#but i don't want to return to 22 to 26 episodes

[isagrimorie]

I just read a post about wanting shows to swing for the fences and to always subvert expectations.

And, you know fair! I also want shows to swing for the fences!

But reading 'subvert audience expectations' gave me such a knee-jerk flinch and horror flashbacks of all the shows since Game of Thrones that have done 'subvert your expectations' and liking maybe a handful, or less of all the times a show tried to 'subvert' my expectations.

(Game of Thrones is the prime example of Doing. Subvert Your Expectations. Wrong. Westworld is IMO, the second example. Nolan learned all the wrong lessons from Person of Interest and this is why, IMO-- Person of Interest is still way better than Westworld.

And then, for a time there were shows and movies playing the 'subvert your audience expectations game' and I remember hating it because they were doing it wrong).

I'm great with a show just being able to do a lot but also I'm hoping for a show to do both.

There's been some talk about not wanting world and universe-ending threats. All. The. Damned. Time. And, I partially agree with that.

On the other hand, that was almost always the season finale end for Buffy and I didn't mind it.

But, I think, that's because there was room for stand-alone stories along with the universe/world-ending plots.

And, in that space, epic, swing for the fences stories were made.

Also, I 've now binged 911 (first of all why did no one talk about how this show has a variety of stories that's not just the procedural elements. THERE ARE HEIST STORIES IN THIS? C'mon guys, more than hot people and ships, that's my jam. There's halloween episodes? THERE'S ORIGIN STORIES???? Angela Basset and Casey McCall of Sports Night??? Jennifer Love Hewit and Chimney Han???). Also as far as I've watched there's only 18 episodes, long enough for the kind of stand alone character centric, relationship building stories and time to breathe, and some pretty ridic arc stories-- which yeah its a standard procedural but there's also a lot of swing for the fences episodes.

Person of Interest LOOKS like a standard procedural but it's a trojan horse for a fantastic cyberpunk ASI vs ASI story with brilliant character developments and relationships.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (January 14-20, 2024)

Ultraman Blazar's finale aired on Friday. It was a solid capper to what's easily the best entry in the Ultra Series since I was an undergrad, full of heart and pyrotechnics. There were a few major loose ends—Captain Gento is better at keeping secrets than most hosts—which I'm hoping the movie, due in late February, will address. If you're looking for a place to start with the long-running franchise, it would be one of my first recommendations. Great effects, great cast, tons of new kaiju, and a blend of novelty (lots of focus on the tensions between the defense team and the larger monster-fighting organization; a host who's in charge of said defense team) and returning to form (Blazar yowls plenty but is an Ultra of few words; the power-ups and goofy weapons are kept to a minimum). And even if you don't want to commit to a whole show, episode 22, focusing on a hapless salesman of kaiju insurance, is a must-see for any fan of the genre. There seem to be no worlds left to conquer at Tsuburaya for lead director Kiyotaka Taguchi, so as I've been saying since around 2015: Toho, are you paying attention?

Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color, the regraded black and white version of Godzilla Minus One, is coming to North American theaters for one week starting January 26. Toho's yanking both versions from theaters after February 1—puzzling considering that the film is likely going to be nominated for the Best Visual Effects Oscar tomorrow. Takashi Yamazaki led a Godzilla delegation to the Academy's visual effects "bakeoff", in which voters watch highlights from the ten shortlisted films and their VFX teams explain their work. IndieWire reports that Yamazaki's presentation drew the most applause, describing Minus One as the "potential frontrunner." The Hollywood Reporter likes its chances too. Nominations will be announced starting at 8:30 AM EST. The Creator seems to be its biggest competition.

Godzilla Minus One also recently cleared $50 million at the U.S. box office, in the process passing the first Demon Slayer as the highest-grossing Japanese-language film ever released in the U.S. Some outlets are reporting that it's the highest-grossing Japanese film ever released here, which isn't accurate; the English-dubbed Pokémon: The First Movie made almost $86 million back in 1999. (And I think it's plausible that something like Rodan or Godzilla vs. Megalon would be the champ if you figured out how much they grossed and adjusted for inflation.)

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #4 brought Godzilla and Tiamat to Atlantis, forcing Aquaman to release the Kraken to defend his city. Incredibly, this is the third Kraken associated with the Monsterverse, after Na Kika (called Kraken when it was introduced in the King of the Monsters novelization) and the main antagonist of the Skull Island cartoon. I'm guessing it's going to have a shorter lifespan than either of them though.

In other Godzilla comic news, IDW will be putting out another intriguing one-shot in May, titled Godzilla: Mechagodzilla 50th Anniversary. Past comics from the publisher have included multiple Mechagodzilla models, but this one seems to be going above and beyond. Rich Douek is writing; Andrew Lee Griffith is illustrating. The logline:

For 50 years, the King of the Monsters, Godzilla, has gone toe to toe with its robotic doppelgänger, Mechagodzilla! As an intrepid reporter profiles the history of Mechagodzilla and its creator before the launch of the newest model, he finds himself entangled in a much deeper conspiracy. A decades-spanning adventure celebrating the mechanical monster's milestone!

One of master kaiju illustrator Shinji Nishikawa's books will receive an English translation courtesy of Titan Books. Awkwardly titled Godzilla: The Encyclopedia of Godzilla, the Japanese edition included over 100 full-bodied illustrations of various Godzilla series kaiju and analyses of their designs (alongside plenty of Nishikawa's trademark chibis). I'm sold, suffice to say.

Ryo Momota, director of the short tokusatsu film Revive! Smile Rock Giant God, has put the whole thing on YouTube with English subtitles for your amusement. It posits that a real rock formation outside of Tamano City will come to life to help its citizens in their hour of need. Very low-budget.

Kaiju Brooklyn is a one-day con that began filling a longtime void for East Coast kaiju fans last year. Here's the first major piece of news about their June 1 event: they'll be screening The Return of Godzilla outdoors at day's end. Consider me highly tempted.

Kaiju United has a new, wide-ranging interview with Barry Goldberg, webmaster of the legendary Barry's Temple of Godzilla. That fan site was my first window into the wider world of Godzilla in the early 2000s, and it's only been updated a few times since, so I was pretty interested to read how its creator was doing. Don't get your hopes up for a revival: he's still a Godzilla fan (loved Minus One, Shin not so much), but has moved on to other things. Great insights from a Big Name Fan who stayed humble.

[frankendykes-monster]

Countdown to Halloween 2023, Ranked

43. Swamp Thing (1982)

42. Curse of Bigfoot (1975)

41. The Haunting (1999)

40. Orca (1977)

39. Teenagers Battle The Thing (1958)

38. The Beast (1975)

37. Don't Go in The House (1979)

36. Countess Dracula (1971)

35. Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967)

34. Beware! The Blob (1972)

33. Alien Space Avenger (1989)

32. Baby Blood (1990)

31. Shriek of The Mutilated (1974)

30. The Mutations (1974)

29. Phase IV (1974)

28. Curse of The Faceless Man (1958)

27. The Sadist (1963)

26. Jennifer (1978)

25. The Wasp Woman (1959)

24. Noroi: The Curse (2005)

23. Girls Nite Out (1982)

22. The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)

21. The Cat and The Canary (1927)

20. Tell Your Children (Reefer Madness, 1936)

19. The Company of Wolves (1984)

18. It's Alive (1974)

17. The Wolf House (2018)

16. Michael Jackson's Halloween (2017)

15. The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963)

14. The Omega Man (1971)

13. Gamera: Rebirth (2023)

12. Student Bodies (1981)

11. Night Caller From Outer Space (1965)

10. Inhumanoids (episodes 1 - 5, 1986)

9. Blind Woman's Curse (1970)

8. Maniac (1980)

7. The Child (1977)

6. Zombie 3 (1988)

5. Return of The Living Dead (1985)

4. Spider Baby (1967)

3. Basket Case (1982)

2. Messiah of Evil (1973)

Godzilla (1954)

Woof. Okay. This has been a mostly disappointing viewing experience.

Critical difference between this year's countdown and the past two is that now that I have stable employment, there is far less time to be watching horror films. I normally begin the countdown in September but we started in July of this year and still barely managed to crack 40, with my original goal being a full 100 this year. Timing. As such a lot of my plans and possible viewings were cut short and compared to last year specifically we fell back on a lot of "seen it already" at least for the top of the list.

This year's batch of viewings were largely blah, but a step up from the shitshow I put myself through last year (watching nearly every Texas Chainsaw sequel does things to a person). As such it'll be difficult to conjure up words for a decent chunk of these mostly because yes, these movies exist, I watched them, I would not recommend that you yourself watch them. That is all. If I write briefly on a given film that's not necessarily an indictment of its quality as there a decent number of these that I saw and enjoyed it's just their impact might be a bit fleeting. You will know which ones I actively disliked. I mostly just want to write about the top five or so but I will play fair.

Our grand loser this year is Swamp Thing, the DC Comics adaptation by Wes Craven. I watched this pretty much entirely because I finally got the Alan Moore Swamp Thing run in paperback this year after quite some time of having it on my to-buy list. Longtime Rachael/Ray/Ratchet fans may recall me reading it in early 2019 alongside [REDACTED]. Still one of the best Moore comics, and a second volume of Swamp Thing wouldn't have been possible without the success of this film. For context I did read the early Swampies by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson and my general reaction to those was a'ight but there was definitely material for a serviceable film adaptation there. This is not that serviceable film adaptation. I'm not hung up on details like how Abigail has no connection to Arcane now despite being his niece in the comics, but this film is just kind of painful in how relatively unambitious it is which is saying something for Swamp Thing sword fighting another human mutation at the end of this. It's just silly and stupid and not scary or awe inspiring or anything, the Swamp Thing suit sucks, the action sucks, any sense of pathos is not there or gone, it stretches for 30 minutes too long like it's a padded TV pilot, the only highlight is being able to see Adrienne Barbeau's breasts. Fuck this it's a miserable experience to sit through. My mistake for watching a Wes Craven film that doesn't have "Scream" in the title.

Our next shitter is the two-for-one abomination that is Teenagers Battle The Thing (1958) and Curse of Bigfoot (1975); these are the same movie except Curse of Bigfoot has a 25 minute opening scene framing device that is bizarre given that "The Thing" of the original film is a Native American mummy of some sort unearthed by a group of white high school students. It's the rare personal pet project movie made for fun by some locals but the only highlights are the occasional kill scene, Curse of Bigfoot ranks lower just for making me sit through it longer. Blah.

Speedrunning through a bunch of these because theyre all varying degrees of bad and I don't want to spend any longer writing about these than you probably do reading about them: The Haunting is awful and I don't even super care for the original film so adding shitty CGI monsters and a moral lesson of "it's about family!" doesn't help. Orca is a shitty Jaws cash-in that's like a reverse Moby Dick where the sea animal hunts down the human, nice finale where the orca and shitty poacher guy are fighting it out in the Arctic but otherwise avoid. Don't Go in The House is a mysoginistic torture porn movie that really doesn't sell the "seemingly normal guy is a closet nutcase" thing even though movies made before and after have done it well (see Maniac several paragraphs below). The Beast is advertised as this really scandalous porno film but most of it is French aristocrats sitting around in stuffy rooms arguing about real estate. I think I only watched Countess Dracula for its inclusion in the "if this is her vibe I would fucking cum" meme and it's barely worth bringing up at all. Hillbillys in a Haunted House has an absolutely lovely Tennessee country soundtrack that I wish I could listen to without having to watch the actual movie which is devoid of both scares and laughs. Beware! The Blob gives off the feeling of sitting at a funeral for a family member that was just distant enough for you to be aware of them but not actually be upset but it's still a funeral so it's not like you're smiling, stick with the 1988 Blob film. Alien Space Avenger has some decent gore effects but that's all I can recall from it. Shriek of The Mutilated has one of the best titles for an otherwise uninspired yeti movie that has a needless third act twist about it being a cover for a cult and blah blah blah fuck you. Baby Blood has an alien mutant whatever crawl up a woman's vagina into her womb and she has to eat people to feed it and yeah I'm actually struggling to remember what happens here. The Mutations has a scene where a guy cuts into a tree and it bleeds, I think he's played by Donald Pleasance. Yeah, it's like Freaks except it plays to the freak show straight so you get to laugh at all the outcasts of society, no thank you.

