#its name is literally the laser song

[itayaki]

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There's one particular scene in Lupin III: Goodbye Partner that I can't help but remember Ocean’s 12. 

[eternallyblight]

Highlights from the Talk is Jericho Podcast w/Brendon Small and Gene Hoglan

Listen to the podcast here

Hatredcopter was the first song that Gene and Brendon ever worked together, recorded, and completed in an entire day.

How Brendon came up with Pickles and Nathan - What is the least metal name I can think of?

Toki Wartooth - Tommy or Brendon's name frome Viking name generator. Toki is like a child. Infantilized. (yes Brendon literally said this.) rhythm guitarist, but he's the darkest character.

Skwisgaar's had so much sex he doesn't like sexual things and looks for non-sexual things to get horny from.

Nathan is the guy who can never find the right girl. He's always going for the wrong thing.

Murderface is probably an incel.

Pickles has been around the block. This is his second band. He has a whole history of being in bands.

Part of producing the show is to mind the budget. They charge you by the frame. It would take 4-5 months and done domestically for 15 minute shows. Sometimes they turn it in on Friday, a couple days before the episode airs.

Gene will always be part of this no matter what. Gene is under a lot of pressure. Gene is literally a superhuman. He has to play in time with the animation and looks for the count from his peripheral vision. He takes a month beforehand to bear down on the live show. He will rehearse to the click track.

Gene loves working with Brendon and Ulrich (the producer). He's never seen Brendon stress. He's really reliable.

All the members live in Brendon's head and annoy him in different ways. But he's been close to Nathan a lot this year.

He doesn't know what is his favorite song to play. But he thinks its really fun to play Thunderhorse.

Gene's favorite member is Pickles because of his quote, "Couldn't do it, too damn drunk." and definitely not just because he's the drummer.

Gene's favorite song to play: The Gears, Dethsupport because they're challenging.

Gene and Brendon talk about the fact that Laser Cannon Deth Sentence was so hard to record they decided to never play it live but now Gene says he wants to try.

Questions and answers about the movie under the cut in case you don't want spoilers.

Brendon wanted to up the ante when making Army of the Doomstar. This is the conclusion of the Metalocalypse story, the one that began in the first episode.

The movie is mainly about the ego. It's a dipshit messiah story. Comedy that turns into an action movie. Go from the corporate world of Dethklok to the religious world of music.

This is the end of that story. It's about the search of the song of salvation.

On why Brendon decided to end Metalocalypse:

It's really important to end a story and not let it linger forever. Finishing a project is really important. A project that goes on forever diminishes the story.

Is there a possibility that Dethklok will do something beyond this? There is. I don't know. I think that Dethklok will live forever. This is the end of the Metalocalypse story.

[beepsparks]

Uhh random thoughts. Hosts and their fav attractions at the Disney parks bc Disney theme park attractions and history was a special interest of mine for 3 years (btw FUCK Disney obviously im just putting these hcs here bc despite its no longer a special interest I am still nerdy as hell about the theme parks specifically and I like to give characters favorite rides)

Cookie: this man seems like a thrill ride seeker. He will go on as many extreme rides as possible until he eventually has to go to the bathroom to throw up from motion sickness. I have the feel he’d like the Tower of Terror. He’d probably drag Schmitty on it despite Schmitty seems like the type to be absolutely TERRIFIED of drop rides. (He’ll go on anything else tho)

Buzz: okay call it obvious but Buzz Lightyear (and whatever the hell other name they give it istg it’s the same ride but they all have different names at every park). Tell me Buzz WOULDN’T like the LASER SHOOTER GAME RIDE. He probably thinks it’s cool as hell and would challenge others with beating his score. Nobody wins against Buzz.

Nate: this ride is defunct and no longer exists (unfortunately bc I think it’s awesome) but Extra-Terror-estrial Alien Encounter. Something tells me Nate’s weird little interest in conspiracy theories would lead to him liking the REALLY DARK lowkey horror attraction about a transportation device sending a violent alien into the room and characters getting attacked by it. (Btw if you don’t know what the ride is, look it up, its awesome) He’d probably take Buzz on this one and Buzz would be terrified with all the screaming from both the crowd being scared and the characters getting killed by the alien while Nate is having the time of his life lmao. Anyway, unfortunately since Alien Encounter no longer exists, I guess I’ll just say that Nate’s other favorite ride would be Rock N’ Roller Coaster. (Unfortunately, Buzz finds that ride too extreme for his liking as well so Buzz would NOT have fun getting dragged onto there by Nate)

Schmitty: without even thinking about The Lost Gold, I feel like he’d like Pirates of the Caribbean. Idk I Just get that vibe from him. That and he’d also probably like Soarin’ because he’d find it REALLY relaxing (the soft breeze the ride gives ya plus the calm movements and nice visuals and smells) can you tell I want Schmitty to have time to relax and be all chill yet. (Anyway projecting here but considering It’s a Small World is referenced TWICE in The Lost Gold, I headcanon Schmitty secretly likes the ride. It’s not his favorite but he likes it. Shhh I want the funny man to at least somewhat like my interests too)

Guy: Guy also seems like the type to like thrill rides as well (but he’d be able to TELL when hes getting motion sick unlike Cookie) but he also seems like the type to like rides with music that’d get at least somewhat stuck in his head, so while I can’t REALLY decide I guess the closest option is Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, because it’s a roller coaster that has the chance to play one out of seven songs while the ride goes on. (Fun fact actually I’ve been on it before and it’s literally the only roller coaster I can stomach (i hate coasters) and it played Everybody Wants to Rule the World lmao)

Bonus, REDACTED: The Haunted Mansion. I think we can all agree on that. He’d be upset that the ghosts on the ride aren’t real, though.

[shaketheframeofthishouse]

Song Tag Game

Tagged by @thatonebirdwrites

rules: shuffle your spotify 'on repeat' playlist and list the first ten songs

Sooooo if I shuffled my on repeat it would literally only be songs from the Hazbin Hotel Soundtrack because I got really into that... and now the Sing 2 Soundtrack because my niece is OBSESSED with it so... I'm going to just do songs I've been obsessed with throughout my life I suppose. I don't know if anyone would be interested in this, but it seems like a fun enough activity for me that I don't care haha

These are in no particular order at all

You Didn't Know- Hazbin Hotel Soundtrack (I was so obsessed with this song I would sing myself hoarse... somehow the duet between Charlie and Emily really just stuck with me)

Adrift- Stray Gods Soundtrack (I fucking love this game and I don't really have a favorite song from it but I really do love the opener)

Bag of Hammers- Thao (This one will always be special to me. There's a whole story about how my identity changed during this time in my life and stuff. That's why I am very partial to my blog name. I don't think I could ever get rid of it)

Wonder- morgxn and Sara Bareilles (Jesus this song got to me. It always gives me chills to think about. idk man I just love it)

Little Girl Gone- Chinchilla (Always a pump up song for me, especially when I'm angry lol)

Cassiopeia- Sara Bareilles (Its SO difficult to pin down just a couple of her songs. I almost went with If I Dare but this one is just too cool. I like stories in my music, and I can just imagine space in this song which is cool in itself so I had to pick Cassiopeia)

Dinosaur Laser Fight- Ninja Sex Party (It was between this one and I Don't Know What You're Talking About, but this was my original introduction to NSP and I just love it so much)

Adderall- Max Frost (My little brother introduced me to this song not too long ago and I lost my shit over it. He gets me so well)

Determination Symphony- Roselia (I had to get some Roselia in here because I was OBSESSED with Girls Band Party for a long time and I just had to put Sayo's song here)

No Matter What- Steven Universe The Movie (It is literally my bro and I. I can't NOT have this on here)

My lord it was difficult narrowing this down. I didn't even get any 80s music on here. or Stromae. He holds a special place in my heart too because of my best friend. And a majority of the time if I don't know what to listen to I literally just have an 80s playlist that I listen to.

Honorable mentions:

Supercut- Lorde; Little Miss Perfect- Joriah Kwame; Sand- Dove Cameron

I guess I'll tag @shybowtie and @an-awkward-owl-blog and anyone else who wants to do this!

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground: The Chaos arc

That’s right, folks, it’s another three-parter, because this is the actual Knuckles arc, buckle up for a ride!

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

The plot (for want of a better word): Robotnik has developed his greatest weapon yet: a giant gloating fortress powered by chaos emeralds! To defeat the undefeatable, the Sonic Underground call upon their ally Knuckles to help them save the day!

Sonic Underground 27: Flying Fortress

We kick off with the triplets on some kind of vacation day, Sonia sunbathing, Sonic playing frisbee against himself, Manic… digging for cash…? It’s all disrupted by a big flying ball with guns.

Now, this is Sonic Underground's equivalent of the Death Egg, but it isn't really a good one. It doesn’t look like the one from the games, and the equivalent of the Archie comics was much more egg-shaped. But it functions the same. It’s a big flying ball-shaped fortress powered by chaos energy.

The scary things about it are that it’s got an impenetrable outer shell (though Sonic breaks OUT of it okay), and a security laser beam thing that literally disintegrates anything it touches. Also its hallways are apparently labyrinthine, because Sonic spends a good minute running around it lost before the security system comes after him.

In this series, Sonic is not able to fall face-first from the upper stratosphere without harm. This is a problem, given the whole flying fortress thing, but Manic’s got a hoverboard so it’s fine.

But the good thing about Sonic getting chased out by the security beam is that he recognises the green energy as emerald energy. Which means they need to go see Knuckles.

Hilariously, in this series, Knuckles not only has traps, but also voice-activated anti-aircraft guns and a radio shack. It’s so very at odds with the mildly techno-phobic character we will come to know in the games, but it’s not entirely out of line for the Sonic 3 & Knuckles version, so cool.

Knuckles shoots the triplets (who are flying a converted SWATbot because why not) down, but Sonic uses their smoke to write his name in the sky and all is well. The most annoying part of this sequence is that the flying SWATbot was Manic’s idea and Sonic was against it, but when Sonic has an idea to stop Knuckles’ attack, Manic acts like it was Sonic’s. It’s… par for the course, but… mm. MM.

My headcanon to merge this series and the games kind of falls apart because of the conversation they have, where it’s very clear neither Sonic or Knuckles expect Robotnik to be able to get a hold of a chaos emerald, and Sonic can’t imagine there being more than one, but I hope you’ll forgive me my trespasses.

