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thesnazzysharky · 1 month

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Waffling about/reviewing the notes in SJSM because I think they're cool. 1/2

Okay. So at first I just wanted to review the randomly generated notes that you can find in the story and endless modes. Mainly because those notes are more character focused while the notes that are already set to a specific room are more about adding lore and world building. But fuck it. I can make this work.

I'll be splitting this into two parts. Part 1 will be about the scripted notes and Part 2 will be about the randomly generated notes. They both will be reviewed and scored somewhat similarly. Mostly reviewing them based on how they add to the game or world building, potential creep or comedy factor, or how entertaining they are to read. Part 2 will just be more focused on how overall character is represented through the writing. Anyways, here we go. Starting with Part 1. Part 2 will be posted later.

Gel's Note

Spouting, Splashing, Soaking. Innards, Ingest, Invoking. Nailing, Never, Stops the Choking

This is the first scripted note that you encounter and I say it leaves a good impression! By this point in the game, you probably read through some of the notes from Romantic Victim before reading this one. So first time players will most likely expect this to be another note from them, only to be confused and weirded out by this cryptic note written in red letters (perhaps blood in this case). This makes Gel's sudden appearance behind the player so memorable and out of left field. Not only does the note catch you off guard by making you think this is just another note from Romantic Victim, but Gel himself catches the played off guard by appearing behind the player right after they're done reading the note. The cutesy and fun vibe to the mansion has now been completely stripped away and you get a memorable scene with that. As for the note itself, there's some interesting things about it. Firstly, it's implied to be written by Gel himself, which is pretty cool since he's one of the very few specimens that does this. There's also each first letter in the sentences spelling out the word SIN. But more importantly, it adds a bit to Gel as a character by making him come across as sympathetic.

It implies he was human at some point, but then something fucked up happened to him. Thrashing about in the strange substance, trying to ingest it so it could stop clogging his throat, invoking for help, and digging his nails in his throat. Yet, it was all futile, as he became a monster and is now forever choking. Never being able to breath normally or live a normal life.

Definitely a fucked up note to read once you understand it and your imagination goes wild.

Simple but sweet! 5/5

Generic Lab Assistant's Notes

Subject 5 is growing more and more restless. I told Spook we need more funds for sedatives, but she just laughed and flew into the ceiling. Without more chemicals to keep these things docile, I'm not sure how much longer we can keep them here safely. - Generic Lab Assistant

It's the goat. The myth. The absolute fucking legend that is Generic Lab Assistant. Lets all give a round of applause for the most character of all time. That magnificent bastard aside though, I like these notes. They give some good world building and intrigue by introducing GL Labs and how Spooky apparently runs it. This isn't just some haunted mansion. It's a place where murder monsters are tested on innocent people for reasons currently unknown to the player.

There's also that enjoyable Kira humor here with Spooky laughing and fucking off somewhere else when asked for help and the fact that the person writing the note is literally called Generic Lab Assistant (which became even funnier to me once I learned what the GL in GL Labs stands for).

Also...

I believe subject 5 is loose. The glass around its container is shattered, and I can faintly hear clicking coming from the ceiling. I don't know what will happen now. If it is out and alive then this is probably my last report. The clicking is getting louder now. - Generic Lab Assistant

This note is a good one. It highly raises the stakes as the player most likely knows what will happen once they put the note down. It also establishes that this will be the gameplay loop throughout our journey. Go through some rooms, go into a special area, read some background info that builds up to the specimen that will soon chase you, get chased by said specimen. It's great. RIP in peace to our homie Generic Lab Assisant. He was a true one. 5/5

Matsuri's Classmates Notes

Matsuri never came to class today, I hope she made it home ok.

Could it really be true? I thought the fairy tales about the ghost that eats children who sneak in after class was just to keep us from disobeying. But Matsuri is still missing.

These two notes are very brief, but they do their job well. Specimen 4 is more cryptic in terms of what the hell her whole deal is, so it makes sense that the notes about her aren't about what her origins are, but rather about how she's this boogeyman that adults tell children about so they aren't late for class. Except in this case, the boogeyman is clearly real. To me, Specimen 4 is the first truly creepy and disturbing enemy you encounter in the game. Specimen 2 will give you a scare, but he's easy to become desensitized to due to his slow speed, his kinda generic design, and the fact there's not much background info on him to make the player truly fear him (there is his note, but you most likely won't understand what it even means on your first playthrough). Specimen 3 will also freak you out a bit, especially if you have a fear of bugs and insects, but that's the thing, they're just some giant bug that's hungry. Of course you'll be scared of them because most people wouldn't be fond of being chased by a giant spiderpede, but there's not much else to them other than that. Specimen 4 changes everything by introducing a familiar, but unsettling environment that nobody would want to be in, having notes that are written from the perspective of individuals that are just as clueless as you are when it comes to what this "thing" is other than that it eats children and has presumably already taken a victim, and being a disturbing creature overall due to Matsuri's classmates expressing concern over the disappearance of their friend which makes you take the situation more seriously and feel sympathy for Matsuri. Really doesn't help that simply reading the line "ghost that eats children" tells you that she did not go out in a peaceful and pretty way and neither will you. 5/5

Cult Member's Notes

The darkness is slowly consuming us now. I don't think our rituals will appease it much longer. How were we supposed to know this would happen?

These notes cryptically talk how the "darkness" is slowly consuming these past cult members and how "mother" is pissed at them for sacrificing a girl who wasn't a virgin.

What I like about these notes is how cryptic they are. Not in a sense that not much information is given to you like Specimen 4 for example, but rather how some things are left up to interpretation. What is the darkness? Who is mother? Most people tend to assume that Bab is the "darkness" or "mother" that these cult members were worshipping. So when she got pissed at them for sacrificing an impure girl, she killed them. Technically speaking we don't actually know if this is the case though. Bab could be the demon they were worshipping, but she could have also been a byproduct of the impure girl being sacrificed, either being what she became after that sacrifice (like I assumed at first) or maybe it's just one of the many creatures that the darkness spawned to kill the cult members.

We don't even fully know if the darkness or mother are connected in someway either. Everything surrounding Bab seems intentionally up in the air. Whether that be with who she even is or what's going on with her environment like with the womb room. It's all very neat and feels fitting for a Silent Hill reference. 5/5

Ben's Notes

One day, a strange merchant came to town. He sold handmade puppets and trinkets and all the children loved his store and his gifts. But the town couldn't support his store because the other shops were failing. The other shopkeepers became jealous. So one night some of the townspeople took all his puppets and threw them in the river.

The notes that you find in Ben's area are really cool in that they are written entirely in third person. Being written out as an old story or legend (that's especially reinforced with the tribal sounding music in the background) rather than someone's firsthand account.

A narrative that tells us exactly what happened to Ben; who now that I think about it, probably has the most straightforward and easy to understand background out of all the specimens in the base game. That doesn't make him or these notes not interesting though. Far from it.

The story makes it very easy to sympathize with Ben here, as there really was no real reason for him to suffer the fate that he did. The guy wanted to make cool stuff for children and yet he died because he wanted to save his puppets after they were thrown into a river by some jealous assholes. He was just some chill dude. Well, until you get to this part at least.

Years later the children of the town began to go missing. And as more and more children disappeared, people began to find more and more puppets in the forest and around the river. These puppets seemed almost to look like the missing children sometimes.

Now the once normal merchant has become a soon to be threat to you. It's very well done and it's fun to see some let's player have those similar reactions of "damn, that's mean" to "damn, they were chill with him drowning?" to "they were satisfied!?". All culminating to that last and unsettling note that gives them a reason to fear the creature they will soon face. 5/5

The Hunter's Notes

For a while I thought I had really escaped this place. But despite the 'trees' and flora, I think this is actually just another room. I did, however find deer, so I might at least get to eat. They make some strange sounds though…

For the first time, these sets of notes are written by someone who was just another victim that wanted to explore the mansion; someone referred to as the hunter. Also, for the first time, I'm kinda "eh..." about these notes.

The hunter explains that despite appearance, this outdoors area is just another specimen room. They also talk about how the deer make some strange noises and aren't as they seem; later getting attacked by one and managing to board them up. Hoping they can find another way out and uh...

I think they might have caught a very minor case of being dead while trying to do that. That might just be me though.

Now when it comes to these notes, I do like how the first one subtly warns the player that the deer are a bit weird but doesn't exactly tell them what they will do. Which makes the deer sprinting at you with their sharp teeth and lifeless eyes a good jumpscare (especially in OG Spooky's. Jesus those things are nightmare fuel). I also like how you can find the hunter's bones in one of the cabins (although I wish they had a unique skeleton model of their own). But aside from that? These don't do much for me.

I don't know if this is a hot take or not, but does anyone else think that the buildup to Specimen 8 could've been done better? Obviously Deer Lord is an awesome specimen with a wonderful chase theme and a visually awesome ability where he goes through walls; but his area and the buildup to him feels too tame.

The forest, violent deer, and axe are cool, but the notes don't really say anything about him or anything else of note. Then you get to this big room with a creepy record player and some runes on the walls (which I never realized were there until now) which seems cool, but nothing is really done with it.

I feel like more should have been done with Deer Lord's area and there should've been more notes that build up to him better... or mention him at all. Maybe instead of the hunter dying in a cabin, they could have broken out due to desperation for food and water. Leading them to getting attacked by the deer and to the area with the runes on the walls; this can be where they encounter Deer Lord. Maybe have the last note mention them hearing a demonic voice or something before it ends there. Just kinda disappointing. 2/5

Notes by another Generic Lab Assistant

This old place is somehow even worse than the new GL Labs. Although it seems to have been constructed with a much larger budget than the new lab, nothing works quite right. I can see why it was abandoned so quickly. I wonder if there really is anything here worth salvaging.

Some notes by yet another Generic Lab Assistant... but they're all blue, transparent, and futuristic now!

That cool detail aside, here's a few things of note. These notes establish that there isn't just one GL Labs and that this is an older one despite the more futuristic theme to it. Possibly implying that there are multiple GL Labs that we have yet to see.

One of the notes also mention how the equipment here seems specifically designed for people without hands. My first thought was Spooky since she doesn't have "real" hands in a technical sense, but it could also be referring to the old Specimen 10. Considering it was a passive pet to the employees.

We also get more of Spooky being the most shitty and negligent boss ever. Literally sent a bunch of her employees to a place that had a clearly dangerous monster inside of it. Classic Spook lol.