Some odds and ends that I'd say are decent-to-pretty-good: Phase IV has some footage of ants and synth music. All you need is some footage of ants and synth music. Curse of The Faceless Man employs a rarely seen archetype of the living statue monster, it's cute. The Sadist is another starring vehicle for Arch Hall Jr., who was also the star of last Halloween's Eegah! (1962), though this film is a bold trendsetter for the 1960's with Hall being a unhinged killer holding people for ransom until they can fix his car and he can make a getaway. The film lives and dies by Hall's performance and it's mostly the latter until we get to an absolutely superb final act with him hunting down his remaining victims, it makes the whole film worth seeing. Jennifer is an oddball that plays out mostly like a character drama ("It wasn't my fault Daddy it was that stupid hillbilly bitch Jennifer") that suddenly remembers that it's supposed to be a cash-in of Carrie (1976) in the last 20 minutes and cue our titular character being able to summon and control snakes to send after her tormentors. Girls Nite Out is a plodding meandering slasher that's oddly hypnotizing considering so much of it takes place in pitch-black night and the killer is wearing a bear mascot costume with serrated knives hidden under the glove, not sure what fully to make of it. The Monster of Piedras Blancas is made up of leftover parts from the Gillman, Mole People, and Metaluna Mutant, but still manages to star in a decent enough film that gives a sense of what a series of monster attacks would do to a small seaside community. The Cat and The Canary is "cute" for lack of a better term being a horror comedy before the former genre had fully crystalized. Reefer Madness is horror adjacent more than anything but a hilariously good time about how the use of "marihuana" will drive today's youth into becoming crazed fiends and get involved in organized crime.

We can do this.

The Company of Wolves has an excellent story book like setting an atmosphere that you can't get in films nowadays and it's a shame that it's mostly remembered for its transformation sequences. it's Alive is the best Larry Cohen film by default of not sucking but it's still not "great", genius however for playing the concept of mutant newborn killer baby completely seriously without any sense of humor to the proceedings. The Girl Who Knew Too Much is almost a parody of giallo films which is interesting given those hadn't fully sprang up in 1963; absolute highlight is the main character being interviewed in bed by doctors and reporters and the like that yes she did see a murder and no she doesn't drink. I've always been fascinated and haunted by I Am Legend and while The Omega Man doesn't really capture the novel to a superb degree it's so beautifully shot that it lands high in the rankings for that alone. Night Caller From Outer Space is hilarious to me because of how it shifts halfway through from a Hammer-esque mystery about a meteorite with radioactive properties to a film about an alien that lures women in through a modeling advertisement. Blind Woman's Curse I've mentally confused with Irezumi for a while now (haha all 1960's Japanese genre films where woman have large animal tattoos on their backs are the saaame), and it's one I mostly watched for being directed by Teruo Ishii, but there's enough bloody yakuza fights and cats licking up blood for me to stick around; not the strongest Meiko Kaiji vehicle compared to Female Prisoner Scorpion or Lady Snowblood. Maniac I find mostly interesting as a precursor to American Psycho (2000) but also it's probably the only serious film to successfully pull off it's ending trope (which I will not spoil here). The Child is an absolutely lovely 1970's only-a-dozen-people-made-this-and-not-much-more-watched-it horror that oozes atmosphere, I could watch stuff like this all day. Aaand Zombie 3 is far and away the best film that Lucio Fulci has been involved with that I've ever seen. I love random scenes and set pieces of ghouls just massacring people that are shit out out of luck.

Okay, now for the ones I actually want to write about.

The Wasp Woman is one that sticks in my head way more than any other random monster movie that Roger Corman directed in the latw 1950's. I've said on here and Letterboxd that it could have served as a standard pop-feminist piece about how the cosmetology industry is built on misogyny and invariably a monster is accidentally created because of that, but this most recent viewing has made me sort of "get it" because that might be what the film is going for considering Susan Cabot's performance leads me to believe that she is aware that she is becoming a homicidal wasp monster but views it as a tragic means to an end where she still has the ability to have a new advertising campaign with her as the star. Tragic. This is why you don't wear make up.

Both Noroi: The Curse and The Wolf House are ones I didn't care for whatsoever but I put them in places on the ranking that I thought were fair given that people should probably watch them regardless of my personal thoughts. Noroi's format didn't really lend itself to the escalation of tension and reveal of information that the plot demanded and I found myself thinking it meanders quite a bit. The Wolf House was an odd one where everything that was happening onscreen bounced off of me mostly because I felt intimately aware that I was watching a movie, that someone had made something and that I was now being shown it. Blah. People like these so don't let me stop you.

Our animated offerings this year...

Michael Jackson's Halloween more than anything feels like an unlicensed creation that later had an English fan dub commissioned, not something that actually aired on CBS twice. Any laughs that I found in this thing were the unintentional type as we open up with Bubbles talking and being Jackson's chauffeur; you know exactly what you're getting into. Very little of the plot is explained but I'm assuming Jackson (who has no lines given this was made posthumously) orchestrates a dark fantasy adventure to hook two...teenagers? People in their late 20's? And convince them to follow their dreams of performing instead of working a deadend dayjob. I'm not sure who the actual audience for this was given it feels like so much of it was made for children but I will say anything that has this much of Michael Jackson's music in it can't be all bad, though I'm not sure why they didn't largely stick with tracks from the album Thriller (in the contention for best album ever, I don't care).

Gamera: Rebirth is one I feel like I'm on the outside on compared to most other tokusatsu fans because I didn't really *love* to a serious degree even though, yes, Gamera is finally back. The first three episodes are mostly just kind of a slog for me with the backhalf not doing enough to retroactively make me think highly of it, though giving off End of Evangelion vibes may make me consider that a second viewing must be in order down the line. Rebirth's strongest attribute is that it feels like it takes into consideration and influence from every prior era of Gamera, no stone is left unturned, and it's a marked contrast from how every recent Godzilla property only captures a single facet of their respective character. But that also creates unique issues like how a lot of criticism of ongoing US military presence in Japan is undercut so there can be a white kid in the main cast (because white children were always present in half of the Showa series) or having the ancient civilization that genetically engineered the kaiju now being malicious and actively sacrificing children as a means of reshaping the world gives me vaguely anti-semitic tones, I don't know, Gamera is still here, I guess.

"I was just a little twerp who liked Scooby-Doo and Smurfs, now I was viewing Cthulhu mutants ruin the Earth."

Everyday that we have Inhumanoids is a gift. Inhumanoids is another Hasbro/Sunbow production like G. I. Joe, Transformers, or Jem and The Holograms, and it is truly tragic that it never got anywhere near that level of attention compared to its siblings. The fact that a 1980's action figure tie-in cartoon is named for its antagonists is only the start; the series follows a small paramilitary outfit of scientists named Earth Core that are tasked with more or less saving the world alongside the Mutores, elemental beings, when the Inhumanoids, eldritch abominations, are unleashed. The degree of world-building beyond your typical "good guys vs. bad guys" affair is astounding with villainous humans and virtuous monsters abounding, but Inhumanoids is mostly magical and remembered for saying fuck all to any type of broadcast standards. Seeing giant monsters destroy cities, undead armies, and spelunking deep into the Earth (where nightmares begin...) are just standard fair here, as are witnessing the actual Inhumanoids such as Metlar (basically the devil) or D'Compose (giant undead entity that can zombify people by touching them and uses his ribcage like a jail cell) in action. The first five episodes here are the pilot movie of sorts for the series which only lasted thirteen overall, and they get more grissly from here on out, but maybe it's best that Inhumanoids is the short lived cartoon and no the cartoon that went soft as early as its second season. I will never not love this show, to this day it's one of my favorite animated series from any decade, much less the 1980's.

Back to our regularly scheduled live-action programming...

Student Bodies is a fascinating film for a myriad of reasons the first of which is that there were somehow enough slasher films by 1981 for there to be a comedy poking fun at all the already established genre-cliches. It's essentially Scary Movie (2000) a full 20 years ahead of the curve only actually funny in spite of the subject matter frequently being as juvenile and prejudiced; but it also reminds me quite a bit of Scream (1996) with stuff like two killers working together. All I know is I was in for a decent time when the film opens with three identical shots of a house just with different framing text: "HALLOWEEN," "FRIDAY THE 13TH," "JAMIE LEE CURTIS' BIRTHDAY" and then the killer, The Breather, calls the opening kill girl doing nothing but breathing heavily, she hangs up, he calls back with "I SAID [heavy breathing]."

Return of The Living Dead is one of those films that should have destroyed the any artifically-imposed boundaries between "high" and "low" art. Every aspect of this film is brilliantly made, it just so happens to be made for stuff like Scooby-Doo music overlaid on top of thunderstorms over graveyards where one female character is stripping to the concept of dying. Media involving ghouls is incredibly oversaturated, and this was still the case in the 1980's where a film like this had to redefine the rules to make it so killing ghouls was basically a non-option. It only recently struck me on this viewing that that's the whole purpose of removing virtually all weaknesses they have, to keep the characters as the nail instead of the hammer. Compared to the Romero films, there's never a point where anyone is in control of the situation, it just escalates further and further until there is literally no way out. Taking that into consideration, there's no way this film couldn't have been a comedy that frames people getting swarmed and eaten by ghouls as hilarious.

The soundtrack and the faux-punk sensibilities lend this a daft feeling of "you shouldn't be watching this" in spite of it not being one of the MOST gory horror films of the 1980's. I still don't get how this never broke into the mainstream. I mean somehow people know that ghouls (in this film) speak and only eat brains but I can't go down to Target and get a Tarman action figure like I can one of Michael Myers. As such Return of The Living Dead remains a criminally overlooked film regardless of its subject matter. It's made me laugh and cringe and feel disgusted and revolt at the concept at dying but mostly it's made me feel a delicious sense of joy at seeing corpses rise out of the ground to the tune of "Do you wanna party? IT'S PARTY TIIIME!" Some of you need to sit in the corner and think about your life choices for making stupid shit like Re-Animator (1985) or fucking Shaun of The Dead (2004) more popular than this, fuck you.

The act of watching Spider Baby is like discovering the missing link. For as much as 1960 gave us an explosion of horror (Eyes Without a Face, The Ship of Monsters, Psycho, Jigoku, Black Sunday, etc.) and Night of The Living Dead (1968) reins as the perennial transition point of the genre, Spider Baby is the road by which we go from The Cat and The Canary and The Old Dark House to the likes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Eraserhead, it's magical finding an essential piece of a genre you love so much. Both the former and latter points of comparison are apt as a family of now only children [and their butler] suffering from Poe-esque hereditary illness have their condemned house set upon by distant relatives and everything slowly unravels.