Knuckles, as per his original animated and comic nature, refuses to help because his duty is to protect the floating island. The Sonic Underground has to convince him with

THE SONG: No one is an island. Another Jamaican-style reggae tune, but thankfully without the accents this time. It’s not a bad sound, not bad lyrics, it’s generally okay, and more importantly, annoying enough to get Knuckles to give in.

No, literally. He is giving in because he’s been peer pressured through song.

So while Knuckles prepares a fighter plane, he is visited by his (recoloured) Great Grandfather Athair (Archie comic continuity is a go)(no Archimedes though, which I consider a damn shame) who has been given a Sean Connery voice and we just roll with it. Athair tells him that if he leaves the Floating Island, Mobius is doomed, but hey, maybe the future can be changed, so whatever man, you do you.

Meanwhile, in another REMARKABLE show of continuity, Robotnik is targeting Port Mobius because they have turned against him. Remember? Episode 9? Won’t blame you if you don’t, but wow, credit where due.

Also, Sleet and Dingo point out Port Mobius only rebelled because they rigged up a sea monster, because they’re not actually evil so much as employed/forced to be (according to this writer, at least), and Robotnik snaps that they’ve caused so many failures that he’s close to getting rid of them if they interrupt him again.

THE CONTINUITY. SOMEONE CARED ABOUT THIS SHOW. -WILD FLAILING-

Sleet is afraid of getting robotocised because they’re no longer needed, so he declares they need to do something. Yes, that’s right, folks, Sleet and Dingo are going to be sabotaging Robotnik for this arc to make sure they stay employed.

Meanwhile, the triplets and Knuckles have snuck on board and Knuckles pulls out a ‘chao-meter’ (kay-o, not ciao) which is basically an emerald tracker. It even kind of looks like an early build of Rouge's emerald tracker that we see in Adventure 2. So weird to see, in hindsight. Oh, wow, what if Adventure 2’s writers watched this series and… Nope. No, we’re not going there.

While they hunt it down, Sleet and Dingo are already stealing the emerald. Lucky for them, Robotnik knows our heroes are onboard, so only thinks Sleet and Dingo are trying to escape the falling ship.

And so episode 1 of 3 ends with the Flying Fortress in the sea, Sleet and Dingo on the run with the emerald, and nothing but danger ahead…!

Sonic Underground episode 28: No Hedgehog is an Island

First off, can we talk about how misleading that title is, and how good of a plot-relevant episode it could have been, about how Sonic needs to learn to rely on his siblings? Back in the day, it would have been a bit nonsensical in context, but in the current culture you could totally have him burning out or getting frustrated, and that leading him to screw up something, until his siblings help him de-stress and he gets his head back on straight, and…

Anyway. We have an episode to recap.

“How much would we risk to save the world from chaos?” Side-eye. Much side-eye, Aleena. On multiple levels.

Two things in immediate contrast to last episode: one, the chaos emerald is now much longer and pointier, and two, Sleet and Dingo (who originally stole the emerald to keep their jobs with Robotnik) are crowing about ‘so long, Robotnik'. So we’ve apparently given up on last episode’s proud continuity.

Knuckles is the hero of this episode, saving the siblings from drowning in the middle of the ocean and keeping everyone focussed on the emerald. It’s not yet about him worrying over the whole end of the world thing Athair warned about, but I’m sure we’re getting there.

So Sleet’s new plan is to use the chaos emerald to become ruler of Mobius. And then, for reasons that are only seeded if you don’t think Dingo actually likes Sleet, Dingo decides to use his physical strength to overpower him and take the emerald for himself.

Which. Look. I don’t tend to think too much about Sleet and Dingo – they’re the required hench-villains, they’re clocking in as evil (unless the writers demand otherwise), whatever. But as soon as you start thinking about Dingo, he’s… How does he morph? Why does Sleet have his controller? Why does he LET Sleet have his controller? As this episode proves, he’s perfectly capable of taking stuff off him. He doesn’t seem to enjoy being transformed. Why does he put up with Sleet’s insults? I kind of handwave it in that Dingo appreciates Sleet’s intelligence and ability to think beyond the current moment, but then that makes this a bit stupid, and also makes Sleet insulting him so much also stupid. Better to manipulate your muscle than build up resentment, or stuff like this will happen. And at the end of the day, he’s going to take Dingo back anyway, and nothing will change about their relationship, and…

I’m gonna stop and leave this to @shinymisty-blog to figure out.

Of course Dingo immediately drops the emerald and… it breaks. This actually makes no sense for an item of ultimate power unless Mobian rock is laced with a conflicting mineral that warps and contains the power of chaos into but we accept. The emerald kind of explodes in power, bathing Dingo in energy and recharging the van that Sonic’s trying to get started. Why not.

Cute little character moment – Manic drums in his sleep and snores in time. It’s kind of adorable, if very silly.

Aaaand we get the start of the Knuckles x Sonia romance. Knuckles is now on to blaming himself for not getting the emerald back, and Sonia comforts him. They’re then attacked by rogue chaos energy, and Knuckles has to save her from falling into a hole in the earth. And as everyone in the 90s knew, a person comforting a member of the opposite sex who’s getting down on themselves, AND then the first person getting saved by the second, can only lead to True Love. Et cetera. Sigh.

I’m not gonna lie, I strongly suspect this romance is a big part of what soured me to Sonia’s inconsistent love life when I was younger. It was so utterly unnecessary.

Also, Sonia can make herself into a spinning whirlwind. Are you honestly telling me she can’t - No. No, I’m not doing this. Just accept and move on.

So because chaos is breaking out all over, Sleet decides he needs to go crawling back to Robotnik, who is the only person who knows how to bring chaos under control. Another side-eye for the fic purposes.

Meanwhile, while the chaos energy is about to attack Port Mobius, Manic does something weird that doesn’t go particularly explained. He brings out his drums and plays them hard and loud until… the energy disperses? In the series, this is just one of the reminders that Manic’s power DOES actually equal his siblings’, it’s just entirely wrapped up in drums, but HOW it works is never mentioned or explained. He just… has that power over chaos, or something, I guess. He will not use it successfully again.

The song: Learn to overcome, which is some early Blink 182 like you can’t even guess. Like, M&Ms or Man Overboard type sound. Which is kind of funny because the music video is really trying to imply this is some hard punk rock sound and… ohh, honey, no. I love pop-punk and worship the godfathers of it like any good millennial, but it is NOT hardcore. And now I have Man Overboard in my head. It's just another, it's just another, it's just another night aloooone!

Also, just a weird side note that I wish I couldn’t notice, but whoever animated Sonia this episode really liked her boobs. Just saying. They are super noticeable for some reason.

So properly bolstered (or terrified, the expression leans more toward the latter) by the music, Knuckles suggests they go see Athair for advice. Anyone who has read the Archie comics knows this is going to be pointless without Tails.

But he gives them a cannister that can reform the emerald, and says they must make an alliance with Robotnik, which will somehow enable the cannister to work. It’s nonsensical, but it’s something that always had to happen in these cartoons, so we accept and deal.

The Sonic Underground refuses to make the alliance, but Knuckles decides to betray them and follow his grandfather’s advice…

Sonic Underground episode 29: New Echidna in Town

Aleena is on her nonsense again, talking about how sometimes it takes a whole world to learn a lesson, and that Mobius is now “learning the greatest lesson of all”. She does not tell us what this lesson is. I infer that it’s ‘chaos is dangerous’. And I mean… honestly, woman. We're about to have the Adventure games. STOP.

Robotnik informs Knuckles he’ll only make a deal with him if Knuckles brings him the Sonic Underground. Knuckles of course says no, but Robotnik is more than happy to call his bluff. “If I can’t defeat Sonic, I’d rather Mobius was destroyed.” Which I mean If Mobius isn’t the entire planet, that’s less insane and more evil than I think the writers intended. In series, Robotnik’s just insane as hell, which is appropriate because, y’know, back in the day all villains were all irrationally evil. Or Robotnik has gone crazy from chaos and anarchy beryl poisoning and

Anyway. Knuckles agrees, for the good of Mobius. Besides, Robotnik ‘promises’ not to robotocise the triplets. He’ll just keep them locked up. Honest. This is definitely not a lie that Knuckles will be horrified to discover later.

Meanwhile, the triplets are talking about what to do (Sonia wants to save Knuckles, Sonic wants to save the world, Manic points out they need Knuckles to save the world) and I do not know what Jaleel White was thinking, but Manic’s sing-song tone in this scene is so incredibly grating…

Knuckles comes back. And we have another moment of Sonia x Knuckles, and I mean… just… just look at this.

Sonia is magically attracted to men that are going to screw her over, I think is what we’re supposed to be getting from this. OR she’s just attracted to wet cats. One of the two.

And Manic plays wingman for his sister. We stan a supportive brother, even if we hate the relationship he’s batting for.

Anyway, so, Knuckles leads them into Robotnik’s trap and the triplets get captured in sticky stuff, and Robotnik immediately orders robotocisation. Five minutes, kids. FIVE. MINUTES.

So of course Knuckles turns on Robotnik and rescues the siblings. So the betrayal lasted all of two minutes. Conflict and resolved! -dusts hands-

Sleet and Dingo reunite, and Sleet transforms Dingo into a box to contain the broken emerald pieces. Naturally, this causes Dingo to mutate into a kaiju blob monster. I mean, obviously.

While Dingo goes on his rampage, Robotnik remains obsessed with capturing hedgehogs, until Sonic smooth-talks him into working with them to get back at Dingo. Like I said a few episodes ago, manipulation was once a thing Sonic was REALLY good at.

The song: The Mobius Song. Rocking tunes, brah. Like, totally tubular jams. For sure. That’s all I can get from this, and I don’t know why, because it’s actually kind of mod-rock, so I don’t know why my brain went there.

It distracts Dingo enough for Robotnik to catch him with sticky stuff, which is enough for Dingo to fall over and cough up the emeralds, which Knuckles catches, and… yeah, okay, let’s go with it. Enemies aligned, harmony was achieved, the day is saved. Hurrah.

So uh. Yeah. First, the counters, because it’s been a while:

Sonic implying less than 100% American heterosexuality: 5

Sonia in love with Bartleby: 4/37

Sonia in love with someone who is not Bartleby: 3/37

Sonia’s got super strength: 4

Manic’s thieving Is A Problem: 4

Then I have to process what kind of… narratively frustrates me, as world-builder, because we just have to accept the characters for what they are. But the… I think this is a problem Sega actually had, and still probably has, in that it doesn’t actually know what Chaos Energy does. It doesn’t know why Sonic (and Shadow and Silver) can use it to become a demi-god, or why it makes Angel Island float. It was only in the Adventure era that Sega solidified Chaos as emotions become form, and that’s part of why it quietly hasn’t ever acknowledged the Super Emeralds since, because they’re like… what? Super Emotions? Whatever. And what do emotions have to do with making stuff float, I mean... anyway. Anyway.

