#is this at all comparable to getting mobbed at anime conventions

[eremiss]

17. Obeisant

Mild end-of-5.0 spoilers at the end

Gwen didn’t mind not standing out, being no more than an ordinary adventurer, or even an ordinary Scion. She wanted to be helpful, to be useful, and she didn’t need to be noticed or revered to do that. For the most part.

Sometimes merely being ‘an adventurer’ wasn’t enough, as some situations were considered too difficult to entrust to one without some sort of reputation or experience to back them up. Occasionally the bland title got her a few upturned noses and frowns from those who solved problems by throwing fistfuls of gil, and mercenaries, at them. 

She didn’t much mind that, honestly. She didn’t care for the company of those with that sort of mindset. And if people wanted some sort of proof that she could handle whatever task they wished to give her, jumping through a few hoops and running a few errands tended to be proof enough.

Gwen was perfectly comfortable just going about her business and being part of the crowd. She didn’t mind taking a job and surpassing expectations and leaving again. She just wanted to help.

Everything started to change around the time she first ran into Thancred. From there it seemed to spiral out of control, and she very quickly stumbled from little errands and odd jobs into directly aiding the Sultansworn. Through all of that she wound up helping the Sultana, which earned her an --apparently unprecedented-- invitation to a royal banquet with the Sultana and Ul’dah’s elite.

Gwen dazedly wondered if anyone in attendance had the slightest inkling that she hadn’t dreamed of anything going the way it had, and she’d only gotten involved at the start of the whole thing because Momodi had thought her trustworthy.

Probably not.

As if her head hadn’t been spinning from all of that, then she had the honor of being the Flame General’s emissary, which sent her all over Eorzea.

The busy, battle-filled jaunt around the world culminated in her being asked to join the Scions.

And then she killed Ifrit. Alone.

A few days later a recruitment officer from each of the Grand Companies was waiting outside her door. She hadn’t told anyone about the Primal, had barely mentioned it to the other Scions, but Tataru and the rumor mill had handled that for her. 

Then she slew Titan. Then she aided Haurchefant and Lord Francel and recovered the Tiny Bronco for Cid. Then she slew Garuda…

The list kept growing, and her name along with it.

After she defeated Gaius and saved Thancred in the Praetorium, people started calling her the Warrior of Light, and suddenly she was a hero.

Her anonymity very nearly shrank with every bell. Someone would recognize her and point her out to others who didn’t, some of them rushing up to express their gratitude or ask questions or shake her hand. Suddenly people who sought to speak with her were obeisant rather than simply polite or personable, like she’d been used to. Some went so far as to bow or curtsey when they spoke with her, even as Gwen strenuously tried to tell them it wasn’t necessary.

 She’d never even dreamed of what it would be like to be so venerated, and then it suddenly happened.

It was touching, really, to know that she’d helped so many and done so much good. It was emboldening and empowering to know so many had so much faith in her. People found hope, in one form or another, in the Warrior of Light and her deeds. People lived better lives when the world wasn’t so dire, and even the most dire of situations seemed a little less bleak with the knowledge that there was a living legend around to make it all right again.

And the sheer weight of those expectations, of the starstruck looks, the hopeful cheers, the requests for aide, was so unbelievably, indescribably heavy. 

So many people expected her to be… something. To be a legend, a hero, an expert, to be perfect somehow, everyone had a different thing.

People all across Eorzea recognized her, but she came to learn that precious few actually knew her name. To a great many people, at least outside of the Scions and a handful of friends, she wasn’t Gwen anymore. She was the Warrior of Light. 

Gwen would arrive somewhere and people would know who she was before she introduced herself. They would already have inflated expectations because they knew her reputation and had heard tale of her heroic accomplishments. Some people went so far as to think that enough stories and rumors were a passable substitute for an introduction or conversation, acting as though they’d known her for years when, in fact, they were meeting for the first time. 

And when Gwen arrived, people knew things were serious, that the situation was dire, and that they were in trouble. Because why else would the Warrior of Light show up, right? The Warrior of Light was a hero and a problem solver, and no one needed either if there was no heroic problem to solve. A hero like that, who fought Primals and liberated countries, didn’t do odd jobs or small tasks, surely.

But, despite all that, everything would be alright. Because the Warrior of Light, Liberator of Doma, slayer of Nidhogg, Savior of Ishgard was on their side. And that meant the problem was practically solved, didn’t it?

No one considered that Warrior of LIght was still Gwen. Guinevere Ashe. A person.

People make mistakes. They lose their patience, they get overwhelmed, they get tired and hurt. 

Sometimes people grow weary of seeing faces alternatively brighten and darken when they walk into a room. 

Sometimes they start to feel a certain sort of way about being the first, and only, solution to every problem, especially when they aren’t given much say in the matter. 

Sometimes their best isn’t enough. Sometimes they lose.

The families of the dead, of the ones Gwen couldn’t save, didn’t want to hear that. They didn’t want a person who could only do their best, they wanted the hero that could fix everything. A towering reputation and exaggerated tales didn’t give much comfort to the mourning or the dead.

But the majority of people didn’t even seem to consider that. They didn’t want to think about loss, about the holes left behind, they wanted to look forward, to the new futures that the Warrior of Light unraveled with each victory.

If Gwen were in their position, she probably wouldn’t have thought about that stuff either. It was a terribly grating and heavy thing to have riding one’s conscience.

It was so much easier to not disappoint people, to not let anyone down, when they didn’t expect anything of her. When they thought she was only an adventurer with a name not worth remembering, who had maybe had experience but maybe not.

All she could do was try her hardest, so...she did. What else could she do if refused to stand aside or sit idly by, after all.

And people continued to bow and cheer and sang her praises, and she acted like that lifted and bolstered her mood and didn’t, even slightly, sit too heavily on her thoughts.

Gwen tried, with varying degrees of success, to explain her mindset to her friends in the instances they noticed her discomfort. They, at least, remembered that she was a person, though that didn’t mean they didn’t hold her to a higher standard.

They understood, but only so much. The Scions had been rather abruptly thrust out of the shadows themselves, though it was the organization, rather than the individual members, that was receiving most of the attention. Her friends could understand and empathize with how crushing the weight of responsibilities and lives could be, and they could at least sympathize with the notion that an overabundance of attention and praise was both intrusive and bothersome. 

But at the same time there was a disconnect, a gap, that Gwen couldn’t quite cross with just words. Even Thancred and his knack for insight fell a bit short in that regard.

It wasn’t until they’d each witnessed firsthand the trials of such a title, be it when they were delayed and stopped by a dozen different people as they tried to cross a city with her, or seeing her cringe when someone would call out her title like her name, or watching people who didn’t know her crowd too close or speak too personally as if they weren’t strangers, that her friends really started to grasp and appreciate just how overwhelming it all could be.

It had been so odd, so liberating, to walk around Norvandt utterly anonymous, receiving only polite smiles and nods when she caught someone’s eye in the street or entered a shop. Being the Exarch’s friend meant she wasn’t utterly without clout, but that bit of information was something she had to --got to-- share on her own, because people didn’t already know or immediately assume. 

No one looked at her and immediately knew who she was. There were no rumors and stories she had to live up to when she was literally brand new to the world.

While definitely strange, partially because of the abruptness, it had been wholly wonderful. Gwen clung to it desperately, feigning ignorance as best she could when people rejoiced and wondered aloud at the gradual return of the night. The people she interacted with and helped along the way remembered her only for what she’d done for them, for being helpful and kind, not for being the amazing hero who did the impossible. 

And her friends had willingly played along, speaking in the vaguest terms and downplaying what they could on the occasions they, themselves, didn’t go unnoticed.

Even when Chai-Nunz had demanded, utterly flabbergasted, who she and the Scions were and how they could so easily call people from all across Norvandt to help with his giant Talos, they’d all said the same thing: Adventurers of no import.

Of course it didn’t last. Gwen knew it wouldn’t. 

But she deeply appreciated that the people of the Crystarium had allowed her the false anonymity even when who and what she was had become so painfully obvious. 

With that in mind, the resurgence of reverence and unnecessarily obeisant gestures wasn’t quite so stifling. 

In the beginning, anyway. Beyond that was something she’d only learn with time.

-----------------------------

Did I lose the plot? I think I lost the plot. BUT I THREW THE PROMPT WORD IN TWICE, SO CLOSE ENOUGH EH?

NGL didn’t even know what the heckin’ word meant when I first read it.

It got more rambly than I intended, but I still like how it came out :D

Sometimes the WoL just wants to be a regular person, mang.

[monkey-network]

Why Shrek IS The Best

Tastes can change, you know? And it’s less about “What’s good about this now compared to before”, more of “Why would you like this now as opposed to before”? Unless allergic, you didn’t get why dark cola or hot chips tasted bad to you as a child, but when you grow up you can come to understand and appreciate it. Shouldn’t pressure yourself, that makes things worse, but things can certainly align in helping this newfound respect you get for something you’d believe you would never want again. That really is where I stand with Dreamworks’ Shrek. As a kid, while Toy Story left me traumatized for a while, Shrek left me side-eyeing with how crass and ugly it looked and I never wanted to think of it. But, as I grew up to respect animation a lot more, 2018 was where I looked back at Shrek and soon come to understand how wrong I was and how much greatness it has that I now consider it an all time great. And with it getting inducted into the Library of Congress, I thought it was finally time to present what I see in this film. Let’s do this right with...

The SOMEBODY

Now this frame has been meme’d to death. If there’s anything iconic about this film, ‘bout the franchise as a whole, it’s the exact moment when our main character charges out of his outhouse as Smash Mouth’s ‘All Star’ gets going. But this honestly just says a lot about Dreamworks’ direction from its previous films where compared to Disney that’ll take their time making the setup before getting into the hype point for its lead, Shrek gets going in one minute if we don’t count the logo intro. Not even The Emperor’s New Groove, which was going for the same tone before Shrek even released, took more of it’s time with the fairy tale aspect of it in its intro. Shrek literally wipes his ass with the fairy tale aspect before giving us the SOMEBODY, all around a minute. This frame really shows that this is sticking to the Disney formula in some way because it’s wasting no time getting into it. It represents the more brisk pace Shrek has with pulling you into what it’s gonna be about. This overall frame works in its thematic and parody aspect and I’ve yet to see anything top this exact moment, not even the greatest films I’ll ever remember.

But enough about the fact that I made a whole paragraph about this one frame of the movie. Let’s dive into what I say is a piece of the heart for this film.

The Earnestness

Speaking of Disney, you probably notice that their films have some cushioning in their presentation, like they generally don’t show things with a straightforward lens; there’s some theatrics in the way their best movies present themselves. That’s not a problem, mind you, but that helped me understand how Shrek does things very differently whether you consider it parody or not. While it throws mockery at the played out conventions associated with fairy tales, especially its most subtle jab at copyright, it doesn’t full on say fairy tales are annoying and bad. Hell, the film IS a fairy tale adapted from a fairy tale about a fookin’ OGRE that can eat lightning and kills with farts. But, it’s an accurate and earnest way to view a fairy tale from a somewhat realistic lens. Let’s take Shrek’s journey for instance.

Typically, the main character would want to experience something more; explore new horizons, prove themselves, find their calling. Shrek off the bat doesn’t need or desire any of that. He’s content with his life, beside the angry mob he casually scares off, and throughout the film he’s not interested in anything else outside getting the squatters out his swamp. He happily makes a deal with the villain of the film to exile those innocent refugees off his land so he could then build a wall to keep everybody out. Bringing up Emperor’s New Groove again, Shrek and Kuzco are the few characters I know that are actively antagonistic even when they’re forced into their situation from outside forces. However unlike Kuzco that gets to be emperor again but learns humility, Shrek is in the same spot as before but learns that there are people out here that can love him for who he is. I can’t say there’s anything grand about that, but it doesn’t need to be unlike the many Disney or any film that tries to shower you with the grandest themes. The relationships Shrek has with Donkey and Fiona are the most grounded I’ve ever seen because they’re not only natural, they’re hardly dolled up with the bells and whistles made to either drum up the biggest laughs or tug the heart strings viciously. When I think about it, I honestly could see myself in Shrek. He isn’t made to be a legend, he isn’t some secret genius or lost prince, he’s just an every-man ogre that wants to live peacefully or meet SOMEBODY that doesn’t treat as someone to be feared or disgusted at. Everything Shrek says is something anybody could or would say if they were his shoes because he, and the film in general, is the most grounded without making it all distractedly meta or genre-savvy. This is generally helped by...