Lon Chaney Jr. is an actor who for the longest time I felt never got a proper chance to shine wherein the last 25 years or so of his career was spent playing as side character actor in independent films. Spider Baby is his crowning achievement. Seeing him smile through almost tears on several occasions as he has to play bridge between worlds of sanity and madness and lie to everyone that he has some sense of control over the situation is brilliant in ways I always knew he was capable of but had never seen before this point. Bravo.

I will never not love Basket Case with everything I've got. This is the epitome of 1980's horror and my clear pick for best of the decade. It has everything from being a grungy putrid grindhouse spectacle to being an intimate character drama to everything presented through a wry ironic lense where you can't tell if any "bad" performances are all done on purpose. Between this, Brain Damage (1988), and Frankenhooker (1990), there is literally absolutely no reason why Frank Henenlotter shouldn't be more popular than Stuart Gordon, Brian Yuzna, and Lloyd Kaufman *combined*. It's tragic that the world of cinema being enclosed and captured by studios again in the late 1980's prevented us from getting more from him, but realistically could we ask anymore than what we already got from Basket Case? I could watch this every day and never grow tired of it. I will never stop making more and more people watch this.

If Basket Case is the apex of 1980's horror, then Messiah of Evil is the same for 1970's horror. This is one of the most efficient horror films ever made in how not a single frame is wasted, the opening scene is literally a guy running from unseen force, seeking refuge, getting his throat slit, cue title card with synth music that then leads us to a sunburnt hallway as our narrator descends into acceptance of complete lack of control of the situation. Every night shot in this film must be 50 - 75% completely black with whatever headlight or store front there is just making the scenery look like a dollhouse that our characters are trapped inside. There's so many shots of people running away or walking down streets that make them look tiny as the camera is so far.

Every scene is an exercise in building up dread. There's no point where the film relents, something awful is not only coming, it's already here and there's nothing anyone can do. What I love particularly is that the mystery being laid out doesn't offer any answers because there's another mystery on top of what our characters find out only too late. Layers upon layers of dread that even the titular Messiah of Evil isn't the center of. The world is a cruel fucking place where this film languishes in obscurity whilst shit like The Exorcist enjoys mainstream attention. A lot of my taste amounts to "why isn't this thing I like more popular" and cases like Messiah of Evil vindicate me.

"Godzilla is the son of the atomic bomb. He is a nightmare created out of the darkness of the human soul. He is the sacred beast of the apocalypse." - Tomoyuki Tanaka

Generally a yearly trend is that a #1 pick for Halloween is self-evident to me and this year it was Basket Case for all of 30 seconds until I picked Godzilla back up.

There's something to be said how Godzilla isn't quite a horror monster? Terrifying but not necessarily creepy, but what power do things that go bump in the night have against the destruction of everything you know? Everytime I watch Godzilla is like the very first time, when flashing lights out at sea destroy fishing ships I have no idea what happened, or at least any much of a clue as anyone in film does when we're told that the entire ocean exploded.

Godzilla is a reptile, but lacks scales and its entire body is coated in keloid scars. In 1954 Godzilla must have been the largest monster every committed to film, trains are derailed from running against its ankle and bell and radio towers are throttled for being a sensory inconvenience. Godzilla's first on-screen appearance on Odo Island is obscured by a hurricane but the impression is clear; you can't fight Godzilla in the same way you can't fight a natural disaster. When Tokyo is reduced to complete ruin amidst a sea of flames, it's an onslaught of destruction never before seen in a film of this genre. Survivors being afflicted with radiation poisoning shows that Godzilla will claim victims long after being driven back to sea.

There's a sheer apocalyptic dread to all of this sensed by all the characters. Love tries to exist on the edge of annihilation. There's nothing that can be done but persevere and maybe hope tomorrow will be better. A scene that always strikes me is when Serizawa is adamant about not using the Oxygen Destroyer until forcibly confronted with the results of one night of Godzilla making landfall in Japan. The absolute pain felt by everyone in the finale starts here, things couldn't play out any differently as the "scientist of the century" can't join in and celebrate his victory.

Godzilla is a rare perfect film. I will never tire of it.

[buddicat]

BRING IT ON.

bfdi 1: take the plunge bfdi 2: barriers and pitfalls bfdi 3: are you smarter than a snowball? bfdi 4: sweet tooth bfdi 5: bridge crossing bfdi 6: power of three bfdi 7: bfdi 8: cycle of life bfdi 9: bfdi 10: crybaby! bfdi 11: lofty bfdi 12: bfdi 13: don't lose your marbles bfdi 14: half a loaf is better than none bfdi 15: vomitaco bfdi 16: the reveal bfdi 17: reveal novum bfdi 18: recission bfdi 19: bowling, now with explosions! (?) bfdi 20: gardening hero bfdi 21: bfdi 22: bfdi 23: hurtful! bfdi 24: insectophobe's nightmare 2 bfdi 25: return of the hang glider bfdia 1: yeah, who? i wanna know bfdia 2: get digging bfdia 3: zeeky boogy doog bfdia 4: insectophobe's nightmare 3 bfdia 5a: get in the van bfdia 5b (the game) bfdia 5c: no more snow! bfdia 5d: bfdia 5e: the long lost yoyle city idfb 1: welcome back bfb 1: getting teardrop to talk bfb 2: lick your way to freedom bfb 3: don't do this on a swingset bfb 4: today's very special episode bfb 5: fortunate ben bfb 6: four goes too far bfb 7: the liar ball you don't want bfb 8: questions answered bfb 9: this episode is about basketball bfb 10: enter the exit bfb 11: get to the top in 500 steps bfb 12: what do you think of roleplay? bfb 13: return of the rocket ship (the hype surrounding this was real) bfb 14: don't dig straight down (this one too!!!!) bfb 15: the four is lava bfb 16: the escape from four bfb 17: x marks the spot bfb 18: take the tower bfb 19: how loe can you grow? bfb 20: a taste of space bfb 21: bfb 22: who stole donut's diary? bfb 23: fashion for your face! bfb 24: the game has changed bfb 25: bfb 26: bfb 27: uprooting everything bfb 28: bfb = back from beginning bfb 29: sos (save our show) bfb 30: chapter complete tpot 1: you know those buttons don't do anything, right? tpot 2: the worst day of black hole's life tpot 3: getting puffball to think about rollercoasters tpot 4: gardening zero

contestants, i'll do this per team because it's easier for me tor emember LMAOO

abntt:

8-ball basketball golf ball tennis ball blocky grassy robot flower tv

tic:

donut barf bag gelatin naily spongy bomby firey jr bracelety

the losers (i forget abt them alot honestly):

leafy (after bfb 11) firey needle coiny pin loser cake clock eggy

bleh:

teardrop ice cube book gaty saw lollipop dora taco

iance:

pencil match bubble ruby flower snowball fanny lightning

death pact:

black hole liy tree pie bottle pen pillow remote

free food:

eraser bell fries yellow face puffball marker foldy stapy

beep:

roboty david leafy (originally) balloony cloudy rocky nickel woody

tpot newbies: winner + price tag

alr hosts.

announcer flower speaker box firey speaker box puffball speaker box four x purple face (i think that's it...)

seasons. quite easy if i say so myself

bfdi bfdia idfb bfb tpot

thank u for reading through this long ass thing! some eps might be there but in different placements (especially with insectophobe's nightmare 3 hfbjhjfg)

[amelikos]

A list of comparisons between HZ045 and the manga adaptation of the battle against the Black Rayquaza.

I'll mostly point out stuff like line differences that I want to remember, not everything that differs from the episode.

Link to the full chapter here (the link might disappear eventually, idk).

Page 12 (here): -"Liko!" "Dot!"

Exchange added between Liko and Dot, they both say each other's names before Dot says she has a strategy up her sleeve.

Page 20 and page 22 (here):

Liko is visibly much more worried when Rayquaza's Draco Meteor might hit her and she thinks to herself about the situation.

Amethio commands Soublades to use "Shadow Claw" to protect Liko and her Pokemon (we didn't hear him say a move name in the episode).

Friede visibly reacts when Amethio uses Terastal and says "Terastal... this could be our chance...!"

Page 26 and page 29 (here):

-"You... don't get in my way!"

The manga added Amethio saying "you" (キサマ) to Friede before saying "don't get in my way". Btw, "kisama" is a very rude way to address someone (Amethio's bratty bocchan side oozing out ww).

-"Friede and Amethio... they are amazing..."

Liko reacts to Friede and Amethio battling together (this line wasn't in the anime).

Page 34 (here):

Friede compliments Lizardon when returning him to his Pokeball ("you did well", that line wasn't in the anime).

-"I couldn't reach him again... What was that move?"

The manga added a line before Amethio asks the name of the move Rayquaza used. Specific use of the word "reach" here (which stands out to me because later in the episode and even in the manga, Friede reassures Liko and Roy that they reached Rayquaza who once seemed so far away, but Amethio thinks he couldn't reach him).

Page 38 (here):

They added a few lines in Liko's internal monologues which are really interesting. Basically, she thinks that Roy and Hogator are facing their opponent's strength, and she can't help but feel that Rayquaza is far away. She wishes she had more strength as a trainer. (Then, she thinks about her resolve to bring Terapagos to Rakua, like in the anime)

The pages in this part were really well done.

Page 49 (here):

-"Rayquaza was different from before... I feel like he acknowledged us a little bit." "That would be nice."

Liko and Roy look at Rayquaza leaving, and Liko thinks Rayquaza started to acknowledge them, and Roy hopes that's the case. These lines weren't in the episode.

Page 50 and 54 (here):

-"Amethio... Um... Thank you for saving [me] earlier."

Liko's line to Amethio is slightly different in the manga, she specifically thanks him for saving her (in the anime, it's just "thank you for earlier").

There is a slight difference in one of Roy's lines. In the anime, Roy says that he'll become strong enough to get Rayquaza to approve of him. In the manga, he says he'll become strong enough to get Rayquaza.

---

[gren-arlio]

Folks, one and all, Welcome to Episode 4 of (Waku) Puyo Extras, along with some fairly big announcements again.

(There's no real context for these images. They're basically title cards and the table of contents.)

Hello everyone, and welcome to the fourth installment of Waku Puyo Extras, the filler series before I start Arle's route where I post things about this game, what I can find, and maybe even another game sometimes if I really feel like it. The more lore, the better, eh? After getting verified into the English Puyo Puyo Community Discord, I've been speaking there while doing this sort of stuff.

I'll start off with a quick announcement, a time change, if you will.

Yes. I will translate Arle's route. WHEN though is a bit...in the air. I know I said in a week or so, but... School is starting soon, and obviously, I won't be having as much time as I usually do making this stuff, so I decided ahead of time to prepare.

It's basically certain that I won't be posting every week. Maybe sometimes, but there might be a post every 2 weeks, or longer if needed. School and home life is more important after all. Even in a rare case of me not posting for a while, I'll still be quietly working. In that scenario, I'll again mostly, if only, post on weekends. I don't want this stressing me out, after all.

There's a chance I may be taking a hiatus during that time. Even I need breaks sometimes, and I also want to make time for my friends, family, and my education.

Basically, expect my schedule to be fucked up from now on. Hope you'll understand. I'll try to keep a schedule though.

So with this, what're we covering today? Simple, really.

