#but the VA very much did not deliver it that way and when you actually hear it the actual purpose of the line is quite clear.

[princehendir]

also one of the specific reasons that Playing The Actual Game (or watching videos of the game) is that the nuance in line delivery is often very important. A lot of dialogue lines get discoursed to death on here and then when you actually hear them in-game it's like "wait a minute". Like in text form the nuances of a VA's delivery are often lost.

[psink]

Translation of the interview with Kamiya Hiroshi (Kusuo's VA) and Nojima Kenji (Kuusuke's VA)

The TV anime "The Disastrous Life of Saiki K: The Final Chapter" will air as a year-end special program on the TV Tokyo network on (friday) December 28th from 7:35 to 8:30.

The January issue of PASH!, which is now on sale, features an interview with Kamiya Hiroshi-san, the voice actor of Saiki Kusuo, and Nojima Kenji-san, the voice actor of Kuusuke Saiki. We’re releasing a preview ahead of tomorrow’s broadcast. 

Amidst the busy end-of-year, good grief, a world-involving sibling fight…? We spoke to Nojima Kenji-san, who plays the older brother Kuusuke, and Kamiya Hiroshi-san, who plays the younger brother Kusuo, after they had just finished recording about the truth of the matter!

―― Please tell us how you felt when the decision to make the Final Chapter was made. Kamiya: I was very happy. Even if you want to adapt every episode from the original work, it’s not always possible to do so. But with this series, everything fell into place. I think the biggest reason we were able to adapt it all the way to the Final Chapter was because of the fans’ wishes, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful.

Nojima: I had heard that the Final Chapter would be made, but I was wondering about what form it would take, and it turned out to be a two-part year-end special. Could people really sit through an hour of this work?! What kind of focus would they need to watch it? I was a bit worried about that (laughs). But I’m sure that “The Disastrous Life of Saiki K” will deliver dense content that makes you lose track of time again, in the way only it can. 

―― Compared to other anime series, “Saiki” has about 2 or 3 times more dialogue per episode, right?

Kamiya: I had vaguely noticed that, but… Nojima: You didn’t want to know, did you? (laughs)

Kamiya: Certainly, for a 30-minute anime, it takes a lot of time to go over the script. Even when watching the DVD to check it, I thought “Hm? Is something wrong with the machine?”, because it felt like it was playing fast-forward (laughs).

Nojima:  I’ll be honest now, but on the day I first participated in the recording, I actually went into the recording without finishing all the checks.I checked the script at home and then immediately went to the studio. I was calculating in my mind the timing to start reading the script to record whilst still keeping my role preparation fresh. 

But, the amount of lines was beyond my imagination, so I couldn't finish the preparation… This was something that shouldn’t have happened, but honestly, I got through the latter half [of the recording] just with concentration (laughs). But, since I was able to maintain the momentum from the first half, I’m glad I was able to bring out a good sense of raw feelings. Kamiya-san, how was your first recording?

Kamiya: I already can’t remember, but when I re-watch Episode 1 now, I think the pace is still slow. It’s gotten gradually faster since entering season 2. In season 2, Director Sakurai was probably broken as the pacemaker (laughs). Nojima: Ahaha, I see. It's like a live band where the rhythm gradually speeds up, and you keep going without knowing the original pace.

Kamiya: Exactly. 

Nojima: Since you can’t keep up by just listening to the lines as words, you have to listen to the partner’s tone and match it. It might be similar to a music session.

―― In the Final Chapter, the relationship between Kusuo and Kuusuke seems to be a highlight. What do you both think about these brothers?

Nojima: The reason they can fight so much, do terrible things, and act recklessly is probably because, ultimately, they’re brothers. In a different case, it would have ended in a complete fallout, wouldn’t it?

Kamiya: That’s true. After all, what Kuusuke is doing is almost criminal. Nojima: Ahahahaha.

Kamiya: What I found especially dangerous about what Kuusuke did was the story of making the elderly villagers wear powered suits. The way he disguised it as caregiving while completely using them as his own puppets was seriously dangerous. Nojima: It’s surely his own sense of justice. I wonder if it’s an antithesis to how we should handle the aging society going forward (laughs).

―― Kuusuke’s obsession with Kusuo is also quite dangerous, isn’t it?

Nojima: Kuusuke has a very strong desire for approval, wanting to be recognized by Kusuo above all else. Challenging him to fights is, I think, a distorted expression of that. But I believe it is also an expression of his love and his desire to be loved back.

Kamiya: Kusuo probably thinks Kuusuke is a troublesome person, but Kusuo is also at fault. Although Kuusuke is a genius, he worked hard to create the control device for Kusuo to help him control his superpowers, didn’t he? Kusuo should be grateful, but he doesn’t express it. “Thanks, big brother. I can’t live without this” - it would’ve been nice if he could’ve said that, but Kusuo doesn’t understand the feelings of those without [superpowers], so that didn’t happen. There was also the sense of taking it for granted because they're family, but thinking how this resulted in that difficult brotherly relationship is quite sad.

―― That’s deep.

Kamiya: Although Kusuke knows he’ll lose, he keeps challenging Kusuo to fights and enjoys the process, which shows his malicious side. He’s also quite twisted. So they’re both equally to blame. From an outsider’s perspective, their relationship can be summed up with one phrase "they’re just just not honest with each other”.

Nojima: Despite that, there are also times when they rely on each other.

Kamiya: It’s complicated. That’s why even in the Final Chapter their relationship will likely be depicted. 

―― Finally, could you give a message to the readers who are waiting for the broadcast? Nojima: I was worried about how much Kuusuke would appear, but he ended up having a lot more screentime than I had expected, so I was satisfied. I have no doubts that the viewers will enjoy it as well!  Since the story’s pace is fast, please acquire the ability to not blink while watching (laughs), and surely, you will be moved to tears in the end. There are emotional parts, but more than anything, I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for cherishing and enjoying this series for so long!

Kamiya: The TV anime is finally reaching its conclusion. For those who are watching for the first time, it might be difficult, as the story keeps quickly progressing whilst you’re wondering “what is this?”. But there is a scene at the beginning that reviews past episodes and introduces the characters, so I think you’ll understand what this series is about. That said, since it’s a gag anime, I hope you can enjoy it without thinking too much.

As for the highlights for the Final Chapter, Kusuo finally moves [his mouth] and speaks for the first time. You might be wondering “What is this person saying?”, but it’s exactly as it sounds (laughs). Please watch the main story to uncover the truth behind it. I’m sure you’ll be surprised.

[the-eeveekins]

While I'm on a roll, I'm going to go off on a little bit of a personal rant (continuing something I mentioned earlier), that's been on my mind due to some comments I've seen made about G-Witch and Sulemio in recent days. I normally try to avoid writing rants like this but this one has been grinding my gears a bit.

Yes, in the grand scheme of queer media, Sulemio's relationship can definitely come across as underwhelming. No one would deny that you can get more explicitly and textually queer stories out there, especially by queer creators. But that absolutely ignores some of the circumstances surrounding the show.

First, it's been made pretty obvious by now that the staff wasn't allowed to be very explicit in their depiction of Suletta & Miorine's relationship. The company that censored an interview and released a tone-deaf statement that their relationship should be "up to interpretation" because a VA said they were married obviously wasn't going to be cool with Suletta and Miorine kissing, saying I love you and getting married on screen. They would've put their foot down well before we got to the ending. And even then the staff did enough to make Suletta & Miorine explicitly married by the end of the show. They found ways around whatever limitations Bandai put into place to try and make Sulemio subtext, and made them a canon couple within the show itself. I get tired of people saying the show didn't explicitly and textually confirm their relationship and marriage because it does, just in a roundabout way via the "sister-in-law" line because they couldn't do it in a straightforward manner.

Seriously, by all accounts, it's not like the people making this show wanted to end Sulemio with "just handholding" and half-assed the relationship, they wanted to do more but couldn't. Just look at how some of the staff members depicted them in the artbook once they were off Bandai's leash: with multiple wedding pictures.

Second, it's actually a big deal that they ended the show married, even if they had to do it in a roundabout way. Yes, the yuri genre is generally going to have more explicit lesbian relationships than what we got with Sulemio, but the yuri genre isn't exactly mainstream. Dedicated yuri anime isn't airing in primetime and ending with the main couple married, it's usually late-night, niche and usually only gets one season that introduces the couple, maybe gives you a kiss, but forces you to finish the story through the LN/Manga. Mobile Suit Gundam is a popular, mainstream multi-media franchise that has been running for 44 years, and G-Witch was airing on prime time. The fact that a mainstream franchise like Gundam aired an anime series that was centered around a queer woman and a sapphic relationship that ended with the couple married is huge, especially considering the legal status of same-sex marriage in Japan. Niche yuri anime airing in the middle of the night can probably get away with a lot more gay content than a mainstream franchise airing in primetime can, especially when the franchise is owned by a bunch of old, conservative dudes.

As an anime fan, it's amazing to see a mainstream animated series like The Witch From Mercury focused around a queer woman and a sapphic relationship (and make it TEXTUAL, not relying on subtext to carry it), especially a series not specifically adapted from a yuri LN/Manga. And as a lesbian and a long time Gundam fan, seeing a major franchise I love like Gundam, that has always been dominated by male characters, air a series focused around a queer female MC and her relationship with another woman is a much bigger deal to me than a lot of random yuri series would ever be.

Reducing Sulemio to comparisons between other queer media or yuri series and how it's "inferior" to those because it lacked certain elements ignores and disregards the unique challenges and situation of The Witch From Mercury, and the way the staff fought to overcome those issues to deliver an explicit sapphic story ending in a married couple.

[currantlee]

Ganondorf in German Tilo Schmitz Appreciation Post

The first cutscene of TotK is defining for Ganondorf as a character. I played the German version of the game, and the dub does a stellar job with this scene! It is very memorable IMO, and it instantly sets Ganondorf up as a somewhat stereotypical antagonist, but a serious threat nonetheless. It's one of my favorite scenes in the game, and that is also because Ganondorf's German VA, Tilo Schmitz, does an absolutely stellar job! It's great that he's getting the recognition he deserves for this performance!

Each line of Ganondorf's monologue in this scene is packed with (character) exposition, both textwise and deliverywise, but you don't even notice because you're in too much awe - at least that's my experience with the scene (in German).

