#and that would possibly be the only good thing in that ep rip to my heart

[buckera]

what are the chances of Buck being woken up by the phone call about Bobby while sleeping at Tommy's??

*manifesting bucktommy bedshare*

[scarystickers]

THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES IMPRESSIONS: EP 121 - 124

EP 121: Far Away

New character??? Also I just realized that only half of the og gang remain. I don't really get this guys abilities. "But you know better than anyone how the spiders can get into your head. Easier to just do what she asks." HUH? Is Oliver an avatar???? "You’re not quite human enough to die, but still too human to survive. You’re balanced on an edge where the End can’t touch you, but you can’t escape him" Rip Jonathan Sims, you were much more interesting before you became a vegetable. GEORGIE!!! Aw Georgie is such a real one. Y'all what was that ending, I need to read the transcript. OHHHH OLIVER IS THE WEIRD DREAMER GUYYY

EP 122: Zombie

JON IS AWAKE!!! SIX MONTHS??????? Help he wakes up and the first thing he does is read a statement. I hate that philosophy sooo much because it's like do you really think you're important enough that only you exist as a real person?? Also it's so unnecessarily depressing, like who cares if everyone else isn't real, what's the harm? It doesn't change the way you live your life. The "better?" after reading the statement reminds me sooo much of those candy ads where they're freaking out before they have them and then they eat them and they're all okay. Jon's immediate concern for Martin lmao. Y'all if Martin and Melanie aren't okay I'm losing it they're my favorite characters. I would just like it to be known now that I heavily believe that by the end of this season some weird stuff is going to happen to Martin where either he's temporarily made into an antagonist OR he becomes an avatar for something (possibly temporarily?)

EP 123: Web Development

HELP I love this intro. Melanie nooo. I love her so much. Somebody, not naming names, very clearly did not make use of the counseling services that Peter Lukas provided!! JON IS SO JEALOUS LMAOOO?? I love Basira so much but I'm so sad cause she's so much less silly this season, like her voice is so much more 'hardened?' "I don't want to impose on Martin, Melanie or Basira" It's their job??? Oh????? People who went to the institute?? "I wish I could talk it through with Martin or Tim or Sasha." :( Y'all idc Tim and Sasha aren't dead because they're alive in my head! :)

Sidenote: Martin is definitely dying by the end of all this because there's no way he doesn't like I'm convinced

Sidenote Sidenote: Has Jon listened to the tape from Elias's office yet? This is vital information and I need to know and have it mentioned.

EP 124: Left Hanging

Omg the sound is sooooo good for this episode. Don’t got too much to say about the statement itself. MARTIN JON REUNION!!!!!!! OMGONGOMG???? Complicated working for Peter Lukas??? Jon actually engaging with Martin omg. This convo is so awkward and actually such a role reversal. Y’all. I was so hyped and for what :’)

[onmypinkmother]

Today's very special and lengthy One Donut a Day is about one of my favorite Hoops and Yoyo shorts 

Its a cute little animation of Yoyo taking a walk around listening to the song Sugar Vendor by Softee. 

Love the use of real locations. Piddles house is so cute too. I want to live there so badddughh!!! >w<

It's such an interesting short as its the only one of its kind, It feels branded like it was supposed to be its own recurring series but its not.

 So after watching something like this I wondered how hoops and yoyo collaborated with an indie band but finding that kind of information is hard. First of all the band, Softee was an indie Pop band from Kansas City, Missouri had a pretty short run starting in 2009 and going for a few years before becoming inactive. 

Excerpt from their youtube channel description,

“Softee is Sarah/bass/lead vox, Mimi/drums/vox, Flora/cello/keys & Steph/guitar/vox. A super fun lo-fi indie pop band from KC, USA, Softee met at work and are designer/illustrators by day and power popsters by night. They LOVE it and have a blast!!! We have 2 EPs & 2 singles available on itunes and amazon!!”

Looking at their page cant give me that much but it's something. Their albums are hard to find let alone catalog how many releases they’ve made. What I can find is 2 Ep’s and sugar vendor on a compilation album FIRST BLOOD which is the only way to listen to Sugar Vendor in good quality. Or like at all. Their youtube page has some of their songs performed live however the band being active in 2009 does not equate to the best quality. 

They’re cool but I wish there were more answers. I'll try to find some contact info for members of the band and how they came in contact with Hallmark. Maybe they had ties due to their design work? If they did the (really nice) art for their albums and banners) they do match the styles Hallmark has for their media in this era. Their art has this cute little baby squirrel? I think thats what it is these icons and posters are nice.

 So if I think the obvious thing is to either contact Mike Adir and or Bob Holt but that would seem like a hassle because I'd have a billion questions about Hoops and Yoyo to ask them. 

Well now that that section of the post is done with theres some merchandise based off this short, an Ipod case. It has Yoyo on one side with his ipod with some edited headphones instead of wearing the Apple Earbud style earbuds he wears in the Short, and Hoops on the other side just bein silly :p 

Heres some things I ripped from the flash file. I wanted to rip Yoyos adorable little head bobbing but this ones really strange compared to other flash files i’ve digged into where I could not find this animation by itself in the file. 

So have these of Yoyo and Piddles and the full backgrounds uncropped.

Speaking of the backgrounds I wondered where Yoyo was walking. So for fun I tried to find out what the real world locations of the walk and map the trail so lets see where these locations are now. 

Yoyo Takes a walk around 63rd street in the Brookside District in Kansas City Missouri possibly due to the band being from there maybe they frequented the spot. So lets reveal (almost) all the real locations from the short.

Location 1 - BlueBird Cafe 

The short begins and ends here and Bluebird Cafe is actually a CVS :( I think has been for a long time.

Location 2 -  Coffee Depot

Coffee Depot has an interesting history as it was once a Goodcents sandwich shop to now a Starbucks so it kind of is a Coffee Depot but less cute and more corporate and a big lack of a giant coffee mug on top I don't know if that was there at all or edited in.

Location 3 - pink house :) 

My personal favorite location as its such a pretty house. Unfortunately it was repainted in blue by the company that currently occupies it, a pest control service. I have no idea what previous business occupied the house as when i find other images of the house it seems to be up for sale. An odd point on googles street view shows one capture from 2011 when the house was still pink frozen in time. Such a shame a pretty house was repainted :( 

Location 4 - restaurant and DOGGONE IT!

Yoyo sits on the bench, reads a paper, and has a little dance break in front of these 2 buildings on a which are 3 stores. The restaurant is now 2 separate stores, a pet salon and a framing shop. Doggone it is a clothing store now.

Location 5 Ye olde donut shoppee

So this is the one I have no ideas about, reverse image search didn’t give me a clue and i took a street view tour around the area but did not find a matching building so this ones odd so please if anyone can find it let me know.

Location 6 - Chillis Delli

The location Yoyo passes but waits to cross the street is actually a restaurant so its not too off.

Bonus thing! - Hallmark location 

While researching the street I viewed old videos touring the area and had stumbled upon an old hallmark store there on the street. So I believe this may have something to do with the connection to Hallmark and Softee idk thats just my theory.

This has been a very long and big project post when it wasn't supposed to be, however the questions keeps piling and I enjoyed researching for this one. Next post may not be as long but will still have lots to it. 

Hello again and goodbye for a little - Penny <3

[astro-break]

Thoughts on the 11th ep of Hypmic Rhyme Anima+. Spoilers beware

Season 1 | Ep.1 | Ep.2 | Ep.3 | Ep.4 | Ep. 5 | Ep. 6 | Ep. 7 | Ep. 8 | Ep. 9 | Ep. 10

eyyy separating them into their gumis! the gentaro and jyushi interaction is cute and i love how worried jyushi is about hifu thats so sweet of him

i love how thats the part that kuko focuses on www

LMAO ramuda's cute

i love how ichiro's accent just slipped out a bit there its cute

hm i still think kaibyakumon is in the right

Hey look at that! we finally got why kenji is so invested in them. would have liked to see more of the three but ill take what i can get

honestly i wanna ship akira and satoru so bad wwww they have so much ship potential

YES. THANK YOU RAMUDA. just let them destroy each other my goodness

idk if this show wants to villainize or humanize kaibyakumon. like on one hand everyone's against him on principle but i don't see why they should be?? Ramuda is right, hes the answer to 90% of the casts outside problems

RIP HITOYA LMAO

i love how samatoki is probably the only consistent character here and just wants to be the one to punch the government in the face www

ugh i really wanted ramuda to have won that argument. it suckksss they really went with the most boring path

poor doppo, i feel so bad for him

even poor hifumi can't stand to watch ripp

i love seeing rio in his element, hes kinda cute like that

lmao rei being waving off his own son as if hes just a brat

man i do hope that they get their just revenge. it would be nice but unfortunately impossible just because of the nature of this sort of anime

