thinks it’s hot Veronica is in a band with a sexy name. and Veronica knows this, and it makes her uncomfortable

“Damn good coffee”: the retro “Lollipop” ringtone is psycho by only the second time you hear it. Dilton would love it

“How does it feel, Betty?” FEELS GREAT!

Black Hood out here really believing Veronica is complicit with her father’s crimes??? maybe if it was for getting that girl to drink gutter water

Betty and Jughead haven’t seen each other in 24-48 hours and their meetup kiss is like if Jughead like, immigrated to America and sent money back home FOR YEARS while he worked in THE MINES until he saved enough for Betty to join him and they just met on the pier during a glorious sunset, I didn’t get a lot of sleep!!!!! the kiss is really good. is it the best kiss? it’s because it’s like their first kiss but over the other shoulder. was their best kiss in the trailer park with the God light?

THEY FEEL “UNMOORED” WITHOUT EACH OTHER, GOOD EVENING DEATH

obviously the best kiss was when Jughead tossed her up on his countertop like she was a black truffle salad at the Grill Room and bit her collarbone

Jughead: “I just wanted to make sure you were still alive.” Betty: “KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN.”

Jughead read the Blue & Gold article online and glowed with pride. he showed Sweet Pea: “SEE. SHE writes stuff like THIS.”

aw, they’re both sitting there, holding hands, lying to each other

I love Jughead wanting to literally leave Riverdale. Season One Jughead was obsessed with Riverdale. Season Two Jughead is like FUCK Riverdale

I hate how Jughead is gazing at Betty from across the table when she cries her single tear because it was so beautiful I had to punch through a window like Josh Lyman and it hurt and I retroactively hate Jughead for that

Betty calls them “Romeo and Juliet, but we live happily ever after instead,” because she doesn’t know she’s only eighteen minutes into the episode

Nick’s white cardigan? sure

he gets another Veronica line with “You Pussycats are pearls before the swine of Riverdale.” is this how people in Manhattan talk now?

Cheryl’s a chaos angel from hell: Cheryl gets herself invited to the party by introducing herself, which would not work if this were Jane Austen, unless Nick were Henry Crawford, but Cheryl’s got this like black romper thing going on and posed in the doorway like one of the “Cell Block Tango” girls and at this point is a walking Riverdale legend

“Ten o’clock you said? I’ll be there at eleven.”

Archie crashes gently into someone while he chases Betty, which is a callback to Archie constantly falling over shit in the comics

Veronica probably went to the Gilded Lily after one of those Met Galas she keeps comparing things to

I think Gal Gadot’s last name is more like “Gadought” (not really like that) than like in Waiting for Godot, but whatever Cheryl wants

God bless jingle-jangle: my man hooked him up!!!

Veronica’s layered floral dress is like what my ten-year-old self being dressed by my mom for church wished one day I would be cool enough to wear. I don’t go to church now, but I still hope one day I will be cool enough to wear it

Cheryl’s sheaths: Cheryl’s art deco dress is really good too

Melody is in a GREAT ruffly red jumpsuit

Kevin in like, Don’t mind if I do!

Melody is like DON’T MIND IF I DO

Reggie and Josie are making out when they’re high, because they’re contractually obligated as the two most beautiful people in the room

Betty is miserable, like a teacher chaperoning a dance where the kids are allowed to grind

Cheryl’s hair: Cheryl whips her hair around like Beyoncé in the video for “Baby Boy” and I had to punch another window

it took me a second to remember that Betty had to alienate Veronica and that that was why she was suddenly talking to her like Drunk Alice and that it wasn’t just Pissed Betty

Betty’s read is pretty good! exactly what Veronica is afraid of: that she has been performing as a good girl this whole time. or that people only think she is performing it. “You’ll always be a bad person.” but Veronica is very measured for someone a little drunk and high! (are you “high” if you’re on jingle-jangle?) she calmly tells Betty to leave. BECAUSE SHE IS A GOOD PERSON

damn this episode is so low-lit. like, Hannibal dark. I can barely fucking see Jughead in this trailer. Toni is half-lit by the mysterious blue trailer park light and is beautiful, so we can see her laced-up jeans

Jughead doubts it: Jughead has a very Jugheadian response to the Gauntlet: “It’s whatever.”

Toni wants to be clear that if Jughead joins this gang, everyone else will abandon him. Jughead is like...This one time...I choose not to believe it...

Summer + Blair = Veronica: Veronica still thinks Betty is her best friend and that something weird just happened that she will investigate later. Veronica is so fucking LEVEL-HEADED

Veronica unfortunately has to engage in the dance of “Mmmm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression…” when Nick just like strokes her thigh, like she isn’t clearly happily with Archie or just a person who may not want a thigh-stroking right this minute

Nick calls Archie a “hayseed yokel”

good slap! GOOD SLAP, ZACH

Betty dragged herself out to this, the world’s most suspect bus stop, in a staging not even Alfred Hitchcock would have dared pitch to Grace Kelly

Lili Reinhart does something shockingly good every episode, but Betty’s breakdown, especially her shudder-shiver breath when her phone rings, is so far beyond what the CW deserves

when BH is like “JUGHEAD,” and Betty is like “[gasp] NO,” and I’m like “I’M OUT OF WINDOWS”

...you know what the greatest trope of all time is?