The Dounkaey

Everyone’s talked about how Donkey is the best confidant for Shrek and Fiona. How he’s most true to himself to where he’s the most openly musical character in the film, and how he’s the most balanced here with his comedic vs serious moments. But I gotta say it too: Donkey is one of the greatest sidekicks ever. He’s a motormouth, but is never annoying to where you wish he left the film. The couple times he is purposefully annoying, not for a joke, is when he knows Shrek isn’t being truthful. He truly gets to know Shrek on this journey, and is the character Shrek gets to capacity to actually loosen up to, so it’s fitting that he’d be the one to push Shrek when the ogre’s sounding more vague than usual. Even when he’s harshly insulted, Donkey doesn’t take it as bad as when Shrek kept trying to shut him out again in the 3rd act after the Hallejulah sequence which is the scene in every Shrek movie where’s there a super sad song because Shrek is alone and yadda ya. I’ll get to it in a bit, but he is as much responsible in providing Fiona that seed of doubt that Shrek wouldn’t love her as the ogre she is. Donkey is the greatest friend because he wants to be there for those who are okay with him being around, and while you could give and take sidekick animals in your notable films with them in it, this film really wouldn’t have happened without him. Speaking of Fiona, I won’t retread what’s been said before like with Donkey but I did want to bring up something I haven’t seen many talk about,,,

The Love for An Ogre

I’ve seen many say the scene where Shrek overhears Fiona talk about “Who could love an ugly beast?” and misinterprets that as her talking about him as a cliched or contrived downside to the film, but I feel that a defense can be made. It personally makes sense that Shrek would misinterpret that and take it personally because 1) Who else would Fiona be talking about? 2) How would he know she was talking with Donkey? 3) Why would he just barge in on her? 4) Has no one considered that this moment is parallel to when Fiona overhears Shrek’s conversation with Donkey the night before?

Fiona is very much the antithesis to Shrek’s character where she can very much be open about what she wants but is scared at the idea of anyone figuring out who she really is. She’ll gladly be gross, kick ass, eat the young of a bird she let explode, but won’t let anyone see her true face. That’s why her curse makes sense, and why Shrek would take a fondness to her despite her initial disdain of him rescuing her. Fiona’s a character where the surface level beauty is her weakness as opposed to Shrek where it’s internal. Which is why when she overhears Shrek open up to Donkey about his societal isolation, she’s soon more comfortable around him. And it’s why when she opens up to Donkey about her looks, Shrek would unfortunately take it personal enough. I ask again, why would Shrek barge in on a conversation he wasn’t aware of or who she was talking about to not take it about anything else but him when what he heard such a cut so deep, especially from a character that bears his similar issues? It also helps that Donkey was in on it, as Shrek feels reasonably betrayed by the only other person he’s come to appreciate in his life. Contrived as it seems, it’s thematically important and appropriate to the conflict of Shrek’s character and the film overall. Don’t know how this could be conveyed any other way because it adds up at least.

I just wanna know how Shrek got to Faarquard’s and back by sunrise like did he run cuz that looked like a huge distance to travel on foot but anyways...

I’m sure things could’ve worked out if Shrek knew, either by barging in that night or through Donkey, but I think it’s fitting that the climax takes place at the wedding. After Shrek and Donkey understand their friendship, after Donkey reciprocates the Dragon’s love (more ways than one), and when Shrek grasps the mistake he made to charge over to Fuccquad’s chapel, we get to...

The End

After everything, we get to the moment where Shrek and Fiona get to share their first kiss, Fiona permanently transforms into an ogre, and we get this exchange. One of my favorite exchanges in the whole film:

Shrek: “Are you all right?” Fiona: “Well yes. But I don’t understand... I’m supposed to be beautiful.”

Shrek: “But you ARE beautiful”

We don’t need any other vows to understand their relationship was built up to this. This moment where Shrek can reaffirm Fiona’s feelings of being able to be herself in every way, because she allowed him to be himself in every way before. That’s that mutual love, baby, that just gets me every time and makes this film one of the best romance stories I know as well, even when it isn’t solely about the romance. This is Shrek’s story, and there’s nothing more touching than seeing this outcast not only get another to view him as a friend, not only someone to love, but people, if only a couple, to actually wanted to get to know him. I know Shrek 2 expands on this more, and it’s considered a golden sequel, but I will always cherish the first movie for how much it tells us off the bat while appearing as a “Take That” to Disney films. This is the genesis of Shrek feeling more accepted for himself and society and it just bears so much good commentary while being a good adventure nonetheless. Like you could say this film indeed has... dimensions? “You were trying to meme about la-”

The Conclusion

Mentioning it, I always had this thought with the conversation Shrek and Donkey had of why Shrek didn’t just “be an ogre” and pillage Fuccnut’s fortress. It’s possible Shrek could’ve taken out Faarquid himself, but that would mean being the beast he knows people have shunned him for, grabbed the torches and pitchfolks for, made him feel worse for. Shrek enjoys being an ogre, but he doesn’t like how society makes him feel lesser as an ogre. That really is what the four films have been about for him and what I’ve come to appreciate about these films personally. It can be easy to love yourself even when there are others out here that stand against you, but it’s hard to consider that anyone else could love you for who you are in spite of how you try to present yourself. But if there’s anything Shrek showed me, it’s that it’s possible. There can/will be people out here who appreciate the real you, will be there as much as you want to for them, and can help you realize more about yourself as opposed to suffering to silence eternally. Generally ideal, I know, but this film in the least offered me that thought in the most balanced way possible. It’s incredible how much of a tightrope this film has in its parody and sincerity and that makes its induction in the National Film Registry and being the first ever Best Animated Award winner pretty justified all things considered.

I know this film, the character, has been a meme over the years. As Schaffrillas mentions in his video, the direction Dreamworks made because of Shrek’s success kinda turned it into a heel people clowned on because, in theory, it was nothing but a joke with the onions and the swamp and IT’S NEVER OGRE. Then again, like I said in the beginning, tastes change. I’d say with Schaff’s masterful analyses on the film series and 3GI’s Shrek Retold and Shrekfest, the perception of the film sure enough shifted like the perception of Megamind. It’s one thing for a movie to blow people away or leave them thinking it’s horrible beyond belief, it’s another to take the time to then look back and see how those feelings have changed. For Shrek, it’s a film that was able to trudge out of the meme era to be a film many consider a strong, rewatchable, and unique. Like the beauty of Spongebob, Shrek is a considered a classic because as in the times as it appeared when it released, this film actually stood on its own with the most enjoyable and meaningful timelessness, exploring the desired love for the self, that deserves to be recognized. What else can I say, people?

It’s The Best

[rametarin]

And further thoughts about the yaoi paddles.

If you’re under 20, and just now learning that fandom seniors in their late 20s, 30s, 40s, even low 50s, used to run around slapping eachother on the ass with yaoi paddles in anime and comic conventions after anime became a household media staple, you probably have.. questions.

You’re probably thinking, “Wow!! It was really lawless and anarchistic back then, wasn’t it! They never heard about personal space or sexual harassment laws! SOCIETY must have been SO different, back then!”

NO. I cannot stress enough, the Yaoi Paddle phenomenon was borne PURELY because the demographic MOST LIKELY to protest and be wet blankets about everything fun and sexual and admittedly VERY SKETCHY sometimes in fiction, and ALWAYS bad in reality.. turned off and said virtually nothing. Wokesters that’d protest about the environment and sexual assault against women would take off their Problem Glasses by night and act like paddling was harmless, contextually acceptable behavior.

Yaoi Paddle shit appeared because something absolutely magical happened in scifi and fantasy fandoms. It survived purely because boys didn’t complain, or their complaints were not taken seriously. I promise you, I assure you, if you grew up in the late 80s, your night time TV was INUNDATED with heavy handed messages about how sexual harassment (always male-on-woman flavored) was wrong, even proxy or indirect violence to women (tossing rubber gloves in their lap) was wrong, and to never, ever, ever do that thing or they’d rub your nose in it and consider you mentally diseased until the day you died.

Fandom was always niche, with sci-fi and fantasy stuff being off in its own little corner. Conventions, before the internet was king, was one of few places where more rural, disparate suburban and city-definition isolated geeks, nerds and dreamers could get together and just cut loose. Comic books, novels, video games. All that GOOD shit. But if you knew a girl in the 80s and 90s, you knew a girl that knew a girl that was getting them to be less tolerant and “more conscious and aware” (80s and 90s parlance for Woke) and when that happened, a new persona was created. A new bunch of dialogue options, created.

Suddenly they didn’t say stuff like, “Ew. Why is this character dressed like a SLUT? Typical male writers. Like we’d ever draw ourselves in this or put ourselves in this.” Because that’d be a personal, subjective opinion. Instead, the option to say, “It’s endemic in our western culture that male chauvinist authors and writers in a patriarchal system exploit femininity in media and reproduce misogynistic culture.”

And so assured this was true by mob mentality AND the idea that learned, educated, acredited and tenured academics had this opinion, they were scientists, and so they were right, permeated. Suddenly girl-fans had outlets to have justified apprehension for everything they saw and didn’t like or, if they actually liked it, STILL interpreted it through their lenses to be on, “the right side of history.”

It made fandom miserable and a sausage fest for a while, if only out of fear of driving away female friends. You couldn’t share that shit unless you knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that your female peers and friends wouldn’t disregard you like a “typical misogynistic western male” for enjoying that stuff.

Sentiments and peer pressure thoughts emerged. Like, “The comic industry is hostile and cruel to women that try and enter it, and they exploit the image of women for cheap dollars.” So they simply weren’t interested in comics- mostly- unless the comics were written by women and sold with that virtue in mind. In which case, you had boys glowingly mentioning just how much they liked this authentically written adventure by this female comic author. Isn’t that just so special? Not like those horrid anti-woman cigar smoking old man stories, right?

There was always something to nag and get vitriolic about with the media. That’s part of why the Whedon brand of feminist writing got so popular in the 90s. it was low hanging fruit of peppy “sassy” girl characters doing girly things. They weren’t like “other” girls written in comics and cartoons. They were actually girly. Not idealized infantalized children, like those horrible white men write, you know.

Well. Things were looking really bleak for the forseeable future. Lots of boys just felt like comics and cartoons were lost to girls that weren’t specifically into them, and that meant more sausage fest conventions or hobbies, and signing off hope on those things being respected and accepted on the merits of what they are and were. The girls had embraced serials-filed-off radfem rhetoric and lenses, sometimes without even knowing the origins of where those truisms like the Male Gaze even came from, just assuming it was true and indisputable. And it complimented their insecurities, so they’d embrace that shit until they couldn’t anymore.

And then.. something absolutely miraculous and amazing happened that blindsided this whole vitriolic culture.

Anime.

And amazingly, every complaint that a lot of nerdy girls had about the very much sanitized, policed and made PG writing and characterization of characters in western comics and cartoons, just... fucking up and vanished. Seemingly within a fucking YEAR, the entire social culture of Problem Finders, finding everything wrong about these stories, the characters, the writer and the company that produced them being misogynistic male chauvinism, dried up. Those voices quieted, or were shut out of the groups.

Media from Japan was some of the most infantilizing, sexist, tittelating shit compared to mainstream American comics and cartoons and video games, and girls fluttered to it like flies to shit. We had Buffy basically subverting boogymen that a bunch of girls had been taught were still relevant after the 1950s by fighting crime in melee combat with men, and winning, while wearing jogging pants and cracking sassy, like Lola Bunny being a “tough girl.”

Japan had doe eyed, waif bodied ballet dancers that basically farted iridescent glitter, hearts and all the symbols and shapes of the Lucky Charms, riding unicorns and fighting evil in cute outfits. Being childish and not at all mature or professional to show how womanly and competent they were, basically being overgrown 11 year old girls fresh off the playground swing set.

And the fangirls loved it. Those nagging voices that would speak up and remind them about misogynistic, male chauvinistic “societies” and culture? Just.. they fucking VANISHED from the mind for AN ENTIRE GENERATION. I’m not exaggerating. Tolerance and fun and innocence was back again. The problem-glasses felt too ostracized and alienated, or didn’t even want to wear them anymore for personal reasons, and the Radfem Baby Wokes just seemed to grow out of that collective hysteria and pretend it never happened and never existed.