So there's some nice world building stuff here! Though of course, we also have that eerie factor to these notes that are enjoyable as well.

Reading about there being weird noises in the air ducts and the machinery and power being faulty really makes you feel unsafe being there. Especially considering that not one single soundtrack or ambience plays while your in Specimen 10's area. It's just completely silent. Which makes things so much more uncomfortable and eerie.

Then you read this line.

I don't know what to do. I can't think well, I feel strange. I'm hiding from that thing. I feel like something is growing on my skin. I can't seem to tear it off fast enough, and I'm losing a lot of blood…

Again, like some of the specimens before, you read something that raises the stakes and establishes the threat.

But to spice things up a bit, for the first time, you are actually given a hint on how to deal with the specimen and boy is it a chilling one. The blood on the floor and the note flickering on and off is unnerving. And the fact that it's telling you that you have to stay close to it, in a game where you have always tried to run away as fast as possible, does a good job at confusing and stressing out the player right before they turn the generator on.

Not much else to say other than it's all very good buildup to a very good specimen. 5/5

Fast Food Worker's Notes

1. I was anxious getting a job here at first, but it seems like things are getting better. This chain is really expanding, which is a shock, because just last week I heard this company was going broke. Everyday more and more people show up to eat here. Something still sets me off about this place and its food though, so I'm going to try and not eat anything from here.

Specimen 11's area has the most lengthy notes we have seen yet and it's because of these notes that the Beef Demon is one of my favorite specimens! From the notes that we have seen previously, they usually follow this: some person that's stuck in a shitty situation or is about to be in an even worse situation soon enough. With the exception of the notes found in Ben's area since they're told as a story or legend.

These notes are interesting in that they are more gradual and take their time to get to the horror. It starts off as just someone new to the job noting how the restaurant chain is suddenly booming in business despite the company being on the brink of bankruptcy a week ago. Aside from that and the worker mentioning that they'll try not to eat any food there, nothing seems too suspicious so far.

The next note then informs us that something strange is going on with the customers. The orders are rising in numbers, but not the people. One customer is noted to use the drive through a total of three times. Ordering a bunch of food every 10 minutes. It becomes more odd when we move onto the next note and it tells us that lunch breaks aren't allowed there and neither is outside food. Apparently a customer who tried to do that got screamed at.

It's clear there's something wrong with the food. So it becomes all the more concerning when the writer states that they ate one of the burgers there and had a strange dream soon after.

4. This is strange… I had a dream last night about this restaurant. I know I was here, but I also felt like I was in another place at the same time. Everything looked so.. wrong. Nothing was the right size, and I kept hearing these strange animal noises, almost like wailing. I guess I just feel guilty for eating that burger the other day. Also today I saw that man again. The one who kept ordering every 10 minutes. This time he never even left the parking lot. He just got his meal, parked, and then got back in line. He must have done it at least 8 times before he left.

So these "burgers" make people overly obsessive with them, cause strange dreams, and make them shove other people's heads on a grill... wait... what the fuck?

5. There was a horrible 'accident' today. At least that's what the managers are calling it… One of the other employees brought in some outside food, and got into a fight with a manager about it. The employee said that the burgers here smell like sulfur. I then watched the manager grab the kid's neck and shove his head onto the grill. The employee got up and ran out before anyone could do anything, and I'm told that he is fine, but that really shook me today.

Well shit. That was unexpected and fucked up. So it's also making the managers unreasonably aggressive as well. We still don't know what exactly is in that "beef" however.

6. I'm leaving. I fell asleep in my car today, after eating one of those burgers. I remembered brief flashes of a man or animal coming towards me and feeling like some huge, lumbering thing was wailing from deep underground as I continued eating. When I woke up I was fine, but had veered off the road. I don't know if it's some weird allergic reaction to a preservative they use or something much worse, but this is my last day.

Unfortunately we don't get an answer to that question. The last note just tells that the writer saw "a man or animal" in a dream and that they heard wailing noises again like in their last dream. Except this time it was apparently from deep underground. And it just... ends there. The worker states that this is their last day working there, but we don't know what happened to them after that. Maybe they made it out. Maybe they didn't. I really like these ones as they're subtle. They don't tell you too much, but they don't tell you too little either. Something paranormal is going on with the "beef" but the notes don't tell us exactly why. It isn't until the literal demon shows up is when you're able to connect the dots. The burgers making people act unnatural or aggressive, the hallucinations and dreams, and the company suddenly booming when it was about to go bankrupt. Classic demon worshipping in a horror game. Except it's pretty cool and well executed here. Very wonderful and eerie notes. Especially with the man ordering every 10 minutes. Unsettling to read about a human... not acting human. 5/5

Marine Biologist's Notes

Research Report 1 More whales are being shipped to the facility tomorrow, one for a health inspection and two that are already dead for autopsies. More and more beached whales keep appearing around those islands and I still can't find what is causing it.

Let's skip the notes in Specimen 12 and save them for part 2 for now. You'll see why later (although you probably already know tbf). Anyways these notes introduce a interesting mystery. What's going on with the whales? Apparently they're beaching at an abnormal rate and there are bite marks being found inside their stomachs. At first it's all chalked up to it being a parasite, but then you come across this...

Research Report 5 The research facility is now in dire need of more engineers. We have a whole block that is flooded, and some vital staff are missing.

And this...

Excerpt 4132 And then I watched carelessly as the sea rose above the sky casting waving shadows over the world. I saw the silhouettes of creatures both familiar and forgotten. And suddenly I found myself falling upwards towards an ocean of darkness.

And this...

Research Report 6 I hear a girl. Or an animal. Or something… Singing to me, pleading that I come outside my locked room and let the sweeping waves comfort me.

And you start to realize there's more to it than that... Similar to the notes from the fast food worker, these neither tell you too much or too little. It's subtle in its horror and the creature it's talking about and it works very well like last time. Don't know what else to say without repeating myself. It's just good buildup to the Siren and it makes her an intriguing threat. I will say this though. This particular note is perfectly ominous and goes hard as hell.

Research Report 7 All the staff is gone. Only I remain. For no purpose, I remain here, resisting the call from behind the sealed door. But I will remain… As long as I can. Don't open that door.

5/5

Howard's Note

This was such a surprise. That there would be another entry. Another actual entry. One I could admire. But then as suddenly as it came, it left. And now you disband. Your influence and inspiration will never leave me.

A confusing read on your first playthrough. A funny (or possibly depressing) read once you realize it's Kira being upsetti spaghetti about PT not being turned into a full game. Neat reference but that's all it has going for it. 3/5

Dr. Hamada, Tochigi, Kanagawa, and Nurse Tanaka's Notes

Dr. Hamada Oncologist The patient has displayed increased depression after being informed of their terminal disease. I prescribed an antidepressant to regulate this but was later told that I had cancelled the prescription. I have no memory of cancelling the meds nor can I find any evidence that my orders were tampered with.

Karamari Hospital has a much more serious, darker, and mysterious atmosphere to it and these notes reflect that.

The mystery is set and pulls the player in when they read about Dr. Hamada cancelling the prescription for an antidepressant, despite them having no memory of doing so. This mystery is kept basically throughout the entirety of the notes and overall DLC until the very end. So throughout most of the DLC, you keep on guessing on what happened here with the doctors while not getting a whole lot of answers.

It's very well executed though and these notes have a handful of disturbing content within them as you find and read them. From a patient screaming and being terrified after being given hallucinogenics, to a whole entire liver sitting on Tochigi's desk, to Kanagawa describing how they woke to a patient they unknowingly murdered as he bled out on the floor, to Tanaka twisting the body of a cat and later dosing their head with radiation.

Despite never really showing it, Spooky's was always a gory and brutal game when you really thought about how each of the specimen's would kill you, but this shit is just next level.

It all ends perfectly once you finish the last note covered in blood from Tanaka and face the thing responsible for possessing all these people and forcing them to do these sadistic acts. Ghost Cow. Really well written stuff. 5/5

The Many Notes Inside the Dollhouse.

Congratulations GL Labs associate! You have been volunteered for our proud parent program. You have been given a doll, and your duty is to train the soul entrapped within. To confine it to the doll you must keep it in good 'Spirits' and give it attention. Many of the beta candidates were children when they died and will likely attach themselves to you without problems, but there may be times when punishment or extraction of spirit energy is necessary. The energy can feel quite replenishing, but please refrain from abuse as it negatively affects the ghost. In the event of husk rejection or injury, GL labs is not responsible under any circumstance.

With the Dollhouse DLC wrapping up the story of SJSM, it only makes sense that it has the most notes by far. These notes are incredibly interesting as their purpose isn't to foreshadow or hype up some major creature, but rather give us deeper insight into what GL Labs truly is and what they have done in the past.

Now, we already knew just how shady and cruel GL Labs was previously, I mean, I guess that goes for any company that resides in a mansion made specifically for murder. But we never saw it so upfront before. Nor did we see how negligent and indifferent they are. Summoning the spirits of children, stripping them of their afterlife, and forcing them into at first simple containers and later dolls. The most depressing case of this being Woormy Charles. Despite him wanting a bigger vessel, they kept forcing him into a small one, summoning him over and over again instead of just letting him go; then locking him in a containment room to rub salt in the wound.

We also get to see how incompetent and downright stupid the workers for GL Labs were. Trying to summon a spirit to entertain the dolls (instead of just... entertaining them by themselves or hiring someone to do it?), only to get some creepy ass clown voiced by Tomar. Performing rituals and inflicting pressure on the dolls, dehumanizing them in the process, and then acting surprised when the brilliant idea goes south, leading to one of the workers gouging their eyes out to be safe from the Hooked Doll... which I doubt ended well for them. One worker even mentions they're happy to be transferred to the GL Labs closer to the surface since they were fearing for their life everyday while they were in the Dollhouse. So clearly the whole facility was in need of being shut down not just because of the inhumane doll projects and rituals but also because the workers weren't even fully safe there. That really tells you how desperate a certain someone was though, doesn't it?

Spooky's Father Notes

I'm so sorry my little angel. I've tried hating the man that took you from us, but in the end the only person I can hate is myself. You always liked to scare people, especially when they didn't understand something. I was confounded no one understood your costume but I guess people don't read Poe anymore, even with the new Price film. That man clearly overreacted to your fireworks, but we can only blame a PTSD sufferer so much.