Sooo... I wanted to take a closer look at how exactly both the scene and the voiceacting accomplish this.

Translation: That is supposed to be the sacred banishing sword? And my miasma shatters it just like that... A useless blade. English Localization: Was that the sword that seals the darkness? A blade that shatters so easily against my power cannot save you from me.

A few things about this line (and the rest of the scene) under the cut, because I'm gushing. A LOT.

The Master Sword is rarely called Masterschwert (its name in German) in spoken dialogue. I think over the course of the entire game, the Great Deku Tree is the only character to do so, and in Breath of the Wild, only Zelda calls it Masterschwert once. It is, however, called Masterschwert in the inventory, as well as several text-only dialogues. My hypothesis as to why they did that is that Masterschwert, when spoken out loud, sounds involuntarily comical in German since it comes off as way over-the-top, and can thus destroy an entire, serious scene. Personally, I think heiliges Bannschwert (which I would personally translate as Sacred Blade which Banishes Evil if I were to do a less literal translation, like I did above, into English) is a very fitting title, even though it doesn't sound quite as awe-inspiring if translated into English literally.

Secondly, the gloom is called Miasma in German, which is a historic name for mysterious sicknesses. While not common in contemporary German anymore, you can actually find it in the fantasy genre here and there, including in videogames. German localizers REALLY love to use this term. In comtemporary German, it would be übler Dunst (bad / ill haze), Verunreinigung (pollution / contamination), Befleckung (impurity) or Ansteckung (infection), all of which combined I find to be a really great description of what the gloom is and what it does! Especially considering that the entire reason Link and Zelda decided to investigate it in the first place was because the gloom was making the people of Hyrule sick.

I personally like this line much more than the English one, simply because to me, the English line screams "exposition!!". The German line is also exposition of course, but it does it in a much less subtle way.

Last but not least - let's appreciate Tilo Schmitz, Ganondorf's German VA. The way he delivers this line is spectacular! He makes it sound like Ganondorf is almost a little upset that the Master Sword shattered so easily, while sounding both dark and ancient at the same time. Honestly, I could not imagine a better delivery!

Translation: Zelda... And you, wielder of the banishing sword... Link. English Localization: Zelda... You who carries the fragile sword... Are Link.

Ganondorf explicitly draws a connection between Zelda and Link in German (not in the romantical sense), which feels much more natural than this kind of jump he does in English.

On a somewhat unrelated sidenote, I like that the camera shows both Zelda's and Link's reactions to Ganondorf knowing their names (unfortunately, I couldn't capture Link's because the subtitle vanishes just before he reacts, and I don't want to overload this post with pics, so... Go watch the scene again 😆). Love that Link has a very obvious reaction too, I feel like he is generally pretty expressive in TotK, which I very much enjoyed!

Translation: Rauru's grand prophecy... English Localization: Rauru placed his faith in you...

This is an interesting difference to me, because while both lines pretty much mean the same, the connotation (implied meaning) and tone are completely different.

In English, Ganondorf sounds like he is almost blaming Link and Zelda for not fulfilling Rauru's expectations, especially when combined with the next line.

In German meanwhile, this is more of a sarcastic comment, that expresses Ganondorf's disdain of Rauru more than anything else. Tilo Schmitz delivers this line with a very sarcastic undertone as well, making it clear that Ganondorf is, much like in the previous lines, mocking both Link and Zelda, as well as Rauru.

Translation: Two pathetic worms. English Localization: And that was all that you could do?

Now, there is a big difference! Whereas Ganondorf's line sounds almost like a challenge in English, in German, he is ourtight insulting Link and Zelda.

Also, Tilo Schmitz is amazing as Ganondorf in general, but this is probably my favorite line in the entire game from him. It sounds impactful, it sounds arrogant and despising, it has everything this line should have and more. Most of all, it sounds like he actually means this, and he means it as the character Ganondorf, not just as someone playing Ganondorf (from a meta perspective) or just anyone who can't stand Link and Zelda. It is a perfect line in my opinion, both scriptwise and delivery-wise.

Aaaaand that's pretty much it for this scene! Like in the English localisation, Zelda asks how Ganondorf knows their names (and Julia Casper makes her sound more timid than confused, which I also like very much!).

Anyway, thank you so much for reading 😊 Honestly, I was pretty overwhelmed by the response to my first posting about the German localization of TotK, so I wanted to wait a bit for things to calm down a bit 😅 In the 10+ years I've been on the internet, nothing I've made before has gotten this level of attention. It makes me very happy you guys seemed to enjoy it so much though, and I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

Have a great day, night, whatever time it is when you're reading this, and enjoy the game!

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Buddy Daddies Episode 10 - Sub vs Dub Comparison

I’m a bit late on this comparison, since there was so much to talk about in Episode 12! But, I have an hour or so before I’m going to head over to my friends’ place and help them with some inventory, so let’s dive into this!

This is a bit of downer episode, so let’s start with a part of the sub and dub that is a bit funny:

In the sub, Kazuki says to Rei: “There’s nothing worse than having someone else mess around in your kitchen!” Rei’s response in the sub is: “That’s the issue?”

In the dub, Kazuki says to Rei: “What would you know about the indignity of some stranger messing around in your kitchen!?” Dub Rei’s response is: “Actually...”

Because, you know, Kazuki was basically a stranger at one point who used Rei’s kitchen, and is still using Rei’s kitchen, lol.

In the dub, they make it absolutely clear that Misaki’s cancer spread to her throat. 

The dub translation also makes no mention of Misaki going back to her parents, instead the translation it goes with is, “I’m moving back home to get what’s left of my life together.”

The Japanese uses 自家 (jika), which means “one’s own house.” In Episode 11, when Rei talks about returning to his father and the Suwa Manor, he uses the term 内 (uchi), which means “one’s home, one’s family.” But, Misaki’s phrase is specifically talking about one’s own house, so it is a bit different. It also makes whether Miri actually has grandparents or not a bit more ambiguous. I would say it would make more sense that she probably doesn’t. 

One dub translation I don’t care much for is how they changed Misaki’s line from: “If you consider yourselves her parents as well,” to “If you truly care for her,” in the Japanese, she specifically calls them 親 (oya) or parents, so I don’t like how the dub kinda took that away from Kazuki and Rei here. 

Though, perhaps it can be viewed from the perspective of Episode 10 Kazuki and Rei are still, not necessarily pretending, but there is that element of “fostering” still, right. It isn’t “the real deal - 100%” until the end of Episode 11 when they choose to leave the underworld behind. Because, in a way, Kazuki and Rei kind of chose to remain in the underworld in this moment, even though they could have told Misaki, “We’ll be leaving that world behind,” etc. 

But, of course, they weren’t emotionally ready or there at that point yet in their development. And Miri still had other, seemingly safer, options at that time.

Two cute comedic bits that I feel land better in the dub:

When they arrive at Marino City, in the sub, Miri says, “Hey, Hey! Tell me what it is!” In the dub, she says, “We’re really here! Where are we?”  lol It was delivered so well and is very on-point for something a kid would say.

Also, also! 

When Kazuki is like, “Let’s rock this place!” in the sub, both Rei and Miri put their hands up in the air give an sound of affirmation, which gets translated into “Yeah!” In the dub, they have Kazuki ask, “Who’s ready to have some fun? I am!” 

Miri and Rei respond with, “Meee.” It’s just really cute and funny to hear Rei’s VA deliver that “Meee.” He drags it out and everything, lol.

They kept the meanie to weenie translation in the dub, which makes perfect sense.

Sub: You think we took her mother’s happiness?

Dub: Are we taking away her mother’s last shot at happiness?

The sub frames the taking away of happiness as something Kazuki and Rei did, by taking in Miri when her mother was at her lowest point. Meanwhile, the dub is framing it as Kazuki and Rei taking away her mother’s happiness now, after she has shown a desire to change and has started working on getting her life together. That’s a very different thing. Though, the dubs use of last shot, is very dark humor or harsher in hindsight (I think that’s what the trope is called). 

Inside the Ferris wheel, Rei asks Miri, “It’s not scary?” while the dub has him ask, “You having fun?” This change was very deliberate and due to the way that a question like “It’s not scary?” would be answered in Japanese vs. English. 

In Japanese, Miri nodded her head “Yes,” to confirm that it was not scary. But in English, we would nod our head no, to confirm that it is, in fact, not scary. In the sub, they have Miri answer no, but the animation has her nod her head yes. This kind of mismatch is okay enough to have in subtitles, but when it is actually spoken, it would look extremely off. So they had to rework the question completely to make Miri’s answer fit Rei’s question.

Instead of having Rei finish Kazuki’s line when it came to seeing things through to the end, specifically, “Don’t get involved if you can’t see it through...” The dub has Kazuki say the whole spiel, and Rei say back in response, “How are you still saying that crap at this point?” I feel that line is much more in-line with the energy that Rei brings to his conversation with Kazuki in Episode 11, though him finishing Kazuki’s sentence is more accurate to the actual Japanese, iirc. This could have been a situation where they needed Kazuki to say everyting in order for lip flaps and timing to work out right though.

Lastly, we have Kazuki’s “Normal happiness,” line. In the dub, they make it a bit clearer by having him say, “Still time for her to have a normal life.” In the sub, they just have Kazuki say “normal happiness,” and with him going on to talk about things like “getting into fights and singing songs,” etc. the implication is he is talking about Miri having a normal happiness, not them. But, in English, we tend to speak more specifically, so they made it clearer in this part that Kazuki was specifically talking about how there was still time for Miri to have a normal life, which means “normal happiness.”

---

Okay, wow! I finished this post right on time, lol. I gotta head out now. But feel free to add your own thoughts to this as well! :D

[queen-scribbles]

*crawls out of the woodwork* hi hi! Just wanted to say your vesper x kurt fics are amazing and thank you for sharing content. Have been back to this Fandom in the year of our lord 2024 lol. And I just wanted to scream about the de vespe DLC with a kurt fan and....

*swoons*

It's everything I hope for and more!! Would love to hear about your initial thoughts especially the dialog with kurt!

HI! Always nice to meet another Kurt fan! :D You're very welcome for sharing content, thank you for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed them bc I do love writing about them.