LMAO HES SO EXHAUSTED THAT HES HALLUCINATING OH NOOOOOOO i feel so bad for doppo sometimes

wow for all that talk of stealth rio just blew up a whole wall

OOOOO GUMI SONG!!!!!!!!!!

hmm i don't like the last two songs as much but there is intresting wordplay to be found in ciaro's verses, especially one as an anti-governmental piece

damn so it seems like the last three episodes will be just the gumis going to each place and fighting off the others

oooo theres a bit of rio's rap ability on show with that shelter

HAHA DICE PUSHING RIO AWAYYYY

OH FUCK ARE THEY CORRUPTING THE DATA TO THE POINT WHERE THEY"RE KILLING AKIRA AND SATORU??????

ey look at that!! I did sort of predict the mass hypnosis! granted its subliminal messaging but im fine with being wrong once in a while

LMAO GAMBLER LIFE

damn theyre still gay after death

the "whos gonna answer my questions" has the same vibe as "who else will I eat icecream with?" thing from kingdom hearts wwww

bro i want a season just about these two idiots

hmm intresting design for scuro i do like it

man now i really do like akira and satoru. they're cool. I hate this bc i know in the end they'll die and kaibyakumon will get his ass kicked to preserve the status quo. i do hope that the anime does use this as a jumping off point tho bc the premise is pretty fun

tho they probably won't. as i said status quo as long as the source material still insists on the current status quo of keeping chuuoku in power. The drama CDs do seem like its building towards a conclusion but its not enough for any meaningful change yet.

tho the anime is original content and thus exists in a separate sphere from the CDs. Its entirely possible that they may move ahead and start shaking things up but i doubt it

lol why the dotsuhon ed they got so little screen time this episode ripp them

[heckyeahponyscans]

Review of G5 MYM Ch4. Ep. 5, "The Manesquerade Ball"

G1 had the Costume Ball in "Escape from Catrina", G3 had the Friendship Ball, G4 had the Grand Galloping Gala, and now G5 has the Manesquerade Ball! (RIP G2, not having a cartoon.)

Plot summary: After being grounded (and against Opaline's orders), Misty sneaks out to visit her pony friends and gets invited to the Manesquerade Ball in Zephyr Heights.

During the ball Zipp sneaks into the restricted section of the castle's library to do research on alicorns and Misty follows her, fearing that Zipp will find out too much about Opaline. When Zipp finds Misty there she confronts her on her history of odd behavior. Misty confesses she doesn't have a cutie mark, which makes her fearful that the other ponies won't want to be friends with her.

Zipp reassures her that she and the others like Misty, cutie mark or not.

"Just no more big secrets, okay? And I'll work on the 'not trusting you' thing."

Misty happily agrees and, since they aren't keeping secrets, shows Zipp the alicorn book. They don't have a chance to look at it right away as Sunny needs them for her Unity Dance on the main dance floor. Cut to later; Zipp examines the book but someone has torn out the most important pages. A final scene reveals that someone to be Misty. Meanwhile, Opaline has returned to the lair with the Dragonstone.

Thoughts:

This was an excellent episode! Man, I have so many thoughts. The start of this episode has Opaline being as toxic as ever, telling Misty she's ungrounded, but telling her she's not allowed to leave the lair. (Which sounds like being grounded.) "Maybe it's a test, but maybe I trust you." Judging from the reactions of the Mane 5, Misty has been grounded for a long time, possibly weeks.

Misty is becoming more independent but is still under Opaline's hoof. It's like she's trying to do a balancing act: satisfying Opaline while also building herself up with her friends. But ultimately those goals are incompatible. Not only because Opaline wants to take over Equestria, but also because she would never allow Misty to actually have friends. Nevertheless, the thought of getting praised by Opaline (a rare experience!), or maybe a desire to protect her, prompts Misty to steal the pages of the alicorn book.

The way they revealed the theft of the pages was very unusual and very effective. We don't see Misty steal them; we don't even get a shot of her looking at the book, being tempted. Instead the show cuts straight from the dance scene to the Mane 5 + Misty hanging out later. She stole the pages sometime in between these scenes. The change in Misty's demeanor is immediately noticeable: during the dance she was happy, while at the after-party she is reserved and melancholy.

On my first viewing I assumed that Misty was sad about having to return to Opaline. Knowing the full context, this scene hits harder. As Misty leaves she says "Thanks, Zipp, for saying that I was your friend." I don't think it's a coincidence that she phrases it in the past tense. She knows stealing the pages was a betrayal but it's "too late", she already did it. It continues to eat at her, as we see when she returns to the lair and looks the saddest she ever has.

I previously said that I like this slow rollout of Misty's story, how her struggle to separate from Opaline is continuous. I also think it's interesting how she's gradually moved from being a side character to being a protagonist . . . arguably THE protagonist. A protagonist is "the character who drives the action, the character whose fate matters most." It's common a villain's sidekick to do a heel-turn and join the good guys, but usually it's framed from the heroic character's perspective.

Other thoughts:

I liked the scene where Izzy gives Misty the charm bracelet. For all that she's a cloudcuckoolander, Izzy has a lot of emotional intelligence.

When Pipp talked about "nopony knows who anyone is, they wear masks" I assumed that this was going to be an episode where we just pretend like ponies don't have unique colors that make them instantly identifiable, but then the paparazzi immediately descend on Queen Haven and Pipp and I was like "OHHHH the ponies just pretend not to recognize each other, like parents when they see a little kid in a Halloween costume." Which is charming.

There's a moment when the Mane 5 + Misty dancing where Alphabittle--watching from the sidelines--gets a serious look on his face and squints. The next shot is briefly of Misty, until a pony in the foreground moves into Alphabittle's sightline. So the implication is that this brief glimpse of Misty sparked a feeling of recognition in Alphabittle. Which makes sense since Misty had to come from somewhere--probably Bridlewood. Maybe Alphabittle is her father or her uncle?

I liked the Mane Melody scene and the dance scene; really catchy song too! Even though they don't move the plot along, I like seeing ponies just vibing. It has G3 energy. I much prefer it to the "wacky hijinks" scenes, like when they were trying to get the flying mice out of the old factory. MORE SONGS.

Zipp has even more of a Ziggy Stardust aesthetic than usual

the cover of Alicorns of the Ancient World shows Celestia and an unknown alicorn who is pale green with black or dark purple hair.

[thatgirl4815]

https://www.tumblr.com/thatgirl4815/729494704908025856/after-rewatching-the-ep8-preview-a-few-more-times

this makes sense to me too but honestly i keep having the the thought that maybe the whole point is that sand will continue letting ray walk all over him until it finally ends in their relationship being over for good. idk it just feels like we’re never going to see ray at the least respect sand and maybe that’s the point …..he won’t until maybe the very until end when he realizes what he’s truly done and what he’s lost. but he won’t be able to come back from it in regards to his relationship with sand. sorry for being negative 😭😭 it just feels like that’s where it’s going. right now my only hope is khao saying ray works out his feelings/has growth and that thread that screenwriter retweeted.

but imagine if the sandray scene from the ep 8 preview is out of context and i’m getting high blood pressure from all week for nothing. i don’t think so though because idk how ray’s words could be taken out of context and be less negative than i’m assuming especially not with that smug ass face he has on

I think that Ep8 preview could start wars tbh because the emotional damage it has dealt the majority of the fandom is honestly insane.

I can definitely see a version of this story where Ray realizes too late how he feels and the whole SandRay story ends on a very sour note. I'm choosing not to believe that that is where the story is going though because of those things you mentioned (Khao's comments and what the screenwriter retweeted). Also want to callback to the interview where FK said their characters end up together in the end (I believe the interview was done before filming, but it could still be worth something). Finally, I believe that Jojo and others made reference to FK filming a scene that was "hotter than life" and we haven't seen it yet to the best of my knowledge, so that could be a good sign?

This might be naive, but looking back on everything, I think that SandRay has been portrayed too well to go down the shitter because of RayMew--especially because Ray's crush on Mew has always been the problem. If anything, we're working towards resolving the biggest threat to Sand and Ray's relationship. In that sense, I'm glad we've gotten the ball rolling so we can get the heartbreak over with as fast as possible.

It makes me wonder: What are the showrunners trying to convey with SandRay's relationship? Not trying to say that every story has to have a moral, but in the case of this couple, what are we meant to take away from it? It could be that we don't realize what we have until it's too late. But something about that feels almost cruel given Ray's addiction problems.