—no. the greatest trope of all time is Make Him Think You Don’t Love Him. solidly, confidently, signed, sealed, delivered, the greatest, most delicious, stupidly painful thing one character can do to another. it combines SO MUCH lurid goodness: two people who, apparently, shouldn’t be together; desperate heroic measures; lack of communication—for safety reasons!; selflessness; self-torture; “I DON’T UNDERSTAND”; BRUTAL WORDS; hitting him where you know it hurts; the heartbreaker is always a GREAT actor suddenly; turning the corner after going through with it and weeping abjectly; DANGER AVOIDED BUT SOMETHING EVEN WORSE HAPPENING!!! just like—just like in Moulin Rouge! like in Twilight for god’s sake! you loved that part!

I do like how BH has no particular objection to Jughead as his own person but rather just to his father and his circumstances. Jughead’s a good kid, says BH

Archie’s Captain America Henley is back and better than ever

who is Archie calling? endless possibilities, but I hope Veronica

Archie gets EVEN MORE little moments of greatness seeing Betty spiral (is she spiralling?) and being like, Betty, this is not sustainable: “How are you going to put yourself through that?” I know there are like 12 Archies on this show, but this is one of the sweet ones

I don’t even know if it’s totally clear that Betty is telling him to “break up” with Jughead inasmuch as just keep him away from her for a couple days or so. is it possible Betty just wants Archie to be like, “Something’s happening but we have it under control, so stop coming to Pop’s”? how much credit am I giving these two?

Archie > Dawson: Archie has never been wiser than with “You HOPE we can.” and the look he gives her? devastatingly fleeting sagacity. he knows Jughead is Soft Grudge Boy

Betty knows what she’s doing using a sports metaphor on Archie’s conscience

okay what the fuck does “SoDale” mean. South Riverdale?

Best costume bit: Hermione’s white cutout dress and top knot are Academy-worthy

Veronica’s “charm offensive”

OH YEAH, FRED’S STILL THERE

ooooh Hal certainly stepped up with Alice gone, did he not?

when Alice strides in in the Outfit, there are some prop-girls at the tent entrance in denim skirts and hard hats, like as pretend construction workers

Mädchen Amick, MÄDCHEN AMICK: Alice’s, I don’t know what to call it, flowy snakeskin cape-suit is either something she had stashed or something she bought on Amazon Prime that morning. is this what FP meant when he said she didn’t dress like the southside anymore? is this the other option, besides flannel? ...Toni? JUG?

the eyebrow? “Shove it, Hal”? Cheryl walks in too late, if you ask me

is Nick’s bowtie like .5% too big?

Veronica is in the midst of deciding whether or not to say “I DON’T GIVE A SHIT” when she sees her parents talking to Nick’s parents and feels the pull of her father telling her she was a real part of Lodge Industries now

poor fucking lonely Cheryl. Cheryl is ALONE. Cheryl looks good!

ARCHIE TAKES A TURN in this scene from the upcoming Hostel III: My Favorite Characters. was I ready for the greatest moment in the history of television Wednesday night? I was not. nothing else measures up: “The hardest thing to do in this world is to—” —who? “Cruciatus in crucem” what? who shot JR? I don’t even care. Jughead thought Archie was here to save him. don’t talk to me

The female gaze: Jughead’s tank top is back, because on top of everything else he should be physically vulnerable (direct quote from Sweet Pea)

I’m writing a scene where it’s gay.: Jughead SO GENTLY puts his hands on Archie’s shoulders to try and communicate by Morse code how urgently Archie needs to leave

Archie was going along with Betty’s instructions up until Sweet Pea & the Gang strolled up, and then it turned into him breaking up with Jughead for Betty and breaking up with Jughead for Archie, because Archie explodes when he’s angry and he just got like really angry

“thugs” is a terrible thing to say, when Archie obviously means “like-minded young men who want to protect their clan, as I do my own, like I did that one time”

the wrongness of calling Reggie and Dilton Jughead’s friends is blatant, but implying that Veronica got attacked is either Archie being a garbled storyteller or Archie rounding up to make Jughead’s crime, or whatever, even worse, as if Jughead is being a bad friend. Jughead is practically THE BEST FRIEND ON THIS SHOW

Jughead (I just took my glasses off, for a visual of the unplumbable depths of my emotion) asking Archie if Archie came to warn him that the Serpents are dangerous, because Archie loves him, is so motherfucking sad, it’s sadder than like, like anything else, it’s sadder than the end of Homeward Bound when you’re eight and you think Shadow fucking died in that trainyard (before he comes back; spoilers for Homeward Bound: the Incredible Journey)

Archie’s follow-up is that Betty doesn’t want to be with him anymore, and in fact hasn’t wanted to be with him for a while, which, on top of everything else!, is mortifying to a certain kind of person, that someone you enjoy being with has been rolling their eyes at you behind your back

Gay.: okay Sweet Pea looking back at Fangs, who’s like, Mhmmm, when Archie’s doing his thing, is really good

Sweet Pea is really good throughout! he’s standing there but he doesn’t step in, even at the “dark side” stuff. he’s kind of minding his own business!

Jughead is apparently so wretched about himself that the incongruity of this attack isn’t even a blip on his radar. he’s not like, Archie, respectfully, this is coming out of nowhere. Archie, what? What the hell? instead he’s like, The day has come

Archie’s pornographic cruelty here (which is precisely what Betty told him NOT TO DO) is to include the “agonizing over it” detail, which is a REALLY GOOD detail, and then his AMAZING bluff about “CALL HER.”

