#awesome episode btw highly recommend

[huidol]

compilation of erika laughing about the sam dolls bc its my favorite part of the episode

[fenicearts420]

Guess who's been reading, "You're new TV headed roomate!"? :D

(Warning! Contains some spoilers!)

So, as a normal person who's favorite SMG4 character is Mr. Puzzles, I've been reading a few Mr. Puzzles x reader fics, and this one is just amazing! The writing for every chapter feels like actual episodes from the show and everyone having different nicknames for Insert is really nice. And, after reading the recent chapter, it's actually given me some inspiration to draw my self-insert interpretation of them. When working on this, I saw @bovinewriter's canon design for Insert and a few other posts of theirs saying it's more of a base design for open interpretation, so I kept the main aspects of the canon design (horns, hairstyle, and jacket) then added my self-insert spin onto it. Also, my original interpretation for the two halves was each one was a different color that mixed together to form the main color Insert wears, but then I thought, "What if the two halves and pre-split Insert each wore one of the secondary colors?", so I went with that instead.

Left

Left is the more serious, albeit, more depressed half.

They are patient and cool-headed, with some exceptions.

During the split, they kept the dark and cool-colored aspects of their original outfit since they're the rational, logical, and more pessimistic half of Insert. They also have pants instead of shorts because it's more professional (in their opinion).

Right

Right is the more impulsive and animated half, so to speak.

They are optimistic and loyal, in their own way, and tend to go with the flow in certain situations.

They kept the lighter/warmer aspects of their original outfit since, despite their choice after the split, their intentions really are wholesome and they want nothing more than to bring out their insane, TV-headed man's good nature. How sweet.

I don't have an exact idea of what my interpretation of Insert before the split would look like, but this is a rough idea I drew up, which (at the time of writing this) looks kind of similar to Opossol's character, Eliza. That was not my intention and I apologize. Go check out their stuff, it's great! Also, go check out their Creative Control animatic on YouTube. It's awesome! The 2D and 3D elements blend beautifully with each other.

Anyways, I just wanted to share this for funsies and also promote bovinewriter's fic. If you're looking for a good Mr. Puzzles x reader fic, I highly recommend this one, especially if you want one that makes you feel like you're in an actual SMG4 episode. Btw, I'm cooking up another Mr. Puzzles related thing rn that I'll, hopefully, be able to finish and release before the end of the year because I really wanna finish it and make it good before my hyperfixation runs dry and it becomes other unfinished project, slowly gathering dust. Y'all have a great day!

[intertexts]

tell me more about dakota cole gon hunter hunter I literally know. nothing abt that anime give me ur propaganda. ramble 2 me forever and ever I wanna KNOW

I HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE IN FOR!!!!!!

god. okay. hunter x hunter is a shonen manga by yoshihiro togashi that's been in serialization since '98 & has had two separate anime adaptions. i'm gonna be talking abt the '11 adaption, since that's the one ive been watching! (sidenote: started hxh because of the podcast media club plus which is easily one of my favorite podcasts everrr incredibly good analysis has really affected the way i think about media analysis & criticism extremely fucking fun awesome dynamics btwn folks who are 1) very well known for having extremely good media opinions & 2) great friends who have been friends for a long time & just a delight to listen to. its a great time regardless of whether u r watching the show or not highly recommend if u ever need a new work or commute podcast etc) also disclaimer that i'm only on episode 62 of the show. so.

anyway. the hxh plot:

i will not get into the plot much because it's not as important for the dakota gon isms. but its this. ^!!

so hxh is, overall, a homage to and deconstruction of its genre tropes. togashi very much loves and enjoys a ton of the tropes he's playing with and very obviously delights in subverting just as many of them. it balances these wildly disparate tones of classic, bright candy colored shonen magical worlds and powers and big fights with genuine, seriously-considered violence, cruelty, sinister power structures and all the other heavy consequences of splashy ultraviolence. [RINGS THE PD BELL!!!] the whiplash is ridiculous sometimes-- the ease with which the show cuts from the last survivor of a genocide (kind, reasonable, soft-spoken) turning to self-destructive revenge that is quite literally destroying him from the inside out, taking an immense toll on him and his relationships with the people he loves, becoming a murderer in cold blood (& of course we spend time with the man he murders beforehand, and he's fucking awful, but also human, and has friends and shit, & it's very clear that this is something dreadful and not just a cool fight)-- to like, the two twelve-year-old main characters concocting a fucking ridiculous scheme to corner the antiques market so they get a billion dollars to buy a viddy game & one of the twelve year olds faces turns into a little >:3 kitty face whenever hes doing something sneaky & there's some cartoon ass shopkeeper scamming them, is wild. and neither of them are the "correct tone," right? the whole thing is a balance between the modes & takes them both seriously & at their own value. [RINGS THE PD BELL] so like. literally since a couple episodes into prime defenders ive been like oh, yeah, this tracks, i'm not bothered by the constant juxtaposition of stupid ass bits with genuinely serious moments, this is obviously influenced by hxh. which, like, i still can't say if that was intentional or not. but hxh is one of The manga of all time & was & still is incredibly influential (sasuke of sasuke fame is a knockoff of a hxh character btw), so i have no doubt that it was an ingredient in the mix somehow!

anyway. gon, who is literally dakota, is the protag! hes the little boy who set off to find out whats so great about cigarettes :) he is a kid who was raised by his aunt who he has a complicated relationship with after his mother was killed and his father disappeared, and he grew up in the woods and is very very strong and fast and good at fighting because he grew up in the woods!! fucking feral little creature boy who fights with a fishing rod and talks to animals and has an incredible sense of smell. gon does some shit, leaves the island, makes some friends, gets groomed by a creepy fucking pedophile which he thinks is fine, gets brutally tortured for a very very uncomfortably long time, which he thinks is fine, becomes a hunter (which is great he has awesome lines of credit now!) it's still unclear what a hunter is or does, but they have lots of power and can do pretty much whatever they want. anyway, he wants to be the best and the strongest and he loves fighting for fun, for the sake of fighting and being good at what he does!!!! and he also wants to find his dad. and definitely doesn't have any unresolved issues from the fact that his mom is dead its fine he doesn't even want to know anything about her its chill and also his dad's so cool so whatever he was doing was for sure more important than him so it doesn't matter that he abandoned him! the crux of gon as a character is that he is very silly and often kind and very much a kid, and he does not fucking care what happens to himself. he is fine with getting the shit beaten out of him by people twice his age he is cheerfully oblivious to and makes excuses for almost every single adult taking advantage of him or being just awful to him, when it's very obvious in the narrative that it is bad and not good, he's self-destructively reckless and impulsive and fixated on what he thinks is good and right and also on becoming the best and strongest even if he burns out fast and he loves his friends so so so much. and simultaneously also he's a sillygoofy kid who does dumb shit with his best friend ever (gay) n worries about his pals n stuff. its okay if he burns himself out and gets himself hospitalized for months its okay if people hurt him and take advantage of him and get off on the idea of killing him but its NOT ok if his friends even THINK about taking a risk like that >:(( head in hands. anyway. yeah. fun silly adventures strange beasts and foreign lands and wild cartoon shenanigans and very explicit horror and gore!! with often brutal and terrible consequences that leave you feeling kind of sick!!! where have i heard that before!!!!!!!!!!