Ray has seemed so hopeless this entire show except when he is with Sand (and Mew, but I think he'll realize that a relationship with Mew has always been just a fantasy). He's incredibly lonely. And for him to end up lonely in the end would just...rip my heart out. So even if Ray and Sand don't end up together, I am at least hoping for an ending where Ray is able to get the help he needs and have people in his life he can rely on. For my part, I believe Sand will remain a large part of Ray's support system.

[theclaravoyant]

AN ~ Version 1 of about 16 trillion WIPS I have of Ed and Izzy finally facing each other again. Did I write 1500wd and technically not use the prompt phrase? Yes I did, but in my defense I'm haunted by It's not your fault you're broken, you were just trying to do your job.

For @fictober-event’s Fictober 2023 prompt: “It's not your fault." Spoilers up to Ep 6, in which it's theoretically based.

Masterpost of my Fictober OFMD fics

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Characters/Relationships: Ed Teach, Izzy Hands. Tags: Canon Typical Violence, References to Suicidal Ideation and associated mutually-destructive stuff that went down in the early eps. Angst with a Hopeful Ending and hopefully healing vibes.

Try

Ed recognises the voice before he turns the corner. It’s so familiar and beautiful and missed, his heart clenches. Because Izzy doesn’t sing. Not the Izzy he knows. Not anymore. And yet.

His feet carry him forward like they haven’t caught on that this is a stupid idea.

The bell around his neck announces him and he can hardly stand to hear the song strangle itself in Izzy’s throat. If there was a dance in his step it’s gone now. Izzy stops and stares at him for a long, miserable, terrifying moment.

“Edward,” he croaks.

In the silence, one can hear the other shoe drop.

“Izzy. I think we need to talk.”

-

Stede has the good sense, and the sense of drama, to usher the rest of the crew below deck. The abandoned party makes for a fittingly morbid setting; its rainbow lanterns bobbing in the breeze, beautiful food and rich aromas doing little to drown out the rotting wound they’re about to rip open. Neither of them speak for a long time. There’s too much to say.

Eventually, Izzy steps down off the little dias they’ve been calling a stage. He ignores Ed as much as possible, and sets about cleaning up instead. He marches to the nearest table and begins scraping all the food scraps onto one plate. Now that they’ve gone and ruined the mood, he might as well. But he feels Ed’s eyes on him, knows that stupid bell is swaying in the breeze a micron away from tinkling as he only moves just enough to watch Izzy. The heat pricks the back of his neck until he can’t stand it anymore.

“You’re the one who wants to talk, Edward. I’m fine.”

“Sure. You look fine.”

“I was, ‘til you got here.”

It hurts, but Ed swallows. He did walk right into that one. But it’s not the uncharacteristically camp make-up or the… golden… unicorn leg apparently? … that’s got Ed worried. It’s the tension in his shoulders, his gaunt face. The way that he carries himself around Ed - even though he’s well out of arms’ reach - with an air of hesitation, like he’s terrified he’ll be suckerpunched at any given moment and is trying desperately not to show it.

I wasn’t laughing, it reminds him. I was screaming.

He remembers the sound of the bullet too. He remembers thinking Izzy was dead and gone. He’d hardly felt a thing at the time, but looking back he knew it would destroy him. It should destroy him. That’s what it should feel like, to have somebody so close to you for so long and in so many ways that losing them feels like - 

Well, like losing a limb. Isn’t that how the saying goes?

But his traitorous fucking tongue refuses to form fucking words, at least not ones that mean anything, so all he can do is dare step a little closer. He reaches out his arm - slowly, hesitantly, - and he watches Izzy equally slowly close a fist around the handle of one of the butter knives he’s packing away. So he stops. Izzy’s fingers uncurl, but Ed’s pretty sure he’d rather have been stabbed. It hurts, everything hurts.

“It’s getting late,” Izzy says at last. “Think I’ll call it a night, actually.”

“Izzy. Please.” The words barely make it past the lump in his throat. If they don’t push through it now, they might never, and that’s just- well, that’s just not an option.

“Are you going to order me to stay?”

“No. I’m not your Captain anymore.”

Ed wishes he could be offended at the implication that he’d ever use his position in such a way, but he definitely would. He definitely has. And maybe, just maybe, he’s finally come close enough to admitting that for one of the worst people on God’s Green Earth at apologies, because Izzy finally stops doing busywork and looks at him. Really looks at him, like he’s trying to figure out the answer to his own question. What am I, to you?

“Still on probation, then?” he asks instead.

“Oh. Yeah.” Ed flicks the bell at his neck. “Crew says the vote has to be unanimous. So.”

“So you need me to tick the last box on your little form.”

“Oh fuck off, you brought it up, not me.” Ed bites his tongue. All this is going to do is get them riled up until they strangle each other. He tries to channel his crash course in healthy emotional expression and drag himself back on track. He takes a deep breath. “What I mean is. You’ve got a lot of them going to bat for you, Iz. They really care about how you feel about- about all this. You should be proud. I know I am.”

Izzy blinks. “What?”

Ed plays back what he just said. Is he finally making the words go?

“I am… proud of you,” he repeats. Tears spring to his eyes and he feels a bit sick and overwhelmed but there it is, he said it. “And grateful. I really am. I don’t know what I would have done if you’d really- I mean if you hadn’t-” 

He swallows. And maybe it’s because he’s still trying to spare Ed or maybe it’s because Izzy is allergic to the full spectrum of human emotion or maybe it’s because the memory is swirling around them like the storm did and they can both taste the salt water in the air but Izzy cuts him off.

“I was just doing my job.”

“Your boss fucking sucks then.”

He gets a tearful snort out of Izzy for that one. 

“Yeah, well. Pretty sure I started it.”

And maybe it’s good they’ve been making a point of avoiding each other since they got back on board the Revenge. Maybe they’re… ready for something. (Please. Please let them be ready.)

Ed waits with bated breath as Izzy looks away, touches his finger to his eyes in case he’s been crying, and deliberates. Ed watches, wishing, pleading, contemplating falling to the deck and fucking praying that a whip crack of vicious vengeance isn’t going to come for him. Once upon a time - hell, even this morning - he would have offered the man his pistol to shoot him back. It’s the pirate way of doing things, an eye for an eye, and maybe it’s not the healthiest or whatever but he’ll take it if it means making things square with Izzy. He's already got a bad knee, what’s a little more metal crunching around in there?

The silence lasts so long it itches under his skin. It burns the tip of his tongue and he’s on the verge of opening his mouth to suggest that the man fucking shoots him (again) after all, when Izzy finally speaks.

“Well,” he announces. “If we’re doing this, I’m going to need a drink.”

Speaking of knees, they almost give way beneath him.

“Amen to that.”

-

There’s a lot to untangle; so much that if they had the time-bending powers of the gravy basket they might still have not got through it all. But it’s progress, and the two of them end up lying close on the deck with their hair and limbs tossed every which way and a red glow to their cheeks that betrays how much they’ve imbibed. They’ve cried. They’ve laughed, frankly a surprising amount. They’ve almost called it quits and stormed out a half a dozen times each. Yet they’ve both stayed, and they’ve both let those walls down further than they have in years. The wound they’ve been letting fester isn’t healed. It’s a long way from that. But it’s been cleaned and wrapped in new bandages and as the morning light starts to make its way across their faces, there’s a gentleness to the ache in their chests.

Ed sighs.

“Be honest, Iz,” he prompts. “Do you think there’s a version of us where we don’t wind up killing each other?”

Izzy frowns, struggling to turn his fuzzy mind to the subject without getting bogged down again in I had a dream where you killed me and Edward better watch his fucking step and the Spanish and the English and the way their downward spirals have been happening harder and faster lately. Rising sun be damned, it’s hard to have hope in the face of that.

“I don’t know,” he confesses.

Ed swallows. It’s hard to take. But he said to be honest, and they’re being honest in a new way now. In a new old way that reminds him of the way things were before, somehow. It’s like a light at the end of the tunnel, shining into the dark sea. Like the morning breaking over them. The sun is warm, and it reminds him of the things that are worth holding onto.

“Do you think-” he asks, “d’you think we could try?”

“Stranger things have happened.”

“Like Izzy Hands stone-cold-sober letting someone put glitter on his face?”

With a cheeky, if hesitant, hopeful smile, Ed glances over at Izzy the best he can at this angle. Izzy, best he can too, angles his chin to meet Ed’s eyes, and smiles back.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “Like that.”