But that lack of clarity was really obvious in things like this, where Sonic doesn’t have power over chaos, so they take the safer route of chaos = bad, rather than the games’ line that you need to find control in chaos so that you can move forward with strength and resilience (GOD I LOVE THIS FRANCHISE).

And I actually think that could have been a really cool thing for Sonic Underground to explore, with its themes of resistance and harmony and not giving into the order of post-industrialisation and Taylorism and… and instead it just… chaos is bad, order is good, except when it’s not, don’t think about it too much, just look at the funky blue hedgehog and dance to the cheesy music woo.

But anyway. I am a problem and we know this. Dance to the music, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

[sevenrs]

*shines the OC rant laser on you*

i can't decide who to talk about so you get (at least) one fun fact about everyone. and most will be meta

brass lining: my first ever iterator oc. they were made over a year ago. they are my most "typical" (working to solve the great problem) iterator and though i don't develop much for them, they are important because i use them as a reference point for my other iterators

flight of the crows: their antenna are really hard for me to draw. why did i design them like that? because it looks cool. they are somehow both very emotionally intellegent and also unable to figure out how to handle other peoples emotions

chains by summer: originally, i based him off prometheus but now he more resembles achillies. i wouldve added more ancient greek influence to his design and atititude but greece nor a greece-like culture exist in rain world

three star songs: personally my favorite iterator color pallette that i made (i didnt make paradox). i consider her one of my more underrated iterators because i love her so damn much but i feel others are more interested in summer or paradox. NOTHING wrong with that by the way

paradox of creation: their lore was originally concieved because i am autistic about the immune system. now one of the greatest explorations of iterator anatomy and physiology ive done

salt wind blows: stole his name off of a username i saw somewhere. i dont really talk about her much but she's a secret favorite of mine

garden of bones: unrevealed because i want ita designer to post them first but their name comes from a song i thought was a sick iterator name for months

all the immunerators: each of them have at least one dot on their face, inspired by cell nucleus :)

equinox of winter: when i made them, i wanted to try drawing iterators different from what i usually do and in canon. very much will draw more bulky iterator ocs in the future!

call of the blade: she has three dots because she is based on a neutrophil. neutrophils have a three-lobed nucleus!

a perfect tragedy: it never moved in its can because the puppet is literally attached to the walls. its other structuremates cannot understand how it doesnt want to fidget

rising memory: vaguely inspired by the same origin as my sona! archivist from inscryption. help

bead from the branch: bead's body markings are based on a simplified drawing of antibodies, which b cells produce

blue lotus: already explained the origins but more flowers grow as it gets colder

arsonist: my first ever slugcat oc. her markingd were inspired by a black kite! if you know, you know

scholar: also vague inspiration from archivist inscryption... they have seen many iterators in their day and will keep meeting them too!

livewire: a vulture even smaller then a slugcat. three star songs made it after figuring out ghost was a bad messanger

the yoinky sploinky: two headed lizard i never did anything with and still has its placeholder name. based on the fact that reptiles are more often hatched with two heads then anything else

neuron slugpups: my friend blip was taking inspiration for designs to make. i said neuron flies. i later took home neuron pups for paradox

mixtape: bright blue coop pup i found. themed around an inspector

heart: an artificer sona :)

[yourfavehasajjbastandact2]

Can you take a shot at doing Sonic The Hedgehog plz?

Name: Speed Demon

Namesake: Speed Demon (song by Michael Jackson)

Stand Master: Sonic the Hedgehog

Stand appearance: A blue Mobian-esque figure (of course), Speed Demon's exterior is a bright sky blue with small little wings upon the back of its purple shoe-like feet. A large white helmet with a cobalt-tinted visor sits upon its face.

Abilities: Whilst speedy attacks are, as expected, Speed Demon's strong suit, its visor can shoot a laser up to 40 feet; if a targeted living being is hit, their speed is changed to whatever the user feels, whether it's making the target incredibly slow or uncontrollably quick. This literal change in pace only lasts 15 seconds, with the blast taking 20 seconds to recharge completely.

Stats: POWER: B SPEED: A+ RANGE: A DURABILITY: B PRECISION: A POTENTIAL: A

[winguontheweb]

What's your favorite musical reference in JoJo?

The first one that comes to mind is Killer Queen. Each of Killer Queen's abilities fit *so* well with the song names.

Killer Queen is, well, the stand of a serial killer, and is EXTREMELY good at killing. It kills via explosions which fits the original song's mentions of gunpowder, gelatine, dynamite but no laser beam

Sheer Heart Attack doesn't give literal heart attacks, but its sudden unending pursuit would certainly give any target a heart attack! And it's also the name of the album Killer Queen was originally on, too, which is a cool bonus! (although the actual SONG, "Sheer Heart Attack" appeared on one of their later albums)

And then obvs (Another One) Bites the Dust is one of Queen's most top selling songs and the lyrics I feel match up with its ability, "another one gone and another one gone" / "hey, I'm gonna get you too"

All three abilities are just named so perfectly in tandem with each other, and it feels like they were probably the most thought-out names Araki's ever done. If Kira was canonically a fan of Queen it even feels natural he'd come up with those names himself!

[nwdsc]

(▶︎ Muramuke | Muramuke (Barbara Panther & Matthew Herbert) | Accidental Recordsから)

Muramuke by Muramuke (Barbara Panther & Matthew Herbert)

マシュー・ハーバート

More than a decade-long musical partnership takes on a compelling new form as Barbara Panther and Matthew Herbert return to the studio and emerge anew as Muramuke. Guided by twilight revelations, shifting moon-lit textures, and the racing thoughts that deny sleep in the still of night, the duo’s new name is taken from the Rwandan term for goodnight. Their new self-titled album, metabolises the night and day terrors of real Black life into a post-colonial cry of rage that’s both contemporary and ancestral. The album was pieced together through back-and-forth exchanges between Barbara in Germany and Matthew in England during the height of 2020’s lockdown. Muramuke is lyrically defined by Barbara’s lived experiences as a Black woman displaced by the horrors of war, then unable to escape the poisonous global reach of white supremacist anti-Blackness, in all its literal and coded forms. Through the visceral catharsis of this album, Barbara is more commanding and multiplicious than ever; she stalks through each of the album’s phases with acid-tongued back talk, comely harmonic choruses, schoolyard chants and sharp monotone commands. It is the culmination of her lifelong love for vocal expression, laced together with a past which Barbara self-describes as “complicated”; from her first Belgian choir at age 4 as a recently-settled Rwandan refugee; to her pre-teen rebellion in a band named Cannabis Sativa, to her home since the early 2000s, Berlin, a place where within electronic music, she says, “I can disappear if I want to.” Maramuke marks the next aligned life cycle of two singular souls, and harnesses Matthew’s propensity for gathering and recontextualising organic sounds of mysterious origins. As one of most singular and prolific voices of visionary music experimentalism, and as the label head of Accidental Records, Muramuke finds him in new generative territory, forming shapes that are sharp-angled, sparse and brooding, or gleefully warped with whimsy, or towering overhead in full-throttle maximalism. The throbbing beat of “Never Been Your Business” finds Barbara spitting out admonishments close to the ear; “Don’t stay quiet now / this is a real riot now” she commands, part Grace Jones and part Poly Styrene, atop a classic Herbert beat with a swollen bassline and regimented drumming. “Just One More” rides on the tension of a soft-hard dynamic, pairing deep industrial scrapes with woodwind pulses and a momentary glimpse of sing-song intimacy in the hopeful line “One day we’re gonna be dancing skin to skin.” “Hate” charges out of the gate with laser pulses, urgent hand claps and deep sub bass, with a clear message as it slowly backs its persecutor into a corner “You have no authority / You have no authority / You have no authority / Stop sitting on me!” “B-side” regresses to the classroom, but one where the pendulum of power is finally swinging in another direction, and a chanting chorus of Barbara's promise, with increasing fervour, to burn it all to the ground and take us to the B-side. “Wagon” raises the spirits and the spectres of enslavement and spilt blood to find strength and fortification, accompanied by a stripped-back and digitally rendered version of East African rhythms, and departing with a final kiss off: “I don’t really care what you think about me / I’m nothing but a number…. You better watch your back.” The deeply personal nature of an album that explores the roots of heritage and personal histories is reflected in the specially commissioned cover art’s combination of sacred and mythical imagery by Indian contemporary visual artist, Rithika Pandey. クレジット2022年10月21日リリース Written & Produced by Barbara Panther and Matthew Herbert Mastered at The Exchange Words by Christine Kakaire Artwork by Rithika Pandey Animations by Gabriel Bryant @gabezz Special thanks to Aisha Nanor Martin

[dino--draws]

the natural state of my creative process when I have brainrot is to loop around to creating an apocalypse AU that I put way too much thought into. 

[okskz]

Chan’s Room. (pt.2)

Mia + Chan

chan invites mia back on his weekly vlives.

here’s for the anon who requested mia on chan’s room! hope you guys enjoy and please feel free to leave some feedback because it is always appreciated!

italics = english

[9th Member of Stray Kids]

“Today we have a special guest with us today. You guys have been mentioning this person for quite awhile now. And well I listened!” Chan chuckled to himself at the last part.

He looked over at Mia, smiling wide as he motioned for her to come over. She jumped into view right behind Chan and yelled out, “surprise!” wrapping her arms around Chan from behind after. “I’m back.” She laughed to herself before taking a seat right next to him.

“Yes, our lovely, Mia is back everyone.” Chan wrapped his arms around Mia’s head, bringing her in close as he began to ruffle her hair too. “Everyone has been wanting you to be in Chan’s room again.”

“How nice.” Mia giggled. “I think the last time I was here was your first year doing this?”

“Oh, so its been quite a while since you’ve been on here.”

“Yeah! Only because you failed to invite me back!” Mia turned to face the camera. “Everyone, Channie doesn’t want me on here.”

Chan let out a laugh. “Hey, untrue!” He smiled. “You just happen to always be busy, or sleeping.”

“I like to sleep.” She nodded.