A new video. About the latter half since I've done the first half on Episode 1 of Extras.

This really won't be factual stuff, but me talking about Lagnus as a whole. (Madou Saturn, Puyo Chronicles, etc) Consider the 2nd parts of these to be...random trivia, games, etc. Spices things up. The manga section will be for next time...didn't have enough time.

With that, let's talk about what'll happen today.

Whole new video.

Thing is about this video, I did...half of it already. It's the first Extra episode actually, the one where Witch sees Schezo and blasts him and me with the ♡'s. The latter half is with the OTHER 2 protags, which is the part I'm properly translating.

(Also the song for the Battle Castle is actually alluding me to an annoying degree, I'm still trying to find the song.)

Timestamps:

Satan 1 (Rulue): (22:13)

Battle Castle Explanation (Rulue): (22:44)

Succubus Boss 1 (Rulue): (23:12)

Witch Trade (Rulue): 25:25)

Satan 2 (Arle): (26:03)

Battle Castle Explanation 2 (Arle): (26:32)

Succubus Boss 2 (Arle): (27:05)

Witch Trade 2 (30:15)

God, Witch acting normal is gonna be so uncanny to me now after like 6 months of working on Schezo Story. I'm used to her being a menace to society.

With that little remark, hope you enjoy.

Satan 1 (Rulue): (22:13)

Rulue:

What the!?

Minotauros:

Umo!? (God I still do not like this bozo)

Satan:

Well...there's the last tower.

Rulue:

Oh, Satan!? (Here I believe she says the one honorific with someone who's highly respected/they like. San? Kun? Don't fully know.)

Satan:

The magical item is in that tower.

Rulue:

Is that so?

Satan:

W-well, I think so...

Rulue:

...?

Satan:

No, hahaha...it must be in there! (Can also be interpreted as "Must've been the wind!")

Rulue:

If I can get my hands on that magical item, I'll finally be able to have magical powers...

Minotauros:

Master Rulue?

Rulue:

Darling Satan... ♡♡ (And thus, they return...)

I'll certainly come back with the magic item!

Satan:

Oh, you're motivated. Keep it up, and do your best.

Rulue:

Yes, Satan. ♡ (again an honorific here. I think San?)

Minotauros:

...

------

Battle Castle Explanation (Rulue): (22:44)

Succubus:

Welcome. Nice to meet you in such a place.

Rulue:

Oh...who are you? Are you the boss of this place?

Succubus:

I'm a Succubus. I guess I'm the boss of this place here.

I'm not trying to lure in people...I'm an usher.

Rulue:

Well...let me ask you this, what is this place?

Succubus:

Huh? You haven't heard? Eh, I'll explain.

This is a special attraction where many of the bosses you've fought wait.

The guys there are at least level 50, and at their very best, well over level 100.

If you're good, you'll make it halfway through, but if you're not confident, don't go.

Rulue

Heh...do you really think that'll stop me?

Succubus:

If you want to go in, be my guest. Do as you please. ♡ (With Succubus it feels much more normal because...she's a Succubus.)

Rulue:

(Who is this woman...?)

------

Succubus Boss 1 (Rulue): (23:12)

Rulue:

Oh? You're here this time?

Succubus:

Fufufu...♡ Yes, I'm surprised you made it this far.

Rulue:

Heh? Who do you think I am? It was easy.

Succubus:

Heh~ I really don't care... (Man she's different compared to her talks to Schezo.)

Rulue:

You don't care? What is there not to care for!?

Succubus:

Your face, your voice, the way you talk, everything!

Rulue:

Oh, now you've done it!

Now that you've said all that, you ready for this? It's far too late to apologize...

Succubus:

Hm...you seem rather ready.

Rulue:

Oh, you're unforgivable!

[Putting these here, I've translated Succubus loss quote too many times for my own good, and when Rulue gets to the chest at 22:10, it says Rulue got a book.]

-----

Witch Trade 1 (Rulue): (25:25)

Rulue:

Oh my goodness! All of that hassle for a book. (She can also say my god.)

And I got no clue how to use it! (...By reading it, genius. Granted it's Meteor but still.)

Minotauros:

Master Rulue...

Rulue:

Ugh! What do I do with this junk!?

Witch:

Hey!!

Rulue:

What do you want!?

Witch:

It's outrageous that you would try to destroy my grimoire!

Rulue:

"Your Grimoire," you must be joking! It's mine.

Witch:

What're you talking about? Aren't you unable to use magic? (Harsh, but true.)

It's like giving a pearl to a pig, so give it to me! (The Pearl to a Pig thing is something I'm a lil unsure about but yea.)

Rulue:

What the hell!

(Either way she gives it.)

Witch:

...Finally, I got my hands on the "Meteor Grimoire" I've been searching for.

...yes, in return, I'll give you the "Ultimate Queen's Secret Manual".

Rulue:

Huh...

Witch:

Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go.

Rulue:

I see. Even with that special manual, that girl wouldn't be able to use it.

That's her "Pearl's to Pigs".

Minotauros:

Good for you, Master Rulue.

------

Satan 2 (Arle): (26:03)

Arle:

W-what!?

Carbuncle:

Guu!?

Satan:

Oh...that's the final tower.

Arle:

Eh!?

Satan:

There's a great magical item in that tower.

Arle:

What? I thought you didn't know about any item.

Satan:

What's so funny? I was upset at the time...

Arle:

...This place is weird. You sure you're the owner?

Satan:

I'm for sure the owner of "Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land."

Arle:

Then why...

Satan:

Well, I've been busy with a lot of things.

A person like me can't check every single attraction.

Arle:

You...I guess you really don't know anything about this, do you?

Satan:

N-no, that's...

Arle:

Guess I have no choice...Let's go, Carbuncle!

Carbuncle;

Guu!

-----

Battle Castle Explanation 2 (Arle): (26:32)

Arle:

Huh? What's a castle doing here... seems like a new attraction.

Let's go for now, shall we?

Carbuncle:

Gugu!

Succbus:

Welcome. Pleasure to meet you.

Arle:

Hello...who are you anyways?

Succubus:

Im a Succubus. (Hm...haha...) [I wasn't able to find the parentheses text out. Sorry.]

I'm not here to lure you in... I'm an usher.

Arle:

Hm...my goodness...

Succubus:

Why don't you go into this place without sounding so harsh?

Arle:

Well? Can I enter?

Succubus:

Yes, you can. ♡

Arle:

So, is this a new attraction?

Succubus:

Huh? You haven't heard? Well, let me make this easy for you.

[She then explains the same thing she told Rulue.]

Arle:

What? I didn't know enemies could get that strong...

-----

Succubus Boss 2 (Arle) (27:05)

Arle:

I met you outside...

Succubus:

Fufufu...well, we're finally here...

Arle:

Err...

If we're talking now, by any chance, are you the boss here?

Succubus:

Well, you're right, I am the boss here.

But don't talk to me like I'm just a boss, talk to me like I'm a queen.

Arle:

Queen?

(Her and Rulue share a lot in common...)

Succubus:

Did you say something?

Arle:

Uhh, it's nothing...

Succubus:

Then I'll make you my special servant.

You should be honored, I usually only take very good looking men. (THAT explains Schezo's Route...)

Arle:

A servant!? I don't want that!

Succubus:

Oh...you're a funny girl. You're missing out on a lot.

Arle:

Are you...is your head okay? I think you need to see a doctor...

Succubus:

Shut up!

I think people with your attitude need to be taught a lesson...prepare yourself!

Arle:

Ugh, what a mess!

[Once again at 30:05 it says "Arle got a book."]

-----

Witch Trade 2 (Arle): (30:15)

Arle:

That was fun, Carby!

Carbuncle;

Guu!

Arle;

...But I don't understand what this grimoire is for.

Witch:

Hey!

Arle:

Ah! Don't just appear like that randomly!

Witch:

Oh, sorry about that. (WITCH? The horrors beyond my comprehension? Apologizing? I'm too used to Schezo's Route...)

But I'd like to ask, may I have that grimoire that you have right now?

Arle:

W-Well...

(They give it.)

Witch:

Finally...I got my hands on the "Meteor Grimoire" I've been looking for.

...Yes, in return, I'll give you the "Jugem's Grimoire." (Idk what Jugem means...Probably just call it the Great Mage Grimoire.)

Arle:

Huh...

Witch:

Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go.

Arle:

I'll do my best to use "The Jugem Grimoire"!

Carbuncle:

Gugu!

------

And that's translations. I won't deny, I delayed them a good bit, but they're done. Expect Part 1 of Arle's Route within'...maybe a week or two depending on how long the first episode is. Might split it in half like Schezo's.

And with that...We're on Random Puyo Extras. Filler INSIDE of filler where I speak about a Random Puyo thing very unprofessionally.

Today, it'll be on Lagnus/Ragnus Bishasi.

So, my boy Lagnus. Top 3 character in Puyo/Madou IMO, and I'm just kinda here to talk about the man, and how different he is COMPILE vs SEGA Era Puyo, least personality wise. And since I don't want this to JUST walls of text...I'll throw in a few images.

Let's start with SEGA Era, shall we?

Let's begin with Puyo Sun, his first introduction.

(Concept art of Lagnus, along the Puyo Sun cast as a whole.)

In Sun, he's portrayed as a bit of a fool. He's trying to become stronger and all that, which power to him, powerscaling in Puyo seems mad fun, and you see him in Arle's route first killing a Puyo to transform into his teenage self. He then challenges Arle...only for his pants to fall down. This is why we wear belts.

You then see him in Schezo's route next, fresh off his loss against Arle. He notices Schezo is a Dark Mage, and rushes in to attack, only to fall down when Schezo dodges, reverting back to a kid, before throwing a temper tantrum...Not the best showcasing of the man. However, in the novels, it IS said that he only turns into a kid due to Satan being a bit of a jerk.

Minna De Puyo Puyo has a similar beat with SUN Lagnus. Here, he offers to help out Arle out with her journey, but unfortunately, guy is still a kid, so Arle assumes he's joking. Guy can't catch a break.

Oh. But Chronicles got you covered, right?

No. It doesn't.

He appears in Purplune Aqueduct, basically gaslighting himself into thinking he's The Great Hero, when it's Arle...and he's stupid pissy about it. He challenges Arle, loses, and runs into the final dungeon alone. Arle sees him again, is still annoyed with him, and beats him again, before joining your team.

I genuinely don't like how he's portrayed here at all, probably my least favorite version of him ever.

But COMPILE got you covered. For real this time.

(Concept Art of Lagnus and art showing the major characters...and Witch/Draco.)

In Madou Saturn, he's basically the 3rd protagonist of the game, next to Arle and Rulue. You start off the game playing as the man, who's kinda cracked, before he uses all of his power to slay Yoggus, the main antagonist, before he realizes that a portal opened up and that the Yogs (Main villain group) are in other dimensions, before the portal sucks him in. Thankfully, Satan saves the guy and traps him in a crystal to prevent the man from dying.

However, not all was lost. He's able to transfer his soul into Schezo's body, and be able to control it for a small period of time, though he does get removed due to the large amount of darkness in Schezo. It's the reason why Arle and Rulue were so confused when Schezo decided to help them sometimes. He even fights Satan with you in Schezo's body.

When Arle finally meets the guy fairly late into the game, he's turned to a child due to his curse, before telling Schezo that he had to keep controlling him for his own good, annoying Schezo. He starts to tell Arle and Co. about what went down in his world.