[adidegmez]

spn s5 spoilers

spn s5 ep1(sympathy for the devil)

I love Chuck. he always tries to help the Winchesters. meg, again? Of course, Bobby sacrificed himself to save the boys. I love you cas. dean is right I just wanted to say. I know Sam regrets what he did but that doesn't change the fact that he did those things. forget all about what he did he chose Ruby instead of Dean i know he was trying to save the world and Dean but idk they really never going to be the same.

spn s5 ep2(good god, y'all!)

Winchesters parted ways. It's sad but I know they'll get back together. idk when but they will. ı hope they can be how they used to be but it is not possible now so I just hope they'll get better.

spn s5 ep3(free to be you and me)

Dean misses Sam. Of course, he does Sammy is his little brother. Cas is so funny. dean will teach this stuff. in these dark times, Dean and Cas makes me laugh. I love them. Michael wants Dean, and Lucifer wants Sam, leave my boys alone. let them live their life but no, why? I don't know. of course, they are special but that can't be the only reason.

spn s5 ep5(fallen idols)

they made peace. and Dean letting Sam drive which is a sign of trust.

spn s5 ep6(ı believe the children are our future)

Winchesters always want a normal life but they can't stand a normal life. and when given the chance they always chose their life. because they are good people. they save people and probably they'll do the family business till the day they die. and I love them for it.

spn s5 ep7(the curious case of dean winchester)

I like the witch. and his girlfriend. they are nice. they are not bad people. the witch seems sincere. I loved old Dean. dean's little dance when he turned young again was funny.

spn s5 ep8(changing channels)

I love trickster eps. this ep was funny. the trickster is Gabriel!

spn s5 ep10(abandon all hope…)

I didn't think Crowley would show up this season. I like him. Jo and Ellen rip.

spn s5 ep11(sam, interrupted)

talk with the doc was perfect.

spn s5 ep14(my bloody valentine)

Dean… might be dead inside but that doesn't stop him trying to save the world. I hope he'll be okay. I need him to be okay.

spn s5 ep16(dark side of the moon)

Dean gave up on both god and Sam. Cas lost fate. let's see what happens next.

spn s5 ep18(point of no return)

Dean is so calm. I am scared. Cas always tries to save Dean. I love their friendship. Winchesters are on better terms.

spn s5 ep19(hammer of the gods)

I love seeing Dean smile. after all they've been through he can still smile. I loved Gabriel.

spn s5 ep20(the devil you know)

Winchesters believe a demon that the other doesn't like i hope this doesn't end like it did before.

spn s5 ep21(two minutes to midnight)

Cas saved them, again. Crowley gave Bobby his legs, he is a nice guy, i guess. hope this won't end badly.

spn s5 ep22(swan song)

I could've accepted this as the end, really. except in the last scene where Sam returns. I love Sam he did some bad things but he never wanted to do bad he always wanted to do the right thing but most of the time he was manipulated by the bad guys. well, everything was planned from the beginning before Sam was born even before Dean was born. I love their story i am glad it is not finished here. ı can't wait to see what comes next 10 seasons I want to watch fast in the meantime I am already regretting finishing the first 5 seasons this fast. I saw some spoilers so I have a little bit of information about what comes next. I hope they'll get a happy ending at the end of s15 but from what I saw on the internet they won't but I still have hope I misunderstood and they'll have a happy ending.

[coldflasher]

Joe flr character bingo? 👀

sorry anon i was outside in the garden planting raspberry bushes. anyway this is SUCH a good one and I am kinda mad there are so few squares I can tick off for Joe bc i genuinely love him but not like That

Joe is such a comfort character for me in a very diff way. he makes my daddy issues go brrrrr cos THIS is a dad. THE dad of all time. if i could pick any dad ever to have instead of mine i think i'd pick him.

I think he's so fucking funny first of all. it's my fave thing to put him in a fic and just. mess with him. im poking him with a stick. im watching his blood pressure go up. i'm making him deal with leonard snart and he's about to explode every time they're in a room together. i just. have so many affectionate feelings for him and his seething hatred of this man. and the earth 2 version where he's exactly like that but to BARRY? iconic. no notes. rip earth 2 joe you were a bitch and i miss you sm

THAT BEING SAID there are things about him that make me go "you should have faced more consequences for that. go sit in a corner and think about what you've done." namely bullying iris out of being a cop (acab etc. etc. but still shitty of him), the whole thing where he was like BARRY, WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK MY PERMISSION TO MARRY IRIS (and iris AGREED 🤮🤮🤮 who the fuck was in charge of the writers' room that day, i just wanna talk), the fact that he can be overbearing and controlling of his kids and very jaded in a lot of ways... idk he's a flawed character and every character needs some negative aspects so none of these things affect my love for him but sometimes i am shaking my head in disapproval...

as for canon. this is true of everything but MAN did they drop the ball with him towards the end... i get why they had joe quit ccpd given the political situation at the time and i support that 100% but first of all, having a Black character go "hey the police force in my city is inherently corrupt and i can no longer be complicit in its enforcement" (true and correct) while their white hero just does not acknowledge that corruption and continues to work for the same establishment completely uncritically was... perhaps not sending the message they intended... i mean it's honestly almost funny cos that is very much a reflection of the actual systems but. maybe they could have thought about that one a bit more...

and they really should have given joe something else to do cos he ended up sorta directionless after that. in fairness i know jesse l martin has back problems so i think them having him sitting down chilling at home as a stay at home dad was perhaps borne of necessity in a lot of ways but they defo could have done more interesting things with the character. im not OPPOSED to sahd joe but it does seem like a bit of a waste cos it would just be like. every episode joe shows up for a pep talk then goes back to being the full-time stay at home parent for a child we literally never see except one time when a window explodes in her face, which brings me to my NEXT point---

writing joe out with LITERALLY like 8 eps to go? stupid. again i respect that jesse l martin had HAD it with this show (tbf who hadnt by this point) and he wanted out, of course he had every right to do that, but purely based on the context of the show, i hate that they had him leave central city like that and move so far away when we were so close to the finish line. HAAATE it. the show was basically on life support from that point on. it was possibly worse than when we lost cisco. joe was the heart of it, man. it just wasn't the same :(

but yes I LOVE JOE, he is the only fictional dad i respect and i love ruining his life

[whatsabriard]

I was asked last night what my top 10 of all time eps of Hart to Hart were. Let me tell you, friends, that one threw me for a loopy loop. I finally settled on the final ten, but I have to say that these are my personal favorites - the ones that bring me the most joy and the ones I've rewatched most often. It's possible that a venn diagram of good eps and my favorite episodes might have very little overlap. I like what I like. So, in no particular order, I present the Top Ten of All Time.

Pilot - In many ways this episode is a mess. It seems like they decided to retool some things from the pilot to the series. What they didn't change, however, was the chemistry that they introduced. This episode had THE BEST one-liners and they were back-to-back-to-back. "This is going to be your first time isn't it?" To be fair, not exactly. | "If I rolled over right now and tried to make love to you, would you call the police?" Only if I thought you needed help. | "Your feet are cold." Compared to whose, your fulsome friend? "She threw me out." No taste broad. | "Or, I could refuse to make love to you for the rest of the year." That sounds like you. | "Mind if I sit down?" Mind if I scream?" The whole thing makes me giddy every time.

Hart of Darkness - My affection for this one is two-fold. It was my late best friend's favorite episode. She did things like taped the show (ON VHS, from FX and then hallmark) and sent them to me, and whenever we would discuss it she always always ALWAYS talked about this episode (and when Jennifer is in France and Jonathan has been taken hostage). She liked the angst. One of my very first gif sets was for this episode. It's deliciously angsty, has some very mild friction caused mostly by Jonathan's insecurities, and also features Jennifer being a totally protective mate... I had to write a post-ep for it, because the episode is one I've watched absolutely the most.

Downhill to Death - to this day, I'm not sure I could actually recount the plot of this one. Something about cheating spouses and double crossing and murderous frosty the snowman. I am here for that hot tub scene and Jennifer's absolute inability to control her face journeys. In every scene with side pieces and what not, she looks like someone watching a live action soap opera. No chill at all. None. Also, when Kate asks her in the steam room about how everyone falls out of love or whatever and Jennifer just LETS THE WORDS HANG IN THE AIR. she couldn't even be bothered to be like "oh yeah, I totally know what you're talking about." She just let the crickets sing. Good job, Jennifer. You made it weird.