Mia went closer towards the device to read some of the comments with Chan. It was a mixture of a lot of things, majority were just happy to see Mia back on Chan’s room. “Hi, everyone.” She giggled. “Mia we missed you. Oh! I missed you guys as well. Time to make this Mia’s Room.”

“Definitely not happening.”

“Shoutout to Texas, hi, Mia.” The girl gasped when reading the comment. “Texas! I miss Texas, hello to you guys!”

After a couple of more minutes of reading comments and talking to Chan, it was now time to start playing some music. And of course, Chan let Mia choose the first song to play. “You have a song in mind?” He questioned her. Mia quickly nodded her head, typing away on the keyboard to search for the song, picking Telepatía by Kali Uchis to play.

“This song has been one of my top songs I have been playing.” Mia smiled. “It has a good vibe to it. Especially when I’m listening to it while laying in bed.”

“This is a really good song, a recommendation for our Stays.”

Mia nodded her head as she smiled, Chan lowering the volume on the music.

***

“Who has been caring or looking over for you these days?” Chan questioned. They were now in the middle of conversation, taking a small break from the music.

Mia thought for a moment. “Well, all of you guys seem to always look after me in different situations, but Jisungie has been the main one.” She nodded. “Yeah, these days its been Jisung.”

“Every time he wants to go out to like the stores or to go eat, he always asks me first.”

“I’ve noticed that too.” Chan softly chuckled. “You two are always hanging out together.”

“Yes!” Mia smiled. “We always like to be with Flash. And for those who don’t know, Jisung and I have a pet guinea pig named Flash.”

“Such a cute little fella.”

“Very. I can’t believe we’ve had him for so long now. Who knew a little fur ball could bring me such joy.” She grinned.

“What made you get a guinea pig instead of a dog or something?”

Mia shrugged her shoulders. “I thought a dog in the dorms wouldn’t work out maybe, and it would be a huge responsibility. I mean a guinea pig is too but it seems a lot easier. Plus when I saw him I fell in love and needed to take him home with us.”

“He’s so tiny and cute.” Mia giggled.

Chan laughed a little as he stared at the comments. One in particular catching his eye. “Mia share a TMI.” He looked back at her, Mia raising a brow.

“TMI?” She questioned. She began to think of some things she could possibly share about herself.

“Although our Stay knows you, there’s still some things they may not know about you. You’re never one to share anything personal. Even I still learn new things about you.” Chan laughed at himself on the last sentence.

“Well I can share that I have known Minho way before debut.”

Chan snapped his finger. “Oh yeah, I remember you mentioning that. How was that? Where did you guys meet?”

Mia cleared her throat. “Storytime.” She wheezed. “Um, it was back when I had entered World of Dance Korea. Dancing has been something I’ve always been passionate about so when I saw they were wanting new dancers I decided to join. Minho had already been there before me. So I was a newbie basically.”

Chan nodded his head as he listened to Mia’s story. “Did you know the language at the time? Or were you learning Korean?”

“It was between I was learning and knowing? I guess you can say. But anyways, I remember Minho being in dance crew and I was just a soloist dancer so when it came time to perform I did a solo performance. And right when I walked off the stage, Minho approached me first and was like “wow! you really did amazing up there, are you new?””

Mia stopped letting out a small chuckle. “But then he realized I was a foreigner so began stuttering and was like “you” and then pointed at me saying “good.” With a thumbs up.” She laughed. “But he was relieved when I began speaking to him in Korean. So it all worked out in the end.”

“Did you guys see each other again after that?l

“Si, (yes).” Mia nodded. “We ended up going to the same dance studio so we saw each a lot often. He was kinda happy to see me again. And after that we became really good friends and well now we’re here. Crazy to think about really.”

“Yeah, who would of thought you guys would end up in the same group together.”

“Exactly.”

***

“We have a lot of fun stories of our predebut.”

Mia nodded her head at Chan. “Yeah, we did.”

Chan began laughing. “You and Changbin really disliked each other at the time. But not just you two, I feel like almost all of us got into arguments and such.”

Mia laughed hysterically at the thought. “Oh yeah, let me tell you about the time it was me, Changbin, Felix and Jisung.” Mia thought some more. “And Seungmin! We all went to an arcade and there was a laser tag section and the boys thought it was a good idea to put Changbin and I in one team and the rest were in their team.”

“I like where this is going.”

“Long story short I had tripped on something so obviously I fell and Changbin was right behind me-“

“Did he fall on top of you?”

“No. Even worse, Jisung was coming up to me and since I’m on the ground he thought it was a perfect opportunity to shoot at me but, Changbin literally grabbed my leg and dragged me away from Jisung. We were losing so Changbin didn’t want Jisung to get me.”

Chan let out a loud laugh, beginning to laugh hysterically. “Wait, wait. So he literally dragged you on the floor?”

“Yes!” Mia exclaimed, she started laughing when seeing Chan bounce in his seat and clapping. “He literally dragged me across that floor until we were in a hiding spot.”

“Did anyone see you two?”

“Oh my god yes. These group of people saw us and kept laughing.” Mia giggled. “And after, Jisung was telling the others and it was just a whole mess.” She shook her head. “We lost either way.”

Chan began laughing harder than usual at Mia’s predebut story, holding onto his stomach as he did so. “Remember that one time you fell off the bunk bed?”

Mia looked at Chan confused but burst into laughter once she remembered what he was talking about. “Oh yeah!” She exclaimed. “It was in the middle of the night and I had to use the bathroom but I was half asleep. So then I thought I was already at the bottom when in reality I was only halfway there so I jumped off and well... it wasn’t a pretty ending.”

The two began laughing out loud hysterically at the story. There was just too many stories to tell from their predebut. It was definitely all fun for the most part.

***

It was getting towards the end of Chan’s room when Chan was in the middle of playing one more song of Mia’s choice. The girl had chosen LMLY by Jackson Wang. “When I first heard this song, I instantly fell in love. It’s so catchy and good. Jackson really did a great job with it. I always love his music.”

“Very enjoyable to listen to, this song is great.” Chan nodded while lowering the volume on the music. He smiled as he looked at the comments, knowing what they wanted since he was going to end the live soon.

“Have you seen my rooms lately?” He questioned Mia

“Some, I saw last week’s with Jisungie and Changbin.”

“So you know what I do in the end?” He smiled while Mia nodded. “We have to give our Stays a hug.”

Mia began grinning as Chan talked. “Today you guys will be getting a hug not only from me but also from Mia.” He looked back at the girl. “First time hug from Mia!” Chan exclaimed. “You wanna do the honors and hug first?”

“Sure!” Mia stood up quickly going in to give a hug like Chan always does. She began giggling when she sat back down. “That was nice, hope you guys liked my hug.”

“A big hug from Mia and now a big hug from me.” Chan said, going in for a hug as well. He sat back down, “hope you guys enjoyed today’s live and getting to see Mia again, she will be back again, hopefully?”

“You know it!”

The two said their goodbyes before Chan ended the live completely. “Thank you for coming.” He looked back at Mia, seeing she was a bit spaced out. “Mia?”

“I just thought of something.”

“What is it?”

Mia couldn’t help but let out a small snort. “I basically put my whole boobs in front of everyone’s faces with that hug.”

[kuekyuuq]

Gloria, Jet-lags and Imps [6x11]

Let’s jump right in:

Kinda love how Kara lamp-shaded addressed the fact she didn't tell the gang about her adventures in the PZ. She’s not wrong, tho.

...what do I want to say about Mxy using what's basically a well-known gay-anthem to tell his tale? I mean, it didn’t lead anywhere. The original song is about freeing oneself, liberation, stepping out of a (gone bad) relationship and moving on, stronger for it - empowerment. The only connection I could make, is that originally it was Nyxly’s aim to just do that (freeing herself and her kind from an oppressor), but in the way Mxy performed it, that part of the parallel was long over before he even reached the chorus. It’s also a popular Karaoke song, tho, so... he chose it because it’s catchy? I’ll try not to overthink it for now. At least, the Superfriend’s reactions were fun.

Nia exiting the elevator, "And what's this Old Stone?" I love it when ppl enter a room / situation and pick up on words that they couldn't have possibly heard. I think cinema sins ding such... Are we to assume, she dreamed Mxy's rendition of ‘I will survive’? Or is the elevator not sound-proof at all? (If it’s the latter, Nia later apparently telling Brainy “in private” between scenes / during the elevator ride about her Nyxly adventures, was a silly thing to do.)

So, "Jared" created the ring Old Stone to rule them all, it got shattered into the Paragons totems? Nyxly needs the totems and to get them she needs a crystal which also belonged to "Jared" - who happens to be Mxy's ancestor, which is why she needs Mxy / his blood, too.

I have one important and incredibly relevant question here, tho... 

With the introduced imps and their names... Why’s dude named Jared of all things?!

Really, did I mishear that? If so, I’ll leave it as is and never edit, bc that would be hilarious in its own right 😋

...

Not sure what to make about Supergirl paraphrasing a Dirty Dancing quote.  "Nobody puts Mxy into a power crystal on my watch."  ...is he Baby now? (Seriously, though: Which of the writers thought that was a fitting quote to use in that particular context?)

...now, is the exposition section of the episode over yet?

Sensitive Brainy sensed something was up with Nia. He can relate... Nia doubting Kara would understand, too, is ridiculous. But I get it... insecurities and all. But, I mean, just 5 minutes later Kara announces she wants to save Nyxly despite her wrongdoings. And yet Nia still remains convinced, Kara wouldn’t forgive her own personal mini-me... After having witnessed Kara forgiving Lena for a whole season of the writers being stupid messing up to the nth degree. But I digress, Lena’s Lena.

...how old is Nia meant to be again? Just asking out of completely unrelated curiosity.

F*ck. They really went with NewFoundland...

Imma assume it was an executive choice after realizing they couldn’t find enough actors and actresses with a convincing Irish accent... maybe. Again, no offense to Newfoundland! Just... we got the insinuations of Ireland, not Newfoundland... And truthfully, when I think of magic, Ireland is an easy association. Whereas I only due to this whole debacle learned Newfoundland has Irish ancestry. So, okay, the show forced me to learn something new... I give ‘em that.

An easy journey, she said.

Lena's been off-screen for two whole episodes, Kara announcing at the beginning of ‘Dreamweaver’ [6x09] Lena being “back east” (at least insinuating Lena’s left the west-coast already), which span over at least one full day (feat. a scene at night), and ‘I still rise’ [6x10] at least another a whole day (the whole Nia’s mom back for a day deal). And, now, after at least 48 hours she barely just arrived.

