#bako's

[mobblespsycho100]

Doodle request: Toshiro eatign cup noodles

sepertinya bisa juga dia menjadi bintang iklan mie sedaap

[ID: A digital doodle of Toshiro Nakamoto from Dungeon Meshi in a chibi style. He is drawn holding Mie Sedaap Cup Kari Spesial (Indonesian Cup Noodle Brand, Special Curry Flavor). The doodle is in black and white and minimal detail while the cup noodles are an actual image of the cup noodles. The background is a plain beige color. /End ID]

[ringosnoop]

i think i'm finally starting to get kuromi's body shape down

[ebonysplendor]

Infatuation 💰🏞️

TL;DR: What's worse than running away from one psychopath? Running away from six psychopaths. Even worse than that? They're rich psychopaths, with shmonies. Also, can we make a damn plan and stick to it please?!

Game Link: https://aspenglen.itch.io/infatuation

Notable Features: Self-Insert, Customizable (somewhat), Multiple Endings, Multiple LIs, Yandere LIs, 4+ hours of gameplay Spiciness: 2/5 -- It can get a little flirty and a little spicy here and there, but the main "spice" is when there's an unwanted advance from some of the LIs LI(s) Red Flags: 3.8/5 -- Kidnapping, drugging, nonconsensual sexual advances, tied up, branded, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, physical force

Wanna know more? Meh...I say not unless you're at least 16. There's not an age restriction, buuuuuuuuuut I don't feel like anyone's 12-year-old sibling should be playing this. That being said, I can't do much from behind a screen, so let's get into it!

Just a heads up, the game was long as shit, so this review is going to be long as shit;;

Oh hey. Didn't see ya there. Oh this? This is just my first post in about a month. Thought I'd just...sliiiiide on in here, get thangs swangin' again. Lol but no seriously. It has been a pretty crazy month, but I've finally got enough time and rest at the same time to finally make this review, and aha...

Respectfully...I understand that all good things must come to an end, but damn, I really miss that phase where I was running into all the really good visual novels...

That being said, I know what I said, but hear me out! The game isn't...awful...but I didn't really vibe with it. Like, I know why I didn't vibe with it, but I'd rather wait and get into all of that during the review portion. Hopefully, based on the summary I give you, the review and criticism I have will make sense.

Anyways, this game, interestingly enough, is actually a rendition -- am I using that word right? I believe I am...? -- of a story that was written on Wattpad, and don't act all brand new like you don't know what Wattpad is! You know damn well what Wattpad is because here you are playing and reading visual novels and reviews of visual novels about toxic ass men being a (forced) love interest. Don't try to play me. I'm getting distracted though!

So the name of the story on Wattpad, like the game, is Infatuation, and it's about...well actually, I'm gonna give you a summary of what it's about because this visual novel is based off of it! I was going to give the actual story a read after I finished the visual novel but, uh...

Almost a 24 hour read???? Yeah, no thanks, and you'll hopefully understand why I didn't have much motivation to give it a read after my review.

I'm pretty over yapping in the intro, though, so let's head into the actual game, yeah? As per the usual, I'm going to tell you as much about the game as possible without ruining the game itself. Without a better transition sentence, let's get into it!

So boom.

We're on our way to school, and we meet up with our -- quite frankly -- thirsty ass friends. They're pretty much raving about this new group of boys that had just transferred to our school, because, not only are they super rich, they are, apparently, extremely attractive.

We pretty much brush this off, though, because we're not looking for anything romantic. Honestly, we're barely looking for anything platonic; however, we agreed to be their wingman since we're essentially God-tier at picking up men that we don't want.

That being said, by some weird stroke of luck -- or misfortune, considering we know that this is all going to go very left as the story progresses -- we proceed to run into every single one of them. And I mean

every.

single.

frickin.

one.

of.

them.

