#the reviews also take in both star power and skill potential

[electronickingdomfox]

"My Enemy, My Ally" review

Romulans stole Spock's brain! (or at least, some Vulcan brains)

Novel from 1984, by Diane Duane, and the first of the five-book series Rihannsu.

The plot itself is okay: the Romulans have a new devious scheme (capturing Vulcans to extract the telepathic abilities from their brains), and the Enterprise must stop their plans. Only this time, Kirk will have to collaborate with a bunch of good, renegade Romulans to succeed. It's not terribly original, nor it's the first time that Kirk has allied himself with Romulans in these novels, but as a plot it's entertaining. However, the narrative drags a lot, specially in the first half of the novel, and it takes a reaaally long time to set things into motion. In part, this is due to a "tell, rather than show" approach. For example, there's a lengthy conversation about how the Enterprise and its Romulan allies are going to stage a fake battle between both ships, in full detail. And then a lengthy description of the ships doing just that. One of these two segments isn't needed. There's also a lot of fluff, specially in scenes at the Recreation deck, and plenty of new character introductions, that don't lead anywhere nor have any real importance. A lot of the new character roles could have been filled by the usual crew, anyway. Now, I don't think that a novel should just be barebones plot, but I didn't find these "extra" scenes particularly entertaining nor enlightening. So in my opinion, this novel would have improved greatly if it was cut short. Though the later sections suffer less of this, and are more focused.

The story is notable for introducing a lot of new material about Romulan culture, and specially language (which seems to me even more unpronounceable than Klingon). In fact, most of the time Romulans are referred to as "Rihannsu", which is the name of the race in their own language. I don't know to what extent Duane developed the grammar and vocabulary, but it seems to have a certain structure to it. There's also much emphasis on the power of names over things and people, and some glimpses into the Romulan worship of Elements. A lot of this has probably never been incorporated into the series, but Romulans having several names (of which only the first is revealed to strangers) seems to have its origins here.

As for characters, the most developed one is Ael, the Romulan commander that strikes an alliance with Kirk. At times she comes dangerously close to Mary Sue territory (for example, beating McCoy at a game she had just learned, despite the doctor being skilled enough to beat none other than Spock). But otherwise, she's fine for her role in the story. In many ways, she's both a mirror and a foil for Kirk, suffering also under the weight of command, and the difficult decisions between duty and her crew's wellbeing. Though not exactly a tragic character, there's also a lot of sadness and burdens in her past. On the other hand, Kirk rubbed me the wrong way. Or rather, his relationship with his crew. I found it way too lax and informal, and sometimes it seems he's more like a cool dad for them, rather than a Captain. Kirk in the series had his goofy moments, of course, and Shatner imbued him with much comedic potential. But nonetheless, there was always some gravitas about him, and a respectful distance with his subordinates. Even with someone as close as Spock, he was usually pretty formal. The only one who broke this pattern was McCoy, and that was precisely why their relationship was special. So yeah, I just don't see Kirk trading jokes with Sulu while under enemy fire, or receiving sassy remarks from Uhura, sorry. Also, as happened in The Wounded Sky, there's again a wide array of fancy aliens populating the Enterprise. I didn't mind them that much in the previous novel, since the story is so unusual, that it could have existed outside the Star Trek universe without damage being done. This time around... I've decided that I'm not a fan of this idea. Apart from being too distracting, Starfleet strikes me as a mostly human institution, at least at the time of TOS (after all, HQ is in San Francisco), and Spock often struggled being accepted among the crew. He was THE alien, and this led to isolation and even ocassional prejudices against him. Now, this wouldn't make much sense if the crew were regularly sipping coffee next to a gelatinous blob of tentacles... As for Spock and McCoy, they're mostly okay, though they tend to get overshadowed by the extended cast, and obviously, Ael.

I must be in the minority here, since most people seem to love this novel, but in general, I didn't like it much. Perhaps it's a consequence of having just read John Ford's masterful The Final Reflection, and his fascinating take on Klingons. Perhaps I simply don't care all that much about Romulans...

Some spoilers under the cut:

The first chapters switch perspectives between Ael and Kirk. While Ael reflects on her falling out with the Romulan Senate, because of her opposition to a certain revolutionary research, Kirk is ordered to patrol the Neutral Zone, as part of a task force. Ael has been "exiled" as commander of a shitty starship named Cuirass, crewed by shitty subordinates. But she keeps contact with her old, loyal ship Bloodwing, now commanded by Tafv, her own son. When news of the Federation ships arriving reach her, she sets her plan into motion. After sabotaging the Cuirass' systems, she escapes in a scout ship to Bloodwing. And the latter ship destroys Cuirass, whose crew she considers traitors to the Empire for their collaboration in the Senate's schemes.

After this, Bloodwing rendezvous with Enterprise near the Neutral Zone, and Ael asks permission to come aboard alone, promising some very important info. Then she explains to Kirk what's going on: The Romulan government has started developing a new weapon at the station in Levaeri V. They capture Vulcans and extract their brain tissue, in order to implant the genetic material into Romulans, and thus give them all their telepathic abilities, even enhanced. After leaving Vulcan centuries ago, the Romulans' divergent development made them unable to mind-meld, or do any of that cool Vulcan stuff. But now, with the new research, powerful individuals could read minds, control thoughts and subject any opposition. Ael believes this will ruin the Empire and its old code of honor. And in turn, will cause conflicts with both the Federation and the Klingons. Thus, she asks Kirk to "lend" her the Enterprise, to help destroy the research station. Her plan is faking a capture of the Enterprise by Bloodwing, then towing the starship into Romulan space and destroy the facility along the way. Spock confirms through a mind-meld that Ael's telling the truth.

Kirk is sympathetic with her cause, but refuses to go along with the plan, on the grounds that he can't intervene in Romulan internal affairs. Things change, however, when the Vulcan ship that was patrolling near the Enterprise is spirited away under their noses. Ael explains that its disappearance matches the modus operandi of Romulans. The Vulcans are being taken to the research station (and now I understand why Spock chose to serve in a human starship; Vulcan ships seem to have the worst luck, between being eaten by amoebas and now this...). Kirk can't ignore the matter anymore, now that the Vulcans are in danger, so he decides to go with Ael.

After faking a battle between Bloodwing and Enterprise, they proceed to Levaeri V. Ael's crew take positions in the Enterprise bridge, while Kirk and the rest of the officers play a bit of theater, faking their capture in the brig, to fool the escorts sent by the Empire. Once approaching the station, Bloodwing and the Enterprise suddenly turn against the escorts and destroy them.

In the last part, Kirk sends a large strike force into the station, to free the Vulcan captives and destroy all research with their brains. But meanwhile, the Enterprise is assaulted by a treacherous faction among Ael's people. Scotty, Chekov and Sulu must fight to recover the ship, while down in the station the battle continues.

Spirk Meter: 1/10*. There's a bit about Spock being particularly interested in the proceedings of Kirk's mind, while playing chess. But I can't think of anything else, and even this is really minimal.

There's also some Mcspirk. McCoy likes to study Kirk and Spock while they play chess, to delve deeper into their personalities and psyches. And when Kirk complains that, if Spock and McCoy keep babysitting him, he'll end up taking their hands, McCoy says that's okay with him. But warns him about Spock, and the kind of rumors that could run through the ship. Also, Ael observes that the three of them seem to share a single mind. Though that's downplayed by the comparison with the similar link between Ael and her son.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[world-cinema-research]

A Review of Blue Velvet (1986) with shared similarities to Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999)  

By Cris Nyne

Blue Velvet is a film noir murder mystery that is both polarizing and captivating. The film is a product of surreal storyteller David Lynch and it begins in almost a dream sequence from the heart of the American dream that churns into the dirt within the first two minutes of it’s opening. Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) is home from college after his father has a stroke. While walking through a field, he finds a severed human ear that he brings to the home of detective John Williams. Jeffrey then strikes up a relationship with detective Williams’ daughter Sandy (Laura Dern). After some inside information from Sandy, Jeffrey begins to stalk jazz singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) who is seemingly connected to the ear. Soon thereafter, he finds himself caught in the tumultuous world of a drug-fueled psychopathic sadomasochist gangster, Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), who potentially has Dorothy’s husband and son.

The film is edgy, with lots of tense interactions and scenes filmed at night. The sexual violence perpetrated towards Dorothy from Frank made a lot of viewers uncomfortable and made for a very divisive film. Roger Ebert initially gave the film a one-star review, then followed that review with another take titled, “My Problem with Blue Velvet.”

“I am not one of the film's admirers. Or perhaps I should say, I admire its craftsmanship but am not one of its defenders. I believe Lynch is a talented director, and that in "Blue Velvet" he has used his talent in an unworthy way. The movie is powerful, challenging and made with great skill, and yet it made me feel pity for the actors who worked in it and anger at the director for taking liberties with them.” -Roger Ebert, “My Problem with Blue Velvet” October 1986

Isabella Rossellini defended her role and David Lynch in an interview with IndieWire. “I try not to read reviews. They’re always depressing. There’s always something that, even if [the review is] good, there is always one sentence that is negative and stays inside you forever. But I remember I was told that Roger Ebert said that [Lynch] exploited me, and I was surprised, because I was an adult. I was 31 or 32. I chose to play the character.” -Rossellini March 2024

During the release of Blue Velvet, many important historical events took place during 1986, including the largest man-made disaster in history with the Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown. Ronald Reagan also confessed to illegal arms sale to Iran in what is now known as "The Iran-Contra Scandal."

Although the original reviews were mixed, today Blue Velvet has obtained cult status and is regarded as one of Lynch’s most important films. American Film institute lists the film at number eight in it’s all-time top ten mystery films. Lynch was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director. Blue Velvet was named Best Film at by Boston Society of Film Critics, Sitges (Catalonian Film Festival), Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle Awards, and the National Society of Film Critics Awards. Dennis Hopper also pulled in numerous Best Supporting Actor awards, including the Montreal World Film Festival. Rotten Tomatoes gives Blue Velvet a 95% rating with critics and an 88% score with over 50,000 audience members. Blue Velvet had a budget of six million dollars and generated more than ten million at the box office. Although Lynch was becoming a well-known director with films like Eraserhead and Dune, the smaller budget, independent release and challenging storyline made the film more unconventional than mainstream.

Speaking of unconventional films, my choice for week seven was Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999), featuring Forest Whitaker. Whitaker as Ghost Dog is a modern-day samurai who quotes Hagakure (a spiritual guide for warriors, first published in 1716), has a best friend that only speaks French- which he doesn’t understand a word of, and lives on a rooftop with his pigeons in a fictional city. Both movies take place in fictional locations. Blue Velvet is set in “Lumberton”, a cozy suburban logging town, but it was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, which is about 80 miles southeast of Lumberton, NC. They are not related. Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai was primarily filmed in Jersey City, New Jersey, but the location is never mentioned in the film. Ghost Dog seems to be an amalgamation of cities from the northeast United States.

The main characters in both films are male, and their adversaries are gangsters. In Blue Velvet, Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) finds himself in the grasp of psychonaut/psychopath Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), the leader of a pack of misfits and miscreants. Their main objective is unclear, but drugs and violence are involved. Frank has the air of an extremely malevolent drug-fueled mob boss. In his role as Ghost Dog, Forest Whitaker is a hired hitman for Louie, an arm of a mob family. After a hired hit from Ghost Dog doesn’t go as planned due to an unexpected witness, the mob wants Louie to have Ghost Dog killed. Both main characters find themselves in the crosshairs of people whose business is violence.

Blue Velvet and Ghost Dog both were released by independent production companies (DeLaurentis and JVC, Le Studio Canal+, and BAC Films, respectively). I found it amusing that Lynch was born January 20th and Jarmusch January 22nd, seven years apart, but both auteurs were born under the artistic/philosopher sign of Aquarius. Both directors share the same contemporaneous timeline and have very distinctive styles. Although the film’s differences were noticeable, the similarities also reverberated throughout the film. Finding the similarities between two different genres of film has been an interesting lesson in critical thought. I would suggest both films for anyone not versed in the worlds of Lynch and Jarmusch.

[lastimeexteriors-nebraska]

How Do I Choose the Best Metal Roofing Contractor Near Me?

So, you’ve decided to invest in a metal roof. Great choice! Metal roofing is durable, energy-efficient, and low-maintenance—practically a one-time investment if done right. But here’s the catch: even the best metal roof won’t perform well if the installation is sloppy. That’s why finding the right contractor is just as important as choosing the right materials.

But how do you tell a skilled, reliable roofing contractor from someone who just has a ladder and some power tools? Let’s break it down.

Experience Matters—But Not Just Any Experience

It’s easy to assume that any roofer with a few years under their belt is good enough. But metal roofing is a whole different beast compared to asphalt shingles. The installation process requires precise techniques, specialized tools, and a deep understanding of how metal expands and contracts with temperature changes.

Here’s what to look for:

How long have they been working specifically with metal roofing? (Not just roofing in general.)

Do they have training or certifications in metal roof installation? Some manufacturers require special certification for contractors to install their products.

Have they handled projects similar to yours? Residential and commercial metal roofing can be vastly different.

Ask for project photos, references, or even addresses of buildings they’ve worked on. A solid contractor won’t hesitate to show off their work.

Licensing and Insurance—Non-Negotiable

You wouldn’t trust an unlicensed driver with your car, so why trust an unlicensed roofer with your home? A legitimate metal roofing contractor should have:

A valid business license (requirements vary by state)

General liability insurance (protects your property from damage during installation)

Workers’ compensation insurance (covers workers if they get injured on your property)

Don’t just take their word for it. Ask for proof. A reputable contractor won’t be offended—they’ll appreciate that you’re a careful homeowner.

Warranties—Both Material and Workmanship

Metal roofs can last 40 to 70 years, but only if they’re installed correctly. That’s why you need to check for two types of warranties:

Manufacturer’s warranty – Covers defects in the roofing materials.

Workmanship warranty – Covers errors in installation.

A solid contractor will stand behind their work. If they seem hesitant to offer a workmanship warranty, consider it a red flag.

Online Reviews and Word-of-Mouth—What Are People Saying?

Online reviews can tell you a lot, but they can also be misleading. A contractor with only a handful of five-star ratings? Could be their friends and family. A few negative reviews? That’s normal—what matters is how they respond.