Jughead’s internal certainty about Betty’s unimpeachable conduct starts to crack

“She saw where you were headed. We all did.”: it’s not enough that Betty, the creature he loves most in all the world, thinks he’s trash and wants him gone, but it’s all of us, and Jughead buys it because he’s conditioned to expect that everyone will tolerate him up until the point they realize he’s trash and want him gone, as the Powers That Be, like he put it, keep telling him over and over and over (his mother, his father, Reggie, Sheriff Keller, Fred Andrews, the Rockland County school system, Alice, Sweet Pea, Toni, Archie)

Archie knows he might’ve put a toe over the line (obliterated it?) when Jughead looks like he’s about to cry, and Jughead tells him he got it and he just quietly says “Yeah,” and walks away, through the Serpents, who leave him alone

I honestly don’t know what Sweet Pea was about to say before Jughead cut him off! something bracing? he was definitely AT LEAST going to be neutral. there’s no “I told you so,” which is good otherwise Jughead might’ve Gauntleted himself. he changes the subject!

“I’m choosing to blame Betty’s Britney-esque meltdown.”

Cheryl isn’t fucking around with baby sips

GOD!!!!!!! I hope Lodge Industries razing the entire southside BRINGS BACK how it destroyed Jughead’s drive-in and FINALLY MAKES JUGHEAD AND VERONICA YELL AT EACH OTHER

The 2001 Josie and the Pussycats movie was a masterpiece: the Pussycats and Veronica looks incredible (the corset-like back of Veronica’s dress?) and perform the only song from Rent that I like!

Fwoopy hair is the best hair: VALERIE

Riverdale brings back one of their very good things: somebody cheerfully singing over top the visual of something horrible happening

Please protect Betty: Betty unrestrainedly sobbing in her windowsill while Jug cracks his neck (something he does now) in CrossFit mobility training for running the gauntlet is better than anything Alice predicted would happen when they started dating

Archie deserves to sit alone at Pop’s counter for a little while

Josie is so...fit. she’s tiny and she’s all muscle

okay LOVED Jughead’s smoky silhouette before he starts walking, loved

Cheryl’s sparkly boots???

Veronica and Josie take note of Nick leading Cheryl away IMMEDIATELY, because as you recall Veronica is a feminist superhero and senses when sketch is afoot

the gauntlet was good until it was GREAT. YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT:

Sexy, aesthetic Southside: Sweet Pea probably breaks Jughead’s fucking cheekbone with that. Jughead doesn’t really have cheekbones, but he has cheek bones and it’s probably fucking broken, and it was, IT WAS EXACTLY the kind of sexy, bloody, homoerotic standoff I crave. that lighting? Sweet Pea’s FACE? Jughead standing there with his shoulders back, daring him to go harder? Jughead is not having a good time, but I’m having a great time. I fucking love the Serpents

the real gauntlet looks like it would be lying on the floor while Josie and the Pussycats kick the shit out of you

Sweet Pea and Toni and the Daddy are SO PROUD OF JUGHEAD!!! SO AM I!!!!!

it’s possible Betty seriously no longer cares if she lives or dies, is the only explanation for her going to an “abandoned house on the edge of Fox Forest” by her own damn self

I will say the wallpaper in this house is more or less the same as in Betty’s bedroom, and that is a very Betty mirror

Archie could literally kill someone tonight, so it’s probably for the best he didn’t make the leap the Nick went back to HIS HOTEL ROOM

Josie keeps slightly fixing the warm orange knit over Cheryl’s legs

“It’s not your fault, Veronica.”

Jughead got the tiniest little Serpent tattoo, because he is just a child

I LOVE Toni’s headband wrap

Every triangle has three corners, every triangle has three sides: is it kind of tacky for Toni to kiss him right now? yes. is it BAD? no. he’s developing another layer of trauma as we speak, but he’s single. somebody wants him!

OOOOOOOOHHHH BETTY!!!!!!!

NEXT WEEK: Cheryl in round sunglasses

[thisislizheather]

June Jaunts 2020

Above Photo: New York Public Library, June 2020

Can someone just hit me in the face hard enough so that I wake up in 2021? As a favour to me? (Also I love that we’re all assuming that a new year means a completely fresh new slate and that none of the actions taken this year will affect the rest of our lives? It’s ridiculous, but it’s a type of logic that I can absolutely get on board with.) In any case, life is hell right now. Here’s what went on in hell this month.

I found a new streaming site for movies that is incredible.

My brother Gary made another gravy video (this time a Swiss Chalet one) and of course it’s perfect.

My Dad turned 97!

I started doing Ipsy bag reviews again. The best find from the bag this month: a REALHER lipstick. Just amazing quality and I need to look further into their other products.

I watched Get Me Roger Stone and the man seems like a needy psychopath.

I rewatched The Disaster Artist: still great.

I tried hard seltzer (not White Claw, it was a brand called HOOT) and it was very okay, I just don’t see the big deal? I think we all have low standards for things being good.

God, I miss Jon Stewart. I find myself just watching old segments from his show which are sadly still incredibly relevant. 

I visited this coffee shop in Astoria called Coffee + Cake that’s so lovely. They make freshly baked goods each day and homemade ice cream and I’ll definitely return. This is their tomato & parmesan focaccia bread.

I started taking antihistamine eye drops for seasonal allergies and they’ve cured me completely. It’s insane. I love them.

I tried birthday cake Kit Kats because why wouldn’t I and of course they’re good. But they’re basically just… white Kit Kats… and that’s already a thing that exists… and look I’m not trying to hate on them, so I’ll keep my mouth shut about it from here on out.