OH LORD, the de Vespe DLC, I was excited for more content when that came out and it delivered. Especially for Kurt and his romance, holy cow. (In other words I WOULD LOVE TO TALK ABOUT IT THANKS FOR GIVING ME AN EXCUSE) I have multiple posts from various playthroughs in my Greedfall gaming tag about the Kurt stuff, from how protective and supportive he is, to him being all "Don't believe the nonsense in Aurelia's files on us" when his is just that he cares too much about the recruits and is too loyal to be bribed and I'm just like. Dude. I knew these things already. Neither one is nonsense, sorry I know you're actually a gigantic softie, in my defense you DIDN'T HIDE IT VERY WELL but his romance dialogue

HOLY

SHIT

I also have several posts joking about Kurt's VA owing me compensation for emotional damage with how well he does a lot of personal quest/romance scenes, but the KURT ROMANCE DIALOGUE IN THE DLC OH MY GODDDDDD. OH MY GOD. I have a save right before that conversation and I redid it about five times on the initial run, at least three on each replay, and will occasionally load that save JUST TO HEAR IT AGAIN bc it's so GOOD. He worries about you but knows you can handle yourself, no what's bugging him(and I love that DS is so gentle about the "you know you can talk to me right?") is the arranged marriage thing bc OFC you deserve "better"(/eyeroll) and he's being all doubting his worth again and YOU CAN ASK HIM TO MARRY YOU (THE WAY I WHOOPED first time through, seeing that option) before your uncle can go arranging anything and HIS VOICE. That quiet little "do you really mean what you just said?" is permanently etched into my brain partly bc I've heard eighteen times but whatever. He can't believe it, he has to be dreaming, and then you confirm and his only hesitation is worrying what will happen to you(bc he doesn't matter, he's an insignificant mercenary and Kurt buddy you MATTER TO HER we gotta work on that). And I gotta say that I love your response boiling down to "what's my uncle gonna do about it, he's halfway around the world and he needs me here😎" BAD.ASS. And once he's sure you're sure he's 100% in favor and you exchange I love yous and I melted into an extremely happy puddle.

(I did write a Ves/Kurt wedding fic and it's one of the most breathlessly joyful pieces I've made in my life, both of them were practically vibrating they were so happy)

[tomyo]

Maka Supplementals

Hey welcome to my "Maka Supplementals" post aka when you become so obsessed with an anime character, you start to treat any other character that looks like them as that character. I've been in this fandom and ancient amount of time and for some reason, I'll just notice a very Maka like quality in them.

Neiro from Kaiba

I'm probably ruining myself by starting with the best. Kaiba (2008) is really a series you can easily project not just Maka AND Soul but the rest main cast onto. I stg I thought Bstar and Popo had the same VA (they definitely have the same god complex). Naturally the pigtails and droopy eyes were a huge connector and the orange/green color scheme is frequently used to represent our fav duo. As for the story, it's mostly around Kaiba and Neiro being just out of reach of each other and a new technology that allows people to store and transfer memories to new bodies. Neiro also makes a good Kaiba type as a stern person in the present but soft and kind in the past/later on. She also has family trauma which may be a theme. On its own it's a masterpiece but I actually made my first SE friend in part due to us both separately coming into SExKaiba au art.

Mikan from Gakuen Alice

I only ever read the series but I figured anime art would pop more. Mikan, the mc, our classic lightish hair color in pigtails and you could possibly call her eyes droopy shaped. Tbh I can hardly remember this series since it's been 11+ years since I last read it but I do remember Mikan having mother issues. If I remember right it's a magic academy shoujo and I probably wouldn't have included it but I wanted to show off that cute angel outfit she's wearing.

Shizuku from Tonari no Kaibutsu

When I watched this series in 2014, this was the first time I said "Oh, this character is just Maka" and thus this list was born. Did you ever want to experience Maka in a Shoujo where her love interest looks like DtK but acts like Bstar? Here you are, the most frustrating romance ever. Shizuku Mizutani is a pretty perfect Maka type, she's quiet, serious, extremely studious, and constantly annoyed by everyone else's shenanigans. One day she's sent to deliver socially maladjusted Haru Yoshida his homework and naturally a classic nightmare romance starts. I'm not kidding when I say every episode one of the two confesses to the other who then turns them down. Honestly, that's the plot. The first confession is right at the end of episode one and it doesn't stop. Can't lie though, I love high school tropes and aesthetics so it's a fun way to reimagine the crew's life going.

Kirin from Gakuen Babysitters

Absolute baby. If you want to imagine was toddler Maka was like then Kirin is pretty good for that. She's not really a main focus of the story but Gakuen Babysitters is still surprisingly good. Kirin really feels like the tiny Maka we saw in Chrona's soul, very outgoing and friendly to those who aren't as confident. She often fights with a Black Star like nursery mate and has an aggressively doting dad that aligns perfectly with Spirit. One small story arc with her is wanting to be a witch. Not really a lot of anything but a cute detail to point out.

Marnie from Pokemon

She has pigtails and 2011 me drew Maka in the exact same outfit. Ngl, this is a real head empty one but I'm still not over that happening.

Nino from Fukumenki Noise

Sorry this is actually just another kind of annoying shoujo. Outside of the hair, Nino is pretty much nothing like Maka. Unlike most series where the story is a string of misunderstandings, Nino's naivety is often a major problem where she cheerily sings over listening to her best friend/crush's home problems and doesn't reflect on the ways her actions could be affecting others. So why is she on here? The music segments. There's this raw and unpolished nature to the singing that really just brings something special to it. Honestly just watch the singing proportions, ignore the bad cgi (in 2017 no less) and pretend its Maka "I don't get music" Albarn singing it.

Sana from Kodomo no Omocha

Probably the only series I've watched before Soul Eater on this list. I recently rewatched and kept feeling weird about the Maka vibes I was getting off of it. Sana does start the series pretty annoyed her schooling is being interrupted and her middle school uniform looks like the Sparoi uniform but her more core characteristics is being a child star and is extremely hyperactive because of it. So what was it? She's voiced by Laura Bailey. It's very interesting to hear her distinctive wobble in Sana's voice. Of course that isn't all, Sana has family issues and her genki personality is related to people pleasing so it's interesting to see when that facade drops. While the manga leaves a stronger impression, the end of 17- start of 18 has a few particularly beautifully scenes of animation.

Also something I want to point out is Sana's amazing wardrobe. Despite being 90s, the bright colors work great for Y2K looks that feel right for Mala's style sense. I wish I could use more than 10 photos to show them off. The anime uses a lot of long sleeves and skirts and the manga has some more trendy fashions like the fur trim cardigans that are popular right now so I'd look there for some outfit Y2K revival references.

[rukbat3]

Babylon 5 Rewatch - Deathwalker

This is a post I originally wrote several years ago for Mark Oshiro’s Mark Watches blog. I don’t really plan to edit them before posting, so there may be some references that don’t make sense. If you see words that look like gibberish, they are actually rot13, which was our way of discussing spoilers. There are plugins you can install to decode the text (Cryptext is the one I use), or you can copy/paste to rot13.com, or just ignore it.

For me, this is one of the more memorable episodes of the series, and it’s mostly down to Sarah Douglas’s performance as Jha’dur. I think she does an amazing job of being cruel and creepy and totally confident that no one can touch her. She has a presence which just commands attention every time she is on screen.

We get another example of Sinclair’s command style in this episode, as he tries to suggest a compromise solution to the problem of how to deal with Jha’dur, and is shot down at first. But then later, when he manages to get the League representatives to listen, they find that his suggestion does, in fact, work for them. This is something that Sinclair does constantly—he thinks about problems and talks to people and manages to find ways for all parties to get what they want. He doesn’t just rush in and try to use force to impose his will on a situation. [season 1] Gur orfg rknzcyr bs guvf, vzb, vf pbzvat hc fubegyl va bar bs zl snibevgr rcvfbqrf, jura ur svaqf n pbzcebzvfr fbyhgvba gb gur qbpxref’ fgevxr.

And then there’s what is going on between Kosh and Talia. Weird, right? [whole series] Nyfb gur zbfg veevgngvat qebccrq cybg guernq va gur jubyr frevrf. Gurer jnf fb zhpu cbgragvny urer, naq rira nsgre “Qvivqrq Yblnygvrf” V ernyyl gubhtug jr jbhyq trg fbzr xvaq bs pnyyonpx gb guvf, cersrenoyl nf n jnl gb trg ure onpx, ohg abcr. Abguvat. V haqrefgnaq gur intnevrf bs gryrivfvba cebqhpgvba, ohg vg’f fgvyy qvfnccbvagvat gung abguvat rire pnzr bs guvf.

A couple of little moments I wanted to highlight: First in the council chamber before the big meeting, Londo is telling off Sinclair for lying to him. “We thought it best to handle this quietly,” Sinclair explains. Londo pauses briefly to look at the chaos around him. “Great job,” he says. Ooh, burn! I just love the sarcastic way he says it.

Second is later in that same scene, after the vote has been taken and everyone has left, furious. Sinclair and Lennier are alone, and Lennier tries to apologize and explain his part in what just happened. He admits that the Minbari government did know where Jha’dur was hiding and they kept it a secret—at the time because they were at war and she was useful to them. “We couldn’t reveal it then,” he says. “And like all secrets long kept, we cannot bear the shame of admitting it now.” Bill Mumy delivers this line with such quiet sadness and dignity, and there is so much truth in it. I love it. (Side note: Does this mean that Delenn knew about Jha’dur as well? We know, based on Sinclair’s memory, that she was in the Grey Council during the war.)

Lastly, let’s talk about Kosh. The Babylon File (an unauthorized guide to the show which is very informative) calls the resolution to this storyline “a true deus ex machina,” and it’s kind of right. There was no way to see that ending coming. Kosh has spent the entire episode off on a side quest, and before he shows up in the observation dome, we don’t really have any indication that he’s even aware of what has been going on. But somehow, at least to me, it still comes across as a great ending, and the very unexpectedness of it makes it even better. After the bombshell that Jha’dur has just dropped, having the decision taken out of our hands comes as a relief. And maybe that’s why Kosh is right when he says, “You are not ready for immortality.” Plus, this ending just adds even more to the Vorlon mythos.

