#apparently he has a cameo appearance in one game

[chongoblog]

I think the funniest thing about Waluigi is that he just doesn’t show up in Wario Ware

[weepinwriter]

ZHENYA ‘PSIKH’ BOGDANOV

(pardon the terrible lighting 😔)

Codename : Nyx, named after the primordial greek goddess of the night (yeah it's a feminine name, but does Zhenya give a damn? Hell no)

Nickname : His friends and family members know him simply as Zhen, otherwise in the underworld he is better known as Psikh Bogdanov, or the madman as some prefer to call him for simplicity

[ 20 || 6'1" || cis-male || demisexual || in a relationship with Ash and Rin ]

Appearance : Short midnight black hair, and emerald green eyes

His stats

(dudes here ready to go full on doomslayer on his enemies)

Some facts about him:

~ He likes smoking, and that too the best quality cigars

~ As a child Zhenya wanted to be a writer, maybe even a journalist. He liked journaling his days as a kid, writing small stories and frequently narrating details of his day with his father, uncle and Ash before the incident with his dad, following which he discontinued writing indefinitely. He never touched his little journal after that.

~ Once had a bucket list containing all the things he wanted to do as a kid. These included bungee jumping, going to the seven wonders of the world and hell, even riding an ostrich (overall he just wanted to do every crazy thing one can possibly do). One of the wishes in this list included going to Disneyland with his dad. Unfortunately it never happened and he refused to ever go there

~ is very fond of daffodils. Ash regularly buys daffodils to be put in a vase in the middle of the room where he can see them

~ he is very fond of Donna tartt's books, especially the secret history

~ during his (cringe) puberty phase, when emotions and hormones run high and teenagers become the biggest menaces alive, Zhenya had the misfortune of stumbling upon Twilight. Following that fateful encounter he became a hardcore Twilight fan, especially as a firm member Team Jacob. He even went as far as to get a wolf tattoo and got his ears pierced as a form of his teenage rebellion. Thankfully he got over his cringe phase quickly, and now everytime he thinks about it he can't help but feel embarrassed to the core. (I can say this with a guarantee that Rin tries to pull his leg every once in a while by mentioning his horrific past, just for the sake of seeing Zhenya blush furiously.)

~ also likes reading books and historical research papers on medieval punishments and torture methods, for science ofcourse he says

~ is a pretty decent cook

~ although he can only cook dishes related to chicken, Zhenya is experienced enough to debone a raw chicken blindfolded holding some of the sharpest knives ever. The countless scars on his hands and arms are a testament of his perseverance. Apparently he's ‘practising’...

~ “a balanced diet is very important.” also him, proceeds to carefully remove all the peas from his food

~ has never lost a single match of rock-paper-scissors, even against Rin. However, one cannot say the same for his terrible luck and history with UNO. My guy here can get almost all the power cards at the beginning of the game, yet somehow always manages to lose them all and be defeated brutally. It has come to the point some believe he's intentionally losing, he's not.

~ likes watching and listening to true crime podcasts

~ Zhenya has a very bad habit of smiling whenever he's lying, making it impossible for anyone to figure out when he's lying or not (except those close to him who can see the discrepancies between his real and fake smiles)

~ can hold his liquor very well. The most he can go with, is 23 shots, which is his highest record so far, until he eventually passes and wakes up to the absolute worst hangover of his life

~ will call you a moron if you were to ask him the classic “would you still love me if I was a worm?” but still answer with a yes

~ sorry no Pixie cameo this time 😔, on another note, Zhenya actually adopted Pixie from the streets when he accidentally stepped on her on his way home. Feeling guilty he brought her home and the kitten that was barely a month old became a part of his small family. Now refuses to let anyone even touch her without his permission, talk about being overprotective

MIKHAIL 'MICKI' VICTOROVICH LANG

(this is @headdaze's MC, btw all comments are made by them-)

Codename : Tisiphone (he’d probably get a kick out of the nicknames he could make– like he picks up the phone and goes “hello? This is tisiphone answeirng the phone at avengers speed-” OR EVEN BETTER “hello? Tis me, tisiphone–”)

Nickname : His close ones simply call him, Angel, meanwhile the rest just go along with Micki

[ 20 || 5'5" || agender, he/they || demisexual || working on getting Ash, will work on Rin (when they meet each other as adults which they haven’t yet LOLOLOL)]

Appearance : Slightly long brown hair, with grayish, green blue eyes

Some facts about them

~ after destroying a microwave, ruining a meal, burning a few items, and other travesties, micki resigned himself to simple dishes… no five star courses (later on Zhenya takes it upon himself to cook for Mikhail, after keeping him 6feet away from the kitchen ofcourse)

~ loves nothing more than a good book and as such gets heavily irritated when something good disappoints them

~ very pro-healthy food but still eats unhealthy

~ vision is ABSOLUTE SHIT, wears either ridiculously thick glasses or contacts

~ usually sweet but can have a scary side too (people like to call him the wolf in sheep’s clothing)

~ his dream is to go around the world, eat the things he wants, and buy the things he wants without feeling guilty about spending money

~ a MASSIVE penny pincher

~ “ZHEN CAN YOU PLEASE STOP RUINIG YOUR LUNGS WITH THOSE FUCKING BEAUTIFUL CIGARS” “No.”

~ comfy > fashion, the man is not going to strut outside on a winter day in an outfit even if he looks good in it because if it gets him a cold it is GAME OVER

~ literally cannot stay up for the life of them, alwAYS gets irritable when sleepy so prefers to get their hours of sleep in

(why is a majority of this basically just me)

IF : VENDETTA BY @vendetta-if

[foodfightnovelization]

Every Real-World Brand Mascot in the Movie

Time for another interlude! Cool, huh? Okay, this admittedly isn't super interesting since it's just a game of "spot the cameo" with characters that are already in the movie, but I felt the need to trek my way through and point out just how many brand mascots (that is, ones based on actual grocery store products) we see throughout the movie. I'm aware there's already a list like this on Foodfight's Lost Media Wiki page, but it's slightly inaccurate and anyway, mine has pictures. So let's do this!

(Sidenote: This doesn't include products that appear in the movie but don't have a mascot. For example, we see Crest toothpaste on the shelves as the store closes, but there's no anthropomorphic tubes of toothpaste walking around so I'm not including it)

#1: The Vlasic Stork: Okay so this one is obvious since he's on the DVD cover and all, but he's also the first one we see in the whole movie, at around 1:50!

#2: Mr Clean. Again this one's super obvious and noticeable, I'm just listing all of these for completion's sake. I chose the screenshot of him with sewage on his clothes because I think it's funny.

#3: Mama Celeste. I'm talking about the woman in the foreground in a red dress and a white apron- she just looks like a regular old woman but she's actually the mascot for a bunch of microwavable meals (like Celeste Pizza For One, which a friend of mine says is a very sad meal for very lonely men)

#4: Punchy. Not much to say about this one, but it's Punchy, the mascot for Hawaiian Punch. He has no lines but he DOES perform his signature move of offering someone a drink before punching them in the face, and we all know punching people in the face is tight.

#5: Twinkie The Kid: The mascot for Twinkies, this character appears multiple times throughout the movie, but I'm just including the first time he shows up because it's easier (this is during a crowd scene early on where lots of cameos can be seen)

#6: Spammy. See, I wasn't even aware Spam had a mascot? But apparently they do, and he can be seen here staring right at you, the person reading this! He's basically just a can of Spam with a face and arms.

#7: The Dinty Moore Lumberjack. The mascot for Dinty Moore stew, he can be seen here waving his hands in the air and being stared at by a rabbi. (The rabbi in question is called Rabbi Kayman in case anyone's wondering, he's an original character created for the movie and is the mascot for a brand of granola bars and cookies. God, I know way too much about this movie)

#8 and #9: Tootsie Roll Owl and Tootsie Roll Man. In the background of the same scene, we can see these two characters. The owl, famous for the "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?" commercials, and a walking Tootsie Roll (on the right) who Google tells me is just called the Tootsie Roll Man.

#10: The California Raisins. One of the more well-known mascots in the movie, in the scene pictured above they're in the Copabanana singing a cover of "I Heard it Through The Grapevine" which they often sang in commercials back in the 80s. They're also one of the only real-world brand mascots from the movie to actually get tie-in merchandise, as there was a plush released of one of them alongside all the original characters from the movie. (The only other real-world mascot to get a plush, or indeed any form of merchandise, was Charlie The Tuna. Speaking of...)

#11: Charlie The Tuna. The mascot for Starkist Tuna, he's notable for being one of the few brand mascots in the movie to actually get any dialogue. I like his Brooklyn accent, and as mentioned above he's one of only two real-world mascots to get any tie-in merchandise released. There were a whole line of plush toys released- Dex Dogtective, Daredevil Dan (I have this one!), Maximilius Moose, Cheasel the Weasel, Polar Penguin, a California Raisin, and Charlie the Tuna. He's also on the DVD cover! So Charlie the Tuna must be quite the star, getting his own plush and everything... either that or tuna companies typically don't get the chance to sell merchandise based around their canned fish mascot and jumped at the chance.

#12: Mrs Buttersworth. One of the only other brand mascots to get any dialogue, she throws pancakes at the Brand X army at one point and spills a glass of juice on Mr Clean. You have to wonder, with only three or four of these (relatively) popular characters getting speaking roles, if more of them had dialogue but it was cut before the movie was released. Mr Clean is credited as having a voice actor but never talks in the movie. Makes you think, right?