Well, talk about how the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The notes written by Spooky's father and everything going on with GL Labs truly shows how broken and tragic he is.

We knew how Spooky died to a soldier suffering from PTSD in the base game thanks to the easter egg arcade, but the Karamari DLC expanded on that by showing us how one of Spooky's parents felt about the matter. Which makes it all the more heart-wrenching.

If you get the bad ending in Karamari, we also get some interesting info about how Spooky's father was trying to bring Spooky back, which seemed to have worked, though judging by how sadistic and apathetic Spooky is, something must have went wrong.

I hate myself for what I am doing, but I can't wait any longer. Your mother puts on a brave face but I know she wants this too. I'm making fair progress in bringing you back, but it seems to only work for a moment even with larger thresholds. Today I think I found the answer. A second device is needed to bind the spirit to the earth after it has been brought back. I know this sounds macabre but I will turn it off and let you return to heaven after your mother and I get to see you again.

Dollhouse expands on him by telling us that he was indeed the main one behind GL Labs and that he approved of the doll project.

A doll is a timeless thing. In the shape of a human but created perfect. Immortal and unmoving. Yet hollow, devoid of soul. A fitting symbol and possibly usable device for our goals here. Soon I will have you back, my dear. But first I must make sure it won't constrict you.

Now with everything I said about GL Labs and how unethical they were, you would think that it would be a good reflection on Spooky's father himself. An apathetic and generally awful person. Well, it's more complex than that. He was behind a lot of the awful stuff going on in GL Labs, but none of it was out of any malice or evil. He really just wanted his daughter back through any means necessary. He hated himself for what he was doing and knew that his wife, shortly before her death, disapproved of bringing Spooky back. By that point though, he felt like he had gone too far to suddenly stop now.

So much desperation and will to go to extreme lengths, just because, as we later find out in a pretty damn good plot twist, he was the PTSD sufferer who killed Spooky and he wanted to be forgiven by his own daughter. Which really makes the line "I've tried hating the man that took you from us, but in the end the only person I can hate is myself." hit harder.

I always wanted to tell you. How that night really ended. But I couldn't. Because you were gone. I need your forgiveness. That's why I wanted you back at any cost. But in the end I robbed you of both life and unlife. Please go on, and be with Monica. I'm sorry.

He framed a homeless guy for a murder he accidentally caused, founded a company that performed unethical experiments, and in the end after his death, his daughter would go on to kill thousands. He really was the main cause behind everything that happened. Yet, you can't really hate the guy, not fully at least. He never was evil nor did he want to be. Even in his desperate madness, he still had a good chunk of his humanity within him. The doll project was unethical, but he still tried to encourage treating the spirits inside the dolls with care, with the scientists taking care of the dolls being referred to as a "proud parent" or presumably approving the party room to entertain them (even if it didn't work out). He could have went against his wife's wishes and tried to bring her back, yet he allowed her to rest, despite missing her everyday, showing how loving and devoted he is. And judging from his dialogue when interacting with his corpse, he realized how fucked up everything he has done was, but by that point it was too late, considering Spooky never moved on to be with Monica.

Always loved morally gray characters and Spooky's father is a great and tragic one. The Dollhouse notes and Spooky's father will both be getting a six, not five, six out of five. Absolutely goated. 6/5

Not Done Just Yet

Well, this part is done at least. Part 2 will be coming out... whenever I finish it lol. But it shouldn't take too long; and once it's finished, I'll state my closing thoughts about all the notes I reviewed. But for now, I'll see you whenever part 2 comes out! Have a snazzy day.

#shojs #sjsm #spookys house of jumpscares #spooky's house of jumpscares #spookys jumpscare mansion #spooky's jumpscare mansion #discussion

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mdr-reikas · 1 year

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I feel like when I watch videos explaining what's currently going on in Boruto, you can kind of tell that their trying to separate Boruto from Naruto; the plot focusses on weird aliens a lot more, the older characters are slowly starting to get killed off, and all that fun stuff. Generally, I'm a fan of when the next story an author writes tries to stand on its own two feet, and tries to be its own thing.

There's own issue (specifically with Boruto) though: what other reasons does anybody have to watch it? Boruto is inherently not a separate work (as in opposition to Fullmetal alchemist and Gin no Saji; the latter doesn't rely on the former for setting and story, and can therefore stand on its own), since it plays in the same village, and the main character is the son of the prequel's main character.

Boruto is inherently a sequel, and will always be one. Trying to stand on its own and be its own separate story is not only stupid, but impossible; Boruto will always be Naruto's son. There's no point in trying to separate the stories by adding new weird villains, because Boruto is inseparable from Naruto in the first place.

This is how Boruto generally fails its writing. It's obvious that Boruto is a cashgrab, and only exists to milk more money out of its predecessor. But then why do the writers try to make it anything but the spin-off of Naruto, which it objectively is? No one cares about what happens to Boruto most of the time, the only time I ever hear something related to Boruto is when people think that a Naruto character (ex. Sasuke, Sakura etc.) Died.

It's even funnier when you consider that there basically isn't any target audience for Boruto anymore. Most Sasuke fans are largely disappointed to see what happened with Sasuke, Sasuke/Sakura Shippers are also disappointed because Sasuke is an absent father, and the same goes for Naruhina. Meaning, they completely failed they're target audience, which should've been shippers (since a lot of shippers would love seeing their couple together at the end).

Instead, Boruto should've been a slice of life, not a one shot, but maybe like five volumes max. You could've gone into the relationships that formed over time, show how Naruto made Konoha a better place when he became Hokage (which they don't do in Boruto for some fucking reason), and how the main characters children would interact. There's no need to start this whole bullshit all over again, Boruto shouldn't have been a goddamn Shounen.

#anti boruto #anti naruto ending #anti kishimoto #ahhhh this just made me angry rn for some reason #i hope this whole thing makes sense #naruto #my posts

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akashicpoint · 10 months

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Alright, just finished with Ghenry's new video on Henry Cooldown (Go watch it /watch?v=AJHDivrRIl8 its good!) and I just wanted to slap some of my thoughts down because A. I haven't spoken on here in ages :' ) and b. I also didn't talk in the discussion about Henry in the discords when I should've :^) I'm literally just gonna ramble about my thoughts, so I'm going to put it under a read-more

While Henry was a last-minute character in the og, I do still actually believe that his goal would've been the same as Sylvia's was in the original ending. I never got to discuss this, but no more heroes assassins' fights reflect one another. Almost like an above-so-below type deal as Travis is pushed deeper into the cycle of violence. The climax of that reflection is of course the post-fight cutscene in rank 6 where Travis finally realizes what it means to be an assassin. So where would Henry fall into that reflection? While he is in rank 5 of course, I would like to focus on his actual post-game battle, as he is supposed to reflect the fight with Helter Skelter in the opening cutscene. Besides the obvious similarities in color schemes between the two, I'd also like to mention the line Travis says about Helter: "And there he was: this cat, well-dressed, cool. Couldn't tell if he was the shit, or just plain old shit." This could be applied to both Helter and Henry (both h names too wow amazing) in their styles and presumed attitudes. Here we see that Henry is "the shit" to Helter "plain old shit". Instead of Travis getting the upper hand and winning against Helter, we see the script flip to now have Henry killing Travis (In my opinion). Of course, we see how the game is now series-wise, but when the game was JUST going to be nmh1 I feel Travis was meant to die.

Also small side note, I like that Travis is on the same side of the screen when he both beheads Helter and is about to have the final slash with Henry.

Really gives the vibe that Henry is now in the position Travis was during their final blows. OF COURSE, this is just my opinion on that.

This is a very loose look at my reflection as above so below shit of course, when I get the time I'll refine that a bit more. NMH2 I have nothing to say because NMH2 had nothing to say or add to what little character he had at that point, but I do find it funny more people believe NMH3 is where Henry's character was assassinated and NOT 2. I feel that nmh2 really just put most characters on the backburner if they weren't Travis and to a lesser extent Sylvia. Henry definitely was put in there just because he was a fan fav and went "okay I guess?" Also yes, Henry doesn't have any character in nmh1 and 2 besides what HE tells us about him and we just have to assume that is his character and what we can infer about him based on how he acts or for me how he dresses. That's not a bad thing, and its improved upon by TSA and NMH3. NMH3 is great btw. Love what they did to Henry, still has the same goal as NMH1 but now a darker more fucked up version of him doing it and some added weight to it.

[this is him btw] I personally love that he became this way due to Marvel because yea that seems right for Marvel fans and also I'm reminded of the end cutscene in Moonlight Syndrome of Ryo fully losing his mind while looking at Mikas....something on the TV! (There's a lot more nuance to the change too but I can't make this SUPER long) I feel there are a lot of moonlight elements in NMH so I enjoy that. Also, his voice change doesn't bother me, and it's even funnier that no one comments on it.

While I'm not too on board with the hell theme personally (still enjoy it though). Love the idea of Henry being the devil LMAO. I always saw the phone calls Travis receives from Henry and Sylvia as another aspect of the as above so below point, so it's fun to see this brought into it. Side note, I assume Henry knows about Travis already due to having some hand in Sylvia's scheme/not scheme. It's definitely him on that answering machine. Of course! I could be wrong. Regardless, while I don't think Travis is in hell per se, I will say that the NMH series gives me a lot of Truman Show vibes with how it presents itself. Profiting off Travis's descent into violence. While Sylvia I feel wasn't a god in the first one, she's definitely become one as the series went on. It also wouldn't be the first time Suda has worked with god-like figures (Moonlight Syndrome) and could even relate her as a sorta Mithra-like figure. Of course, that's more of a shaky look at that theory. I still enjoy it though!

Hopefully (if youre reading this pls :^) ) Ghenry will do a more in-depth look at Sylvia in the future and how she's evolved as a character in the series! I have my thoughts on her, but I love hearing how others see her and her involvement in the series. I didn't talk about EVERYTHING and didn't go as in-depth as I wanted to because...I didn't want this to be any longer, but in the future I will try and talk more on my thoughts! (Or send me asks if you want ;) ) Also side note side note: Thank you Ghenry for including the best shirt from nmh1 in the video MIAMI BASS BABY LETS FUCKING GO.

#Nmh #nmh ramble #I'm sorry i rambled for five years #also I love henry please let me marry him suda please #Dom.txt #if you read through this...thank you :' )#also yes I did do that edit you see in this post...