Well, kinda? The blond one had a class with the blue-haired guy, us, and the bestie. The purple haired one -- even though it's more of a burgundy? -- was in the vicinity after we had pretty much asked the other boys about him because this was the one that the besties were simping over the most. But the rest? Pretty much had a one-on-one moment with all of them, even if one was extremely douchey.

Anyways, we're kind've going about our days and the besties are still thirstin', and, admittedly, we're getting closer to these guys -- too close. One of our other friends -- his name is Hiroko -- pretty much warns us about them because something just seems real sketchy to him about these guys. That being said, we just kind've brush him off, because it's, like, sir? Who are you to talk about someone being sketchy? Like, lmao mans is a full on delinquent with a whole ass gang and a criminal history with the police, and they can't stand his ass.

He's a good sport about it, though, because even though he's like "You're a full blown dumbass for that", he's like "True, true..." and just warns us to be careful around them. Now mind you, his concern is totally fair, because it's discovered later on that they pretty much fucked up this one kid's world -- you'll have to discover how during your own playthrough, though. I ain't tellin' you all that lmao.

Now, fast forwarding a lot here, shit lowkey starts hitting the fan because the bae comes back in town -- not official bae, but still bae -- and conveniently enough, he is the brother of our two besties

Everyone. This is Kenzen; the man that we're pretty sure is gonna be our husband and baby daddy one day, maybe not even in that order, but those things exactly.

Now, the reason why shit starts hitting the fan is because all of a sudden, the school boys are starting to realize that we already have our future husband picked out. Shit proceeds to get super tense once this knowledge it learned, and the boys are start to slowly but slowly lose their shit. Allow me to show you

Exhibit A: A most vicious side-eye competition

Exhibit B: The OG death grip and growl

and Exhibit C: The comply or choose death, but drunken

Oh, and let's just throw this one in for some added flair.

And definitely this one.

And why would we not add this one?

Yep, the fan was pretty much hit with shit so...yeah lmao. Go ahead and give it a go so you can see how we ended up with the most romantic gift of a necklace and a finger.

Lmao I wasn't joking about the finger by the way.

And now to air all of my grievances...

Lol nah, I'm joking, but also...there's a lot to unpack here.

First off, let's talk about the good!

So...our psychopathic LIs. Can we just acknowledge the diversity? Like, you had your pale guy, your dark guy, your tan guy, your fair skin guy, like...? I seriously appreciate that time was taken out to actually make all the LIs look different from each other and not some copy-paste, change the eye color and hair thing. I absolutely LOVED the diversity of the LIs.

Not to mention, the MC is diverse a well! Granted, like typical, we can't really SEE it except in the occasional CG, but it was just dope that there was even an option, ya know?

Also! The concept of the story was actually pretty solid! Some of the things that happened were interesting, and I definitely had a "...Well, damn ._." moment here and there.

Now for the...not so good.

This flowed like a stereotypical Wattpad story. That's obviously no fault of the dev, but, for me, the point of renditions is to take something and make it a little better or give it some extra flair without ruining what the OG creator intended -- that didn't really happen, and that was honestly what bugged me the most out of everything.

I didn't really care that there'd be strings and strings and strings of dialogue before the next choice finally came up nor did I care that, while it appeared to be choice heavy, it was actually just an illusion on choice where it didn't really matter how you responded to certain things; it just was. But yeah, the pacing was...well, let me expose myself a little (don't come after me. I'm a tiny and cozy blog lol)

If you make posts on tumblr, then you know what this is. For those that don't know and/or can't guess what it is, this shows the interaction that my blog gets or my "activity" more accurately. The reason why I brought this out was because...this was how the story's pacing was.

First, it'd be on a steady progression, and then it'd drone on and on and on into a plateau, but then -- out of no where -- shit will randomly escalate and just take off into this fit of drama...but then it'd quickly drop. There was no real flow, and when there was, it'd be super inconsistent. Not to mention, the wishy-washiness of the MC and the unpredictability of the LIs (which duh, right?), the pacing would just take off and then would come to a dead stop. It's like there was no balance between the narration, the drama, and the transitions to the next scene. Like, yeah, you've gotta story tell, obvi, but don't drone on for-- actually I can show you that as well.