If I became famous, the first thing I’d endorse would be Vicks (obviously), but the second thing? This dairy-free, almond milk yogurt DAH! Yes, the name is terrible. But the yogurt is heavenly. The madagascar vanilla will change you.

Finally made this ricotta jam jar with crostini and it was everything I wanted it to be and more.

I’ve been keeping a collection of photos taken of the city throughout the pandemic that are just gorgeous photos, here are a few.

Above Photo: April 2020, photo by Jerome Strauss

Above Photo: March 12th, 2020, the first night of Broadway going dark - photo by Gretchen Robinette for Gothamist

Above Photo: June 2020, photo by Benjamin Norman for The New York Times

Above Photo: April 2020, photo by Jerome Strauss

Above Photo: April 2020, photo by Jerome Strauss

I watched the Holy Chicken! documentary from the Super Size Me guy and it was okay. I did know a lot of those chicken facts already since we haven’t been eating meat these last few months, so it wasn’t anything revolutionary. And then after I watched it, I was reading about it and then came across all the gross behavior by the creator of the film and uggghhhh I wish I hadn’t watched and supported it now.

I tried this New Orleans cold brew and whoa. Good stuff. I don’t exactly know the difference between cold brew and coffee and it’s such a boring thing to look up, so… here we are.

Will forever love the food at The Thirsty Koala in Astoria. Thank you Katie, Greg & Irene for gifting us so much of their food this month! Truly so sweet of you.

Favourite tweets of the month.

New favourite Health-Ade kombucha flavour: passion fruit - tangerine. Absolutely unreal.

I bought a ton of underwear from Aerie since I don’t feel comfortable going into any stores or on the subway yet, and they’re actually pretty great quality (I’m sorry I didn’t get on this sooner, Marla.) The sizing is a little off in that one medium doesn’t fit like another medium, but once you figure it out, you’re good.

This girl. She’s still breaking my heart with these renditions.

How do I set my Google Alerts so that these types of stories are the only news stories I read?

I learned how to make vodka martinis at home, so what I’m trying to say is that I’m better than you now.

Truly don’t know how I feel about this news, but I think I have to support it, right? I wish we could just leave good things alone. Why must we always want more.

I watched The Joy Luck Club and here’s my takeaway: don’t have daughters. And also maybe don’t have mothers? It seems like everyone is a disappointment to every character in this movie. I was expecting to love it, so when that didn’t happen I was a little disappointed.

I watched Dan In Real Life (mainly because of Steve Carell who was way too good for this movie) and it suuuuucked. Hated Dane Cook. Hated the plot. Hated the whole white, rich, we-dance-as-a-family type aesthetic of the whole movie. 

I watched the first season of You and a few episodes of the second season and uuuuuuuggggghhhhhh what a garbage show. I don’t need to see anyone romanticize some pathetic Gossip Girl loser who I feel no empathy for. It’s actually just so badly written and how on earth did someone green-light this trash. Here’s a good piece written about it.

Also watched a bunch of reruns of 3rd Rock From The Sun and what an underrated, great show. Wish I remembered it more.

I’ve been on a real Harrison Ford bender lately and I can’t see it stopping anytime soon. I watched Sabrina (which was okay, the best part was seeing him play a nerdish, unlovable character). I also watched Working Girl (which is really not a great movie, but it was only watchable for Ford). Also saw Air Force One and what a movie. How on earth have I never seen it before?? Such a fox. If you haven’t seen it before, I shall entice you with this one line.

Rainier cherries are in season now and while I don’t particularly love a cherry, these are delightful.

I’ve been sucking down these Saratoga Springs sparkling waters for days and there’s no turning back, they’re refreshing in a way I didn’t think existed. Just pure magic.

The only summer salad that’s worth a damn is this panzanella salad, but make sure you add fresh mozzarella to it.

I never thought I liked biscotti until a friend recently made it, so maybe I’m just into chocolate biscotti?

What a great idea (below):

If you’d like to hear the birds in NYC right now, get on over here.

I started watching Insecure but couldn’t really get into it, maybe I’ll give it more of a chance, maybe not. I feel like if you’re not hooked into a show within three episodes, it’s not gonna happen.

I rewatched Clueless and it’s really just a perfect movie. I could quote every line in this movie at one point in my life and I think I might still be able to. Still looking to emulate this perfect outfit one day.

Cannot stop making this broccoli pasta with Banza and the Beyond Meat sausage.

Absolutely haunted by this moving front page of the Times.

I finished watching Fuller House and I’ll never know why I wanted to, it’s such a corny/actually-bad show and yet I still watched. Thankfully it’s over forever.

Incase you’re looking for an alternative site to Amazon for buying books: Bookshop.org

I haven’t read a book in what feels like forever, so I finally finished Glennon Doyle’s Untamed and wrote about it.

Excited to one day see the new LaGuardia.

I went over what I did from my spring list that I made in March.

I naively made a list of what I’d like to do this summer.

It’s been a harder month than normal and I found myself watching The Land Before Time and uncontrollably weeping onto my yoga mat (I like to watch movies in the background when I’m working out). A kind of cry that comes around every decade or so where you can’t really breathe and you’re blinded my tears and everything is too much to handle. I know it’s a sad movie, but I think it was the movie and the combination of this month that made me react that way. In any case, I hope kids today still want to watch that movie. It’s a hard one, but it’s really still so good.