That’s why the very EXISTENCE of Yaoi Paddles at conventions was just so fucking bizarre to those of us that lived up to that point. After, “Stay in your own personal space, boy. DON’T even TOUCH a GIRL unless she VERBALLY AND PUBLICLY CONSENTS or it’s proof you’re just living up to this misogynistic, objectifying society’s evil history!” was drilled into us, day on the playground by day on the playground, by women with axes to grind and good-boy sycophants performing sharing those sentiments for brownie points, it was so fucking surreal to IMAGINE girls just running around sexually assaulting and physically assaulting random strangers because they thought they looked like cute, gay men.

It wasn’t that they didn’t know any better beforehand, it’s that they COMPLETELY put those sentiments away and up and decided, as girls, it was okay to violate male autonomy because they weren’t women, and “it’s okay to paddle a yaoi boy ^.^!” With NO self-awareness whatsoever.

The very fact it existed is testament to how attention starved boys were for girls approving gaze and playful interaction, that they’d tolerate some pocky fingered little cow stranger smacking them on the ass with a plank of wood because it was a socially acceptable way to just interact with girls in their lonely assed fandom and interest. It was an acceptable way to meet girls and positively interact. That’s the degrading bullshit boys said virtually nothing about at the hayday of yaoi paddles, purely to be welcoming to girls in anime and hentai approving spaces.

WE GREW UP hearing and watching horror stories and boogymen stories about true crime and sitcoms and crime shows about evil evil men violating the personal space of women for lewd and lecherous reasons. We had it drilled into our heads that the tolerance for boys and men doing that was negatives, and the general sentiment was men caught doing that (to women, or children of any sex) were effectively free game for any violence you personally felt like unloading on them, confident that in such outraged rape and sexual assault hating times, juries would excuse that passion as a defense.

So if you look back on the era of Yaoi Paddles and think. “WOW. That must be like driving cars before they invented seat belts and cough medicine before they invented the drug safety and scheduling legal system!”.. NO.

It was not like the 50s-70s, where many of the rules hadn’t been written yet so it was anarchy and chaos. Yaoi Paddles existed almost PURELY because girls HAD no rules if they didn’t want to respect them. The Yaoi Paddle phenomenon flew in direct opposition to how interactions were supposed to go, and ABSOLUTELY NO ONE would tolerate the reverse; no cis straight man could walk around randomly smacking women on the ass with a plank of even foam in pantomime, or ‘floating hand’ pretending to be a perverted character. The double standard was GLARING. The Double Standard was a fucking bugbear that had grown from a tiny screaming goblin and was now hanging upside down from the ceiling, roaring.

But because it was GIRLS inflicting it on BOYS, absolutely no party cared enough to raise a stink about it. The Radfems kept their mouths shut, because boys were the recipients. The Radfem Sympathizers really wanted to spank boys, so suddenly they couldn’t find their problem glasses and instead put on their neko ears. The boys were either stoic and amused by it or really wanted to be seen as cool and not buzzkills, so they tolerated to reveled in it.

Many times when you hear about things that happened either when you were a child just too young to really personally experience a thing, or before you were born, we’re quick to assume it’s a medieval place and the people were so uncultured as to have never pondered the social problems of spanking one another on the ass unprovoked. Violation of personal space, personal sovereignty- all that. That was NOT okay at the time. It happened because fujoshi decided it was okay and nobody argued with them to not do hat, or they were told to stop and did it anyway.

And as I’ve laid it out, that is the most bizarre and surreal element to the whole thing. They DID know better, but felt it didn’t apply to THEM because they were girls, and a girl slapping a boy on the ass “as a joke” didn’t mean anything- because it wasn’t happening TO them, FROM a man.

And irony of ironies, it was NEVER okay, EVER, throughout that entire era, for the reverse to be a thing. It was very specifically and exclusively not. As a man if you ran around slapping cute looking girls with the Yuri Paddle, you goin’ to either juvy hall, or prison, boi. Both sexes knew it. And yet, yaoi paddles STILL became a thing.

[sarahreeese]

Ships: How they happen and Headcanons PART 1

Someone requested this, so here is the rundown of my ideal scenarios for each of the ships that I ship. It’s long and detailed so I’m sorry if you’re on mobile.  For the rest of you, it’s under the cut. Includes NSFW head canons. This got out of hand so I’m going to split this post up. 

So my ideal scenario for Sarah regardless of who she ends up with is that she becomes incredibly confident in her abilities as a psychiatrist and chooses to incorporate those with her training in the ED and becomes the best young doctor in whichever field she chooses after her residency (Psych or Emergency). While doing this she opens up a center for homeless youths that has guards and provides psychiatric help with PTSD or depression or drug addiction or anything else they might need. She becomes of driving force in Chicago in the fight for the homeless, youth and veterans especially. Sarah also uses her money and the connections to money she has from Connecticut and her Ivy League days to help open the many centers all around Chicago. She also creates a service dog program at Gaffney where they take in shelter dogs and train them. 

So now that we have her life plotted out, let’s look at how I envision each of my ships.

Reethan

Sarah dates Noah for like a maximum of 4 months, in this time she realizes she was just desperate for someone since Joey seemed to move on so fast, and she’s always  been weak for people who are nice to her and compliment her. They have chemistry for the first like month, but it boils down to Noah not being mature enough for her and so they break up. BUT during the few months they were together, Wreckton spent a lot of time with Chexton. Sarah and Ethan bond over these new experiences of dating the Sextons and probably one or two awkward trips to church. Because while April and Noah are religious the other two definitely are not and end up getting to know one another even better outside of work. The four hanging out becomes such a tradition, that the first week after they break up, Ethan stops by to try and cheer her up. The break up is awkward in the ED for the first few months, but Ethan always tries to make Reese feel welcome again when he sees her. For the next year Sarah begins falling for Ethan, but remains super friendly with him and April and pushes those feelings down because they’re happy together and that’s what matters. Eventually April and Ethan break up, they have been shaky for a while but he proposes, she says yes, but realizes it’s not best for the both of them and cancels the wedding. Sarah is there for Ethan when things get awkward for him in the ED and their friendship grows stronger. 

Then Ethan gets called up from the reserves to help train medics over seas. He keeps this a secret from everyone besides Sharon, up until the day before he leaves. After a patient dies in the ED he loses it, and walks up to the roof, Sarah finds him and he finally tells her that he’ll be gone for at least 3 months if not more. He then asks if she’d be willing to take care of his bird, and if she’d mind coming over later so he could show her how to take care of it. She does and one thing leads to another and there are so many emotions that the end up having sex. Sarah wishes him good luck, but is pretty much having a mental freak out over the fact that she’s had her first one night stand with this guy she’s practically in love with. Ethan just has so many things on his plate that he doesn’t really think about until later. So basically Sarah tries to work this through in her mind while working and taking care of this bird. They kind of send messages back and forth but they never talk about that night. Ethan thinks that he’ll have to extend his time over seas and he talks to Sarah about watching his bird for longer. Then surprise he doesn’t and he comes home early and finds her like passed out on his couch with his bird flying around. She wakes up, they don’t talk about it still, and have sex again. They start dating in secret because Ethan’s an attending and Sarah’s still a resident even if they are in totally different departments. It eventually comes out and everyone’s willing to turn a blind eye if this is the last damn romance in this ED.

Head canon round

What they fight about

Sarah trying to help with his process of dealing with trauma and his PTSD and him getting annoyed about it. And possibly frustrations over both of their simultaneous difficulties with commitment at the different levels. Later on possibly children. OH, and Sarah’s willingness to sacrifice her safety for the kids she helps on the streets. Because you know the mob does not like her trying to help their sex slaves out of slavery.

Holidays

In my mind they both choose to work holidays, and have for a really long time. The two of them probably have the least familial connections out of all the doctors on Chicago Med so they kind of take the shifts no one else wants so the others can have time with their families and kids. So the tradition they started long before they ever get together is having breakfast together the morning after on their way home from work. 

Families

Sarah hasn’t seen her mom really since she left for Chicago, and her dad died while she was a teenager so she is really not close with her family. Parents were each only children and her grandparents have passed on so she’s made Chicago her home, and the staff her family. Dr. Charles being her unintentional substitution of a father, and Maggie her mom. They both approve of Choi. Ethan isn’t very close with his family, but they are on more of speaking terms. His parents are still alive, if unattached to what’s happening with his life. He has a brother and sister who he isn’t very close with. The both have very practical high paying business careers on the West Coast.

Sleep/NSFW

Ethan’s great in bed. Loves going down on Sarah. Sarah’s literally only been with unexperienced 20 somethings so it’s a huge change, she’s kind of wondering if she actually ever got off with anyone before Ethan because it’s such a different feeling. He loves being in control (head canon stolen from mightyfinebear on AO3) and so watching her come undone at almost everything he does is satisfaction at a whole new level. Also shower sex, and table sex, and everywhere in the apartment sex. Ethan has a horrible time sleeping at night, and needs someone like Sarah who is just a rock once she’s out. He can get up, go for a run, pace, box, whatever he needs to and then crawl back in bed and she won’t even notice. Most of the time he sleeps better when she’s there, and can sleep for almost 7 hours compared to his normal 4. However that only makes the nights when she isn’t home worse to sleep. It wasn’t until she had decided to surprise by coming home early after her shift that she knew he had such a hard time sleeping. He was still up from the night before, and Sarah pulled him straight to bed where he actually talked about it until he fell asleep.

Pets/Living together

In that 6 months between April and Ethan breaking up and him leaving, Sarah found an injured pit bull on the side of the road. She knew Ethan had experience with animals and called him on just this side of crying and he came to help. They stabilized her together and got her to a vet. The dog’s leg is unable to be saved, and she didn’t have any tags so Sarah adopts her. Ethan and Sarah move in mostly because of the dog and the parrot. The dog is skittish and likes company, and so does the bird and they keep each other calm during the day.

Rheesker

So this lil ship started from me accepting that they’ll put Ava with Connor so why not have them be in a poly-relationship

So Ava and Connor start having sex to blow off tension and try and channel the competitive edge that they have towards each other into something that’s more relaxing for them. Ava is still mean to anyone not an attending and Sarah, after frankly just a shitty day like loses it and snaps at her in front of Connor after a comment she makes after a surgery.There’s probably some pent up resentment towards Zanetti and she’s just sick of rude surgeons. So Sarah storms off after that, but she’s now permanently on Ava’s radar. Her comments make her soften the way she approaches most of the doctors at Med, and she starts talking more to Sarah and inviting her out to drinks and to hang out with Connor and her after work. The more they hang out with one another the closer they all get, and they kind of become this trio who is almost always seen with each other. Then Ava kind of introduces the idea to Connor of bringing Sarah in, and he’s intrigued by it, but he thinks that she’s completely dreaming because Sarah’s just so conventional and safe and would never do that kind of thing. Meanwhile Sarah is developing this crush on both Ava and Connor because they’re just so different than Noah was, and she’s just internalizing it and keeps telling herself she’ll deal with it later. 

The whole time people are getting more and more suspicious of Connor and Ava, and eventually Goodwin catches wind of it and has to figure out how to deal with it without jeopardizing her two future cardiac surgeon’s careers. If anyone found out they were sleeping together, it would open up the hospital to law suits. Sharon asks Sarah to give the warning so it doesn’t go on any kind of professional record and because she’s close to them. Sarah, this whole time, didn’t really pick up on them sleeping together. And she’s just mortified and also beating herself up because why would they like her, and she just gives them this really like terse warning about sleeping together and kind of completely pulls away from them. Ava and Connor both ask for her to talk to them and she rebuffs them for a week or so. Then Ava tells her they’re coming over whether she likes it or not and Sarah actually lets them in. Finally Ava extends the idea of the three of them being together to Sarah, who immediately thinks they’re just weirdly trying to pity her or something. Eventually they kind of coax her out of her shell and the three kind of establish what they are tentatively and they start dating. And whenever Goodwin brings up something about Ava and Connor dating, they say that Ava’s the one who’s dating Dr. Reese. 

What they fight about

Connor and Ava are still competing for the spot of the Cardio attending so work can tend to bleed over into their relationship. They all also work very hectic schedules and that causes mainly frustration over just not getting to see each other very often or equally. Connor’s daddy issues, Ava’s attitude and treatment of others, and Sarah’s internalizing of her thoughts and feelings of being the third wheel.