[loisroo]

8 shows to get to know me

i was tagged by @tiffanylamps forever ago (sorry 🤦🏼‍♀️) and more recently by @evil-moonlight (thank you my beloved evil 🖤🖤).

btw none of these are in order because i can’t choose favorites and most of them are recent shows that I’ve watched and not all my favorites over the years.

1. the untamed — y’all i’m a basic bitch and i wish I could say i loved this for wwx and lwj relationship, the darkness and the sacrifice, the pain that comes with being known, the grief of losing the one you hold dear and all the wonderful, wonderful things this show is about… but in reality it’s because of this idiot:

2. beyond evil — this show has consumed me for like two years now and i’m still writing fic for it and I watch it multiple times. the plot is amazing, the actors are phenomenal, the writer and director are both women. they care about the victims on this show and allow vulnerability to exist while also keeping you at the edge of your seat and so fucking confused. the characters are dynamic and nuanced and so very real, it makes you feel for them so much. but if I’m staying honest then it’s mostly because of these two idiots being in love:

3. we are lady parts— i didn’t even know i needed this show until i watched it. it’s so fucking punk, the whole show just oozes pink vibes and the music ughhhhhhhh. i’m neither muslim nor from the united kingdom but i resonated so fucking hard with aspects of the characters and fell in with the whole show. it’s empowering and fun, i highly recommend this to everyone.

4. what we do in the shadows (wwdits) — this show is just… one of the best comedies ever. the writing, the acting, the character development…. this show might honestly be one of the best i’ve ever seen even outside of the comedy genre. it’s so much more then it actually leads you to believe at first. plus the gay, can’t forget about the gay because literally the whole show is queer and i love it. and the plus sized rep is also super wonderful!

5. good omens — i recommend this show to everyone because it’s wonderful in so many ways, and the two leads are just *chef’s kiss* but i also love this show so much because it was written by my brother’s favorite author (@neil-gaiman) and he loved this book (and american gods) so much, he talked about it constantly. now that he’s gone whenever i watch it, i feel closer to him and connected to him, it’s a really nice way to handle my grief sometimes. plus i know he’d be pissed that he missed the show too. lol

6. ted lasso — this show was super surprising for me, i don’t mind watching sports and some games but I was like 10 episodes about sports? Mmmmm maybe not. but then my sister begged and begged for me to watch it so i did. it’s second to wwdits with comedy but this show has the healthiest characters, the greatest character developments, they call out toxic masculinity and sexist ideals, and it’s so heartwarming. i rarely stop smiling while watching it, top notch writing and top notch acting.

7. derry girls — i struggle to pinpoint the exact reason i adore this show so much. maybe it’s the teenagers that act like actual teenager, or the inclusion of parents in the story line without them being dumb or the main characters or ignore their children. maybe it’s because they are a light in a dark time, living through something awful and scary while still trying to live their lives. maybe it’s the wonderful characters that make you smile and laugh… maybe it’s sister george michael.

8. the equalizer — i fucking love queen latifah. she is awesome as the man badass lead in this, she’s smart and resourceful and she uses that to help people in her community and make things right when the law falls short. most of the main cast are black women and a lot of the guests and secondary characters are also people of color and women. ohh also gay auntie saw whatttttttttttttttt. i know this show doesn’t get the greatest overall ratings and people really judge it often but it’s a show about the injustices in the world with a dynamic and diverse cast, I really really love watching it.

thanks for the tags! 🖤 no pressure tags: @killerandhealerqueen @l-tyrell @tardis--dreams @ah-ragehappy @cafedecanela @magicaldreamfox1

[kevin--of-desert-bluffs]

WTNV quick rundown - 146 - The Birthday of Lee Marvin (II)

This episode is narrated to us by TL Thompson playing the role of Lee Marvin.

Read the rest of my rundowns here!

Every evening’s disappointment is the next morning’s hope. I’m Lee Marvin. Welcome to my birthday.

This is one of those episodes I highly recommend listening to to get the full experience - what follows is a very brief summary which does not do it justice.

Lee Marvin tells us about what it is like to be him. How his daily routine, the day of his 30th birthday as it always is and always has been, is always exactly the same. It is the same even if he tries to change it. For example even if he doesn't go near the box of cereal he has for breakfast every morning the exact same amount of cereal will always be in the bowl.

He tells us that he has been on the surface of the Awesome Planet Lit By No Sun and that we will all go there one day, one at a time, alone.

He tells us about visions he's had, visions about forests full of water he wades through, about board meetings with a unsmiling man who does not talk to him, about shimmying slowly up an infinite chimney with brutal cold water sloshing far below and sunrise/sunset above.

He tells us about all the things he has not done and how it's impossible for everyone to do everything anyway. He seems content with this existence but there's an undertone of sadness.

Weather: “Sicilian Crest” by the Mountain Goats

There is another Lee Marvin trapped in the walls that questions him about there being 'more than this' and then asks to be helped out but cannot be.

He likes to binge old 90's sitcoms like 'Five In A Pit' or 'The Thin Man Commences'.

He never actually falls asleep, staying away counting the hours instead, but always wakes in his bed at 5am anyway.

He drives a Dodge Durango and owns a hat that he's never bought, running shoes he's never used and has never been married but has been divorced.

He likes the 1960's original version of Forgetting Sarah Marshall where every part is played by Frank Sinatra and since he loved it so much he can't imagine a better movie and so has never watched another.

Time travel is like super a thing in NV btw it's mentioned a few times in the Blood/Space War and Pioneer day episodes and I never realised it was becoming a Thing but Lee Marvin also says he gets brochure's advertising Time Travel so it's super a thing yeah.

After all, past performance is not a predictor of future results. After all, death is only the end if you think the story is about you. After all. After everything. After it’s over. What then? Good night, Night Vale Good night.

Proverb: A group of Chihuahuas is called a committee. A group of Labradors is called a jumble. A group of Golden Retrievers is called a butter dish.

[cdmagic1408]

Status Update: feelin' good and much MUCH better 😄

So...yeah...hi Quest Masters!

I’m so happy to be back here! I missed you all so much!

I can't wait to start posting again!

So...what's new?

Well uh, let's see...

I guess I'll start with the magma beast in the room...