My grandmother Ma passed away this month and since travel is not allowed, it was especially difficult for this to happen now. I felt helpless being separated from most of my family so I wrote a bit about how it made me feel. I could talk about the greatness of this woman endlessly, how it’s insane that you could live in this day and age and not read or write and still enrich the lives of everyone you know, there’s no way to sum her up as a person. I’ll just miss her. Her voice, her endless encouragement, all of it.

Some things I’d like to do this month: I’d like to not sink into an unending pit of depression (that’d be great), I’d like to keep going on our nightly walks with Nathan, I’m likely going to buy these bike shorts as soon as they’re back in stock and you can’t stop me (I already have an outfit in mind, trust me it’s gonna look good), I was looking forward to movie theatres reopening (the Regal near our house specifically) but the date’s been pushed again to the end of July (which will likely get pushed again), and I’d really like to start and finish another book this month.

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in May over here.

[radicalrave]

Ok, I'm going to present one of list of most favorite anime/manga/light novel series in mosaic in chronological order and will give reasons why I love series and made it on the list.

Reason being is cuz my tastes have changed over time and some series aged well and some didn't, and you'll see why that is when I give my thoughts and reasons.

However, I will give an honorable mention on here, since it won't show up on here. You'll come to see my patrician tastes as 4chan delicately likes to put it haha (yes, I'm a channer and I love trolling with the kids there hahaha that place is information gold that's real and legit.)

1.) Evangelion: Let's face it, this is like most people from the 90's top selection. Not only is it vintage for being around for 20 years and iconically dark for a dark shounen (boy's) series, it left a major impact on the industry and the world in ways that most people, even I underestimated. Infact, I'd venture out to say that this series has aged perfectly well compared to lots of others during its time period. It has definitely aged far better compared to Cowboy Bebop and Betterman and all of it's contemporary peers in the competition back in the day. Infact, we're a few years ahead of that series now, which is strange cuz most of us probably didnt expect to see life past 2010 and 21 hahaha. As a whole, this series was far better compared to everyone else. Now, admittedly, it was dark and has some themes that provoke good questions for society at the time in terms of "what if's." At the time, you can tell that the director was a major nihilist and didn't like the direction the world was going, and you can basically see that in his work here. I know I don't have much to say about this series and it does sound like a weak biased argument and apologize for that, but in all honesty, it's done one thing that most series in the 90's was capable of doing: Stand well against the test of time. THAT's what made it impressive. Even though lots of stuff in it are very much obsolete and clunky now. I mean... all that clunky stuff... its hard to believe we used to live in an ugly world like that at one point in time.

2.) FLCL: Now, I'll admit, it IS overhyped and overrated. I sometimes still can't see the big deal behind it, but I will say this, for a 6 episode mini series, it's directed well with excellent art direction all around on the topic of growing up and coming of age. Back then, it did look very mature and course, but now that I'm older, it's definitely a kids series which was admittedly a bit too edgy and dark for it's time, but, I think could have done better had it been more balanced out being a bit more colorful and lighter instead of darker.

I suppose at that time when pop punk and me was going around that time, and correct me if I'm wrong here, I believe Japan was going thru an economic crisis at the time, which is probably why there was such a negative foul air over the future and industry of Japan and the world as a whole at the time, politically and economically speaking.

The series can be a bit of a cool watch if you're into that era of time, but I would venture to say it's one of those that I'd definitely like to keep in my library, along with stuff like Super Milk Chan and anything else that popped up at that time. It was progressive in it's own way coming off very gritty and crunchy in it's own sense if you understand what I mean about the rough comic aesthetic that it gave off at that time.

3.) Gurren Lagan: This was one of the last Gainax series before they ended up closing shop, and not to mention, progressed past it's predecessors in being extremely fast paced. I loved the art and direction and it was fast paced that had excellent action scenes and novel epic art. However, my main qualms about this series, is that it should have just been 1 season long. I feel that it failed past the time skip in the last 10 episodes and should have crunched the last episode into episode 13, therefore, preserving and making it a quality series holistically instead of being watered down and suffering overtime like Death Note did after volume 7 when L died. In Bakuman, you can tell that Ohba and Obata (Ashirogi Muto) when they made their (Death Note; It's obvious people) that they wanted to end it there to preserve its quality as an art as a whole so that it doesnt suffer, unfortunately, the editorial and the shuisa jump magazine pushed for it, which is why we got a weird asspull with Mello and Near after, and you can see how they wanted to end Death Note with this.)

Now, Gurren Lagan, I liked the direction, it was ok, but it also had some misses too over time. It wasnt perfect, but the direction was fresh for it's time. However... personally speaking, if I were to replace this with another series that deserves an honorable mention, and it's directed by one of my current favorite directors in the industry right now, it's Re: Cutie Honey, based on Go Nagai's manga back in the 70's as one of the first and original magical girls to come and pop up with it's modern digital groovy colorful and psychedelic disco aesthetic. I really loved the direction and way it came out and would love to endorse how much I love the direction behind these kinds of aesthetics in anime and manga. Personally, I'd like to see both modern and old school and see how they age 10-30 years from now, just like alot of series I grew up with over the yeras. This however, is NOW 10 years old and remember when it first came out and the internet and DA was all big about it with Ryoko and all that, but I admit that it was a bit overhyped, I like it, it was a bit sometimes edgy and weird, the weird was ok, edgy, at least it wasnt but it would have been better had it been toned down even with coolness and make it more cartoonier and it would have definitely succeeded. The final fight scene in the series is the best and loved it and wished that it ended sooner than it did, then the series would have ended perfectly. The last 10 episodes of that season was watered down, the plot was weakened and honestly wasnt a big fan after that. It's one of those 7/10 that could have been a 9/10 in my book.