Food

The three of them loving going out to dinner. It’s always been Sarah’s favorite kind of date, and she has tried an absurd amount of restaurants from all over the city out, so she’s like an expert at places she’d know they’d love or hate. She’s also a vegetarian, which Ava found hilarious, and so completely fitting of her the first time they all got food. (”What?” “You’re just such a stereotype.” “What does that mean?”) The moment that Sarah kind of fell in love with Ava a little more was when she called Sarah at work because she wanted to get her some sort of veggie burgers she liked, so Sarah had something to eat at her house. Connor’s the best cook out of them all, with Ava coming in second, and Sarah being proficient at the things she was good at, and horrible at anything else. Her house mainly consists of frozen faux-meat in her freezer, frozen dinners and veggies, crackers and bread, and 8 jars of various nut butters. Sometimes eggs, but she only buys those 6 egg cartons because she never uses a whole dozen. Connor and Ava both have extensive bars in their apartments filled with excellent whiskeys and gins. Both of which turn Sarah’s stomach, so they start buying white rum, vodka and wine to keep at their houses for her.

Families

Ava’s family is entirely normal, especially put in perspective with the other two. Her parent’s had high expectations but she’s met all of them and so it’s never been much of a problem in her mind. Sarah thinks that she’s so critical of others because of how critical her parents were to her but Ava doesn’t see it. Connor’s got good ol’ Cornelius Rhodes who creates all the same issues he did in the show, and Sarah has all the issues she had that I mentioned previously. But Claire, once she got over the initial news, loves both Ava and Sarah and the three girls get dinner alone when they can. 

Sleep/NSFW

Sarah almost always sleeps in the middle. It’s mostly out of function because she can never seem to get warm, but also because Ava kind of worries about her feeling left out. The facts that she isn’t in cardio and usually is the one with the most different of schedules, and that she was brought in last all make Ava and Connor worry about her. They both also selfishly like being the big spoon and cuddling around her. Sarah’s also the heaviest sleeper of them all and can sleep through both sides shifting and getting up in the night. 

The two of them are weirdly Connor’s dream girl separated. Ava’s this sexy hot head who challenges him in work and in their relationship, and he just lives off it. Sarah is all the gentleness and cooling that’s opposite of Ava, she just wants someone who is kind of gentle and domestic. She adds like this softness to both his and Ava’s personalities and they can turn off the competition when she’s around. She tempers both of them where they can have this actually thriving relationship. So when it’s just Connor and Ava, the sex is faster and filled with this needy, brutal energy; just trying to fuck out the problems they refuse to resolve with words. The direct competition is hard on them and when they’re alone it’s always hovering over them with this foreboding dark cloud. If they don’t think about it, they don’t need to address it.  Sarah and Ava is a lot more playful. Ava can pull a smile out of Sarah like her life depended on it, and she’s just so enamored with Sarah and her shyness and the she’s like almost blind to how attracted the two of them are to her. She’s usually the one that has Sarah pressed up against the elevator door on their way home. Sarah and Connor are very sweet. He likes that he can pull out his most romantic moves and she really appreciates them. Not that Ava wouldn’t, but Sarah is a romantic nerd at heart and likes the more traditional date nights. They’re the two that are most likely to have slow dances in the living room and sweet sex in the bedroom. When the three of them can actually manage all being together when they aren’t too tired or have to work at a stupid early time, there’s like this thrum between all of them. An excitement and playfulness that normally isn’t there, and all of them get a little handsier than usual. Sarah’s leaning into Connor’s chest and he’s got his arms around both their waists. Ava’s playing with Sarah’s hair as they wait for their meals to come out, and Connor’s just making moon eyes across from them. They’re all just so careful to like memorize and take in every detail when they’re all together.

Pets/Living Together

They don’t have any pets. It’s just very unreasonable with their schedules and the life styles they like to keep of going out for drinks and dinner until late. Sarah loves animals though, so it’s not entirely off the table, just until Sarah’s not a resident anymore. They don’t live with each other, but none of them ever really sleep at their own place most of the time. Connor’s apartment gets the most use because it’s closest to the night life of the city and it has the biggest bed and the nicest views. It also has indoor parking for the cold Chicago winters which Sarah loves. Sarah’s house is cozy and nice and usually they’ll sleep there when she has a big day ahead of her. She’s a creature of habit and only in this relationship has she been ok staying over at her significant others’s house. And while her bed’s not as big, it is the most comfortable and so the just sleep a little closer. They spend the least amount of time at Ava’s. She wasn’t even really unpacked until the three started seriously dating. Then Sarah told her it was very sad that she had no life here and they spent the whole day making her house more homey. Sarah suggested getting her a fish to liven it up, but was shot down by both surgeons out of fear for it dying when they weren’t there. 

Reestead

So this one is honestly a short term ship at best, but still sweet.

So after Sarah breaks up with Noah she decides to take a break from any kind of romance and starts looking for ways to make more of a difference in the world. She begins volunteering at different community centers and youth organizations to kind of consume all the time she doesn’t spend at the hospital. Sarah, once again, becomes attached to a kid she meets at the community center she volunteers at and is really torn up when she witnesses a drive by that leaves him in a wheelchair. She’s interviewed on scene by one of the beat cops, but she sees Kim and Jay across the way and makes a mental note to check up on the progress. Soon she actually goes to 21 and asks Jay what happened and if there’s anything she can do. She knows all the kids there and is familiar with the faces and so she actually plays a major part in helping solve the case. Jay gives her a ride back to the hospital so the two of them can talk to the kid who was shot, and survived. Jay kind of sees this really warm and confident and vibrant side to Sarah that he never has when he’s talked to her before. He makes his own mental note, and carries on with the case. They’re all grateful she helped them out in the case and Jay tells Sarah she can call him if she ever needs anything. They see each other at Molly’s and talk a bit, but nothing actually happens for months. 

He get’s a call at like midnight 4 months from the shooting and it’s Sarah whose voice sounds shaky like she’s about to cry, and so he rushes down to the hospital where Sarah is pacing outside a door in the ED. He thinks she’s crying but her face is pure fury (she’s an angry crier, which only makes her more angry when someone points it out). Someone assaulted one of the girls she works with at the youth center and the officer who brought her in made this horrible crack about her being a sex worker and asking for it. Sarah more or less kicked him out of the hospital, but still wanted the girl to be able to file a report with someone. And she didn’t know who to call but him. And so once again they work on this case and Sarah just becomes so impassioned when she sees these kids hurt and he’d never think anyone would say this, but Sarah Reese looks ferocious, like she’s ready to take on the world for them. They get closer after this and eventually Jay invites her to a hockey game. To which she knows none of the rules, but really enjoys spending time with him and has a great night. Sarah loves that he’s so dedicated to helping people, and that he’s past that shit head 20 something thing that her exes both had. He’s mature and respects her dedication to her volunteering. Jay appreciates how different she is from Erin. She’s young and unjaded and she thinks she can change the world. It’s refreshing and things heat up between the two broken hearts.

They date casually, neither of them have a ton of time for romance or a relationship, but it’s definitely more than a one night stand/booty call situation because Sarah doesn’t know how to not do commitment. In the end they just kind of fizzle out. It’s a lot of work and neither one of them are the best at opening up when they aren’t with the person during the day. They end on really great terms and Sarah is always allowed to call his number at any time if she needs help, or more likely, one of her kids needs help. And she’s always there to check up on him, to stop him from completely running himself ragged. He’s the one who introduces her to the vet groups, and where she get’s really impassioned to help soldiers on the streets.

What they fight about

Sarah putting herself in harms way for these kids. This continues on after their break up, too. She’s so dedicated to being that person for them because most don’t have anyone else, that she will take dangerous risks. Sarah’s also the daughter of a defense attorney and so I can see her cringing and being shocked at some of the things she hears/sees while helping 21 out. 

Dates

They had a really tough time finding a good balance between the two of them. They have just totally different interests when it comes to dates, so the first month it just alternated between some sports game (which Sarah didn’t get), a museum (which kind of bored Jay), Molly’s (which barely counted as a date) and Netflix and Chilling. They started doing more outdoors stuff and found, although Sarah hates being cold, that it was the best common ground.

Families

Sarah’s mom is never really informed about Sarah dating a cop. They dated for like 6 months, and Sarah’s rule is only after a year she tells her mom. Will thinks it’s incredibly weird at first, and keeps asking Jay why he had to pick the youngest coworker of his to date, but he’s fairly supportive.

Sleeping/NSFW

Once and only once did Sarah ever sleep over at Jay’s. She ran into Will in Jay’s shirt and nothing else and was so mortified that she wouldn’t look at him for the next week. They spend a lot of time at Sarah’s and she always keeps his favorite beer in stock because he usually comes over after all the stores around her place close. On those late nights they usually don’t make it past her couch. It’s beer and fast undressing, and Stranger Things afterwards. They both wake up at 3 AM with kinks in their necks before they move to her bed for the last 4 hours.

[cynthistic]

dont be so fucking salty that yoi was obviously the better anime. making fucking fanart and shit is just not only rude to the fans, but to the whole fucking show. honestly, you're a fucking prick.

Just gonna say right off the bat, ha lmao u thought i’d ignore this but no im too petty. 

Also to anyone who’s interested in my thoughts on the crunchyroll poll results below, please know I am a very vulgar person and that it’s gonna be a L O N G reply.  TL;DR at the bottom. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fucking be tch fight me.  Not gonna deny being a prick tbh, I’m the pettiest and saltiest person I know.  It’s almost as if I make art to express personal disappointment towards something.  Amazing, art for expression is such a new concept.  Instead of telling me what fanart “attacks” your limited view of technical animation elements, maybe create some fanart congratulating YOI for the win. 

Right off the bat, your over-generalization of the YOI fandom astounds me.  What kind of bullshit “!!1! YOI MUST WIN ALL AWARDS! 1!!!” mentality do you have to group all fans with the likes of you.  And I can assure you many of the people I spoke to about this are huge fans of YOI AND feel the same way.  This is an ANIMATION award, not ANIME please read before bashing.  Am I glad that YOI won anime of the year?  Fuck yes, which show do you think I voted for.  YOI is beautiful in an emotional sense and game-changing in culture towards homosexuals.  Best couple?  Victuuri had my heart from day one.  Best boy?  Debatable (im bias towards reigen if we’re gonna be honest here he the tru mvp).  Being a fan of a show doesn’t mean supporting a show in every single category, especially not “BEST ANIMATION”.

Since we’re on the topic of ANIMATION let’s break down YOI first and dispel some ideas behind why people think it deserves the “Best Animation” award.  It told a beautiful story!!!  It has such emotional intensity in almost every scene!!  It’s wonderful in story telling!!!  And directly speaking, I agree with every single statement but story telling is an overview of a show that is highly subjective to each person.  OH BUT WAIT YOU KNOW WHAT ISN’T???  Animation.  Memes aside, YOI’s animation can not be judged purely on single screenshots cause i guarantee all shows will have shitty stretch frames.  However, the technique of storytelling that makes YOI emotionally compelling is not in the technical aspects of the animation itself.  Literally get off your high horse and just watch YOI without any audio.  Literally in every single skate scene, you’re never focused on the animation, only on the narratives and soundtrack of the routine.  Well rounded characters made the show and I swear to god the only reason you’re still focused on the routines is because of the characters and no more.  Aside from detailed butt grabs from Chris and Gucci lips from Victuuri, YOI’s animation is mediocre at best.  And this is on the good end of the spectrum.  “THAT’S SO OFFENSIVE TO FANS HOW COULD YOU?!?!11?”  This is a given fact with the low budget and rushed schedule to release new episode.  A cut in animation quality is EXPECTED.  The YOI team knew this and animation quality was never their top priority as opposed to a compelling and unique storyline so wherrrrr the fu ck is this insulting to fans. 

Now let’s discuss Mob Psycho 100.  You can disagree and hate the STYLE of the animation but you CAN NOT deny the efforts and advancement the show has brought towards the animation industry.  This show ASSAULTED MY EYES.  The emotional intensity of this show was expressed so much more through the animation elements.  Explosion of colors and constant rotating angles provide a whole new dynamic to every single sequence.  Go ahead and claim that “it’s only this way because it’s an action show” all you want but even without fight scenes, the timing of the shots are amazing.  The staggering in Mob’s sprint.  The hallway shot of the Telepathy club walking.  Such simple frames keep me fixated on the show much more than YOI’s parts.  It forces you into this overwhelmed state where you try to keep up with everything that’s happening in the scene and it’s so beautiful with the way it’s all represented.  Best of all, it’s PROGRESSIVE. 