To get the full picture:

Check multiple sources (Google, Yelp, Better Business Bureau)

Look for detailed reviews—not just “Great job!” but explanations of what made their experience good or bad

Ask around locally—neighbors, coworkers, or local hardware stores might have recommendations

If multiple people are saying the same thing—good or bad—it’s probably true.

Communication—Are They Easy to Reach?

You shouldn’t have to chase your contractor for updates. Good communication is a sign of professionalism. Here’s what to watch for:

Do they return calls or emails promptly?

Are they clear about pricing and timelines?

Do they explain the process in a way that makes sense?

If they dodge questions or seem vague, that’s a bad sign. You want someone who keeps you informed every step of the way.

Pricing—Fair, Not Cheap

We all love a good deal, but when it comes to roofing, you get what you pay for. If one quote is significantly lower than the others, ask yourself why. Are they cutting corners on materials? Skipping insurance? Hiring inexperienced labor?

A trustworthy contractor will:

Provide a detailed, written estimate (materials, labor, and additional costs)

Be upfront about potential extra costs (like structural repairs if needed)

Explain their pricing—if they’re using premium materials, they should be able to tell you why it’s worth it

Cheap roofing jobs often lead to expensive repairs later. Better to do it right the first time.

Metal Roofing Specialties—Not All Roofers Are Equal

Some roofing companies do a little bit of everything—shingles, tile, flat roofs, and metal. But metal roofing requires a different skill set, so it’s best to find a contractor who specializes in it.

Ask:

Do they install standing seam, corrugated, and metal shingles? (Different styles require different techniques.)

Do they use hidden fasteners or exposed fasteners? (Hidden fasteners last longer and reduce leaks.)

Can they recommend the best type of metal roofing for your climate? (Some metals resist rust better than others.)

A contractor who truly knows metal roofing will have clear, confident answers.

Local Knowledge—It Actually Matters

Local experience is huge when it comes to roofing. A contractor who knows your area will understand:

Weather conditions—Extreme heat, cold, or humidity can affect metal roofing differently.

Building codes—Every city or county has regulations that must be followed.

Permits and inspections—A good contractor will handle these for you.

Choosing a local expert means fewer surprises down the road.

The Gut Feeling Test—Do You Trust Them?

At the end of the day, you need to feel comfortable with the person working on your home or property. Do they seem knowledgeable? Are they professional but approachable? Do they listen to your concerns?

If something feels off—trust your instincts. A good contractor isn’t just skilled; they’re someone you feel confident relying on.

Final Thoughts

Finding the right metal roofing contractor isn’t something to rush. Do your research, ask the right questions, and don’t be afraid to walk away if something doesn’t sit right. A metal roof is a long-term investment, and the right contractor will make sure it lasts.

So, take your time. Ask around. And when you find that contractor who checks all the boxes? You’ll know your roof is in good hands.

[elliepassmore]

Foxglove review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: fantasy, magic, death as a character, mysteries, fate

Belladonna review

Signa and Death are back to solve another murder, though the circumstances are more precarious and their opponent far more dangerous. Toward the ending of the last book, I wasn't sure what would be next for the two of them, but the death at the end of Belladonna answered that question, and this book picks up immediately from that scene.

Like in the first book, there are two main, but related, plotlines in Foxglove. The first is the murder and Elijah's subsequent arrest, which both Signa and Blythe are distraught about. The second plot is with Fate, Death's brother, who is convinced Signa is his long lost love, Life, and is desperate to get her back and fuck shit up for Death (it isn't a love triangle by a long shot). The plot with Fate definitely felt more prominent, probably since he was sticking his nose in everything and (usually) making it worse.

We definitely get to see more of Signa's powers in this book. Over the course of the last book she really came into them and is now confident in who she is. With that settled, Signa is able to exert control over her abilities and even experiments with expanding that control and improving her capabilities. She also has the opportunity to try out some new powers, though her control over these new ones is spotty and something she struggles with throughout the book. Fate's entrance and his suggestion/revelation that Signa is a reincarnated Life brings the potential for new, life-giving powers, which Signa struggles with as much as she once struggled with the idea of reaper powers.

Signa also gets a minor third plot that involves Foxglove Manor and her family's past there. I was glad to see the manor after it had been built up so much in Signa's mind. Most of this book lacks the same gothic feel as Belladonna, but Foxglove Manor definitely fit the bill. It's spooky, dark, on the sea, is haunted. It's the perfect gothic setting. I also liked that Signa was able to fill in some of the gaps about her parents and get a little bit of closure there. I hope we get to see more of Foxglove Manor in the next book!

I liked Death in the first book and wasn't sure how things would go in this one with Blythe no longer being poisoned. As expected, he isn't around as much as he was in Belladonna, and I definitely missed having him around as much. He remains as protective and funny as he was in the first one, and we get to see more of him encouraging Signa to use her powers and come into herself, even if those powers include ones from Life. I did like how supportive he was and how much he worked to try and clear Elijah's name simply because it was something that mattered to Signa.

Fate takes the place as the main mythical figure in human form in this one and he is Death's opposite in every way. He is bright and golden and in love with opulence but he is also fickle and angry and unwilling to be told no. While we do get to see some softer moments, largely when he is trying to manipulate people, by and large Fate is someone who is both used to getting his way and is willing to ruin everyone's lives when he's upset.

Blythe gets her own POV in this book. She's less bratty now and with her health returned to her, she's determined to help solve the murder and clear her father's name. At the same time, Blythe begins noticing there's odd things happening in Thorn Grove, with her, and with Signa, and begins to get suspicious. Blythe definitely takes charge in more than a few situations and is willing to use all her social skills and wiles to figure things out. That being said, she's not as versed in the realm of weird things as Signa was when we met her, and so Blythe sometimes reaches the wrong conclusions and trusts the wrong people, but she does have a good heart and makes strong decisions based on what she knows.

One thing that was frustrating to me was how much tension could've been solved in this book if characters had simply sat down and talked with one another. And by characters I mean Signa and Blythe. Blythe's suspicions are raised on numerous subjects and, having been kept in the dark by Signa, sometimes jumps to the wrong conclusions and trusts the wrong people. It was frustrating because as a reader, I know what's really going on and why Signa was doing/had done certain things and I wanted to shake Blythe. Yet at the same time I was also aware that Blythe was working with limited information because Signa was terrified of being rejected by her and so Blythe's actions are totally reasonable given the information she had. Miscommunication is not something I tend to like in books, but at least it actually makes sense here and I was able to see both sides, which I feel like is a failing of a lot of miscommunication plots.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and the plotlines. It was interesting to see things from Blythe's POV and have her be more of an active agent in this one. Fate was an interesting character to bring in and I definitely don't like him, but I'm intrigued to see where things go with him in book 3. I would've liked to see more Death though and I hope he and Signa have more interactions in Wisteria (I suspect we will, but who knows).

[onghwangs]

Just to add to the convo, I don't disagree that you cant control why you like/are drawn to someone. But I wonder why nowadays looks are the only thing that people need to be liked/successful. Don't get me wrong, I like Guanlin, Seonho, Jihoon, Jinyoung, etc. but I can't find a reason other than looks to think they are special or interesting people. Which is kind of sad, no hate towards them it's not their fault they're hot. But whats best is when we have talent and visuals, like Hwang Minhyun ;)

haha true, i feel like guys like jihoon have a certain aura that attracts a lot of people and he can’t help it? he really lucked out with his wink though. that’s what got people interested in him, ngl

the thing is plastic surgery is so common in kpop, so it’s saturated with good looking people. if you find guys who have naturally stunning visuals like guanlin, seonho, or yongbin, it’s really viewed in a positive light and can garner attention. skills like singing and dancing, can be taught to be as you go along. 

but it’s because many of them are new trainees so lots are lacking in different skill areas that are required to debut. So while I do think that it’s not wrong to stan them, i would worry for some of the visual trainees if they happen to make it. 

because the other top contender trainees for the final group just need a bit of fine tuning to debut like Ong, Kangdan, Kimsam, and Daehwi, or are already debuted idols that are practically overqualified like Nu’Est and Hotshot. some of the visual trainees would be able to keep up with their group quite well, and improve like Yongbin (rip), Youjin, and Jihoon. But guys like the Cube babies, hyunbin, BJY….they really need more work to be able to debut because the skill discrepancy would be toooooo huge to ignore.

and while i stan many of the f boys, my personal top 11 is quite a bit different from what I want the top 11 to be.

i feel like many people won’t actively go seeking to be fans of super good-looking people will no visible skillset and sometimes extremely talented people in the idol industry will have a hard time keeping fans with their contemporaries because of looks too.

i think there needs to be a balance of the idol being pleasing to see and hear for them to be successful. 

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragonball Z: Abridged Episode 1 Review

Originally posted August 8th, 2015

The series begins with dated jokes and poor exposition.

But first, a little about this project. I love DragonBall Z: Abridged, and I also love film criticism, so naturally, I would want to use my skills as a film critic on this wonderful series in order to take a deeper look at it and analyze just what makes it so great. And that’s exactly what this project is; I’m going to watch, consider, and write a full review for each and every episode. Without further ado, let’s begin!

The most noteworthy thing about “The Return of Raditz! ... Wait...”1 is that it’s really not that noteworthy. Like any pilot episode, it’s main purpose is to establish characters and setting, but it’s weighed down by the years of backstory it is very clearly leaving out. We meet Goku at Kame House and see that he already has very strong relationships with Krillin, Bulma, and Master Roshi, but we don’t get to see their relationships established firmly. Instead we’re dropped right into the middle of this group with only hints and passing references at who they are.

This is best illustrated by one of the best potential jokes of the episode falling completely flat.2 When we meet Krillin, the first thing we learn about him is that he’s sexually and romantically desperate, since his first line is to call Bulma “boobs” rather than her name (which is sexist and unfunny, but thankfully Team Four Star has the sense to not make jokes like this a trend). Naturally we’re meant to believe that he’s a little bit of a loser, but we still only have this idea as an implication, and so when Goku says that he feels a power level bigger than Krillin’s losing streak, the joke falls flat because we don’t yet have any knowledge of what Krillin’s losing streak might possibly be (which also has the side effect of making the exposition useless).

The opening scene is overall stronger than the introduction to our protagonists (though the humor misses about as often). Starting the show off by interrupting Grieg’s “Peer Gent - Morning Mood” with a loud crash and the concerned exclamations of a marijuana farmer sets the tone and establishes Team Four Star’s sense of humor nicely (that the farmer “corrects” himself when no one else is around costs the joke some of its humor, but it’s still solid). Then Raditz shows up, and introduces himself nicely, killing off the farmer and establishing the relative weakness of most ordinary humans before flying away to look for “Kakarot.”

He stumbles onto Piccolo instead, however, who is established very clearly as a loner with no real friends in a clever (but extremely dated) MySpace joke. Naturally, Raditz and Piccolo don’t get along very well, and they both get ready to fight each other. Then, in a fairly inspired gag, two of the voice actors stop the footage, arguing over who will get to voice Raditz after the initial voice actor tries to call his attack by its Japanese name (a very foolish move). The new voice actor steps in, and renames the attack the “Keep Your Eye On The Bird” attack before getting distracted by someone more powerful than Piccolo.

The episode closes with Piccolo joining forces with Goku to save Gohan (Goku’s son) from Raditz, who has kidnapped him, nabbing one of the Dragonballs in the process. The weaknesses of this episode begin to come through again here, as we’re given hints as to Goku and Piccolo’s previous rivalry, but not enough information on that rivalry to justify their joining forces or their dislike for one another. This is unfortunate, because both Goku and Piccolo have the strongest voice actors in this episode (and with the exception of Vegeta, arguably the series), and they’re really good at playing off of each other. With just a little more exposition, their relationship could’ve been made perfectly clear.

Rating: 2/5

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1An oddly appropriate name for an episode that doesn’t know how to establish its characters.

2Technically it works if you’ve seen the original Dragonball, but c’mon, who has actually watched that?

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed these, because there are many, many more to come.

And yes, each of my reviews from here on out will be approaching Dragonball Z: Abridged as its own unique show, separate from the original series. 

In case you’re wondering, I’ve seen twenty some odd episodes of Dragonball Z Kai, but I watched them after having watched DBZA four times, mostly out of curiosity.

Roshi: “Yay beer!”

Bulma: “Oh my god, he’s a parent.” And a damn shitty one at that (but we’ll get to that).

Krillin: “You know, you guys are the reason I go to therapy.”

And thus marks the first tally in the “Krillin Owned” count.

[my-mt-heart]

TWD 11x08 “For Blood” Review

Welp. This episode wraps out part 1 of the final season which can be summarized in two words. Nothing happens. So many are understandably upset that Daryl and Carol have not spoken one word to each other nor seemed to even be connected emotionally, and I know that might raise fear about what it means for their story going forward. Maybe Angela Kang doesn’t care about their relationship as much as we thought. Maybe they’ll be put on the back burner for the rest of the season. Maybe they won’t go canon after all. Well, babes. For what it’s worth, I personally don’t think this block is a reflection of what’s in store for Caryl. Why? For one thing, their story is not the only one that suffered. 

Practically no part of the story in eight whole episodes, with the exception of Connie’s and Kelly’s reunion, saw any movement. Carol is mainly a plot device. Maggie and Negan rehash the same argument over and over again. Eugene, Ezekiel, Princess, and Yumiko have not accomplished anything substantial at the Commonwealth. Alexandria is really no more or less broken than it was at the top of the season. Our people started off with no food, and they still have no food. Pope and the Reapers came in hot with their ninja skills and religious cult mentality, and have since done nothing. And now Pope is dead. As for Leah, oh, I will get to that. Don’t you worry. 

My point is, I think we can all agree part 1 was too slow, lacked connective tissue, and was just, well, not good. I apologize in advance if my review feels more like a long rant at certain points, but like I said, I’m here to give my honest opinion. Before I do, I want to clarify that 1) I’m aware there are still two more episodes to go of the Reaper arc, which could make all the difference. I really hope that it does. And 2) Just because I have a bone to pick, it does NOT mean my stance and expectations for Caryl have wavered. I am still very confident about where all of this is leading. It’s just taking a lot longer than we’d like to build up to it. As is typical of this show, it’s only a matter of time before we finally turn a corner. 