#13: Energizer Bunny. This one is a real "blink and you'll miss it" type cameo in the USDA meeting scene, but this is undoubtedly the Energizer Bunny. (Energizer Batteries also feature in a scene in the real-world grocery store)

#14: Mr Bubble. The mascot for a somewhat obscure brand of bubble bath, Mr Bubble appears multiple times throughout the movie but never does anything particularly noteworthy.

#15: Kid Cuisine Penguin. Another "blink and you'll miss it" cameo, the Kid Cuisine Penguin shows up in a few scenes, but he's really hard to spot- if you weren't actively looking, you'd have no idea he was in this at all. It's almost like they didn't want you to see him?

#16: Chef Boyardee. He shows up a few times at various points in the movie, and they've made sure to put the Chef Boyardee logo right on the front of his uniform, which is useful because otherwise he could easily just be mistaken for a regular nondescript chef.

#17: Hungry-Man. We're really getting into the pits of the cameos now. Hungry-Man is a brand of frozen dinners... but they don't have a mascot. I looked it up, they definitely don't and they never have. So for this movie they've created their own mascot for Hungry-Man by just taking a regular-looking guy and slapping a shirt that says "Hungry-Man" on him. The only interesting thing about this is it implies that in the world of Foodfight!, even products without mascots in the real world still have their own Ike in the Marketropolis.

#18: Duncan Hines. Okay, last one now. I watched this movie a BUNCH and I had idea who this was supposed to be, only to spot a logo on his apron right towards the end and realize this is supposed to be Duncan Hines. He doesn't look anything like the real-life Duncan Hines (a restaurant critic who definitely does not have a mustache) and as far as I know Duncan Hines cake mix doesn't HAVE a mascot. So for this movie I guess they just...created a mascot that looks nothing like the real-world man the company is named after? Okay, FINE.

So all in all that makes 18 cameos from 18 different brand mascots...in a previous post I said there were around 15 and that I'd have to pore through and catalogue them all at some point. And here I am! My guess was surprisingly accurate. A lot of these are so obscure and so easy to miss though, that I'd say they barely even count as cameos. The only notable ones are ones that get a shot specifically focused on them or a line of dialogue, like Charlie Tuna, Twinkie The Kid, Mrs Buttersworth and the Vlasic Stork. It makes sense they're the ones featured on the DVD cover and poster- they're the most recognizable of all these and some of the only real-world mascots with an actual role in the plot.

Sidenote: This particular variation of the DVD cover/poster (the same art is used for both) lists a bunch of cameos featured in the movie. Charlie Tuna, the Vlasic Stork, Twinkie the Kid, Mr Clean, Mrs Buttersworth, Hawaiian Punchy, California Raisins, Chef Boyardee and...Chiquita Banana? But the Chiquita Banana lady isn't in this movie at all! I should know, I just spent way too long going through every last second of it trying to pick out all the cameos. So either she was removed very late into production, or whoever wrote the text for this poster just got confused and made a mistake. I genuinely have no idea which though? The mystery of this movie really never ends...

[experimentkc]

Happy (belated) anniversary to Lilo & Stitch: The Series and Stitch!

Yes, I know that the twentieth anniversary of the premiere of Lilo & Stitch: The Series (on ABC Kids) was on September 20th. I was sick back then, though. So, I'm celebrating it today on the anniversary of its Disney Channel premiere instead.

Lilo & Stitch: The Series continued our beloved titular human-alien duo's adventures on their home island of Kaua'i after the first film and the show's pilot film Stitch! The Movie. Throughout the course of 65 episodes over two seasons that aired within almost three years (September 2003 to June/July 2006), they went around the island (and occasionally elsewhere) to find, capture, and rehabilitate Jumba's other genetic experiments by giving them a place where they truly belonged. They also dealt with the ex-Captain Gantu, now working for Jumba's ex-partner Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel, as they hunted down the experiments.

While Lilo & Stitch creator Chris Sanders, who reprised his voice role as Stitch in the show (as did almost all of the original film's voice cast reprising their roles), never really intended for his film to go anywhere beyond the one film he made, Lilo & Stitch: The Series has left a lasting impact with Lilo & Stitch fans everywhere that can still be seen to this day. Dr. Hämsterviel and his Python-esque Frenchman-sounding voice became recognizable while giving the franchise a proper villain. Gantu was fleshed out more as a character instead of just being a brute enforcer for someone else, especially through his interactions with the memorably lazy, wisecracking, sandwich-loving, reluctant sidekick Experiment 625, who we know today as Reuben. The second season did crossovers with other Disney properties before it was cool, with the casts of Kim Possible, American Dragon: Jake Long, The Proud Family, and Recess each joining our duo's 'ohana for an episode. Then there are the genetic experiments themselves, with their fun designs and wide and sometimes wacky abilities making a lasting impression on those who enjoyed seeing Stitch and his mischief while expanding on the (admittedly crazy and inconsistent) lore of Lilo & Stitch's universe. One of them, X-619/Splodyhead, even made a cameo in a Walt Disney Animation Studios film in Big Hero 6, while another, X-221/Sparky, who debuted in Stitch! The Movie, became a boss in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. And we can't talk about experiments without mentioning X-624/Angel, Stitch's love interest and mate who became so popular in her own right that she now gets a regular influx of merchandise and has made several video game appearances, including most recently in Disney Speedstorm.

Not to be forgotten, the Stitch! anime series also recently celebrated its fifteenth anniversary of its premiere back on October 8th. The first spin-off made after the original Western continuity, Stitch! had the little blue alien crash-land on a small fictional island in the Ryukyu Islands called Izayoi, where he meets and befriends the tomboyish Yuna. During the first two seasons, which were animated by Madhouse, Yuna and Stitch go on their own adventures around the island, befriending yokai who live in the island's Chitama Forest, and dealing with Hämsterviel, Gantu, and Reuben again. Some of the experiments even return in this show, especially Angel, who became an intergalactic pop star in the (in-universe) years since we first met her on Kaua'i. The main plot of these two seasons is about Stitch getting enough good deeds to have the magical Chitama Spiritual Stone grant him a wish, which was apparently to become "ruler of the universe". However, by the end, he decides that living with Yuna is better. After Madhouse's 56 episodes (which includes two post-season specials), Shin-Ei Animation took over for the third season, retooling it by having Yuna and Stitch move to a fictional Okinawan city called New Town, going on wackier adventures there with her new classmates, while Hämsterviel now goes after Stitch on behalf of a big-eared humanoid alien woman named Delia to gain a power cell within him, using several experiments that he "transmutated" to do his dirty work. The 30-episode (again, including another post-season special) season also had Stitch reuniting with Lilo, now all grown up with a daughter of her own, for one episode. The main series of three seasons ran from 2008 to 2011; they were followed by two more specials, Stitch and the Planet of Sand in 2012 and Stitch! Perfect Memory (or Stitch! A Perfect Memory) in 2015.

Infamously, the English dub of the anime established itself as a post-Lilo continuation from the get-go with probably the worst-chosen opening lines to any sequel show ever, when Jumba claimed (later proven false by Lilo's aforementioned third-season appearance) that Stitch left her because Lilo became more interested in a boyfriend over him; such lines, which weren't in the Japanese original, caused many fans to swear off the anime series as "not 'ohana". However, as the years passed since Stitch! ended, the anime faded to relative obscurity, which in turn caused much of the hate it received to die down. In more recent years, it's now garnered some appreciation in its own right after years of ridicule and vitriol, with those such as Saberspark enjoying the show for what it is and making videos about their more positive thoughts on it.

My friend @angoraram made the drawing at the top of this post for this special occasion featuring Stitch, Reuben, Angel, and several other experiments well-known and obscure from throughout Lilo & Stitch: The Series (plus Dorkifier from Stitch!). She already shared this picture on her DeviantArt galley last month, but she also allowed me to share some special 5K desktop wallpaper edits I made of her drawing available in 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratio versions. You can download these over here.

[amageish]

So, I have more Illyana thoughts... I apologize for rambling again, but this is apparently how my brain works now...

The next episode of X-Men '97 is Motendo / Lifedeath Part 1, an episode I have been eagerly anticipating since the reveal of this key art related to it.

There she is! There's Magik! It's my girl!

Now, it is possible she's just in the art because Morph transformed into her in Episode 3. The fact Storm is in her original '92 design and not her punk attire makes me think this art is not literally reflective of the episode's contents... but if Magik is in it, I am curious what role she may take in it... Let's baselessly speculate! Spoilers for the two comic book storylines we know this episode is drawing from after the cut.

So this episode will be adapting parts of Lifedeath, the iconic Forge/Storm romance arc, and the Abscissa arc with Jubilee. This makes me think this episode is likely to be a three-pronged exploration of what mutants do to gain social status in a world that hates and fears them.

Storm and Forge's arc is about Forge reconsidering his job working with the American government and realizing how has literally created the tools used to oppress his fellow mutants. Storm, meanwhile, has chosen to embrace counter-culturalism openly through her new punk identity, not really caring what the white male flatscan majority thinks about her anymore; Forge's perspective is challenged by her as they begin their romance.

Jubilee's arc is about her encountering a future version of herself who is a slave to Mojo in the Mojoverse and taking actions to ensure that future never comes to pass.

Sunspot's arc in '97 has been about him hiding his mutant gifts, afraid that his parents will not accept him as a mutant. He also self-identified as "one of the good ones" in the first episode. Lot of model minority stuff going on here, as well as some allegorical queer closeted stuff going on here. I am guessing this is the episode where he decides to join the X-Men and come out properly.