Miyo Sato (click her name for her site) is an artist who works in a non-conventional way.  The whole ENDING SEQUENCE was animated by her.  Those weird sketchy, paintery frames? BY HER.  Do you understand how time consuming and painstaking this animation technique is??? DO YOU??  She essentially shifts drying oil paints around on a glass surface to create the the animation, individually or laid over a 2D animated shot.  It is so rare you see a HIGH BUDGET animation willing to take such creative risks as well as introducing a traditional medium as a technique.  Not to mention, Mob Psycho 100 is the epitome of creative expression.  It’s as if the animators gave zero fucks about the sensory overload for viewers and just shoved it in our faces.  Also my weeb ass basically worships Yoshimichi Kameda.  MP100 is an anime with with a HIGH BUDGET.  And again, you CAN NOT DENY that the animation is on a whole other league compared to YOI.  With the team presented and budget given, it was EXPECTED of them to create such a beautiful piece of art. 

Before you or anyone else try to accuse me of being “triggered af” look at who was sensitive af in the first place.  I feel very strongly about animation and the doodle was nothing more than a contribution to a running meme and gag between both fandoms.  Am I disappointed????  Fuck yes.  Do you see me bashing other categories cause my votes didn’t win????  At the end of the day, Crunchyroll released a fanpoll that was meant to be a fun “survey” of all anime fans.  Sadly, choices were VERY limited and I wished there were more options for each category.  I was upset that YOI was even considered for “Best Animation” and know VERY well that it was only added to appease the sudden popularity of the show and feed off of the energy of fans.  Unrelated to the two fandoms but I would have also wanted recognition for Ajin with it’s incoorporation of 3D animation.  It’s not everyone’s cup of tea and I highly doubt it would have won, or honestly, deserved to win over Mob Psycho 100.  But it would have been nice to have some recognition for shows that took a step outside of mainstream norms (not that there is anything wrong with that).  On top of that, my doodle was based off my disappointment behind the mentality that YOI had to win everything as if it was a competition for most backed-up fandom.  I’m just extremely upset at the fact that while it claims to be a poll for a “well deserved title”, it ultimately became a imaginary game of popularity.  Before you send another ask saying YOI was pretty good for its budget, ya it was.  But smh if you’re gonna judge the worth of animation based on budget then you’re gonna find yourself facing whether or not paying for specific element was worth the money.

TL;DR:

Fuck you im a tru YOI fan too fight me, I have credentials and official fan certification from my trash retweets.  Smh I can’t believe my disappointment offended a whole fandom, in which I, along with many other YOI fans who agree with the same points are in.  I love generalization.  Point is.  YOI is a beautifully well written show.  However, this was never a battle of fandom strengths and sizes, merely the decently to give credit to a show when it’s due.

xoxo im out bih

cynthia

[phuijl]

2017 New Year’s Resolutions! (I sorta have been doing this since years ago and every year I've been fulfilling most of my yearly resolutions which make me proud of myself :D)

Make an original artbook

At least finish half of the stories for my characters

Find a full time art job, preferably outside Malaysia

Do more storyboards

Master my sewing skill

Attend international convention *stares at @ashethehedgehog*

Getting myself Tove Jansson's Moomin books (i need to, I HAVE TO)

2016 Favorites:

Movies: I didn't watch much movies but I do enjoy Finding Dory and Your Name alot! (I’m planning to watch YGO:DSOD, Moana and Kubo soon this year, damnit MARCH COMES HERE NOW)

Shows: Mob Psycho 100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Erased, Natsume Yuujinchou Go, Dangit Grandpa 3, Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure:Diamond is Unbreakable (Stardust Crusaders remains as my most fav arc but I still enjoy this one) 

2016 Life Improvement/Highlights:

I mustered up courage and ended up breaking up a friendship which got me in heavy anxiety depression for so many years. Ended up with weeks of depression and conflicting feelings but thanks to my family care and supports, I’m all good now. I don’t care if ppl still point out the mistakes I’ve done as long as I know what I’m going to do/improve myself, I’ve done stupid mistakes and everyone makes mistake. And I’m happy to say that I’ve been feeling GREAT and better than the person I was years ago and still continue in recovering.

I tried many new things, which include sewing and making detailed cosplay props which I spent an insane amount of time cuz it took way more effort than I thought it would, kinda wrecked my schedule.

I sleep before 12 am and rarely burning the midnight oil, I rarely got sick too easily compared to before.

COMIC FIESTA 2016!!!!! GOT TO MEET SO MANY COOL PPL AND SO MUCH YGO FANS AAA

I got more freelance animation jobs compared to the year before (2015), still hunting for a fulltime job tho.

I did more animation, collaborative projects stuff and improved my animation skills. 

Bought myself so much merchs within a year, this never happen at all in the past...help

Got to interact and spend more time with irl ppl or family more.

Finally muster the courage to post my face online, no longer shy about that :’D

Host a big animation collaborative project @ygoreanimate, got to know so much cool ppl in this project, did I mention that everyone in this project is amazing and talented!!??

Made my first online store and sold so much items, stickers are such a big hit!

Caught up with my good old childhood friend after almost 5 years!! I can’t wait to meet them again this Chinese New Year ;v;

Successfully pass a storyboard test which may or may not get me to California. Even if that doesn’t happen, I’m still pretty proud of the test I did and the fact that this is the CLOSEST thing that could almost get me to move away from my country to do the work i love!

[gibsongirlselections]

Rod Serling Couldn’t Have Predicted This Twilight Zone

Screenwriter and Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, who died 45 years ago on June 28, was a shrewd appraiser of human behavior and of the American cultural milieu. But could he really have predicted what the country is going through right now? Maybe, maybe not.

But it’s doubly disappointing that SyFy Channel has decided to forgo it’s annual Independence Day Twilight Zone marathon this year—we could really use the fun house mirror turned on ourselves, to remind us of ourselves, during this strange time of both social isolation and civil strife. It’s somehow comforting to settle in for a TZ episode and sense the continuity: while many of our fellow human beings are craven, crass, untrustworthy and downright unsavory, there is always hope and transcendence, of speaking one’s mind, of seeking the truth. Of good people doing the right thing.

There are a number of episodes that writers have noted are especially prescient. One, “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” (1960) is about a pleasantville neighborhood, the kind Donald Fagan sings about in “I.G.Y”…the future looks bright…on his seminal album The Nightfly. Dads washing cars, moms cooking, kids buying ice cream from a man in white pressed pants on the corner. A bright light—and then—all the streetlights and appliances go dead. 

Then a teenager touches it all off with a comic book kernel of fear: it’s the aliens. And they may be among us. He might as well be the alien himself, because his words spark such dissembling, neighbors turning on neighbors, glass breaking, a man shot. It’s savage. One mild-tempered character pleads, “let’s not be a mob!” but the mob takes off without him.

Two aliens sit far up on a ridge by their spaceship. When deprived of power, says one, “(humans) pick the most dangerous enemy they can find and it’s themselves. All we need do is sit back—and watch.”

The old divide and conquer. Serling, who wrote the episode, was particularly pessimistic, but we can see today how much this kind of scapegoat hysteria works: neighbors literally turning on neighbors over not wearing masks, demanding that people wear masks, so-called Karens who call the cops, Karen-hunters stalking middle-aged women with cell phone cameras, Nextdoor posts that snitch on teenagers congregating in the park, runners breathing hard without masks on the bike path, chalk-writing in the street. The very worst is the shopkeepers and workers harangued, assaulted and harassed while doing their jobs during COVID, or beaten and looted during recent violence in our cities.

We can also sense familiarity in “The Obsolete Man,” (1961) in which a future fascist state arbitrarily decides who is essential or not, and if the latter, liquidation. “Like every one of the super states that preceded it, it has one iron rule: logic is an enemy and truth is a menace,” Serling informs us in the opening narration.

 Romney Wordsworth is a librarian in this state. The chancellor is in charge of pending “obsolescence.”  

“Since there are no more books, Mr. Wordsworth, there are no more libraries. The field investigators in your sector have classified you as obsolete,” announces the chancellor from a high perch, judge and jury.

He goes on: 

“And of course it follows that there is very little call for the services of a librarian. Case in point: A minister. A minister would tell us that his function is that of preaching the word of God. And, of course, it follows that since the State has proven that there is no God, that would make the function of a minister somewhat academic, as well.”

“Lie! No man is obsolete!” Wordsworth roars back. “I am nothing more than a reminder to you that you cannot destroy truth by burning pages!”

The chancellor gets his comeuppance in the end, as the little librarian, played by the always capable Burgess Meredith, cleverly shows that the state, like all tyrannies, is brittle, and will eat its own to survive. The chancellor is later attacked by the rabid brown-shirted mob after he himself is declared, “obsolete.” 

For Serling, it is simple, “any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of man—that state is obsolete.” 

It is easy to make the connections to today’s “burning” of history, of statues set aflame, flung down, disappeared. An ever growing mob-like organism fueled by the backlash against police violence, erupting racial fury and toxic self-righteousness, seems to think that by vanquishing symbols of the past, pushing them down the “memory hole,” we will erase the injustices of their time, but as Wordsworth said, “if i speak one thought aloud that thought lives, even after I am shoveled into my grave!” 

James Pinkerton noted in these pages this week, that the stories of the men whose visages in the form of Congressional portraits or statues are being tossed away, will indeed live on. Yes, but in the endeavoring to vanish them all, we risk making it too difficult to remember, for our children to learn from the mistakes of the past. If the mob is strong enough it will be successful in supplanting the old and creating a new society that is more fragile, more authoritarian, prevailing over a spoon-fed, infantile populace. Just look at Communist China today, a mere half-century after the cultural revolution set out to “destroy” that country’s history. There is a reason that George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four is not banned there, but any review or analysis comparing it to modern China, is.  

But to a young Rod Serling in 1959, he could not have conceived that it would be the progeny of the counterculture that was just awakening with the dawn of the New Frontier that would be the very thing he prophesied in “Monsters Are Due On Maple Street,” “Obsolete Man” and a handful of other Orwell-inspired episodes. 

While conservatives see the counterculture as the beginning of the end of American civilization, what Patrick Deneen has called the failure of liberalism, in TZ’s time (1959-64) it meant something quite different. There was a growing appreciation afoot for independent thinking, of imagination over conformity and the stifling conventions of American middle class life (authors like Ray Bradbury were opening up fissures with their own work on this subject), which included the dumbing down and homogeneity of society spurred on by mass consumption and technology. It also meant pushing back on suburban malaise, industrial pollution, and racial segregation. It especially eschewed Big Brother and the previous decades of snitches, spooks, and black lists. They had enough of war.

Things were happening and seeping into the prime time line-up. Serling was far from “alternative,” but TZ was reflecting some exciting things happening at the margins, and the series mainstreamed these issues enough for the entire family to embrace.

It’s cliche to say things were simpler then—they weren’t. There were just different monsters under the bed and enemies outside the garden door. As we know, things got carried away, and social movements that were supposed to make people more free and equal seem to be ceding control to the extremes, which focus more on control, retribution, payback. Instead of “coming together” as The Beatles implored, we got more tribal. Today, instead of a marketplace of ideas and open debate, news organizations are caving to the prevailing winds and deciding what is and what isn’t in the “sphere of consensus” or “legitimate” topics of conversation. In other words, deciding what we read, watch, and how we are supposed to think. A “cancel culture” has made sure that those who do not conform, even on their own side, are liquidated.

One thinks it would be difficult for the Serling of 1960 to have anticipated any of this. In his view, the burgeoning societal shift was rooted in the values of the Declaration of Independence: the dignity of the human being, liberty, and equality. Maybe when he died in 1975 he was already seeing the project going in an unanticipated direction, what conservatives would say, “off the rails.” Decades later, the landscape is unrecognizable, and it really feels like we are on a precipice, between the America we knew and something looking like Orwell’s Animal Farm.

Maybe at last, as Serling would say, we are truly entering into…the Twilight Zone.

  The post Rod Serling Couldn’t Have Predicted <i>This</i> Twilight Zone appeared first on The American Conservative.

[recentanimenews]

Life Under State of Emergency: Tokyo and Rural Areas

Shibuya Crossing (Photo: Daryl Harding)

  Previously, we looked at how the state of emergency was affecting the lives of anime fans in Japan, focusing on the areas of Kyoto and Sendai. Today in part two, we speak with two people who live in Tokyo and a rural area outside of the main cities to get their perspective and feelings on how the “lockdown” is affecting them. We asked them all the same questions to get their differing points of view.