(This happens after, but it's always fun to throw in.)

After tons of trials and tribulations, they finally reach Yoggus, and...win the first time around, and Lagnus gets his Reactor Blade back, turning him back into his teenage self, and he fights Yoggus as his full power with Arle and Rulue, and slay Yoggus.

As the place they fought in begins to collapse, Arle and Rulue run off, and Lagnus and Satan...stay behind. Least for a bit with Satan. At that moment, Arle wonders where Lagnus is, and Satan breaks the news: He went back to his own world.

However, what went on was slightly different. Lagnus decides to stay in the collapsing area, saying he'll go back home, as he thinks he was one of the main causes for the problem, and risks being sent to another dimension just for a chance to get home. Satan says otherwise though, as not only did he remove the curse, but indeed was helping Lagnus, pulling things behind the scenes, like deliberately putting important things in obvious spaces.

Satan did this...mostly because we wanted to show the people of his world a reason to defend it. That and he was bored. After that, he gives Lagnus the Azorecrack, a pendant that allows him to transfer between his and Arle's world, saying he was intentionally hiding it. Lagnus, quietly cursing Satan, thanks him, and says he'll be back another day.

With the plot synopsis of SATURN for Lagnus, it shows that not only is he fairly smart and has a strong sense of justice, but he's pragmatic to boot, never going too far with everything, besides the start of the game. He develops a good friendship with Arle and even Rulue, and Schezo kinda hates the guy. He even develops a small acquaintanceship with Satan, thanking him for a lot but also cursing him for not stopping everything. In a game like Saturn, where a lot of characters are hit or miss, Lagnus stands out as probably the best written one out there...until Chronicles kinda messed him up badly.

With this little image, I think I did the man a tad bit of justice.

That'll be all. Thanks for reading.

[kerorowhump]

a series of keroro headcanons I have in no particular order...

Keroro hates being alone: it's not that he dislikes it, it's that he genuinely can't stand it. In all instances where I've seen him alone so far (thinking for example about ep 21 and ep 22) he was miserable. He can distract himself with his special interests but perceiving the loss of friends and leadership breaks him (ep 2 and ep 15). I think he always dreamed of earning a keron star for this reason, the power it gives you over others to be a good leader and therefore, needed. Because what he wants deep down is friendship, and to not be lonely. Solitary confinement was just as bad as being stuck inside the house or being forbidden from using human suits or being left home while the Hinata family visited their grandma. "Taking away his freedom" is something that weighs heavily on him, repeatedly.

Keroro fawns: Because of what I said above, he always feels indebted and like he isn't doing enough. He has a deep seated sense of guilt that he masks with distractions and denial, because it would be crushing otherwise (ep 64). This is especially apparent towards Dororo. Whenever he looks up to someone, he will bend over backwards to try to please them (ep 11, ep 27a), and if he's confronted with enough insistence or bluntness he will agree to their words (ep 13, 14, 15). That is not to say that he doesn't have determination as a leader (he takes the lead every other episode, contrary to what Giroro often says, he is an exceptional leader, he just... doesn't want to invade the earth, really), he even challenges Natsumi regularly due to their conflicting dynamic of power inside the household (the most egregious examples being ep 17 and ep 26, but also ep 18).

Keroro relates with the villains (his obsession with Char, ending up playing captain hook...)

Despite all of this, Keroro is still quite selfish due to his childish nature. He does things like seek vengeance, he thinks of himself before others, he can get lost in his own world. He's impulsive and rarely considers the greater picture in terms of consequences. The list of this is endless when you think of Dororo. As an extension of this, an headcanon I have that I truly have almost nothing to back up with [except that comment that mentioned that Giroro doesn't remember Keroro in his neighborhood, and all the stuff about experimenting... Keroro having a psychiatric load value 100 higher than an average keronian... leaders being scarce and chosen due to their psychological (and biological?) compatibility... cloning...] is that he was jealous of Dororo as a child, because being rich and always having the latest Pekoponian gadgets, he perceived that Dororo had everything that Keroro did not. Plus if that's not the original Keroro (which... is... possible? ig), it explains his childishness as well, as messing with the same genetic base over and over is bound to... enhance some aspects. However his selfishness isn't malicious, as when he's cornered about it, he gets lost in his immense guilt, that he's always trying to compensate for in some way.

He has little self preservation ideally, being ready to die if the situation calls for it (ep 23, ep 25, the movie... don't know which one yet. I have to check. The one where they ask him to return safely!!... also volume 10.), but he is still afraid of getting hurt (ep 2), the key difference is that if his friends are involved, he will put himself on the line to save them, including using the keron star. I headcanon that he is aware of the load he bears with the Keron star, and aware of the toll for himself due to it, he just doesn't know the full extent of... how it works really, but thinks it would be safest with him. And when push comes to shove, he'll sacrifice that and himself for his friends.

Literally, all he has always wanted, all along, is friends. I honestly headcanon that he was rather lonely as a child. Perhaps, if I had to add the whole post up... lonely and often confined.

Throughout the years it seems the lore behind him has changed a bit... so the observations and HCs I made here probably are like... incorrect? because a lot of stuff was retconned and changed, like how come keroro didn't know how the anti-barrier works if he's such a legendary sergeant... and so on. I mean, this is all in good fun and there's a lot I don't know yet... so this is mostly to log my thoughts. It'll be interesting to check back in later and see what changed, if anything.

[letsrilakkusu-blog]

My favorite Going Seventeen episodes

In honor of the return of GoSe, my favorite past episodes!

2019 ep 5 Caratland Behind - Solely for DK and Jeonghan's recording of BRING IT. Jeonghan's lil "tu~rn left" was so cute but I was totally blown away by DK's angry rap. So much 'tude, possibly fiercer than the original. :0

2019 ep 17-18 Karaoke Escape Room - The moment Hoshi is dramatically drawing out the last lyrics to some random old song that they don't know and the 100 points shows up on screen and everyone absolutely loses their shit. Also, the members being relatable AF because they can't do math.

2020 ep 5-6 Past Life Destiny - Where do I even start? DK full on grinding the floor and getting up close and personal with the camera during his intro dance. JiHan's chaotic reenactment of a scene from "I'm Sorry I Love You" where Shua throws himself out of the car (not scripted). All the SeokSoon drama. As a bonus, Seungkwan sang DBSK's Hug while DK was choosing his partner and I squealed!

2020 ep 9 Insomnia Zero - Birth of Wonwoo's iconic ~tasty~ and when I learned that Woozi has no chill.

2020 ep 21-22 Kartrider - "Booster! Booster! Booster! YAH! BOOSTER!" - Hoshi failing to get a booster, 2020

2020 ep 23-24 Seventeen's Got Talent - Seventeen is so good at adlib humor, they just take the concept and go hard. Too many amazing characters! My favorites were diva judge Boo, sloth rapper Hoshi, musical actor Jun, angry ballad singer DK, robot Shua, and of course "Jun" aka mischievous Minghao.

2020 ep 25-26 The8 and the Shadows - Minghao wanted to be the leader for a day and the GoSe team gave him what he wanted... kinda lol. Favorite moments include the impromptu "We Will Rock You", DK's sogo dance, Jeonghan casually throwing water at Shua, and Shua getting everyone to imitate the voodoo doll he threw on the floor multiple times.

2020 ep 33 Mousebusters - Not so much for the actual Mousebusters part but the orange and grape games they did after. Seventeen takes games EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY.

2020 ep 40-41 Don't Lie II - Hoshi absolutely slayed this season of Don't Lie and he knows it. There's something so satisfying about seeing his chaotic thought process pan out to actually be correct.

2020 ep 44-45 TTT - I enjoy all of the TTTs but the focus on "hyperrealism" made this one even better because it seemed like the members were simultaneously more and less aware of the cameras and making content for the show. It had all of our favorite SVT pastimes - eating and drinking, badly played sports, games they've played a thousand times, and overly-enthusiastic karaoke.

2020 ep 46 Going Magazine - Minghao styled Hoshi sooooo well for the shoot, holy crap. Praise the denim crop top. And Mingyu was carrying this whole project so hard, this is when I first started to appreciate how hardworking and talented he is in other artistic ventures outside of just performing.

2021 ep 11 Ad Genius - Honestly too many meme-worthy moments to count, but my top are: Shua putting Shin Ramen in his hair, Jeonghan putting gochujang on his eyebrows, and Coups proposing to Dino with all kinds of products while Hoshi sings 2AM's "This Song" in the background.

2021 ep 24 Tribal Games - The Whispering in Silence game is probably my most rewatched Seventeen clip ever. Hoshi "epik"-ly screwing everything up makes me laugh every time.

2022 ep 37 How to Eat Rice - We must pay our respects to two members who threw away their idol image for this episode: 1) DK, the hungry rice monster, and 2) Shua, who poured a bucket of ice water over himself to prove that ramen tastes the best when you're cold. Double respects to Shua because he didn't even win after all of that lol.

2022 ep 50 GOING Radio Show - Dino going "look at my fit!" while Vernon is fighting for his life keeping his laughter in is one of the first clips I ever saw of Seventeen and it's still hilarious. The whole corner with Jeonghan and Dino learning English from Shua and Vernon was peak comedy.

Anyway, the two episodes that have been released so far have been really enjoyable! Lots of pun humor, member banter, and a surprise twist! I'm looking forward to Wednesdays now~

[wgc-productions]

The Magnus Archives 2- Do Not Open Liveblog

I was told by @sol-draws-sometimes that episode 2 is a classic, which I'm especially looking forward to since I thought the first episode was fine but I wasn't totally overwhelmed with the need to immediately listen to it (I will say for shows that I liked straight out the gate Earth Eclipsed and Unwell are up there).

You can read my live reactions under the cut.

00:00- I'm always tired of ads but I'm never so tired as to pay for an ad free service. My impatience will never outweigh my frugality.

03:46- My secret problematic thought is that every time I hear an English accent I have a small moment where I forget the English are real people and there accents aren't a joke. Doesn't happen with the Irish, Scottish, or Welsh. Just the English. Wild to me that they really sound like that. Good for them.

05:34 See Joshua, the first problem is that you were in a possession of a casket at all. Also, depending on your relationship to life and grief, an empty casket is the best kind of casket to have.

07:59 Everybody is named John, here.

08:37- JOHN LENNON IS IT YOU? LIVERPOOL'S MOST FAMOUS J- NAMED BOY?!

12:14- See that's the problem. There are some things there just isn't enough money for. You can be doing just anything for funds.

13:37 Red Flag 574- Who has a pale yellow coffin

13:40 Red flag 548: Why do you need a padlocked coffin?

14:04- I can not begin to describe to you how much a padlocked coffin with a warning sign would very simply not be something I would ever touch or look at if I happened to be in this situation which, as previously discussed, I would never be in.

14:55- You are asking so many questions for no reason. Don't worry about. No longer go into that room. maybe get some holy water for extra luck.

16:30- This is the whitest nonsense. You're sniffing the mysterious locked coffin! Boy, if you don't start praying and go somewhere else. Go sit down somewhere, Joshua.

16:40- AND NOW YOU'RE TOUCHING IT! WITH YOUR BARE HANDS!

16:38- I mean, I would move it to another room so I could lock the room and isolate it, but I wouldn't touch it with my naked human hand.

17:10- This man would be terrible in the mob. He's asking too many questions.

17:33- Finally some common sense.