With all that in mind... What is Illyana going to be up to, if she is indeed in this episode?

My guess is she would be a foil to Sunspot, as someone who has made it through the emotional journey he is in the middle of. She not only has a mutant gift she is scared about, but she has a literal demonic side. If she has learned to accept herself for who she is and to embrace her demonic powers as a way of protecting herself and those she loves, then maybe Sunspot can do the same with his powers.

This would be casually implying all of Magik's character growth happened off-screen, but this show has a lot of protagonists already and I don't know if they'd have time to delve into the lore of Limbo - and it also may be difficult to do that in a show that is still, nominally at least, for kids...

If they wanted to be really bold, Illyana could also be in a queer relationship that is a foil to the Jubilee/Sunspot relationship - making the "We're hiding this from my parents as I don't want them to know I am a mutant" queer allegory a little more obvious by showing Illyana in a loving queer relationship of which her brother approves. With the episode inspired by the Pryde of the X-Men arcade game, I think it'd be a good place for Pryde to appear if they wanted to make Katyana canon... but Illyana/Dani or Illyana/Xuan also feel possible to me... or, hell, they've said non-mutant characters will cameo like they did in the original cartoon, so maybe they could do Illyana/Nico Minoru or Illyana/Leah. I'd like Illyana/Pryde the most, but honestly I will take anything that makes Sapphik Magik canon.

ANYWAY. That's my unsolicited Magik thoughts for the day. I am trying to keep my expectations low - I think it's very possible that Morph appearance is all we get - but I do think there's ways to get some really good Magik content in only a few minutes of screentime given what appears to be the theme of the next episode...

[dextixer]

What Vtuber Ruby and Miles cameos say, matter (kinda).

So, a day or so ago we have had people discuss about Rubys Vtubing appearances and the things she has said on video. People have had mixed opinions on what was said, some people think its not a problem, others think its a problem, some others dont care. So, i wanted to chime in on this entire discussion and why in my opinion this, and the cameos that Miles makes matter and are not "irrelevant".

Disclaimer

Before i start, i will note. I dont really think that these things are HUGE problems and "OH NO, THIS RUINS THE SHOW" or any other nonsense. Some people have seen these things way too negatively. But i also think that people who say that it doesnt matter at all are taking 2 way too extreme positions.

Lore Swiss Cheese

One of the main problems of RWBY has, for a long time, been the very vague concepts of what is canon and the in-show lore. From the very start of the show, it had commentary tracks, the creators talking about the show etc. Despite not being in the show itself, we have had many tidbits of information (such as Rubys favourite food) and the like given to us in outside of canon content. And it has not just been some minor things either. Ironwoods semblance basically does not exist in the show, and yet it seems to exist in lore, and it was shared with us from outside the show.

And later on, after V3, RWBY has received a lot of different media that expands on its lore and are considered canonical, despite sometimes never appearing on the show, or even creating very weird situations where something is conspicuous by absence in the show itself. For example, we have a very often discussed topics of V7-8 of the defense of Mantle/Atlas. One of the discussion points have always been how weirdly weak the defenses of the kingdom are. While one could chalk that up to people having an "inflated" view of Atlas military, but we have been canonically told and shown a lot of Atlas tech that is conspicuous by absence in the show.

Automated turrets, different versions of Atlesian Knights etc, which were said to be canonical in Amity:Arena. Or for example stealth tech. Yea, Atlas has stealth tech, like, genuine stealth. Its in one of the books. And yet nowhere in the show.

We have two canonical games, Grimm Eclipse and Arrowfell, with characters and concepts in them that have never been seen in the show. Has anyone ever seen team BRIR in the show? Heard of them? Maybe the tech from Arrowfell would kinda be useful, even if outdated against the Grimm invasion? What about the outlying Atlesian villages? Are they just dead at this point? Where the heck is Thornmane? He gets captured and hes nowhere in jail even as a cameo? And why does noone talk about Grimm Eclipse? Tech enchanced Grimm seem like a bit of a topic that kinda should be discussed sometime, no!?

We also have the comic books with various questionable canonical decisions including Raven turning into a bird to fuck with child Ruby. Blakes involvement with Adam which is somewhat weird because the comic books try to humanize Adam while the show demonizes him.

And let us not forget the whole "Canon Adjacent" nonsense where RT cant even come out and say that its obviously non-canon stories like Ice Queendom and even crossovers with DC are not canon. They cant even come out and say that!

Oh, and of course, i just remembered, the Grimm DnD campaign which is also apparently canon!

The reason i am listing all of these summarized versions of the multiple lore issues that the show has is that the lore of RWBY, is swiss cheese. It has lore that is given partially in so many different places, including in out of universe that its almost impposible to follow it properly, and if you do try, you are only going to get more confused because the main show feels like completely separate from it all, despite being in the same lore.

Vtubing and Cameos matter

And this brings me to of course the very simple claim, that due to the fact that the lore is already swiss cheese, these statements made in Vtubing and Cameos actually matter. Because even if they are not stated to be directly canonical, the lore is already so incredibly fucked and unclear (To the point that some people cant even decide if DC RWBY comics are even canon or not!) that adding these examples to the mix? Its just bad practice. Because at the end of the day, Vtubing Ruby, IS Ruby. She is played as in-universe Ruby, by the same Voice Actress, hosted by the SAME company.

And it matters especially because these things DO affect the FNDM. People who say that these things should be easily ignored are missing one key aspect. A lot of the FNDM are affected by these. BB being a key example. No, im not going to argue that the FNDM forced RT to make it canon. What i WILL argue is that the toxicity of BB community and its rabidness was intentionally cultivated AND enabled by RT. Does it matter that the BB song is not canon? No, it did not. Its not canon in the show and yet it made pro-BB and anti-BB crowds hysterical. Same for the song that was made for Blacksun. These songs directly contributed to the shipping wars. The various moments of people like Barbara also indulging the shippers just further fueled that entire movement.

Hell, the same can be said for Qrow x Winter shippers. While it was never a big thing one of the main "fuels" it had for a long time was because Vic and the VA for Winter interacted in a single panel. Or lets remember the whole "Vibrator function" which is OBVIOUSLY not canon, yet has become a part of often referenced and established fanon.

RWBY does not have a stable FNDM, i know, im a part of it. It does not matter if something is or is not canonical when not only are the lines of canon/noncanon blurred to barely existing, but the FNDM can often take things very far to fuel their expectations, wishes, and behaviour.

Especially when it can fuel what i will refer to as simply exploitative behaviour.

Cameos. Cameos, in my opinion are a fine way for VA's to make money. Such as many other things like, for example, music producers reviewing songs, voice coaches evaluating singing etc. Such content has cropped up maybe 4-5 years ago now and imo, is a fine thing.

But like any thing, imo, there are good and bad ways to do this kind of content. When for 40 bucks, one can ask one of the main WRITERS of the show questions about the shows world and opinions about things like ships. That is, imo, a bit far. Not only does that give an incentive for people to pay money for extra snippets of lore, but also, a way for people to validate their beliefs of ships and other such things. Because that is what his Cameo is all about. Its not VA work, its his words, in relation to his work as a writer for the show. And considering the earliest cameos and Ironwood discussions, that in my opnion is NOT a good thing.

The BB Onlyfans thing is ALSO an example of that, that i think was bad. Once again, disclaimer. I think that OF is fine, you want to do it? Go ahead, i paid for Markipliers photos, i aint ashamed, hes hot. I think it becomes at least slightly concerning however, when the VA's of a controversial ship decide to do an underwear photoshoot together with the same theme as their character in-show relationship.

Because...

Parasociality

A parasocial relationship is feeling a connection with a persona/thing that does not know of your existance or only humours you. Celebrities, sports teams etc.

RT has, for a long time cultivated a STRONG parasocial relationship with the FNDM. There is a reason why they pretend to be down to earth, why they pretend that they are not a corporation and why even to this day, some RT fans STILL believe that RT is some kind of "indie company". There is nothing inherently wrong with having it. Its kind of even unavoidable.

But what RT does is Cynically abuse that relationship. Just like any other corporation. Overworking animators for example? Part of that has been parasociality, people willing to work for their "loved" company etc.

Things like Miles Cameo, the BB photoshoot? The Vtuber Ruby? They are meant to encourage parasociality. To make it seem like the people, the watchers are "closer" to people performing or related to the show. Its all a cynical ploy to get people to pay money, to watch RWBY etc.

There is a reason why even after the RT expose not too long ago, people just went ahead and forgot about it. There is a reason why RWBYTubers that have previously condemned RT for their BS are now shouting at people to support RWBY, supressing those who criticized V9 and are encouraging people to buy merch.

Its all parasocial BS. BS that leads to extreme behaviours.

Such as, but not limited to - Biphobia, Homophobia, calling people facists for liking characters, calling people abuse apologist, groomers, Stalking. Just to name a few.

Also... On an ending note

Its just shit Vtubing

Consider this an unrelated tangent. I watch Vtubers relatively often, usually clips but sometimes i catch streams. Vtuber lore is usually irrelevant even in corporate settings. What people come to watch are the streamers themselves who usually partially play a character but mostly just act like themselves. Not really being lore accurate is not really of importance.

The thing is, those Vtubers usually dont have really established settings and they stream Multiple hours a day, so it all makes sense.

Why in the fuck is the Vtuber Ruby Rose, not acting like Remnant Ruby Rose!? Im not expecting deep lore drops here. But for crying out loud, why make statements that Rabbits or magic dont exist? Ruby Rose being visiting Earth is an AMAZING roleplaying set-up!