Though it isn’t surprising at this point, it still pains me that Carol hardly gets any screen time in this episode. I understand she had a big, complicated arc last season. I understand her arc this season is to try to make amends, absolve her guilt, and prove to Daryl that she belongs with TF.  BUT. That does NOT have to mean her role gets completely shrunken down to someone with her tail tucked between her legs who’s just going to stand off to the side while other supporting characters, guest stars, and unpopular villains get more story. Carol could’ve been pulling badass Terminus moves at the Meridian, but instead she’s rounding up horses and boarding up windows? It’s ridiculous, and a waste of her potential. Again, I say this without knowing what’s to come in part 2. 

It takes an extremely talented actress to shine in small moments, and as we all know, Melissa McBride is one of those actresses. I maintain that a conversation between Carol and Connie would go a long way to help both women find some peace of mind, but their quick little exchange in the kitchen still manages to do me in. The surprise and relief on Carol’s face when Connie says, “I wanna go with Carol,” is so powerful and beautiful. My heart soars, you guys. 

Also, for the first time in forever, Carol has a brief interaction with Judith, who like Connie, wants to go out in the storm to help her. Carol tells her she needs her to stay inside to “help the other kids feel less afraid,” and Judith lives up to her word, being there for Gracie when she doesn’t want Aaron to leave. It’s clear that Judith really looks up to her Aunt Carol as well as her Uncle Daryl. We definitely need more scenes between them. Please and thank you. 

Though it’s always nice to hear Judith talk about Michonne, to me these moments are becoming a bit stale. The sentiment is repetitive. Judith is sad her mom isn’t around, and then one of the adults tells her it’s okay. In this episode, it’s Virgil, who it turns out is still alive and kicking. For how much longer, I’m not sure, because it seems like he’s already served a lot of his purpose. He saved Connie, who very sweetly rubs his arm in one shot, and now he tells Judith everything he knows about Michonne’s whereabouts which is essentially nada. I don’t necessarily want him to die, but he is high on my list of death predictions. Speaking of death, Judith and Gracie are 99.9% NOT going to die in the flooded basement, so it feels like a real waste to leave on that note. Just saying. 

Rosita is a total badass. She’s another female character who’s been unfairly sidelined lately, so I’m glad she gets to slay some walkers. Meanwhile, Maggie, Negan, Gabriel, and Elijah are leading a whole herd of walkers on the Meridian, which is very cool, but at the same time, I still find it hard to believe Negan of all people would be the one to teach them after only spending a few days with the whisperers. Remind me again why he’s needed at all on this adventure aside from forcing tension between him and Maggie, who seems to know her way around very well?  At least we’re spared their bickering this time. Sorry, not sorry. I do think it’s kind of cute the way Negan helps Elijah when they get injured from the explosion. I don’t know. Can’t explain. 

Now. I have a funny feeling that a lot of people are going to take the Daryl and Leah scenes at face value, so let’s discuss those. Yes, Daryl tells Leah he thinks about what would have happened if they had just stayed at the cabin. Yes, he does confess that Maggie and co. are his family, and he does make an effort to get Leah to come with him. But before you get discouraged, I want to reiterate a couple things.  First, Daryl is being strategic again. He sees Leah getting ready to blow Maggie and co. up, so if there’s ever a time to try to make a final appeal, it has to be now and it has to be good. Second, as I said last week, the purpose of Daryl’s arc so far is to challenge his character  to not let a dark past consume him again, and for someone who still bases his self-worth on “never leaving anyone behind” (this quote from the SDCC trailer actually doesn’t come up at all), moments of confusion are bound to happen. I think it’s okay that they do. 

It is no coincidence that the cabin, aka a reference to the past, adds fuel to the conversation, and I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that the language used is very reminiscent of events that transpire between Daryl and Carol. At one point Leah says, “It’s hard to watch someone you care about change when they’re hurting other people you care about too.” She’s talking about Pope I believe, and while  Daryl surely applies the sentiment to her, knowing she’s trying to hurt Maggie and the others, it also makes me think back to his arc throughout season 10 where he tries to protect Carol from that very thing, begging her to “come back with him.” Side note: There’s a big difference between Daryl telling Leah she “could” come with him (insert shrug emoji) and Daryl telling Carol she’s “gotta” come back with him, throwing a desperate “please” at the end. One is extending an olive branch, the other is a necessity for his livelihood. It stands to reason that Daryl, feeling like he failed Carol during the whole Alpha debacle, sees an opportunity to make amends through Leah, and it probably helps that Leah looks a lot like Carol. It is a FAR cry from loving Leah, and if you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe the showrunner. This is a direct quote from Angela Kang on the Episode Insider [full version here]: 

The thing we wanted to show with this story is that Daryl and Leah in a lot of ways have exactly the same attitude. They may have once had a romantic relationship, but they’re never going to choose each other over the people that they have loved and fought for because they simply cannot really trust each other. There’s sort of a toxicity at the base of that relationship, and so when Daryl tells Leah [about his family], it is absolutely a gamble. He doesn’t know what the outcome is going to be. What he has seen of her in the more recent episodes is that there is that core to her that still believes in things that are not just what the Reapers believe. I think he sees that there is still a good person in there, somebody who is still emotionally affected by pain and suffering, who cares about other people, who is protective, and Daryl doesn’t really have the heart to try to kill her right there, and so the best thing he could do is to try to bring her in on it. In his mind, he thinks ‘either she’s going to help me or she doesn’t. Either way, there’s going to be a battle here, but I feel like at this moment in time, I might be able to gain more by telling her what’s going on than by not telling her.’ 

Need I say more? The relationship was always doomed, friends. Daryl’s efforts to help Leah were always doomed, and if that final shot of her glaring menacingly over the wall while launching explosives at our group is any indication, get ready. She’s going to be the big villain for the remainder of the arc, which I still believe will span over episodes 9 and 10. We’re almost over the hump. The worst is over. The chance for redemption has come and gone. 

While I’m not concerned about the deeper meaning behind Daryl’s and Leah’s scenes in this episode, I do still take issue with the way Daryl blows his cover. There was an opportunity to really build up the stakes and suspense, catching all characters off guard at once. For example, by discovering the knife or by capturing Carol or both, and instead the writers went with the lowest hanging fruit. Sure, there is still a chance for one of these situations to occur (not that I was ever confident about the knife), but the impact isn’t going to hit nearly as hard. It’s really unfortunate.  

As for the overall value of the Daryl and Leah arc? I don’t know how to say this without sounding condescending so I’m just going to say it. An important rule of thumb for writing? If you’re going to introduce a storyline you damn well know is controversial, you better work your ass off to earn it. As I’ve stated before, I don’t think Leah’s character or even just the idea of a former love interest for Daryl was ever necessary, but I do think it could’ve been earned. The only way to do that is to use Daryl’s past love life to inform his present love life, and so far that has not happened. There are subtle hints, but a lot is missing. For example, while I absolutely don’t need explicit sex/love scenes between them, I do want the show to stay true to a character who’s been portrayed to have intimacy issues. I want to see the payoff of highlighting a bracelet that Leah wears on her left hand just like Carol, and losing an adopted son just like Carol. I’m reserving judgement until I see the arc play out in its entirety, but it’s worth flagging. 

All that aside, I was fairly accurate about the order of emotional beats we would see, which is just to say tracking these kinds of things can prove very useful. The same exercise can work on Caryl too. Literally the only remaining step is for them to confront each other and try to set things right. It’s just a matter of when the show decides it’s the appropriate time as opposed to letting it happen naturally. You would think this fiasco with Leah would give Daryl some perspective on his relationship with Carol , but I guess we’ll see. Sometimes it seems like  the only thing the writers can think to do to avoid blowing their load too soon is to simply keep Daryl and Carol away from each other. For the record, this is a terrible approach. It is what it is though. Here’s hoping 11B will be worth the long hiatus.

11x01 “Acheron Part 1″ Review

11x02 “Acheron Part 2″ Review

11x03 “Hunted” Review

11x04 “Rendition” Review

11x05 “Out of the Ashes” Review

11x06 “On the Inside” Review

11x07 “Promises Broken” Review

[imperiuswrecked]

Hey! I agree qith you that I wsih Gambit got his personality back in the comics. Question: do you have any headcanons or ideas about the characther you'd like to share? It's cool if not, I understand. Have an awesome day either way, really enjoy your blog! ❤️

Remy LeBeau - Gambit Headcanons

(I would appreciate it if people don't tag this as Romy as this has nothing to do with that ship. I also don’t want to read about Romy or Rogue headcanons)

Remy has a butterfly pocket knife on him at all times, he never goes anywhere without it and he is very skilled with it.

(Gif of a man’s hand using a butterfly pocket knife)

Remy is Bisexual.

Remy's rarely still (unless he is like stuck in a vent/closet/where ever waiting for people to leave so he can rob them etc.). He is always moving; his hands shuffle cards, messes around with his Bo Staff, pets his cats, touches others on the shoulder, ruffles hair, picks up object to look at and put back, a coin slips through his fingers over and over. If his hands are still his eyes never are, they are always shifting, looking around the room, he is very aware of his environment. - There 2 reasons why he does this; 1. Remy is a genuinely restless person, even when relaxed and lounging his mind is always picking apart potential jobs, thinking through building layouts, thinking about how to get around security, he has an endless list of things to prepare for his next score and thinks about it constantly until it's done, it's like a puzzle and he loves to work it out so it's constantly running in the back of his head. 2. If his hands are always moving and people see him constantly touching things then it's easier for people not to notice when he subtly pockets something.

Remy's never repeats himself if people misunderstand his accent, usually he just brushes it off or ignores it since it annoys him to keep repeating it.

Remy most prized collection is his Bo Staffs, he has regular ones, collapsible ones, and every kind in between. He just thinks they are cool and he is part of an online collector group and they share their buys.

(Gif of a woman using a collapsible Bo Staff)

Remy leaves very bitchy reviews for Bo Staff creators who make cheap products and try to sell them off as good quality. He takes offense at anyone who wants to rip off buyers and hates those mass made staffs.

Remy spoils his cats. He is cat dad.

He watches cooking shows in his spare time, and takes cooking classes all the time, if he wanted he could settle down and be a very successful chef but he doesn't like to cook for everyone, just the people he likes. It's the way he shows affection both romantic and platonically.

Remy doesn't trust easily, it comes with the job, and he plays his cards close to his chest (cliché I know but it's him)

Remy tells terrible card puns as a way to break tension and annoy people.

He is, of course, a total card shark and loves nothing more than taking up someone's bet and beating them.

Remy's slight of hand is so good, and he is amazing at magic card tricks, card tricks, and just about anything he can do with his hands, like coin tricks and no one has ever beaten him at cups & balls. He's been street hustling since he was a kid.

He loves Penn & Teller. Every time he can get a chance he goes to see one of their shows.

Star Wars nerd, he likes Star Trek too. He is actually a very big Sci Fi geek, movies, novels, etc.

He has a lot of different sunglasses, he knows he unnerves some people which is why he doesn't make eye contact a lot. Also his eyes are sensitive to the light, I also headcanon he has better night vision than normal people.

Remy loves yo-yos. He can do a lot of yo-yo tricks but not all of them, he is working on becoming a yo-yo master.

Remy hated his powers when they first appeared, he couldn't touch anything for months without blowing it up. His adopted father, Jean-Luc, was the one who taught him self control and they spent a long time trying to figure out what triggered him charging the objects. Soon it became a fun game between them, they would practice every day until Remy went a whole month without accidently blowing anything up.

Remy likes pocket watches, the fancy kind that have a chain and they look cool. He sometimes carries one around with him just to be able to mess around with it.

Remy is very flexible and graceful, he knows how to keep quiet while moving around and likes to pop up behind people as a trick to startle them in good fun.

Remy has a deep seated fear of abandonment, he keeps a wall up around everyone. He is very smooth and charming but it's all a trick to get people to not dig any further.

Jean-Luc is a good dad and Remy loves him a lot, Jean once tried to offer Remy help to look for his bio parents but Remy declined. Remy has had thoughts on and off about his bio parents but he worries about finding out about them and confronting them. He feels it's better to leave the past in the past. However sometimes he seriously thinks about going to find his mother, he doesn't care so much about finding his bio-dad because he has Jean-Luc.

Remy is a romantic, he loves love. He is the best wing man and likes playing cupid sometimes.

Remy's powers scare him, he has a recurring nightmare that he is hugging a loved one and they begin to glow from a charge. He wakes up shaken and he honestly doesn't think being a mutant is all that great. It's just something that happened to him, like he rolls with it but if given the choice he would not have his powers simply because there isn't anything he can do with his thief work with his powers that he can't do with his mind. He honestly just hates bullies and that's the real reason he began fighting for mutant rights. Otherwise he would just be coping with his abilities.

He has a lot of vices and hates people judging him for them. He doesn't give a fuck what other people are doing but he hates being preached to.

He believes in Karma more than he does in a Christian higher power even though he doesn’t follow Hinduism or Buddhism, he isn't an atheist but he doesn't strictly follow religion. He just doesn't do anything that he knows would cause serious harm to people which is why the Morlock Massacre weighs so heavy on his guilt and mind all the time. He blames himself for it and keeps thinking about that time, trying to find a way to puzzle out how he could have fixed it, changed things for the better. Once he tried to find a magical solution, going back in time to try and stop it but he was tricked by the terms of the deal and could only watch as it happened again. After that he stopped trying.

His favorite color is fuchsia.

His card charge glow is usually a bright pink but a few times they had a different color, he wondered why that happened so he started keeping track. Different colors corresponds to different emotions, pink means he’s in control of the charge and knows what he wants. Gold is when he is desperate to escape a situation and is charging cards without any kind of restraint, and so on. 

Remy is skilled/knowledgeable at Tarot and has many decks. 

One of Remy’s worst nightmares is looking at his reflection and seeing Death!Remy staring back at him, for a long time after he was Death he was afraid he would wake up and find he hadn’t ever been freed of it.