4.) Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: THIS. THIS SERIES IS BY FAR THE BEST THAT HAS CAME OUT IN THE PAST 3 DECADES! What's frustrating is that it was poorly marketed, underrated and poorly localized. It is by far one of the best directed anime series of all time that I haven't seen been topped off or progressed in yeras. The closes to it is the Monogatari series which is based off the light novel series and directed by the same director who took up the project. You can tell by the direction with the slides and the timing of the scene changes. Zetsubou however was fresh, creative for it's time and progressive and to this day, I still consider to be and supposed to be the future of anime and manga.

Based off the manga series by iconic mangaka Koji Kumeta, Kumeta was one of those guys who taught me how important critical tone and dialogue is when it comes to witty batter and writing when it comes to screenplay, writing and manga and the guy lets his frustrations out with gusto. I haven't seen anyone come as close to how good this guy is as a writer other than Sorachi of Gintama fame, who is also one of my top and favorite mangaka of all time. As a quality series as a whole, I also put it up there with Death Note, but much higher. I like his simplistic art style that he has adopted past his earlier works and the art style that changes over time that sticks out and can tell, it's his. and both the writing and the art compliment each other well perfectly with excellent satirical critical tones. You can tell that his writing style is pervasive in Joshiraku, Impatient Count and the Time Thief and toned down in his latest work Kakushigoto. (Yes, I'm a huge fan of this guy who is underrated and not well known and honestly wish he would get better credit than he currently deserves and is by far one of the best creative driving forces in the industry I have ever come across.)

What makes this series tick out and perfect art the gags and the dark truth satirical tones this series takes. The characters are original and fresh and very likable, memorable and have a charm that makes them attractive. Basically, the way he designed them holistically is far better compared to anything that Akamatsu of Love Hina and Negima has done and basically executes his work with excellent precision. The topics the teacher brings up are interesting and basically rags on everything that annoys him as he and his students debate about life topics in and out of school. You can say its like a modern high school version of charlie brown peanuts with a bit of a Tim Burton feel to it, but not as macabre and also somewhat cute. I like how he questions politics and law as well in this work of his and perfectly concludes it with 300 chapters in 30 volumes with a pretty comical yet grim ending that people will come to remember as a holistically quality work worth keeping and remembering for the years to come. This ended about roughly 5 years ago, so it has been around for quite a while the past 12 years and has done a good job aging for that generation of people who were around for the Haruhi and Lucky Star hype back then. This one is easily a 9 or 10/10, cuz its that good.

Localizing may be tough, but its best to appreciate it for what it is. Its still never came over here considering how good it was back then, but I can still see it as future of anime kind of things.

5.) Tatami Galaxy: Now this one is admittedly a bit pretentious with being known as a fast talking anime series for an older audience set in a university setting. I love the art direction, but the theme is kind of redundant, but it can be fun to watch. It's based off a light novel series which apparently gets alot of positive critical attention overseas, but the direction for the anime, you can say that its equivalent to the speed of the voices for the dubbing of Speed Racer back then. Having seen Speed Racer in it's original intended language, I love it far more and it's more natural and relaxed and presented in the way that it was meant to be and honestly, I loved it.

This however, is one of those ones if you want an articulate post modern art college watch and want to kick back and relax, as it can be somewhat confusing as he goes back in time alot and redoes things with every episode till the last episode. You can equate it to that of Haruhi's 2nd season of the Endless 8 arc where the same exact thing except presented differently in each episode is done, but this was better, and was probably one of the biggest trolls in anime history of all time. It CAN be pretentious but it isn't completely per se either.

6.) Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt: OK... I lied... THIS is one of the best progressive anime series with best art direction of all time. It's very western animation influenced in western cartoon format and very colorful. To me, THIS is what I'd still consider and call the future of anime and still should be looked at as such. Here are reasons why. It's simple, not in depth or edgy and dark, but it was just completely perfect all around to the point that it seriously does deserver a 10/10 in my book. Hands down.

Lasting only one season with a trolling cliffhanger, it is one of the best episodic series I have come to watch and enjoy as an anime series of all time and wish that more anime would adopt the kind of aesthetic this series brought to the table. Aside from probably being the LAST Gainax series before the director went on to form Trigger the upcoming years with Kill la Kill, Kiznaiver and currently airing Little Witch Academia, it stood out for it's colorful art direction and cartoony feel that it had which I feel most anime SHOULD have. Despite the history of anime and manga being heavily western influenced by Disney and the country's earliest calligraphy and erotic paintings and shunga back in the pre modern times.

Now, it IS raunchy and not for kids, so let me emphasize when I say that when you watch the dubs or the original with liberal subs, it can be taken out of context at times, but still... it is very raunchy and not really kid friendly, the context in its original language is admittedly very crude, but not as crude as the liberals and americans tend to portray it here theatrically in its direction. Infact, it's so Raunchy, Adult Swim CAN'T air it here in the states, considering that AS is mostly for kids and teens in the day and age and not really adult shows. I've seen adult series and honestly, alot of what I posted aren't considered as such, This one is more like teens and older adult with childish and kid like theatrics and appeal which is what I really like about it. So... its probability for one of those extremely leftist liberal families that are cool with sitting with their kids and educating and explaining content to their kid with guidance so they can be mature NOT to do or say those things that is presented on here, but realistically, the statical odds of things like that are extremely small to most likely less than 1%.