There is no dust, no aura, no Grimm! So many differences between the worlds that Ruby Rose can notice and act out! "Oh anime? We have our own version of that! One of the most watched shows is Sailor Sun! (Because the moon is broken)".

Its just a concept that can pay-off so much! Its an isekai in Vtubing form! As far as im aware Vtuber Ruby Rose doesnt even stream daily so its even easier to stay in character! So why in the bloody hell are we getting Dora of Explorer levels of childishness?

Anyway... Here are my thoughts. Peace out.

[simeonist]

Wedding Lonely Devil Proposals Ranked Part 2

3. Mammon

Oh my gooooddd

Nightmare. Literal nightmare proposal. Four little words made my stomach clench irl.

There's no way I could fake happiness if this happened to me. Even if I loved them. I didn't wanna be mean since Mammon's in my top 3 but yeah...Lucifer was right. This is hell. This is cringe hell.

So why #3? Well.

🎆🎇🧨SIMEON JUMP SCARE!!! 🧨🎇🎆

Simeon, cheerful, supportive, and always up for fun time, makes a cameo in the flash mob Mammon apparently forced the transfers to do. And complementing Simeon's joyous appearance?

An incredibly miserable Solomon! It was indescribably beautiful seeing him writhe in embarrassment for this awful plan. Any pain on my face would have faded once Simeon stepped in and melted away completely after Solomon's agonized dance. Thank you Mammon for my life.

Sadly, I can't rank Mammon's higher because technically speaking "two hot guys (one who I like more than you) made me smile" is not what most would call an ideal proposal. 3.5 barely contained panic attacks in a public venue out of 5.

2. Levi

Everyone's proposal kind of sucks and I can't say Levi is an exception. He programs a game for you, wildly misjudges your capabilities, backseat games, then ends up beating the whole thing for you. Whoops.

But sucking is in Levi's nature and the way he fucks up is organic to who he is - he even acknowledges it in his proposal speech.

I found it endearing and sweet. This proposal was genuine, held personal significance, took effort, and was overall a warm experience. Also, kudos for creating a game where the protagonist is supposed to be me and saying you want to take on life's struggles together. Someone lower on this list should take notes…

The only reason Levi doesn't clear first place is because he did kind of fuck it up. But I appreciate the hard work that went into it. I would say yes. 4 poorly considered video game recs out of 5.

And finally(ish)

1. Beel!

He is so so so cute, from his bouquet of vegetables to fighting the urge to eat the cake he made for you. Making my favorite cake with a ring in it isn't all that grand but a) I'll keep it real with you: none of the proposals are and b) I don't need a grand proposal. I just want it to feel meaningful. Just a bit of creativity, something that holds significance, and also I'm not dying of embarrassment. It's relevant to his theme, it's fun, it has thought out into it, and it requires some self-restraint on his end. Beautiful.

5 wedding cakes made with buttercream frosting out of 5.

Finally.

Lucifer

I intentionally ranked everybody before watching his because I knew this smug jackass would do some shit that might affect my rankings. I needed to be confident in my opinion.

Fucker. Humiliating how well this would work on me.

True #3. Lucifer

Sorry Mammon :(

[bizarrebazaar13]

it’s my birthday so I’m rambling about the references/whitsun eggs in this fic I wrote for the gift exchange. under the cut for length, minor light fingers spoilers, alcohol discussion, and spoilers for the story brass grail.

The paper itself hardly puts him in a good mood, either. Its featured story of the evening concerns a zeppelin full of Rubbery Men seen flying over Watchmaker’s Hill. They stopped briefly to deliver an item to a person identified only as V.K., and are thought to have come from the Roof itself. This V.K. is apparently known to have strong ties with devils, something that the paper finds delightfully scandalous and Reginald finds quite alarming.

V.K. is Vela Kepler, who is referred to by zir initials for two reasons: to mimic the game’s style of referring to people as “Lady R___” “Dr F____” etc., and because if the train was coming is not about my ocs, so I wanted to avoid introducing entirely new characters to people who might not be familiar with my ocs. especially since Vela’s only appearance is this brief cameo in the newspaper.

the zeppelin of rubbery men is a light fingers reference! after the roof section of the story, the player collects materials for the hybrid’s birth, one of which is stalactite-nectar delivered by their dirigible crew. Vela’s crew was made up of rubberies.

He’ll revisit his notes at home, where the cloying (and oddly floral-scented) smoke of the Moloch Street train doesn’t fill his lungs and burn all the way down.

Milton, a devil from mask of the rose, is mentioned to smoke rose-scented cigars. I liked the idea of devils being associated with roses, and wanted to make the train weirder. so, floral smoke.

He has wondered, too, if irrigo might erase only specific memories. If Michael could be made to forget certain bargains.

confession: I haven’t actually played Brass Grail, which is where the majority of Reginald’s backstory for this fic comes from. my knowledge of it comes from the lore wiki and anonymous asks I sent to @irrigos while writing this.

The Bishop glances around, and seeing no prying eyes, says, “No one here is an ambassador. Most of them aren’t even sanctioned by the Brass Embassy. They’re fugitives, particularly daring tourists, curious academics, all sorts. Look at their faces. You’ll see.” Reginald does. The devils here look much less human than those roaming the streets outside; goat horns curl from foreheads, antennae sticks out of hair, compound eyes glitter in the candlelight, lips curl around fangs considerably larger and more conspicuous than is permitted in semi-polite society.

this vignette takes place in a bar whose patronage is almost entirely infernal. in the game, we see diplomats and politicians and ambassadors of hell, but very few non-governmental devils, and no one who isn’t there for the soul trade. the idea of devils who don’t change themselves to look human, or look less human than the diplomats, was something I’d been thinking about for a while.

the bar itself is a vulnerability for the devils. it’s an entry point into London that can be shut down, and it’s also a place where the deception and snake oil salesman charm typically associated with hell is lifted, at least partly. the rare honesty of this place is, I think, what keeps Reginald from immediately trying to close it.

“I heard rumors,” he continues, “about the campaign of ‘68. And a certain man lost to the devils.” He pauses, drains the last of his sherry in one gulp. “It was a long shot, I know, but I had hoped he might show up here. He sounded... determined, from what a certain loquacious vicar told me.”

my experience with Michael’s characterization is limited; I’ve talked about him to Reginald in mask of the rose, and heard about him in brass grail. that said, he does in fact strike me as someone who might show up to an infernal dive bar.

The Bishop does some sort of word puzzle, penciling letters into boxes on flame-proof paper.

he’s doing a crossword. they weren’t invented as we know them until 1913, but it’s not unreasonable to think the devils would have them, given their already anachronistic 20s fashion. hence the flame-proof paper.

this also further highlights a key difference between the two bishops: while I do think the bishop of st fiacres is genuinely devout, he’s adapted to the more flexible christianity of the neath, to the point of accepting crosswords from the devils. Reginald very decidedly has not.

“Fancy a drink?” the Bishop asks. “No devils this time.” “It’s one in the afternoon,” Reginald points out, but he doesn’t say no.

this fic involved a surprising amount of googling about alcohol rules for anglican priests. conclusion: the bar scene is apparently permissible (excluding the literal devils). the implied day drinking that happens at the end probably wouldn’t fly, but this is the neath.

[bixiebeet]

Will Louis Tully be in the upcoming Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire movie? I don’t know! But it seems surprising that actor Rick Moranis would decide to reprise his role. This article says that he was unhappy with Ghostbusters 2 and has turned down other opportunities to come back as Louis. But you never know.

From the article:

While it was originally speculated that Rick Moranis would join his fellow castmates from the original Ghostbusters and return for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, he actually didn't appear in a cameo role. Despite his extended absence from cinema screens, Rick Moranis hasn't retired from acting completely but now focuses more on voice acting and writing. He's also notoriously picky about the roles he takes and was apparently disappointed in Ghostbusters 2. It's also not the first time that Rick Moranis has turned down the chance to reprise his role as Louis Tully by returning to the original Ghostbusters movie team. Moranis passed on lending his voice and likeness to the 2009 release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, and also decided not to cameo in Paul Feig's 2016 reboot Ghostbusters, saying that it didn't make sense to him to "do just one day of shooting on something I did 30 years ago.” (via The Hollywood Reporter). Given this history of disinterest in returning for Ghostbusters projects, it's not too surprising that Rick Moranis didn't cameo in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

[silver-wield]

Yeah, you heard it here first, Cloud Strife is apparently English and somebody summoning KotR in their gameplay is a "secret ultimate ending" and not just somebody using the materia in the game.

Sorry not sorry but I just gotta blow holes in this shit one insane tweet at a time.

Kingdom Hearts is not canon to ffvii. It just isn't. It's not the "canon game for a summon" and are you out of your fucking mind for thinking Kingdom Hearts is making some canonical link between a summon and Disney's Sword in the Stone?! Jfc this is already sounding crazy af 🤦‍♀️

No. There's no "secret ending" to ffvii. You chose a playthrough with a player summoning KotR. Literally every player can do that. Unless they're like you and never played the damn game, you insane carrot. I'm gonna assume you think ffxv's ending where Noctis calls up the kings of yore to defeat Ardyn, which has been confirmed as a callback to ffvii's KotR but at no point did anybody say the endings were identical or that KotR is a mandatory or secret speshul ending appearance. Cloud, at no point in KH, is ever intending to or looking for king Arthur. He is always searching for Sephiroth so they can settle their shit. He never becomes a KotR. Again, you're confusing ffxv with other games. Noctis's father becomes a King of Yore at the end of ffxv and helps defeat Ardyn. I mean, if you can't keep basic plotlines straight why are you even talking in the first place?