[season 4] Xbfu npghnyyl qbrf gjb guvatf va guvf rcvfbqr gung ner pyhrf gung znlor gur Ibeybaf ner abg gur oraribyrag tbbq thlf gurl’q yvxr hf gb oryvrir—zrffvat jvgu Gnyvn’f zvaq naq znxvat n havyngreny qrpvfvba nobhg Wun’qhe. Ur znl abg, naq zl thrff vf ur cebonoyl qbrfa’g, rira xabj nobhg gur “fvqr rssrpgf” bs gur nagv-ntncvp. Ur whfg xabjf jung vg qbrf, naq qrpvqrf gung gur “lbhatre enprf” pna’g unaqyr vg. Naq lrg, fbzrubj, ba svefg ivrjvat, obgu bs gurfr uvagf, nf jryy nf yngre barf, jrag sylvat bire zl urnq. V obhtug vagb gur Ibeyba zlgubf gbgnyyl—naq V’z orggvat V’z abg nybar.

[same] V sbhaq n WZF dhbgr ba gur Yhexre’f Thvqr ragel sbe “Fvtaf naq Cbegragf” gung rynobengrf ba guvf n yvggyr zber: “Bar ybiryl guvat nobhg ‘Fvtaf naq Cbegragf,’ juvpu lbh cvpxrq hc ba, vf fbzrguvat V yvxr gb cynl jvgu; vzcylvat bar guvat juvyr fnlvat gur bccbfvgr. Ybbx ng nyy gur Funqbjf’ znva ercerfragngvir, Zbeqra, qbrf: ur nfxf crbcyr jung gurl jnag; ur trgf gbffrq bhg bs Qryraa'f dhnegref; ur vf cyrnfnag va uvf qrzrnabe ng nyy gvzrf, arire lryyf, nyjnlf fzvyrf, naq vf pbhegrbhf; ur gnxrf na npgvba juvpu fnirf bar bs bhe znva punenpgref, Ybaqb, sebz qvftenpr naq erfvtangvba, naq urycf va gur cebprff bs fpenttvat gur onq thlf va gur rcvfbqr. Naq lrg rirelbar jnyxf njnl guvaxvat gung gur Funqbjf ner onq. Juvpu jnf bs pbhefr gur vagrag … ol gur jnl va juvpu gurl qvq ‘tbbq.’ Xbfu ceriragf uhznavgl sebz npuvrivat vzzbegnyvgl, fpnerf gur uryy bhg bs Gnyvn, arire tvirf nalbar n fgenvtug nafjre, qbrfa'g frrz gb zvaq vg vs crbcyr srne uvz … naq jr jnyx njnl jvgu gur cerfhzcgvba gung ur vf tbbq, ol iveghr bs gur jnl va juvpu ur qvq guvatf gung jrer ‘onq.’” Gung’f fbzr terng jevgvat!

One little issue I had that I wanted to mention: Why doesn’t Franklin recognize Jha’dur’s species? We know that Earth was at war with the Dilgar—a war which they won!—and that the Dilgar are notorious even now for the atrocities they committed. You’d think Franklin would at least know what they looked like, especially considering that xenobiology is one of his specialties. This was a pretty clunky way to prompt the exposition.

Favorite scene: The scene where Jha’dur explains her true purpose in giving the serum away. I’ll quote it: “Your kind takes blind comfort in the belief that we are monsters. That you could never do what we did. The key ingredient in the anti-agapic cannot be synthesized. It must be taken from living beings. For one to live forever, another one must die. You will fall upon one another like wolves. It will make what we did pale by comparison. The billions who live will be a testimony to my work, and the billions murdered to buy that immortality will be the continuance of my work. Not like us? You will become us. That's my monument, commander.” As in the rest of the episode, Sarah Douglas does a fantastic job of delivering this monologue. There’s so much poison in her voice, and she’s taking a perverse pleasure in revealing this to Sinclair, when she knows he can’t or won’t be able to do a thing about it. And the most chilling aspect to it is the fact that we know she’s right.

Thank goodness for Kosh, right?

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 119 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: cutting apples.

Oh, the opening of this episode is such a delight! I also like the colorful logo and the stage lights in the YouTube video!

I think this is one of the episodes with the most voices! 10 different VAs. Only MAG 158 reaches this count too, also 10 different VAs (MAG 92 is kinda up there as well, it's 11 characters, but since the additional characters are voiced by Alex and Hannah, it's only 8 VAs)

Also just realized, this is one of the shortest episodes. MAG 79 (also the second to last of a season) was 16:19, this one is 16:41.

JON: [disoriented] "Yes, yes, if you could, I’d – I’d value your input on it…" SARAH: "Tim." JON: "Yes, Tim. Tim." Still breaking our hearts, way to go...

BREEKON: "You don’t even know what a gun is." DAISY: "I don’t care." [SOUNDS OF GORE AND THE DELIVERYMEN GROANING IN SHOCK. DAISY BEGINS LAUGHING.] Yep. Take away the person and all that remains is the beast.

BASIRA: "Doesn’t matter. Names don’t matter. I just… I know – I know I’m me and I know I’m here." This...

NIKOLA:[unconvincingly] "Why, I’m…. Tim of course! Who else would I be?" JON: "You’re not. You’re not Tim." NIKOLA: "Oh, you caught me! I’m Sasha!" JON: "Shut up!" Regaining some clarity here. Enough to know that Nikola is not Tim and enough to still feel rage about Sasha.

JON: “I-I tried. I tried, I almost –” GERTRUDE!NIKOLA: “You almost what? You almost didn’t doom the world? No, you almost let reality be the plaything of a lazy, foolish voyeur. JON: “No, no – I would – I could have stopped them.” GERTRUDE!NIKOLA: “How? You didn’t even know what it was. Do you know how many people I killed to keep the world in one piece? The sacrifices I made, and you didn’t even know what you were fighting.” That slaps pretty well in knowledge of where all this is leading. Up until the end he never did know what fight he was actually fighting.

GERTRUDE!NIKOLA: "I fought for years to stop the Stranger in its tracks, you didn’t even notice when they desecrated my corpse. And now look at me. You’ve made me part of their ritual. This is your fault." JON: "It is not. It’s not, I didn’t know. It’s not my fault you died." LEITNER!NIKOLA: [distorted] "No, I suppose not. Me, on the other hand… that one is very much your fault." JON: [despairing] "No, not – not you as well…" Feeding the thought of being a failure. And feeding the guilt.

LEITNER!NIKOLA: "I hardly had the chance, did I? Before you left me to get my head bashed in. I understand, of course. You needed a cigarette? I suppose you should have remembered that smoking kills." [giggles] That joke was so obvious and I am so very happy it's in the show XD

LEITNER!NIKOLA "If our earlier conversation was anything to go by, I hardly think you can blame your faults on the ritual. Your problems go far deeper than that." JON: "Just – give me a moment, please." LEITNER!NIKOLA: "You think that would help? Honestly, if I wasn’t so dead I’d be impressed. I always thought my own hubris to be quite exceptional, but you’ve managed to somehow deliver more bad decisions into two years than I managed in a lifetime. But by all means take your moment." More and more coming. Blaming it all on him.

Growling Hunt Daisy is so good...

BASIRA: "Ignore it. ignore the uh… don’t listen. Focus, think. This is a place. You are you and you’re in a place now. If… if it’s a place, and it’s now, then… then… then it has an end. The other things, the…" [...] "Good! Then – then keep moving. Keep moving until you find another place. A place you know… just keep moving. Keep moving." This!... I didn't know what it meant, when I first listened to it. But up until then, I've never had a panic attack in my life. The second time around, I knew exactly what this was.

GERTRUDE!NIKOLA: "A terrible new world. It is all your fault." Is- is this meant as foreshadowing? Because is does a pretty good job at it! Just like that earlier bit with "You almost didn't doom the world?"...

JON: "I see you." Oh yes, going full Archivist with a brief statement of Joseph Grimaldi. (Also this is a line that is used for the finales of S2, S3 and S4!)

JON: [strained] "Wait, Tim! What do you see?" TIM: [angered] "I see my asshole boss! Or – or… wait… wait." Making other people see work very well for season finales.

TIM: "Jon. I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can… then I don’t forgive you. But thank you for this." That pretty much settled the deal for me to decide that Tim has officially climbed my "dislike" rating up several steps at once. This whole episode is just "How can we fuck up Jon even more?", and Tim participated in it. I am very conflicted about Tim. I know what bad mental health can do to your persona. But the fact, that he knows, this will be the last he says to Jon and still decided to rub something in his face, just doesn’t sit right with me.  Also, I personally am just not someone for revenge arcs. It’s just creating an unending spiral of hate and it’s gonna blow up in your face... pun intended.

NIKOLA: “You idiot! Do you really make the world will fare any better under the Watcher? You think you’re saving anyone?!” Considering that this is what S4 is gonna be about, I’m guessing this was all foreshadowing... Or setting the stage, if you will^^

Ending the episode with a bang! ... Sorry, I just really like puns...

My first time around I had a really, reaaally hard time following what was going on (I mean, it is the Unknowing, so it's fitting). I had to carefully resort to the wiki and read the summary.

@a-mag-a-day​

[idv-askchaoticduo]

The days seemed like they went by in the blink of an eye, everything that is good comes to an end, and the chaotic duo knew that well.

For one side there was the Cortés family, Lawrence hugging his dear sister with a sad smile on his face... After so long of being away from her, having to be separated again pained him.

"I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but our parents trip ends in few days, I can't let them know I was away."

"Lawrence... todo va a estar bien.. I'll find a way to solve all this mystery our family has and bring you back home."

"As long as you're okay, I don't care what happens with mom and dad.. just please promise you'll be okay, porfavor."

". . . Lo prometo."

The Gambler finally released her from the hug, still smiling at her with some tears in his eyes.

"Can you at least write some letters to me now that you know my whereabouts? Just so I can know how life is treating you."

"Hmhmh, I will but you better write back."

Cristian rolled his eyes and walked over to Lawrence, extending his arms, The Gambler looked at him confused before sighing and begrudgingly hugging him too.

"I still hate you, you know?"

"You're not the only one, but I need you to me a favor, I left a letter on my room that I want you to deliver to whoever wrote the poem, alright?"

"Mmhm, sure, I'll let your gay crush know how much you love him-- AUGH."

The Lady scolded Cristian for kicking Lawrence. Not showing any sort of regret.

The situation quickly went back to it's sad ending, bidding the other a farewell and hope for a better time to meet again.

----

On the other side of the manor, was Samantha and Dominic, walking side by side to the exit of the place at a very slow peace.