What Murder? - I have watched this episode no less than five times *since September*. Watching Jonathan fall in love with Jennifer all over again *CHEF KISS*. Watching Jonathan seduce Jennifer all over again *CHEF KISS*. Max being the one to help him start to regain his memories? (he gave jonathan away at the wedding jfc) *CHEF KISS* The ENTIRE conversation about whether or not she'd know if he had a woman on the side? *CHEF KISS* The moment Jennifer thinks Jonathan died in a car accident *CHEF KISS*

Hart of Diamonds - this has been previously discussed but Jennifer mentally overcoming serious hypnosis purely out of love for her husband? I'm in. RIP ME.

You Made Me Kill You - I love a good stalker episode. This is a good stalker episode. (Robin was too much. Too crazy. The cop guy didn't take the surveillance seriously. the creep factor on that one was set to 11.) Peggy was nutty and scary and yeah she totally tried to kill Jennifer and dragged her around by the hair in her slip (ok, saying it out loud maybe it is that bad). But it leaned into the camp of it and Peggy wasn't super great about killing people. She was a lil bit bad at it even. I think it's perfectly reasonable that someone a little bit unhinged would take Jonathan's kind demeanor and respect towards women as something more.

Two Harts are Better Than One - do I even have to explain this. no. origin stories are the shit, and this one was perfect. (made all the more perfect by Harts All AFlutter by @andallthatmishigas yes i am interrupting this post for a commercial read it ok)

On A Bed of Harts - Jonathan Hart bought a bed for Five Million Dollars because he wanted his wife to have their honeymoon bed. He bought a vineyard and a hotel too, but his intention was THAT BED. The whole chasing the bed through san francisco was a silly mess and the real estate developer and the french government but the episode ends with the Harts fucking in their bed while it was on display in Versailles. Velvet ropes at all. Start to finish, zany madcap romantic hijinks with people who have more money than sense. EXACTLY the formula for this show.

Blue and Broken-Harted - This one was just a rip-roaring good time. The Harts "fighting". Knowing they're being bugged and deciding they're just gonna turn the radio up real loud so whoever's listening doesn't know they're shagging. Jennifer going to a singles bar and ending up in jail overnight - in a FUR COAT. It also had some nice details about their wedding and Jonathan's ex girlfriend and Jennifer got to absolutely cut the woman pretending to be Irene into tiny little pieces with her words. I love episodes where the people around them are like "these two idiots are so fucking in love it's almost gross."

What Becomes a Murder Most - setting aside the entire epic intro photoshoot, the beginning and end of my love for this episode sets at the feet of Jonathan Hart. This episode makes me lean into the whole "made in the 80s" and fucking DIG the part where Jonathan is about to rip the world apart to save Jennifer. Similar energy to "The Lady is Murder" but this time he's letting his roots show a bit and he was going to intimidate everyone and if that didn't work he was just gonna beat the living shit out of them. Jennifer's name will never be associated with Whitefury. AYE AYE MAN. YOU GOT IT, YOURE SCARY. (aside: those were some midly spicy pictures that Jonathan would have loved to keep with him for business trips without her. but you know the murdery stuff ruined them so Jennifer made sure to get another set made for him. Spicier. that's my story.)

Now I would very much like to hear from my ducklings. When the stories are fresh and the episodes are new, they hit different . Indulge me. ;) @andallthatmishigas @blossom--of--snow @glittermermaid18

[awigglycultist]

Headless ep 10 thoughts!

I can't believe we're on the final episode :( I will miss new eps coming out dearly

But also I can't wait to find out everything!

THIS ISN'T DIEDRICH???

Nice song tho but lirk WHERE IS HE WHY ARE YOU REPLACING HIM

That sounds SO suspicious

Are you sure you haven't committed any crimes buddy?

"WIFE!"

Verla knows magic too!

But seriously where are Matilda and Kat...

DIEDRICH?? I MEJW I FIGURED HE DIED BC THAT DUDE WAS SO SUSPICIOUS BUT OMG

Poor Diedrich

YOU GET AWAY FROM HIM GET OUT

GET HIS ASS

I think that sounds like Kat whispering?

Oh no Icabods down too now

Yeah. Don't help him just wait there and do be of no help. Actually that probably is a good thing that's he's staying tho?

Oh no they actually can't even find him either

Yeah the lemon lighter thing came back!

Oh he's in the middle of a pentagram that seems good

He's in the Trousers' theater?

Oh there's Kat... And honestly I'm not so sure I like that she's here considering the way she said that...

RIP HAS BEEN LOCKED UP IN THEIR HOUSE?

Icabod you literally have been rooming with the Headless Horseman who is quite literally a dead person that has been walking around you've even been being dead people back to life you of all people should know it is possible

No Kat no don't do this

FUCK YEAH BROM

MATILDA NOOOO

I mean obviously she's in on this but nooo :(

He's proud of him!

"Thanks Dad. ICABOD!"

Here comes the bard! To save the day!

Yeah let him finish

Oh wow just straight up killing him jesus christ

Even Matilda is concerned with this

Damn okay Diedrich but also fuck yeah

She just straight up took Rip's drink

Aw Brom

Rip was running from Matilda the whole time!

That's song absolutely ruled Shipwrecked put this on Spotify, put all of the songs on Spotify, please

NO NO WHY'D HE HAVE TO DIE AGAIN I MEAN THE SPELL ONLY WORKS AND HE WOULD'VE DIED AGAIN ANYWAY BUT ALSO COME ON

I'm concerned about her going in that cell

They're gonna kill Judy?!

YES HORSEMAN!

The head!

No don't hurt Brom he's just a himbo!

"like Lord farquad but worse" bdjddndn

YES I HAD A FEELING THE BABES WOULD HELP SAVE THE DAY! LET'S GO!

"you have the right to remain totally owned!" iconic

"ow my bones! I have more of them than a normal person" djdjdnfb

Oh woah Matilda's betraying her Kat!?

Rip!!

Henrietta!

Oh no Kat's dead dead no way to get her back :( I mean yeah she's a murderer but so :(

FUCK YEAH MEINHOF

Aww Icabod

YEAH ICABOD GETS SWORD

Oh shit she's gone

Sndkdn Rip get the poor man food

Diedrich? But your dead?

Rip for mayor!

Ah ghost Diedrich!

Aw a note from Paulie!

The real story of Sleepy Hollow!

Omg Brom and Matilda!!! <3 BROMTILDA BELOVED

"it's just that we're best friends :)"

She doesn't appear in photos??

Icabod can see the ghost of Diedrich!

WHAT? A CLIFFHANGER??? ARE WE GONNA A SEASON 2 OF HEADLESS WE FUCKING BETTER BE OMG WHOSE BEHIND THE DOOR DAMMIT

Douffe just chilling living her best life on a beach huh

That was. So. So. So. So insanely good. Seriously if you haven't watched it yet omg go watch it was SO good I absolutely love it!!!!

[renyen808]

Amanda the Adventurer Actually Scares Me

Hey!! This week, I decided to check out Amanda the Adventurer, the game that has taken over the internet currently. Oh yeah, there will be SPOILERS for the game. 

(Credit: Steam)

Now, at the time I am writing this, I have just finished playing, 100% with achievements, got every ending possible, found all of the lore tapes. Even now, after I am finished with everything, that little girl still gives me the heebie jeebies. I first found out about Amanda from a Markiplier video, one that is part of his 3 Scary Games series. I woke up to the Amanda segment and could not fall back asleep after that, so thanks Mark. Appreciate it! If you would like to watch it, I’ll leave a link here, it’s the last game in the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88J20yclolQ 

In that version, there are only a select number of tapes and just a taste of what Amanda could do. The playable character is stationary at the desk, watching these tapes. Amanda’s design scared me, with her deadpan stare and her mouth moving a weird way. Along with that, her voice acting became more and more erratic as the tapes went on, sending a chill down my spine every time. In this game, Amanda is similar to that of Dora the Explorer where she asks the audience a question and they are expected to answer. However, she seems to have a level of consciousness, as she reacts to the wrong choices and wrong answers, forcing the user to choose the way that she wants. Just imagine you are sleeping and all of a sudden you wake up and see the image below. Creepy, right?

(Credit: YouTube)

In the show, you follow Amanda and her friend Wooly as they go on different adventures, such as going to the store, or going home. She will ask you to click on certain things, such as where to go, or where something is, like where the store is. She will also ask for you to say something, which will make you type things out. You only have a few tries before she gets impatient with you and forces you to choose or write the correct answer. For example, if she is asking to go to the store, and you click on everything BUT the store, she will eliminate all other possible choices, leaving only the one she wants behind.