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distortedmoondisc · 1 year

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hiiai for the ask game thing 🥺👉👈

Hi!! Thank you so much for asking for my otp vi 🥹💖💖💖

So! I hope I don't get too rambly with it ahdhfj

1. What made you ship it?: oh boy, the first and second chapters of the !! Main Story made me become so obsessed with them it wasn't even normal. I went into ensemble stars without any idea or notion about the franchise or the writing beforehand and I was absolutely confused with the way the characters talked to each other (the enstars writing is definitely an acquired taste imo lmao). So you must imagine how insane I felt when I, who wasn't used to male characters having such blatant, shameless and obviously deliberately flirty/romantic/shippy intended dialogue with each other such as.... This:

This was!!!! On their first meeting!!! They have known each other for less than 5 minutes and Aira has already fondled Hiiro's bicep!!!! Are these two normal??? (If you've been into enstars long enough you'll know that the answer is !!! No !!!)

And what's funnier is that after Aira does the (rub, rub), the next dialogue is literally this:

so like.... Akira (writer of all of the !! Main story) here had to force a switch on the conversation so these two could focus again on the topic they were discussing before (about whether or not they're underachievers and about Ensemble Square) from that fondling muscles scene. This means Akira didn't have any need to write that scene between these two, it wasn't necessary for the plot. The madlad just added that scene in there out of nowhere. Just for the funsies. For a silly little laugh. Because there's nothing more fun than making your OCs flirt with each other this shamelessly in your own story. He really gets the assignment.

Listing a few honorable mentions for hiiai interactions from the first and second episodes of the !! MS that made me imprint on them so hard that they became my biggest otp since july of last year and has taken hold of my heart ever since 🫶

Hiiro fawning over Aira's beautiful name 🥺🥺🥺

Hiiro here was really like yeah you're my soulmate, my soulmate bestie (no but seriously do you ever think about how hiiro became so attached to aira so quickly and wanted to become his friend so bad, and how he also saw their meeting as fate....)

He is so dramatic, he didn't even get directly rejected here

This is a personal favorite. I can't stress how mentally ill I was when I read Hiiro saying "I'll do my best to destroy the future where you'll feel sad" DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF???? this should be added to the "is this Russian literature or enstars" online quiz

If you are observant enough you'll see that Hiiro is the one shamelessly flirting all the time AHDJF but Aira himself (mostly in later chapters) also says some questionable stuff about Hiiro in some parts that makes you go... Huh (Aira saying to Hiiro "Aira-kun's route is no longer available for you!" Aira why are you equating yourself and Hiiro as the protagonist and romantic interest of a dating sim game? Do you have anything to share with the class?)

But yeah... them (vaguely gestures with hand). They give a very strong first impression to say the least, so it's not hard to imagine how I came to ship them as quickly and as strongly as I did ahdjf

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?: God, there's so many things I like about hiiai I don't think I can ever list them or rank them, but I'll try ahdjf

For starters, I just really like their dynamic (very basic answer, I know). A thing I really love about their dynamic is how Hiiro is so openly affectionate with Aira, and I think it's cute how Aira is so tsun about his care and affection for hiro-kun, but he just can't leave him alone and thinks of him so often (he mentions him all the time in the game's home lines wwww).

Another thing I love is the way their relationship develops throughout the !! main story. How Aira stuck to him and to Alkaloid due to obligation (in order to survive as an idol in ES) but actually became attached to Hiiro and formed the unique dynamic with him where Aira feels like he can't leave Hiiro alone to prevent him from getting into trouble (and while there is truth to that, there's also the fact that just genuinely Aira loves Hiiro because the first friend he's had in a long time, and a very loyal and loving one at that). In Hiiro's case, he also got attached to Aira very quickly since he was also his very first friend on the city 🥺

In general, I love that hiiai are each other's first friends in ES when they were completely alone, and that by finding each other they found the solution to their chronic loneliness (because Aira and Hiiro both suffer a lot from severe loneliness ever since their childhoods. Aira has never been able to keep lasting friendships and Hiiro's only company in his hometown was Rinne. So them finding each other and hitting it off so quickly and easily means a lot for the both of them, and they both try their best to make the friendship work because they want to keep it and make it last, yk?)

Another facet of hiiai that I like... how Aira always teaches Hiiro new things and helps him understand the world around him. I like to think about how Aira is, literally and metaphorically, the reason Hiiro loves the city, and how that is what leads him to stay there instead of going back to his hometown with his brother (and I just sit here and wonder if the rinniki parallels were intentional from Akira's part?)

I mean literally because Aira is the one who taught Hiiro what idols are, and that was what made Hiiro realize that yes, this is something he likes and a thing he wants to do with his life. And metaphorically, because I believe that for Hiiro, Aira is a representation of the city. Aira is a city boy, he has an upbringing and worldview completely different from his. Aira grew up in a world that is completely unknown and new to Hiiro, a world in which Hiiro didn't plan on staying for long in the first place, a world that Hiiro didn't plan on getting attached to, but that he still came to like at the end — so Hiiro, by loving and accepting Aira, is metaphorically loving and embracing the city and coming to understand it*. And we know that Hiiro deciding to stay in the city and becoming an idol for real is one of the most important parts of his arc of independence and self discovery, so this gives Hiiro's relationship with Aira another layer of depth that makes their bond more important and essential for each of their characters and arcs.

*I almost forgot to clarify why I think that Hiiro coming to like the city is such a big deal (and note, this is a personal interpretation). Basically, because Hiiro was so dead set on bringing his brother back to their hometown so he could become the monarch, he was still close minded about the outside world and stuck with the old arbitrary rules taught by his hometown. But just as Rinne predicted and hoped, Hiiro ended up being marveled by the city and all the things it offers and so many things he's never seen before (and you can extrapolate that marvel he feels for the city as the marvel and interest he feels for Aira when they first meet). So just as Rinne left his hometown in favor of the city—which was a thing Hiiro didn't understand before because he didn't know what even made the city so good in the first place to make his brother want to leave—Hiiro ended up liking the city as well and choosing to stay there instead of going back home, therefore chosing his own path like Rinne.

But then again, this is just my personal interpretation of the text ahdjf

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?: I probably do, but I can't really think of one at the moment ahdjfj I guess one unpopular opinion is that I think that Aira isn't as stereotypically tsundere as people tend to depict him as in fanworks.

Don't get me wrong, Aira def is very tsun (and he is deliberately written as a stereotypical tsundere sometimes for the comedy bits and/or to make his feelings about others obvious. It might seem paradoxical, but the more tsun the acts—the biggest reaction he gets out of one of Hiiro's actions, for example—the more obvious his true feelings come across), but I also think it is often overlooked his character development in the !! MS where he grows to become more honest about his feelings and doesn't reject Hiiro's displays of affection as much and is even openly happy about them (like when he was happy that Hiiro held his hand and said it made him feel reassured). But this characterization isn't the most consistent throughout stories (and that is a thing that bothers me a little but talking about enstars' lore inconsistency is a story for another day ahdjf), so this is something very personal 😅

And that's all... thank goodness it was only 3 questions AHDJF I was hoping I'd write a short post, but it seems I *did* end up rambling about hiiai after all 😔🤙 what bring prompted to talk about the otp does to a person.

#thank you so much for the ask! I had fun doing this #there's probably stuff I forgot to mention or things I wish I had delved more into after I post this #but fuck it we ball #hiiai my beloveds its crazy how obsessed i am with them #i dont talk about them as much as i wish i did #and i have tons of thoughts about them #so it was nice letting some of them out with this ahdjd #asks #ship ask game

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steege-jpt3391 · 5 months

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Blog Post #22: Sukiyaki Western Django by Takashi Miike

Well, that was certainly one of the movies of all time. After scrolling all the way down on the semester syllabus and investigating more into what this film was all about, I was really interested to see what this one had in store for all of us. While it did not disappoint in terms of it being nothing I expected, this film was really goofy and I did not like it. But, I will get more into that in a bit because the summary is more important right now. Takashi Miike’s Sukiyaki Western Django follows two rival gangs, the Heike and Genji clans, who fight for control of a town named "Yuta" where a mysterious treasure is said to be hidden. A lone gunman, known as "The Gunman," (woah what a crazy unique name) arrives in the town and becomes entangled in the conflict. The film blends elements of traditional westerns with Japanese culture, featuring a mix of samurai swords, gunslinging, and eccentric characters. It's a visually striking and action-packed film that pays tribute to both the western and samurai genres while adding Miike's unique flair for violence and dark humor. I thought it was really interesting and creative to almost combine Japanese culture with Western culture because it’s not something I’ve really ever seen done before, so I guess it was a cool movie to see how directors explores the tastes of worldwide audiences and how they combine to make a product for all audiences.

One thing that I thought was really interesting is how this film feels very heavily rooted in samurai films that Kurosawa made back in the 1900s. Each character having their own title felt very reminiscent of films like Yojimbo and Seven Samurai as they label the characters with their own roles. However, it also embodies many the same labeling as other modern Westerns. For example, while it isn’t a Western, Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs became a pioneer for this style of movie in Western cinema (and I thought it was even funnier that Tarantino himself even starred in the movie, what is he doing there). I liked the style that Miike embodied in this form of storytelling because it was interesting to see how each character played their role from a Japanese perspective versus an American one. These Western-esque labels are not present in Japanese film, so it was interesting to see Miike’s interpretation of it.

Sukiyaki Western Django also draws inspiration from The Tale of the Heike, a classic Japanese epic recounting the rise and fall of the Taira clan during the late 12th century. Both narratives involve a central conflict between rival clans or factions, which was very cool to see adapted into modern media. Also, the film is known for its blending of Japanese and Western cultural elements, much like the fusion of genres seen in the film. Similarly, "The Tale of the Heike" incorporates elements of both Japanese and Chinese culture, reflecting the historical and cultural exchanges of the time. I thought it was interesting how it took a new, modern genre and mixed in some ancient elements in there too.

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7grandmel · 1 year

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Todays rip: 08/08/2023

Agent H (HOBaRT the Funny Mixer Theme)

Season 4 Episode 2 Featured on: Sensational Celebrations ~ The SiIvaSummer All-Star Festival Collection [Event Side]

Ripped by Jiko Music, 601billionlazer, ChickenSuitGuy Lyrics by Felicia Performed by Chase Beck

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Hey! This post is effectively a continuation of yesterday's post on Theme of HoBART. Unless you're already decently well versed in SiIvaGunner lore, particularly surrounding Season 4, I highly recommend reading it first to get perspective of what I'll be discussing here.