I am happy to report that my mom and I are on good terms again 😌

We talked it out all last week over what we were fighting about (that wasn't Onward related btw) and basically what she wants from me is this: a balance. I can still love Onward as much as I do, but she would also like the love I do put into it to be put into IRL stuff that will move me forward too: mostly to do with what my college major is 👈

At the end of the day, my mom, older sister, and I...we may not live in the same house together anymore, we may have heavy disagreements about things, but we're still a close-knit very loving family and I couldn't ask for anything better ❤️

I love my family so much and sometimes I do take that for granted. I want to try and be better about not taking things for granted because it turns I do take things having to do with my family for granted a lot. I know it won't be easy but I'm going to try. Heck, knowing how much bolder I've become over the last 6 months, I feel like I can do anything I set my mind to these days 😎

What else?

I just got a new roommate over spring break who has THE MOST adorable pet bunny! She's SO cute! Her curiosity and the way she twitches her nose makes me wanna squeal everytime 🐰😍

I think Robaire is my favorite member of 4*Town (and yes 4*Town is my go-to music right now, they really need to make a full album! 3 songs just isn't enough!) there's just something about him that makes me go all googley eyes, maybe it's Jordan Fisher...maybe's it's his pierced ears...his expression...but yeah he's my favorite 🎶

(also when I typed "googley eyes" in my search box, the Google logo at the top left corner of my page literally put on googley eyes! It's so freaky! But I love when Google is interactive like that, try it!)

I'm about to start rewatching Green Eggs and Ham on Netflix cause in case you didn't hear, season 2 is FINALLY coming in 2 weeks!! I also added GE&H to my bio too because I really love that show, it was what I was really into before Onward came out and I've been eagerly waiting for the second season to come out the moment I finished the last episode of season 1. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet! This is one of those rare times where I say it's actually better than the original source material, the animation is gorgeous, the story is awesome, so yeah check it out if you're on Netflix and you're bored cause that's how I found it! 💚

I guess other than that, I've just been using my time off to get back into the swing of things at college and focusing on my schoolwork. I finally got a massive research paper that I've been assigned since the beginning of this semester finished yesterday so I'm glad that gigantic boulder is off my back. But now that I'm in a good place, things are calm and not as busy again, I thought now was a great time to come back!

So yeah...stay tuned for more IYTM commentary (chapter 11 is next), and just anything really! I'm here ✌️

[destinyc1020]

the over working thing is one of the biggest reasons why i want z to move on from euphoria

Yea, after this season, I think it's time honestly. Especially since it doesn't seem like the cast is as tight as they used to be. I guess it will just depend on how well this second season goes I suppose. If it does extremely well, Sam might want to continue on the series. Either way, I hope Z moves on 👀 She's the biggest star on the show. It's better to leave while you're on top imo.

If they do decide to keep the show going, I think they should just keep the school the same, but focus on a NEW cast, and recycle the old cast out. Most of them are over 21 anyway lol.

I would really love to see her get more film roles (that are longer than 15 min of screentime), and to branch out of playing a teenager.

I don't mind her doing another series again, but if she does do another series, I would LOVE to see her do something on Hulu or Netflix or Amazon Prime....something like "Little Fires Everywhere" or something... Like a mystery/drama/thriller series. Just something that has only one season, and doesn't take up sooo much filming time.

For example, the series "Little Fires Everywhere" (which was awesome btw - HIGHLY recommend it! 😃) only took 5 months (5 MONTHS!!!) to film, and they filmed it in LA.

And the series had 8 Episodes.

On the other hand, Euphoria films 8 episodes in 8 months. If she were filming a regular show, she would already be DONE with filming by now lol. 😂

Euphoria just takes so freakin' LONG to film, mainly due to all of the cinematography and camera tricks that they do. The effects are cool (don't get me wrong), but it's just so involved. 😩😓

So yea, I agree w/you Anon... I wouldn't mind seeing Z branch out from this show and use her time on other projects. Might be less juggling back-and-forth too if she has more free time due to less of a crazy and lengthy filming schedule on this one show.

[reivenesque]

Hi, hey! Just a drive-by rec! If you haven't seen Wild Heroes with Iwata Takanori yet, I can highly recommend it. Not only is it all about friendship but Iwata's whump there is just glorious. And he gets to be shot and bedridden AND awesome and smart at the same time! And his backstory there is just more emotional whump. I love it!

Ok I'm sold! 🤭

I'm so behind on my Gun-chan movies though. Lately I've been watching Yellowstone and cringe watching 911 and have had little attention span for anything else (that I haven't seen a million times).

Don't know why, but I haven't been in the mood to start any new shows in ages. I've only been marathoning the same shows over and over again (I don't know how many times I've rewatched Modern Family from start to finish - though finish except the last two episodes. I hate when comedies decide to go the bittersweet route at the end).

But yeah... anyway, which episode does the physical whump take place though? For... umm... research...

Btw, I've seen you post about the show and I have heard about it before while researching Iwata'a filmography and this whole time I thought I was reading the title correctly but I only really realize when I went to look the show up that it was called Wild Heroes and not Wild Horses 😂 (I blame Yellowstone for the confusion).

[veryhiddenreki]

You always post abt so many different animes (which is amazing!) & sometimes I get a bit lost. There are so many and they all look interesting! Can you maybe recommend 5 of your favs atm? I wanna watch them :D

I love your art btw 💕

First, thanks for the compliment!! And

Of course!! So Ill let you know the five i really love atm and since I dont know you if I recommend you something youve seen already let me know in a different ask!

1) Im watching re-main currently its a water polo anime and I actually really love it so far, like its got a good premise and i adore the characters so far! It’ll be 12 episodes

2) another sports anime I watched recently was bakuten!! It was a rhythmic gymnastics anime and its 12 episodes its sooo good i also highly recommended this one

3) I often ramble on about yuri on ice and that ones like legit one of my all time favorites because I love ice skating and the main couple are both boys and I love getting some good representation in media, they have a healthy romance i love them (also 12 episodes)

4) ive caught up to my hero academia recently if you like hero animes I really recommend this one! I love all the characters and i feel like each one has some great development plus the fights are all really awesome, i got hooked on it (has like 5 seasons)

5) I also talk a lot about skate the infinity, if you havent realized yet ive been really obsessed with sports animes recently so incase you arent into sports animes I’ll recommend you a bonus one after this. Skate the infinity is really great im actually obsessed like id put it in my top favorites, its a skateboarding anime but its like so much more and one of the main characters canonically likes the other main character thats a boy which they have great chemistry so if they end up making it canon it wouldnt feel forced, theres good found family content and you grow to enjoy everything about it and that animation is literally so gorgeous!! (It has 12 episodes)

(+bonus I totally recommend given!! Its so good, theres a lot of mlm rep in that one as well and the characters are all amazing, Its about a band and their music is so good like once you hear it youll be inlove though it is slightly tragic! But overall id say a happy ending and worth it! Only 12 episodes)