Lemme check how long a regular plane would need to fly from California to NFL......... ... .. .. So... approx. 10 hours with at least one layover. 

Yeah, using a private jet made it easier, but apparently also much, much slower...

Or, Lena randomly went some other places / did some sight-seeing in NFL before she decided to finally visit her mother’s hometown...  [Either that or the timelines don’t match up and Lena’s scenes are flashbacks of sorts.]

Optimistic and relaxed Lena is a sight to behold. I rewound 3 times, just to enjoy it for as long as possible. We all knew it was going to be short-lived... 

Let’s check off a few more items...

OMG, Kara hiding behind Alex at the mere sight of the PZ-projector broke my heart!  😢

"Elisabeth Walsh" is the new 'the one you shall not name'. ...poor Lena. 😭

Oh, so Mxy wants to be Patrick Swayze instead of Baby... gotcha.

...is this going anywhere?

KITTY!!! Okay, this must be the best opponent in the history of CWSG. 

Despite the horrible CGI, SG using her heat-vision to project a laser-beam to distract the cat had me in (happy-) tears! 🤣

Gotta love the civilians of National City quickly returning to business as usual once the giant cat is gone. Even the police officers looked rather chill...

Nyxly did look fabulous this episode ^^ 

Andrea being Lena's rock is both great and annoying. I can't fault Andrea. It's just, that we still have to see an on-screen interaction between Lena and Kara and that bugs the heck out of me. I can’t help it. I’m sorry, Andrea.

Nia: "...is my fault." Kara: "Nu, is MY fault!" J'onn: "Stop fighting, kids!" Space-dad has spoken.

Mxy used an LuthorCorp copy machine... and of cos it's faulty. It's not an L-Corp product.

Kara forgiving Nia came as a surprise to her... Oooookay. I mean, the show has been writing Kara a bit inconsistently the past two seasons... so, yeah, maybe being unsure which of her traits apply this week was not such a far stretch...

Maybe it's the hair, but I wished, Florence was played by Alex Kingston.

So, not-Alex-Kingston shows Lena herself with a funny wig and tells her how her mother was still watching her...

If it wasn't for Katie's acting skills (I love her.) I would have already hit my head against the wall repeatedly. Something about these scenes had me constantly cringe and I made it through 5.5 seasons of this show already... Can’t quite put my finger on it, but it was highly distracting from the story that explained Lena’s mom was special even to another witch, where there was domestic abuse, and an accidental murder. Y’know, important stuff, deep-cutting stuff! 

At least, poor widddle Lena got some closure there. Elisabeth was a good cookie. And filled with magic. And Lena’s gotta have that ‘spark’, too... 

....so... Lena’s gonna stay in NFL for how much longer, to train becoming a witch?  Please, just hand her a how-to manual and send her back home, to figure it out on her own, please... (Yes, that would be horrible decision-making, but I need her back with the team!)

On to the finish line: 

So... Mxy IS Nyxly's brother? Wait, that doesn’t sound right... then Nyxly would have the same blood... Did I miss something? Can someone explain, please? Or is he her ex, and that’s where his rendition of “I will survive” makes sense?

Hnn... I can't help, but think Kara's speech for Nyxly was 85% based on her experiences with Lena in s05.

Awww... he said "stronger together"... Mxy... I hope, you'll be okay!

Lena believes in magic now. And I absolutely love how Lena wants to science magic XD

...but apparently magic isn’t science that hasn’t been explained yet, but parallel... powers? concepts? ether strings?

Nyxly has a loyal henchman now. Which was a bit heavy-handed. Took way too much of screen-time, so it better leads to something interesting.

And Kara is on a warpath now. Wooooot! Girl’s got enough.

...what else? 

Did I miss a third Patrick Swayze hint / quote / mention?  I learned, these things come in threes... Y’know, basic writing rules... 

I guess, for once the episode title was meant to be taken literally, Mxy popping up between characters, to try and help. (I need in-show footage, of Mxy sneaking up on ppl, without his powers, on all fours / crouched, just to get the desired effect.) I mean, I’ve never really watched Malcom, but wasn’t he like what Mxy usually is? A bit of a trouble-maker, prankster, chaos-ensuing wherever he goes? ...well, in that case, the episode title didn’t hold up, as Mxy’s scenes were not fun or really goofy. Yes, there was some superficial humor, but just to serve Mxy dealing with not being able to use his powers, which in turn was only barely scratched at (although it turned out to be his final character development crisis, appreciating not having powers and - in turn - facing consequences for once). Again, a whole lot going on in the episode, so a lot of that may have ended up on the cutting-room floor.

...where’s Kelly? Secretly adopting a kid, maybe?

...Kara’s still a reporter, right? I mean, whenever it serves the immediate plot, yes? ...Not even a throw-away line, that she has to pop up at CatCo for appearances sake? Since Andrea is already upset with her AND looking into her friends’ identities? At least, Kara should take a peek to make sure Andrea hasn’t uncovered anything yet... No?

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Kue out.

[stellar-lune]

*KOTLC incorrect quotes*

Anyways, a long list of incorrect KOTLC quotes, feel free to use these for anything if ya want!

-

Glimmer: Arson? Oh, you mean "crime brûlée".

-

Fitz: Oh, so when crows remember people who wronged them and hold grudges, its “intelligent” and “really cool”.

Fitz: But when I do it, I’m “petty” and “need to let it go”.

-

Keefe, holding up his class notes: And then this doodle of a burrito because when I first read Aristotle, I thought it was pronounced like “Chipotle”.

Marella, in shock: Wait a minute, is it “Chip-o-tottle”?

-

Sophie: I wasn't hurt that badly. Elwin said all my bleeding was internal, that's where the blood's supposed to be!

-

Police Officer: You have the right to remain silent.

Marella: I choose to waive that right!

Marella: *screaming*

-

Brant (whoops sorry bout this one): Do not come over to my house. If the house is on fire you may knock once, if I don’t answer assume I set the fire and I want to burn to death.

-

Sophie: I would never say that my best friend is a bitch and I don’t like her. That’s not true… Biana is a bitch and I like her very much!

-

Lex, Bex, Rex: If I can't cause tiny bits of chaos every day, I think my body will shut down.

-

Keefe on Tuesday: *glues a dime to the sidewalk* Heh heh heh.

Keefe on Wednesday: *walking down the street* Ooh hey! A dime!

-

Forkman, to the squad: And remember, if I get harsh with you it is only because you’re doing it all wrong.

-

Keefe, tearing up the room: Where are they?

Keefe, looking under a pillow: Who moved them? Who moved my children?

Keefe: Somebody moved my E.L. Fudges, and now I am going to run away again.

-

Tam: Your existence is confusing.

Keefe: How so?

Tam: Your presence is annoying, but the thought of anything bad happening to you upsets me.

-

Sophie: I have one foot in the grave but in a kind of fun flirty way, the way one might slip on a fishnet stocking.

-

Linh: I've never encountered a problem that can't be solved by an spontaneous musical number.

-

Dex: Dracula had it right, sleep all day, live alone in a castle, and explode into bats to get out of all social situations.

-

Sophie: Fuck capitalism. It's a rigged system that keeps us poor and it isn't fair. You shouldn't need to work three jobs to afford basic necessities.

Sophie, playing Monopoly: Sorry, if you wanted to win you should have tried not being poor.

-

Dex, to Stina: If karma doesn't hit you, I fucking will.

-

Sophie: My life isn't as glamourous as my wanted poster makes it look.

-

Dex: If I'm extra sarcastic with you it probably means I'm flirting with you or you really annoy me and I can't handle your crap... have fun figuring out which one, Wonderboy.

-

Marella: As someone who has a long history of not understanding anything, I feel confident in my ability to continue not knowing what is going on.

-

Fitz: I'm a firm believer in "if you're going to fail, you might as well fail spectacularly."

-

*out grocery shopping*

Linh: *takes a free sample twice*

Linh: Robbery and fraud. I am a Rebel (TM) .

-

Sophie: Sometimes I wonder if I’m hearing voices.

Sophie: Then I remember that’s the last bit of sanity I have trying to get me to fall asleep at a reasonable time.

-

Sophie: Does anyone know how to relax? Asking for a friend.

-

Demon: Hey, I took your soul last month and-

Tam: No returns.

Demon: *sobbing* But it's making me sad...

-

Dex: So, according to my university, it is, quote, “my responsibility if there is an internet outage to contact the faculty and the department.”

Dex: Now, if you’re a critical thinker like me, you might be wondering one thing.

Dex: HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO EMAIL THE DEPARTMENT?!?!?!

-

Tam: Hey, what’s the name of the other guy who lives with Tiergan?

Linh: His cats' names are Walter and Rose.

Tam: That's not what I asked.

Linh: That is all the information I have.

-

Keefe: Ro, remember when you said you weren’t going to interfere with my love life?

Ro: No, that doesn’t sound like me at all.

(alternatively, Alden)

-

Linh: Ayo, what the FUCK is this?!?

Tam, sitting down, surrounded by corpses: I won Mafia, that’s what.

-

Marella: I'd roast you, but my mom says you can't burn trash.

Marella: *slow-mo walks out of the room*

-

Biana: I'm gonna get my piolet's license. I've already got a driver's license and a cosmetology license, that's two of the big five licenses.

Fitz: The big five licenses?

Biana: Driver's license, cosmetology license, pilot's license, fishing license, and… license to kill! I can't wait to get that one.

-

Dex: You are irrationally angry 365 days a year.

Fitz: Well, that’s just your personal opinion, I don’t have anger issues. Biana, do you think I have anger issues?

Biana: Well, I wouldn’t really call it an issue. An issue is something you can fix.

-

Keefe: So how’s the food Sophie made?

Fitz: It's great! Compliments to her.

Keefe: *goes to the kitchen*

Keefe: You're adorable.

Sophie: *blushes*

-

Biana: And now for a gay update with Linh and Marella.

Marella: Getting gayer.

Biana: Thank you, Marella.

-

Sophie: Hey, do you know the password to Keefe’s computer?

Biana: I love you, Sophie.

Sophie: Aww, that’s so swe—

Biana: No, you misunderstood, the password is "iloveyouSophie".

Sophie: Oh, no numbers? Not very safe.

-

Fitz: Hey, Biana, are you free on Friday? Like around eight?

Biana: Yeah.

Fitz: And you, Tam?

Tam: Umm... yes?

Fitz: Great! Because I'm not. You two go out without me. Enjoy your date!