Sooooo, HoBART wound up losing in the King for Another Day tournament. Like, effectively dead last, by a mile - he got the least amount of votes in the entire tournament. Yet he grew a sort of cult fanbase from this disasterous tournament run, paired with how lovable he was being presented in the small side stories being released during the tournament. It gradually became clear that the joke with HoBART was just how there's not really anything funny about a mixer, thus creating comedy out of just how absurdly void of comedy it is. Funny enough, its a similar kind of meta-humor that's become associated with Grand Dad on the channel nowadays, with "the funny 7" becoming a sort of symbol for how the Grand Dad meme is long past its prime. HoBART as a character has come to be a strange little peek into the meta aspects of SiIvaGunner, instilled into an australian mixer.

A couple months later, we arrive at the Season 4 Episode 2 summer celebrations. Though they first appeared to be solely dedicated to honoring the victor of the prior years tournament, it was in truth a wide-spread celebration of all sorts of things, not even limited to just tournament contestants. One of the most unexpected parts of this was the sudden Phineas & Ferb takeover, which became far more popular than the team had initially anticipated. Simply put, both rippers and audience alike were in LOVE with Phineas & Ferb music, and the event became so big as to extend to a SECOND event, dubbed the Doofenshmirtz Takeover after the series' villain.

So you take this absolutely adored cartoon which has effectively been part of an entire generation's childhood due to their Disney Channel dominance, and mix it with HoBART - a character that's kind of paradoxically loved for how unloved he is, deemed funny for how unfunny he is. The result is Agent H (HOBaRT the Funny Mixer Theme) - a theme that proudly and unabashedly honors and boasts about how great, funny and cool HoBART is, as a genuine celebration of his continued relevance on the channel.

As you may have figured, its a cover of Perry the Platypus' theme redone to instead be about HoBART, with a couple of extra flourishes added to the mix here and there. The main draw here is Chase Beck, voice of DJ Professor K during the season, who does an immensely charming job as the vocalist here (possibly also inferring that this theme was one sung by the tournament winner himself?). The lyrics don't abandon HoBART's strangely paradoxical nature, yet even moreso than his theme back during the tournament, present these paradoxes as deeply desirable. He IS a funny little mixer, and he IS funnier than the Number 7!

Everyone who worked on this rip did a tremendous job capturing the essence of every piece involved, althewhile producing an extremely funny addition to one of SiIva's most heartfelt takeovers.

WHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

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plural-swag-competition · 1 year

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LILAC?

Lilac -> funniest submissions?

Oh gosh! There were some great ones. It gets a bit long though, so they're under the cut. Warning for potential spoilers and swearing.

Also this is definitely not all the amusing ones. There's. A Lot. And eyes got a bit cross-eyed towards the end there.

Yugi and whoever I dont even go here but I've seen a meme of "hey get you're headmate to front I want to duel" and thats enough for me

I respect whoever sent this in. Us with the Warrior of Light let's be real. "WoL and Fray and. Whoever" is an equivalent of how we'd do it.

sora’s heart hotel 5 motherfuckers for the price of one:) Sora That boy can fit so many fucking people in his heart. Like. Literally ENA they're soooooooo

It's literally cut off like that. It's great!

Uendo Toneido Subverts the murderous alter trope b/c it turns out they were actually a fucking 5 year old Cassie O'Pia When you give a character multiple physical facets of their personality and they ask the protagonist just who is the 'real them', call them Archetypes all you want, that's plural vibes bay-beee The Warrior Of Light I am pointing at Dark Knight. I am pointing at Reaper. I am pointing at the shadowbringers quests where another shard of your soul inevitably becomes a part of you and you see him and get moral support from him The Warrior of Light Dark Knight go brrrrr (canonically any WoL that picks up the dark knight job has two headmates, one count selfcare demon who is tired of you not caring about yourself and thinks you need to learn how to tell people 'no' and one count traumatized child who did not enjoy all the murder and dead friends that happen over the course of your typical final fantasy experience). Also bonus headmate post the events of Shadowbringers with Ardbert.

Self care demons are great, okay? We have one, though he's pretty short. Though now I'm wondering if there's any Dark Knight recordings done by potato players. How does that work out?

Malik Ishtar (x2) textbook trauma response (with added supernatural egyptian magic bullshit), made funnier by the fact that it's one evil guy... and one even eviler guy. the "but wait ! there's more !" of bad guys, i love him so much <3 Ford Cruller Mind split into several selves due to shenanigans (however, does lack swag) Vyncent “Virion” Sol This guy is an entire DnD party stuck in 1 body Vinegar Doppio (NOT Diavolo) phones the other guy by using whatever he has on hand. feral and insane (affectionate) and also somehow still manages to be cute. his hair looks so nice. on the other hand Diavolo (other guy) is completely swagless, so i guess it balances out

For the record: the other submission included both, and it just felt weird to have one without the other. Plus we just don't know much about the series.

BMO BMO BMO BMO BMO!!!! Roronoa Zoro im gonna be honest its bc his swords talk to him but also mainly. its because i kin him Red Controlled by a bickering incompetent horde of Twitch chat. Somehow became champion anyway. Diggory Graves THEY ARE A PERSON MADE UP OF PEOPLE!!!! Henry Stickmin They told us so themselves ♡ Yahweh, Jesus, The Holy Ghost - The Holy Trinity. Three entities saying they're one entity? Sounds like a system to me! - For the bit. me i have the most plural swag more plural swag than any fictional character ever

#asks

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thehumanflintfun · 10 months

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My experience with Scott Pilgrim

This post contains spoilers for the Netflix show Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and for the Scott Pilgrim comics

The comic

I read the Scott Pilgrim comics only once, about 4 months ago, and I remember thinking "c'mon, it's only six volumes, I can binge them easily". Before I know it, it's 2 AM and I am at the last volume, half asleep; I didn't really enjoy anything about the comic, but I know myself, and I know that if I simply stopped without knowing how it ended I wouldn't be able to sleep.

Ramona randomly vanished and I can't understand what's happening, probably because I was half asleep. Apparently she was kidnapped by Gideon, but she let it happen because she needed a break or something... I don't really remember, I need to reread them.

Overall (this opinion may not represent what I actually think since I did read them once AND I was half asleep at the last volume) I didn't hate the comics, but I also didn't really enjoy them. The only thing I actively disliked is how Wallace is written: the gay character who has to show how gay he is every time he appears, which is not really a problem; my problem is that he has (iirc) barely any relevance to the plot, barely any personality, barely any character development and he's not even funny.

As for the rest, I realized this story was not for me when, after three volumes, I still didn't care about Scott, Ramona, their relationship or the band subplot. I also didn't understand the tone at all, and I wasn't sure which things to take seriously

Then came Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

(I didn't watch the movie)

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Despite not enjoying the comics, I really wanted to watch this. My thought process was: "this will be a chance to experience Scott Pilgrim again and see if it's better than I remember. Maybe the jokes will be funnier in animated form if the dub is good. And even if it's not better, the animation and art style will be good, at least". I did not imagine it would be different from the comics.

Comes Friday. Me, Brian and a friend watch the first episode: the italian dub is eccellent, with a lot of good voices, which made the experience very enjoyable and many jokes land. There are some awkward moments, but the comic was full of them so I ignore them. Then Gideon appears and I laugh my ass off (idk, probably the fact that he's so confident behind his dozens of monitors, and he thinks he's so cool). I remember he only showed up at the end, but I simply think it's something the show added. Then the episode ends with Scott's death (at this point I'm slightly confused, but I rationalize with "maybe I don't remember the story that well".

Then I randomly read a comment saying "remember when we all thought this was a simple adaptation?"

Now my interest is piqued. I usually don't like when the adaptation changes the source material, but I didn't enjoy the comics so maybe it's a good thing?

Knowing that my friend was not available for another week, I binged the entire thing.

When it became meta with Neil's sleep paralysis demon writin Canon Scott Pilgrim, I was IN.

Final thoughts

I loved it, so many characters had more depth and/or were more enjoyable. All the exes were much more interesting, Wallace is not a cardboard cutout anymore, there's less focus on the things I didn't enjoy in the comics, I found the tone to be much clearer... (although I still don't know which things to take seriously, but it didn't bother me this time)

If I have to compare two of my experiences, I would compare Scott Pilgrim to Spiderverse: both are things that I didn't really like (except for Spiderverse's animation) but are praised a lot. Then a sequel comes out that is much more meta and I love it.

#scott pilgrim #scott pilgrim takes off #scott pilgrim anime #scott pilgrim spoilers

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belannaswlonkderfulworm · 11 months

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Director's commentary on Underneath The Tree? I saw you reblogged the post so here we go:) UTT is my favourite work of yours :3

thank you so much, anon!! i'm so glad you enjoyed UtT, i had an amazing time writing it so im delighted you enjoyed it <3

Underneath the Tree very much started as the baby of myself and @exit-pursued-by-a-lesbian . we started it in november last year, just based on the fact that they were mad that every single thing i wrote (and tbh, most of the time still is) was angst, so we thought, hey, it's nearly christmas, we'll figure out something related to that.

as i have a long-standing rep for torturing b'elanna in my fic, she of course had to get some joy, and it escalated from there. i wouldn't describe either of us as die-hard b7 shippers, but we both definitely ship b'elanna with seven more than anybody else, and we both love kes, too, and think so much more could have been done with her, especially with a potential friendship with seven, so she got a big role as well. kes comes with the doctor, so he got something to do, too, and as we were introduced to vines by a voyager vines video (yes, we do unfortunately spend our free time watching things like that. it's a great use of our time!) so it seemed natural for their arc to involve a vine. neelix sort of just... showed up. i don't remember adding him to the story. he was just there. janeway was similar, except more wanted, and i firmly believe that all the best b7 has kathryn manically encouraging them all the way. tom and harry are another ship that we both ship together more than we ship either of them with anybody else, so they got to make a few appearances, and the voyager betting pool spiralled from that. you need a few more stakes than the general emotional torture of b7 being hopelessly in love with each other, so the betting pool, vine, and christmas party worked out nicely, as well as bringing me extreme amounts of joy.