Remy hates the cold. This started after Antarctica, before he wouldn’t mind it but after he does everything he can to be as warm as possible. He layers up his clothes in cold areas, and sticks mostly to hot climate areas. He keeps his house warm enough to be comfortable and dislikes anyone lowering the A/C temp.

He doesn’t believe in banks, he keeps refillable cards for things that need a credit card but otherwise he uses cash all the time. He doesn’t believe in taxes either.

Remy is a switch, he tops, he bottoms, he does anything that he and his partner are comfortable with. He isn’t actually some sex crazed horny guy but like he slips into sexual relations easily because he enjoys it. If his partner doesn’t like/want sex he is more than ok with waiting or even not haven’t a physically intimate relationship so long as emotional needs are met. Emotional connections are very important for him.

He is very competitive when it comes to heists and like any good burglar he loves to one up another thief and make off with their score to prove he is faster/smarter. 

Gambit has been banned for life from every casino in Las Vegas.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

Master Fu: Master of Failure (200 Follower Special)

Mentors are some of the most important characters in all of pop culture, as they help the protagonist advance in his journey while helping them improve in skill and personal growth. Because of their vital role, mentors tend to be among some of the most memorable characters in their respective franchises.

Mentors can be a variety of people, from wise sages, to former soldiers, to just regular people with a strong moral compass. What matters is the impact they have on the hero, and the role they play in the story.

Master Fu does a poor job at accomplishing both of those qualifications.

Like, well, basically every bad thing in Miraculous Ladybug, the ideas behind Master Fu were interesting in concept. The problem was the execution, or rather, what little we got with Master Fu. Yet he still manages to be memorable (no pun intended) for all the wrong ways. But before we get into Master Fu, let's get into a problem with Miraculous Ladybug in general that plagues several characters and plotlines.

Order of the... What Exactly?

Despite being “the last known member of the Order of the Guardians”, Master Fu hasn't really explained much about the Order he's from. All we really know is that he was trained to guard the Miraculous and distribute them to worthy people. And the Order does this... why exactly?

This is a huge problem with Miraculous Ladybug, the underdeveloped lore behind a major part of the story. Despite being connected to the Miraculous, you know, the magical artifacts the show is named after, we still don't really know much about why they were formed in the first place, and what their connection to the Miraculous is.

Oh wait, the origin of the Miraculous actually is explained... in an issue of the tie-in comic.

Someone seriously thought it was a good idea to explain that Kwamis are connected to abstract concepts like creation and destruction, and how the Miraculous were created, both very important things to learn, AND THEY DID IT IN A GODDAMN TIE-IN COMIC THAT ONLY LASTED THREE ISSUES! 

I shouldn't be expected to read supplementary material to understand the backstory of a show. You don't need to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars to understand the tragedy of Order 66, so why would you expect your audience to read a comic book to understand the origin of the magical objects that give your main characters superpowers?

Even the explanation we got isn't that detailed. Okay, fine some guy created the Miraculous to give the Kwamis tangibility (which actually explains how they can phase through solid objects), but... how and why? How was this sage able to see Tikki, how was he able to create the Miraculous, and why did he do it?

This extends to the Order of the Guardians as well. How and why were they formed? What exactly do they even do besides guard Miraculous? Why do they even guard the Miraculous in the first place? We even learn more about their methods, and trust me, I'll get to that later.

In Xiaolin Showdown, the pilot episode of all things explains why Shen Gong Wu are so important, and why the Xiaolin Dragons dedicate their lives to protecting them, because they maintain the balance between good and evil, and if they fall into the hands of evil, the world could fall into 10,000 years of darkness. Yeah, the first episode actually does a good job at explaining the backstory of the show, who would have thought? And it's from a show that has a better representation of Chinese culture when this is what the main character looks like.

Overall, the Order of the Guardians is an underdeveloped concept that does very little to help out Master Fu as a character. If the backstory of a character is so vague, how can we even understand the character's motivations in the first place? And by God, are Master Fu's motivations confusing.

Master of Not Doing Anything

Before I started working on this, I saw a video review of Miraculous Ladybug by someone who had never seen the show before, and only did so because one of his friends said they would start watching One Punch Man if he did. Even though he only mentioned Master Fu a few times, he described him as “a dude with a jewelry box full of superhero bling”, and felt like that was all those unfamiliar with the show needed to know. As someone who is familiar with the show? Yeah, that's basically all Master Fu is.

Despite being classified as a mentor, Master Fu doesn't really do a lot of mentoring. Sure, he occasionally talks to Marinette, but whenever things get rough, all he really does is hand out a Miraculous for Marinette to give to someone else temporarily.

And I've said it multiple times, but the Rent-A-Miraculous system is a horrible idea. Not only does it require Ladybug to basically leave Cat Noir to fend for himself while she rushes over to Master Fu, she has to think of an ideal candidate for the Miraculous she takes, find said candidate, rush back to where the Akuma is, hope Cat Noir wasn't incapacitated by the Akuma, and then haul ass to Master Fu's place to return the Miraculous as soon as the fight's over.

The idea of introducing new heroes is interesting, but because we see them so rarely, they don't really feel that important. I get that the title is “Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir”, but I just wish the show would do more with the temporary heroes, like see how it affects their lives. Unfortunately, I can't, thanks to “Miracle Queen”, as usual. I'll get to that episode again later on.

Even when Master Fu takes out the Miraculous, he doesn't really help Marinette think of which one to choose. He just says something like “Take a Miraculous, but be sure to return it to me when you're done.” It doesn't matter, because Marinette apparently knows how all fifteen Miraculous in the box work. Hey, wouldn't it have been nice to see Master Fu actually teach Marinette how every Miraculous works? Maybe have him suggest which Miraculous to take based on the Akuma's powers? I'm just saying, maybe you can take time away from Ladybug and Cat Noir fighting a giant baby to actually give more focus on other characters.

Before that, he was just planning to do nothing and hope Ladybug and Cat Noir could reclaim Hawkmoth's Miraculous for him. According to Tikki in “The Collector”, Marinette isn't even supposed to see the Guardian, and only met Master Fu because she found the Grimoire. So despite being “Guardians of the Miraculous”, he doesn't even help out the random people he decided to give Miraculous to? It's a miracle Ladybug and Cat Noir survived an entire season without any real guidance from Master Fu.

The third season tries to do something by having Master Fu train Marinette to become a guardian, but all of the training is entirely offscreen, and by “Feast”, he just says that her training is complete, and then makes her a guardian against her will in “Miracle Queen”.

Then there are moments unrelated to the Miraculous where he fails to actually be a mentor. Everyone knows about how stupid it was that the writers wanted the audience to sympathize with Adrien for threatening to quit being Cat Noir while Paris is flooded, but this also could have been a moment where Master Fu helped him talk about his feelings, or maybe dispense some wisdom about how hard it is to understand if someone actually trusts him or not. You know, act as a mentor to Adrien?

But instead, they brush over this potentially interesting character moment, because that would actually imply that Adrien has flaws. Because we all know Astruc loves to show the audience that Adrien Agreste is basically the second coming of Jesus Christ, right? And even though the episode making a big deal about Adrien not knowing Master Fu, they really don't have any meaningful conversations outside of that episode, except maybe “Party Crasher”. Though the episode does have Master Fu taking action when Ladybug is incapacitated by the Akuma by giving a Miraculous... to someone he barely knows swimming in Adrien's bathtub. Even he regrets his choice a few minutes later.

And then there's the fact that despite it being his job to guard the Miraculous, he does literally nothing to figure out where the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous are. Sure, he briefly talked with Marinette about Gabriel possibly being Hawkmoth in “The Collector”, but she did most of the investigating in that episode.

Hell, “Sandboy” establishes there's a way to contact Nooroo, the Kwami of the Butterfly Miraculous, on his birthday, but Master Fu turned it down, so they did it behind his back! For the love of God, this is a chance to figure out who Hawkmoth is and bring the conflict with him to an end, and you're passing it up?! In “Heart Hunter”, Master Fu says that Hawkmoth “talks a lot, but hasn't achieved much so far”, but you could easily apply that to Master Fu himself.

Outside of giving Miraculous to Marinette to borrow, what has Master Fu actually accomplished in the story? Maybe his backstory will shed more light on him as a character, and won't just make him look even worse.

The Bungled Backstory

One of the most frustrating things about Master Fu's backstory is that it actually has some pretty good buildup.

In “The Collector” we learn that Master Fu made a mistake that led to the destruction of the temple the Guardians operated out of, and the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous were lost in the process. This does a good job at setting up the mystery of what Master Fu did to destroy the temple in the first place. It continues in “Sandboy”, where Master Fu's worst nightmare is him heing haunted by the ghosts of the guardians he accidentally killed, and then we see in “Backwarder” that Master Fu had confidants to help him keep the Miraculous safe from what are assumed to be the Nazis. Because I guess guardians get to share their secrets, but not Ladybug and Cat Noir?

And then we learned the full backstory in “Feast”. Much like how “Oblivio” and “Cat Blanc” killed any chances of me ever showing any sympathy to Alya and Gabriel respectively, I lost all respect for Master Fu after watching this episode.

We learn that Fu was chosen to be a guardian at a very young age, and had no other choice but to start his training. One day, he was assigned to watch over A Miracle Box as a test for twenty-four hours without any food, water, or sleep. He decided to use the Peacock Miraculous to create a Sentimonster to get him some food, but his anger corrupted the Sentimonster that made it go on a rampage to eat the Miraculous in the temple... and somehow set the temple on fire judging from this shot.

In my main blog, I had originally made a post calling out Master Fu for what he did, but since then, I've mostly softened up. This is just a fan theory you are free do disagree with, but I like to think that Fu was supposed to use a Miraculous during the test. Maybe he was supposed to use the Mouse Miraculous to get some food while one of the clones sat and watched the box, or use the Horse Miraculous to sneak to the kitchen.

My problem comes from how his backstory affects his actions, and makes him look like a complete hypocrite.

Even though he hated the fact that he was basically drafted to become a guardian when he was only a child, he saw no problem handing out Miraculous to children who weren't that much older than he was when he burned down the temple. I don't even think he should even qualify as a master. His title shouldn't be “Master Fu”, but something more along the lines of “Acting Master Fu” on account of the other guardians burning to death.

Say what you will about Zordon for recruiting teenagers with attitude to become the Power Rangers, but what makes him more likable than Master Fu was that he actually cared about them. He routinely gave them advice, never really lost his patience with them, and understood they had lives outside of their jobs as Rangers. Hell, he was even willing to let them retire to peruse major opportunities in their lives, like Jason, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly, because he knows what it's like to be trapped in a situation that prevents him from living a normal life.

In fact, if Fu really hated being forced to become a guardian, why did he have no problem doing the same thing to Marinette? If anything, Fu should hate the Order of the Guardians, but it's never really explained what really motivated him to continue their practices.

Usually, a backstory related to a supporting character is meant to be followed up by the main characters doing something so history doesn't repeat itself. Anakin Skywalker was driven to the Dark Side because he was afraid of losing someone close to him, with the Jedi Order giving him no support due to their rules against personal attachments. This ideology is subverted in the original trilogy when it's Luke Skywalker's compassion for his father that motivated Anakin to rebel against the Emperor and fulfill his destiny as the chosen one.

But instead of learning from past events, or maybe realizing the Order of the Guardians was never as noble as we were led to assume it was, Master Fu just upholds their tradition of enlisting child soldiers to protect these world-ending artifacts while barely doing anything to help them out. And nobody ever acknowledges there might be anything wrong with the Order.

The Cowardly (and Hypocritical) Turtle

Despite being established to be 186 years old (which still hasn't been explained), and the destruction of the temple happening when he was a child, Master Fu hasn't really done anything with his position.

Despite having all the time in the world, as well as a Miraculous that lets him teleport anywhere, he still hasn't found the missing two Miraculous that Gabriel managed to find at least 129 years after he lost them, give or take.

There's also the fact that, at least, according to the flashback in “Backwarder”, Master Fu may or may not have chosen to sit down and let several historical atrocities and conflicts happen because he didn't want to risk losing the Miraculous. You know, minor things like the Taiping Rebellion, the Crimean War, World War I and II, the Rape of Nanking, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Tienanmen Square Massacre and God knows what else. What did Master Fu even do while he ran around the world to keep the Miraculous safe anyway?

These both factor into the biggest problem with Master Fu as a character: He's a coward.

Whenever he's confronted with a tough situation, Master Fu's first instinct is to run away and hide. As soon as the Sentimonster that destroyed the temple returns, he takes back Marinette and Adrien's Miraculous and runs away. As soon as Hawkmoth finds out about his existence, he packs up his stuff and runs away. When he's captured by Hawkmoth and Mayura, he gives up his position as Guardian and forces Marinette to take on the role, so he can run away safely.

And once again, despite hating the Order for forcing him to train to become a Guardian, Master Fu has no problem with forcing Marinette, someone who was only a few years older than he was when he was drafted, to become the next Guardian of the Miraculous, all while conveniently losing his memory in the process, which implies that Marinette will lose her memory when she retires as Guardian. I once made a submission to Terrible Miraculous Ladybug AU's joking that he only made up the whole amnesia thing just to dump the responsibility of being Guardian on Marinette, but with his appearance in the Season 4 teaser, I'm genuinely worried that may be true.

And yet, despite every incompetent thing he's done, the show keeps trying to portray Master Fu as this wise old soul, because like with so many characters, the writers think if they keep saying things that aren't true, the audience will just give up and accept these ideas as fact. “Master Fu is a wise mentor”. “Alya is a good journalist”. “Ladybug and Cat Noir are equal”. “Chloe is irredeemable”. “Gabriel is a sympathetic villain”. “Lila is a good liar”. “Thomas Astruc responds to criticism like an adult”.

And I'm not against the idea of a flawed mentor either. I already talked about how complex Dr. K is as a character, and how her connection to Venjix makes her an interesting mentor. What I want is for the narrative to acknowledge that Master Fu is way out of his league. I want someone, anyone, to actually call him out for how poorly he's handled things. I don't want to be told he's a great mentor when the evidence clearly shows otherwise.

But it seems like we may never get that in the show, even though it looks like he's going to return in Season 4.

Let's just hope Master Su-Han is a better mentor, and actually appears in more than a single episode before being escorted off so Marinette can't have any confidants as Guardian. Who am I kidding? That's basically what's going to happen.