Biana: Did he just-

-

Sophie: Do you cook?

Biana: I made a cake once.

Fitz: Yeah, it was good.

Biana: Really?

Fitz: Don’t make me lie twice, Biana.

-

Dex: Nice rock.

Keefe: Thanks, Tam gave it to me.

Tam: I threw it at you!

Keefe: Isn’t he the sweetest?

-

Juline: I just had a long talk with the triplets about hitting and now they are yelling “it’s my turn to perpetuate the cycle of violence” before hitting each other.

-

Sophie: I made you all playlists!

Sophie: Tam, yours has only heavy metal and punk, and is dark like your soul.

Sophie: Keefe, yours has sad songs and blues to pair with your crippling depression.

Sophie: And Biana has the ABBA Gold album.

-

Fitz: A pessimist sees a dark tunnel.

Biana: An optimist sees light at the end of the tunnel.

Dex: A realist sees a freight train.

Tam: The train driver sees three idiots standing on train tracks.

-

Mr. Forkle: For self defense reasons, I'm going to pretend to be a burglar and you guys have to act wisely.

Biana, Keefe, & Sophie: Okay.

Mr. Forkle: If you don't want to die, give me all your money.

Biana: Bold of you to assume I have money.

Keefe: Bold of you to assume I don't want to die.

Sophie: Bold of you to assume I can die.

-

Sophie: My life is a little too much panic and not enough disco.

Keefe: My life is a little too much fall and not enough boy.

Dex: My life is a little too much chemical and not enough romance.

Marella: My life is a little too much imagination and not nearly enough dragons.

-

Biana: What’s it like being tall?

Marella: Is it nice?

Sophie: Can you reach comfortably for the cupboards?

Fitz: We live in constant fear of the short ones who, in my experience, will climb four chairs, two boxes, a small coffee table, and six oddly placed stools to get what they want.

-

Stina: You have friends and I envy that.

Marella: You're welcome to share my friends.

Stina: *looks at Dex and Sophie*

Stina: I don't want those.

-

Della: Tommorrow's garbage day.

Fitz: I can't believe you made a whole day dedicated to Alvar.

-

Linh: Bottling up negative emotions is bad for your health, so you shouldn't do it.

Tam: I know, that's why I bottle up all my emotions, both positive and negative, so it cancels out.

Linh: Th-that's not how that works-

-

Marella: Do you want to know your gay name?

Linh: My... my gay name?

Marella: Yeah, it's your first name-

Linh: Haha. Very funny Marella-

Marella: *gets down on one knee* And my last name.

Linh: Oh- oh my god.

-

Glimmer: You know you've made it when you see your picture everywhere you go.

The Black Swan: Those are wanted posters!

-

Biana: Are you mad?

Tam: No.

Biana: So sharpening your knives at 3 in the morning is just a hobby?

-

Keefe: Astrology is fun because i can pretend that all of my behaviors are just a result of being a Gemini and not symptoms of mental illness.

Biana: Being a Gemini is a mental illness. That’s not hate it’s just a fact.

-

Biana: *on the phone* Hey Fitz, do you know my blood type?

Fitz: Of course, it's A+.

Biana: Oh, I guessed wrong. Excuse me, nurse-!

-

Fitz, to Sophie: Are you ready to commit?

Sophie: Like, a crime or a relationship?

-

Literally Anyone: Hey, aren’t you Sophie Foster?

Sophie: You a Councillor?

Literally Anyone: No.

Sophie: Then yes, I am.

-

Sophie: I typed "bitch" into my GPS and guess what? I'm in your driveway.

Stina:

Sophie: Vroom vroom, come out already.

Stina: I’m gay—

Sophie: Not what I meant, but cool.

-

Keefe: Remember that time you dared me to lick a swingset?

Sophie: No, I said "Keefe, don't lick that swingset" and you said "Don't tell me what to do" and licked the swingset.

-

Mr. Forkle: I’m not so sure you’re stakeout material.

Sophie: I’m a chronic insomniac, I was born for this.

-

Juline: I only have two emotions: exhaustion and stress. And I’m somehow always feeling both simultaneously.

-

Marella: *gets set on fire and screams in agony*

Marella: Nah, I’m just kidding. Fire does nothing to me.

-

Biana: Maybe the true treasure was friendship all along. But I hope not, because I can’t spend friendship on new clothes

-

Dex: Do you want to play 20 Questions?

Fitz: Sure!

Fitz: Whats your favorite color?

Dex, laser fucking focused: Triangle. Do you like men?

[all-seeing-ifer]

Greek mythology references in Ulysses Dies at Dawn masterpost

I saw a post a while back by @spacetrashpile analysing all the arthurian references in High Noon Over Camelot, and since I know quite a bit about Greek mythology I figured “hey! I should do something like that for Ulysses Dies at Dawn!” I’m just going to go through each of the songs in order and analyse/explain the references in them - hopefully other people will find it interesting!

“The City”

Starting with the title - Ulysses is the Latin name of Odysseus, legendary king of Ithaca and hero of the epic poem The Odyssey. Interestingly, Ulysses is the only character in UDAD who is given a Latin name instead of a Greek one. There’s a couple of potential reasons for this but the most convincing to me is it’s meant to reflect Ulysses’ opposition to the Olympians, who are all based on the Greek gods.

Jonny calls the story a “labyrinthine task of a twisted tale”, referencing the Greek myth of the Minotaur, which was kept in a labyrinth to hide it from the world. This reference becomes even clearer when we later learn the City’s original name.

This one’s less a reference to Greek mythology and more to like, actual history, but the description of the City expanding to cover the whole planet is reminiscent of Greek expansion in ancient times. Ancient Greece was made up of many city-states, or poleis, which established colonies or “daughter-cities”, mostly in western Asia, or “Asia Minor” as the Greeks and Romans called it.

The story opens at a “run-down gin join” called Calypso’s - Calypso is a sea nymph who plays a fairly major role in The Odyssey, keeping Odysseus/Ulysses trapped on her island for seven years.

Fittingly enough, Calypso’s apparently pays money to Dionysus, whose mythological namesake is the Greek god of wine.

Broken Horses

Ilium is the Ancient Greek name for Troy, the city that Greece went to war against, according to myth,. Part of this war is described in the epic poem The Iliad, in which Odysseus is one of the soldiers laying siege to Troy.

Much like the Trojan War of Greek myth, the siege of Ilium is said to have lasted a decade.

Ulysses’ gambit with the horse statue sending out a signal driving the people of Ilium mad is pretty obviously a reference to the Trojan Horse - the wooden horse the Greeks built as a “peace offering” to the Trojans that they used to sneak their soldiers into the City and that brought them victory in the war. Like in the UDAD version, Odysseus/Ulysses was apparently responsible for coming up with this plan.

“Olympians”

Ulysses’ wife is named Penelope, same as Odysseus’ wife in the myths

The Acheron is the name of one of the five rivers of Hades, along with Styx, Cocytus, Lethe, and Phlegethon

As a sidenote, in Greek mythology Hades is the name of the underworld as well as the name of the God of the dead - fittingly enough reimagined in UDAD as the controller of a vast network of half-dead minds (and also Ashes)

The most powerful families in the City are called the Olympians - the name given to the twelve most important deities in the Greek pantheon

Poseidon Industries is named for Poseidon, Greek god of the sea and one of the twelve Olympians. Jonny calls them “one of the architects of the Ilium War”, which seems like an odd reference since iirc Poseidon doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the Trojan War. I guess that’s just there to give Ulysses a reason to want to rob Poseidon Industries.

In the Odyssey, Poseidon hates Odysseus/Ulysses for attacking his son, a cyclops called Polyphemus. In UDAD this is changed to Ulysses stealing the diamond from Poseidon Industries’ laser, which is also called The Cyclops.

My Name is No One

The song’s title and chorus is a reference to Odysseus’ famous trick for escaping the Polyphemus’ cave. He tells the Polyphemus his name is “no one/nobody” (depending on the translation) so that when he attacks Polyphemus and the cyclops tries to call for help, he calls out “No one is attacking me” which obviously none of the other cyclopes take seriously. (There’s also a great pun in the original Greek based on the Greek words for “no one” and “cunning” being very similar, but it loses a lot in translation)

However, just like in UDAD, Odysseus messes up this plan badly by calling out his real name when he’s still too close to the island of the cyclops. (although in the Odyssey it’s motivated by him wanting Polyphemus to know his name so he can get glory, rather than just being drunk)

Odysseus bests the cyclops by taking out his eye (there’s debate around it but cyclopes are generally depicted as having only one eye). Obviously in UDAD the cyclops is a machine not a monster, so this is replaced with the diamond at the heart of the laser being called its “eye”.

Also, I’m not sure if this is an intentional reference, but there is a fun irony to the fact that in the Odyssey, Odysseus tricks Polyphemus by getting him drunk so he can then blind him, while in UDAD Ulysses steals the eye of the Cyclops while drunk themself.

“Trial By Wits”

As well as My Name is No One, the whole concept of no one knowing anything about Ulysses’ appearance, gender etc. could also be seen as a reference to the “My name is nobody” trick, or possibly just a spin on Odysseus being a kind of “archetypal hero” - they could be anyone!

Heracles is better known by his Latin name, Hercules (son of Zeus, demigod, inhumanly strong and all that jazz)!

Ariadne is the name of the Cretan princess who helped Theseus slay the minotaur

Orpheus is another of the most well-known Greek mythological figures - the main myth surrounding him says he went into the underworld to rescue his dead wife Eurydice

Oedipus is most famous as the main character of a famous tragedy. His parents are given a prophecy that he would kill his father and have sex with his mother, and so decided to abandon him. As is so often the case with Greek oracles, he ended up doing both things anyway, seeing as how he, y’know, didn’t know who his parents were. The mechs apparently chose to reference this in the most mature of ways by having Jonny call Oedipus a motherfucker. Kind of a lot.

Aside from committing both patricide and incest, Oedipus’ other achievements in myth included winning a battle of wits against the Sphinx, a monster that was killing anyone who couldn’t solve its riddle. This monster is reimagined in UDAD as a disease that Oedipus finds a cure for.

Riddle of the Sphinx

The chorus of the song is taken almost word-for-word from the riddle asked of Oedipus by the Sphinx: “What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?” The answer to the riddle is “man” - crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and walks with a cane (third leg) in old age. The Mechs being the Mechs, this is made completely literal in the world of UDAD.