  (Note: all answers have been edited down for clarity.)

  Inside The Capital of Japan

  An empty and close Tokyu Plaza in Harajuku, one of the most Instagram'd places in Japan (Photo: Daryl Harding)

  I spoke to cosplayer, writer, and Tokyo native, Kaho Shibuya, who in her past has been a newspaper reporter, a TV, radio and YouTube channel host, and a teacher among a vast array of other colorful professions. She lives in the heart of Tokyo.

  Firstly, how are you doing in the “lockdown,” even though it’s not technically a lockdown?

  Under our current law, the Japanese government can’t force us to stay at home, so there are some people not behaving the way we’re advised to. Yet things have definitely changed when the prime minister declared a state of emergency: In major cities like Tokyo and Osaka, a great number of shops have closed, so you don’t have destinations for just hanging out anymore.

  The transportation system, however, hasn’t been affected so people can still commute. With how punctual and on-time our train system is, people are still heading to school/work. The extremely crowded train ride in Persona 5 isn’t exaggerated at all and is still happening.

  This means unless you can work at home or you work for a company where they care about your health your job puts you at a higher risk of infection.

  How has the quarantine affected you personally?

  Actually, I hardly go out to socialize other than work. As a non-drinker, I would be happy only going out to attend business meetings or networking gatherings. All my friends are business-related so when we naturally come together, we work together.

  My hobbies are reading manga and watching anime, evidentially, alone. My favorite genre is RPGs, which doesn’t require another player. I live very close to my parents. Quarantine thus far hasn’t affected my personal life at all.

  My work gives me an excuse to talk to people and be an extrovert, so I cherish it very much. Otherwise, I’m an indoor otaku detached from society.

  What about professionally?

  I have many deadlines to meet: weekly, biweekly, and monthly columns, plus my upcoming book. There is still a lot on my plate, though I usually visit a café or somewhere not my room to work. Staying at home makes it absolutely difficult to concentrate.

  Usually, my favorite workplaces have been the worst locations to go to due to during the coronavirus crisis because of their confined spaces, like karaoke and manga cafés to name a few. Japanese people often use karaoke places for business talks because you don’t have to worry about others listening to your conversations and waiters won’t bother you. Manga cafés give you access to almost every popular show and magazines in print. You appreciate the sanctuary if you’re a classic physical book lover like myself.

  Was there anything you were looking forward to that has now been canceled?

  I’ve had the luxury of visiting quite a few conventions overseas as a guest and was looking forward to going more this year before you-know-what happened. My last con was Anime Los Angeles back in January, and I miss the geeky energy there.

  I was going to voice the main role in a new anime show and was really looking forward to it, then the production was delayed due to COVID-19. In fact, a lot of TV series and movies I’ve been waiting for have been postponed such as Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- and Case Closed.

    Is there anything you’ve started to do because of the lockdown?

  I’ve actually joined Twitch and started streaming in April. With everyone experiencing isolation, I thought it’s important now more than ever to stay connected and share the same moments together live.

  I don’t show much of my private side on social media, almost always posting pictures from professional photo shoots plus simple puns and messages, so streaming for hours from my room is definitely something new. It’s not only a good way to tell people how I’m doing through webcam, but what kind of person I really am beneath all those smug model pictures. Some might want nothing other than sexy from me, for sure, while others might relate more because I relate a lot to the topics Twitch users talk about.

  Streaming on Twitch, I can practice speaking English since there are way more English-speakers on the platform than Japanese, and I get to talk passionately about manga/anime/light novels/games in the chat room with people who are really into those things and want to genuinely know about Japan. Especially with cons getting canceled where I get to weeb out together with my international fans whom I cannot see often because of the obvious long-distance in between, interacting with them and staying passionate about our favorite things is what I crave. Like talking about the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba stamp-rally I went to in Kyoto, or other Japanese-related anime events.

  Although, if it weren’t for lockdown, I wouldn’t consider making my own account since I’m so not a tech nerd (just a nerd, period). But my friends offered to help out and I’m truly lucky that I have them. I’m in good hands and now thinking of setting up for game streaming and more!

  What are you using to cope with being forced to stay inside?

  Now that new episodes of seasonal anime have been suspended, I take this time to go back to older shows, like Bleach, Gintama, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Angel Beats, and Steins;Gate, all from 2004 to 2011 when I only have a vague memory of following every single episode because we didn’t have anime streaming sites to catch up. While the first two are very long to binge-watch, the middle two series have only 12 episodes, then the last one is somewhere in between plus its extra season Steins;Gate 0.

  Currently, I’m watching Mob Psycho 100 in English, all thanks to Crunchyroll by the way! I want to digest amazing shows in English too so that I get to talk with more people about them.

  Kaho actually put the A Certain Scientific Railgun puzzle together during the “lockdown.”

  How has your neighborhood/town changed?

  Considering it’s central Tokyo, the number of people I see on the street is now surprisingly low, especially on weekends and late at night. Some shops and offices have either closed or shorten their business hours, so it’s very quiet in the evening.

  What are you looking forward to once everything is over?

  Once this pandemic is subdued, I’m planning to have my first gig as an Anisong DJ! I’ve been practicing and was going to debut in April, so now I have to make my performance worth the wait!

  I’d been to some clubs that played mainly anime songs in Japan, but when I attended Kawaii Kon in Hawaii, I made friends with AniParty members from NY at the LUMICA booth, and their energy and audiences were great. I wanted to be a part of that, bringing smiles and music to dance to, letting everyone know about stunning OPs and EDs.

  In addition to signing, paneling, cosplaying, and emceeing, I’ve been eager to contribute more to events. Some other projects are going on too which I can reveal at my next con, whenever that is. This stay-at-home time is for me to grow, and after that, it’s time to show!

  How do you feel about Japan’s response to the pandemic?

  It was quite a long time before our government took things seriously. I mean, they should’ve regulated if not banned traveling, they were very reluctant to make that decision.

  If such action was made earlier, I believe we could’ve been in a much better situation. Given that we have a bigger personal space in social interaction; we rarely hug or even handshake, and we’re used to wearing masks because of hay fever in the spring. And more than everything, our biggest city, Tokyo, is incredibly clean and safe compared to other big cities in the world. I hope you all get to visit when this international fear is gone …

  Any other stories you’d like to tell?

  A lot of my friends from overseas reached out to me to make sure I was okay, which was incredibly nice. In these hard times, you realize the importance of people around you, you discover who is really precious to you and who feels the same way about you in return. Without the quarantine, we are usually too busy living our own lives every day to ever think about things like that.

  The Rounds in Rural Japan

    Finally, I spoke to Ernest Lin, an American who has lived in Japan for the last three years and currently quite a way out of Tokyo — outside of the four main prefectures. He’s a senior editor at the video game website PlayStation Universe and works as a consultant in Japan in various fields.

  Firstly, how are you doing in the “lockdown,” even though it’s not technically a lockdown?

  Surviving so far — things for me could be worse but could be better.

  How has the quarantine affected you personally?

  There's an overall sense of anxiety that I feel has been cast over everyday life. There are days where my mood has been pretty gloomy. Obviously, not going out as much and being separated from friends and others has played a part in that. I follow the news of the COVID-19 situation in Japan and America a lot, so I'm especially worried about my friends and family around the world.

  What about professionally?

  Ah, unfortunately, it has affected me in that regard. I missed out on some work — there are a few of my on-going projects on indefinite hold until the situation quells. Additionally, it's been hard to get some other things off the ground.

  Was there anything you were looking forward to that has now been canceled?

  Oh, at this point it feels like countless things — anime and gaming industry events, other festivals here in Japan, various movies, and series releases. With everything else going on bringing perspective, the cancellations and delays are only slightly disappointments. I completely understand and support them if it means keeping more people out of harm.

  Is there anything you’ve started to do because of the lockdown?

  I started cooking more. The situation has given me time to work on bigger personal projects. Also, I've been able to catch up with loved ones, especially back in America, via voice and video calls.

  What are you using to cope with being forced to stay inside?

  I use some of the time to study more Japanese and organize my living space. Games have been a nice temporary escape (Final Fantasy VII Remake has been perfect for that!) and multiplayer ones like Fortnite have served as digital hang-out spaces to replace meeting up in real life.

  Ernest traveling to Midgar in Final Fantasy VII Remake

  Before the "lockdown," I hadn't binged many shows in a while since my job and other life stuff usually kept me really busy. Like everyone and their mom, I watched through Netflix's Tiger King. I've tried catching up on some anime shows I missed in the past. I recently finished Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai plus its sequel film and was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved them.

  How has your neighborhood/town changed?

  Places, in general, are a little less crowded and various public spaces and businesses are temporarily closed or at reduced hours. Almost everyone is wearing masks.

  What are you looking forward to once everything is over?

  Karaoke for sure.

  How do you feel about Japan’s response to the pandemic?

  Frankly, I do not believe the measures that have been taken have not been swift or adequate enough. It's one of the reasons I'm constantly concerned about the situation spiraling into something worse ... I hope it doesn't, but I'm always afraid it will.

  Any other stories you’d like to tell?

  A month or so ago, I was attending a meeting to check out a property for a project. I showed up at the entrance without a mask, and before we could proceed with the meeting, one of the staff made a remark about how I didn't have a mask. Embarrassed, I realized I had forgotten to wear one (I was born and raised in America, so I sometimes forget). Fortunately, I had extras in the car, so I ran back and came back with one on.

  Around that time, I had a dinner meeting where the food was self-serve, buffet-style, but we were given gloves to wear while using the tongs and such. That was a first for me.

    Thank you so much to both Kaho and Ernest for sharing their stories of isolation with us. Kaho Shibuya can be found in multiple places all over the web with most of her social media found on her website (NSFW warning), or you can find her streaming on Twitch. Ernest can be found on Twitter @erniichan.

  If you have your own story about life in Japan you’d like to share, feel free to share it with me at any of the links in my bio below.

  If you or someone who know is living in Japan, coronavirus-based English resources are available at NHK World Japan. 

  Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs the YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram. 

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[karenstensgaard]

Last weekend, I braved the mobs, so you don’t have to! I spent a full day at D.C.’s convention center standing in line and squeezed into seats. I attended what may be the biggest free to the public book festival hosted by the Library of Congress.

According to the Library of Congress, their 18th annual festival included a diverse lineup of 115 authors featuring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, eminent historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, acclaimed novelist Amy Tan, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, and two-time Newbery Medal winner Kate DiCamillo. As usual, I took another route with detours right from the start.

Entering the grand hall when the crowds were more manageable!

On my way to hear Dave Eggers, I could tell the crowd was growing and saw a panel on Spywork and John le Carré. The title sounded mysterious, and since my next novel will include some espionage, I ducked in to get a seat. John le Carré (real name: David Cornwall) wasn’t there. Authors David Ignatius (The Quantum Spy), Joseph Kanon (Defectors), and Adam Sisman (John le Carré: The Biography) with Pulitzer Prize-winning author and moderator for the panel, Kai Bird (American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer) chatted about le Carré spy stories and his influences on storytelling.

Afterward, I hustled down three escalators and over to the Fiction room to hear Jeffrey Eugenides (well-known author of The Virgin Suicides) and a new book, Fresh Complaint. After waiting over 20 minutes, we were complaining. Since he was running late, the event was canceled.

With time to kill, I slipped across the hall and heard the second half of murder mystery and spy novelist Hank Phillippi Ryan’s update on her new book, Trust Me. She encouraged fellow career changers doing this later in life. She didn’t start her writing career until she was in her 50’s. My husband asked me if Hank was a man. Her real name is Harriet, and Hank was a nickname from college. She has a definite edge since statistics say men writers sell more. Just look at J.K. Rowling: her new books are penned by Robert, not Roberta, Galbraith. A sad fact, since Joanne, of all writers, can afford to be a woman!

At the book fest, authors were grouped mainly by topic or type of book (history & biography, main stage aka big names, teens, poetry & prose, understanding our world – a catch-all mix, fiction, and genre fiction. A few I didn’t check out – two children stages, and a Library of Congress Hall. Each author or group had an hour to discuss their book with an interviewer and a few minutes for Q&A.

On the right, interviews for TV channels were conducted later:

I met my husband for a book discussion by David Ignatius for his spy thriller, The Quantum Spy, about the Chinese ruling the world via computer. David was part of my first lecture on Spywork. Besides being a novelist, he is a journalist and writes a column for the Washington Post. He might have noticed me if he’d learned from his characters. Spies supposedly watch their surroundings closely. But with the packed crowd, I blended in and was undetected. But just wait for my run-in with Security!