Admittedly, it DOES need a 2nd season and there is a following and demand for it, considering the way it had ended 7 years ago in Christmas of 2010. It's one of my favorite art directions at the time for cool stuff like Danganronpa, No More Heroes or Mad World, lots of games with colorful comic noir aesthetics like that and is honestly at the top of my list as one of the best landmarking and progressive anime series of this decade that to this day, STILL hasn't been topped off at all. It's easily a 10/10 in my book, so do watch with discretion.

7.) Eccentric Family: This one, I caught this one a bit late. This is from the same writer of the Tatami Galaxy Novel series and illustrated by Koji Kumeta of Zetsubou Sensei fame, so you can see I have a bit of my biases of my favorite people in the industry who team up and work together on different projects, this is one of them.

The plot is very simple and not complex and its not deep or edgy. It's quirky and fun with some colorful playful humor with alot of Japanese folktale lore presented in modern day japan. This series is very reminiscent to that of Paranoia Agent and has features that are similar to it, though unfortunately Satoshi Kon hasn't been with us since his passing in 2010. What's great about this is that a 2nd season has been green lit this year and will be airing this year, so you will be on time to hop on and enjoy the ride with the rest of us on this fun and quirky ride of tanukis and tengu.

8.) Kill la Kill: I'm sorry but I'm majorly biased cuz I love Ryuko chan and would love to wife her as my waifu obviously. But joking aside:

Kill la Kill is currently Trigger's most popular magnus opus in the industry right now and one of their earliest works. They have put out some stuff before they put this one out. They later ended up putting out Space Patrol Luluco and Kiznaiver at the same time last year which both performed well, but never outshined Kill la Kill to this day and so far, Little Witch Academia with a few OVAs the past few years and currently airing is expected to be the next big magnus opus that will outshine it. I can see it and like how kid friendly it is and it can't, mostly for the semi nudity and side boob that it shows. Not that that's a problem, but lots of conservatives will have a problem with it and can lose an audience because of things like that when marketed and presented to the public.

It's one of the first project after the director formed it after working on Panty and Stocking and did other shorts such as Sex, Violence and Machspeed, which is a knockoff of Panty and Stocking with a different comic noir aesthetic and were cameoed in Space Patrol Luluco along with Sucy from Little Witch Academia.

This series is a semi kids series and love it and would love to own the anime BDs for sure. There are subtle hints of politics in this series in terms of life fiber and alliances in the series. It's NOT the best but its decent and ok and not as progressive or articulate compared to the others I have mentioned on here, and had it tried to be progressive in the timeline trying to progress past them as a quality art, it would have definitely succeeded as a 10/10 and mostly gets roughly an 8 or 7 out of 10. 8 cuz I'm being nice and love Ryuko, but thats not an excuse or reason to give it an extra point.

The plot was simple, it wasnt that deep or edgy or dark, its somewhat colorful and cartoony is what I like about it and its not raunchy or explicit showing nipples or anything, its simple. It can be seen as for adults and older teens, its basically a coming of age for girls outgrowing their high school years and questions the nature of humans in society.

It can be seen for kids, but mostly kids at the age of 10, but I can see it definitely see it being coarse. Now, it's not as course and raunchy and tantalizing compared to To Love Ru which is indeed raunchy in a good light and thankfully not disgusting, but there's easter eggs that you'll see in the art and expression of the series where you'll see exposed areas in the reflection of the series that bypasses the censorship laws in japan for manga and anime on tv to the point that Yabuki has been taken to court a few times because of upset parents. Basically, he would literally draw in very subtle stuff like a vagina and clitoris in the reflections in the art and would be easily overlooked and most people even editorial wouldn't notice but bypassed censorship laws that not even hentai artists could do. I remember a documentary of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations when he went to Japan and sat with the mangaka who invented the tentacle rape to bypass Japanese censorship laws because of a loophole he noticed and exploited.

Same here, but he used reflections instead of blatant exposure. So if you read the series, if you look at water drops, metal reflectors or bubbles and mirrors, you will definitely be seeing vagina, penises and clitoris that you aren't allowed to be seeing and are outlawed on Japanese media but only because its bypassed censorship laws by exploiting a loophole found. This was noticed in To Love Ru Darkness, and the story behind it was kind of sad and understandable as Yabuki went thru a divorce with his wife who caused him trouble and left him being a single parent, so it was in a sense of him retaliating and venting off his anger and frustration off of society and pushed the border which gave him the name (madman yabuki.) He is known for his earlier work Black Cat which ended prematurely on 20 volumes last decade and is the main artist and collaborates with the writer of the series. But is known to be raunchy and cleanly tantalizingly provocative for sure.

So there is debate, its questionable, its hard to categorize and tell at times (sorry, psychology talk here) but its definitely memorable for Ryuko and the trigger studio for putting another quality series out there. Personally, had the plot, direction and writing been better with better art direction all round in being progressive, it could have easily gotten a 10/10 in presenting something in a way that's unique and in a way that's yet to have been done before, there aren't much annoying tropes which I liked about it, but still, had they done better research, worked harder and didnt half assed it and outperformed, I would definitely have been raving about it for yeras to come and age well to landmark and progress the timeline of the industry's history.