[bebekyoda]

Ragnarok (Netflix) : A Summary/Review of season 1

Okay so 5th season of Skam looks pretty dope, its Magnus Fossbakken y'all

they have THREE Skam actors and im here for it

PROTECT MAGNE SEIER AT ALL COSTS

apparently Vidar is a psychopath who has serious anger issues and can NOT keep his damn clothes on

what the fuck was that first episode eye--

Isolde didn't deserve this mistreatment

Fjor is hot.. until he wears that ugly ass jumpsuit

also he peed on Isolde's memorial so he can fuck off

he starts to grow in me like "oh so he's a good boi" but then i have flashbacks to the pee pee thing

i can only forgive him if he betrays that creep and psychos of a fAMiLy

at first i disliked Laurits but what he did at the 6th episode... we stan

im pretty sure he's Loki lmao

he's gonna be an emo icon i can feel it

also when he wore his mother's shirt.. y e s

i HATE Saxa oh my god that bitch needs to go

she's just like Vidar but has more sense

I'd like it if Fjor killed her.. please..

i don't like Turid she never listens to her children and is always thinking about herself

i don't support Gry being in a relationship with Fjor he deadass tried to kill her lmao GO KILL SAXA INSTEAD YOU DUMB FUCK

also even Fjor and Laurtis have more attraction to each other lol

honestly Ran could cut me with her cheekbones and jawline

there's no sexual or emotional tension between Isolde's dad and Turid whatsoever wtf Laurits

the dance scene.. was kinda wtf but also.. hot?? idk the way Laurits just joined Fjor and Saxa and danced like he's been practicing a choreo with them made me come up with some theories

and this theory definitely has a thing with Turid and Vidar's past

also that theory is one of the reasons why i think Laurits is probably Loki

THE VIEWS OMG

I WANT TO LIVE IN NORWAY

THE SCENERY IS JUST FUCKING BEAUTIFUL

i love the atmosphere very much it's dark and rainy

also the soundtrack.. they have M83 which is awesome

i love how it started out with Magne being dyslexic like how Rick Riordan wrote in his series, i loved reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians so i had a little nostalgia lol

the way they are defending the environment, trying to get attention to that subject is just beautiful, it's not all about the Norse mythology

also why tf they keep calling Magne fat, he's not fat

MAGNE IS FUCKING GORGEOUS

i saw someone saying "so this is the Thor we get ew" FUCK OFF

im sorry Chris Hemsworth is not here

idc what y'all say mister David Alexander Sjøholt Stakston is beautiful --talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it.

but his reflection on the mirror as Thor.. couldn't they at least find a wig???

he deserves better treatment i hate that the other kids are excluding him

i also hope Gry and him will be just friends i just can't picture them in a romantic relationship

omg i really like Iman bc she's befriending Magne uwu

i kinda feel like she knows.. you know?

THAT OLD LADY

i gotta admit the first scene was kinda cringy but okay lol

but that old lady.. damn.. creepy af

6 episodes was too short for me i need more

and i have some theories soo

thank god there's gonna be a season two

not gonna lie the whole thing feels like it's low budget but they did good on using their budget

and the whole season felt like a REALLY long pilot episode

but yea i love it i highly recommend it

btw it is slightly violent

also it's aesthetically pleasing like even if you don't like the plot you could just watch for that

k that's it i guess

bye

[thefloatingstone]

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Not much to say this time. I was actually scrolling something and realised I wanted to point to some places where you can, specifically, watch movies online. And then I remembered I’ve made 3 of these playlists so I might as well make this one of them.

Like I said, this time around I have places where you can watch full length movies for free and that aren’t part of a streaming subscription. For the most part legally and not on some shady website or with the need of a torrent client or anything like that. Just easily accessible movies.

Please enjoy! In no particular order;

Wu Tang Collection

A youtube channel dedicated to archiving as many vintage martial arts movies as possible. Most of their films have their cheesy 70s and 80s dubbing, and include everything from true cornerstones of the film genre to silly exploitative nonsense like a collection of “Brucesploitation” movies starring actors like Bruce Li, Bruce Lai, Bruce Le etc etc.

They have films mostly in dubbed english but also have spanish dubs, english subbed, French dubbed, and original language versions.

They also include playlists of female martial artists, Wi Xia, and even documentaries on martial arts.

Korean Classic Film

an Archive channel dedicated to preserve Korea’s classic cinema, focusing mainly on live action. The backlog of films goes all the way to the 1930s and most of their movies have english subs. They also have certain films with French and Italian subs as well as Korean subs. They don’t focus on a specific genre and you can find a bit of everything here.

Mosfilm Official

The official Youtube channel of Mosfilm,(Мосфильм) one of the oldest and largest film studios in Russia and Eastern Europe. Their youtube channel has an archive of several Soviet films most of which have english subtitles. Navigation might be a little difficult unless you can read Russian as the films are all titled with their original titles, but if you know what film you want to watch and have google on hand it shouldn’t be too hard! Probably a good move would be too google “best Mosfilms” or “best USSR movies” or something for a top 10 list and go from there!

TOEI Tokusatsu World Official

Not exactly full length movies but still worth mentioning is TOEI’s official youtube channel where they’ve been archiving their libraries of vintage Tokusatsu shows from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. They upload regularly and are consistent with each show. Sadly, their videos don’t have english subtitles on them, but seeing as tokusatsu are action focused, it’s not too hard to understand what’s going on,and maybe can help for anyone trying to learn Japanese! Plus, it’s just neat seeing what was popular on Showa-era TV.

Looking at the channel description;

“ We will update daily to share TOEI’s TOKUSATSU with the world. At launch, we will have the first two episodes of all 70 shows available with English subtitles! Further episodes will be available in Japanese for now, but there could be frequent updates. We plan on making a public call for subtitles in any language.”

(the channel was shut down a few months ago after TOEI’s channel got copyright claimed by a TOEI bot for “copyright infringement” LOL but it’s back now)

Ninja Warrior Worldwide

Also not movies but considering the length of these I might as well include this too. I was going to include a channel that uploads vintage horror movies but it seems the user tied to the channel got banned and so the channel was shut down with them which is super lame.

ANYWAY! This channel is awesome. It has the episodes of the Japanese obstacle course show “Sasuke” known as “Ninja Warrior” in other countries. The Japanese episodes don’t have subs but, being an obstacle course show, you don’t really need to understand anything.

I recently watched the 5 hour episode for 2019′s contest and I had no trouble understanding it.

Highly recommend.

Rifftrax

Rifftrax has a 24/7 running Twitch channel which plays their catalogue of B-movie and shorts for free (unless you feel like subscribing or however Twitch works). It’s an official Twitch and so it supports Rifftrax directlyand you can just put it on and let it run for as long as you want. Only downside is you can’t pick what you watch. But honestly, It’s Rifftrax. You can’t go wrong.