"How come the caretaker didn't notice you were gone?"

"The Caretaker has been gone for a while, his son was the one keeping the place running for a bit but he went away too... I didn't expect to see him here at all."

"Wait, the Caretaker's son is real? Who is it?"

"Yeah... your friend's twin, the one with the fancy clothes."

For a second Sam was shocked at the revelation, she had never seen such person in the orphanage, she had thought that he was a myth, an hallucination from the man or simply a joke.

"Since both of them are missing from the place, I had to keep the orphanage running by myself.. well, somewhat, an old friend of yours actually gave me a hand on taking care of the kids while I was away."

"An old friend....?"

"Well, I assume it's old... I think his name was Simeas or Simon."

"What!? The hell is he doing at the orphanage?"

Dominic simply shrugs, noticing they both arrived at the door. He turns to look a Samantha with a smile, just when she's about to say something, he cuts her out by giving her a hug.

"I promise I will make the orphanage a safe place for me and you and everyone else. . . Just you wait."

The Candy dealer laughs and returns the hug, giving her old friend another goodbye. Praying for it to not be the last one in their lives.

[Unraveling The Old - Event] [Status - Ended]

Event moments;

Make 'Cristian'/Dominic meet Sirius ❌️

Make Lawrence and 'Cristian' meet ✅️

Make Lawrence and Madison meet ✅️

Make Samantha and Dominic meet ✅️

Ask 'Cristian's about his intentions ✅️

Ask Madison's about her Family ✅️

Ask Dominic about the orphanage ❌️

Ask more about Madison's lover ❌️

Make any of Lawrence's lovers meet Madison ❌️

Make Dominic have other friends ❌️

Involve 'Cristian' in another fight ❌️

//Overall? Wished some would ask more about them, but I did went inactive for a bit so it's my fault. Thank you all for participating

[apparently-artless]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Thanks....

Hi, Elie! I do apologize for the late reply and thank you for sending this lovely question.

Top 10 is quite difficult, to be honest because I love more than a hundred characters. But anyways, let me mention 10 characters that I love even now. These are not exactly arranged chronologically:

Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds)

he's a genius and a smart mouth

he's socially awkward but he's trying

he's good with magic

the show literally f*cked him too many times which made me love him even more [i am aware of the fact that there's something wrong with me so don't mind me (ᵔ.ᵔ)]

2. Five (The Umbrella Academy)

he can time-travel and teleport

after failing big time when he tried to do time travel and got stuck in the future for over 40 years, he managed to get back to 2019 but got stuck in his 13-year-old body, kiddo in a "short pants" who speaks like a 60-year-old man, who wouldn't love him?

he's a genius and a tactician

he's very sarcastic and quite intimidating which is why some people call him "little shit", "our little psycho", "kinder-shit"

he also became an assassin when he got stuck in the future - 13-year-old body + 60-year-old mind + master killer (come on, he's a complete package, right?)

3. 12th Doctor (Doctor Who)

I haven't watched the classic Doctor Who so I can't really compare so between the 9th to the 13th doctor, I love the 12th doctor the most

actor Peter Capaldi did a great job in portraying the role, in my opinion. he is a fan of the series and him playing the role of the doctor really shows how much he loves the character

ngl, at first i thought, he was too old, what happened to the doctor? but as i watched the series featuring the 12th doctor, i get to love the character even more. the doctor is already over a thousand years old and him playing the role showed his wisdom and his experience of that who lived a very long weary life

i'm always attracted to eccentric genius characters and the doctor is definitely one of them, not to mention, the sarcasm, the banter, the 12th doctor delivered this so well

4. Son Hak (Akatsuki no Yona)

he's probably the main reason why i will never get married. hahaha! just kidding

even though he loves Yona (the female protagonist) romantically, he never wished for them to be together, he was even willing to protect Yona and Soo-Won (after they get married in the future) and be by their side for the rest of his life

he's a good soldier and a good leader and he is loved by his fellow tribe members [he's loved by Yona too (￣ε￣＠)]

he's handsome and charismatic and very reliable, when he's by Yona's side, it feels like nothing can go wrong

he's willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the people he values so much [this has been proven too many times]

he likes to tease the people he's close with, which is kinda cute

5. Akaboshi Bisco (Sabikui Bisco)

he's charismatic and very reliable. when he says he's gonna do something, he follows through no matter how difficult the situation is

he's good at bantering, and his antics with his partner, Milo, is just so fun to watch

he's hot, a badass character and he's red-haired, what can I do? ( ◡‿◡ *)

he has this wild aura and appears rough around the edges but he actually cares

6. Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)

he's just so funny and cute and an idiot (in a good way)

he loves meat too much

he doesn't claim to be a good person, he just follows what he thinks he has and wants to do

I just can't get enough of him, how can a character be so cold and cute at the same time??

7. Accelerator (To Aru Majutsu no Index)

this character started off as an antagonist of the franchise, he became one of the main characters at a later time but I already loved his character because he's just so crazy and f*cked up

his voice actor is Okamoto Nobuhiko (Bakugo's VA) and he really did a great job of emphasizing the character's personality through his voice

his character development is superb, you'd think he's pure evil because of what he's done in the past but then he went ahead and sacrificed himself for this one child (Last Order)

his ability is vector manipulation. he's the number one esper in Academy City (city where the story takes place). he's capable of making high-level calculations that would allow him to manipulate every vectors that he's so overpowered

his ability became limited when he got shot in the head when he was trying to save Last Order (he had to rely on this so-called Misaka Network) so he could perform his calculations again over a limited period of time

meeting Last Order changed his life, this little girl became so important to him that he would do anything just so she could have a normal life (i always love watching this older guy-little girl relationship especially if the older guy is sort of like a bad/wild character)

8. Levi Ackerman (Shingeki no Kyojin)

who wouldn't love this adorable little man? and yet he's humanity's strongest ヽ(*⌒▽⌒*)ﾉ

he's sassy and a smart mouth and he gets away with it all the time

he's very particular when it comes to cleanliness

he acts so tough but he's quite a softy on the inside (IMO. LOL)

9. Tomioka Giyuu (Kimetsu no Yaiba)

he's socially awkward that it's so adorable

my other bias would be his voice actor - Sakurai Takahiro (just perfect)

the water breathing technique really suits his personality, calm but constantly flowing, quiet but passionate

10. Sawamura Eijun (Daiya no Ace)

i think i already mentioned why i love this character but anyway, he's just an inspiration to me

he's hardworking, has guts, courageous, loyal, passionate

he's just full of optimism and honesty

he deserves better

[shaldreth]

Women of Xal's Production Costs

Questions about production costs, the profit WoX has made, and the effectiveness of advertising are becoming quite common. So we came up with this overview! Hope this is entertaining to some of you. And hey, if you're considering an indie VN of your own, you can probably take some lessons from this on how to save money! 

This post will use very broad, rough monetary estimates. If you're interested in the more detailed cost breakdowns, let us know! I might make that our first official post on our website or something.  ~ Shald

Starting Money: 

This was essentially our first project as a studio, so we didn't have any income to begin with. We had to rely on both Kickstarter and our own full-time jobs for funding. 

Our Kickstarter campaign raised $13,360. After Kickstarter fees, our actual seed money for this project was roughly $12k to start! Anything past that 12k was paid for by the team out-of-pocket. 

Production Costs (Part 1):

Let's start with the good news! We were able to save a ton of money on certain aspects of the project by either doing them ourselves or trading assets for music commissions. The money we saved could then be redistributed to other areas. 

Music: $0  That's right, the soundtrack was free! John's a composer and did it all himself. Typically a soundtrack of this size and quality would be at LEAST a few thousand dollars. 

Beta Testing: $200 Our beta testers were friends from our Discord server who wanted to play the game early, but we still paid them what we could! And what they’d accept. u_u 

Writing: $300   90% of the game was written by John, and was therefore free. We paid a small fee to a couple writers for their assistance near the end of the project.

Graphic Design: $300   One of John's old friends was happy to do the graphic design for relatively cheap. 

CGs: $1,000 That’s right, we somehow got about 100 CGs for just around a thousand dollars. We traded music for art here as well. 

Programming: $2,000  We paid two staff for programming,, but saved extra money by having John and his girlfriend jump in themselves for the second half of development. 

Production Costs (Part 2):

These next items all cost about as much as we expected. 

Registration and Licensing: $99 Steam stuff. 

Vocalists: $1,500 Singers are rightfully expensive, yo. 

Equipment/Software Costs: $2,600  HitFilm was used for animating the backgrounds, creating trailer videos, adding subtitles to ingame cutscenes, modifying animation, etc. John also bought a few more digital instruments which he ended up using for the… unique music genres in this game.

Voice Acting: $5,000 VA’s are rightfully expensive, yo. Especially when two VAs later went on to hold pretty high-profile roles. I really hope they want to reprise their roles, but it’ll probably be the majority of next game’s budget.... lol  Anyway, we commissioned most of our VAs ages ago, so the prices weren’t actually as high as you might fear if you took a look at the cast list.

Production Costs (Part 3):

These items all cost more than expected for various reasons. 

Character Art: $8,000 Listen, we have hundreds of sprites in this game ok. If I’m counting right, we have ~50 unique character sprites and probably ~300 different expressions like happy, sad, etc. for various characters. Sure, minor expression changes are way cheaper than full sprites, but they ain’t free! We expected it to cost a lot; extra costs came in when we actually had to hire a second artist to cover for our main artist, who got *understandably* burned out from doing so much art for WoX over the development years.

Animation: $5,000 This was our second-biggest cost and paid off the least, honestly. We went through multiple animators who never delivered the animations we commissioned. Obviously we didn't pay for animations we never received, but the cost here is from test animations we did receive. See, we'd have each animator do a short test animation as part of their interview - to make sure they were comfortable with the characters and outfits. Even though it was part of their interview process, we obviously paid them for that work. 

Background Artists: $2,000 And this is another case where we had to hire multiple artists due to either not receiving the commissions we sent out or artist burnout. u_u

Total:

So that's a total cost of approximately $28k to produce WoX, $12k of which was paid for by the Kickstarter. Yeah, we underestimated how much the project was going to cost, but what else is new on Kickstarter? lol 

Post-production costs: 

We've spent the following amounts on advertising. 