For the demo, you go with her to the store (ep 1.), the butcher (ep. 2), and a house (ep. 3), or more specifically, YOUR house, I believe. There is one lore tape that I know of, which is from typing ‘lamb’ during the butcher tape. Other than that, there is nothing else in the demo. This is the one that scared me when I woke up in the middle of the video, and ever since then, Amanda freaked me out. I just imagine if my younger self, the one who loved Dora, if I watched this, I would be freaked out. Just the way she acts so unnatural throughout the special makes me feel very uncomfortable. The next time I saw any update to Amanda was Markiplier’s second video about it, where he stated that four updates were done prior to him filming that video. Now, after that, I didn’t hear anything about it until late April came around and Jacksepticeye posted a video about Amanda, the FULL game. I decided to play it for myself and lemme tell you, it’s pretty well done. 

The puzzles after each tape really made me think and sometimes I did get confused, but eventually I figured it out. you need to memorize things that happen in the episode, so for example, we baked an Apple Pie in the first episode. Amanda tells you how long to cook and how high the temp should be. Memorize what she said and do the same thing on your play oven on the table behind you to get the next tape. This happens for all the different tapes, in order to get the next one. Just have a good memory or rewatch it again to complete the puzzles. At the end of all the tapes, you automatically get the worst ending, ‘The Gruesome End’, where Monster Amanda attacks you. After this point, if you memorize the code for the safe, then you’ll find the other part of the paper that was ripped, and the pause button for the TV, giving you the ability to pause the tapes. Note that pausing the tape doesn’t eject it, so you must finish each tape before continuing. 

(Credit: YouTube)

There are five possible endings you can get, you won’t be able to get one, however, if you find all the lore tapes too fast. Each ending has a specific set of tasks that need to be completed in order to achieve it (unless you want the gruesome ending over and over again). I got the gruesome ending more than once, and because of that, I had to play through the game from the beginning again to finally get the right ending. Just remember that whatever you type has consequences that will result in an ending you may (or may not) want. 

I want to now share what I think of Wooly and Amanda! Amanda is…scary. I mean, you know when people say eyes are windows to the soul? Yeah, Amanda has no soul. She is scary to me because of that aspect. When you look at her, she’s demonic in a way. There are certain scenes where she doesn’t scare me, but there was one time that she yelled and I just remember my heart pounding in my chest. It’s the pauses in between that really get me, since she is just staring at you and not moving an inch. Most of the scenes that really got me were the ones where she was angry at the player or when she went full on monster. The times she stood out to me in a bad way included when you refused to say the right place where Wooly was hurt, when you refused to help the kitty, and the entire tape where she states that Wooly is hurt when he clearly isn’t. She would make my skin crawl and if I was a young girl watching this, I would beg my parents to turn the TV off. 

(Credit: Itch.io)

Wooly is another story. I like Wooly, he seems genuinely concerned about Amanda and the player. He is always trying to state his opinion, but is constantly overlooked and interrupted by Amanda. For example, he states that he is allergic to apples, and tells the user and Amanda that fact when Amanda asks if we like apples. If I was Amanda, I would have taken Wooly’s comment to consideration and change the way the episode goes. Instead, Amanda simply ignores her furry friend and continues the episode. If someone were to tell me that they were allergic to something, I would take it seriously, not telling them that they should never be afraid to try something new. 

(Credit: YouTube)

All in all, Amanda the Adventurer is an unsettling game that shows what if Dora the Explorer was demonic and scary. I am not a fan of analog horror, thanks to how much more scary it is than other types of horror games, and this gives me an analog horror vibe, thanks to the video tapes. Amanda is a sinister character that keeps me up at night thanks to her soulless eyes and scary demeanor. I would recommend this game for anyone wanting a few hours to kill, or those who like to annoy children like Amanda. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! If you enjoyed reading it, share it with a friend who may also like it as well. Comments are always welcome, but keep it nice. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and shouldn’t be attacked because of them. If you want to hear audio versions of these articles, you can find them on my YouTube channel ‘Screen and Joystick’. I will hopefully begin recording these first two episodes in the coming days. I will be posting two articles a week, starting next week, so I am excited to begin this journey with you all! Thank you for reading! See you in the next post!

[mywifeleftme]

65: Young Marble Giants // Colossal Youth

Colossal Youth Young Marble Giants 1980, Rough Trade

When I went to the record shop today, it was with the intention of picking up some interesting-looking, relatively obscure record to review later this year, but ended up going home with a physical copy of Colossal Youth, an album I’ve heard a billion times. For my purposes, this was kind of dumb: lots of people have written about Young Marble Giants, and I agree with the consensus. (Consensus: Minimal, quiet, mysteriously perfect post-punk with mousy female vocals and no drums.) Not least among these writers is Simon Reynolds, whose detailed liner notes from this 2007 Domino reissue also appeared in his essential book on post-punk, Rip It Up and Start Again, that introduced me to YMG in the first place. He does a superb job of evoking the post-punk (and adjacent) scene of the day—let’s revel in the list of artists who earn mention in Reynolds’ write-up:

Public Image Ltd., Talking Heads, Gang of Four, Cabaret Voltaire, the Pop Group, Scritti Politti, Throbbing Gristle, The Slits, Pere Ubu, Brian Eno, A Certain Ratio, The Residents, Kraftwerk, Ultravox, Can, Reptile Ranch, Desperate Bicycles, Swell Maps, The Fall, The Raincoats, Essential Logic, This Heat, Red Crayola, Kleenex, Joy Division, New Order, Cocteau Twins, Everything But the Girl, Stiff Little Fingers, Carmel, The Style Council.

Probably you know all of those bands (excepting perhaps Reptile Ranch and Desperate Bicycles? Both worth your time!), but it goes a long way towards establishing what a unique black diamond of a record Colossal Youth was to have stood out among that crowd. And Young Marble Giants did stand out—as Reynolds points out, on the strength of that debut LP and a pair of scant EPs Young Marble Giants immediately became Rough Trade’s second highest-selling act of 1980–81, behind only Stiff Little Fingers. The reaction to the 2007 reissue was similarly rapturous.

Let’s revel too in Reynolds’ use of language to describe them, the kind of ecstatic ekphrasis that has always excited me in rock writing:

“The individual songs have something of the ‘rightness’ of things found in nature—leaves, snowflakes, pebbles, sea-shells—that are at once miraculous and yet commonplace, marvelous and unassuming.” “…like an old fashioned pocket watch with its casing open to reveal the moving parts, the Young Marble Giants sound would be pared and bare, its meshwork of cogs and spindles exposed in all its intricate distinctness.” “…a feel that was dynamic and propulsive yet curiously suppressed, subdued, even furtive.” “The brothers’ instruments wound tight around each other like fibres twinning into yarn.” “[Allison] Statton sang with a plaintive simplicity and cool pallor of tone that bypassed all the mannered drama of the singerly arts.” “…the sheer emaciation of the sound…”

That’s the kind of writing I can read for ages, analysis that is gestural, pushing at the connotative possibilities of language to compass a pleasure as physical as it is intellectual—really, it’s generous they threw a pretty good record in with the liners. As to why I came home with this and not any of the dozens of other albums I held up for a squint and a sniff, it comes down to a certain satisfaction in finally sliding a record onto the shelf that I always knew I would eventually own. Young Marble Giants have a historical compactness to match their miniaturist sound. I suppose the real pleasure is in owning such a perfectly small and self-completed thing.

65/365

[vulpiximisa]

I*Chu review

*tsundere voice* I’m just here for colorful boys, not the idols, baka. 

No but in all honesty, I am trying to fill the gap that Idolish7 has filled. I only briefly glanced at the seiyuu list before going in, so it wasn’t like I did it for them. (Seeing the familiar favs is a reason to start though.)

Anyway from the get go, the biggest problem is, TOO MANY DAMN BOYS. That’s the problem with these series where theyre based on mobile games where they can sell as many units as possible but if you want a neat concise story of 12 episodes, I think you should make some sacrifices and cut some screen time.

So if you want the story to be focused around Fire Fenix, I think you can definitely cut Ars, Re:Berserk and the damn twins. Already that’s 11 boys less, out of the 29 that’s appeared. (I’m not going to count Alchemist, they only showed up for a few seconds in the last ep.) Yeah like, RIP to the fans that wanted to see them, but you either have to appeal to the audience that hasn’t played the game, or only appeal to the ones that have. Lancelot isn’t that huge in FF’s development but I think some interaction with Tenjou Tenge is nice. 

With the amount of boys, one of the only ways I can distinguish from the lot is by seiyuu first, and then their gimmicks. If you picked them out of the groups though, I probably would not be able to tell who they were. (Leon in IB vs Tora in ArS vs Ban in ReB, Raku in Ars vs Rabi in IB). 