Show me where Cloud's an "Englishman"? Show me where England and Germany are on the map of the planet. He's no more English than he is German and you need to stop listening to that nutbar Calli and her made up garbage based on her own HC fap material. King Arthur wasn't a real person, dumdum. Plz don't talk about English history if you haven't ever learned it in school.

Strife isn't a last name. It's a bloody noun. And Strauss is the German word for ostrich.

He's the fucking player character. He doesn't know how to get the materia. You know how to get the materia.

Kh isn't canon to ffvii or the KotR. Kh1 and 2 leaned heavily on squareenix to grab a player base and build its following. Once kh became established in its own right they began to phase out the FF cameos because the characters aren't needed to keep real players interested in the plot. You aren't a real player, so shut up.

You're an idiot who can't accept an in game email talking about things characters have seen and done isn't canon compared to WoFF, another game that isn't canon to ffvii.

Again: WoFF is not canon to ffvii. Serah isn't married at the point her character appears. Zack isn't with Aerith. He's a soldier 2nd class. I know it's hard for your small brain to comprehend but SE takes characters from different points in their own lives to mix and match in cameos for fanservice. Cloud appears in multiple titles as OG soldier Cloud and post AC Cloud. Tifa appears in WoFF as cowgirl Tifa at age 15 before she's traumatized. Get a fucking clue.

Again: Zack is single at that point in his life.

Aerith is lying and sucking as much copium as y'all do. The translation is also shit in OG because she doesn't call him a ladies man in JP, she says he's a friendly guy.

Idky you think kh, WoFF and KotR are some weird ass "canon" link that proves your garbage ship or disproves Zack is a decent guy, but you need to shut up.

That's all. Don't bother trying to educate yourself, just shut up. We don't want to hear from you. At all.

Shut up.

[feuqueerfire]

Death's Game S1 & S2 Live Blogging

This is a pretty recent release, Season 1 in December and Season 2 in January. Hadn't heard much about it until I saw Pocha Playlist podcast covering it but I didn't listen to that episode. Then, I found out that Lee Dohyun plays a (reincarnation) character in it and it's getting good reception, so here we are.

Ep 1: Death (Jan 29)

Okay I think I heard the main character commits suicide and is granted like 14 lives to make the person he's in charge of live a full life or smth like that

Lots of violence right from the beginning woah

Doing bad at job interview or job is my biggest weakness when it comes to these fucking shows fr but I'm assuming this show isn't gonna have too much of that actually

7 years of not getting a job after getting a job interview ahead of his peers...

This guy cannot get a break on these job interview days for real

Awooga, that breakup

lost all his investments, broke up with very longterm gf, got kicked out of his home, got rejected from the job

Oh, that call from his Mom right as he threw himself off the building

Oh yeah that Super Junior's Choi Si Won fucker is the first iteration

This hell-ish place is so disgusting ew

I just realized why it's called Death's Game. Gonna body hop into 12 bodies that are legit almost about to die like imminently and if you avoid one of the deaths, you'll live on in that body for the rest of that life as your own life.

I wonder what's gonna happen to that person though lol? Just disappeared into the wind while Yi Jae lives on as them in ep 8 or whatever? I wonder if it'll be like he finds himself in the hospital bed or smth and it's his own body that he has to survive and live in for the 12th iteration - but death did say he's dead so maybe not

oh, the airplane is Taekang - isn't that the company he's trying and getting rejected from?

Any probability that the older brother tinkered with the plane to murder him for userping him as the CEO-to-be?

Not this fucking airplane side opening up and sucking ppl out while the door of an airplane Boeing had literally had that happen recently (though I don't think anybody got sucked out or died thankfully?)

Oh, so the original owner "plays the whole game without saving" and dies, then Yi Jae begins again at "the last save point of the game" before it ended and tries to get a different ending than the original owner (death)

oh, sudden Ryeoun (Twinkling Watermelon, 18 Again) appearance 41mins in the computer center, hi pretty :)

Oh that death was fucked up fr

Ryeoun cutie, come back for another cameo in another iteration pls <3

Here and in Tomorrow, I gotta come to terms with the fact that we're gonna have established suicide=sin and will be punished rules. To expect the cruelty of it

I'm actually still so confused/curious about how this quite works though because like in the airplane, other people also died. So, if he had survived and managed to make them survive, would they have also survived? And in the famous thrill-seeker thing, it's like being streamed by millions of people or whatever, so in the original universe they've already seen this and they're dealing with the aftermath of that death but this is a different universe that started at that savepoint?

Like I guess I'm just wondering whether this is a parallel universe? If not, what about all the other people involved who have supposedly already experienced this with the original person's death already.

Anyway, without thinking too much, this is super cool and interesting. So far, it's just been thrilling and quick/snappy deaths, kinda reminds me of the Squid Game and Alice in Borderland missions/games, but I'm assuming it'll get more heart-wrenching as it goes on (Lee Dohyun's storyline apparently? okay I saw a tiktok for his story and that's where I realized he's in this show but I didn't really understand what was going on and didn't try properly finding out beyond he's supposed to save some girl? or smth idk)

Ep 2: The Reason You're Going to Hell (Jan 29)

Is the woman who apparently died a gruesome dead Yi Jae's ex-gf? Since the Yi Jae photo was lying on the ground? And maybe Lee Dohyun was supposed to save her in the tiktok I saw? or is it his mother?

Ah, they're clearly hinting that Yi Jae's death hurt a lot more than just himself (ie. his gf, his mother) and that's why he's being punished

Awooga, Yi Jae remembering his own mother while in this kid's body

Okayyyy when watching Yi Jae remember his mother's "eat a lot" from across the table, I realized she is the mother in law from 18 Again. Her food-related thing at a table like this also killed me in 18 Again

Adult Yi Jae trying to figure out how to manipulate these kids is entertaining as always, my favourite concept

Oof, he defeated the bully but is the bully now gonna kill himself or smth? Or end up killing Yi Jae because it's not like Yi Jae's gonna stay in this body rip

Oh that was fucked up, murdered by smacking his head with a brick

Yi Jae really keeps mouthing off at death, such a silly thing to do after having seen everything

oh... stepping on Yi Jae/his face

"The pain that death brings you will be even worse from here"

oh noooo so he's not a kidnapper, a criminal who ran away with a woman who was being abused oof

Wait, okay, this fight and chase with Juhun was unexpectedly fun

First, the fist-fight (including after turning the lights off) reminded me of Bloodhounds ep 6, ah truly such a good episode before the show went to shit

Secondly, I loved this car chase! I'm usually not somebody who gets super into the car chases but I think Juhun being on a motorcycle helped a lot, it made it more intense and fun and cool

Ep 3: Death Can't Take Anything Away (Jan 29)

was it his gf who died and was she pregnant or smth?

"Does he have nine lives or what?" heh

lol I did wonder if was gonna kill him but was like hm

Ah, it'd be so ironic if Lee Jin Sang kills Yi Jae in two different bodies

death was so right when saying Yi Jae has no thoughts, more like he has no impulse control or foresight because why is he now provoking Jin Sang while knowing that he can kill a kid with a brick and the body he's in supposedly dies soon

Last time too he provoked Jin Sang and got murdered, so I wonder if provoking him again to debase him is gonna backfire

Damn bruh, everybody tryna kill this guy

not him using Hyuk Soo to scare Jin Sang

Cool shots with the seeing the past bullet to the head

Girl whoooo is in that big van with the dark windows

just billions and diamonds out in the bag in this random room while he sleeps. it does take a boat to get to but it's indeed a public place lol

Ouuuch, Yi Jae had actually gotten the call from his mom before jumping

HE'S JUST WALKING ABOUT 10 BILLION WON IN CASH + DIAMONDS!?!?!?! girl you're stressing me out

ah, the father of the girl who got killed. briefly i wondered if it was Yi Jae's gf but she's prlly like 30 or smth whereas the girl who died was apparently 20 (also I wonder if the tiktok I saw of Lee Dohyun not letting a girl die in a crash was her though but that wouldn't make sense since time is going linearly and she's she died, she's dead)

where did the prison lacky come from suddenly?

ohhhh I knew the fact that he came and literally brought a weapon doesn't necessarily mean he was gonna defend him (instead of killing him and getting the money lmao)

oof, mans really got stabbed multiple times and got killed

lmfaoooo crying at him being a baby, can't do anything and can't get his 10 bill won

Okay, so is it like we're going to have threads that continue on as the lives go on:

the money he stored in that locker

the dad knowing who the real killer of his daughter was

Ep 4: The Reason You're Afraid of Death (Jan 29)

Lee Dohyun!!!!! Finally he will appear in this ep, though I'm guessing for like 20-30 mins agh, idk why I was under the impression he's in eps 3-4 but oh well, I'm sure he'll make his short appearance count

Oh, I get her. this is why I don't want a child because 0 chance of me being a good, well-adjusted parent fr

I know we're supposed to hate the mother because she's mean to the kid and is abusive and I do but the father just noticed that the baby food is 4 months expired?

Oh nvm, they're showing him be scary too

Poor baby :( useless that the cops/child protective services came but just left

As expected, here's the "you chose death so flippantly but others are trying so hard to live" so you should be grateful etc etc

Lee Dohyun!!!!!!!