- tumblr Blaze: $104.20 - Facebook: $100 - Twitter: $100

We do want to spend more on advertising, obviously, but we need to have money to put into it. Which is when we get to the final section...

Revenue:

Forgive my rough math here for a minute….

WoX sells for $20 on both Steam and itch.io. Steam takes a 30% cut, so every Steam sale makes approx. $14. itch.io takes a 10% cut, and people on there can choose to tip extra, but we'll still say that every itch.io sale makes ~$18. 

...Steam's backend is confusing me a lot right now because it's giving me three different numbers for how many units we've sold, but... I'll just, uh, guess which one is right.

As of May 15th, 2022, and since WoX's original beta launch in August 2021, we had sold:

206 Steam copies (-8 returns) 30 itch.io copies

For a rough total of $3,312, pre-tax. Steam also mentions we're averaging about $13 a day.

Now, you may see a lot more copies than that on the "market", and that's because we gave copies of the game to Kickstarter backers who pledged $10 or more. So far 331 Kickstarter backers have activated their copies of the game on Steam, I believe 7 did so through itch.io. So more than half of the copies currently in "circulation" were given out to people who originally helped fund the game.

In Conclusion:

So yeah, bottom line is that the game cost about $30,000 to make, we've spent $304.20 on advertising, and we've made about $3,000 back. So if we seem somewhat broke on the company tumblr sometimes, that's why! \o/ 

As a quick aside, we actually just ran a test sale of 15% off on Steam with absolutely NO advertising whatsoever, to see what sort of baseline numbers we might be able to expect from sales with no ads. Y’know, as an experiment! It went pretty well, but those numbers are not included in the above analysis.  If you read that entire thing, I am in awe of you.

[wimsiecal]

What did you thought of the new Helluva Boss episode?

DUDE

DUDE

Okay so at first I was a little... confused? Mostly because of Blitzø. I know he's always been kind of obsessed with watching Millie and Moxxie, but him and Mox seemed to have a bit better of an understanding in the last episode, so I wasn't sure why he wasn't listening to him when he told him not to come and it was just something for him and Millie.

It is typical Blitzø yeah but... idk.

I think the main part that confused me is... if he knew that Fizz was there and he didn't want Fizz or the M&Ms to know he was there, WHY WOULD HE STAND UP AND BASICALLY ANNOUNCE HIS PRESENCE?? Like yeah maybe he just really wanted to stand up for them which is nice but... idk it just came off really ...odd??

"Oh I gotta secretly watch my employees/friends on their marriage anniversary, and try really hard to get into this place and bring my regal boytoy just to get in... oh my ex rival thing is here now I gotta hide from him too... HEY GUYS IT'S ME BLITZØ HERE IN THE OPEN FEEL FREE TO POINT OUT EVERYTHING I'VE DONE WRONG EVER"

VGGFJgsjxjsjdhnf idk xD

Blitzø aside... (for now) I thoroughly enjoyed Stolas in this. He was absolutely adorable!!

"That's a mood, Gabriella" <- is going to be my new favorite quote

"Oh! Oh my! Oh no! No but yes!"

hggmhf almost everything he said just made me smile, and he was so excited to go on a date with Blitzø and it was so precious!!! He was so sad beforehand so he really needed an outing... which obviously didn't turn out for the best but at least he was a little happier at first..?

And then him getting embarrassed for being seen with an imp... wow. Honestly didn't think I'd see that from him. Mostly because he's been so out in the open about it. To literally everyone. I guess the higher-ups are what gets under his skin. He's royalty, I guess he's got a reputation to maintain in their eyes.

Not much to say about M&M, they were adorable as usual. I loved the way Millie looked in her outfit and that lipstick on her was gorgeous <3

Ok now... that song.

Wow!!!! That song!!! Ozzie can sing dude!!

To be expected but still holy moly he nailed it!! I have been listening to that song and thinking about it for days man xD

I adore Fizzaroli. Hands down. I thought I liked his robo version but the real deal is so much better.

What can I say? I love chaotic characters with this like asshole side to them xD

It was cool to see Verosika again, she pretty much admitted what the whole fandom knew to be true all along that Blitzø didn't reciprocate

Anyway. That car scene??? 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

Holy moly. Brandon... how are you so talented?? Seriously how was he never a VA before?? Absolutely fantastic performance.

You could just hear and feel everything in Blitzø's tone. You could tell what he meant. He felt like Stolas only wanted him for sexy times and not an actual relationship. Damn.

He wants a relationship with him but he's so broken and doesn't feel like he's worthy or that Stolas really wants anything more.

Hearing Stolas just talk to him in a calm and soft way "we could talk or watch a movie" ohhh it broke my heart gghghhhggj

The end scene completely broke me. Poor Blitzø, seriously. He's just so messed up. Those pics were definitely him and Fizz and they dated. No changing my mind. Gosh..

But he purposefully went through those photos and the fact that all he had to do was see one picture of his family and it broke him down like that really says something about how much he loves them. Are they even still alive..??? What happened to them?

Anyway, yes! Sorry this was so long. I loved it! It was very very good! They deliver bangers almost every single time 💗

[dukebeelthazar]

Blood Omen 2 Review

Hey everyone!

I know it's been a while since my last post, but Taonpest and I were busy finishing our Legacy of Kain Marathon with Blood Omen 2. And I've beaten Blood Omen 2, hell, I've COMPLETED IT by drinking every single character's blood and opening every chest from every chapter! And to anyone who wants to make a LoK marathon, do yourself a favor and skip this game. There's nothing for it.

When I started playing BO2, I thought it was fine. I thought it was one of the most basic action game you would find on PS2 and I was fine with this. But that impression of low-budget yearly action game soon dissipated and became motoneous, frustrating and overall boring. Just to make things clear, I played the PS2 version of the game which is apparently considered the worst port of that game. And you wouldn't know how overjoyed I was when I read that.

One thing that strikes the eye is the graphics. They're okay for a 2002 PS2 game, but, the atmosphere, the aesthetic. There's nothing LoK about it. I know it's technically supposed to be a transition between Blood Omen and Soul Reaver, but to me, it looked more like a WarHammer Fantasy look-alike. The characters are...what they are. Kain and his massive man-tits looks pretty okay, but Vorador looks like an estranged cousin of Shrek who decided to live in the sewers instead of the swamps. Janos looks good. Another thing that sort of annoyed me were the FMV cutscenes. Soul Reaver and its sequel had beautiful FMVs that set the tone of the game and hyped you up. Unlike Soul Reaver, BO2's FMVs were made with the in-game models which makes some shots absolutely ridiculous. Once again, I like to think this is a budget stuff that happened.

Then, there's the actual game and story. Gee, I wonder what the plot could be this time. Oh? It's another revenge story, what a surprise. No surprise here, the story is not only barely existant, but somehow, even the dialogues are actually terrible. All that poesy and Shakespearian-talk from the previous entries? Gone. And it tries so hard to be serious that it's actually hilarious.

The actual gameplay can go fuck itself. The fighting mechanics especially are the biggest pain in the ass. It's clunky and unresponsive and most annoying of all repeating way too much. Every single fight (with the exception of some bosses) are down to the exact same method. You parry 3 to 5 attacks, dodge, attack, knock your enemy down, wait for him to recover, rince and repeat. So imagine spending hours doing the exact same thing with boring puzzles and frustrating platform sequences. I did like the Eternal Prison however with its claustrophobic approach that kinda reminded me of Resident Evil. And then Magnus came in, and what could have lead to a Nemesis-like encounter just fell flat because the AI in this game is as dumb as a brick, which means there are no actual consequences for you to mess around with Magnus. This leads to the boss fights, and if you've played any Legacy of Kain game then you won't be surprised when I tell you that they suck. If Soul Reaver's bosses are on the same level as Crash Bandicoot then Blood Omen 2 is Wrath of Cortex. They are that bad.

I guess I should also mention the sound. Just so you know we played the game in French. Jean Barney and Benoît Allemane reprised their respective roles from the previous Soul Reaver installments (Vorador and Janos for Barney and Kain for Allemane) and it's great to hear them again. We also get VAs new to the franchise like the amazing Phillipe Dumond (voice-over actor of Keith David in French) as the Sarafan Lord and basicaly almost every male NPC from the game.

Unlike SR1 & 2 however, I thought the French Dub to be very hit or miss, making the poor dialogue looking even more dumber than it already is. I like to think this because of direction issues (voice acting for video games in France is very different than in the U.S or Japan) because you couldn't sound as deadpan and monotone as Uma. Maybe this is an adaptation choice? I don't know, but this makes her death scene almost funny to watch. Allemane is playing his dialogue in his usual Kain-fashion (though slightly less "jovial") but some of his lines sound wrong. And then, there is the actor that actually outshines Benoît Allemane: Phillipe Dumond. This man is 90% of the game's dialogue and each time, he delivers especially as the Sarafan Lord. There's also something weird around the end of the game where Vorador changes voice actors in the same cutscene or even mid-sentence. I think the voice-acting for this game was rushed.

That's all I'll say about Blood Omen 2. This game made me feel empty. It actually made me wish I played games I don't like because I think the problem comes from me and not the games themselves.

Blood Omen 2 is a 3/10/. Stay out of its net, brethrens.

P.S: I wish I could stream games, but I don't have the setting nor the actual physical place to do it.

[felassan]

Highlights and insights from the N7 Day cast & crew reunion panel

[Rewatch link]

In case a text format is better for anyone. There are some NSFW references. Cut for length.

(Some paraphrasing.)

“Some of us are inebriated”

“Patrick Weekes, the killer of man and beasts, the breaker of hearts”

JHale put the whole thing together, it’s the biggest ME cast reunion to date

The cast had no idea that the remaster was a thing

Lots of ace discussion about what the magic of the MET is (“it captured lightning in a bottle”)

Lots of warm fuzzies between the cast, crew and community, and lots of fun behind-the-scenes anecdotes

Lots of great discussion on the diversity and inclusion in ME: on gender, sexuality, representation, empowerment, the core message in the MET that “we’re all in this together or we’re screwed”, the progress made in the portrayal of female characters in gaming, etc. “Everything behind what went into these characters was authentic, we [the VAs] could tell that so much research, texture, authenticity etc had gone into them. It really made a difference”. JHale: “I’ve spent my career kicking down ceilings [barriers and so on women actors experience] with my steel-toed boot. To get to be a part of this game that has now created the expectation that there now be a female PC, ‘duh’, is once of the great things of my life. BioWare listened and put her on the box. The first time someone dropped the box in front of me I held it over my head and screamed over the crowd, ‘Casey Hudson, thank youuu!!’ It was a divine moment. This game was the moment the boot finally crashed through the glass, pushed by millions of women.”