“Ulysses’ Will”

Like the Oedipus of myth, UDAD Oedipus also ends up killing his father and marrying his mother without knowing. Since he’s replaced his eyes with data sockets by the time he helps kidnap Ulysses, it’s pretty strongly implied that he blinded himself like mythological Oedipus as well.

The “twenty years of sirens” could be a reference to the twenty years Odysseus spends away from Ithaca in the Iliad and Odyssey

Sirens

The sirens were half-bird half-human creatures that Odysseus encountered as part of the Odyssey and that tried to lure him to his death with promises of knowledge.

As well as referencing this story, the line “let the lotus set you free” references another episode of the Odyssey, where Odysseus and his crew arrive on the island of the Lotus-Eaters. Anyone who eats the Lotus fruits falls into a state of apathy and will never want to leave the island, so it’s a fitting episode to reference in a song about Ulysses drugging themself to escape their memories of war.

“Trial By Strength”

Heracles’ backstory is essentially the same in UDAD as in the original myths: one of the many children of Zeus’ many affairs, except in UDAD Zeus has affairs with women from “the lower levels”, instead of just mortal women.

Favoured Son

The tasks Heracles performs for Zeus are a reference to the most famous myth about Heracles - the twelve labours he performs to atone for killing his family.

The song references “the ferryman” who takes people into the Underworld. In Greek mythology the dead travel to the Underworld in a boat rowed by the ferryman Charon.

In both the myth and in UDAD there are...what you might you might call “extenuating circumstances” for Heracles killing his family - in the myth he’s driven mad by Zeus’ wife Hera (bc she’s very angy about Zeus having all those bastard children with mortal women) but since Hera doesn’t play a role in UDAD this is changed to him being framed by Zeus himself.

In addition to being king of the gods, Zeus is also the god of thunder - which is where Heracles’ nickname “The Thunderbolt of Zeus” comes from

“Loose Threads”

Heracles and Orpheus “Backing up Jason on the fleece job” is a reference to the myth of Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece along with his crew (the Argonauts), which included Heracles and Orpheus.

Hylas was Heracles’ servant and another member of the Argonauts. While on the quest he was kidnapped by nymphs, and depending on which version of the myth you’re looking at, either fell in love with them and stayed there forever, or was murdered by them (Hylas is also the only character referenced I had to google to even know who they were lol)

Heracles telling Ariadne that “Your dad helped me out once” is presumably a reference to the seventh labour of Heracles: capturing the Cretan bull. Now the story of the Cretan bull is actually really long and ties into a bunch of other myths but essentially it was sent to Ariadne’s father, King Minos, as proof that he was the rightful ruler of Crete. However, Minos ended up helping Heracles by letting him take the bull with him to prove that he’d successfully caught it (which seeing as the bull was destroying Crete at that point doesn’t seem like a huge favour on Minos’ part, but ok)

Trial By Song

UDAD Orpheus shares the mythical Orpheus’ main defining trait: his skill at singing that he used to help him on his journey to the underworld.

Trial By Song is a lot more metaphorical than all the others so there’s not that many direct references to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in the lyrics - probably the most direct one is “But all the landmarks moved as I walked past/Now I can’t look back”, which references Orpheus’ deal with Hades that he can take Eurydice back to the world of the living as long as he doesn’t look back at her.

“The viper town that bled me dry” could also be a reference to Eurydice’s death from a snake bite.

“Hades”

UDAD Orpheus’ motivation is the same as mythical Orpheus - wanting to bring back their dead lover from Hades.

Ulysses, Heracles, and Orpheus all visiting the “underworld” is taken directly from mythology (although unlike in UDAD, Ulysses/Odysseus never actually speaks to Hades).

Underworld Blues

In Heracles’ confrontation with Hades, he says that “I was sent here your dog to seize/Of my tasks, of my tasks/This was to be the last”. There’s a couple of points here - the mythology reference is to the last of the twelve labours of Hercules: capturing Hades’ guard dog Cerberus. However, I do wonder whether this is meant to be literal (in which case guys, why are we not talking about the fact that Ashes obtained a pet dog while in The City?), or if this is a similar case to all the mentions of ‘horses’ in High Noon Over Camelot actually being about motorbikes.

Orpheus singing to Hades and trying to convince them to release Eurydice is also taken directly from Greek myth, except instead of being moved by Orpheus’ song and agreeing to release his love like in the myth, Ashes just tells him he’s poor for a bit and then says he should go commit some crimes.

“Trial By Love”:

The general concept of Ariadne’s backstory - her helping Theseus fight the minotaur only for him to abandon her - is the same basic idea as the myth of Ariadne and Theseus. Although UDAD Ariadne is at least a bit more fortunate in the sense that she wasn’t truly in love with her Theseus, and he also doesn’t straight up leave her on a deserted island.

Ariadne’s family creating the minotaur is also part of her character in the myth. The difference is that in UDAD the minotaur was created intentionally, while the mythological minotaur was the result of Poseidon making Ariadne’s mother fall in love with the Cretan Bull as punishment for King Minos not sacrificing it to him (I said the Cretan Bull story tied into a bunch of other myths!)

The presence of the minotaur in the City is yet another thing that makes even more sense when we learn about the City originally being called Labyrinth!

Ties That Bind

Ariadne’s family name is Minos, same as the name of her mythical father King Minos.

Ariadne describes her family’s actions as casting a “dark horned shadow” over her, which references the typical depiction of the minotaur as a man with a bull’s head and horns.

In the myth of the Minotaur, Ariadne helps Theseus by giving him a ball of string that he then unwinds as he walks through the Labyrinth, letting him find his way out again. In UDAD this is changed to “strings of code”, that shut down the minotaurs programming. (And if you think that pun’s bad, just wait until we get to Torn Suits!)

The song’s title also brings to mind string or thread, so it can be seen as a subtler reference to Ariadne’s gift to Theseus. Same for Ariadne’s line about “heartstrings long since cut”.

“The Daidala”

Daedalus, the leader of the Suits, shares a name with the mythical craftsman and father of Icarus

He is rumoured to “trade as an Olympian under the name Hephaestus” - a fitting alias as Hephaestus was the god of craftsmen and artisans like Daedalus

The rumour that he killed his son for “getting too ambitious” references the myth of Icarus, who famously died after literally flying too close to the sun using wings held together with wax. The heat of the sun caused the wax to melt and Icarus to fall into the sea. The story is often interpreted as a warning about the dangers of ambition.

Interestingly, it could also reference another myth surrounding Daedalus - one in which Daedalus kills his nephew Talos because he was jealous of his achievements.

Daedalus is also apparently the architect of The City, which was originally known as Labyrinth. This once again references the labyrinth which held the minotaur, and which Minos forced Daedalus to design. Considering the labyrinth’s purpose in myth, it seems like an appropriate name for a city that keeps all its inhabitants trapped with no way out.

Presumably the Daidala in the title refers to the City: Daedalus’ finest creation. In Homeric Greek, daidala is a word that refers to finely crafted objects such as armour.

This track also has another reference to the Orpheus and Eurydice myth when Orpehus offers to sacrifice himself to open the vault - “But he can’t see it through can he? Flinches, looks back. And it doesn’t work.”

Torn Suits

This song is notable for having quite possibly the worst pun in Mechanisms history - “Ulysses pulls out their snub-nosed laser and fires the last shot, splitting the beam across twelve axes”. This references one of the climactic scenes of the Odyssey, where Ulysses/Odysseus wins an archery competition against his wife’s suitors by shooting an arrow through twelve axe heads. (get it, axes as in the weapons becomes axes as in the plural of axis do you get it?????)

Another, marginally less bad pun is Heracles getting “the lion’s share” of the beams, referencing the popular image of Heracles wearing the skin of a lion he killed as one of his labours.

“Sunrise”

The code to Ulysses’ vault: Elysium, is another word for the Elysian Fields. In certain Greek religions, this was an afterlife separate from Hades’ world where heroes and those chosen by the gods would go after they died.

Ulysses’ vault is revealed to contain the “sole surviving oak tree”, under which Penelope is buried. While it’s not as direct a reference as some of the others, this is pretty clearly inspired by the way Odysseus proves his true identity to Penelope at the end of the Odyssey - by telling her that he carved their bed from a tree still rooted to the ground, something only the two of them know.

The track ends with an homage to Homer’s use of similes in the Odyssey: “And as the weary hound, once more at its master’s feet after so long, lays down with the sunlight warming its fur, breathing its last – even so did the eyes of Ulysses close forever.” Not only is this stylistically identical to Homer’s similes, it also doubles as a reference to Odysseus’ dog Argos, who waited for him for twenty years and finally died when he saw Odysseus again.

Elysian Fields

This is possibly a bit of a stretch but the image of Ulysses lying beneath the last tree, next to where Penelope is buried, especially with how they say they’re “with my beloved” and “beside my wife” really brings to mind the scene in the Odyssey where Odysseus and Penelope lie in their tree-bed together for the first time since Odysseus’ return. Which, incidentally, is theorised by some to be the “real” final scene of the Odyssey and everything after that was added on later, but that’s another story.

That’s everything I’ve picked up on but it’s possible there’s more I’ve missed so let me know if there’s any more! I’d like to thank the Mechs for giving me an opportunity to put my useless and extremely niche knowledge to good use!

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: The Top 10 EDs of 2021 According To YOU!

  Welcome back! We previously reviewed the Top 10 OPs of 2021 according to YOU and now, of course, we have to give EDs their due. Lacking the glamor and fanfare of OPs, EDs are an underappreciated but vital part of our ecosystem, integral to easing us out of those intense episodes and providing an emotional throughline for our favorite series.

  The usual disclaimer, the list below is the Top 10 EDs featured on the Crunchyroll Collection YouTube Channel by views at 30 days so as not to give an unfair advantage to EDs posted earlier in the year. Here's our Top 10 according to YOU!

  10. Dr. STONE - “Voice?” by Hatena

    Dr. STONE does it again with a smooth ending song by Hatena accompanied by some truly inspired visuals depicting Senku rejecting monke and returning to modernity. After getting its OP in the Number 8 spot, the only surprise here is that "Voice?" isn’t even higher on the list. This ending collected 220k views in 30 days! 

  9. Tokyo Revengers - “Tokyo Wonder” by Nakimushi

    After Tokyo Revenger’s hit OP "Cry Baby," it only makes sense to have their second ED performed by an artist whose name can be translated to “Cry Baby,” right? The lonely vibes of the first ED transitioned into the more intense "Tokyo Wonder" in the second cour as the conflict between Tokyo’s gangs heated up thanks to some brilliant composition by the mysterious artist known only as Nakimushi! "Tokyo Wonder" hit 230k views in 30 days!