What's he gonna do with the bag of money? Stresses me out fr that he could die at any moment and lose it

Lee Dohyun is again playing a character who is a different person inside his body (18 Again it was his 40s self in his young body and this time it's like 28 or so years old Yi Jae in 24-year old body)

Bro this Taekang group is not leaving this guy's life fr, they gotta be behind some huge thing or smth?

Awooga, so it is indeed Lee Dohyun playing Yi Jae trying to save his (ex) gf from dying or smth in that tiktok

Ahhhhhhh my guy didn't know when his gf Jisu wrote novels and won awards T.T and yet her first thought was of him

He also didn't know her blood brother? Bro what

And not only is Lee Dohyun playing a diff character in his body but is also watching/interacting with the woman he loves from a distance/as the other person both here and in 18 Again

Linguistics: His name is Yi Jae and it also means "now" so he says it as if he's gonna say his book character's name is Yi Jae but ends up saying it's not decided yet now but Jisu thought the character's name was Yi Jae

Ahhh she got the fountain pen after his death ahhh T.T

Oh, I wish we got to see Lee Dohyun as Yi Jae with Yi Jae's mother cuz then it'd be just like Lee Dohyun and the mother-in-law in 18 Again

Nawt this umbrella scene, really reminds me of 18 Again frrr

Oh, this is the scene I saw in that tiktok

Ah, he saw how his death is still affecting her

Ouch, Jisu-ya :(

Ah, Lee Dohyun and the mother interaction - 18 Again vibes

Okay idk I'm nervous that he's gonna confess about being Yi Jae or strongly hint at it and she's gonna be scared and mad and never met him again and never trust another person again bc she's still grieving and ah

This is so fucking romantic and sad mannnn

awoooo fuck I had guessed that she was gonna die but I'd... forgotten for an hour, oh goodness

Ah, it's the Taekang CEO. Is it also the guy who put that kid in jail for his hit-and-run? He also has that lighter he's fiddling with and there was a scene like that when that kid was called to the warehouse to be told about the incident and to take the fall

Oh I see lol I'm late, they're showing that he's the dude. He even made the proposition to the skydiver in the 2nd iteration

as expected, the CEO indeed fiddled with the airplane to kill his younger brother CEO

Ahhhhhh sad ass ending, also I wonder how Geonu originally died and whether Jisu would have also died if not for Yi Jae stopping her to talk there?

Also... I should watch 18 Again fuck like I'd been wanting to since Twinkling Watermelon and now these parallels with 18 Again and Lee Dohyun agh. Then I should rewatch this ep too to compare again lol

Okay do I need general thoughts and a rating and everything? It's just 4 episodes of an 8 episode show which is divided like this not because it's a completed story but because of greed (get 2 months' subscription instead of 1).

Also, before watching the next 4 eps tmrw, I will be catching up on all the hundreds of on-air comments (I just read the episode-specific comment threads) and reblogging people's part 1 gifs hehe and have to do the MDL and monthly/yearly updates and stuff just like a usual show even though... it's a 4 episode half of a show, not even a full one lol I considered just treating it like 1 8-episode show but Part 1 ended in 2023 while Part 2 ended in 2024, so I can't oof

General Thoughts:

Really good and interesting, I'm enjoying it a lot. If I had watched more kdramas and known more actors, I would've definitely been having even more fun based on the r/kdrama on-air comments + my reaction to Lee Dohyun. My favourite eps are eps 2 and 4, they balanced a good amount of heart with excitement (for ep 2) and plot progression/answers (ep 4). The 18 Again characters/actors were already haunting me but Lee Dohyun once again 1) playing a character who is in his body but isn't himself, 2) interacting with the lohl as this other guy who his lover doesn't know while he himself knows and regrets not being a better bf/husband and 3) interacting with the same actress playing mother/mother-in-law character, also not as himself but as the character stuck in Lee Dohyun's body. Also, beautiful, talented man.

It's just 4 eps, my life usually isn't changed in such a short time, so here it is currently rated 7 but yknow, part 2 can be higher if I become more into it

Rating: 7/10

Death's Game Part 2

I was just watching this month's Certified Noonas What We're Watching episode and someone mentioned that part 2 is more horror and gory? Okay, interesting because I thought Part 1 started off kinda action/thriller and then went into a more heart-felt, less gory direction but I guess it's veering into that direction again

Also from the on-air part 1 comments, seems like there's a serial killer (is it just the Taekang CEO?), a homeless guy, a gamer among the people left. Also, I think I read a spoiler that his last iteration was his mother? I scrolled away really fast after registering that but hmm

Ep 1: It is impossible to break free and fight against death (Jan 30)

oh, horror and gore right from the start fr (kinda reminds me of Beyond Evil sad)

also I've been calling this killer guy Taekang CEO but is that true? who knows? Maybe it's a diff dude because the guy who just killed the other dude and made a "painting" didn't seem like the same guy whose face we flashed to during Lee Dohyun's death idk

Okay, so Jisu was indeed supposed to die at that time in that spot, so it's not Yi Jae's fault which is good

Okay, this serial killer guy is indeed not Kim Taeu, the Taekang CEO. but did this guy appear before this episode and I confused him with the CEO? Hope not

Oh he's so fucked up

Kinda reminds me of Strangers From Hell where dentist mans kept the teeth in the bracelet as art or whatever, although this is so fucked because he's making paintings based on the blood splatterings of his victims + selling them for hundreds of millions (of dollars?)

goodness, death everywhere. the gruesome murders by the new body while Tae-u is taking a break from putting a hit on/killing people to kill birds

Such a weird angle of crashing the car, was it on purpose?

Damn, making the lawyer guy taking the fall this time

Are we supposed to believe the Taekang CEO hyung is a CEO since he had trouble w those qs?

serial killer name: Jeong Gyu Cheol

This episode really is focusing on other stuff like Tae-u's story instead of the hyperfocus of ep 4 Yi Jae and his lovestory with Jisu

Police car chase scenes are so dumb, now whenever I see them, I keep hoping to see them crash into a wall the way that one Twitter video of irl cop dangerously chasing a car did lol

If you're gonna kill Tae-u pls do it quickly lol it's only ep 5/8, you might die in this life before getting to kill him (although death said she'll step in if you try to kill anyway)

This Tae-u and Yi Jae intertwined connection is too much bro, the original death Yi Jae witnessed in ep 1 was also by Tae-u? cmon

Will Tae-u not find the cameras and stop them/destroy them before Yi Jae's next life? It wasn't livestreaming was it? Maybe being backed up somewhere in the cloud

bro i'm so sleepy but i'm not sleeping and i'm also not doing my HW cuz I'm sleepy and thought I was gonna sleep. Watched this whole ep instead agh

A deviation from the first half of the show for sure. Much gorier and thriller/horror-based due to the serial killer and hands-on murder aspect. I wonder if it'll continue on this way because the serial killer is dead but Tae-u is still alive and a murderer and Yi Jae will also want to kill him maybe? or have him killed or smth

Ep 2: Memory (Jan 30)

Why am I started next ep instead of doing hw? who knows?

So creepy with the guy speaking while his legs and hand are on the ground (ripped apart from his body) and talking about how he was once Tae-u's younger brother who he murdered

Oops, caught the serial killer in a blink after he was supposed to be dead

Cop iteration, I remember reading about this as well in the on-air thread but forgot till now

Are they in Seoul? Is the place made of like 25 people lol we're seeing the betrayer man from prison iteration

oh girlll you're gonna die D:

Bro he copied the files of Tae-u killing Gyu-Cheol and deleted them from the computer awooga ik it's gonna work out because it's a show but why

Oh, the rookie cop caught that he moved some evidence

Dude must have other copies of this right? He's handing over the video evidence, so he must have it stored elsewhere as well right?

Oof, okay I'm kinda glad that they brought up how troublesome just having had THAT MUCH money randomly show up at your house would be. Especially because Lee Dohyun's character was fucking killed afterwards. Yi Jae was being dumb af when just giving that much money to his mother like that

Oh, the touching and parent-child moments are back

Tae-u brining the cop over to the General Commissioner's office ah, reminds me of Beyond Evil

Oof, ofc Tae-u spins it that he himself is the saviour who bested the serial killer and is a hero

Anyway, I hope you've still got some of that video so that you can upload it online or smth tf

Oh, Tae-u going to the states

are the ppl who captured Ahn Jihyeong also cops in his team? Can't remember the faces

When Tae-u lays down at 45mins, I saw Cha Eunwoo for a second there from the side

wtf was that how did that even happen how did Yi Jae manage to literally blow up Tae-u's plane

Seeing Yi Jae use all the memories of previous iterations is cool, though I didn't know he still had the skills and memories of every person wowie

Lee Dohyun for like 5 seconds

This means many of the actors were here in this moment to act their little bit part right?

oh wow that ending lol

8:35 PM and I have lots of work to do... maybe I'll try to do it for at least 25 mins till 9?

Ep 3: Oppurtunity (Jan 30)

Spent an hour doing this stupid q, so it's 9:35 now rip

We get a glimpse of the attorney guy who had other people taking the fall for Tae-u until he himself took the fall. Wonder if we'll see the backstabbing prison dude who got caught by the cop again or his father?

Yknow, the fact that these videos are evidence and "were confirmed to be true" really does make me wonder what'll happen as AI gets better and better in skill but worse for like the world and society lol

oh man, is the younger cop partner gonna die or his kid Seulgi gonna die because this promise and stuff is just foreshadowing that. Or I supposed the Yi Jae cop himself is gonna die but that's expected

Oh I see, led him to sacrifice himself

Ah, "who are you" indeed - identity crisis

Damn, that's it as the homeless guy? I was kinda hoping we don't get much because it's really hard to watch the way people treat unhouses people but damn

Wait, what? So this is like backwards in time? girl...