our original plan was to both write a version, and then pick the best chunks from both and combine them, so we spent a lot of time in mid december wandering around our local town centre looking at clothes and christmas decorations brainstorming. hence, tuvok.

all the shops near us tend to go slightly insane in terms of the types of clothes they stock near christmas (pretty much every item of clothing described in the story is something we've actual found within twenty minutes of our houses, aside from tuvok's heels) so as we were brainstorming the logical idea seemed to be to point at clothes and go, "x character wears that (hopefully to the voyager christmas party)". it's funny to do regardless of what character you pick, but tuvok makes it infinitely funnier. like, seriously, i recommend it: wander around your local shops going "tuvok would wear that." it fuckign SLAPS.

anyway.

that lead us to picking out every part of the voyager christmas party scene. who doesn't love a good christmas party with your alien coworker who you're homoerotically in love with? once we'd figured out the stakes, we just had to weave the story together and, y'know, actually write it. this is the point where it became much more of a me effort than an us effort, bc deadlines are HARD, y'all.

i think i wrote the first chunk up until kes realises seven's in love with b'elanna by the third of december or so, and then i wrote the entire rest on the twenty-first, when my adhd brain went oh SHIT i have to write this we no longer have infinite time. my favourite scene to write was definitely the mess hall scene where janeway drinks a bathtub of coffee, b'elanna punches kes, and kes drinks an inordinate amount of hot chocolate. it was such a fun little moment of realisation, tbh, and it gave my beloved kathryn her second in the spotlight, too.

after that, all that was left was for @exit-pursued-by-a-lesbian to beta it, and then i posted it! (yes, all the christmas songs are real. yes, they're all on a star trek-named christmas-themed playlist on my spotify. no, i will not provide a link bc none of you need to be able to find the other playlists on my spotify, which include a thirty-six hour worm-themed playlist featuring the whole hamilton soundtrack)

once again, thank you so much, anon! i'm glad you enjoyed the story, and i'm sorry that this post is almost as long as the story

#ask response #ask game #director's commentary #star trek #star trek voyager #underneath the tree #b7 #b'elanna torres #seven of nine #b'elanna x seven #fanfiction

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narvaldetierra · 2 years

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It's just a kiss

This is the Mistletoe square for the Holiday Bingo created by @storiesofsvu

Fandom: Blindspot Characters: The team. Tags: Crackfic. Chaotic Rich. A little fluff in the end. Words: 1608 A/N: Just because I love this chaotic being. It was funnier in my mind, but here we go.

Summary: Rich and a mistletoe, what could go wrong?

5 times Rich strategically placed a mistletoe and one time he got a kiss.

Rich looked at his calendar, what looked like a green asterisk was drawn on that very same day. The team names were distributed over the following 5 days, starting with “What was her name?”. He had the whole week planned and expectations too high, even for him.

The journey began early on Monday morning. He had precisely measured the space in the hallway to the lab, counted the steps one by one to calculate the exact spot, and studied Tasha's movements during the mornings. He knew the exact moment she would go to the lab and he waited in hiding until it happened.

“Hey!” greeted her with a wide and characteristic smile on his face, pretending that they had met by coincidence.

“Hey, Rich.” She greeted back in a much less friendly way.

“What are you doing this early here, did Patty already call you?”

“No, I just came to say hi and see if I could be of any help.”

“Oh, very thoughtful of you,” his voice was already beginning to sound suspicious. However, before she had time to react, he grabbed her by the arm to stop her. Because of the way Tasha stared at him, he immediately regretted it. “Hey, now that we're here, I wanted to ask you something. You've been here longer than I am, and you know better the policies here, and–”

“Just say it Rich.”

“Hmm, that is what I think it is?” he said at high speed pointing upward. A few inches over their heads hung a branch of mistletoe, the only Christmas decoration in the entire hallway.

Tasha opened her mouth in surprise and immediately shook her head, looking at Rich with a frown.

“Judging by your silence I'd say yes,” he shrugged, “well, who am I to interfere with the rules, right?”

He closed his eyes and leaned on her, giving her space to correspond the kiss. However, halfway through he stopped when he heard her.

“Don't even try it. Unless you want to get a black eye.”

Rich jumped back, clapping his palms together as if wiping them clean, “yeah, well, they shouldn't put those decorations in the office, don't you think? It can be something inappropriate.”

Tasha snorted and walked away toward the lab. He watched her walk away, after getting his first cross for the week. He comforted himself with the thought that there were still four more days to try.

—---

On Tuesday afternoon he put his second plan into action. When Patterson arrived at the lab, he was waiting for her with a cup of coffee for her and a preliminary report about a tattoo he had been working on. He had tried to make it all seem normal and hide his enthusiasm, but the Machiavellian smile on his face was undisguisable.

“What it's happening?” Patterson asked after a few minutes.

“I don't know what you are talking about.”

“Rich,” she insisted “what did you do?”

“Nothing!” his voice became high-pitched, so he cleared his throat and added, “you can come here and confirm it if you want.”

Patterson left the terminal on which she had been working and walked over to the corner of the lab where Rich was working. At that moment, Rich pull off from a string and a mistletoe fell dangling just above their heads.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, pretending to be surprised, “Are they already setting up the Christmas decorations?”

“Rich, we don't usually decorate the office, especially not the lab.”

“Someone seems to have missed the memo,” he shook his head with a disapproving grimace, before adding, “but you know, a tradition is a tradition, and I'm no one to break them…” He watched her expectantly with hope, but the feeling was short-lived.

“Definitely no.” Patterson said.

“Oh, come one, it is just a kiss… I don't want to do it any more than you do, but tradition dictates it.”

“Rich– I won't– You can take the idea out of your mind because it's not going to–” Patterson's voice was interrupted by an alarm from the tattoo base and that was it. She walked away from him and Rich spent the rest of the day harping on their debt to the mistletoe. However, nothing happened.

—---

Wednesday was Reade's turn. It had been hard to plant the mistletoe in Reade's office, but the night before, after everyone had gone home to rest, he took the opportunity to climb through the ventilation ducts from what he called "his office" to the FBI sub-director's office.

As he wasn't able to carry a ladder through ventilation ducts, hanging the mistletoe would be almost impossible, considering the high ceilings in the office. So he decided to make a little machine, that was placed in the vent, with an extensible arm long enough to hold the mistletoe just above the middle of the desk.

He had to be honest with himself, deep down he had no hope of actually achieving anything, but he figured he had nothing to lose by trying either. But when kindly reminded him that he could terminate his contract and return him to prison at any time, Rich decided that it was time to run and never try something like that ever again.

—---

Late on Thursday, he ran into Jane in the office lockers. His hope was beginning to fade, but he wasn't giving up like that, he would keep trying until the end of the week.

The truth was that placing the mistletoe there had been tricky. Not because of the logistics of doing so, but because of choosing the right location to make sure they could meet in the same place. He thought about positioning it on top of her locker, or on top of the sinks in front of the mirror. But in the end, he decided the placed it over the door and waited inside for her to arrive, pretending to be on his way out.

“Hey! Going home already?” he asked as if it were something usual.

“Rich,” she was surprised, “hmm, yeah, I was leaving.”

“Yeah... it was a long day,” nodded and an awkward silence ensued, “Well, I don't want to be the one to slow you down, I'm sure you have plans.” He took a step out of the room so she could enter, then pointed to the mistletoe, “hey, have you seen that?”

Jane seemed surprised to see that branch in such a remote location, with nothing else for decoration, then she understood what was going on, and she gave Rich a look that said “it's not going to happen”.

“I think someone has a lot of Christmas spirit,” said pretending it wasn't his, “Do you think that we should–? You know…”

“What? I'm not going to kiss you, Rich,” she said indignantly, taking a step back.

“What are you talking about! I meant to take it off,” he replied with a sardonic short laugh, “Did you really think I would propose such a thing? I mean, if you want to I could think about it.”

“Well, I know that–” Jane began to say, but he interrupted her.

“But please, Jane, we are at work. It won't be appropriate, and you are already married,” he let out a snort still laughing and shaking his head, as he walked away, leaving Jane pretty much confused, since she already knew about the attempts to kiss Tasha and Patterson he already had during the week.

—---

Friday was his last attempt to get any kisses under a sprig of mistletoe. While Tasha and Jane interrogated a suspect related to a tattoo case, Rich was outside the room along with Kurt. They both watched in silence, Rich with his tablet in hand, to corroborate the data in case of need, but his mind traveled much further imagining another scenario.

He did love to get a kiss from Kurt, he had set it as a personal challenge for himself since they met and he knew he was an FBI agent, rather than a hitman, but he knew he would never get it. Indeed, he knew Kurt was too straight, but there was nothing he enjoyed more than making him uncomfortable through all his innuendos.

That's why, when he finally set the mistletoe over their heads, and even when he didn't get the kiss he was aiming for, enjoyed every second of Kurt's look, hesitating over the most appropriate response to give until Rich laughed and said it was just a joke. Kurt laughed as well, still nervous. He wasn't that sure about the "joke".

—---

Friday night, with no more urgencies to solve and disappointed for not getting even a single kiss, he was ready to return to the safe house, with the usual guard. However, while he was waiting for the elevator, a familiar fragrance reached him and above his head, he could see a male hand holding a small branch of mistletoe. When he turned around, he met the beautiful brown eyes of Boston Arliss Crab. His smile was immediate, making his eyes shine.

Rich leaned close to him, put his hand cupping the side of Boston's face, and kissed him. He even closed his eyes, enjoying the moment, happy to have gotten his long-awaited kiss.

“What are you doing here?” Rich asked.

“Well, I had to come to see some papers from the last time I served for the FBI and I heard you had an interesting week.”

“Oh, you know about it?”

“Of course I do, what else would I have this for?” emphasized on mistletoe.

Rich laughed, bite his lip, and kissed him again. It definitely was the most wonderful time of the year.

#storiesofsvuholidaybingo2022 #blindspot fanfic #rich dotcom #william patterson #patterson #jane doe #tasha zapata #edgar reade #kurt weller #boston arliss crab #blindspot

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furinana · 2 years

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Is there anything in the SMTIVA English translation that you think was mistranslated or changed? Thank you for your posts, they're giving so much insight to the games!

I only watched videos and I’m not fluent so I’m not a good person to answer this. What I can say is that the general opinion on SMTIVA's translation is that it isn't a Sonic the Hedgehog or Fire Emblem Fates situation where they changed or omitted very important aspects resulting in heavy misinterpretations of the original.