I say cut them, but they really could just reduce their screen time, or just have them as easter eggs for the fans that do know who they are, and not have them be in all the episodes. (Like in Heroine, if you do know the other HoneyWorks charas, good for you, if you don’t then theyre just minor charas.) The beach episode could have been fun but it was a little too much at times. (A little like StarMyu S2 and 3, way too many boys they want to keep relevant despite their story being done.)

It’s wrong to compare any idol anime to Idolish7 because I7 is more about the character drama versus every other idol anime where they work hard to do their thing. I find that I actually don’t care about any of that at all XD;;; From things like Show By Rock (less about idols but still about music performances), Heroine Tarumono, UniteUp, Eternal Boys, and the few episodes of IM@s Side M, I find that I don’t think I need to see the performances, and I don’t care about their struggle to getting famous? (Selling CDs, pleasing fans, etc.) 

As for the characters, I did want to like Seiya, as my KENN bias is huge. Seiya is okay though. I think I enjoy Akira a bit more, his episode was super cute and probably the first time I laughed a lot for the show. I wanted a little more from Kanata too, though his problems seemed to have been resolved pretty early by Seiya. (A little bias towards him too because his seiyuu voiced Kota in KonoOto, the cute one!!!) Seiya’s slump by Tsubaki’s words was something I thought I would have liked but I guess I’ve seen it enough that it didn’t touch me as much as it could have. I love seeing a genki boy in shambles, but it didn’t really do it for me somehow. 

I like Noah a lot, even though he didn’t really do much. I guess the noble rival role isn’t a big thing for me but seeing that he was childhood friends with Seiya was the seller. They didn’t go too deep into that unfortunately, but from the few scenes that we were given, how he tried to cheer Seiya up in his slump, I liked that. Which is unfortunate because the rest of IB doesn’t really interact outside of the group. (Minus the Lucas and Issei ep.) 

I also really like Kokoro! Now before you ask why I like him but hate Kujo Tenn, I do have an Ayu bias, and Kujo Tenn isn’t kawaii as fuck. XD;;; Kujo Tenn is a little too intense for me, in the way that he serves the fans. Kokoro is dedicated, but you see him get down. Him walking 5 thousand miles to make it to his event and almost losing it when the melon pan got ran over, I was sold. I liked his little “I don’t need anyone else on stage” but has friends outside, but I think they could have taken a little more time to develop on that. We do see Momo and Runa early enough but they joined PopnStar so suddenly. Like do they even have singing/idol experience?

I think The Twins are a waste of space. We could have had the beach episode without them lol. Okay but also, I think they could have rewritten the beach episode. Have them play up the horror factor more. Instead of seeing the captured boys be told by Kuma to prank them, have us focus on the group that doesn’t know and then drop hints here and there that the scary things we see are actually not dangerous. Runa walking around calmly can stay. You could still have the touching twins scene at the end with Mutsuki knowing that it was Satsuki, surprising both the group and the audience. 

What I do like about the amount of boys is the cross interactions. (ChaoYang and Akio) Aside from just the leaders interacting (Seiya and Noah, Seiya and Kokoro), my favorite cross unit interaction is Kanata and Momo, soooo cute!!! I did say to cut Ars because I don’t think they really contributed too much in the entire story, but I guess giving Akira some drinking buddies was fun. 

Okay so, I still wasn’t sure what an IChu is, but apparently it's the term for “an idol egg”, so they’re not really full blown idols yet, and that’s why they're at school? Or something? So I see that IChu is actually a game about raising Idols AND dating them? I mean, I’m glad the anime just went with the raising them part, I didn’t know what the series was about so I thought they were just going to school, I didn’t know some of them were of drinking age. That throwing me off is always funny. (My first impression of the I7 boys vs the UtaPri boys is always hilarious.)

It’s unfair of me to want to expect something different from a series that is played straight up. Not me projecting Monokuma on Principal Kuma Kocho (the subs said it, not me) and actually expecting the series to take a dark turn. XD;;;; There was one scene of Producer CV Megumi Toyoguchi and Kuma Kocho in the office while ominous music played and I was like, this is it, the killing game is starting. XD;;;;

I liked that Tenjou Tenge won the right to sound carnival, and I did expect them to bring the rest of the group there but I didn’t like the way it was done. (The audience was screaming for an encore for almost 20 minutes, how can you leave them waiting while youre having a grand speech backstage and wait for 20+ boys to get dressed to perform.) I really liked the final performance outfits though, but I still can’t stand the number of boys present. It wasn’t like the end of UniteUp where it felt like the group performance was earned. Also because it was a new song and not the opening song, which I thought they were going to do. 

Idolish7 has conditioned me into not expecting the full performances, so when I am seeing a large part of the performance, I feel like it’s not necessary. ^^;;; It’s not IChu’s fault, because before I7, I would have expected to see the song and dance. Maybe because IChu’s song variety is not that wide, as everyone only has the one song, so it does get a little stale by the third or fourth time. Or perhaps only show when the performances are relevant. Like in Bakuten (not idol but), where you see the boys practice from time to time but you don’t see the full performance until they do it for the competition, so it feels more important. Even Eternal Boys had small performance times unless it’s relevant.

I don’t hate song and dance, but sometimes it’s like, do we need to see this, does it add to the story? (I guess it’s more immersive?) Kokoro’s first performance was to show that his resolve was stronger than the newbie IChus, yet when he performed again after his crazy trek across miles, it was the same exact performance and animation. It didn’t feel like it was intense either? They could have changed it a little or not show Kokoro's first performance. Also all their performances for Sound Carnival could have been better performed (?), but it was just the same performances/animation we have already seen. But the fact that they had all 2D dances without resorting to CG models was impressive, so I’ll give them that.

Uhhhhhh, not sure if I have anything else to rant about, but IChu was a nice run, a little forgettable in my mind. I probably won’t be thinking about them after a few weeks unless otherwise. If they do want to make a second season I’ll watch it of course, but it didn’t bring anything new to the table for me. The abundance of popular seiyuu might have saved it, but the anime itself didn’t want to make me play the game, just yearn for a better anime. 

[madrone33]

So here's my thoughts on netflix atla ep 2! It was... hmmmm. Zuko was the best part imo.

Heads up; spoilers obviously. But also I'm a huge fan of the original, so I'm heavily biased and also literally cannot not compare them. This is my opinion only, and if yours is different that's completely fine! I just wrote this out mainly for me to get my thoughts in order, and posted it for fun. Anyway! Here's my extremely long rambling:

The Northern Water Tribe attack warning - it’s unnecessary. They’d already need to go there to get Aang and Katara a waterbending master. There’s no need to take away from the sudden shocking attack just to add a deadline they don’t need. They have Sozin’s Comet for a deadline. If they’re even going to add that. Honestly can’t tell at this point.

Kyoshi - her showing up and possessing Aang takes away from Roku being the first show of Avatar State power. And it being possible from any shrine instead of needing the Winter Solstice? Huh. Also, she’s really harsh and mean; in the cartoon she’s more just stoic and blunt? Is she supposed to be a stand in for the mentor role instead of Roku? Don’t see why they made Kyoshi throw down this episode either; story wise, Kyoshi Island... isn’t all that major. Why did they choose here in this minor skirmish to showcase the power of the Avatar? It’s seriously overkill.

Zhao - not assholeish enough, just kinda smarmy. Where’s him smugly shoving in Zuko’s face the fact that his father doesn’t want him? I miss feeling like I want him to drop dead. Also, his sideburns aren't big enough lmao. Have him swap with Lieutenant Jee.

Zuko - really getting the teenage angst vibes here and I love it. Zuko is my favourite character so far. Also wow, he’s actually fairly emotionally aware. And pretty reasonable? Like, they're really toning down how much of a jerk he was in the original, huh?

(I kinda knew they'd do this tbh. Adaptation writers have this Thing where they see what the fans like, and then misunderstand why the fans like it. We like Zuko because he has an amazing redemption arc, goes through shitTM, and ultimately becomes a badass good guy. But his arc was only so great because we saw how very low he started. Zuko was an asshole for most of the show. Like seriously, he was not a nice person in s1 and s2 and most of s3. He was angry and bitter and callous, and there were only a few times where his better side shined through to give us a glimpse of the kind of person he could be. So when he embraces that side, and fully turns his back on his abusive father, we are right there with him, seeing him at his lowest point, and watching him rise higher than anyone thought possible. If he starts out more mellow, less of a trashfire little shit, almost a nice person, then he can't rise to such great heights. And that's a shame.)