[thetypedwriter]

Gideon the Ninth Book Review

Gideon the Ninth Book Review by Tamsyn Muir 

It would be only a slight hyperbole to say that a million people have either recommended this book to me or have told me to read it. I’ve heard for years now that this book is incredible and extremely well written and beloved by many. So, if that’s the case why did I wait so long to read it?

I don’t have a good answer. Sometimes a book is on your radar, but either the time isn’t right, other books take priority, or in my case, it’s adult fiction and I held slight trepidation that I wouldn’t love it as much as everyone else in the world seemed to. 

Thank goodness, that didn’t end up being the case and I’ll get into why in a moment. 

First, Gideon the Ninth has the most amazing descriptive sentence belonging on any front cover of any book ever. 

I shall put it here for prosperity and awe: “Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!” -Charles Stross. 

Now, I don’t know who you are Mr. Stross, but that has to be the best sentence written in the English language since its conception. If that isn’t enough intrigue for you to crack open the novel then I truly don’t know what is or what it would take. 

That being said, Mr. Stross wasn’t entirely accurate, but that’ll be clear soon enough. 

The novel surrounds our main protagonist, Gideon Nav, or, known as Gideon the Ninth, the primary cavalier to the Ninth House necromancer. Essentially, this world takes place in a different solar system with its own sun star known as Dominicus as well as nine planets also known as the Nine Houses. 

Each House has a specific specialty for what is known for, and as summarized helpfully, but also overwhelmingly, at the beginning of the novel, the Ninth House is also known as the keepers of the Locked Tomb, House of the Sewn Tongue, and home to the Black Vestals. 

This meant nothing to me at the beginning and quite truthfully, I still struggled to remember throughout the novel who belonged to the Third House, or the Fifth and what that quite meant, as once again, each House has a reputation and expected skill set that precedes them. 

Not to say that it was poorly written because it wasn’t. Muir just has a lot of characters with specific titles and while she actually does quite a good job of categorizing them and helpfully reminding you who is who, I still struggled with just the sheer amount of information and people. 

Normally, this would be a massive criticism, like it was with the cast of characters in Lore but in this case it’s not Muir’s fault. She’s giving me all the information necessary to understand. It was just my brain that struggled trying to recognize and categorize everyone. If anything, I’m excited to re-read Gideon the Ninth and have it sink in like a second skin eventually. 

Having this large cast of characters, the book revolves around each of the Nine Houses (except for the First House) sending their best necromancer, a wielder of both thanergy (death energy) and thalergy (life energy) in the form of a House Adept, someone who is able to wield this kind of energy either in bone magic, flesh magic, or spirit magic. 

In accompaniment, each Necromancer Adept has a primary Cavalier, a trained fighter that is both protector, companion, and often, necessary energy suppliers to their Adept in both horrendous and acceptable ways. 

The goal of these pairs, having been sent to the First planet, is to become a Lyctor, an immortal servant to the Undying Emperor. The catch is that once the Necromancers and their Cavaliers arrive on the First, the shuttle departs and they are trapped in an abandoned, dilapidated, once-regal and great mansion that boasts hundreds of floors, secret doors, and mystery upon mystery. 

Each pair expects a streamlined process to Lyctorhood once they arrive, a methodical procedure, perhaps some training, and ultimately a test. What they don’t expect is a mellow man by the name of Teacher that claims to know nothing about the process himself, but is the overseer of the First. 

What follows is a mind-boggling search to become a Lyctor and unravel the mysteries of the haunted palace. What the pairs don’t expect is the death of their own, gruesome murders at the hand of someone in their very own positions and an evil danger beyond any of their imagination lurking in the mansion. 

This novel was a great concoction of mystery, action, interpersonal relationships, character growth, dazzling descriptions, and world building. 

The world of Dominicus and the Nine Houses is expansive and rich, something that I haven’t been able to sink my teeth into, and not for lack of trying, but because it is so deep and so layered that I simply need to take several bites to get it all down.

The mystery is fulfilling and strangely, to me at least, reminiscent of a game called Danganronpa. If you know what that is, and even if you don’t, it centers around the idea of a murder mystery, but where the killer is one of your own and the mystery is trying to figure out not ony the who, but the why of what they are doing, amongst a slew of other deadly riddles.

Gideon the Ninth is the same. As people continue to get picked off and brutally murdered, as a reader you find yourself trying to puzzle out not only who, but why someone would commit such atrocities and the motivation behind it. 

The plot itself of Gideon the Ninth was extremely satisfying and alluring. There were times where I personally found that novel bogged down with excessive description, but it was usually broken up with Gideon’s personal brand of crass humor, a very much needed breather with the expansive exposition, that, while extremely well done, well researched, and well written, did get a tad boring from time to time for me personally, even if it allowed for clear imagery as well as adding to already well formed world building. 

In addition to the plot, all of the characters were well done and as fleshed out as they could be considering the amount of characters involved. First, even though this is set in a fantasy sci-fi setting, each of the characters seemed realistic and like they could potentially be real people. 

A large criticism of books I often have, especially in YA, is that the characters often come across like caricatures, and not real flesh and blood humans with both positive and negative qualities. 

Each character, some developed more than others, have both flaws and strengths, even the main characters, which I highly appreciated. Not only does it make the story more real and palatable, but it also is just more interesting to read about as it’s actually based in humanity and the nature of human beings rather than some perfect carbon copy of one. 

Gideon as a narrator was hilarious. She was often crass, blunt, horny, humorous and ignorant. But on the other hand, she was also an extremely talented fighter, actually very sweet deep down, forgiving, and loving. 

This mix in a main character was a welcome one in addition to making Gideon feel like a real person, despite all the bone magic and necromancy, and often her thought process and dialogue made me laugh out loud. 

Another main character, Harrowhark Nonagesimus (What a name!) is Gideon’s Necromancer and main companion. She’s bitter, rude, spiteful, and ruthless. She’s also hardworking, intelligent, and stubborn. 

If you’re catching the pattern here, Muir isn’t just writing archetypes and passing them off as characters. She’s writing complex and nuanced personalities that are intriguing and interesting and well developed. 

I could get into the other plethora of characters like Camila, Dulcinea, Palamedes, Magnus, Judith and so on, but this review would be a thousand pages long so I’ll just settle for saying that every character was well done and lovingly crafted and not one of them, even the annoying ones, were characters that I hated. 

One important thing to note was Muir’s writing itself. It was incredible. Such descriptions! Such characterization! Such detail! Such vocabulary! I was supremely impressed with her writing as a whole and often found myself having to look up words that I had never heard of in my life (always a welcome change of pace). I was blown away by her sheet talent and creativity. 

The last two things I have to note might get me in trouble. 

One, the ending for me was...bittersweet. For fear of spoiling someone, I won’t get into details, but I found it both lacking and simultaneously making absolute sense. I wanted both more and yet, found that everything was just enough. It’s hard to put into words, but if you know, you know. 

I do have a slightly sinking feeling though that the ending twist will somehow be undone in the sequel. I don’t know if this is true (although I will eventually find out), and I can’t decide if I’m going to be happy or dismayed by it. 

Such conflicting feelings are in of itself homage to Muir’s skill as a writer and the complexities of her tale. 

Lastly, the one aspect that might get me into the stickiest of predicaments: Harrowhark’s and Gideon’s relationship. I don’t know if I like it or not. On the one hand, I absolutely love it. It's a hate-to-love slow burn, which really is the only way an OTP makes its way into my heart. I love that they’re so different and yet so compatible, one flesh and one blood and all that other nonsense. 

They see each other as equals, as adversaries, and I adore that dynamic in any pairing. I also love the F/F representation of some badass women and that they’re not traditionally attractive and beautiful. 

One of my favorite lines came from the end of the book where Gideon describes Harrowhark’s face as, “bitter” and “hateful”. I just love when characters aren’t conventionally gorgeous and yet beautiful in the eyes of the beholder and all that jazz. 

Now. Onto the problems. 

Harrowhark’s and Gideon’s relationship is kinda...toxic? It grows into something less so, but it definitely starts off that way. I really hate imbalances of power of any kind and Harrowhark definitely has power over Gideon, power that she creully abuses. I asked myself: if Harrowhark was a man and treated Gideon so abysmally for years, and then Gideon eventually forgave him and loved him despite everything, would I think differently?

And the answer is yes, yes I would. 

Is that fair? Probably not. But I can’t help but think how the dynamics change with the two of them being women, and how in my opinion, I think more is forgiven of Harrowhark because of it, even when it’s not deserved. 

Now, Harrowhark is a complex character and has traumas of her own, but I just can’t help but think of all the things she did to Gideon and the things she took away from her and forced her to do and then think of them together and it’s...not great. 

Overall, my feelings on their relationship are complicated (which is a repeated pattern when it comes to Muir’s writing) and I don’t mind that it’s complicated, it makes it interesting, but I also would be bereft to mention it here. I look forward to seeing how it develops and if my feelings change and grow on the matter as well. 

In total, Gideon the Ninth is a fantastic read. It has everything you want inlaid with characters who not only push the plot along, but incentivize you to read more. It has complicated issues and complicated characters, but that means it’s nuanced and complex and juicy enough to bite into. 

Don’t do what I did and wait years for this novel. If you need a good read, you don’t need to look any further and then let yourself be swept along for the necromantic ride. 

Recommendation: “Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!” -Charles Stross. I mean. Come on people, what more can you ask for?

Score: 8/10 

[animatedminds]

Star Wars: Visions - Episode 5: The Ninth Jedi

Here we go. The one everyone’s talking about. The one reviewer tend to agree is one of the series’ best, if not the best.

This one is another one that’s almost impossible to talk about without SPOILERS. I’ll try to keep it to a minimum, but SPOILERS just in case. We are, of course, talking about...

Episode 5: The Ninth Jedi Developed By: Production IG Directed By: Kenji Kamiyana

The first short to have intro narration, in a style clearly meant to audibly call to mind the narrative text that opens most Star Wars films. And this drop of classical Star Wars reminiscence sets the stage for the whole

Set in an indeterminate period where the Jedi are all but extinct and have been for “generations,” no one has seen a lightsaber in many people’s living memory, and the Sith run rampant hunting down any resistance to their rule, an elusive recluse sends a message out to the galaxy for any Jedi still able to hear: come to his star system, and he will provide you with that weapon from a more civilized time, in an effort to rebuild the Jedi Order.

The status quo for the Jedi here are interesting. They exist, but are scattered, and the initial focus character assumes that any Jedi he meets would be master-less and self taught. They desperately need the skills of a smith who can make lightsabers, desperately need the unity that this recluse - known as The Margrave - offers, and so assemble at his doorstep even though they know it could easily be a trap. The last arrival, Ethan, is an bright eyed youth who is eager to find solidarity, but the wait will be long.

Meanwhile, the saber smith and his daughter just about finish the last touches on the order of lightsabers for the Margrave. His chipper daughter, whose connection to the force is starting to develop, is happy to take the order to their employer when suddenly a group of dark, mysterious strangers arrive asking questions...

This is a great set up for a great narrative. It’s a strong story that is going to be a point of reference for me as a writer in the future, on how to write misdirections and fakeouts without taking away from the narrative experience: twists run the real risk of taking the audience out of the experience, especially when they’re twists just for the sake of having them, which can make people give the concept a bum wrap it doesn’t inherently deserve. This story is proof positive that twists are not a bad thing, as the story is all about misdirection but executes this in a way where every shocking serve feels like a turn you have already been prepared for, just didn’t know about yet, another thread that needs to weave into the story for it to feel complete: You think the meat of the story is going to be with those Jedi waiting for the Margrave, but then the plot instead centers around the sabers and the daughter’s desperate attempt to deliver them as the Jedi Hunters attack - because of course, these are the very things they are waiting for, not the Margrave itself. You start to realize that some of the assembled Jedi are not who they seem (there’s one in particular, who is so obviously going to be a twist villain that you can imagine Kamiyama’s tongue well in cheek when designing him), while our host - the Margrave - features a lot of traditionally “evil” design traits (not the least being glowing red eyes), but he starts to clearly be shown to be what we initially expect him to be, and the enormity of the answer to “where are the Sith” manages to be shocking even if you were genre savvy enough to be catching on. The character you think might be the protagonists aren’t, and the ones you think might be the antagonists are really your last hope.

And that’s not even getting into the visuals. Lightsabers are portrayed even more as an extension of the characters’ wielding it, in a way I liked a lot better than the “Anakin’s saber is Excalibur” idea from the ST. Not just the color, but the glow and visual presence of a lightsaber directly ties to the characters’ sense of purpose, there’s a point where the color of a character’s saber changes mid-fight as they finally find their resolve: it’s a beautiful visual representation. The fight at the end is a delight as well. Probably the most violent scrap since The Duel (though not as hardcore as that), while there’s no blood characters do get visibly chopped up and burned in this one, and the battle feels all the more ruthless for it. The Sith are interesting here - they outnumber our heroes, yet by the end of it they almost feel like the underdogs, only able to watch as their fully pissed off opponent executes their allies one by one. But the fact that others in the fight are much less experienced, and the fact that we know the Sith have done one particularly nasty thing over the course of the plot, keeps the sympathy away from them for much of it.

This, like The Twins, is another that intentionally and wholly adopts a classic Star Wars trope - though unlike that it is not a short built on being entirely referential and tributary, but rather it’s own crafted narrative. Still, the Jedi must always be underdogs. They must always be hunted, always be seeking out ways to bring peace back to a lost galaxy. But the implication here that they are building something where there was one nothing gives this take on the idea a strength and permanence that I very much enjoyed: rather than another story about a ragtag band of Jedi, this felt like I was watching the beginning of something. As I said, the time frame is indeterminate, but I could almost see this as the beginning of the old Jedi Order as we know it.