That being said, they did put "flavor" in the text for some characters. Let’s compare some examples from the top of my head:

[I can’t find a Japanese gameplay video with the Godslayer quests, but from what I’ve heard, Dagda acting silly in the Demonee-ho fight only happens in English]

>Fiddle with the smartphone >Wait for Asahi to return

[Nanashi does act like a goofball in some dialogue options so while a lot of people shit on this example, I think it’s in-character for him to say that. Totes!]

“I have no idea. Things became strange all of sudden...”

[Nozomi is uh... the worst offender for this. They added SO MUCH unnecessary slang on her dialogue. And she doesn’t even sound funny, just... unsexy which kinda defeats the point of her archetype]

“Hey [player]... what are you doing? Take us to Kasumigaseki as soon as possible.”

[Gaston is one of the instances I like the English localization better. Originally his wording on his magnificence is on the lines of saying “I’m the NUMBER ONE!”. Every. Time. He sounds more childish than snobbish. I like that in English he’s also more rude towards the other members leading to funnier remarks]

> When Asahi sulks in Japanese, she goes ‘muh...’ like she’s puffing her cheeks. Typical of cute girls in anime. She does that a lot while in English she’s just saying something random or going ‘grrr’. > It’s assumed that Skins’s real name is Tsugi. His nickname in Japanese is Tsugihagi (継接ぎ lit. patchwork) and it came from Akira calling him like that. > You know how the Megami race (lit. Goddess) isn’t usually translated? And you know how in the Massacre route your partner’s race changed to Goddess? Basically it’s the only instance in the whole series where they used its actual English equivalent. > The floors in Twisted Tokyo use wordplay from the respective Fiends that are located in it. The Fandom page goes in detail about it.

#smtiva

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originalwinnercheesecake · 2 years

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The Owl house Season Analysis Bottom 5 and Top 5 episodes of the Owl House

I have wanted to do this post for a while. its what the title says,my opinion on the five worst episodes and the 5 best episodes... Now everybody knows what a good and a great episode are. I have heard some people try to argue that The Owl House does not have bad epsidoes, just less good episodes...

Yeah as much as I love what this show grew into that is pure denial and we are not doing that. Season 1a of The Owl house is mostly bad shooting for passing, with 2 outlier episodes that somehow managed to be good (you can probably guess which ones) I like 3 characters in in season 1a: King, Amity, Tiny Nose. Other characters, particularly Luz an Eda, suffer greatly from the writing focusing more on giving them popular (woke) labels and not really exploring them, which negatively effected the show because instead of making them better it felt like the show could only keep them on top by making all other characters lamer. 1b ranges from okay to kinda good. This was when Luz stopped basically playing pretend that she was Azura, and actually put effort into learning magic, becoming Luz the human whitchlet. Hexside was a great setting and putting Luz in a classroom setting,where she spent more time with kids her own age, gave the show the chance to flesh her character out more and give her differences and weird corks that were cute instead of destructive. Also I love, love, loved that they added learning differences to the character diversity. That is a difference that is largely overlooked in modern media. Eda changed from a mentor (which she failed at) to a parent figure, which was an improvement, but she still felt like a very hollow fusion of the Stan twins. She had what was cool about them, but they were also goofy looking, were often in over their heads and very concerned for themselves and their families. Eda is beautiful, the curse is largely ignored, and she is supposedly to powerful to concern herself with the plans and threat of her enemies.I also felt like it took her until half way through 2a to gain the kind of heart Stan and Ford where both shown to have like 2 episodes into their characters. In a character focused show like The Owl House it’s a poor character who only experiences highs, lows make characters compelling and have you root for them to get back up again.

Season 2 was when the show took what it had and ran to becoming a great show. The Show finally knew what it wanted to do with Luz and Eda, it also picked which on of Kings three roles (small adult roommate, furry pet, young child) it was going to stick to. These choices allowed it to go deeper into the stories of our three mains and up the stakes. Because the stakes were up it could finally make the villains/anti hero’s (we got anti-hero’s) competent, and the threat became something real. Also the show was finally able to put actual thought and character into the secondary and side characters (see Lilith and Hooty... I am sorry Lulu and Hootsifer’s character glow-ups).

Again I really do love this show, and like to compare its lows to its highs because, like with the characters, the lows make the high better. So here are the worst and the best episodes (in my opinion) of the owl house

Bottom 5 episodes number 5 Once Upon A Swap: Yeah you knew this one was going to be here. Its on everyone’s bottom 5 lists. Body swapping episodes are a cliche. It added nothing to the story in the long game. It could have been a decent stand alone episode if it had been funnier, but the majority of the jokes miss their marks. It’s a very skipable episode unless you are just completely board. All of that being said its only fault is being boring and skipable. I left it low on the list because their is nothing in it that really made upset or disappointed, and nothing in it that negatively effected future episodes.

Top 5 episodes number 5 The Intruder: Remember when I said that 1a had 2 outlier episodes that were actally good. Well you probably guessed that I meant “The Intruder’ and ‘lost in language”. As much as it hurts me to not have the first great Lumity episode we got on this list (to many great episodes in season 2) The Intruder is the better episode. Its the second best episode at handling horror elements. We see King and Luz bond for the first time and its sweet. Luz learns her first (and for season 1a her only) gliph, thus answering if or if not she can really do magic. Also we get the introduction of the curse, which is both one of the most fascinating concepts in the show, and a really tasteful metaphor for a chronic illness or disability. This was the owl houses first brilliant episode, and 37 episodes latter it is still one of the best.

Bottom 5 episodes number 4 convention day: Yes I am listing “Covention Day” as one of the worst. I know some people like to argue that its one of season 1′s best because its the first episode to talk about the covens as more than school tracks, explains the sigils and gives a reason for Eda being wanted a wanted criminal.. oh but not evil. Well even if this episode was plot important, I still strongly dislike it for two very big reasons: reason 1 Luz; reason 2 Eda. What I said up top about how at first the only thing likable about them is that they are label representation, that in the beginning they are handled badly as characters, and the show forces them on top by dragging everyone else down. Yeah convention is all that at its worst. They both talk like they are the best, but in action they are nothing but a couple of lazy, annoying, fakers, who put no actual time, or effort where their mouths are. I did not want Luz to give up magic ( After “The intruder” I wanted her to actually start seriously studying it and for Eda to actual at like a mentor), but I loved Amity for telling Luz that she had no right to toot herself a “Luzara Greatest witch ever parade’ and calling her out, and I wanted Lilith (an implied accomplished study and teacher) to wipe Eda’s smug “I cheat my way above everybody else because I rule” grin off her face. The twist that Lilith was cheating too was lame, clearly written in to try and save Eda and Luz’s faces as mentor and student, and I hated it, along with being seriously annoyed at Eda. Luz, and Lilith. Amity started this episode by purposely stomping on King’s cupcake and she is somehow still the only one of these four with any actual integrity or honest morals.

This episode is low because the fight between Eda and Lilith is animated totally awesome and a very enjoyable watch... at first. My only complaint is again Eda. Lilith was totally about to win before Eda’s little fake out cheat. This particular fight is one Lilith should have been allowed to beat Eda. Luz won’t have to give up being a witch because Amity and Luz undid their bet spell and weren’t the ones fighting. Eda and Lilith only had a verbal bet going on, and since Eda is such a cheating con of course she wouldn’t honor her end of the deal and would slip out the back door. Lilith beating Eda at the Convention would be a great metaphor for the hold Belos has on the witches and magic. Giving us a small example as to why many witches are fooled into believing that covens and sigils make them stronger (Lilith would still only be stronger because Eda is curse), and why wild magic has become less popular. It also would start the Emperor’s coven out as being competent and seeming more like a real threat earlier on. But in season 1 Eda was rose-colored like crazy and had to come out way on top every time and had to be “better than everyone else” because the show writters I guess did not know another way to make her and wild magic seem cool.

Top 5 best episodes number 4 Labyrinth Runners: This was after Disney cut season 3 down to 3 specials and canceled the show premature. This is likely the last time we will ever have a episode at Hexisde. Our last chance to explore the school tracks, and possibly our last chance to give focus to many side characters the audience had come to love. The show pushed a lot of characters and concepts into the background believing they had time to do them later. Then they were told they couldn’t. So they made this banger of an episode that answered all the fans questions about background characters, showed them in their best light, and also seemed to apologize for upsets fans felt about some o these charcters not getting focus they deserved: Gus did not get the A-plot enough so he gets it here, and the writters want to make sure everybody knows what a great witch he is. Amity and Willow rebuilding thier friendship was thrown out in favor of focusing more on Lumity, so its the B plot of this episode, complete with Amity apologizing to Willow for underestimating her skills as a witch all these years. Fans really really wanted to know what happened to Hunter after he ran away in Hallow minds and were upset Luz did not seem concerned about him? Do not worry, Luz sent a text to her friends to keep an out for him and Gus finds him this episode.

They also included a unclear and idoitic director in the form of Head illusionist Adrain Graye, who was not only a continuation of the coven heads being what you wouldn’t expect; but also his bad instructions, unlikable attitude, and the way he got beaten up by children at the end wasn’t just some throw away comment roasting the Disney producers. Oh no we got a love letter to characters and fans, complete with a full on barbecue of the producers, and it was deliciously petty.

Bottom 5 episodes number 3 I was a teenage abomination: My problems with this episode are basically the same as my problems with “Covention Day” but this ones does not have a cool witches dual to try and save it. I do not mind Eda having Luz do chores, they are a fair payment for room and board. But It was annoying hearing ‘laboring for me is the best job there is, you don’t need no education” every second line. King talks like he is a better mentor to the slug monster, but he gives it no training, and it was obvoius it was going to try and eat him and Eda once it got bigger. Both he and Eda are useless teachers and I pittied Luz... Then I saw how she was acting. Amity is supposed to be the bully right? Let’s see what she did: worked and studied hard on her abomination, accidentally did a bad job of giving Willow a pep talk on taking her studies more seriously if she wants to prove herself as a witch, was proud of her grades, and called Willow and Luz out on committing academic fraud after Willow unfairly stole her top mark. Now let’s look at what Lux and Willow our protagonists and “hero’s” do: Luz with Willow’s help illegally trespasses on a school campus, Willow with Luz’s help commits Academic fraud on an important assignment and steals a top mark from a student who actually did the work. When they are called out by Amity they keep up lying to Willow’s professor and get Amity in trouble even though she is right. Lie to and try to con the Principal. Destroy part of the school. Remind me again why Amity is the bully girl when Luz and Willow are acting much worse?