Was this guy also given X amounts of lives and deaths to get through like Yi Jae was?

Ah okay for a second there I was like wait? Is this still the original guy or Yi Jay as this guy who chose to still go into the road and kill himself? But ig it's Yi Jae following in that dude's footsteps to get on that road

Ah, the same quote about death being a means to an end coming back again

Indeed the last round is his mother, wish I hadn't known that, the surprise would've been good

Ep 4: Don't Go Looking For Death, Death Will Come Find You (Jan 30)

Ouch, parent-child relationship

oh, his mother was in the hospital that night?

Ouch because obviously it's tragic but more ouch that I'm not emotionally connecting with it a whole lot because Yi Jae has died and his mother has also functionally died since he's taken over her body and it's like... old interactions as a way to grow and learn and not as a way of reconciliation/coming together again

Oh, he lived for 32 years as his mother, that's almost 1.5x my current age. I guess he's also like 50 years or smth now if he was ~28 then

Ah, he got to live again

General Thoughts:

As I mentioned before, fuck the message of "suicide is a sin, you must be gravely punished, why not think of and live for your family and friends, think about other people who want to live but can't, so could you kill yourself, you selfish bastard." In shows like this, it's of utmost importance to just roll your eyes and see the story/acting/etc. that's not just this message. I'm glad it was brought up more in the part 2 on-air thread in r/kdrama because part 1 had only a few such comments and didn't have that many upvotes.

Eps 1 to half of 3 were interesting and exciting but in the way of "I'm watching a show with murder and gore and people trying to outsmart each other" rather than about this specific show (although in the end I liked that we got the whole gang (lol his previous iterations) and their skills to punish Tae-u. Although it's a bit jarring that Death wasn't specifically making him go to deaths connected to Tae-u it just happened that way lol. It also made the come-down and slow nature of ep 4 boring to me, although it was touching.

The ending is... okay, I guess, expected it.

In Part 1, Death just left something to be desired for me and this kinda continued here. I think it's maybe the acting? She should have been more menacing or more like a trickster, idk. Her getting offended at stuff Yi Jae says feels silly and idk she should've seemed more Death-like ig. Just seemed like an especially mean and stubborn boss. Such a shame because the show focused on so many male characters that the highest-billed female character fell flat.

Don't think I'll think of this show much (except maybe Lee Dohyun?) and the 2nd part didn't have the excellent pacing as the first one. Not as good as part 1.

Rating: 6/10

18 Again character counter: 4 (Ryeoun, Kim Mi Kyung  - Yi Jae's mother and Da Young's mother in law, Lee Do Hyun, Kim Kang Hoon - the 3rd iteration kid Hyuk Soo here and a child in 18 Again ig? I didn't realize this one but the comment also mentioned below did)

Found this comment under the ep 2 discussion in the r/kdrama on-air thread but apparently the director for this also directed 18 Again and so that might influence the number of overlapping actors (and also Death's Game just has a wild number of actors)

Also this director also directed Go Back Couple, another show on my to-watch list because of time shenanigans (after a marriage fails)

Tiktoks:

Maybe this is the Tiktok I saw since it involved seeing Lee Dohyun rushing to a crashing scene and the comments being like he was looking for a girl but she survived

[twistedtummies2]

Year of the Bat - Number 25

Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’m counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January. TODAY’S EPISODE QUOTE: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like you to meet the great Batman! He’s here because he hasn’t got a clue!” Number 25 is…Riddler’s Reform.

This was the Riddler’s third and final major appearance in the show. Mind you, the character would show up in a couple of cameos in later episodes (as well as a small supporting role in a Superman crossover episode, “Knight Time”), and there were several good comic stories featuring Edward Nygma spun-off from the DCAU. However, this was the last starring role the character had: apparently, the creators behind the series found it really hard to write for the Riddler, which is why his appearances were fairly few and far between. While I do wish we could have seen more of the character, to be honest, it’s a pretty great note to go out on. Ostensibly, “Riddler’s Reform” is one of several “Villain Reform Episodes” the TV series tried. I say “ostensibly” because…it really isn’t. Which I think is why this episode seems to have a somewhat polarized reaction from fans: some people consider it one of the greatest Riddler stories ever told, while others consider it a missed opportunity. I personally don’t go into either category, fully, but I do think this is a great Riddler story, in general, and by far my favorite from the Animated Series. The plot is as follows: after being declared sane, Edward Nygma is released from Arkham Asylum, and forms a business partnership with a toymaking company. The head of the company decides he wants to rework the Riddler’s puzzling iconography into a corporate mascot, and gives Nygma a chance to create a variety of puzzles and games for his factory to produce and sell. However, it becomes very obvious very quickly that Nygma hasn’t ACTUALLY reformed: he’s still pulling off crimes out of the back window, so to speak, in a way that makes it hard for Batman to pin anything on him. The World’s Greatest Detective must somehow figure out a way to outwit the Riddler and prove his enemy hasn’t gone straight after all. In a way, this feels like an episode of the 60s Adam West series, and I mean that in a good way. There were a number of episodes in that show with villains pretending to go straight just so they could pull off crimes with impunity (the Penguin was the most common example of this, but other villains tried this tactic, too). However, this one goes a bit more in-depth into the Riddler’s psychosis than other versions, as it really plays a LOT with the obsession Nygma has. He’s become fixated on the idea of besting Batman: he can’t give up his life of crime, he claims, specifically because he feels he can never retire until he finally defeats the Dark Knight. Indeed, as the episode goes on, it becomes clear that Nygma is enjoying life on the straight and narrow, being wined and dined and rubbing shoulders with Gotham’s economical elite, being praised and rewarded for his work in a way he never was before. However, both he and Batman realize…none of that matters. None of it WILL matter, because until the Riddler wins the game for good, there’s no way he can simply give up his life of crime. This obsession leads to another great ending to the story, just like in the first Riddler episode. I won’t give away what happens, but ironically, the episode seems to showcase Riddler going DEEPER into depravity rather than coming out of it, which I think is an interesting move. It’s sad that we never got that much more of Edward after this (at least in the show proper), but as far as final proper bows go, this was a good show for the Count of Conundrums to go out on.

Tomorrow we move on to Number 24! Hint: “As Napoleon told me, ‘A strong will can fuel a frail physique.’”

[kitkatt0430]

SO I don't really keep up all that much with the DCEU so I was taken aback when watching a video essay about why the sequel films are bad when the essayist said that... the whole DCEU was ending with Aquaman 2. Like I know this 'verse has never done, like, amazingly well, and I know some of the sequels were pretty naff but...actually scrapping it? And I'm wondering why - is it really that it's flopped or is it that they wanted an MCU without being willing to put in any of the work and instead expecting Instant Billions or whatever (or is it tax reasons, like they did with Batgirl?)

Oooh, send me a link to the essay? I'll have to check that out.

So I admit I haven't paid all that much attention to the DCEU either. I gave up on following everything for that one a lot faster than I did the MCU, so I really only tune in to one of the DC movies if I hear enough about it being good after it's been out a while. It was definitely mismanaged compared to how the MCU was handled - which is funny because the Arrow-verse interconnected shows was well done and they could have leveraged the multi-verse aspect of the comics to their advantage, though it's probably for the best they didn't. The shows had their own problems with seasonal rot and using them to prop up the movies would likely have not been pulled off with any finesse or skill. (I mean, they did finally tie in the movies in the Crisis on Infinite Earths with the DCEU!Barry cameo, but that was too little too late and barely counts.)

I hadn't heard the DCEU was coming to a close, but I'm not surprised. Though the news articles I just kinda flipped through before responding here were mixed on whether the DCEU is actually ending or if there is gonna be one more Aquaman movie since the second movie apparently ends with a setup for one? (wouldn't be the first setup for another movie that never followed through though) And it may not so much be ending as it is soft rebooting. Which... since I doubt the WB execs learned anything about why the DCEU failed to achieve what the MCU managed, I can't say I have high hopes for DCEU 2.0.

Their tax games definitely contributed to the DCEU loosing fans and thus money in the long run. The Batgirl movie had a lot of interest in it from fans and, if I'm remembering correctly, it had finished filming and just had post-production left to do. So tanking it for tax reasons pissed off a lot of people and killed off a lot of goodwill towards WB's handling of the DC movies. The fact that WB/HBO are continuing to play tax games with the Road Runner cartoons continues to erode trust in the company and continuing to play those games are likely to continue destroying their fan base as more and more people lose trust in them. Until these kinds of tax shell games are made illegal, I don't really see the company admitting that these kind of short term tax benefits are hurting their long term profitability with every person who stops caring about new movies or shows announced because, well, it'll probably get canceled for tax BS anyway, right?

Their strict control of characters being allowed to appear in DCEU vs the various tv shows was ultimately harmful too. By refusing to allow a live action Batman show, we got a version of Arrow that was at times good but was still pretty clearly Bruce Wayne-lite with Oliver Queen slapped on top. And who basically became a cop in the final season; comics Ollie would be ranting in all fucks about that if he knew. (Dinah probably wondering if he'd forgotten other words exist...) Declaring Deadshot off limits too meant putting an end to the use of the suicide squad episodes, which I have no doubt backfired by making fans of the show interpretation less interested in seeing the movie version.