18:18- You know what?? If I heard movement from the inside of a locked coffin I fore surely would call a friend or family member, explain the situation, and go stay with them for 2-3 weeks. I would return, reassess the situation, and if the SCRATCHING continued I would move right back in with my loved one.

19:38- WHY ARE YOU CONSIDERING OPENING IT YOU GOOFY LITTLE GUMDROP? ARE YOU DUMB?! ARE YOU STUPID? DON'T OPEN THE BOX!

19:49- The people who would call you a coward are dead as we speak.

20:20- No! This is exactly when you want other people around. You want witnesses and you want a small army/fighting force. This is not a situation you survive alone.

21:39- I bet he's regretting taking that money.

21:52- Also, if you have $10,000 maybe it's time to put a down payment down at a new place and move.

22:57- Yeah, dude you've got a malevolent entity living in your house. You tend to have wonky sleeping habits when those are around.

26:42- He's so lucky he's alive, because he was son the brink of death for at least a year and half.

27:09- Dang Johnathan, way to be a buzzkill. He's the Scully of his department I'm sure.

28:48- Maybe he lived in a tough neighborhood, Johnathan? Ever think of that??!

Yeah, that was a good episode. It was, I wouldn't say gripping, but it was certainly well written and it was suspenseful. Though I do think the lack of a real resolution wasn't for me.

[istherewifiinhell]

Wifi's (and friend) Ultimate Turtle Journey: Mirage Volume 1 skip list.

Have you ever started to get into a really popular media that you know next to nothing about? And the amount of ingrained cultural knowledge and predisposed popular opinions to have about it all left you all discombobulated? Did you then decide the best way to handle that was to go through all the media in as chronological an order as possible?

Well. Hi! I (and my companion in turtledom) did that with every cartoon, movie, anime ova, touring musical production and educational VHS we could find of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But now plumb out of media of the moving picture sort, it was time to get into comics.

This is not a list trying to make you read mirage, nor will it be a "just the good plot stuff" list. Those already exist! This is list for anyone also taking a maximalist approach to enjoying art, and letting the ideas of the people who make it flow over you. I think friction in consumption of art can be really interesting. But I will try and give you context for what that friction might be, and the lines I drew about no longer thinking something was worth my time (I never skipped tho i did occasional skim >_>). SO! Lets get too it!

Mirage 1-11, and the character micros (named after each character, published in order: Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo)

This is the "core text" as it were. Obviously read it. This is probably what you need if you want to get into fights on the internet too. I might recommend a pit stop to read Eastman and Laird Fugitoid, maybe after issue 4. Issue 8 is a crossover issue. You could read the micros however but read no. 9, then Leo, then 10.

#12-18 are, brace yourself. Filler. Oh the terror. I think mostly good! 12-15 all got adapted into 03 episodes. Here's the break down.

#19-21: Return to New York

#12 - A Laird turtle romp, has good character work, action.

#13 - A guest issue, but Michael Dooney's best imho, makes sense chronologically and in tone. Women's depiction in comics Advisory warning.

#14 - An Eastman turtle romp, cute Casey and April stuff, a favourite of mine.

#15 - Laird again, and adventure again. good art.

#16 - A guest issue, Mark Martin, also his strongest imho. Not very chronologically based (a time travel plot in fact) but I'd recommend this even to people who don't read mirage.

#17 - Eric Talbot, kinda of a guest issue, within its own text, non canonical, but cute. Mikey focused.

#18 - Guest issue, Mark Bodé. The plot is. Anti MSG messaging? Turtles go to China. Really truly, you can skip this.

Yes again, obviously you should read these. I like them so much. Brothers! Feelings! Murder! Its the works.

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1-7

Probably not were they go by publication date, but for simplicity... Lighter, easy read comics, all of them were adapted into 03 btw. I say read em, I saved them up for when mainline got too vexing. But probably at least read 4 [I, monster] and 6 [Leatherhead].

#22-48. Yes, most of em. Are "the guest era". But painting this large a chunk with the same skip or dont skip brush is beyond the pale. Some of the best and worst of Mirage is in here. Lets break it down.

#22-23. Sequels to #16. Not as strong, much weirder. But if you wanted more. You've got it. Has one gag I really like, and one I really don't.

#24-26. Rich Veitch's river saga. THE frictional art of frictional art. Emotional arc for the turtles, political and spiritual messaging. Advisory Warning for depiction of an Indigenous (Of an Algonquian tribe, probably Abenaki?) character and themes of colonialism, lots of offensive language used tho also, pro land back? Mysticism abound. If you read it, lets talk!

#27 Michael Dooney, a revisit of characters from Tales of TMNT, Radical and Carnage. Now in a... spiritual battle involved in (I believe, Lakota) religion. Stuff to chew on maybe, less offensive langauge but also maybe less to say. Dooney's treatment of women hints to a pattern.

#28 Written by Stephen Murphy and with art by Jim Lawson, makes this technically canonical, and regardless. Introspective and emotional. SO FUCKING GOOD. Also an 03 episode.

#29. AC Farley, read it for the art alone. Wild plot, fun romp.

#30. Rich Veitch again, cars! the grotesque! Highway culture. Very strange, pretty fun.

#31. Mike Zuilli and Stephen Murphy. This is truly, an AU. Continued in #35-36 (Sans Murphy). Maybe interesting to check out? Weird ass hell, maybe not in a good way? The strangest Splinter and Shredder. Mysticism, ofc. 36 Does end interestingly at least.

#32 Mark Bodé again, April and a female friend in Egypt. Cursed mummies, bad outfits. Truly skipable. (Also side bar: If someone told you this is the Only issue were April is drawn as Black or ambiguous. I Disagree. Lot of artists drew her in a lot of ways)

#33. Richard Corben. Silly turtles time travel. Cute, though the art might have given me motion sickness???

#34. Rich Hedden & Tom McWeeney. This is a Parody of the TMNT. Also not very funny. Also depicts a man having delusions and the shooting himself. (As comedy. of course. and its still not funny). Extremely skippable, though despite myself, the shots were said man sees the world populated with turtle mutants are kinda nice.

#35-36. See 31.

Phew. Done. #50-62 is the City At War arc, and finale of Mirage vol. 1. Read it! And good luck skipping any of it, it's like. 5 parallel story lines across 13 issues.

#37 Rick McCollum and Bill Anderson. I. ADORE. This issue. On the record have been singing its praises. Extremely characterful of the turtles, a reptile specific spiritual journey. Sequel to a mini "Donatello: The Ring", from Turtle Soup #2.

#38-40. Hedden and McWeeney again, this time, hornier. Still not funny. SKIPPPPPP.

#41. Matt Howarth. A look into the turtles, and Splinters, dreams. Just a cute little comic.

#42. McCollum and Anderson. Pretty good, an immortal witch summons ghosts of famous people to do her bidding (kidnap the turtles!). Mild advisory for women's depictions in comics, at least their drawn cooler... I like their Renet actually.

#43. Paul Jenkins and A.C. Farley. More of that good art! Donnie in his FEELINGS. Wild premise.

#44. Rick Arthur. Sequel to "The Name is Lucindra" Turtle soup vol 2. Raph gets a female sparring partner. There's maybe some feelings involved? its fine.

#45. Dan Berger. The return of Leatherhead! Probably canonical? I like it!

#46-47. Michael Dooney. A plot thread from #9 gets picked up. The turtles time travel to feudal Japan to stop a bad guy. Doesn't get more classic that that. Dooney's depiction of women goes turbo nuclear with this tho. Renet is less garbed than very and being man handled A lot.

#48-49 You have reached normal continuity by mirage regulars again. Casey Jones has a moral quandary of vigilantism. Return of Nobody from Tales of the TMNT. The turtles say some based shit about cops.

And that's pretty much it! I'm not skip listing all the side content cause i haven't read it yet and also. If your the kinda sicko who wants to read Mirage's Gobbledygook, Grunts, Turtle Soup or Plastron Cafe... What would you need a skip list for?

Wow! Now that's really it! You did it! Catch me next time when I finally know what the fuck happened with the rest of Mirage's publishing! Or what the hell is up with image comics? Or maybe those darn adventure comics from Archie.

[calamariknight]

Every Succession episode ever, ranked from worst to best

Need to procastrinate so I'll do the thing when I rank the episodes from television show nobody watches and nobody will ever see that posts so just let's go

also every episode here is good mind you 39. s03e06 "What It Takes" -- honestly cannot remember this episode at all

38. s01e03 "Lifeboats" -- this episode challenged my will to watch Succession a little, but Logan put on a sock so

37. s04e04 "Honeymoon States" -- ok, at this point it's clear i'm just going by how much I remember what happened + considering which episode came just before it, it being more calm episode hurts a lot harder

36. s03e04 "Lion in the Meadow" -- two 4th episodes in a row, hope it does not become a trend (I have nothing to say about this episode)

35. s01e04 "Sad Sack Wasp Trap" -- sure hope 4th episode of 2nd season is better than the others (it is)

34. s02e02 "Vaulter" -- noooo Lawrence Yee

33. s03e02 "Mass in Time of War" -- honestly season 3 isn't all that great now I think about it

32. s03e01 "Secession" -- yup, I was right

31. s02e01 "The Summer Palace" -- at least better season opener than Secession + Napoleon dick

30. s03e03 "The Disruption" -- this is the last meh season 3 episode, I promise

29. s02e05 "Tern Haven" -- so long story short, I was inspired to make this list after seeing some magazine claiming it to be the greatest Succesion episode and like, no. Still good tho

28. s01e02 ""Shit Show at the Fuck Factory"" -- Roman/Shiv fight scene is the top 10 anime fights

27. s01e07 "Prague" -- oh, but it does introduce Tabitha

26. s04e06 "Living+" -- I need to start dropping season 4 eventually, and aside from Honeymoon States, this one is the least entertaining (tho Karl is great once again)

25. s01e09 "Pre-Nuptial" -- this is mostly setup for the finale, but it does introduce Lady Caroline, so yeah, number 25 it gets

24.s01e01 "Celebration" -- yeah, this show really is too consistently great to make a ranking list, like, great pilot didn't even made it to the top half of the list, what a world we live in.

23. s02e07 "Return" -- ok, I have like, 7 episodes of season 2 left, but I want to put most of them in the top 10. This season is just too good

22. s03e08 "Chiantishire" -- hello again season 3. This episode has same problems as another pre-wedding episode from season 1, but it has that one Logan/Kendall scene

21. s01e05 "I Went to Market" -- Evan makes his grand debut. Oh yeah, rest of the cast is also in this episode

20. s04e01 "The Munsters" -- Best season opener solely due to Logan's talk about death

19. s01e07 "Austerlitz" -- we're getting into "great episodes" territory, starting with first major fight between Logan and his kids

18. s02e06 "Argestes" -- this ending scene made a lot of mfs wet (I am mfs)

17. s04e02 "Rehearsal" -- the fact that this is the last time Shiv, Kendall and Logan talk...

16. s04e10 "With Open Eyes" -- imma be real, I didn't enjoy Succesion finale as much as I've probably should. It's still great and rather satisfying considering how messy the plot was by the end of the series

15. s04e07 "Tailgate Party" -- oh this Tom/Shiv scene is everything we could've wanted as a climax to their relationship

14. s01e06 "Which Side Are You On?" -- vote of no confidence scene is so fucking chills man

13. s02e03 "Hunting" -- HUNT! HUNT! HUNT!