Did you notice how long that clip was? Imagine how long it took to read...

That was just straight up narration, and there was multiple times where this happened. Nothing really happening, no choices to make, just straight up narration. Well, no, I lied a little. Things did happen, but once again, it'd come out of no where. It, quite literally, will go from having a normal conversation, and then the yandere side just comes out totally unprovoked. Like? It's honestly more for shock factor than for story, and it got to a point where I was honestly just tired of the game itself and was wanting it to end...but it ended up being 3 hours longer, and I'm not even joking about that. Once again, I can show you.

This was the point I started getting ill with the game but felt that I was towards the end and pushed on to finish it out

This was when I realized that I was clearly wrong about that being "almost the end" and took pretty much another 3 hours to get through.

And yes, for the most part, I played it in one sitting with the exception of when I got me a little snacky snack and went to pee. Oh? You're curious about what time I started playing?

Around 5 hours beforehand...

Notice that that all says 19 June 2024. I have never been so glad to see the ending screen...

It wasn't even because it was bad! It was just. so. extremely. long. And for, what felt like, no reason to be that long. Granted, I could've stopped and saved and came back, but it always felt like I was either getting to the end or to a good part, and it just never came -- not that there wasn't any good parts, but...never mind, I feel like I make it worse the more I try to explain...

Anyways, the game wasn't awful by any means, but it definitely could use some improvement. The whole thing had good potential, the pacing of it really just killed it for me, and had that been better executed? This would've been a great game, but it's honestly just...decent. It had multiple endings, but outside of each of the yandere LIs' ending? I didn't bother trying to get the others.

Even still, while I don't recommend the game, I think it's still worth giving it a casual playthrough! There's plenty of material to read, and there are some interesting parts! Like I said, it's just a pacing issue. Not to mention the MC was pissing me off with that wishy-washy bullshit. Like, bro, survival is at the top of the list. Why are you making a plan and doing the exact opposite of what you were gonna do? Like, what the fuck is you doin'?!

You'll understand it when you play it yourself so...give it a fair try? Here, I'll even put the link here! Heck, and give the dev some encouraging words and, even though I didn't see it, some monetary support! The game itself was honestly fine! It was just the storytelling needed some work, which lowkey isn't even their fault because it was based off of a Wattpad story (I'll link that again here, by the by).

Okay, this review is about to be the same length as the game. I'm going to go ahead and head out of here. Just to reiterate, the game is free! Giving it a casual playthrough never hurts! I mean, what've you got to lose except about 4 - 6 hours?

Okay, really, I'm out of here now! Remember! Drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around~!

Infatuation

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

Mina Ashiro, Mr. "my best companion is a giant cat/tiger that's partially kaiju" almost immediately being okay with his best friend also being a kaiju? Not a surprise.

[gargoylespodcast]

CONvergence 2024 is now over. Everyone is either back home or on their way home and... this event went beyond our wildest dreams.

Thank you, everybody, for what can best be described as five straight days of love!

And thank you to the fans for taking these wonderful photos!

[schematikart]

I don't remember this episode...

[argentior]

Headshots of the apathy adoring guys.

Sketch ver

apathy adoring is a self-indulgent rewrite of redo of healer that is probably at leasta little influenced by the way too many manhwa/manga with dubious relationships I've read. Which is to say for some reason I looked at Redo of Healer and thought "I can make a messed-up Josei story out of this" and ended up doing it. Still has dark themes though so like. Careful before you click.

Anyway. Notes on the guys as of Ch 11 and general apathy adoring notes/spoilerish recap if anyone cares to read that I suppose. Random summary stuff and fun facts.