This was definitely a wonderful episode, and among my favorites. It had I think the best ensemble of protagonists thus far: not that the protagonists previously were poor, but as I noted in my Tatooine Rhapsody review, once you get off of the main protag in some of the shorts the supporting characters drop off some (though the previous episode, The Village Bride, was also great with minor character characterization). Here, everyone - even the Sith - get at least a little characterization to endear them, and all the main characters are well defined and endearing. I could easily see more of any of these characters. Heck, I’d even watch a series just about the pilot droid that’s only in there for a very rare spot of humor. Great episode, is what I’m saying. And lastly, as I always do, I’m going to look at this one additionally in terms of canon potential. All of the Visions short films are noncanon, but like with many studio or franchise if there is enough support (and if they actually fit into the setting) for any of these characters there is always a chance that the studio could choose to revisit them and officially incorporate them. But with that in mind, I’m going to look whether this does actually fit into the setting.

Reminding the reader that this is a wholly separate question from “how amazing is this episode” (for which the answer is “very.”), I’d only give this one maybe Okay Chances, but more likely Not So Good Chances. The premise of this one necessarily requires a very major status quo: that of a period where the Sith take over the galaxy and the Jedi are nigh wiped out. This means that this would either have to set in stone a big part of the backstory of the series, or hard-set the far future of the series, both things that LucasFilm very likely doesn’t want rigidly defined. You might have heard of the KOTOR remake by now: that’s not confirmed canon and probably won’t be, and I’ve been presuming that its for the same reason: they don’t want to definitively say “this is how it all started” right now, and even moreso they definitely won’t want to say “this is what eventually happens” either. The concept would have to wait in the wings for when a time comes that they have an idea in mind that they can incorporate it into. But that doesn’t diminish the experience of watching this for the first time. Heck, the final shot of the short - a visual assurance that the will and power of the Jedi is never going anywhere - that’s still giving me goosebumps. And it makes me wish I had a lightsaber of my own...

[onedoodleaday]

Review of 6 creative prompt books

Can't get enough prompts? I sure can't! I have a horrible urge to buy any and all books I see that have any sort of theme related to creative prompts, and I've amassed quite the collection over the years. 

Today, I'm going to review some of them!

All of the following books are meant to be drawn in directly, which (at least ideally) makes them very satisfying to leaf through once you've worked in them for a while.

I will be making a separate post showcasing how I've personally used each book and link to it here, in case any if them pique your interest and you'd like to know more (coming soon!)

Books I am reviewing:

365 days of art by Lorna Scobie (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▪️ Four out of five stars)

642 things to draw by chronicle books (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five out of five stars)

642 fashion things to draw by Chronicle Books (⭐️⭐️⭐️▪️▪️ Three out of five stars)

Doodle a day by Chris Riddell (⭐️⭐️⭐️▪️▪️ three out of five stars)

Hirameki: Draw what you see by Peng and Hu (⭐️⭐️▪️▪️▪️ two out of five stars)

Illistration by Jaime Zollars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▪️ four out of five stars)

Warning: this is a very long post

365 days of art

By Lorna Scobie

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▪️ Four out of five stars

What I like about it:

There's a great variety of prompts in this one. The prompts are mostly simple and straightforward, with space for doing your own thing. Most of the exercises also happen to appeal to me personally. 

The prompts are designed for being able to be completed quite quickly, which makes them very accessible for me, and of course, you can get more elaborate with them if you have the time and energy (I've spent the last five days adding details to fish, just because I wanted to).

The author uses the foreword to encourage you to use the book in whatever way you personally find the most fun, which I appreciate.

Most of the prompts feel like they're focusing on practice rather than results, which means it's open for all skill levels to enjoy.

Criticism:

While I do hold that this book can work for artists of all skill levels, it does have prompts that are meant to teach you something, and while I like some of them, there are some that feel targeted towards either less experienced artists, or artists who has, or strives towards, a similar art style to that of the author. A couple of times, I have felt that my art style did not match the exercise set up, and while I still managed to have fun with them, I did wish there were more space for (in my case) a more realistic art style.

On a similar note, there are sections geared towards calligraphy, and they start at the very basics. While I personally am a beginner, I can imagine that someone with experience would find these bits both boring and redundant. 

I will also mention that the book does encourage the use of different kinds of media, so you either have to be ready to break out some different tools or bend the prompts a bit if all you have is a pencil.

Recommended for beginner and intermediate artists, people who really like prompt books. Good for a little bit of daily practice with many different styles of art. Good for people who like patterns and colours in their art.

Recommended tools: brush pen, water-based paint, coloured pencils

642 things to draw

By chronicle books

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five out of five stars

Of all the prompt books I have, this is my favorite. Hands down.

What I like about it:

This book is just prompts. No hand-holding, no presets for what to do with it, they just give you something to draw and you go from there. All you need is a pencil and your imagination. There are both straightforward prompts (a bottle opener, a spool of thread) and more abstract ones (girlish laughter, head in the clouds) and the variety means I usually find at least one prompt I want to do on each spread. 

The differing sizes dedicated to each prompt make for a really fun and pleasing result.

I also appreciate that this book is completely open to all skill levels, as long as you're willing to give a go at drawing a lot of different things.

Criticism:

While I personally adore the to-the-point, straightforward prompts, I do acknowledge that, unless you enjoy just drawing random objects, you're going to need to add some creativity on your own, in how you incorporate the prompts. I personally like adding either character interaction or to use the object as part of a scene, especially for the things I don't find super visually interesting on their own. I personally enjoy the level of thinking, but I'm sure there are people who don't. 

I also don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much when I was just starting out. I’ve always been quite result-based with my art, and while I think using reference to draw all the different things in the book would be an amazing skill-building exercise, it also sounds like a lot of work.

There are also a handful of pop culture references and prompts for famous people, which I personally prefer to avoid, because those are often based on social knowledge and interest, of which I personally have neither.

Recommended for artists of all skill levels, people who either have a big visual library or would like to build one. Recommended for people who like to draw a lot of different things.

Recommended materials: anything! Can be used with just a pencil

642 fashion things to draw

By Chronicle Books

⭐️⭐️⭐️▪️▪️ Three out of five stars

This one was actually my first prompt book ever! The start of a hoard, one might say.

What I like about it: 

This one is another one by Chronicle Books, in the same series. This one is really fun if you like drawing clothes, and/or your art is character oriented. Of all my prompt books, this one has the best potential for fanart, in my opinion. If you like drawing people and characters, this book is really fun

Criticism:

This one is, quite understandably, more specific. If you like drawing clothes, this one is ideal. If you don't ... don't pick this one. 

I was close to giving this one four stars, but I will withdraw a star for being very specifically tailored to one subject -- this could be a five star book for some people and a one-star for others.

Another thing I want to mention is that this book gets specific. I have to look up what about a third of the prompts mean. I'm okay with that, but if you don't want to do research and don't already know what a jaquard blouse or peplum waist skirt or houndstooth is, this is not the book for you.

Lastly, it has a good handful of both pop culture references and references to different brands, which is kind of alienating to me personally. It also assumes that you yourself care about your own clothes to some extent. And that you have at least one father and one mother. Who got married at some point. And your mom wore a wedding dress. Things like that.

Also my copy is from 2013 and let's just say some of the references have aged very poorly. ("D*nald Tr*mp power suit" being a very notable example. I drew him impaled on a stick. Which was satisfying. But it was very much an act of rebellion so keep it in mind)

Recommended for anyone who likes drawing clothes and the people wearing them, who are also willing to put up with a certain amount of heteronormativity in their prompt books. Some skill level will probably make the book more enjoyable. Clothes are hard.

Recommended materials: Anything! You can use this one with just a pencil

Doodle a day

By Chris Riddell

⭐️⭐️⭐️▪️▪️ three out of five stars

(Note: I own a translated version of the book; this is the danish cover)

Before we start, I would like to note that this book's target demographic is children. I’m not a children, I just thought it looked fun. And I was right! But do keep it in mind.

What I like about it:

This one doesn't take itself too seriously. Which means that in places, it gets wacky. And I appreciate that. It expects a child's untamed creativity and wish to go along with whatever. 

A lot of the prompts are really fun and inspiring for me as an adult. There are a lot of "complete this drawing" sort of things that get me to draw things I don't usually draw. 

It's nice to see a book geared towards children that dares to have a very detailed and complex art style. Whether you personally like Chris Riddell's art style is very subjective, but he's good at what he does.

Criticism:

You have to enjoy drawing along with what the author enjoys. We're talking robots and fairy tales and dancing bears. This book has less room for letting you steer the prompts in a direction that you personally like, which is good if you like to be told exactly what to draw. It is less good if, like me, you prefer your prompt-based art to have space for a lot of your own creativity and preferences. 

I've personally marked down the prompts I want to do with tape, and I'm planning to just plain skip the rest. This means about two thirds of the book that I'm just not planning on using. I'm okay with this! But I want to mention it.

The book also contains quite a lot of 'free days', which I always find disappointing. I came here specifically because I didn't want to make up my own stuff. Please. Tell me what to do, I beg of you.

I will also note that this book assumes that you have some sort of family that are present in your life to the point that you want to include them in your drawings, and that you have at least one friend who wants to partake in certain of the prompts. 

It also assumes cultural Christianity, having prompts for easter and christmas and halloween and so forth, with no other holidays mentioned. It's a little uncomfortable.

Recommended for people who like silly prompts and are very adaptable in their art. Probably really good for younger kids? I was a weird child, so my point of view might be skewed. Decide for yourself if this book is worth getting for you or someone you know!

Recommended materials: something to draw with, and something to colour with.

Hirameki: Draw what you see

By Peng and Hu

⭐️⭐️▪️▪️▪️ two out of five stars

The classic exercise of using vague blobs and turning them into drawings

What's I like about it:

The concept is really good. The idea of having a whole book of printed blobs to turn into drawings is so fun and appealing to me, as someone who loves having things in books. 

I really like that they have certain categories and themes, to make things a little different. I love the idea of having a theme for a whole page of blobs (turning everything on one page into birds, for example), and what made me get the book was specifically that they have pages with just the same blob ten times over, and the challenge is then to make them all into different things.

Criticism:

This book is the marketable brand flavor of prompt books, trying to be what mindful colouring books did, but with another concept, preferably in a way they can copyright. 

They're clearly trying to make pattern-making into a marketable invention rather than something that has been around since, like, literal prehistoric times. This would be little more than annoying and could probably be ignored, if it wasn't for the fact that the blobs aren't even ... random. 

The creativity is killed, because these blobs are clearly made to look like certain things. Which is the opposite of the point, of the shapes-in-randomness exercise. They don't do this with every page, but it is, like. More than half. The page dedicated to faces have defined noses and necks. There’s a beach themed spread and the crabs have defined pincers. 

I had the most fun on the intro pages, where there were no prompts, because that was the place where the blobs were truly random. These were not meant to be drawn on! They were decorations! I just did it anyway!

This is branded to be something that will allow you to be creative, but in reality, it is actually just a different way of playing connect-the-dots. And there's nothing wrong with connect-the-dots, but I was advertised something else and I'm disappointed.

Also, this is personal pettiness, but if you're going to make a gimmick out of every prompt rhyming, you have to actually know how to rhyme. "Gadget" and "uplug it" do not rhyme! Not even by a stretch!

I cannot recommend this book. The idea is good, and some of the pages I did enjoy filling out, but I would have gotten more out of just grabbing a blank sketchbook and adding some ink blots to every page, then started from one end.

Recommended materials: They specifically say that you have to use a pen that’s either blue or black. I used a bright red one just to be a contrarian.

Illistration

By Jaime Zollars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▪️ four out of five stars

This one is a little different -- it is essentially a make-your-own-prompts book!

What I like about it:

This book appeals right to my need to be part of the process, even when drawing for prompts. Basically, this book is all about producing creative lists of things to draw, and then illustrating your favorites.

I love how the author talks you through their process of creating each individual list to suit their own preferences, and encourages you to do the same, to create prompts that appeal directly to you.

I also really appreciate that this book fully assumes that the reader is just as capable as the author. It wants to teach you something, sure, but it doesn't outright assume that you've got more or less experience than the author. They're teaching you one specific way of generating ideas and that's what matters. The author is confident, but humble. I like that.

Criticism:

Honestly, this is a wonderful book. I wouldn't change anything about it. The only reason I subtracted a star is because it falls a little bit outside the category of a prompt book. It's a five-star book for what it is, but if you're just here to be told what to draw without having to make stuff up on your own, this one is not for you. 

I can't just pull this one out, open it up and start drawing -- using this book is a project. I have to do at least half of the work myself, if not more. And I personally have fun with that, but it has to be noted.

Recommended for artists of any skill level, who like to generate their own unique ideas. This is the one I would be most likely to recommend to a dedicated artist, or a professional.

Recommended materials: whatever you prefer to draw with, and something to write with.

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

Thank you for reading! 

If you found this review helpful and want to fund me and my constant purchasing of prompt books, you can tip me on TheNearsightedMicroraptor on Ko-fi!

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Reviews: Force Sensitivities

I love Star Wars. I have since i was a kid. It just missed the Trinity of my Childhood, Spider-Man, Godzilla, and Transformers, by inches but i hold it in high regard. I’d say that it’s only a step behind the big three, along with the Alien franchise. I enjoy both franchises for a lot of the same reasons; Expansive lore, impeccable world building, and fantastic characters. I have a strong emotional connections to all things a galaxy far, far, away so the past few years have been difficult to witness. Under the “guidance” of Kathleen Kennedy, i watched my space wizards and cyborg warlocks, decline considerably. I saw all that creativity and inspired storytelling fall by the wayside in favor of identity politics and ego driven agenda.

Then, The Mandalorian dropped and everything changed. There’s been an infusion of quality, a resurgence of the creative, and one of the things to come out of this brand new inspiration is Star War: Visions. Visions is an anthology series of original stories, created by some of the top anime studios in Japan. That, alone, is enough to pique my interests. I love anime and the world Lucas created, lends itself to the medium almost effortlessly. It finally released yesterday and i was able to check out all of them, twice. Is this thing everything i dreamed of? Kind of? Sometimes?

The Duel

The first of the shorts presented and easily the most visually striking. This thing is a CG animation, usually kind of wonky but not so much with this short. I’m more a fan of traditional cell animation but Kamikaze Douga does a fantastic job with the new computer flavor. That expertise is put on full display with this Kurosawa inspired epic, an irony not lost on me. Old Kurosawa films like Yojimbo and Seven Samurai were direct inspirations for Star Wars so seeing it come full circle like this, is very rewarding. Overall, i liked this entry. It’s a great introduction for the anthology and delivers a strong viewing experience.