12. s03e05 "Retired Janitors of Idaho" -- Roman told president to blow him, absolute legend

11. s01e10 "Nobody Is Ever Missing" -- great finale to a decent season, especially noteworthy is the final scene and how it pararells with the season 2 finale.

10. s03e07 "Too Much Birthday" -- we still don't know whether or not Roman kept his mom's gigantic vagina

9. s02e08 "Dundee" -- *inhales* L TO THE OG

8. s04e08 "America Decides" -- there is definitely some political commentary in this but I'm not American so it kind of flies over my head huh

7. s04e06 "Kill List" -- If Kieran Culkin won't get that fucking Emmy...

6. s04e09 "Church and State" -- Now this is how you make a funeral

5. s02e09 "DC" -- you can't make a tomlette (s02e10) without breaking some Greggs (this episode). Also Laird, Karl, and Roman is such a great team-up that it makes me wish we would get an entire season of their shenanigans

4. s03e09 "This Is Not for Tears" -- see? I told you season 3 has some heat after all (I've never told you that, but I tell you now).

3. s02e04 "Safe Room" -- easily best episode from comedic standpoint. Between Roman training, Attack Child, Mo's eulogy and so much more this is absolutely amazing hour of television. But don't let that distract you from the fact that Roman Roy was interested in politics at a very young age.

2. s02e10 "This Is Not for Tears" -- best season finale by a long margin. With great wrapping up of characters arc this season, memorable moments like Tom eating the chicken, and culminating with shocking twist and one of the best shots in TV history that sends me chills down the spine every time. Absolute gem of television.

1. s04e03 "Connor's Wedding" -- yeah this is the best one

[japanifornication]

9, 22, 26 for the fic writer asks!

hi rylan, tysm for the ask!!! 🥰

9. what fic meant the most to you to write?

this is a pretty tough question! looking back i wrote a lot more than i thought this year (2023 has been so long jfc) but i guess i would have to give this to status. mostly just because it finished off the series that really kicked me into gear in this fandom 💕

22. share an excerpt from your favorite scene.

it was an open secret they were frustrated with each other, phoenix with edgeworth for running away again, edgeworth with him for “giving up.” things were made worse by the distance, made worse by the constant friction in the ways they’d both always done little things that drove each other crazy and now amplified into disaster by everything else.

so the notion of edgeworth being a “friend” instead of someone he just miserably wanted to hatefuck just to get over him was laughable, but he couldn’t tell his daughter that.

he’s been thinking about it too long and he knows she knows that. he pulls away from the half-hug she’s got him in and picks up her crooked hat from atop her head, ruffling her hair softly then setting it back down straighter and pulling her back in for a tighter hug. “yeah. everything’s fine, kiddo. sometimes he’s just annoying, you know? seems like he knows everything, doesn’t it?”

that earns a laugh, which always makes him feel a little lighter. “i think he does, daddy. he’s so smart. but you’re smart too, just in a different way.” she leans her head against his shoulder and it tips her hat again.

“mm. you think so?” he asks with a low chuckle, scratching at his stubble.

“mhmm! he reads like a lot of books, i bet. and probably wikipedia, for fun. i like to do that too sometimes. like i bet if i asked him… the national flower of austria, he could tell me in a second. but you’re better at people. like, you could tell that snake guy was a good man who wasn’t just selling us a sick snake for more than it was worth, right? d’you think miles would be able to tell that?” she asks. her eyes are closed as she talks, and phoenix wonders what she’s picturing in that endless imagination of hers.

“i think he could have gone online and done the research to find out, but i don’t think he would have agreed to this in the first place,” phoenix snorts.

“because he’s too proper for a pet like a snake,” trucy sniffs with a faux air of decorum, and phoenix lets out a loud laugh. he’s needed that; she always knows what he needs.

“yeah, he is. but it’s not his decision. he’s helping but ultimately it’s still my decision, and i know you’ll take good care of ant.”

my favorite parts of writing decadence are actually the scenes between trucy and phoenix. i think during 7yg he really does need her just as much as she needs him, and i wanted their relationship to be more than just set dressing to the nrmt, even though that is the focus. i hope i pulled that off and keep pulling it off. more soon! i know i keep saying that but... more soon (croaks and dies).

26. if you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

also a hard question. if we're talking about specifically writing, and not like, anything related to posting the writing, it has to be writing decadence. i just find a lot of catharsis in writing arguments, especially of characters in very unhealthy (manic, anxious, etc.) mindsets. it's a place i know very intimately from my own life but with Help have come a long place from, and don't want to return to obviously, because it's not fun in real life. but it makes for compelling writing/reading imo, i can't really explain why misunderstandings and arguments are some of my favorite things to dig into. i guess there's still some part of me, even now that i am medicated and doing okay, that loves the satisfaction of being the architect of fights and deciding who gets the last word and when it's over, something that very much is not how it works when you are the one having a manic episode or anxiety attack.

[mareastrorum]

WIP Wednesday: The Fool and the Soldier, Ch. 9 (Cowards)

The Fool and the Soldier is now up on AO3, updated every other Friday (usually). Unfortunately, I had to bump this next update to next Friday, 12/22 because of work. Like before, I don't want to rush and get something half-assed posted.

For the new readers: This is a Mighty Nein AU exploring the plot Matt pitched in the Campaign 2 Wrap Up that -- had Molly survived the Iron Shepherds -- Lucien returned as a body-hopping spirit to hunt down his own body. This fanfic began with the events of episode 26 and has continued since then.

See the directory for other TF&TS posts.

Darktow was smaller in the daylight, once Beau could see the actual layout. The city seemed massive the night before because it was built into the cliffs, so the broad scattering of lantern light dotting the cliffside presented an imposing image. However, it only took a while to explore because of the long, winding stairs and slopes to ascend to each layer. Few buildings dug into the cliffside itself; most were simple wooden structures built along the edge, a few of the nicer looking ones with clay tile roofs. The winding road up was slightly concave, with a sturdy wooden grate over a drainage gutter in the center—judging by the lack of stench, probably for rain rather than sewage.

The docks were more than a third of the town, hosting all the ship-related businesses, the one tavern, and trade posts for whatever the pirates brought in. A few places of business dotted the residential area, many of them either tiny markets, bars, or restaurants with extremely limited fare. Barely any vegetation, mostly kept in pots and jars, with one snooty merchant in bright robes watering some building-high palms in front of his shop.

The actual population didn’t look to be more than a few thousand. A decent place to stop over, maybe, but not the best place to live unless someone loved the sea and everything in it. Which made sense for a pirate haven. If the Nein hadn’t come to Darktow because they’d been forced to join a cultist pirate crew, Beau would have probably enjoyed exploring the place. Unfortunately, they had, and there was work to do.

The night before, Jester and Nott had snuck in and out of Avantika’s quarters thanks to Caleb’s invisibility spell and Jester’s new dimension door teleport. Beau had coached them where to look—after all, the Lionett family had numerous stashes hidden throughout their home, thanks to her father’s paranoia about losing his fortune. Not that she’d told anyone that part. The rest assumed Beau had experience stealing from the rich, which wasn’t untrue; it just happened that they were also family. Regardless, the duo found a few potential hiding places: a fake back in a cabinet, false bottoms in the desk, and a few locked drawers. Thankfully, Jester had kept Nott from peeking, and they returned to the Bloated Cup without incident.

The plan was loose at best. First, they needed to be sure that Avantika wasn’t planning to leave that day. She’d estimated 48 hours the night before, but there was always the chance she’d want to leave early, and there was no guarantee she wouldn’t have them tailed. As her quartermaster, Fjord was accompanying her to purchase something special, with a sending stone in hand to warn the Nein of any problems. Predictably, Vera had been so distrusting of him that she insisted on joining as well. So that was one less set of eyes that might spy on them, and most of the rest of the crew were taking rotating shifts to guard the ship or accompanying Avantika to carry her shopping or something. Apparently, Avantika didn’t trust any of the Nein enough to assign them as well, but that was a blessing all the same.

Next, the Nein needed to find a scapegoat and convince them that they should take whatever proof there was of Avantika’s treachery to the Plank King. With so little time, they had split into groups. Caduceus and Nott were looking for Alyson Paij, the human captain who seemed to have a grudge against Avantika. Jester, Molly, and Yasha were after Sabian or Cadmus, each of whom were now recognizable thanks to Fjord assuming their appearances as a demonstration. Beau and Caleb were searching for Jamedi Cosko.

Finally, assuming they got a proper scapegoat, the Nein then needed to steal whatever evidence they could find from the ship, get it to the scapegoat, and ensure they actually took it to the Plank King, all before the Squalleater left port. If Fjord did his job well, they had until the following morning. Winter had just begun, so the days were as short as they were going to get (“It is 9:17,” Caleb had said a few minutes back), and it seemed unlikely that Avantika would try to navigate out of that reef in the dark. Just one more factor in their favor.

In a way, the lack of details wasn’t much of a problem. If they couldn’t get a scapegoat, they could forge a message from Vera and send that to the Plank King. If they couldn’t get good evidence, they could forge some traitorous message, maybe like trying to recruit captains for mutiny. If the plan didn’t work out at all, the Nein could turn on Avantika once they got the next crystal or at the next temple, and without any witnesses, there would be no repercussions at Darktow. Not that they ever planned on returning. Not having pirates after them on the open sea was one just less thing to worry about.

Despite that Caleb didn’t have a spell to track people like Jester and Caduceus did, the duo did alright getting information. They both asked around The Bloated Cup in the early morning, before any of Avantika’s crew were around, and got a mess of directions to a bar Jamedi frequented a few levels up. Beau couldn’t track all of them—the town did not have a consistent structure in the least—but Caleb repeated it word for word and led the way.

“So what’s our angle when we find him?” Beau asked as she kept her head on a swivel while they walked. They seemed to be passing through a primarily residential area, with normal townsfolk going about their day. That didn’t mean there wouldn’t be trouble or that they wouldn’t run into someone.

Caleb didn’t answer at first, but eventually spoke up, using the code names they had the night prior, “I do not think he would willingly report Tiffany to the Cat Prince. The others are better options. However, perhaps we should be honest about the apricots and Tiffany’s plan. He could vouch for us that we were unwilling pawns, just as he was. After all, the Cat Prince would find out that he joined her on that last excursion, and he would need someone to vouch for him as well.”

Beau crossed her arms as she thought it over. If Jamedi had been willing to rat Avantika out, he would have probably done it based on what he saw at the temple, unless he felt he lacked proof. But maybe he didn’t know the Plank King was looking for a reason to get rid of Avantika.

“I think it’s worth testing the waters on that, just in case,” Beau replied. “Maybe he’s biding his time before he snitches on her with what he already knows. Maybe he’d do it sooner with something juicy to prove it.”

Caleb was momentarily silent before he responded, “He would be valuable either way, but he is a coward. I do not believe he is willing to stick his neck out. Rather, it may be better to convince him that his neck is already on the chopping block, unless he is willing to cooperate.”

“You seem pretty sure about him,” Beau noted with a raised brow.

“Well, I am a coward, too, Beauregard. I know how they think.” Caleb tapped the side of his head.

Beau snorted, but didn’t argue the point. They’d had their discussions about that, but the man seemed thoroughly attached to his depreciated self-image. She knew it arose from the fact that he’d killed people when ordered to, even his own parents, and then fled once he roused from a decade-long catatonia. But he’d been a stupid kid, and everyone had been a stupid kid at some point, eager to prove themselves and easily roped into horrible ways to do it. That didn’t make a kid a coward for wanting to make someone proud. In addition, cowards didn’t follow their friends on quests to uncover their past on the Lucidian Ocean, delve into snake-people-infested temples to betrayer gods, and go to a pirate island to find a way to backstab a pirate captain.