After another wait for lunch, I returned to the Fiction salon to hear Andrew Sean Greer talk about his novel Less. Less really means More since he won the Pulitzer Prize with his edgy modern travel love story. Congrats! And the award couldn’t go to a nicer guy. Andrew came across as laid back and friendly joking with the crowd. When he found out one of his teachers was in the crowd, he didn’t hesitate to get to the edge of the stage to hug her.

Now my plan fell apart, and I almost pitched my free book tote bag in disgust. I had hurried across what seemed like miles of convention room carpeting while dodging attendees who are either are from the UK or prefer walking on the wrong side of the hallways. I followed the signs to Room 146, but somehow, I’d left, without leaving the building, and had to ask a security guard for help.

After another delay with another security check and backtracking, I found one of the hundred plus Ask Me volunteers lingering everywhere. She pointed out the best route to the elusive Room 146. But when I arrived, many others had too, and a large line snaked around the corridor.

Here’s why. Room 146 had a captivating title: Understanding Our World. So necessary anytime, but perhaps mission critical if you live in DC. I knew I wouldn’t hear any of the Conversation: Americas Great Struggle for Racial Equality featuring Brooks D. Simpson and Isabel Wilkerson.  But it was the next event that was on the top of my wishlist: Conversation: Sea Creatures.

What would the authors share with us on behalf of these creatures from the ocean and 70% of planet earth‽  (The ‽, a question-explanation mark combo called an interrobang, is official and grammatically correct. I couldn’t resist using an interrobang for the first time in such a deserving situation.)

The sea creature conversation included an interview with Sy Montgomery, the author of a book I loved: The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness. Who knew octopi have such personalities and are as smart as a whip‽Times eight, of course. Sy has a new book: Tamed and Untamed Close Encounters of the Animal Kind. Juli Berwald’s book also sounds fascinating. Spineless: The Science of Jellyfish and the Art of Growing a Backbone.

I hate to admit with these long afternoon lines; I’d lost my can-do festive mood. Instead, I found a seat and watched the long line hover and grow resembling the long leg of you know what. My seat buddy, armed with what looked like an ordinary cane, told me about the good old days in D.C. when it was a two-day event held on the Mall under massive tents. She lamented how much easier it was to see inside and hang around outside the tents if the seats were full. And except for the possibility of rain and mud, or scorching heat and humidity, book lovers managed just fine.

Right next to us, the doors opened for the next session in Poetry & Prose with a short and manageable line. So I went high-brow listening to the panel on Literary Lives with authors Mark Eisner (Neruda: The Poet’s Calling) and Kay Redfield Jamison (Robert Lowell: Setting the River on Fire” A Study of Genius, Mania and Character). Fiona Sampson, the author of In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein, was ill and couldn’t leave the UK. Her book was of particular interest since Mary Shelley and Frankenstein are in my second still to be published novel.

My sixth and final event was again in the Poetry & Prose room: How Writers Think and Work. So apropos since I’m a novelist. I continually compare notes with the experts. But from what I’ve learned in writing, there are no rules, and if there are, no one agrees. Some renegade writers even urge you to break any you happen to find.

This last discussion included authors Lorrie Moore, See What Can Be Done: Essays, Criticism and Commentary, and Richard Russo, probably best known for his novel and TV show, Empire Falls. His recent book, The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writing, Writers, and Life was another book I had read. Two, out of about 200 new books, isn’t too bad.

The book fest ended for me since I lacked the energy for the last few lectures scheduled elsewhere. Isn’t this blog exhausting? In the Amazon carousel below, I’ve added a link to some of the books by the authors I heard speak, including one from yours truly.

[amazon_link asins=’1521210519,0393254151,0765393077,031631613X,1451697724,1524732486′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’karenstensg01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’128fc14f-b47e-11e8-8899-c9d48c37cf6b’] P.S. If you were hoping to see another library blog, here is a photo of the beautiful Carnegie public library at Mt. Vernon Square across from the convention center. Since it looks like a beautiful spot, when the renovation is done, I’ll be back. And here’s a photo of me with an adorable portable library on the way to H Street behind Union Station and my favorite D.C. restaurant, Ethiopic.

Get an insider's view of Washington D.C.’s 18th Library of Congress National Book Festival. Last weekend, I braved the mobs, so you don’t have to! I spent a full day at D.C.’s convention center standing in line and squeezed into seats.

[etechwire-blog]

10 best free total conversion mods for PC

New Post has been published on https://www.etechwire.com/10-best-free-total-conversion-mods-for-pc/

10 best free total conversion mods for PC

Blockbuster games like DOTA, Counter-Strike and DayZ have are all connected by the fact that they started off as total conversion mods. These are labours of love created by code-savvy fans who one day thought ‘What would ARMA be like with zombies?’ or ‘How would Warcraft III play if I controlled just the one hero?’ 

From these little kernels of inspiration, a phenomena were born.

But we’re going to put aside those success stories for now, and look at the best total conversion mods that are still completely free. After years of work and hundreds of hours of development, these mods are so well crafted that if you squint just a little, you may just mistake them for full standalone games.

The ability to completely transform your existing game into an entirely new one using total conversion mods is yet another reason why gaming on PC is so good. So, as part of our PC Gaming Week 2018, here’s our pick of the best total conversion mods you can install and play right now for free.

1. A Game of Thrones – Crusader Kings II 

Released not long after Crusader Kings 2 itself, A Game of Thrones is not only a perfect fit for the mechanics of Paradox’s feudal grand strategy game, but hands down the best video-game set in George R.R. Martin’s blockbuster fantasy world.

A Game of Thrones may sometimes appear to be all battles and dragons and bad language, but really it’s a saga of political intrigue, scheming and Machiavellian plotting; who should be married off to whom, and for what gain? What would assassinating a certain lord do to your claim on their land? How do you clamber your way up the feudal ladder to get to the Iron Throne? 

Its themes meld perfectly with Crusader Kings II, and this mod realises George R.R. Martin’s world right down to the writing and the topographical lay of the land.

And yes, of course there are dragons… 

2. Enderal – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

One of the most polished total conversion mods ever made, Enderal could just about pass off as its own triple-A game. 

German developer SureAI (who also made stunning Oblivion mod Nehrim) pulled out all stops, writing and voicing tens of hours of dialogue (that arguably outdoes Skyrim’s oft-risible script), and painstakingly building a beautiful new world that offers around 100 hours of content.

Within Skyrim’s rather action-orientated engine, Enderal manages to find its own identity, and in many ways harks back to old-school RPGs; it’s tough, with a traditional levelling system, no fast travel, and slow pacing, while offering a powerful story that often ventures into darker, more mature territory than Skyrim’s mass-market take on high fantasy.

3. Gekokujo – Mount & Blade: Warband

Mount & Blade: Warband is the quintessential feudal sandbox, letting you create a character in a central-European kingdom and build them up into a roving mercenary, a heroic commander or, ultimately, a lord who answers to no one. You go about this through a messy, delightful mix of direct combat, RTS-like strategising, and RPG-like decision-making.

Gekokujo takes all that, and whisks it off to Sengoku-era Japan. The world map spans the entire Land of the Rising Sun, complete with major kingdoms, villages, cities, holdings, and lords for you to saddle up with (before, inevitably, betraying them). 

Weapons, armour, clothing and architecture are faithful to the setting, and a whole world of dialogue and events has been written to convincingly migrate the inimitable Warband formula to the Far East.

4. X-COM/UFO: Enemy Unknown – X-Piratez

The original 1994 turn-based squaddie alien shooter X-COM UFO: Enemy Unknown has been kept alive thanks to the OpenXcom Extended open-source project. Based on this, X-Piratez is a fascinating piece of punky fan-fiction set in the same universe, borrowing ideas and mechanics from the whole gamut of X-COM games.

Set in a future where the X-COM resistance was crushed by the alien invaders, X-Piratez casts you as a buccaneering crew of space-pirates, robbing settlers and plundering ships until the intriguing plot inevitably brings you into contact with greater threats. 

With its unique arsenal of makeshift weaponry, fresh tech tree and lowlife factions, it all feels refreshingly scrappy compared to the high-tech shenanigans of the mainline series.

5. Underhell – Half-life 2

From Black Mesa to Garry’s Mod, by way of Natural Selection, Half-life 2 has been the launchpad for several successful mods that went on to become fully fledged games. One of the ones that never made the jump, however, was Underhell.

Following a psychologically-spiraling S.W.A.T. operative who’s struggling to deal with his wife’s death, Underhell is part puzzler, part horror, part bullet-time shooter that’s thick in atmosphere and experimental storytelling. 

The action flows like a fever dream between a dreamworld, spooky home and vicious action, making Underhell stand alongside The Stanley Parable as one of the more artful Half-life 2 mods.

Sadly, only one of the intended six episodes of Underhell was ever made, with developer We Create Stuff’s priorities shifting to other projects in recent years.

6. The Dark Mod (Thief) – Doom 3

The Thief IP, once revered for its revolutionary stealth mechanics and level design, was run into the ground with the facile 2014 reboot. Luckily, The Dark Mod, a total conversion mod for Doom 3, is as fine a spiritual successor to the original games as you could ask for.

The Dark Mod eschews combat and action in favour of good old-fashioned stealth.

Stick to the rafters, extinguish candles with water arrows, and loot the rich and wealthy of a brooding steampunk city that’s somewhere between the worlds of Thief and Dishonored. The base mod (now standalone) is just the tip of the arrow, as it’s bolstered by hundreds of excellent community-made levels.

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age – Medieval II: Total War

There’s no shortage of Middle-Earth-themed mods out there, but, like Gandalf at a Hobbiton pipeweed convention, this one stands tall among them. 

So complete and detailed is The Third Age – from Rohirrim shield crests to the city layout of Osgiliath – that seven years on, it remains the most popular LoTR mod for Total War. 

It’s spawned a slew of sub-mods too, including the relatively-recent The Third Age: Reforged, which adds new factions, animations and units.

As a sidenote, if you’re on the Total War: Warhammer battlewagon, check out the recently-released The Lord of the Rings: Rise of Mordor. It’s far from complete yet, but looks promising and could yet become the true successor to The Third Age.

8. Fall from Heaven 2 – Civilization IV

Staying on the theme of historical strategy games with a fantasy makeover, Fall from Heaven 2 is a superbly imagined swords-and-sorcery overhaul of Civilization IV.

It transports the history-spanning formula to a lore-rich fantasy world brimming with magic spells, Hero units (complete with properly designed models), demonic religions and its own arcane tech tree.

It’s not always easy for a total conversion mod to evoke a powerful atmosphere that really sets it apart from its base game, but Fall from Heaven 2 pulls it off with aplomb, thanks to an encyclopaedic amount of lore, and a soundtrack that immerses you in its faraway world of werewolves and wizards.

9. Fallout 1.5: Resurrection – Fallout 2

This one’s for the retro PC gamers for whom Fallout is a game of taking turns and isometric cameras – none of this pseudo-FPS nonsense. 

Released in 2016, Fallout 1.5 is a total conversion mod for Fallout 2 which crams a 25-or-so-hour chapter between the events of the first and second games, taking you to the post-apocalyptic wastes of Albuquerque, New Mexico (no signs of a drug-lab camper van out in the scrublands, sadly).

Fallout 1.5 is well-written and old-school relentless, which you’ll learn from the off as you’re beset by sizeable mobs of ghouls and rats. True to the spirit of the original game, Fallout 1.5 also throws some dark questlines and morally murky quandaries at you, so be prepared to have your Karma sternly tested.

10. The Nameless Mod – Deus Ex 

Another option for gamers of a certain vintage, the Nameless Mod takes Deus Ex’s cyber-noir tone of gravelly voices and shady conspiracies, and amplifies it. 

Set in a city that’s a manifestation of tribal internet forum culture, it’s a strangely apt game given the make-up of society today. 

Forum City is a place of lonely neon lights and zeal-maddened characters, weighed down by an air of constant paranoia that you must stop from spilling over into self-destruction.

What’s impressive about The Nameless Mod is how it manages to build on certain areas of the original Deus Ex; the AI is more responsive to your actions, and the story can pretty much split into two depending on your decisions, coming good on that bold promise that ‘Every Choice Matters’.

TechRadar’s fourth annual PC Gaming Week is officially here, celebrating our passion with in-depth and exclusive coverage of PC gaming from every angle. Visit our PC Gaming Week 2018 page to see all of the coverage in one place. 