While I'm glad that bringing Barry Allen as the Flash into the movies didn't end up killing the show - it was already popular by the time the Justice League was announced so I suspect they at least realized killing that show would definitely be shooting themselves in the foot, a rare good decision for the DCEU - but the way interviews about the Ezra Miller version of the character are given tells me that they just... don't care about the success of the show compared to movies. And that alienated fans of the Flash show, especially down the road when a standalone Flash movie entered development and the movie related hype got louder. "Oh how wonderful Ezra is at playing Barry Allen, none could do it better." Except Grant for nine years. Ten if you count the intro episodes he had on the Arrow before the Flash started. Talking about the movies as if the show didn't exist, or matter, definitely shot them in the foot with show fans. And it didn't help that the movies were retreading stories with that version of Barry that the show had already done - Eobard murdering Nora, Flashpoint, an evil version of Barry too??? not totally clear on that one - and did so badly if the clips I've seen of the Flash movie are any indication. At the very least had the interviews regarding the movie had been respectful of the show's success, they could have drawn in a lot more viewers than the Flash movie ended up with.

Those are not the only places where the movies have caused characters to be barred from the various tv shows or where the movie PR has treated the shows (and not just arrow verse shows) like they don't exist. But they're the ones that come to mind for me first. And it generates bad feelings with fans every time it happens.

Then there's the fact that the DCEU movies were just literally difficult to watch. The MCU movies get dark, but wow. Do DCEU filmmakers know what lighting is? Do they know that lighting is important in order to see what is happening on the screen? Do they know that people watching movies like to be able to see what's happening on the screen?

The MCU has a lot of planned continuity between entries. The plots for the movies may be kinda shallow, but the fact that a lot of the movies can stand on their own despite being interconnected was a major strength for building up the fan base it has today. They don't account for every plot hole or contradiction, and it's kinda hilarious what continuity errors some of the later retcons have introduced, but ultimately there is a cohesiveness of story being told across the various movies and shows. And the shows have been very good at diving into the fallout of plot points that are left shallow in the movies. What happened to the agents burned during the Winter Solder - Agents of SHIELD handles that question really well, though being so tightly tied to the movies was as much a weakness for the show in it's early seasons as it was a strength. Daredevil and the other Defenders shows explored the fallout of the Battle of New York. And the Disney shows continue that trend of diving more in depth into various questions the movies have left us with.

The DCEU doesn't really have that. There's no real unified vision. There's a lot of big ideas but not a whole lot of follow through. The characters don't really seem to exist between movies - the Flash movie was supposed to be a few years post the Justice League movie, but Barry had done basically nothing as the Flash between the two. Diana is still mourning Steve as the love of her life in the second WW movie. Though Diana has grown more comfortable in the regular world, she hasn't really grown any as a person between the first and second movies despite the decades in between. And then sometimes the characters are more stereotypes than actual characters - Batman vs Superman was less Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent clashing over misunderstanding each other and more the concept of Batman vs Superman as argued by out of touch fanboys who don't actually like the source material. (You can tell where I stopped keeping up with the DCEU now right?) And even the extended version of Justice League has at best superficial readings of the characters because it's trying to do too much at once. While sometimes the characters do learn and grow and better themselves, if it survives to the next movie is hit or miss. Which, admittedly, is one movie sin the MCU does have in common with the DCEU.

(The things that could be said about how wildly unevenly Clint Barton was written to be... I swear he's basically a different character every time he shows up at this point, despite having the same name and actor every time.)

And the DCEU hasn't really handled it's scandals well. When actors or directors or whoever is called out on bad behavior, the company will cover for them. So while the people running the shows seemed to have learned from the #MeToo movement and ditched problematic people even when it meant changing direction with ongoing plots (Supergirl season 3) or writing out one of the main characters of a show (Hartley Sawyer being let go between seasons over uncovered past bad behavior and the subsequent decision to write out Ralph Dibny instead of recasting), but those in charge of the DCEU have routinely protected people called out for racist, misogynist, and other prejudiced behaviors. (the post Justice League racism debacle, pretty much everything to do with Ezra Miller pre-Flash movie release...)

Honestly, the TLDR here would be that the DCEU was just mismanaged every which way it turned. And while we still got gems like Aquaman, the first Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey... those were never going to be enough to save the DCEU from either getting shelved or rebooted eventually. And if we are getting a DC movie-verse reboot? Unless the problems that tanked this iteration are addressed, it's still going to fail in comparison to the MCU's ongoing successes. Because ultimately, yes, I think they wanted MCU level success without being willing to do the work to achieve it. And I don't think they'll be any more willing to do that work with a rebooted DCEU either.

[skiplo-wave]

How was the fnaf movie you qwnt quiet during the liveblog

Lol my bad

It’s okay. I didn’t have high expectations for movie . Seeing some of YouTube cameos was cool and like they didn’t go too crazy with them.

Animatronics we’re amazing and shoutout to puppeteers giving them weight and what not. Idk how they controlled Foxy but good job.

Spring trap was rad too. Matthew being unhinged serial brought back good memories of scream. Buddy still got it

Easter eggs were and set design of Fazzbear 👌🏾

Cons: I did not care about Mike Vanessa or Abby. I understand Mike was a blank literal canvas so he needed something to have a personality. It could have been handled better. And Abby lowkey annoying to me but kids are annoying so good job(?)

Pacing wasn’t good. I can’t even tell you if they did the whole five nights or not. Rather we got animatronics being spooky selves than goofing off building a fort. But it’s whatever they are kids trapped in the suits.

I’d be very surprised if fnaf doesn’t get sequels. In fact if so they I say let them verge from the game ones if they can do it right

Apparently some folks bummed out Markiploer didn’t appear but he was filming ironlung. If sequels are green light he’ll show up lol

6/10 coming from someone that has basic understanding of fnaf lore. I don’t see how fnaf fans wouldn’t enjoy this movie

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Okay, to my fighting game fan followers, I'd like to present: River City Girls!

The series is a spin-off of the Kunio-kun series, a beat 'em up game series that has apparently existed since the 80s and I had no idea about until recently.

The original game was released back in 2019 and stars Kyoko (the ginger) and Misako (the brunette) who are trying to rescue their boyfriends, series' protagonist Kunio and Riki (Misako is Kunio's girlfriend and Kyoko is Riki's)

The game is endlessly charming with amazing pixel-art-style graphics, a killer soundtrack and very cool boss fights! It also has a great sense of humour, you're gonna love it! You can even check out a bit of gameplay from Matt McMuscles, a favourite YouTuber of mine, through whom I got introduced to these game by a video he uploaded on the second game a few days ago on his other channel and made me look into these games. Apparently he's voicing a character in the second game and JackSepticEye is even voicing one in the first one!

Be warned though, the first game, the bosses in particular, can be challenging if you're playing alone. The game seems to have been made with 2-player co-op in mind so it's recommended that you get one of your friends to play with you, it's generally more fun this way. The first game however features no online multiplayer meaning that you actually have to depend on your real-life friends and mine are all STUPID and don't wanna play this with me so I'm stuck trying to beat the bosses on my own 😭😂

If you're feeling retro, the 1994 SNES game where Kyoko and Misako first appeared in has also been localized in the West for the first time ever this year as River City Girls Zero and serves as a prequel to the original and a second game, River City Girls Two, has just been released as well. All three games are available on Steam, PS4 / 5, Xbox One / X / S and Switch so I trust you'll have no problem getting them on the platform of your choice. The 2019 game which I got today seems to be on sale until the 22nd of December so you'll be saving up money and I think the sequel is also around 40€ and it just came out so even on full price the games aren't expensive.

According to Matt the second one, which he played solo, without his friend Liam who's playing with him on the video I shared above, is less challenging and it also features online multiplayer this time.

If you're a fighting game fan I think you're gonna have tons of fun with River City Girls because the games feature TONS of references and Easter Eggs to many popular fighting games and beat 'em ups. I've even seen pics of Sol Badguy and Jam Kuradoberi from Guilty Gear making cameos in the sequel, ArcSys is the publisher of both series.

Anyway, let me know if you actually end up playing any of the three games as I just started the first one myself and I'm really pumped!

[anueutsuhos-touhou-profiles]

The Giant Catfish:

Hell yeah.

Anyway, the Giant Catfish (he has no name) is an evil servant of the demon god Taisui Xingjun. He sent many demons disguised as people of Gensokyo to attack the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and he himself came in the form of Reimu Hakurei. However, they were all defeated by the legendary gatekeeper: Hong Meiling! The giant catfish revealed his true form, and an awesome final battle commenced... where the background seemed to devolve slowly into a child's crayon drawing.

It turns out the whole thing was nothing more than a dream Meiling had after reading one too many manga and then falling asleep on the job. Oops.

Even if he wasn't real, he's still notable because, well, look at him. He sticks out like a sore thumb among this cast of cute and/or pretty ladies.

The Giant Catfish first appeared as the final boss of Hong Meiling's story mode in Touhou 12.3: Hisoutensoku, and is the closest thing to a new character introduced by the game. He also made a cameo appearance in Touhou 15.5: Antinomy of Common Flowers, during the time when the Dream World spilled over into the real world.

In battle, he has the ability to cause earthquakes and launch rocks about, as well as the ability to generate electricity. These are abilities commonly associated with catfish in Japanese folklore. He also can grow even bigger than he already is!

Taisui Xingjun is an evil god in Chinese mythology. He is said to represent the planet Jupiter and has vast curse powers.

Apparently at one point a giant catfish was planned to be the main villain and final boss of Touhou 10.5: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, but Tenshi the celestial became that role instead.