  8. So I’m a Spider, So What? - “Genjitsu Totsugeki Hierarchy” by Aoi Yuki

    Never has a single voice actress so completely put an entire anime on her back as Aoi Yuki did for So I’m a Spider, So What?, elevating the source material with a demanding solo performance that forced her to literally talk to herself for the entire first cour of the series. If that wasn’t enough, Aoi Yuki also performed both excellent EDs with the second showing Kumoko’s musical chops to evolve into the metal genre, collecting 275k views in 30 days!

  7. JUJUTSU KAISEN - “Give it Back” by Cö Shu Nie

    Although lacking the bombastic color and style of the original JUJUTSU KAISEN ED, "Give it Back" may be more true to the spirit of the series with its insight into the connection Yuji forms with the other students of Jujutsu tech told through the medium of videos and pictures taken on their phones. It might not be the same earworm but will only grow more relevant as the story develops. "Give it Back" just passed Kumoko’s metal debut with 280k views in its first 30 days!

  6. Tokyo Revengers - “Koko de Iki o Shite” by eill

    A common thread in battle anime seems to be showing the perspective of the female characters through the typically slower melodies of the ED themes. eill’s jazzy tune perfectly accompanies an interestingly structured theme looking at Hinata’s connection with Takemichi in past, present, and the wide berth between the 12-hour jump between the two halves of Tokyo Revenger’s tale. eill’s excellent performance hit 290k views in 30 days!

  5. So I’m a Spider, So What? - “Do Your Best! Kumoko’s Theme” by Aoi Yuki

    If you told me Aoi Yuki would deliver two of the best ED performances of 2021 I don’t know if I would be extremely surprised, but the fact that they were not only from the same anime AND diegetic performances made by her character’s tragically game-and-anime-plagued brain takes the cake. Aoi Yuki kills it with a Japanese pop and enka fusion that hit 300k views in 30 days!

  4. Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- - “Believe In You” by Nonoc

    Nonoc absolutely killed it with Re:ZERO Season 2’s first ED in "Memento" and returned for another banger in "Believe In You" with a laser focus on Emelia during her backstory reveal and most important arc yet. Not even sure what more can be said about Re:ZERO, just an absolute sterling production right down to the musical partnerships. "Believe In You" collected 365k views in its first 30 days!

  3. BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS - “Answers” by mol-74

    It’s hard to watch this ED and feel like it wasn’t directly inspired by Into the Spider-Verse and I’m here for it. BORUTO has been banging on all cylinders with its ED work the past few years with unique visuals, director-focused pieces, and varied aesthetics and "Answers" is a worthy addition to this growing legacy. mol-74 has been a growing name in the anime music scene and delivers a smooth melody to accompany its casual mood. "Answers" hit a nice 420k views in its first 30 days.

  2. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S - “Maid With Dragons” by Super Chorogons

    Bless Dragon Maid and bless KyoAni. The voice cast of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid makes their return to perform yet another banger ED featuring tiny renditions of your and my favorite dragons showing off their dance moves. They even made a real-life version with the voice cast in their character cosplay! "Maid With Dragons" hit 850k views in 30 days!

  1. Black Clover - “BEAUTIFUL” by TREASURE

    It hasn’t been the best year, but 2021 indisputably belongs to Black Clover. After becoming the most popular anime in 2020, Black Clover capped off the first part of the Spade Kingdom arc with some of its best episodes to date and a flawless streak of 13 perfect OPs and THEN they announced a movie. With Snow Man’s "Grandeur" taking the top OP spot for the year, it shouldn’t be any surprise Korean boy band’s "TREASURE" grabbed the Number 1 spot with the ending. Black Clover came to a close with 1.2M views in 30 days!

  Which was YOUR favorite ED? Tell us in the comments and come back tomorrow for the most underrated OPs and EDs of 2021!

      Peter Fobian is an Associate Producer at Crunchyroll, writer for Anime Academy and Anime in America, and an editor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Peter Fobian

[badlydrawnmanic]

you’ve all wanted it, and i’m not ready to go to sleep yet, so here’s the latest installment of the sonic underground rewatch!

episode 6 thoughts under the cut!

• unrelated to the episode but there was some lego ninjago commercial that showed like. non-lego versions of the main characters and it looked nice. don’t know if it was for a show or the website idk i wasn’t paying attention • [GUITAR RIFF] SONIC- • i will literally never get tired of the opening theme and you can’t change my mind, i would die for a remaster of this. it doesn’t even have to be a cover. gimme a live performance and i will cry • “tangled webs”. spider concerns already • ooh, swatbot factory. interesting • manic just slid down a little rocky hill on his ass and that’s gotta hurt • sonia stop shining that laser pointer in manic’s eyes you’re gonna kill him • “switch six, switch six...” reminded me of the fun fact that your brain can only identify numbers up to a maximum of 4 or 5 at a glance, i forget which. but like... notice how if you only look at something very briefly you wouldn’t be able to immediately know “oh there’s 27 objects there” but you can very quickly identify 1-4 • sonia stop hitting manic with the drone what is wrong with you • some of these background characters are passable and some of them are hideous, there’s no in-between

• oh it’s the lion boy!! his voice is weird but it’s him!! • god dingo’s face is all kinds of fucked up in this close up as he’s talking • why is robotnik’s cape flowing so far behind him when he’s walking at a somewhat slow pace • i find it funny when eggman’s henchmen mock him when he’s not around, but i didn’t expect sleet to do that • “intruder .8 kilograms? what?? • how does it weigh a drone that is hovering in mid-air • somehow dingo identifies the drone as being piloted by sonia despite it being a hunk of metal with cameras on it • dingo being or looking like in the case of my headcanon a grown man and slobbering over sonia is kinda freaky (it’s partially why i made the hc so it’s less yikes but it’s still uncomfortable and i’m definitely gonna tone it down because fuck) • sleet don’t hit him!! • sonia is clearly frustrated during her conversation with manic (he’s being reckless as fuck) but the animators decided to give her a dead eyed smile for the whole scene • i wonder how they made the mechanical sounds? like the electronic shweeshweeshwee of the robots walking or the whoosh of doors opening? foley stuff is fascinating to me and i wanna know if they had to do any weird shit

• sleet is monologuing about how he hears the pitter patter of manic’s little feet and oh my god his eyes • how is dingo sneaking up behind manic he’s so fucking huge and noisy • sleet says “sylvia” before whacking the drone out of the air with what looks like an entire swatbot he just sort of picked up? i don’t get the reference and since when is he so strong • okay in the next shot it’s just an arm but still • “sometimes you just have to get their attention”? • cool transition between scenes with the camera glitching and shutting down from the perspective of the drone, that’s neat • dingo picks up sonia but wasn’t he just behind manic? once again the pacing is confusing me • “oh, ick” me too sonia • manic and sonia are tied up and were but in gigantic chairs and it looks so funny • “now, sarah” okay i get the “sylvia” thing now, sleet’s just forgetting sonia’s name somehow • sonia says “twit-face” and i feel like she could be more clever than that • “whatever, sophia” • “where’s sonic!?” [NYOOM] • sonic’s voice sounds... really weird, is that what jaleel white sounds like when he isn’t trying to sound all nasally and shit? also he burps and it’s gross • god the movement in this scene is very janky in general • sonia starts lecturing sonic but gets interrupted by a laser blast and manic pipes in like “can we talk about this later?” • sonia strong • is sonic just spilling lava everywhere??? • you’d think there’d be more sounds here • “am i good or what?” feels like it was pulled from satam? • “you’re insufferable” “thank you” • sonia’s voice is so shrill jesus christ • i feel like this is a pretty good confrontation of how sonic not working as a team with the other two can cause pretty significant problems • sonia i don’t think robotnik would throw you in prison, that’s what the roboticizer is for and i don’t think he’d keep y’all separate from that • cyrus does a weird double take and i think it’s an animation error • this cyrus kid is pretty sus- who is this hippie dude- • CYRUS SUS CYRUS SUS • there was deadass just a normal animal bird with some kind of accessory on its neck as a background character • damn it cyrus • SONG TIME??? • apparently no • once again manic and sonia are tied up which lasts 2 seconds • aosth slow-mo beam, purple flavor • what are these background characters they’re so ugly • OH NO I REMEMBER WHAT SANCTUARY IS NOW • children... i’d love to see the tiny babes but they’re undoubtedly ugly as fuck • ROBOTNIK WANTS TO MURDER CHILDREN • one of the kids looks like reptar • SONG TIME NOW • why is this so. idk, whimsical? idk how to describe this but i already don’t like it • they forgot to draw manic’s head quills in a shot • why is cyrus looking so pissed at these children • sounds like a weird off brand christmas song. don’t like it very much but i guess it isn’t bad. maybe a 2/10 • sdnjksg assaulting your siblings with a cloud of flour sounds fun if not wasteful but still, manic seems to be enjoying his little tech demo • sonia says “this place is gross” and manic goes “hey, you’re talking about my childhood home” and i think it’s a good thing that the show didn’t just forget where they all came from and how this can create very minor conflict between them? like manic and sonia seem to slight each other rather frequently when it comes to sonia’s attitude towards dirty places and manic finding it comfortable there due to familiarity even if it wasn’t all that good. i can relate to that • sonic walks off the right side of the screen after refusing some goggles then. pops up and puts on the shades again? i don’t get it • oh my god sonic knocks cyrus (and manic by extension) over and they literally just. rotate the asset in place and leave them planking. there wasn’t a water splash or change of pose or anything • how does sonic zoom past a swat bot looking directly at him without triggering any alarms? why didn’t it notice him • why are there so many regretful traitors on this show • how does sonic not notice the clearly a hologram man in front of him • god the animation in this episode in general is abyssmal • ah jeez manic and sonia have been captured again • “attention sonic hedgehog” • OH NO CYRUS’ DAD but the expression he made in response to seeing him roboticized killed it

• i know he didn’t snort here but i can feel the little “snrk” sound here. it was at this moment he knew he fucked up • PULL THE LEVER, SLEET • that little drone thing is fucking insane, it melted the entire roboticizer?? • i much prefer when background characters resemble actual animals • aww hug • poor cyrus :( • GOD SONIC AND SONIA SIT DOWN TO COMFORT HIM BUT MANIC LAYS DOWN ALL DRAMATIC JUST SMILING, READ THE ROOM BUD-