9.) Last but not least, SPACE DANDY: I LOVE THIS SERIES. IT's colorful, brilliant, hip and amazing all around and definitely Watanabe's best work as an anime director the past 20 years. This series definitely outshines any work he's done with Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo combined by giving it a colorful and quirky cartoony feel and making it enjoyable and fun to watch that's not dark, but it's unique and experimental in the story telling models and style of series for what it was. Rather, it wasn't episodic, but there was lots of academic themes in science and philosophy that are mentioned alot that surpasses sci fi in the past which is WHY it's currently his best work, It's brilliant touching up on topics such as physics and mathematics, the pure sciences and talks about stuff such as different dimension, time travel, and the like and he does it in such a way that its excecuted perfectly and enjoyable to watch all around as a holistic watch. Over time, Ic an see it aging well for the next 10-15 yeras, depending on how society, literature, thought and technology goes and progresses over time. Its definitely watanabes best and creative work, even though he has experimented and messed with mixing things up with different cultures and time periods, this however, was not so much as by the book, but he takes that and applies it and get creative and makes it better and doesnt try too hard like he did in the past, but keeps it simple. THAT shows true mastery. Its similar to that of Ashirogi Muto's current project Platinum End. By the book, but applied and creative past that, and that's exactly what Dandy did. Though, his work after Dandy; Terror in Resonance, was his weakest and bad project and waste of funding since it was a culmination of everything that happened the past 2 decades all rolled up in one and dont consider it creative or great at all in all honest and one of his weakest efforts as a director.

I enjoy it far more than bebop, bebop wasnt as great as I got older, mostly because I realized that Spike was a loser asshole who basically had an affair with someone else's woman and basically caused a shit storm over selfish ambition and in all honesty, dont consider him cool in the least, but rather, just a complete fucking asshole who thinks he's cool when he won't admit it when in all honesty, he's really the bad guy in all this and all this plot would have been avoided, had he not been such a complete fucking prick (yeah, school teaches you to think very differently.) Dandy on the other hand may be a loser, but he's a loser with a good heart and good ambitions whose kind of like Gintoki, not as good or cool, but he has his own charm which is what makes him great. Dandy is indeed, one of the better works of his career and catalogue and very proud to say that this is something that I'd own in my library on BD for sure. It's tough to give this a 9 or 10 out of 10. I'd say 9.5, but for the sake of rounding off and keeping it simple and as to how much I liked it and trying my best NOT to be biased, I'll just be lazy and keep it simple and say that this series deserves a 10/10 for not just being what I mentioned earlier, but because this series offers alot of variety and diversity like Bakuman did, and you can tell that Watanabe experimented and exercised alot of new things and tried many many things that made this series so great. It's down to earth, kept simple, fun, colorful and enjoyable and definitely one of those realistic satire that did question and bring up things in today's societal issues.

My advice, don't get put off by Boobies which is like Hooters, keep it simple and don't get too deep or complex about it, thats where you go wrong already for critical analysis, keep it simple and say that it also keeps in touch with reality when it comes to human nature and the true nature of the world all around us that the truth is, nobody really knows anything at all in a socially constructed society that we all in this day and age live in consciously and unconsciously. That's what makes it a very great series in general. I'd consider it a family friendly series which is why I give it a 10/10. It's not disgusting, provocatively grotesque and raunchy, but very clean, fun, comical and enjoyable for ALL ages. No matter what culture or where you're from.

10.) Honorable Mention.

OK, I'm getting tired, but this one HAD to be mentioned cuz it's really good and deserves a mention:

Monogatari Series. I had a hard time choosing between this and Eccentric Family. Both are not well known and obscure, but... I decided to give it to Eccentric, because its not as popular, so it was hard to choose between the two.

Based on a currently ongoing and popular Light Novel series, the series follows around young Arrarragi, who basically becomes a half vampire after getting bit by one. What makes this series stick out is the dialogue and relationships he has. There's lots of drama and interaction but done in the intelligent and pretentious way. Not as pretentious as Tatami Galaxy, but you can tell it can be.

It is directed by the same guy who directed the Zetsubou Sensei anime, so you can tell with the slides and screens and timing the series has with it's own unique style and aesthetic. Now, what I really love about this series is the girls he talks to, their curses and the art direction. It's beautiful. I love how articulate and artsy it can be and you can tell its pretentious, but its not annoying or smug about it. It tries to keep it simple, but some characters are alike that. I'm a huge fan of the series, I love how it's progressing and indecisive it can be. Its got its own feel but can be cartoony and you can tell what references they refer to.

I love this series alot, so far, it's got a good 7 or 8 out of 10 from me. I'd definitely like to buy the novels and books if localized, but its definitely one of those honorable mentions that needs to be put out there cuz of how good it is and the staff involved in the project behind it and really enjoy it for what it is. Its good art watch if you want something progressive. It is somewhat progressive but still doesnt top off zetsubou sensei, its kind of the same but more artsy... they're both artsy... but int heir own way and comes later, but in my opinion not as good, but its still good and doesnt lack. I really love the dialogue and interaction in this which is what makes it enjioyable to watch.

And that's it... its alot but I will post more later. I will post a favorite of favorite manga/anime adaptations. It'll be stuff like One Piece, Gintama, Death Note, Bakuman, Rurouni Kenshin, My Hero Academia, D. Gray Man, Assassination Classroom, Hunter x Hunter, FMA, Yuyu Hakusho and Embalming: Another tale of Frankenstein. They're mostly Jump series as you can tell, but I like them alot and enjoy them a great deal and will give my thoughts and opinions of them later on. Thanks all.