The Boy | Keyaru

Protagonist of Redo of Healer. The premise of that thing is that this guy at 14 years old was abused physically and sexually for 2 years because his semen can raise the level cap of others. It be one of those magic with numbers and a limited slot of skills fantasy worlds. He goes back in time and carries out a long rape revenge seinen fantasy thing. I did not like that. I don't know why the fic got into my brain so much.

Still out for revenge in the fanfic. He ran away from Alban and managed to eat a couple more poisonous plants and fungi before he was caught this time, so his immunityto drugs and poison kicked in sooner.

Was still caught, healed Kureha, allows himself to be abused for the revenge plan, that whole deal.

Interested in the maid because of previous timeline memories. Infatuated by the Maid/reader in this current timeline due to the chain of events that occurred that resulted in more interactions. (Came in later, she was assigned to clean him up, and it just went on and on)

A notable differences from the source material includes him playing along and "getting better" at healing publicly so he gets to stay out of the dungeon some days. I was getting tired of writing scenes in the dungeon.

Has introduced himself to the Maid/reader character. So she knows his name. She just refuses to acknowledge it.

The weirdest thing he's done in the story so far: used healing magic to kind of transform his hand into being like the Maid's wounded one and kissed it.

Main aim when writing him: Pitiful enough to make you help but there's something wrong with him that makes you regret it. Or maybe you're just being paranoid.

The Knight | Bako

Appears in the light novel/manga and is killed shortly after. Was used by Keyaru and his group because Bako was the "most sane of the knights" whatever that means. In the novel it was murder after his aid because he was involved in the attack on Keyaru's village and could have spread knowledge if Keyaru's party, in the manga it was because he attacked Keyaru's group in revenge for killing Renard. Renard had taken him in. He's vice captain of Princess Flare (first/main abuser of Keyaru)'s knights.

In the fic he's a coward who is aware of Renard's atrocities but is too attached to his father figure to really do anything about it.

Infatuated with the maid due to projecting. He is very aware of what the kingdom does to the boy in the dungeon but you know. Coward.

Savior Complex.

I hate his hair why are you so spiky.

Has no colored version in the manga. Was that insignificant. Chose blond hair for the "knight in shining armor pretty gold good and righteous" imagery and steel blue eyes and something dull and different from the red eyes of the other guys.

Main aim when writing him: physically strong/imposing but kind of pathetic if you're not in a fight-or-flight headspace.

Yukito | Harris | The Rabbit

An oc I made to balance out the cast. What's a josei without 3 guys amirite haha

No but like sincerely. A character to balance out whatever freak stuff is happening with the other two. Also probably delves into the idea of free will and consent somewhat.

Is a rabbit demi-human (basically a rabbit boy). Escaped slave, gave his "true name" to the Maid/Reader after they met by chance, which by source material lore means that he is bound to her mind and heart, body and soul. She is Not Happy about this.

Has chopped his ears and tail off and is blending in as a the "human" Harris surprisingly well. Being albino tends to answer the question of why he hides his face for most people.

Main aim when writing him: a decent, sweet person in unfortunate circumstances. Kind of the physical manifestation of the idea of running away, which even if possible the maid thinks of too much of a dream than actual choice.

Bonus

The Maid | The Reader

Low level low magic horrible stats. Instead of being a competent warrior like the other staff in the palace, she is just good at cleaning.

Very tired, very paranoid. Violent intrusive thoughts.

Wary of all the boys. No attraction to any of them lol.

But if pressed. And had to stick to any of them. It would be Yukito.

[minty-the-demon]

The cotton candy child

[mudwerks]

(via JHALAL DRUT: István Bakos, poster for Orient coffee, 1969. Hungary)

[laderniereseancedecedrique]

FUBAR (2023)(Saison 1)

Luke et sa fille Emma se sont menti pendant des années et ignorent qu'ils travaillent tous deux pour la CIA. Une fois qu'ils apprennent tous les deux la vérité, ils réalisent qu'ils ne savent rien l'un de l'autre. Ensemble, ils vont partir en mission à l'étranger.