That’s all I got for now. I could make an entire playlist for public domain movies you can find on their own on youtube, but I wanted to focus this list on channels rather than individual films. (btw “Stalker” is up to watch for free on Mosfilm’s channel, as is “Solaris”).

I know these may not be where your brain goes immediately for movies, perhaps, but there is honestly so much good stuff out there free for you to access that aren’t controlled or owned by The Mouse that are no less enjoyable or important.

I’ll make a post for specific movies next time.

[formerlybyanothernameblr]

This podcast is awesome, I highly recommend it to anyone who feels even remotely effected by being in quarantine atm. Super helpful for spoonies, ppl who have any sort mental health concerns, people who are anxious about three current global/ local situation or even those just bored. Emily and Kumail shaye silly stories, give excellent advice and recommendations for things to do and check out especially while you're socially isolated. And they're funny! I've been a big fan of K for years, he'll never let you down and Emily is a therapist so she gives perspectives both from the pov of a human with chronic illness and also professional advice. I listened to the first two episodes back to back while playing Animal Crossing. I'm grateful I came across it. And all the sponsored ads and donations generated are being donated to three major funds to help those affected most by the Corona outbreak. You can check all that out on the podcast page.

Also btw, if you haven't seen "The Big Sick" yet, you should check it out.

[rosaren2498]

Unpopular Opinions

I like Twilight. I enjoy Stephanie's take on vampires. I do prefer the books, but only because, as books tend to, they provide more information on the characters. Alice, Carlisle, and Emmett actually have backgrounds. Rosalie and Jasper's backgrounds are extended, as is Edwards (sort of).

I like X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I don't like what was done with Deadpool (though I am thankful for it, or at least the backlash because it gave us Ryan's full movie). There are aspects I dislike (already mentioned Deadpool). I mean, what were they thinking with the CGI claws? But overall, I enjoyed the movie. I loved who Sabertooth was in the movie. I loved Striker, and Kayla (as well as the story she told Logan). I even like that they tossed Scott in. I loved Gambit and wish they had eventually brought him back in later movies.

I like Megan Fox. I think she's a decent actress. I loved her in Transformers (all three). I also liked her in Michael Bay's first Ninja Turtle movie (haven't seen the second one).

I like Kristen Stewart as an actress (as well as a person??? She's so awesome). I think she's a phenomenal actress (Go watch Zathura for emotions! She portrays so much emotion in that movie and it's amazing, and her eyes are so full of life! Or, if you want horror, go watch The Messengers, as she's actually the Main Character in that. She also makes a brief 'cameo' at the end of Jumper ((Highly underrated movie btw)) but she's only onscreen for, like, ten seconds.) and I think the ONLY reason people hate her/hate on her is that people hate Twilight and she played the main character.

I also like Shia LaBeouf.

Speaking of Jumper, I LIKE HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN! Jumper is the best example of his acting being amazing. He plays the Main Character. (Again, highly underrated movie! Highly recommendable too.)

Speaking of Hayden Christensen, I like the Star Wars prequels. They often have bad dialogue but I still enjoy them, thoroughly. They gave me my love of Ewan McGregor. They gave me Count Dooku, a young Obi-wan, totally nailing him in the process. They gave me the Death Sticks scene!!! Go watch CinemaWins' video on the prequels, as well as Nostalgia Critic's Top 11 GOOD Things from the Star Wars Prequels. They aren't given enough credit. Are they perfect? No. Does the Good outweigh the Bad? Yes. Also, they gave us fast paced lightsaber battles!

I love Frozen. I love Let It Go. The only reason it got so much hate, to the point you are often shamed for liking it, is because the song blew up and it was suddenly everywhere. It's hated because it was popular really quickly.

Following that, I really love Tangled. I love Rapunzel and her green af eyes. I love how her hair looked after Flynn cut it. I love the music, and often find myself singing it to myself.

I kinda like Justin Bieber's music. Not everything, and not often but I listen to him sometimes and I think he's a good singer.

I love Miley Cyrus. I've loved her since Hannah's first episode and I never stopped. Her music has always been amazing, she's an incredible actress. I love her.

I ENJOY NICKELBACK and never understood the hate they got. I love some of their songs and they sound nice.

If you try to shame me for liking any of this, fuck you. I'm done letting my fear of shame and dislike rule how I feel about things. I refuse to continue to try and hate things I like, just because of how someone else might react.

Tl;dr If you shame someone because they like something, you're a fucking dick and you shouldn't do that.

[shazzeaslightnovels]

Reading Long - March 2019

Volume’s read: 12

As per usual, no spoilers unless otherwise tagged and I obtained all of these volumes in Japanese from Bookwalker.

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata 8 by Fumiaki Maruto

A welcome breather after the last few volumes of non-stop drama. It felt a lot more like the early volumes but I enjoyed it anyway. I swear Katou’s relationship with Eriri is the true love story of this series. Even though it’s only been a couple of months since I read the first two volumes, I couldn’t help but be nostalgic about the events in them along with the characters, as if a year had really passed for me too.

Sword Art Online: Mother’s Rosario by Reki Kawahara

Since I read the interview with Kawahara Reki where he talks about wanting to write a proper yuri series someday, my interest in this series was renewed. I rewatched the anime and genuinely enjoyed the first two seasons, though I still dislike Phantom Bullet arc (mostly because GGO just doesn’t look like much fun to me) so I wanted to read some of the light novel and figured I’d start with my favorite arc.

Even though this volume doesn’t hit me as hard as it did when I read it in English as a teenager, I still really like this volume. I’m one of those people who was annoyed by how little presence Asuna has in Fairy Dance and Phantom Bullet so I always liked that this volume gives her a lot of focus. And I LOVE Yuuki. One of Kawahara’s strengths has always been his ability to make the reader care about a character with only a couple of pages. Despite how little time she has, Yuuki still means a lot to me and I love her relationship with Asuna so much. One issue I did have with this book though was how many pages at the beginning were dedicated to recount the events of previous volumes. I already know all this and I doubt there are many readers who didn’t know all this. The other issue I had with this volume is how the last chapter tries to tie the arc into the main story. It didn’t need to and I think it shifts the focus of the arc away from Asuna and Yuuki’s relationship too much. And, as much as I enjoyed reading it, I think the anime surpassed it. Aoi Yuuki’s performance as Yuuki is breathtaking and the action scenes are so brilliantly animated. I did like having more insight into Asuna’s thoughts though so if you liked this arc in the anime, definitely check out the light novel!

This volume was published in English by Yen-Press as Sword Art Online: Mother’s Rosary so check it out if you’re interested!

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata 9 by Fumiaki Maruto

I’m not sure what to say other than that this keeps up the quality of the series? It was a good volume.