The panel received many messages from the question submission from fans expressing that MET really helped them through very dark places and periods in their lives. The cast have had a lot of interactions with fans over the years where the fans expressed similar sentiments to them

ME was one of the first games Keythe Farley (Thane) acted for that had branching dialogue/dialogue choices, and when he saw the script with that when he went in, he was like “wow”. ME was the second big game D. C. Douglas (Legion) ever did. In his first audition he didn’t know it was for a robot-type character as it was disguised as something else with a military-feel. The second time it was to do a speech/lament at someone’s funeral and he knew it was for a robot. He said playing Legion for him was a case of “wake up, drink some coffee and go to work”

Jack was really special to her VA Courtenay Taylor because she relates to her so much and had a lot of similar emotional problems and personal troubles in her past. Jack helped her become who she has became. The host added that in his interactions with Courtenay over the years, he realized very quickly that she is very much like Jack

AWR has two moms, something which she hasn’t talked about/expressly said publicly before. Talking about recording lines between Sam and Femshep made her tear up. She said that being raised by two moms in the 80s was tough due to societal attitudes at the time, and so to see a loving relationship between two women depicted in a game was a big deal for her. When recording the white picket fence conversation, she was actually crying (“and then I’m crying because of the lesbians”). It was a huge moment for her to represent her moms’ journey. When she went home she told them all about how her character is gay and wants a white picket fence and everything “just like we had”.

When PW was working on Sam’s arc, one of the things they did was show it to one of their colleagues, who is a lesbian, asking what things she’d like to see in an arc like that and what things she felt were missing from it. The white picket fence conversation came from the colleague’s feedback (“we wanna see the nice, healthy, happy domestic stuff”, as it’s often missing in portrayals of wlw relationships)

As the VAs got more into their characters, they sometimes had feedback and input to the process to offer, like “I don’t think she’d say [this] like [that]”. Sometimes they knew their characters even better than the crew did sometimes. JHale waxed lyrical about Caroline Livingstone’s awesome direction, with the host adding that he has interviewed a lot of the VAs over the years and they all talk about Caroline like she’s Gandalf the White coming to the rescue in LotR. AWR expressed that Caroline is really funny (“don’t worry it’s not you, PW was sick when they wrote this line that’s why”) and emotionally in-tune with them and this makes long hard sessions with her a joy

When Mark went into record for the Citadel DLC one day he asked Caroline “wouldn’t be great if Shepard’s clone had been made to be the opposite gender? Then the two Shepards could fight each other!”

William Salyers (Mordin) likes the way Mordin’s story ended and felt that it was wonderful to be able to play that. He feels like the luckiest person because as he wasn’t the original VA of Mordin, he got to come in late to something that was amazing. “Caroline helped me get to where I needed to be emotionally to play that final scene. It was one of the most moving things I’ve ever gotten to do personally for a piece of interactive art”. PW related that with Mordin’s writing, they didn’t realize how much they were asking for. They thought William was amazing doing all the science-speak/technobabble, as they themselves didn’t know what it meant, and then suddenly having to deliver emotional heartbreaking lines. William’s always been a secret science nerd and so he loved that fact about Mordin. “It was a real treat to say your words”

Karin: “I always claim credit for the Scientist Salarian song even though I had nothing to do with it. I opened that door for PW”

Steve Blum (Grunt) found it a real treat playing Grunt as Grunt is a tough soldier on the outside but a [babey] on the inside, while he is more the other way around (softer on the outside, fight-y inside). He isn’t a gamer and so didn’t know what to expect or what he was getting into. There was the big pile of words, they showed him the picture of Grunt, and he just ran with it. “Grunt was kind of a perfect character for me in that respect”. Side note: his wry comments throughout the panel were hilarious

“Casey Hudson, our glorious loving overlord”

Courtenay jokes about “interspecies snorkeling”

The women Courtenay met working on this game are her friends for life. Ali Hillis (Liara) gave her her number the night of the ME3 drop and was like “let’s hang out!!” “JHale is the shit. I go to England and there’s AWR and I have this friend for life”.

“We’re a family”. The host comments that you don’t see this kind of closeness between the people on a lot of projects

Kimberley Brooks (Ashley) thinks things have and are changing for the better in terms of roles for women, and roles for brown and black women. This year she has noticed increasing awareness of inclusion and of where it’s lacking. “The copies I’m being sent for auditions, it’s drastically changing, I’m seeing it change before my eyes. It’s really exciting, there’s more and more roles for me.” “Ash is such a strong character and I felt very badass playing her, it was life-changing”. She’s excited that the remaster is going to be a new way to see these characters that they’ve been so lucky to voice. Kimberley/Ash was the first female character Karin saw in the studio, when she saw her she was like “Wow, she’s so kickass and inspiring”. At this point Karin hadn’t been working at BioWare for all that long, and she wanted to thank Kimberley, because she saw her and heard her voice and had a personal ‘this changes everything’ moment

Raphael Sbarge (Kaidan) finds it very moving how many women were encouraged into gaming due to ME

Raphael: “Everyone here has awesome varied careers, but because ME was so collaborative [and so on], [it was something really rare and special]. Nothing else I’ve done has been so important or impassioned, it has almost a religious experience to it, which you can see from tears in fans’ eyes and tattoos and people talking about it 10 years later”. “I’m so grateful for it.” “Clearly we’re going to do this again next year! :D” D. C. added that it’s going to follow him for the rest of his career. Courtenay says it has catapulted her career

PW talked about how it’s great that the female chars in ME were allowed to have real, realistic flaws and dark periods (as opposed to nonsense stuff like ‘her flaw is that she’s clumsy’)

Having the male and female PC be voiced was a big, expensive commitment for the studio. Karin commented that at the time, it was a risk that the pretty-much almost entirely-male leadership of BioWare at the time decided was important to take, and so she was happy that these were the values her colleagues had

PW was “the junior baby writer on ME1. I’d just gotten to the studio and Mac Walters fell down a flight of stairs and hurt his back, and they pulled me in while he was healing”. Karin: “Mac was very understanding when PW fell on the ice and hurt themselves during ME2.” PW: “My job in ME1 was to come up with conversations between followers to pass the time in the elevator loading times. I was throwing stuff at the wall to see what would stick”

Steve turning his volume down before he shouts classic Grunt quotes down the mic

Caroline: “Do you know how many tears were shed in the booth? How many times have we all cried in the booth...” JHale: “We were recording the end of ME3, which I never call the end, because I’m always like I’M HERE! [wink] The goodbye Garrus lines” - these lines got right under her skin and when she went to say her lines she couldn’t speak because she’d burst into tears. “It was all I could do to say those words... and then there was silence... [and Caroline had gotten choked up too].” This was one of the last sessions they did. PW: “John Dombrow wrote Garrus in ME3 and I’m gonna tell him that he got you both to break.”

Caroline was also really teary during Keith David’s (Anderson)’s performance where he tells Shepard she’s like his daughter. This moment was one of JHale’s favorites to act

BioWare came up with a proprietary VA recording system which JHale describes as a secret sauce as-yet not widely-used in the industry

Lots of fun in the line-reading portion at the end. The lines/scenes were sent in by fans. This starts around timestamp 1 hour 50 mins. There’s a break where they discuss more anecdotes after a bit then some line-reading resumes at 1 hour 59 mins 18 secs

"Salarian Vorcha Conrad Verner simmering sexual tension scene”

One of PW’s fondest memories is of ME3 when JHale and Mark got to play off each other (which they naturally didn’t get to do very much), when PW had shoved the entire script of the Blasto movie into random ambience throughout the Citadel. They knew Mark was going to be Blasto as he voiced most of the hanar. PW: “We had to have Blasto’s elcor partner’s hot sister... And I was like could it be JHale?? Because they hardly ever get to talk to each other. It was one of my proudest moments”. Mark: “Not only that, we had a romance.” JHale: “Yeah, it was hot”.

“Think of the poor cold freezing Edmontonian hanar”

PW’s story about Sam’s toothbrush: They wrote it as a throwaway line but AWR did it so well that PW wanted to bring it back in the Citadel DLC, as that DLC was the action-comedy one. So they decided the toothbrush was going to save the Normandy. The art director at the time was in an early playthrough of the scene and in that version of the scene Sam held up her empty hand. The director was like “We gotta make the toothbrush? Really? It’s gonna be thousands of dollars to render the toothbrush.” It then got to the next few lines and the director deadpanned at PW “Okay that’s pretty good, we’ll make the toothbrush.” PW: “Good, I got my toothbrush.”

It was John’s idea that we find out that Mordin had been working on a crime noir novel. There was a period in the development of the Citadel DLC where PW was feeling like “Mordin’s gone, he had his big moment, I want to respect and honor that” and the entire team were like “I think Mordin needs a couple more songs dude”. “Well alright!” By that point William had shown them he could deliver literally any line

“Oh I need a shower that was so steamy hot”

PW got in trouble with Localization over Jack’s “Save some of your energy, we’re gonna do it on the pool table” exchange. Localization were like “Um could you explain what Jack means by this??” These lines were PW’s, Karin as an editor got the question about it and passed it on to PW like “nope this is your fault”. “The best part is it was France that needed PW to explain the joke while apparently Germany were like ‘Yes please confirm that this is regarding the possibility of oral sex-’”

Keythe on voicing Thane: “Thane was a real lesson in opening up to the character, allowing this beautifully conflicted character to exist. Each character in the MET has conflicts within themselves and a tragic flaw that is revealed through the course of conflict.” He also waxed lyrical about how the MET was akin to Star Wars and Citizen Kane, and about the interconnectedness and representation in it

D. C.: “I have a question for you guys. Was it a conscious decision to not have Legion as a romance? Because there are a lot of upset people out there!!” “Voltage problems.” “A lot of creative reuses of ‘There was a hole.’” PW: “It was a process of us figuring out what we wanted to do. If we had known... The number of people who were like ‘I don’t know, are people gonna wanna romance Garrus? Liara? She’s blue and has no hair. Are people gonna be okay with that?” Karin: “We were young and naïve, now we know BioWare fans are thirsty.”