[long-cold-winterr]

Red Shoe Diaries (1992)

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Thinking about this picture of Brigitte Bako (Monique's VA in Godzilla: The Series) that SciFi Japan unleashed on my middle school eyeballs

[brokehorrorfan]

NECA has unveiled Gargoyles’ Angela ultimate action figure. It’s the eleventh toy in the Gargoyles line, following Goliath, Thailog, Hudson, Brooklyn, Demona, Bronx, Broadway, Steel Clan Robot, David Xanatos, and Elisa Maza.

The fully articulated 7” scale figure comes with two interchangeable faces, six interchangeable hands, baby Angela, and opening egg. It’s packaged in a window box with opening flap.

Due out in May, Angela is available to pre-order for $37.99.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Gargoyles the Movie: Heroes Awaken (1994)

Back in 1995, I distinctly remember seeing a VHS of Gargoyles: The Movie at the video rental store. I picked it as my movie of the week and was disappointed when I realized it was only the 5-part series premiere edited together. This means we’re not really talking about a movie here, but we sort of are as well. Let's consider it a made-for-TV movie for this review's sake. As that, how does this fare?

In 994 A.D., Scotland, Castle Wyvern repels any invaders thanks to its stone gargoyles, which come to life at nighttime. Despite his frightening appearance, their leader, Goliath (voiced by Keith David) desires only cooperation between his clan and the humans who defend them while they are petrified during the day. Following a betrayal from within the castle walls, most of the gargoyles are destroyed and the few survivors are frozen in stone until the castle they defend rises above the clouds. A thousand years later, in Manhattan, billionaire David Xanatos (Jonathan Frakes) has moved the castle above his headquarters. Awoken in an unfamiliar world, they find a friend in Elisa Maza (Salli Richardson), an open-minded police detective.

Don’t expect the visuals to rival a theatrical production or even something like Nickelodeon’s The Last Airbender. While the characters are consistently on-model, I spotted at least one coloring error in the second half of the picture and there is more than one instance of the stone gargoyles looking pretty different from their awakened state - the "statues" are painted as static background elements so the stone texture and the angles of their muscles/limbs are much more detailed than anything in the moving foreground. Finally, this is a pilot so while it is self-contained, many threads will only pay off in later seasons, such as the gargoyle eggs Goliath leaves with Princess Katharine (Kath Soucie) and her wizard (Jeff Bennett) (not sure why he did that, in hindsight). That said, this is a strong debut.

There are many characters in this story and the gargoyles other than Goliath - they name themselves Lexington (Thom Adcox Hernandez), Hudson (Ed Asner), Brooklyn (Jeff Bennett again), Broadway (Bill Fagerbakke), and Bronx (Frank Welker) - are more established than given character arcs. This makes Goliath the protagonist and the others supporting characters. I’ve found that in most children’s television series, the leader turns out to be the least interesting member of a team but that’s not the case here. Goliath is at once trusting of humans and wary of opening up. He can be calm and collected but is also prone to fits of rage and frequently talks of vengeance against those who’ve wronged him. He adapts well to his new setting but shows no affinity for modern-day tech like some of his comrades. He's many things at once, which keeps you watching and wondering what's next. There are no obvious character arcs within him.

Gargoyles rather elegantly uses the limitations imposed upon it as a boy’s property to its advantage. All of the gargoyles in Manhattan are male, guaranteeing there won’t be any weird “should we start repopulating?” discussions. It also adds an extra level of tragedy to the story by making them the last of their kind. Conveniently, this makes Elisa the lone female hero of the show/film without making her a token. If there’s a secondary protagonist, it’s her (which gives you a bit of a Beauty and the Beast vibe) and unlike other shows, her status as a colored woman does not make her feel like a quota. It should also be noted that Xanatos is a person of color as well, making this a show with more POC than Caucasians. It may be because most of the cast are non-humans but that’s still something I feel is worth noting.