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata: Girls Side 2 by Fumiaki Maruto

Well this was a surprisingly satisfying read. Like the first volume, this volume is split into two parts with the first part taking place after volume 8 and the second after volume 9. The first part has three stories in it all focusing on characters and relationships that don’t get much focus in the main series. For example, the first story focuses on a conversation between Michiru and Utaha who I don’t think have had a real interaction since vol. 4. Even though these stories aren’t very plot relevant, I enjoyed them anyway. The second part is much more plot relevant and has some really good character moments for Izumi, Eriri, Megumi and Michiru and also includes a guest appearance by Mayu (from Koisuru Metronome manga)! The stories here were really good and the epilogue really tied them together nicely. I’m not sure whether this volume will be necessary to understand the story of future volumes but I get the feeling that the events that happen in the volume will be necessary to understand the characters and their relationships with each other.

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata 10 by Fumiaki Maruto

Once again, Maruto takes a typical light novel volume premise and quickly turns it into a dramatic affair. The cover and the colour illustrations are a lie! This isn’t a beach/swimsuit volume but it is an Utaha volume and a good one. It made me remember why I loved Utaha in Koisuru Metronome and why I still do. I’m a bit anxious about vol. 11 given that the cover and the colour illustrations show Megumi being embarrassed which is very out of character for her.

Saenai Heroine no Sodatakata 11 by Fumiaki Maruto

Welp, Maruto finally did it. He finally made Megumi into a boring heroine for me. I can’t get into too much details about what I disliked about this volume without spoilers but I think one thing that was really missing was scenes without Tomoya in them. I get that he’s the protagonist and the narrator but in the first few volumes, there sections that were just dialogue that showed Megumi interacting with people who weren’t Tomoya. I think we haven’t had a scene like that since vol. 7 and GS doesn’t fully replace it. Those scenes made Megumi feel like a full character and they were needed here. The reader needs to be shown that she has a life outside of Tomoya.Without that, she’s boring.

This is the last volume in the series that I own so I won’t be reading the last four volumes (including FD and GS) until Bookwalker has them on sale again.

Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu 1 by Mizuhito Akiyama

A few years ago I read The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was the first time I had read any novel that was written before I was born and I remember being so amazed at how paragraphs could last an entire page. Reading Iriya gave me a similar feeling to that, even if it’s not nearly as old as Dorian Gray. It’s amazing to see how much the light novel medium has changed since the first volume was released in 2001. There were so many descriptions of settings and movements and some of these lasted for more than a page. Due to this, I had a tough time reading this volume. There were a few times where I lost the plot and had to go back and read the scene from the start again. The writing style is smooth and the relationship between the two leads is cute but I can’t say I found the plot very interesting. I don’t quite understand what most people find charming about this series yet but I’m looking forward to possibly finding out in volume 2.

As for the anime, I saw it a long time ago and barely remember it and don’t have easy access to rewatch it. Looking at the episode summaries from Wikipedia, the first episode adapts around 170 pages so I’d imagine it’s pretty rushed.

Torikago Miko to Seiken no Kishi by Izuki Kougyoku

A short ~90~ page story from the author of Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou. It’s a pretty standard fantasy story about a legendary knight and I can’t say I cared for it. I didn’t really buy the relationship between the two leads but I did really like the ending. Even if I didn’t care much for it, I’d still recommend it to people who liked Mimizuku.

Kidou Shitsuji by Takeshi Matsuyama

Well, this was a pleasant surprise! This is by the author of Ame no Hi no Iris and Koori no Kuni no Amaryllis and the English title is Robot Butler but the titular character is not the funniest thing about it. Instead, most of the scenes I found humorous involved the female lead, Liese and her attempts to get Bel to notice her through the use of shoujo manga tropes. Of course, they all backfire on her. She tries to wink flirtatiously at him and he just asks if she has dry eye. She tries to run into him with a piece of toast in her mouth… only, they’re in the middle of a hallway and he catches her effortlessly when she tries to run at him. Liese’s cluelessness when it comes to romance is genuinely charming and of course I loved her relationship with her best friend, Flora, who introduced her to the concept of shoujo manga in the first place and encourages her every step of the way. The other notable character is Flora’s robot butler, Victoria who seems to be the only one who knows how much of an idiot Bel actually is. In addition to how funny it is, the volume has some surprisingly tight world-building and chapter six is truly awesome. There are so many things that get revealed and there’re big epic fights! I liked it a lot. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for the ending. I thought it was a bit of a cop-out though I suppose it did end it cleanly in the way that I am not desperately wanting a second volume. Anyhow, I’d highly recommend it and I’m looking forward to reading more of Maruyama’s works in the future.

Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu 2 by Mizuhito Akiyama

Despite my lukewarm opinion of the first volume, I actually quite enjoyed this volume. Surprisingly, Iriya isn’t in this volume much and the volume instead gives the reader some insight into some of the side characters thoughts, particularly Akiho. My favorite part of the volume was when we got to experience the school’s cultural festival through the eyes of the Asaba parents. It was an interesting choice and one that I quickly got behind. Rather than being just background dressing, Asaba’s parents are actually pretty interesting and fun without being too eccentric and silly. One thing I think this series does really well is that I never feel like the author is treating the characters like adults. A huge issue with a lot of fiction is that they tend to think of teenagers as adults instead of just a pile of people who are still growing and learning how to make decisions. (Saekano has this issue too, btw.) But these characters are still in their first year of middle school and they act like it. I think I’m starting to get the charm of this series now. This volume was very fun to read and I enjoyed it enough that I started volume 3 right away.

Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu 3 by Mizuhito Akiyama

I’m starting to realize that I like this series the most when it’s not being told from Asaba’s POV. I still like his character and a lot of the impactful scenes come from his POV but the most memorable part of this volume was chapter 1 where Akiho and Iriya have an eating competition and become friends. I liked it a lot, especially since Akiho kind of becomes Iriya’s “Mum friend” afterwards and Kiyomi starts affectionately calling Iriya “Kana-bu” which I thought was pretty darn cute. One thing that I really like about the dynamic between Akiho and Iriya is that Akiho is never portrayed as a straight-up bitch trying to get between Asaba and Iriya. Instead, she’s just a girl learning how to deal with her feelings. And Iriya is never portrayed as just a victim of Akiho’s attitude. Iriya is strong in her own way and can be very determined when it comes down to it. But enough about them, this volume had a lot of character development for Asaba. I really liked that he asked Iriya what she wants. Does she want to keep things the way they are? Or does she him to help her? He asks and I really liked that. I also think the way he runs to the bathroom in uncomfortable social situations is hilarious and adorable. In general, despite this volume having pretty heavy plot developments, I just found all the characters to be really cute. Anyway, I’ll be taking a short break before reading the final volume but I am really enjoying this series so far.