Derek brought in the first picture of Thane to show Caroline and she was like “He’s really hot, that’s gonna be a killer character. People are gonna want to romance that gentleman”

Raphael asked the BioWare team if there’s ever been a point where they thought about doing more DLC content or some kind of revival. “Has that ever come up?” “We’re legally obligated not to say, sorry, we’re going through a tunnel right now, bad reception!!”

D. C.: “Does this country have a soul?” “It does.”

“An N7 Day to remember! Go forth and heal.”

[benevolent-savage]

this is what happens when u enable me lets go

(spoilers ahoy)

Firstly, here’s some somewhat miscellaneous reasons that don’t contribute to any sort of narrative analysis but are still parts of the character I like.

His boss fight is my favorite in the game thus far. It’s not super hard, but it isn’t super easy either, and I even managed to solo it on my Balance after a few practice rounds. Sufficiently challenging without feeling unfair.

His boss fight music. It is a bop and a half, go give it a listen, my soul ascends from my body a few centimeters every time I hear it start up.

His voice. I’m sure it’s processed at least a little but gotdamn his voice is so deep and spooky it startled me when I first heard it. Very curious who his actor is; I think he and Inyanga Whitestripes share the same one. Either way, very well voiced and acted.

His design is very good. It’s the perfect mix of innocuous but also spooky sorcerer fella who knows some shit. And I was afraid that the designers would try and make him like. Handsome? Under the hood? To try and make him more sympathetic? But they didn’t and I’m glad for it.

With those out of the way, the next thing to establish, I guess: I don’t interpret Old Cob to be the main villain of arc 3, nor do I interpret Raven as such. They’re definitely antagonists, but they’re not the ultimate problem; the ultimate problem is their divorce, and how they keep dragging people into their bs. It’s established the Aethyr is a physical manifestation of their anger towards each other, and as it thins, communication between them becomes possible, as Sparck puts it in this thinly veiled metaphor toward the start of Empyrea part 2.

But Cob’s still an antagonist and I love him so I’m gonna talk about that. Most of this is going to be talking about his motivations for doing what he does, since I don’t see him quite as the ‘likes to watch the world burn for the hell of it’ archetype that others might.

One of the reasons that drew me to his character is how legit his gripe is, when put in perspective. Old Cob- or Grandfather Spider, if you prefer- is not a mortal like the other antagonists of previous arcs, which establishes he has a different thought process right off the bat. This new universe was built on his suffering and he has a grudge against the ex wife who made it, so as a god, it makes some sense he’d try to destroy it and build one he would like better. He’s fully aware that what he is doing will hurt people but decidedly doesn’t care, and I appreciate that so much. He’s chaotic as fuck and he owns it, along with his superiority complex that’s as wide as the day is long.

Yet his reasoning is like. Weirdly understandable? Like, if my ex-whatever put me in jail for a lifetime sentence and stole my kidney to pay for a new house or something, I too would go apeshit and want my fuckin kidney back. That’s mostly how I interpret his situation. He’s not doing this for hell of it, he’s doing it because he wants to get back at his ex because he’s bitter and petty and for the most part he knows this but he feels justified in doing do because she ripped out his goddamn kidney- I mean heart, and he wants that back.

And then, even after all that, he and his magic are treated as if they’re inherently evil. While, sure, Shadow is a ‘dark magic’, its actual properties aren’t anything malicious by itself. It is described as “a magic that changes reality,” and that’s it. Incredibly exploitable and you should practice caution while handling it, but used correctly it is powerful and helpful; this is likely alluding to the backlash mechanic, where likes decrease the percent of damage you take, dislikes increase the percent, and I imagine the person meant to be the literal embodiment of the magic in question to be similar in nature: not inherently harmful and lashes out if he feels he’s been mistreated.

Going off that, I’m not sure he ever wanted the FirstWorld to be destroyed, and therefore believes his incarceration to be entirely unjust; he doesn’t deny that he instigated the fight between the Titans, but when it comes to being accused of its actual destruction, he gets angry.

...Okay the written text doesn’t really display how mad he got here, but he was like. Big Angy. Super offended. Honestly, a big part of why I love and analyze the hell out of his character comes from how his VA delivers his lines and his voice in general. If you haven’t heard it for some reason, I recommend looking it up. Anyway, here he’s basically saying he didn’t destroy the First World, and even if he did, he’s suffered enough punishment because of it, to my interpretation. The only one I remember blaming him for it is Raven; Bartleby was there, and I don’t recall him blaming anything other than the Titans for it. This is of course not accounting for the various changes made to the lore since he was introduced, but they could have easily thrown in a line like ‘And now Spider plans to destroy the Spiral the way he destroyed the FirstWorld!’ or something to make it clear it was done intentionally.

And this may very well be straying into headcanon territory here, but I think he holds positive relationships very closely to him, even if things went sour in the end; he clearly still has some remaining affection for the Titans, calling them ‘the children’ and being incredibly angry at Raven for forcing one of them to destroy his Heart.

When Rat loses in Polaris he shows up to praises his efforts and even comfort him, in his own weird way. He reprimanded Scorpion in Mirage, but it’s because Scorpion wasn’t doing what his dad asked him to and got his ass kicked as a result. As for Bat, every time they’re in the same room together he pays him some sort of compliment.

Bat claims that he and his brothers are meant to be his tools, and to some extent that’s true, but he also genuinely cares about them, and it’s really interesting to see a villain defect from the usual ‘not caring about anyone other than themselves’ and openly show affection for his kids while still managing to be an incredible asshole.

In line with this is his relationship with the Wizard. There is, of course, a foundation of manipulation to their dynamic, at least to some degree. I thoroughly believe that Spider was overshadowing Coleridge, at least partly, so our character could bust him out of prison.

And while this is happening, he regains some of his spent power and removes threats to it as well, namely Morganthe, using the Wizard’s help. In fact, I have very little doubt that he was at least partially responsible for her fall; his timing on that two-liner was too on the nose.

But even with that, I think he genuinely treasures the Wizard’s help and company, which is why he attempts on four different occasions to either sway them to his side, or warn them away from what he’s doing.

Boy, I want that vacation, but it’s your fault I’m here.

And then, of course, his relationship with Raven, something that is basically a summation of his character arc. Laden with baggage and tragic in concept, it is my belief that most of what he’s doing isn’t because he genuinely hates the Spiral or he wants to get back at her, but because he loved her and treasured their relationship; so upon her mistreating him, he lashed out at everything she’d made and detested it as a result. But only because he felt betrayed and hurt so he has to inflict that on other people because he is, as aforementioned, a petty and bitter old fuck.

Moving off that line of thinking, an admirable quality he possesses is how smart he is. This guy has so many wrinkles in his brain it must look like a raisin. Well, perhaps not ‘smart’ exactly, but how good he is at manipulating certain situations to his advantage. Like in Mirage; you just know that he was fully expecting Mellori to be there and fully planned to use her as a back up plan, or you could even argue that the whole debacle in Mirage was a ploy to get his hands on her, while having the added possible benefit of things actually working out.

Actually his scheme in Mirage was really interesting now that I think about it. His aim was to turn back time to when the FirstWorld was whole, further implying that he never wanted its destruction in the first place. It would also, of course, be a time where he had his Heart and would have the ability to avoid having it ripped out again. This would involve not having the Titans fight each other again, or at least not starting it and suffering the consequences. It would be everything he wanted to achieve knocked out in one go with minimal muss or fuss, compared to other methods. It’s probably a part of why he shows up personally to bargain with Eerkala and the Cabal, and why he directly intervenes in our Wizard’s efforts to stop him; it was too important to trust to any of his kids, so knowing Scorpion probably wouldn’t have been able to execute it anyway, he used his kid as a distraction for the most part.

I also like looking into the fact that his element, besides Shadow, is Storm, as opposed to pure Shadow or Death, as most major antagonists are. Storm is a school based on invention, experimentation and improvement. This is something that interests me for two reasons: one, the magic of major antagonists is always a part of their character, Malistaire the most blatantly, and two, because of this line he says in Mirage.

To my interpretation, this would imply that he sees the Spiral as something that could be improved. And as a god, he would of course find it his obligation to try and fix this flaw. When he made the barter with the Cabal, I don’t doubt he was being at least partially honest about restoring the FirstWorld; it would certainly fix the flaw it has in the context of stealing his internal organs, but he would also probably seek to improve it, make it more suited to Shadow or something.

Something else I find intriguing is how weirdly honest he is; I don’t recall him ever lying to us once, unless you count omitting certain facts as lying. But that’s absolutely something I can see him using against people, like “I didn’t lie to you, I just didn’t tell you, your fault for not asking ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ .” As said before, he;s really good at manipulating people and he weaponizes whatever he can; @that-wizard-oki​ made a really great post about how he uses conflicts- his fault or not- to his advantage, and does his own thing in the background without interruption, Mirage and Neumia probably being the best example of this, with Scorpion and the Cabal serving as distractions while he either carries out things himself or gives instructions.

To pull all of this together narratively, I think it’s important to consider this line from Mellori during one of their confrontations:

He feels powerless, so he puffs up his god status. He has little power to fight with, compared to before, so he mostly manipulates and creates back-up plans while causing conflicts to serve as distractions. His love hurt him, so he lashes out at others and drags them into his problems.

You may ask, “But Sam, these are all bad qualities, why should we like him because of this?” And I would respond “Because it makes him a complex and interesting antagonist.” The kind of character that executes his shitty actions in such a way that you can’t help but respect- even just for the level of dramatics put in to it- while also having a motive that makes you stop and consider that maybe he has a point but is very much handling the situation the wrong way.

Like, c’mon, he ticks so many villain boxes. Tragic backstory? Check. Blatant thespian who owns it? Check. Gets his hands dirty before the climax of the story? Check. Smart/ manipulative/ has back-up plans? Check. Understandable, strong motives? Check.

He’s got layers. Like onion. I felt like there was always something new to discover about him, and for that I can assert my opinion that he’s one of the best characters in Wizard101.

lmao if you read this far into my simp-for-shithead post congrats. feel free to shoot me more asks on the subject bc i cant write persuasive-essay-esque format anymore my brain is rotting. if you will excuse me, im off to listen to the chronoverge combat track for the 82937487734th time