The story features plenty of varied action. There are battles set in 994 and others in the present as well - some of which don’t include the gargoyles at all and allow the human characters to shine. There are twists and turns as allies become enemies and new partnerships are formed. The general tone is tragic and adventurous with a few bits of comedy thrown in here and there. Best of all, this is a wholly original property. The show was conceived as an answer to Batman: The Animated Series but rather than dig up some available superhero property (this was years before Disney acquired Marvel), it's is something new.

My favorite scene of the film is an interaction between Goliath and his mate, Demona (Marina Sirtis), who managed to survive the thousand-year slumber. During a mission for Xanatos, she prepares to throw an unconscious guard out of an airlock to his death but is stopped by Goliath. “The centuries have made you weak, Goliath,” she says. The thing is, very little time has actually passed for the winged warrior. He’s been frozen in stone. He HASN’T changed but that one sentence shows how much she HAS. It’s a nice subtle exchange.

I am coming into this review biased. Though I haven’t seen the show in years, I remember it well and certainly, remember how it made me feel in 1994. It played right into my fascination with mythology & monsters and I attribute my affection for Shakespeare (the series draws inspiration from Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, among others) to the show. It had a lasting impression on me and I believe it has the power to enchant young audiences once more. (July 28, 2022)

[lucaonthropy]

Give me a glimpse of the banger playlist bro. ∞

Full moon is risin' Oh, the hunger's burnin' like a flame No use in hidin' Oh, you're never gonna find escape Don't look us right in the face It's like starin' at a burnin' sun

- Wolves by Silverberg and Sam Tinnesz -

[gargoylespodcast]

It’s our 50th episode! Recorded on Friday, July 5th, 2024 at 2:00 pm CST. Live from CONvergence 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota from the Hyatt Regency in the Nicollet Ballroom, Jennifer and Greg welcome back to the show series creator, Greg Weisman; Thom Adcox (the voice of Lexington); Brigitte Bako (the voice of Angela); and we welcome to the show for the first time, Zehra Fazal – the inspiration and voice of Shari!

We talk about Zehra going from fan to pro and how she influenced the creation of Shari in the SLG and Dynamite comic books. We also discuss Thom Adcox’s influence on how gargoyles sound, Brigitte Bako and her time in the industry as an actress, a writer, a producer, and a series creator all her own (and her hilarious Breaking Bad story!). Greg Weisman discusses working with all of these people, striving for representation on Gargoyles and his other shows. All of this and more!

Jennifer and Greg also celebrate fifty episodes and what doing this podcast has meant to them.

Special thanks to Tanya Brody, Anthony Karna, and the rest of the staff of CONvergence for making this possible – especially Connie! And special thanks to Zach Joiner and the rest of Spideydude for building the site that made this possible: Joshua Lapin-Bertone, Donovan Morgan Grant, Gerard Delatour II, Jason Hendricks, Brandon DiPerno, Adam Schingle, Ashley Renee, Brian Cochran, Chris Denmead, Javi Trujillo, Josh Pchajek, Kelly McDaniel, Neil Bogenrieder, and Paul Hermann. And thank you to Frances M. Cabanellas for our graphics!

And thank you to all of the listeners and fans that have supported us on this journey! We’re far from done!

Available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Audible, Spotify, and your podcatcher of choice! And join us on Patreon at SpideyDudeNetwork for the Exclusive Video Edition! Though the video edition of this episode is free!

Follow us on Twitter at: @FromEyrie Visit Jennifer L. Anderson’s online stores at: Angel Wings and Demon Tails Visit Greg Weisman at: Ask Greg Check out CONvergence at: CONvergence-Con Follow CONvergence on Twitter at: @CONvergenceCon Visit Zehra Fazal on her personal website: zehrafazal.com Follow Brigitte Bako on Instagram Check out Thom Adcox on his personal website Everything you ever wanted to know about Gargoyles at: GargWiki