Ankoku Kishi wo Nugasanaide 1 by Shinichi Kimura

From the author of Kore wa Zombie desu ka? this story starts when a high school student called Najima’s class gets a new transfer student who just looks like a suit of armour wearing a female uniform. Honestly, I found it boring which is why I’m not putting much effort into the premise summary. It was fine, I guess, but I didn’t laugh at all and I found the characters to be bland. But I bought the first three volumes when they were first released so I kinda have to read them.

[burningcollectionsandwich]

hi guys

right before I say this, this post doesn't have anything to do with batman the enemy within (holy crap what the hell is wrong with me) please don't kill me.

I was looking on my deviantart account (which I made a while back) looking at my journal and I found my old calculations I made for corpse party tortured souls (for anyone who doesn't know what that is, its an AWESOME Japanese game where these students get transported into this hell hole school after doing a charm and they have to find a way out while solving the mystery behind the school before these ghost children can kill them...there is a lot of gore in this game, trust me. also my favourite character is yuka). anyway, when it was the holidays in 2017, I got bored and decided to watch corpse party tortured souls (the anime adaptation of the game, the game is way better) and while I was watching the death scenes, I thought “....huh, if I can calculate it correctly, maybe I could find out whos death lasted the longest”, I also had this thought because me and my friend were joke argueing about which character had the worst death and crap...we are weird people. anyway again, back then I was actually so proud of myself that I calculated this pretty much correctly, and my friend ended up winning the joke argment and they’ve been rubbing it in my face ever since. anyway enough with the explination, this is what my post said:

“Anyway, after reading all the mangas and watching the entire game plays/anime/extra chapters of each game (even hysteric birthday 2u for some reason), I have concluded the death times of each character in tortured souls and which character is in which space (yes I have a  messed up mind but I don’t care, I’m not changing). For the death timings, I am only doing the main 9 characters, well the 7 that died anyway. Also you might want to look at the heavenly host map while reading the first bit - i.psnprofiles.com/guides/3443/… (I don't own this picture) *spoilers for anyone who hasn’t watched any of the corpse party games or anime or read the mangas* How long the characters lasted in corpse party: tortured souls (using MATHS and SCIENCE) Seiko – calculating seikos death was a bit complicated but I think I have it. If you look on the heavenly host map, it shows that the infirmary is on the second floor while the girls bathroom is on the third. Now, this is important because when naomi hung Seiko, she would of have to walk back down the stairs and sit in the exact place where she was before she unknowingly got possessed by the darkening. For naomis journey up the stairs back to her previous place, I estimated to be about 3 minutes as in heavenly host it is dark and if you notice on seikos tv death scene, possessed naomi walks and acts rather slowly. Naomis trip back up the stairs takes 1 minute and 2 seconds (I had to add at least 10 seconds on has there was a cut scene). Now, if we take the time for Seiko to die on screen, which was 1 minute and 32 seconds. Seikos death lasted for 5 minutes and 34 seconds Mayu – do I even need to explain her death? She got splattered on a wall, meaning she died almost instantly, however the time it took her face being dragged against the floor was 5 seconds (im not even kidding). Mayus death lasted 5 seconds Morshige – I had a major problem with morishiges death as I have no idea when he fully died, but for this lets say he died as soon as the earthquake happened. So morishiges death timer starts when he gets stabbed in the neck by kizami to the end of episode 2, which was 50 seconds, now if you take the time from the beginning of episode 3 to the earthquake scene, you get 45 seconds. Morishiges death lasted 1 minute and 35 seconds Yuka – calculating yukas is a bit tough because you have to keep time on other parts in order for it to make sense. Yukas death timer starts when she gets stabbed in the leg by kizami to the cut scene where they are on the bridge, which is 2 minutes 40 seconds. Now if you take the time from the cut scene to yuka actually dying, which is 21 seconds. But in order for this to make sence, we have to take the time satoshi reaches to bridge to the time he actually arrived there, which is 1 minute 53 secnds seconds, this is because during the cut scene, they ran to the bridge where yuka dies, so we have to add that time on because that’s what happens in the cut scene. Yukas death lasted 4 minutes and 54 seconds Yoshiki – yoshiki had one of the easier calculating deaths because his death didn’t have any cut scenes so I easily took the timings from the anime. Yoshikis death timer starts when you hear him yelp scream from being stabbed in the eye by yoshikazu to the scene where he gets a hand shoved through his head, which was 34 seconds. Yoshikis death lasted 34 seconds Ms yui – I could go ahead and say that ms yui was killed instantly by decapitation but scientists say that the head lasts or the brain stays oxygenated for about 12 seconds after decaportation. Ms yuis death lasted for 12 seconds Satoshi – I had to research the timing for blood loss for satoshis death but I may have found an answer. My research says that after losing a limb, like an arm, the human would die in 6 minutes if pressure is not applied, however in this case, satoshi loses both of his arms, so I just halfed the time, which is 3 minutes. Satoshis death lasted 3 minutes”

its tumblr me again, my god, for a person with dyscalculia, this is pretty good (though I got to say, I do have a very messed up mind). the post also had a segment where I tried to figure out which character was in which space (you’ll understand all this if you’ve watched corpse party). I do highly recommend corpse party though (btw, the order of the games are: corpse party blood covered, corpse party book of shadows, corpse party hysteric birthday (not sure how the hell this game is a corpse party game but whatever), and corpse party blood drive)(corpse party totured souls, is an anime adaptation but its best to watch the game)

again, sorry this post wasn't about batman telltale, ive probably made some of you guys annoyed and I apologise for that, corpse party is my favourite Japanese RPG game, while batman telltale is my favourite English RPG game, ok? everyone understand? yar? cool

[unwoundbobbin]

Nine Worlds 2018 - Sunday & Homeward

This write up is bought to you by a pack of Nerds, so who the hell knows how coherent it will be by the end.

(Actual footage of me)

From Saturday!

Sunday:

Our Last Best Hope for Science Fiction: 25 Years of Babylon 5

A look at a ground breaking sci-fi series, celebrating a show we love and how it grew from a something set on a space station to something truly special.

(Two Centauri, a starfleet officer, and a Morden(?) walk in to a panel...)

This is the panel I missed the talk on Golems for, and much as I wanted to see the Golems, this was 100% worth the trade, because I’ve never met that many people who are in to B5 before, and it was a really funny and thought provoking panel with some beautiful moments in it, including the moments of silence when we remembered those from the Babylon 5 family who have gone beyond the rim.

There was also discussion of favourite moments from Babylon 5. Mine has to be this, from the Centauri’s final assault on the Narn Homeworld. Peter Jurasik’s acting is superb here, but I love that the writers and director made a place in that episode to show the flipping of Mollari when he realises what he’s done - how out of control and repelled he feels by what should be a moment of triumph. And the moment he starts to work his way back towards some sort of redemption.