Tatooine Rhapsody

True to it’s anthology nature, the very next episode delivers something completely different than the last. This entry, made by Studio Colorado, is traditional animation with a heavy, heavy, influence from Leiji Matsumoto. One can definitely make the argument that this is what Interstella 9999 would look like if i had a Star Wars skin and i wouldn’t fight you about it. That’s kind of the art direction being leaned into with this short, that Captain Harlock/Galaxy Express 9999 look. I’m a sucker for that classic aesthetic so i kind of loved it. Didn’t care for the music but seeing a stylized Boba Fett was a real treat. This one is the most original of the anthology, so far from the overall Star Wars theme, and i think that hurts it some. As it’s own thing, though? Fantastic.

The Twins

This one is top tier for me and not just because it’s the first entry from Trigger. This one is good. It’s the first to really nail that more kinetic feel of the prequel lightsaber duels and, if you know anything about Studio Trigger, of course it would. These people gave us Kill la Kill and Brand New Animal. In fact, the overall look of this thing has shades of both Dead Leaves, Gurren Lagann and Promare all over it. It reminds me a great deal of the conflict between the Solo twins in legends. This thing is beautifully animated and tells it’s story with with skill. That said, it’s to one of my favorites. I love Trigger but this one, i think, doesn’t really live up to the Star Wars standard. Still, there is a lot of cool sh*t in here. Kyber powered Sith armor is something to behold, for sure.

The Village Bride

This one is the one for me. I f*cking LOVED this entry. I think it’s the nest of the lot for a lot of reasons. This thing feels the most like a Lucas or Filoni entry into the franchise. It delivers u to an alien world where we get to see the people interact with their surroundings. It delivers a personal conflict juxtaposed against a very real, very, worldly danger. It grounds us with great characters and does so with a beautifully rendered style. For me, The Village Bride is everything i want in a Star Wars story and i need to see more of these characters, more of this world, more of F, herself. She’s f*cking amazing! The Lady Jedi does some sh*t with her lightsaber that left me in awe. Kinema Citrus animated this one in the style of Katanagatari and it really works for this style of narrative.

The Ninth Jedi

This one is real special. It feels right at home in a Clone Wars narrative or something from the Old Republic. I adore the look of this one. Its one of my favorites, after The Village Bride and Lop and Ocho, but is far more action oriented than those to. This one focuses on lightsaber duels and delivers the best of the anthology, in my opinion. This f*cking thing goes hard to deliver that visceral, aggressive, fancifal style you see in the Prequel films  but completely stylized in this wonderfully fluid animation. The overall narrative is pretty simple but loaded with potential and i hope we get a continuation in the inevitable second season of Visions. Production IG really did their thing with this entry and i really hope it becomes something more.

T0-B1

If Astro Boy took place on Tatooine, you’d have T0-B1. This thing really leans into Tezuka’s style and is all the better for it.  I can’t say i really enjoyed the overall narrative but the look of this thing really stays with you. It’s incredibly distinct from everything in this anthology mostly because you don’t see the Tezuka style all too often nowadays but this entry definitely has more heart than most of it’s contemporaries. I was surprised by how much emotion was packed into this little cartoon and can definitely recommend it on the strength of that, alone. While not one of my favorites, i can definitely appreciate what Science SARU delivered.

The Elder

I didn’t like this one. The pacing was too slow and the characters were forgettable. I kind of hated the overall aesthetic and the narrative told was one we’ve seen from this universe a few times. That said, it has a dope ass lightsaber duel toward the end. That’s really the only good aspect of this short, in my opinion. Interestingly enough, this is the second entry from Trigger which makes it incredibly disappointing because they usually kill it. They did not kill it with this one. Not at all.

Lop and Ocho

This one was my second favorite of all nine shorts. It is the most “anime” of the lot and really leans into that genre with gusto. It also feels a lot like Star Wars as far as narrative is concerned. Similar to The Twins, this is a story of forced sensitive sibling, clashing over ideals, told through the crossing of their blades. It’s definitely interesting to watch, especially considering our heroine is an anthropomorphic bunny, something you don’t see too often in the Star Wars universe. I really enjoyed Lop and hopes she garners enough popularity to explore her character further in either a second season of Visions or an actual series dedicated to her personal journey. Geno Studio really impressed with this one.

Akakiri

This one might be the weakest of the lot, until you realize what you’re watching. All of these stories focused on Jedi and their perspective on the world but Science SARU went in a different direction. This is the story of how a Jedi falls. It’s an amazingly emotional watch once that revelation is delivered, putting everything before into perspective. It’s deftly told and works, for the most part, but i feel like this one needed an extra few minutes to develop fully. Still, as the booked to a rather excellent anthology, Akakiri does it’s job well.

The Verdict

This thing is pure Star Wars. It's everything that made Lucas' magnum opus fantastic. Some of these entries hit harder than others, my favorite being The Village Bride, but the overall content in this anthology is f*cking spectacular. I love the different animation styles and how these bite sized stories are told. Some of them take a great many liberties with he world rules whole others are fantastic homages to the genres that make up the Star Wars skeleton. Visions is work of love and passion. These shorts are made with care and not only revere the franchise which came before, but really lay the ground work for potential future exploration, which is what Star Wars has always been about. I still think Mando is the best thing to come out of Favreu's era, so far, but Visions is something very special and is a fantastic example of what can be coming next. If you love Star Wars, you'll love this show. If you left the fandom over Kennedy and her polarizing rhetoric, Visions is a great point to jump back in. Star Wars: Visions is f*cking exceptional and everyone should check it out if they can.

[magiamemoriareview]

Magical Halloween Theater

Single Effect: Curse [100%] & Defense Down [40%] (One / 1 Turn)

MLB Effect: Curse [100%] & Defense Down [45%] (One / 1 Turn)

Effect Definitions:

Curse is a Status Ailment that will damage the afflicted target for 15% HP per turn, make the target take 80% more damage from its weak element, and prevent the target from recovering HP. It can be considered stronger than Poison and Burn. As a Status Ailment, Curse will negate Evade and can be used in combination with the effect “Damage Up Versus Enemies Affected with Status Ailments.” Curse chance can stack. Note that damaging Status Ailments have a stacked maximum of inflicting 10,000 HP done per turn. 

Defense Down will decrease the target’s base defense. This effect will allow you to increase your team’s damage without directly buffing a single character, meaning that since it affects the enemy, any character can take advantage of it and not just the one equipped with the memoria.

TLDR: This is one of the best memoria in the game and I can’t get it and I hate it. Also, curse and Defense Down are very powerful together. This memoria is exclusive to completing the “Magical Halloween Theater” event.

Review: “Magical Halloween Theater” is one of the best active memoria in the game, comparable to amazing memoria like “The Way Home After Rain (Mito),” “Everyday Overflowing with Pride,” “I Made Friends” and various other excellent Whale-Tier memoria... and “Magical Halloween Theater” was a free event reward.

Sadly to the ire of all NA Refugees, this memoria also isn’t possible to get right now. It was originally a reward for the “Magical Halloween Theater” event itself, and was briefly purchasable for 500 Magia Chips during the 2020 New Years event, but sadly it’s unknown when (or if) it’ll be available ever again. But for completion’s sake, let’s take a look at the effects of this incredible memoria and talk about what made it so incredibly powerful.

You can tell right away that it’s two effects synergize EXTREMELY well. This memoria acts as an instant “F*ck You” towards the target, hitting them with Curse and an additional Defense Down, making the afflicted target take an incredible amount of damage. It’s also versatile-- assuming the Curse takes effect, you can deny a target Evade or Healing, both of which can be extremely powerful measures all on it’s own.

But one of the true powers of “Magical Halloween Theater” is it’s extremely low cooldown at 4 turns. Four turns! My god, think of all the tomfoolery you can get up to-- in a long 20-round battle you could get this bad boy off five times! And let’s even consider this on a Support character with the possibility of Skill Quicken through Spirit Enhancement-- you could potentially get this off in three turns! It’s... powerful... too powerful...

We can all weep at not having this beautiful, incredible active memoria. Maybe we can collectively pray to Madokami and hope that “Magical Halloween Theater” will bless us in an Anniversary event in the future, but for now, when you see it on a friendly Support, pray to the stars and know that you have a powerful ally on your hands.

[knifeonmars]

Capsule Reviews, February 2021

Here's some things I've been reading.

The Curse of Brimstone 

DC's New Age of Heroes books, emerging from the beginning of Scott Snyder's creative-flameout-as-crossover-event Metal, mostly constituted riffs on Marvel heroes like the Fantastic Four (in The Terrifics) or the Hulk (in Damage). The Curse of Brimstone is a riff on Ghost Rider. It's... uneven. The first volume is generally pretty good, and when Phillip Tan is drawing it, as he does the first three and a half issues, it's gorgeous and unique, when he departs though, the quality takes a nose dive. None of the replacement artists, including the great Denis Cowan, can quite fill his shoes, and the story gets old fast. Guy makes a deal with the devil (or rather, a devil-like inhabitant of the "Dark Multiverse" as a not horribly handled tie-in to the conceits of Metal), realizes it's a raw deal, and rebels. The characters are flat, lots of time is spent with the main character's sister haranguing him to not use his powers (it is, in my humble opinion, something of a cardinal sin to have a character whose primary role is telling other characters to stop doing interesting things), too many potboiler "I know you're still in there!/I can feel this power consuming me!" exchanges, a couple of underwhelming guest spots (including a genuinely pointless appearance by the old, white, boring Doctor Fate) too many flashbacks, and not enough of the action. There's potential in the classic demonic hero rebelling plotline and its link to the liminal spaces of the DC universe, forgotten towns and economic depression, but the wheels come off this series pretty much as soon as Tan leaves. The really disappointing this is that the series is clearly built as an artistic showcase, so after Tan's shockingly early departure, the main appeal of the series is gone and there's nothing left but the playing out of an obviously threadbare story.

Star Wars - Boba Fett: Death, Lies, and Treachery

I don't care much about Star Wars these days, and I think that most of the old Expanded Universe was, as evidenced by Crimson Empire, pretty bad. Death, Lies, and Treachery, is that rare Star Wars EU comic which is actually good. John Wagner writes and he's in full-on 2000 AD mode, writing Boba Fett as a slightly more unpleasant Johnny Alpha (who is like a mercenary Judge Dredd, for those unfamiliar) right on down to the appearance of a funny alien sidekick for one of the characters. The main attraction is Cam Kennedy's art though, along with his inimitable colors: this might be the best looking Star Wars comic ever. The designs are all weird and chunky, with an almost kitbashed feeling that captures the lived in aesthetic of classic Star Wars, and the colors are one of a kind. Natural, neutral white light does not exist in this comic, everything is always bathed at all times in lurid greens or yellows, occasionally reds, and it looks incredible. In terms of "Expanded Universe" material for Star Wars, this hits the sweet spot of looking and feeling of a piece, but exploring the edges of the concept with a unique voice. It's great. I read this digitally, but I'd consider it a must-buy in print if I ever get the chance at a deal.

Zaroff

Zaroff is a French comic (novel? novella?). It's like 90 pages and it delivers exactly on its premise of "Die Hard starring the bad guy from The Most Dangerous Game." It's pretty good. Count Zaroff, he of the habitual hunting of humans, turns out to have killed a mafia don at some point, and after miraculously escaping his own seeming death at the end of the original story, finds himself hunted by the irate associates of this gangster, who have brought along Zaroff's sister and her kids to spice things up. Zaroff not only finds himself the hunt, but he also has to protect his estranged family as they struggle to survive. Nothing about this book or its twists and turns is likely to surprise you, but I don't think being surprised is always necessary for quality. Zaroff delivers on pulpy, early-20th century jungle action, is gorgeously rendered, and the fact that Zaroff himself is an unrepentant villain adds just enough of an unexpected element to the proceedings and character dynamics that it doesn't feel rote. There's a couple of points, ones typical of Eurocomics, which spark a slight sour note, such as some "period appropriate" racism and flashes of the male gaze, but for the most part these are relatively contained. It's good.

Batman: Gothic

Long before Grant Morrison did their Bat-epic, they wrote Batman: Gothic, an entirely different, but then again maybe not so different, kind of thing. It starts off with what must be called a riff on Fritz Lang's film, M, only where that story ends with a crew of gangsters deciding they cannot pass moral judgment on a deranged child-murderer, in Morrison's story they go ahead and kill him, only for the killer to return years later to rather horribly murder all of them as a warmup for a grandiose scheme involving unleashing a weaponized form of the bubonic plague on Gotham City as an offering to Satan. Along the way it turns out that said villain, one Mr. Whisper, is a former schoolmaster of Bruce Wayne's, who terrified the young Batman in the days before his parent's deaths. It's an earlier Morrison story and it shows. Certain elements presage their later Batman work; Mr. Whisper as a satanic enemy recalls the later Doctor Hurt, and the cathedral Mr. Whisper built to harvest souls recalls what writers like Morrison, Milligan, and Snyder would do concerning Gotham as a whole years later.The art, by Klaus Janson, is spectacular. If you're familiar at all with his work collaborating with Frank Miller you'll see him continuing in a similar vein and it's all quite good, even when he stretches beyond the street milieu which most readers might know him from. There's one particular sequence where Janson renders a needlessly complicated Rube Goldberg machine in motion that manages to work despite being static images. The writing by Morrison though, is not their finest. The M riff doesn't last as long as it could, and Mr. Whisper's turn in the latter half of the story from delicious creepy wraith to a cackling mass murderer who puts Batman in an easily escaped death trap feels like something of a letdown from the promise of the first half of the book. Gothic is good, but not, in my opinion, great. It's certainly worth checking out for Morrison fans however, and I imagine that someone well-versed in his latter Batman stuff might be able to find some real resonance between the two.

Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters

For a long, long time, Longbow Hunters was THE Green Arrow story. It is to Green Arrow as TDKR is to Batman, deliberately so. Mike Grell wrote and drew the reinvention of the character from his role as the Justice League's resident limousine liberal to a gritty urban vigilante operating in Seattle over the course of these three issues, which he'd follow up with a subsequent ongoing. Going back to it, it certainly merits its reputation, but its far from timeless. Grell's art is unimpeachable absolutely incredible, with great splashes and spreads, subtle colors, and really great figure work. The narrative is almost so 80's it hurts though, revolving around West Coast serial killers, cocaine, the CIA and the Iran-Contra scandal, and the Yakuza, and it's hard to look back at some of this stuff without smirking. The story begins with a teenager strung out on tainted coke sprinting through a window in a scene that's right out of Reefer Madness. In the cold light of a day 30+ years later, parts of it look more than a little silly. The 80's-ness of it all doesn't stop with that stuff though, even the superhero elements smack of it. Green Arrow realizes that he's lost a step and has be to be shown a way forward by an Asian woman skilled in the martial arts (recalling Vic Sage's reinvention in the pages of The Question), and Black Canary gets captured and torture off-panel for the sake of showing that this is real crime now, not the superhero silliness they've dealt with before. The treatment of Black Canary here is pretty markedly heinous, it's a classic fridging and Grell's claims that he didn't intentionally imply sexual assault in his depiction of her torture is probably true, but still feels more than a little weak considering how he chose to render it.The final analysis is that this book is good, but it exists strictly in the frame of the 1980's. If you're a fan of Green Arrow, there are worse books to pick up, or if you're interested in that era of DC Comics it's more than worth it, but as a matter of general interest I wouldn't recommend it very highly.

SHIELD by Steranko

Jim Steranko is sort of the prodigy of the early Marvel years, a young guy who came up through the system, blossomed into an incredible talent, and then left the company, and by and large the industry, behind. He would go on to dabble in publishing, work in other mediums, and generally kick around as the prodigal son of Marvel Comics. This collection, of both his Nick Fury shorts in the pages of Strange Tales and the four issues he drew of the original Nick Fury solo series, charts Steranko's growth as an artist. The book starts off with Steranko working from Jack Kirby's layouts with Stan Lee's dialogue and writing, and Steranko might be the one guy in history for whom working off of Kirby's blueprints is clearly holding him back. The first third or so of this collection really isn't much to write home about, as Steranko is obviously constrained by someone else's style, and at the end of the day those early stories still read as somewhat uninspired pulp compared to the highlights of early Marvel. There are flashes though, of techniques and ideas, which foreshadow what Steranko is capable of, and when he finally takes over as solo writer/artist it's like he's been unleashed. He immediately has Nick Fury tear off his shirt and start throwing guys around over psychedelic effects. He writes out most of Kirby and Lee's frankly uninspired boys' club supporting cast, he makes Fury visibly older, wearier, but also so much cooler. It's the birth of Nick Fury as a distinctly comic book super spy.By the time he finishes wrapping up the previous writers' plotline with Hydra and Baron von Strucker, Steranko is firing on all cylinders. By the time it gets to Steranko's Fury solo series, he's somehow surpassed himself, turning in effects, panel structures, and weird stories which make the earlier installment about a suit-wearing Man from UNCLE knockoff and its strict six-panel layouts look absolutely fossilized.I can't recommend this collection highly enough for any fan of the artform, even if the stories themselves might not be everyone's cup of tear. It's truly incredible to watch Steranko emerge as an artist over the course of this single collection. The book itself has a few problems, it's not the most elegantly designed in its supporting materials and index, but the content of it more than outweighs that. It's great stuff.

[commander-frostii]

Quick Messy GSG Collab Doll Review

some people apparently have shit takes on the GSG collab dolls and i got pissy so i’m here to drop some analysis top 1% takes one mil club only lets get it

Angelica

angelica is solid on base stats alone, her RoF is only average but her FP and Accuracy are both solid A+ even before her SPEQ boosting her FP by an extra 5 points. also LOL 30% CRIT RATE. her buff tiles are numerically a bit shallow but still really sweet, you basically get 10% FP for free on your AR teammates and 20% accuracy can make a huge difference in clear speed at night, especially in high-difficulty combat against strelet hordes etc 

but then there’s her fucking skill. sweep mode’s weakness is inconsistency in damage output due to random targeting so what if you just didn’t have random targeting? i’m sorry, is a 100% RoF buff not good enough for you? what about a 12% FP buff that just happens for free at the start of a battle and refreshes every 10 seconds? it’s almost like she has two different self-buff skills. 

angelica’s weird to compare straight across to other ARs because of the offset between her buffs, it’d be more realistic to compare her damage output over 10 seconds, but i’m not currently interested in doing that level of math. back of the napkin calculations suggest that her DPS during sweep mode is comparable to AK-12′s and AR-15′s, and she has somewhat better uptime than AK-12 (but not better than AR-15). this should put her very obviously in the A-class or better for ARs. 

Henrietta

The last sentence of Henrietta’s skill says “For every stack of Evasion mark, grants self an additional +15 HP Shield.”

Henrietta’s got decent base stats, 950 HP is good and 83 Eva is great; her offensive stats are pretty nice as well, nothing outstanding but every point of accuracy goes a long way for SMGs. Her buff tiles are weirdly placed but pretty serviceable, encouraging use of a b-formation; 12% FP 20% accuracy are also welcome buffs for both ARs and SMGs, if a bit pedestrian.

Her skill is a bit complicated so let me try to break it down: Henreitta starts combat with a shield that basically absorbs the first attack that would normally hit her for 8 seconds, and her stats ramp up every two seconds based on whether or not she has her shield - if she’s dodged every hit so far, she gets +30% FP; if the shield is down, she gets +20% Eva. Each of these buffs can stack up to 3 times, and they last for 5 seconds. 

Her active skill refreshes her shield; if she has any Damage buff stacks, she also gains 20% RoF for each one; if she has any Evasion buff stacks, her shield is 15 HP stronger. That can actually be a pretty big deal, as a 25-HP shield can take two attacks from certain enemies, and a 55-HP shield (from 3 Evasion stacks) can take two attacks from most enemies. It’s only a small boost to her survivability, but it’s definitely something!

I don’t think Henrietta shines as a main tank, though - her off-center positioning, her SPEQ which is an accuracy-boosting silencer, and the massive potential power behind her offensive buffs if she doesn’t lose her shield, all give her a pretty shockingly high DPS rating at the 5-second mark - +90% FP, +40% RoF, and a respectable crit chance backed up by a solidly above-average accuracy for an SMG. You could build a team around boosting her stats as high as possible if you wanted, but honestly I don’t even think that’s necessary; I think she’s just a solid workhorse offtank that can be used in pretty much any ARSMG effectively, with some potential defensive niche if you wind up having to put her in the front lines. 

Rico

Rico’s the one everybody already knows is good. She has unremarkable, but serviceable base stats that give her respectable DPS potential compared to other burst RFs, and one of those scary critical-scaling RF skillshots that also amps her DPS by 15% per stack while it’s charging. Oh, and it also does up to half of its original damage in AOE sounding the target, just for funsies. 

To get a sense of her potential power, we’ll compare her to TAC-50, the first doll to bring a critical-scaling skillshot into the game, who can OHK Judge with a specialized echelon.  TAC-50′s skillshot deals 4.5x damage at its strongest charge - which is the same as RIco’s, if you add both hits at full power together - but TAC-50 has the advantage of a whopping 25 points of extra FP, which makes her skillshot at base about 17% more powerful.

To make up for this, Rico: 

does 33% of her total damage in an area around her target

has no aim time

begins charging when the battle starts and has an ICD of 4 seconds, meaning she can fire at 66% power as early as 4 seconds or at 100% power as early as 6 seconds (compared to TAC-50 firing at half power at 5 seconds in or full power at 10 seconds)

improves her DPS while she’s holding skill charges

still benefits from her FP buff when her skill goes off, meaning she has a +45% FP buff active (improving her “base” damage from 130 to 188)

has a SPEQ cape that improves her critical damage by a terrifying 45%, almost double that of a normal critical cape

So, yeah, Rico is the best skillshot doll in the game, and it isn’t even close. It’s frankly fucking unfair. The only downside I can really think of to using Rico is that her skill targets the furthest enemy -- which isn’t always the one you want, and may necessitate careful timing to ensure that she lands her damage on the appropriate target. Rico’s damage being split into two hits can also interact weirdly with armored targets, or bosses with forcefields, so beware.

Claes

Claes is a peculiar MG for a few reasons. There are two red flags right away: her lowest-in-class FP stat of 79, and her very poor base clip size of 8. Unlike her predecessor Alma, Claes doesn’t get a SPEQ to improve her clip size; she just has to work with what she’s got. MGs are defined by their ability to burst enemies before they have a chance to fight back, and Claes clearly isn’t very good at that. 

If you’ll allow me some dramatics, however, I don’t think judging Claes by the mundane standards of other MGs is at all appropriate. Claes is designed to solve a very different problem. 

Let’s cover her SPEQs first: they all have the exact same stat footprints, giving her 50% crit rate, 8 FP, and 5 accuracy when maxed out - which should terrify you immediately. This is a crit scope combined with an EOT, on an MG that desperately wants to equip both at once. Claes is rocking a potential pre-fairy pre-formation accuracy stat of 40, which is incredible for an MG, and not having to choose between salvaging her FP or dramatically amping her crit rate is a massive boon to her damage potential, as well. It’s not enough to make her compete with Big 4 damage numbers... yet... 

But Claes’ skill prevents her from attacking normally at the start of combat. She will wait until her skill is activated - she has a 0s ICD, so she can start whenever, but obviously she’s quite lackluster to begin with. At full power, her damage output (3244 average damage per link per clip) massively outpaces MG5 (2287) and PKP (2226, but varies and scales much harder with crit damage boosts), but that requires her to charge for a full 10 seconds before firing, and during that time you basically have 4 dolls in your echelon. From the traditional view of MGs, the “kill them before they kill you” view, this is unacceptable.

Claes is not designed to be used this way. Claes is designed to be used in mixed teams, where she can deal massive amounts of burst damage at a specific moment, after certain enemies have been dealt with. She would excel in situations where other MGs would struggle, such as:

Bossing, when opportunities to deal damage are sometimes very short and dealing extended DPS is difficult (think Architect, Gaia, Mercurows/Nimogen)

Dealing with stingers in powerful mixed echelons (Doppels/Uhlans hiding behind Strelets, Manticores behind Scouts/Guards, Hydras behind Cyclops, etc) 

Easily clearing DPS checks (Nimogen/Mercurows/other Paradeus bosses)

Baiting and shredding powerful melee enemies (Roarers, etc) 

When viewed from the perspective of an otherwise functional 4-man mixed team - specifically RFSG - Claes’ potential as a burst damage option select suddenly makes a lot more sense. Her low FP doesn’t matter as much when she’s making regular use of her charging mechanic; her high base Accuracy becomes a lot more appealing since you might actually be able to hit evasive enemies in night battles. Her full-charge burst is enough that she can potentially shred hydra deathstacks or other dangerous enemies with only a little help from armor-piercing allies, and her selection of supportive SPEQs let her choose buffs that help her teammates do their jobs while she’s waiting for the right moment to strike. Need to tank some up-front damage? Optical Glasses give you a small shield that absorb a single hit for you. Need to make sure your allies are killing targets quickly enough? Celestial Meteor gives them a modest boost to their FP. Or are you just worried about Claes’ own damage output? Not to worry; Wristwatch gives her a single extra shot - which can sometimes be the difference between life and death. 

I know that I’m pushing a very hypothetical narrative here, but I’ve been pleading on the stars for an MG like Claes for a long time - an MG that serves a tactical niche in a mixed team, rather than being a limited one-dimensional stat check. If you’re looking for a solid workhorse-type MG to kill big groups of enemies without thinking about it, look elsewhere. 

Triela

Triela is an absolutely fascinating offensive shotgun.

Defensively speaking, she’s... fine. Her base HP and armor are definitely on the low side, but they’re not horrible. Offensively speaking, she has some serious weaknesses, too; her base RoF is actually quite bad, and her accuracy is better than it could be, but it could also be quite a bit better. Her firepower is quite high, though; 35 is well above average, and only doesn’t stand out more because of certain outliers (looking at you KS-23) warping the range. She has a nice and serviceable formation buff and happens to provide buffs to an MG directly behind her, which opens her up to safer formation placement in a mixed team, were you so inclined. 

What makes Triela interesting is the combination of her skill effect and her SPEQ. Triela’s SPEQ is “buckshot” that also gives her 25% crit strike chance, letting her capitalize more on SG’s naturally good crit rate, as well as the +15 FP +22% crit damage you’d get from a standard buckshot. 

Triela’s skill effect comes in two parts; the active portion is relatively straightforward: +80% FP (a lot!) and +6 movespeed (equivalent speed to an SMG) for 8 seconds, resulting in an 8/8 uptime pattern, which is far from ideal but certainly better than it could be. Needing to wait 8 seconds for her full power definitely hampers Triela’s effectiveness, but that’s true of all offensive shotguns right now, except for AA-12, who is cheating. 

More interesting is her passive skill component: when there’s an enemy within 2 meters (knockback distance), she switches to using her bayonet to attack. She deals double damage, attacks 50% more frequently, and doesn’t have to reload - but only hits a single target. With an EOT and her SPEQ equipped, this gives her effectively 100 FP, 25 accuracy, 33 RoF, and a 65% crit rate with 172% critical damage - stats you could roughly compare to an RF. She wouldn’t be a good RF, certainly, but that’s the tradeoff for having 1200 HP and up to 32 base armor. With her skill active, of course, she reaches a much more exciting 180 FP! Now we can do some real damage!

Triela suffers from the same weaknesses that plague all offensive SGs: poor uptime, and the loss of damage potential when dummy links are lost. Because of that, building around her as a primary damage dealer is almost certainly a lost battle from the beginning. Building around her damage potential will just result in a slower, less tanky SPAS-12, though not having to reload does help her out a bit. 

Honestly, I think Triela’s more built to be used as an off-tank, the way we use SMGs like Henrietta and Vector. Triela would excel at dealing with Dragoons and ELIDs, for example - powerful enemies that need to come in close range to deal damage, but won’t just destroy Triela immediately without giving her a chance to at least try to fight back (don’t use her against Hydras). This gives her some interesting potential in the way she can be used... but I don’t see a clear niche where she will excel over any other SG, in the same way I can for Claes. 

At least she’s better off than Dana, rip in kill.