Aang’s fear - I don’t like him being so powerful the monks were scared of him. As a kid, he’s supposed to have a peaceful, happy life; that’s why getting all that abruptly shattered and ripped away hurts so much. And his fear of the Avatar State would be valid - except that he calmed himself down last episode without anyone’s help?? He seemed to be able to control the Avatar State just fine, so there is no problem, and thus, no reason for his fear.

Captured by Kyoshi Warriors - it's weird that Aang airbended when they were ambushed and they had zero reaction, but it was him airbending that proved he was the Avatar in the cartoon. I also don’t like the deus ex machina statue.

Ozai - face reveal?? I like his voice. But for the love of god, stop putting the firelords on the same step as everyone else!! He should be on his throne, behind the fire, in shadow, with a low-up camera angle- He’s a dramatic ass bitch, stop taking away from his dominance displays!

Unagi - Kyoshi stopping the attack means no Unagi, and I am sad. Idk maybe they didn’t want to bother with the cgi? But they did Kysohi? Ok… Oh also, isn’t the Unagi the thing that kept most outsiders away? Weird that they’d not even mention it.

Commander - guys stop feeding Zhao’s ego. Let Uncle Iroh subtly put him down by calling him a Lieutenant.

Sokka and Suki - I don’t like it. It was cute in some scenes maybe, but wayyy too forced. By taking away Sokka’s sexism, they’ve taken away the main rift between Suki and Sokka as well as the reason for them making up. Sokka swallowing his pride and humbly asking for lessons is the only reason Suki gives him a second glance, and then she gets to know and respect him. They didn’t just see each other and have some innate attraction! Also she gave him one (1) kiss on the cheek, because it was at most a crush and mutual respect at this point, not some big thing! I would’ve bought it if he’d fought her at the statue and she’d taken him out and he was impressed and smitten and then tried to awkwardly fumblingly get to know her - but that’s not what happened! I’m pretty sure she was holding Katara at that point. There’s no reason for them to notice each other. Is it seriously just because they’re hot?? Come on guys! You’re better than this! Sorry. Rant over.

Gran Gran - ah. She’s back as the exposition master I see. Have a scene where her grandkids try to go off and save the random kid they found, get busted, brace for anger, only to receive her support and love as she tells them how proud she is and how scared? Nah, just have a voice over, it’ll have about the same emotional impact, I’m sure. Well, I guess that’s one way to skip the Waterbending Scroll episode.

Katara - so this is a trend is it? She’s just- not gonna get mad at the things she should be getting mad at. She didn’t break the iceberg from anger, and she doesn’t feel bitter and jealous of Aang being a bending prodigy. O-kayyy. (Because imo her jealousy was less ‘oh he’s getting this faster than me’ and more ‘omfg I am the last waterbender in the south and this is MY culture and if I’m failing to learn this then that’s one more thing the fire nation has taken from me and would you please stop rubbing in my face how much better you are-) Yeah, so what does this mean for Imprisoned and Jet?

Suki’s mum - by making Suki’s mum the hard, untrusting person, and making Suki the more trusting hopeful one, it takes away a big part of Suki’s character; she’s a warrior that was born, and grew up, shaped by the war. She and her people were so untrusting of outsiders and the danger they posed that they would throw them to a sea monster to get eaten alive rather than trust. And it’s Aang and Sokka that inspires Suki to change that way of thinking. By taking away her initial distrust, it’s taken away her ability to change. Just like Sokka, less character flaws means less character development.

Katara standing right there so that Zuko looks up and spots her - like Katara, come on! At least try to be subtle! This is the Last Agni Kai all over again I swear-

Momo - he’s… hmm uh yeah. Idk. I don’t like. Sorry.

Suki’s facepaint - ok ok, sure, they couldn’t trust the audience to be able to point her out with her facepaint on so they made her take it off, but like- the whole point of the facepaint is so no one stands out and gets targeted? And now? She stands out??

Sokka doesn’t wear a dress - I am disappointed. I am very disappointed. The dress is not just a dress, it’s 1) showing how Sokka is willing to follow, adapt to, and respect other’s traditions, 2) proving that what you wear doesn’t affect your skills, and 3) it’s vital to making Suki, in turn, respect him. The writers are cowards. Let my man wear a dress!!

Coward - speaking of, why do people keep calling Aang that?? He didn’t run away in this one! It really doesn’t hit very hard at all when he literally Didn’t. Run. Away. If you’re going to make changes, stop referencing the old version!

Kya - the flashbacks to Katara’s mum when the fireballs got too close were pretty good. Just enough detail to know something traumatising happened, not enough to reveal the whole story. And it’s realistic that Katara would have a trauma response to fire.

Power scaling - an issue of last episode too. The original was good at slowly building up and introducing the power of the world. We go from Zuko, to Zhao, to Azula, to Ozai, to Sozin's Comet. But since we’ve seen the firebenders at the height of their power - during Sozin’s Comet - all other firebending should now be less impressive. (I say “should be” because tbh the firebenders under Sozin’s Comet weren’t even much more powerful looking?)

Weapon - why does Kyoshi call the Avatar the ultimate weapon? That sounds like General Fong type shit. The Avatar is the bridge between the physical and the spirit worlds, they keep the balance. In no way does that mean they have to become a weapon. In fact, I would argue that a good Avatar must be the furthest thing from a weapon, because weapons are wielded by others to kill, but the Avatar should be independent in the decisions they make, striving for peace, if they want to see the bigger picture and keep the balance for all.

Appa - he was there. He didn’t look too bad. I hate that that’s the only thing I can say about him.

Sokka finally shows the boomerang - but he still doesn’t use it in combat. At this point I think they’re trying to contain the sheer power that would be unleashed should he get to wield it.

RIP the pirates - I get the time constraints, but I am sad we never get to see the sheer unhinged-ness of Zuko's stubborn ass. This mf out here catching goss of a bald kid and a waterbender and immediately grabbing it with his teeth.

Hmm yep, think that's everything for now. It's a fine episode if I don't think about stuff too hard, but if it's only good when my brain's turned off then it's not really that great, yknow? I'll probs keep watching the rest, but I might not post any more reactions unless they pull something hella good or fuck up egregiously bad lol.

[ridley-was-a-cat]

What I Watched This Week 7/16 - 7/22

Sgt. Frog Ep. 1-25 - Crunchyroll was acting up for me this week, so I popped in the Blu-ray of this that a friend randomly sent me, not realizing I was starting myself down the path of three hundred and sixty episodes. The show follows the titular frog, who is an alien invader sent to subjugate Earth, as he struggles between spearheading the Earth invasion with his frog compatriots or spending his time building Gundam models. It's hard at times to get a read on who the target audience is for this, as much of the action involving the alien frogs and the human children they live with has the feel of a children's cartoon, with recurring gags and educational episodes, while at the same time it's full of references to much older anime and some borderline risque jokes. I guess it's a bit like Looney Tunes or The Animaniacs in that it's a kids show the adults watching would also get a kick out of. I'm enjoying it for what it is, but I really don't know if I want to watch straight through, so this may be a sporadic, long-term project. 7/10

Initial D Second Stage + Third Stage - Season two was only a single cour, and season three was a movie, so I'll combine them into one here. I continue to love this series despite my lack of interest in the subject matter, which I have to assume is due to the character writing. Takumi is such an easy character to root for, with his likable, humble personality, and earnest competitiveness, and his father's understated bad-assery absolutely delights me. I thought the story took some interesting risks with Takumi's love interest, and I was really invested in the two of them working things out as I really liked her. Takumi keeps growing as a racer, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series and seeing what he does now that he's not in high school. 8/10

Lupin the Third Part 1 - It can be a wild experience to watch older anime, as it can feel like they were still working out what they were supposed to be doing. This aired way back in 1971, and had an odd mix of adult subject matter and shounen story structure. Like, Fujiko is fairly top-heavy, and she often got her clothes ripped off, people get killed, and Lupin isn't a good guy, but the episodes are simple villain of the week stories, the heists are pretty short on actual strategy or detail, and the endings are fairly repetitive. It was entertaining in a newspaper comic strip sort of way, but I'm a little surprised this is some kind of cultural institution. 7/10

Captain Harlock: Arcadia of My Youth - I liked, but didn't love, the Captain Harlock series, and this movie worked even less well for me. I'm not sure where it fits in to the timeline of the series, or if it does at all. In fact, I'm not super sure what even happened in the movie, as the plot switched back and forth a bit in time, and spent more time spouting platitudes about True Men and Honor than on crafting a story. It's possible that I just don't find Harlock interesting as a character. 6/10