They’d also had their disagreements about whether the Nein were achieving any good out here, and at the moment, that was more concerning. Caleb thought the Nein had done just fine by stealing The Mist and massacring the pirates that held it, but they hadn’t actually known they were pirates until after the fact. And sure, that crew had attacked them first, but the Nein could have run. They were only there to spy on Marius LePual. There hadn’t been any plan or benefit to killing anyone and taking a ship.

Those weren’t acts of cowardice. That didn’t make them better.

The shitty part was that all of the Nein had done it. Beau had done it, and it wasn’t until the rush of battle wore off and the ship had fled the harbor that she felt like she’d dived head first into slime. This wasn’t about keeping just Caleb in check like he’d asked. They stooped that low just because they were, what, riled up from the fight earlier that day? Riding a high of praise and gratitude from the Ruby? Felt like they had to be right because they’d sent a corrupt jackass packing to Marquet?

It felt too much like the same shit the Empire authorities, the aristocracy, these Revelry pirates did: crush people in the way first and justify it afterwards, once anyone started to question. Even Molly had insisted it was fine to lash back even with the option to get out. Caduceus and Jester were the only ones that seemed to agree with Beau, though Yasha at least showed some discomfort when she wasn’t sure.

They needed to be better than this.

As Beau walked into a bar behind Caleb, he stopped and weakly tapped her shoulder, snapping her out of her reverie. She side-eyed him, noting his slight nod to the left before he walked toward the bar, pretending he hadn’t done anything. She followed his lead, waiting until she reached the counter to lean back against it and fold her arms while he ordered some drinks.

Jamedi was at a table in the corner, nursing a tankard while he wrote in a leather journal. He didn’t even look up, but he’d spot them easily if he ever did. They could grab drinks, then pull up some chairs for a chat.

At the table not ten feet from him, a half-elf man with tanned skin, sun-brightened brown hair, brown eyes, and a cigarette in his mouth sat with three others, playing poker. His clothes were worn like any other sailor’s, but he wore a red scarf around his neck, loose in the front like the world’s laziest cravat.

Sabian.

[saleintothe90s]

478. 93 things about 1993, part 4

(part 3)

(source)

18. ValuJet flies for the first time (October 26)

ValuJet's first flight was from Atlanta to Tampa on October 26, 1993. By 1994, the planes with their silly mascot on them had made 15 emergency landings! 1 On June 8, 1995 one of their ancient planes had an engine fire on the tarmac in Atlanta.

We all know what happened to ValuJet just 2 1/2 years later.

19. Kenneth Junior French kills 4 because of "gays in the military". (August 7th)

He got four life terms + an extra 35 years tacked onto his sentence.

Newsweek, February 8, 1993

20. Socks Mania

People went absolutely feral over Bill Clinton's cat, Socks. There was merch:

Such as this Socks cat food container (eBay seller passalong)

This Socks watch that I still remember seeing at my local Kmart in 1996. Yes, the battery was dead. (eBay seller ha-340226)

This socks doll I also remember seeing at Kmart on a family vacation in Ohio that I desperately wanted. (eBay seller 13navybeans)

I don't have the date on it, but here is a clip of kids petting Socks at Christmas.

21. Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett get married (June)

When Roberts returned to the set of The Pelican Brief following her wedding, the cast and crew (including co-star Denzel Washington) threw her a party in which they all wore shirts that read: "He’s A Lovely Boy … But You Really Must Do Something About His Hair" on the back. 2

They only lasted til 1995, but they were cute together.

22. Base Closings (March)

Growing up, I thought this was the first time bases closed in the U.S., ever. No, a whole bunch closed just a couple of years prior!

(source)

23. Florida tourists killed

The state government ordered that all company logos be removed from rental cars, and it abolished special license tags for such vehicles. Rental car agencies now give customers detailed safety brochures in English, Spanish, German and other languages, and they play tape recordings with similar messages over the public address systems in their rental offices every five minutes. 3

There was even a bit in the SNL episode (hosted by Shannen Doherty) where Phil Hartman played Disney's Michael Eisner, alerting tourists that you'll won't get murdered in northern Florida where Disney is:

Hi, I’m Michael Eisner, speaking to you from the Magic Kingdom here in Orlando. You know, for the last few months, Florida has been victim to a terrible tragedy: the horrific murder of nine foreign tourists in Southern Florida. We here in Northern Florida express our sympathies.. to the families of those murdered hundreds of miles away.. in Miami, the capitol of Southern Florida.

8 tourists were killed in 1993. 4

24. Miller Clear

Faced with lackluster sales, the Miller Brewing Company has ended its market test of Miller Clear, the brewing industry's first clear beer. "We're not manufacturing it any longer for the near term," Eric Kraus, a spokesman for the Milwaukee-based brewer, said on Tuesday. "We had a tremendous initial trial, but repeat business was not necessarily as good." The beer that has been made will be sold, but no more will be brewed, Mr. Kraus said. In April, Miller began test-marketing its clear beer in Richmond, Minneapolis and Austin, Tex. 4

(there's some more about it on Weird Universe)

25. Tonya Harding's dress pops (January)

Earlier this year, a snap on her costume broke at the United States championships. At the 1992 Olympic trials, her blades were mounted slightly out of position, leaving her stranded with a broken axel. Skate problems also delayed her arrival at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France, where she finished a disappointing fourth. By 1993, fourth was the best she could do at the United States championships. 5

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“ValuJet - Airlinefiles.” n.d. Accessed October 13, 2023. https://airlinefiles.com/valujet?showall=1.

“TBT: Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts Got Married After Dating for Just a Few Weeks.” n.d. InStyle. Accessed October 14, 2023. https://www.instyle.com/news/tbt-julia-roberts-lyle-lovett-relationship.

Rohter, Larry. “Tourist Is Killed in Florida Despite Taking Precautions.” The New York Times, September 9, 1993, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/09/us/tourist-is-killed-in-florida-despite-taking-precautions.html.

Clary, Mike. “Woman Confesses to Killing German Tourist, Police Say : Crime: She Reports Being Angered When the Couple Targeted for Robbery Would Not Stop Their Rental Car. A Third Suspect Is Held.” Los Angeles Times. September 11, 1993. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-11-mn-34072-story.html.

Longman, Jere. “FIGURE SKATING; For Harding, Not All Sequins and Music.” The New York Times, October 26, 1993, sec. Sports. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/26/sports/figure-skating-for-harding-not-all-sequins-and-music.html. https://archive.ph/G5T63

[tchaikovskym]

Judging random outfits from The Untamed part 10

1.Episode 14 after Xuanwu of Slaughter AND episode 19 the dream after core transfer

Pretty nice outfit 9/10. It hurts to watch. How in ep19 he has the zidian. Man. He just wanted to go back to having his parents and siblings. Haha. And look how that turned out :) Especially when in his dream he's wearing the same thing he did when everything was okay.

2. Episode 17 without a golden core

I'm putting just one picture because my man is pathetic and I couldn't do this to him. 10/10 looks like something I would wear when in a depressive episode. No traces of Jiang colors, just a broken boy you know. Hurts good.

3. Episode 17 Wei Wuxian told he would get his core back

He's back with some colors, ready to go get his life back. Oh boy it HURTS. 9/10. I know they were kind of on the road and couldn't get anything more fancy, but idk could have been a bit more elaborate for The Important thing to happen. Bonus look at Song Lan and Wen siblings! And you can see the cape wwx wears kind of too!

4. Episode 19 Sunshot campaign and looking for his brother

Established permanent frown. Clothes still pretty light colored, but you can see the dark hues his father wore as a sect leader. 10/10. Emotionally damaging really.

All of those episodes honestly are emotionally damaging, I don't understand how people say the untamed is their comfort show and they just watch ep 14-19? for comfort? the horrors of war? a brother sacrificing oneself for the other brother to do the same in return? MAN.

Jiang Yanli ep17-20, ep24-30, ep30-32

Jiang Cheng ep1-2, ep14-19, ep23-28, ep30-45

Jin Ling ep34-37, ep45-46

Jin Zixuan ep6-18, ep31

Lan Wangji ep1-3, ep8-12, ep18-25, ep30-45, ep50

Lan Xichen ep3-23, ep23-41, ep47

Nie Huaisang ep8-35, ep40-50, ep50

Nie Mingjue ep10-23, ep26-41

Wei Wuxian ep1, ep2-8, ep9-11, ep13-17, ep19-20, ep25-28, ep31-32, ep42-43, ep45-50, ep50

Wen Ning ep4-30, ep31-44, ep45

Wen Qing ep3-8, ep12-25, ep27-31

(part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)

[raphaelomogiadeofficialpage]

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦!!...

𝐃𝐰𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐋. 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲 Once said " The measure of a man is not how many servant he has, but how many men he serves" And Moody was a man whose life match his words.

𝗚𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. 𝗜𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗔 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲:

A large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody's Bible Conferences in the late 1800s. Following the European custom of time, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But of course this was America, and there were no hall servants.

Walking the dormitory halls that night, Moody saw the shoes and determined not to embarrass his brothers. He mentioned the need to some ministerial students who were there, but was met with only silence or pious excuses. So Moody returned to the dorm, gathered up the shoes, and, alone in his room, the world's most famous evangelist began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret.

When the foreign visitors opened their doors the next morning, their shoes were shined. They never knew by whom. Moody told no one but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, different men volunteered to shine the shoes in secret. Perhaps the episode is a vital insight into why God used D.L Moody as He did. He was a man with a servant's heart and that was the basis of his true greatness.

Few of us will have the impact of D.L Moody, but we all have the potential to be great. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr.,

" Everybody can be great because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don't have to Know Plato and Aristotle. You don't have to know Einstein's Theory of relativity. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics. You only need a very Full of grace. A soul generated by love."

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴

Most of us won't die the death of a Martyr, but Jesus Still calls us to die to ourselves and serve one another in practical, and often mundane ways.

"The greatest among you must be a servant." (Matthew 23:11)

Again in (Luke 22:26-27)

[26]......, and the leader should be like a servant.

[27]Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.

Calvin Miller Accurately describes the challenge of serving others:

" Unfortunately, serving people is the only way by which we can serve God. And serving people means that we're going to get hurt in the process. And if we're not careful, the pain involved in our service can cause us to ultimately despise those we once felt called to love. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 is right: we all want to serve God, but it can be terribly degrading to serve people to do it"

Or, as the old saying goes:

𝐓𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐌𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫.

Yes, it is often hardest to love those who are closest to us. The busyness of life can make it inconvenient for us to stop and help those who are "in our way." And the more we know someone, the easier it is for us to grow weary or frustrated by what we perceive to

be his or her weaknesses or idiosyncrasies

But when we serve those who are closest to us, we are changing the world. Think how different the world would be if every husband simply served and loved his wife and encouraged and loved his children. Or if every family cared for the neighbor next door.

Although it's rarely easy or glamorous, when we love others in humble and ordinary ways, we are making a great impact on the world and reflecting the life of Jesus, who chose to love not from a distance but by coming close to us and loving us when we were unlovable.

#jesus #life #services #love #leader #motivation #advice #people #grēninsights #raphael #omogiade

#marketing

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𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗔 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?

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