[njawaidofficial]

How Two TV Nerds Found Love at Comic-Con (Guest Column)

http://styleveryday.com/2017/07/18/how-two-tv-nerds-found-love-at-comic-con-guest-column/

How Two TV Nerds Found Love at Comic-Con (Guest Column)

Meeting people at Comic-Con is simple. Whether wandering through crowds, attending afterparties or waiting in endless lines, it’s hard to not be constantly surrounded by fellow genre geeks, freaks and superfans. But what about meeting that special someone? What about actually falling in love? That’s a little harder to pull off … but it’s not impossible. Here, The Exorcist creator Jeremy Slater and actress Melissa Russell (Feud: Bette and Joan, The Exorcist) share their story in a humorous and touching guest column. 

HE SAID: San Diego, 2012. I spent the day waiting in line with friends to get into Hall H. We just missed the Django Unchained panel, but a friend in the press managed to smuggle us in just in time for Pacific Rim and The Hobbit. This was the reason I’d taken off work and made the trip down to San Diego, the chance to catch a first glimpse of Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-Earth. I waited in line for ten hours to watch ten minutes of footage, and it was worth every second. I figured that would be the best thing that happened to me all trip. I was wrong.

SHE SAID: Really? You spent 10 hours waiting to see Hobbit footage while I spent the day hanging out with Gollum? To explain: none of my usual Comic-Con buddies were able to attend that year, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me. I drove down solo and spent the weekend hanging out with my cousin. Since he works with Andy Serkis, that meant I also spent the weekend hanging out with Andy, watching him get mobbed by adoring fans. But I kinda had an ulterior motive for the trip: I’d been flirting with a guy on Twitter, and I knew he was in town.

HE SAID: For the last few months we had been tweeting back and forth. I don’t remember about what. 

SHE SAID: I got this. (I remember every conversation.) We talked about the old NES DuckTales game, and how they filmed both Star Trek and The Flintstones up at Vasquez Rocks, and whether we were actually hate-watching Ghost Adventures or kinda secretly into it. Instant connection.

HE SAID: I was probably super charming.

SHE SAID: Totally. We had mutual friends in town, so I dropped a few hints on Twitter about being alone at SDCC, and next thing we knew we were being set up on a blind date.

HE SAID: When Saturday night rolls around, it’s nearly impossible to find a spot where you can actually hold a conversation. The good restaurants all have lines out the door, the best parties are invite only, and every hotel lobby becomes a beehive of noise and chaos and sloppy drunken Stormtroopers bumping helmets. Since we had nowhere else to go, we talked our way into a club party being held by a couple of blogger sites. It was…loud.

SHE SAID: We grabbed a booth in the back and talked for hours. Compared favorite movies (Back to the Future versus Jaws), our love for Disney animation cels, Community, Universal Studios, panels we’d attended that weekend, cool things we’d seen on the convention floor…you know, super deep stuff. It was one of those perfect nights.

HE SAID: I never told her that I’m partially deaf in one ear—my little brother stabbed me in the ear with a knitting needle when I was a kid, don’t ask, long story—so I mostly spent the night nodding and wishing I knew how to read lips.

SHE SAID: He was sharing a hotel room with a few other people, so we all went back to their place for drinks. Once we were sitting on the bed, he went in for the kill by whipping out…his phone. And then we spent the next two hours playing bootleg copies of DuckTales and Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers. It was pretty hot.

HE SAID: Like a modern day Casanova.

SHE SAID: You have no idea. Anyway, Comic-Con ended and we returned to reality. But we kept texting and flirting on Twitter. One thing led to another.

HE SAID: This Friday at SDCC will be the five-year anniversary of our first date.

SHE SAID: At this point we have the Con down to a science. We know the best paths in and out of the convention center, the hidden gem coffee shops and restaurants that are just off the beaten path, the best hotels for avoiding crowds. Still haven’t figured out how to get one of those coveted spots in the Funko merchandise lottery, though. One day … one day …

HE SAID: We’re once again spending our anniversary in San Diego. But this time I’m there to promote The Exorcist, the show I helped create, and Melissa is attending as one of the co-stars. Instead of spending our days waiting in lines, I’m signing autographs on the show floor and we’re being whisked through the crazy labyrinth of tunnels that run beneath the convention center. It’s thrilling and exhausting and absolutely terrifying. But even in the middle of all the chaos, we still find time to slip away for a few hours each day to scour the floor for discoveries or take a walk along the waterfront.

SHE SAID: After five years together, I was half-expecting him to propose in San Diego. Why break the streak? But he jumped the gun and proposed this April, on a secluded beach in St. Lucia, beneath the shadow of the Piton Mountains. Which was still kind of romantic, I guess… but it’s no Hall H.

HE SAID: We haven’t picked a wedding date yet, but we’re thinking next July. Right around Comic-Con.  

SHE SAID: So the next time you’re waiting in line for a panel or a signing or that slice of mystery pizza that’s going to get you through the day, take a chance and talk to the person standing next to you. Trust me, it’s worth it. Who else gets to celebrate their anniversary surrounded by 650,000 friends? 

Catch The Exorcist’s Comic-Con panel Thursday from 6-7 p.m. in Room 6BCF. 

Exorcist

#Column #ComicCon #Guest #Love #Nerds #TV

[nazih-fares]

Announced at the 2005 edition of E3 as an exclusive for the PlayStation 3, Team Ninja’s Nioh have come a long way before reaching the Bluray players of our shiny PlayStation 3. Originally created by its mother company Tecmo Koei, Nioh was supposed to be a “simple” JRPG, with very classical elements, telling William’s adventures, an Englishmen based on a real historical figure (William Adams), who had come to Japan and learned the local martial arts way to become  the first ever Western Samurai. Sadly,as if it’s tradition with 1Japanese games, things when wrong and the project was transferred to the hands of another studio called Omega Force, known for turning everything into a Muso genre (Warriors, Orochi, Samurai and Dynasty series). After a few years of development, Nioh, unable to satisfy the demands of Tecmo Koei, changed for the ultimate time development team and started from scratch with the makers of Ninja Gaiden (and Dead or Alive): Team Ninja.

It was up for this studio to completely transform Nioh, and heavily influenced by Hidetaka Miyazaki, create a similar style experience, closer to a Japanese universe and lore. Were Tecmo Koei and Sony Interactive Entertainment (for the West mainly) right to put his baby in the expert hands of this Action game studio? Or was the obsession to create another Dark Souls too much to lose its core values? Let’s see in this review.

The first thing you’ll notice by booting the game and discovering its artistic direction, is the feeling of Nioh passing through several studios before landing in the hands of Tomonobu Itagaki (Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden’s creator), with remnants of work done by Omega Force especially on all historical aspect of the game. Nioh takes place in feudal Japan invaded by demons, yet doesn’t seem to prevent the local warlords to still wage war against each othters. These generals are the same historical figures that can be found in all the best Muso games in the world, character design included (visually speaking, very close to a Warriors Orochi). So forget the bootylicious bimbos of other Team Ninja productions, but Nioh’s character design are great nevertheless without being raunchy, whether it’s the main hero, but also for the heroines, monsters and bosses.

It’s in this Japanese era that William fights against forces of evil, stalling their march on their world domination, but also to save his loved one held prisoner. If this starting pitch is much more concrete than the riddles of Dark Souls, while being supported by cinematics at the beginning and end of each chapter, Nioh’s narration is as much a conundrum as a From Software game can get. The mission briefing is often a single page to read, with no real indication of your goals, and although easy to follow, the tribulations of William in the different regions of Japan are very conventional, with this duo of demons and civil war. In any case, the overall mood of game is greatly pictured, with a true feel of Japanese folklore, whether in the interpretations of Onis (the traditional name for Japanese evil spirits) or in the settings and surroundings. The soundtrack also demonstrates talent, both in terms of music and sound effects, composed by Yugo Kanno, mostly know for his work on Rain but also a hell lot of Anime composition such as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Psycho-Pass and more. For those of you preferring original voice acting, you’ll be glad to know that Japanese voices are in the game, on top English dubbing, and numerous other languages in terms of subtitles and localized menu.

Now let’s jump in the heart of what matters in a game like Nioh: the gameplay. While Tecmo Koei as a whole had influenced the artistic direction, we will obviously find a lot of features from Dark Souls, but embellished with a whole lot of elements unequivocally belonging to Team Ninja original work. So let’s start by mentioning what Nioh really took as an inspiration from Dark Souls, to answer directly to the questions that most of you From Software fans want to know.

The first basic mechanics that can be found in this Dark Souls-like is the way how experience works, managed via camp fires. If the player dies, it loses all of its hard-earned experience (called amrita), which will remain there at the very place of your death, and finds itself in front of the last altar you visited. Your task then is to recover your precious belonging without dying, otherwise you will disappear forever in a limbo of ragequit and the frustration of having done all this for nothing. Because yes, the other basic principle of Dark Souls is that the game is one hell of challenge for players, and while not impossible, it pushed me at some point of almost rage quitting. Hell the slightest mob can send you to an instant death, the moment they feel a glimpse of confidence, an honest error, or have fallen into a trap, but that’s another story.

The fighting mechanics against various bosses, both in terms of size and design, relate as well to Dark Souls, and here it will often be necessary to go through a series of trials and errors to find the beast’s weaknesses, whether it’s in his evasion speed, the elementary damage or use of a particular item. On this front, the sensations in combat are closer to a Bloodborne than to a Dark Souls: the dodge is much more practical than a parry, as the latter consume more of your stamina (or ki) gauge, which can be bad when an enemy is countering you. The game is nevertheless more accessible than a Dark Souls for amateurs, since it offers a real tutorial where we learn more about the many subtleties of the gameplay.

True to any Team Ninja games, the fighting mechanics feel great (if not better than Dark Souls or even Bloodborne). The most striking aspect being the postures that one can adopt with its weapon, comparable to a “stance” in a fighting game: Medium is your standard mode, high stance to strike harder but become more open to attacks, and low stance to be more focused on defense but will do less damage. Another big subtlety, that reminds me of a bunch of Naruto games is the ability to recharge your ki faster by pressing R1 precisely when you’re done doing a combo, as your body start absorbing blue orbs around the arena. All these numerous and very demanding fights are already more exhilarating with the mechanics, and Nioh even inherited a feature straight out of Ninja Gaiden which are bloody dismemberment. Finally the last added feature is the living weapons, a sort of elemental powered attack where you are immune to damage and weapons deals extra damage, on top of being able to trigger your spirit guardian’s special attack.

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Level design wise, don’t expect the Metroid-ish world of Dark Souls, but arenas divided into different stages, which are more linear, yet still offering many shortcuts to unlock near shrines. It starts from a view of the map of Japan, where you choose your mission, main or secondary one, and teleport straight to the action… A big difference from the massive linked levels of Yarnam. Nevertheless there’s a lot of exploration to do in Nioh, but the overall level design are not as complex as I would’ve liked it to be from JRPG, even if really great to look at. Plus the game is a visual marvel, whether you play it on a regular PS4 or PS4 PRO (with 4K HDR resolution), locked at a constant framerate of 60fps with no slowdown in the time of my reviewing, just rare slow loading of enemy animations from a range.

On the front of gear and loot management, Nioh also stands out very strongly from its influence, as it’s closer to a Diablo than anything else, with insane amount of drops on a constant basis. Gear plays a big part as well as heavy load can harm your attack speed and will require William to spend more Ki to attack or do any sort of action.

When it comes to multiplayer, there’s only a coop mode for the moment, with a PVP planned later on as downloadable add-on. In any case, I briefly managed to play a quick multiplayer session, where you basically join yokai realm missions with other Williams that are harder and more rewarding. The other function is called Random Encounter where you make yourself available to anyone who is calling for help at a shrine. Add to this a really long game lifespan, thanks to its multiple challenge levels and replayability based on missions, you’ll have a lot to do, especially if you’re aiming for a Platinum trophy (crazy you).

Nioh was reviewed using a PlayStation 4 digital code of the game provided by PlayStation Middle East. We don’t discuss review scores with publishers or developers prior to the review being published

  Nioh is the kind of action-JRPG that we like, and even if heavily influenced by Dark Souls, has its own charm and original mechanics. A must have! Announced at the 2005 edition of E3 as an exclusive for the PlayStation 3, Team Ninja's Nioh have come a long way before reaching the Bluray players of our shiny PlayStation 3.