I think my favourite quote of the whole thing was by the person cosplaying as Londo Mollari:

"Behold minbari Jesus - his name is Jeff" 

(This psycop lurked for the entire panel. It’s as perfectly creepy and wonderful as it sounds. When I mentioned that on twitter, it devolved in to a Babylon 5 pun war...)

When I came out of the B5 panel, the one person I’d seen with a brain slug had become a collective. And they continued to grow in number throughout Sunday. Props to the person who spent an entire year making brain slugs to give away to strangers at Nine Worlds.

(The frightening brain slug collective. They continued to multiply throughout the day. Possibly the creepiest cosplay of the weekend, just because they continued to multiply.)

History’s Hidden Heroes III

Following two years of back-to-back success, the ‘History's Hidden Heroes’ session returns to its original format of ten to fifteen minute mini-talks by individual presenters discussing their favourite figures lost - or pushed aside - from mainstream history. Introduction by EK McAlpine, with talks from Tara, Avery, and Reiley.

This session was run by EK, and the speakers were Avery Delany, Tara Brown, and Reiley Daniels who all spoke about people in history who were part of the LGBTQ community, including some who were trans (though not remembered that way), some who were gender non-conforming, some who were openly queer at a time when that was (more) dangerous than now.

Avery spoke about trans masculine people in history, including a pioneering doctor, James Barry (note - while that Wiki article generally avoids using any pronouns at all, there is a source from the time quoted that misgenders Barry, so be careful if that would cause you any distress).

My favourite quote from Avery was “Do some queer history“, but I also really appreciated something I didn’t get the exact words of, but amounted to the idea that someone wouldn’t live as a gender different to the one they were assigned at birth for over 50 years if they did not actually identify as that gender. I really wish I’d got the actual words, because that quote stuck with me as much as anything.

Tara Brown spoke about three women of colour who were pioneers in blues and jazz - and sexuality, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Gladys Bentley.

One of the most interesting, and awful, takeaways from this talk was the brief discussion about how there is some difference in the historical record as to the sexuality women presented, and that this is due to McCarthyism which basically forced at least Gladys Bentley to present herself as no longer a lesbian. It made me so cross to think of a person as comfortable in their sexuality as Bentley having to forcibly change themselves because of the massive risks that being out and proud served in the backwards looking 1950s America.

Reiley spoke about a quack physician called Charles Hamilton (misgendered practically everywhere on the internet), and the importance of checking multiple sources and subjecting them to due scrutiny.

If anyone enjoyed this panel is interested in other hidden heroes from sources that aim at diversity in who and what they talk about (and use content notices), I highly recommend @missedinhistory, Sawbones, and @rejectedprincesses.

The Future of Nine Worlds

It's time for a chat about Nine Worlds and where it's going. If you have strong thoughts about what you'd like to see the event become, and would like to get involved in making things happen, this is your in-person opportunity to talk about the options and understand how we got where we are.

Went to this, and I honestly don’t have a lot to say about it - not a lot a could say about it because I’m very much not the right person to speak about what happened in the majority of the session.

I will say that the announcement that Nine Worlds was re-constituting after this year’s con felt like a blow to the gut.

(This was an incredibly powerful moment, and to know that even though the current director is stepping back a future nineworlds is possible meant so very much.)

(Main point by what may turn out to be the future team was that Nine Worlds is too precious to lose)

CN for discussion of police at con, and a failure act appropriately to the stated concerns of a con-goer (and more concerned people who did not speak about it at the Future of Nine Worlds panel). When this section is over there will be a delightful gif of Wonder Woman deflecting bullets so scroll below her if you will find this section challenging.

What happened next is best summed up by Alecto101 in this post which I urge you all to read (also please read this followup thread by the same person). Her recollection of what happened at that panel is extremely accurate. I was there, and that is what happened. It was not dealt with adequately by anyone there in an official capacity. Most people who wanted to say something in follow up raised the fact that Alecto101 had not had her question and concerns adequately addressed, and when the people on the stage did so, it was in an inappropriate way that put the emotional and intellectual workload back on the person who had rightly raised legitimate concerns.

I have absolutely no patience with the people who immediately strawmanned (Oh, you don’t want police there at all - you can’t exclude attendees based on job) - I was there and at no point did Alecto101 suggest that.

What I’m trying to say is something EK said much more eloquently: “Concerns about how police participate in 9W and the separation of their jobs and their everyday lives as fans are ABSOLUTELY valid and not the same as “ban cops”.“

The developments since have been a little more positive, and I’m hoping that the reconstitution can be used as a way to build in representation of PoC from the beginning rather than trying to add on later. The way 9W works for members of the LGBTQ or disabled communities needs to be the way it works for the BaME community too, or it is not diverse (I’ve paraphrased here. I’m pretty sure I’ve just mangled the original quote. I can’t remember who said it but it wasn’t originally me).

For followup, I recommend reading Avery Delany’s thread here and this thread on the official Nine Worlds twitter account. This web page from Nine Worlds is also very important reading. If you have the physical, emotional, and mental spoons to do so, please consider signing up to be part of the future.

Finally, if you’re thinking about writing to Alecto, please first consider this tweet from the official Nine Worlds Team: “We do not want people to interact with the blogger on our behalf. We do not need defending. We do not want them pursued again for conversations they don’t want to continue. Their opinions are valid and we are glad to have heard them. “ and just DON’T.

After that I had more con crash, and tried to manage it myself in the quiet room, before worrying that my nose blowing was going to upset those who had sensory overload and needed genuine quiet, and ran away to my room where E wrapped me in a blanket and fed me biscuits until I was human again. She is awesome and I’m totally in her debt. (Thread here of what I struggled with wrt the quiet room - I am not saying it should go away BTW - I don’t know what the right answer is, just that I found it challenging for my own particular issues)

The end of the con was then barrelling towards me at a terrifying speed. I went off site for food with some friends, and then we all formed half of a team for the unofficial “The Not The End of the Con Quiz” as team Last Best Hope for Victory, and we only went and bloody won! Massive props to @knittedace and @laalratty who basically carried our team through two rounds pretty much on their own (even though one of our team who shall remain nameless nearly submitted “Aragorn” as the name of the giant spider in Harry Potter, which was caught before we submitted for marking, but they shall not live it down... for a while anyway :))

(Team Last Best Hope for Victory. Actual quiz victors!)

Went to bed at midnight after several rounds of Slash, which was really the perfect end to a great con (even if I did keep crashing).

(Me on my way home. I look pretty knackered there, but it doesn’t even touch how completely mentally (and to some extent physically) exhausted I was, and still am. Completely worth it though.)

I may have listened to this on the journey home and sobbed. Like I said on my Friday post, it’s somehow become the song of the con for me.