Because Luz was almost dissected by Bump? Yeah Bump was in abominations growing up, and is a principal. He totally knew Luz was kid and was trying to scare her and Willow into confessing. Also I am sorry but Luz deserved to be scared like that when you remember that again she trespassed on school grounds without permission to help a student commits academic fraud. If Luz doesn’t want to risk being hurt them she shouldn’t rush to situations a toddler would know are dangerous and wrong. Willow being that strong at plants without any training, getting rewarded at the end by being transferred to the plant track, and her dads who previously insisted she take abomination instead and banned her from plant magic accepting this for some unknown reason, was all a terrible choice then unless we were never going to see Willow. again. That is her whole story and arc. It should have taken at least 1 season for her to get transfered, complete with exploring her pasions and learning type, why her parents wanted her in abomination, and why it was a bad fit for her; then another season for her to fully master plant magic once transfered. Instead it's all done in wrapped up in her first episode. I blame this episode for nearly all Future Willow episodes being more about Lumity or Hunter. I blame it for why she was sidelined so hard in season 2, once Luz and Amity did not need her to create situations for them to come across each other. There was just little to virtual nothing that could be done with Willow after this episode wrapped up her whole arc with school and latent powers. This episode had little basically nothing good, our protagonists were worse than out antagonists, and it ended an important characters journey before it had time to be explored; so I have to put it on this list.

Top 5 Best Episodes List number 3: Knock Knock Knocking on Hooty’s Door. Now here is another episode everybody knew would be on the list. If Labyrinth Runners” was the best episode for developing the seondary charecters "Konock Knock Knocking On Hooty's Door" was the best Episode for developing core characters inside the owl house. Hooty now wants to be a life coach after Lilith implied he was a protector in a letter. Side note it is nice to see that Lilith did follow through on her promise to be pen-pals with Hooty after leaving with her mom. It is also nicer to see that they talk about Hooty’s feelings and troubles to. Lilith’s got more going on of course since she is starting over, but healthy friendships are a give and take relationship, and Hooty’s troubles are important too. The animation is beautiful, it addressed very real feelings and fears with all four characters, and it ended with them all getting great development. Hooty’s confidence in his own importance is restored, King has powers, Eda makes peace with the owl beast, who was actually once a demon that was captured in paper by the collector, who threw it away to be discovered by the curse sales man (I had been wondering all season how Lilith was able to find and afford such a strong and complicated curse)... And Lumity are officially girlfriends.

Bottom 5 episodes list episode 2 The First Day: Oh look an episode that took place after 1a? Yes the show got better in season 1b, but it still was not consistently good yet and there were a few episodes that were set backs. This episode was the worst of the set backs, had me scared we going straight back to early 1a episode quality. Luz went to hexise because after “Lost in Language” she got serious about wanting to learn magic, and Eda was not able to tech it to her. At this stage Luz knows only two gliphs and is really novice at controlling both of them, her entrance exam reminds us that. With how psyched she to go to the school and finally start learning you would expect this episode to be about Luz settling into to school, and starting to put more work on finding alternte ways to do magic. Bump even helps her out by sticking her in the potions track. Its an all purpose magic track, she does not need a bile sack because the magic will be in the ingredient, and it was the same track Eda was in so Luz can continue her Legacy... Luz decides almost right away potions (Potions!) is the most boring of the track, and sneaks out of her first class to go play with the oracle tracks equipment. She is then immediately caught and sentenced to the detention track for the entire semester (harsh! This is her first offense, no warnings Bump?) But then we learn that the detention track is all education loving rebels, who use secret tunnels to learn all the different types of magic. Wow this track is even more perfect for Luz than potions!.. of course she does not stay. By then end of the episode this untrained, novice, witch, who has only been on the isles a couple months at most, and at the school less than a day manage somehow convinces the principal to change the system and permanently allow multi-tracking at Hexisde and protect any teacher and student in that program. A feet that seasoned witches with lots of talent, years of learning magic, and who begged for the chance to do more could not because... they are not main heroines.

That was only my second problem. My first was that the dentition track kids are all written to be idiots and jerks. It was blatantly obvious that the bad stuff Luz told her friends about the detention track was from before she learned about their club. She has been with them since learning it, and has not spoken to anyone else. Plus they know sitting at a desk doing nothing is boring, that is why they sneak into the tunnels. It would be one thing if Gus or Willow were known as blabs and they were afraid of their secret getting out and the tunnels being boarded up, but no. Luz did nothing wrong and they are bullying her for stupid and forced reasons to create drama. I do not like seeing other characters be jerks to Luz in a situation where she did absolutely nothing to them first. I heard Dana originally saw the detention trio as unimportant and was never going to bring them back, but did later because of fan demand... Well of course fans would like these characters and see them as important. They are the first young characters to be shown as negatively impacted by Belos’s one type of magic per witch laws, and the first to mix their magic. They were always going to be important and should have always been written with care.

On the bright side this was the first episode to convince me that Lumity might become a real couple instead of just friends who are supossedly coded as being more

Top 5 best Episodes number 2 Enchanting Grom Fight: Secondary characters had Labyrinth Runners, Core characters had Knock Knock Knocking On Hooty’s door. This is the episode the cliche slice of life episode that did the best job of developing them all together. The episode starts with Luz talking to her mom on the phone and feeling guilt at having to lie to her. SO Luz and Camilia must normally have a pretty hones relationship. We also learnt hat they speak Spanish to each other (representation!). When the school starts talking about Grom we learn Skara had a boyfriend back then and hey were adorably excited to go to grom together. Gus and King are hanging out after “really small problems” and are doing the announcement together. Eda got invited to chaperon. Luz owns an otter suit. when we get to the dance we see that their are gay couples dancing together as well as straight ones, mattholomule trying to boost his status by dancing with an older girl who clearly only agreed to the dance out of pity. Willow confidently handing out homemade corsages to classmates. King gets stage fright (just like Raine) and Gus helps him. Cat and Pufferfish head apparently know each other and went to Grom together. In the beginning of the show it seemed like the mouthhead girl was going to go with the beast-keeping jerk, but I guess they split because she spends the night hanging out with Amelia instead. You would expect Boshca to go with the quarterback but instead she goes stage and spends the night hanging out with other singles...interesting. Poor Ed and Em got stood up (I hope they TPed their dates houses)...

I liked Grom’s take on peoples fears. It starts out with kinda joke fears, things that are a bit creepy or a little embarrassing, then moves on to bigger fears. Nobody’s worst fear is actually as bad as it seems, but all of them are relatable to a degree and nobody is shamed for having them. Then of course that heartfelt moment where Lumity faced Grom together, Luz offering to go to the dance with Amity since she was to scared to ask her crush, who we get actually get confirmation was Luz. Thier dance together was absolutely stunning. Amity has gotten so strong with abominations. Luz is only on single gliphs but has perfected those enough to become a formidable fighter. And then they combine their powers and their attack gets stronger, metaphorically these two are powerful and capable on their own but better together. Their last go turns Grom into a beautiful pink tree right int the forest: Metaphor the right support can help you find the beauty in a bad situation. This was wonderful.

Bottom 5 epsidoes number 1 Escape of the Palisman: My least favorite episode. I waited all season for the owl beast to reappear and to get more on the curse, and now that it happens, nothing. King takes it to the park to win an argument with a baby about a slide. That’s it? Rip off! Plus with Luz and her friends going to a stadium to watch a sports game from bleachers sounded boring to began with but it would have been better than watching Luz steel from Eda, injure Owlbert in a way that looked bad, get off scoot free (note she never apologized to Owlbert or Eda), and Learn nothing.The trials that were supposed to be exciting were not because the show could not even be bothered to at least pretend they were anything more than the BAT Queen’s chores, again did nothing to strengthen Luz and Owlbert’s bond, and again Luz never had to apologizes or actually make what she did better. The worst part of this was that this was set right before the first hiatus and it left us with with virtually no suspense, questions, or anything to look forward to when the hiatus ended. We saw a blurry shadow of who cursed Eda, but she barely cares and is unlikely to investigate (she never did. Lilith told her). The Bat Queen’s backstory was the highlight of the episode but I knew right when she said that she did not remember her giant we were unlikely to get anymore on it for a very long time (it’s looking like never). At the end o this episode I felt nothing but annoyance and I honestly did not care if the show never came back after hiatus, and that’s a problem

Top 5 Episodes number 1 Hollow Minds: It had to be Hallow Minds. This was the climax of season 2, the one where every mystery and secret that had been built up all came out. Were both The Emperor and he writers stopped playing games and got serious with us. I loved the first part of the Emperors mind (his lies) was beautiful and royal looking, but the deeper parts (where the truth lay) was so dark and sinister. We saw Team Red working together and it was a welcomed laugh. Hunter and Luz are forced to work together again and their enjoyable reluctant sibling relationship from Hunting palismans. Worried mama Eda is back and is willing to protect her children magic or not. How Team Red get the potion to Eda. OF course we all had long sense known the reveals by then. We knew that Hunter was a grim walker clone of Belos dead brother., and not the first golden guard. We knew that Belos was Phillip, and that Phillip was a witch hunter from the human world. We knew that Luz had helped him with Gliphs in the past (when she thought he was some great and heroic adventure/inventer). None of that prior knowledge made it any less suspenseful to watch Luz and Hunter go deeper into the Belos’s mind, and none of that made their shattered reactions to Them learning these secrets any less painful. The one thing I did not expect, but maybe I should have, was that scared kid Belos was the real inner Belos and he wasn’t shaking because he was scared. When we heard him break, unable to contain his laughter anymore and hem morph into himself, when the zombie was revealed to be his palisman victims trying to warn Luz and Hunter... as chilling as Scooby Doo Zombie Island. The moment he tells Hunter "good bye” and tries to get rid of him as Luz cries. When he uses Luz’s fake name and clips of her calling him his real name to torture Luz. Hunter saying Luz’s real name instead of “Human” as he once again chooses to save her over giving Belos what he wants, knowing this time Belos see and he will not be safe... This is a fabulous climax to the season, and in my opinion the best and most engaging episode of The Owl House

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