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#but i just know i'll still like it; the visuals were amazing + it ended the series the way i wanted it to end
hezuart · 4 months
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Thoughts on the “Look my Way” music video? For context if you don’t know, this is a fan song that’s just animated. Paranoid DJ had written this song awhile back, though Viv did take out some lyrics and switch them up a bit. What I personally don’t like is that there’s a line in the original where Stolas mentions the “impish play thing” line, as well as acknowledges that Octavia is hurting, and Viv cut that out. The song itself also doesn’t help for the show narratively really regarding the ship of Stolitz.
OMYGOD Okay so much to talk about here. It's a BEAUTIFUL song, amazing song, and I even loved the original of it. The animation for this AMV is breathtaking, everyone did an AMAZING job on it. This is what Helluva Boss songs should sound like. I was annoyed with that one scene, albeit very pretty where Stolas and Blitz have a string attached to the pinky finger, which is an indication of soulmates. This bothers me because a soulmate is either A. someone you have been reincarnated with over the years to love or B. Someone you click with- someone who completes you. You meet in every lifetime or they are the perfect person for you. This does not fit Stolas X Blitz AT ALL. They are not perfect for each other, they are complete opposites and the entire appeal and beauty of their relationship was the fact that they were fuckbuddies! They weren't even friends! They were tied up in manipulations, classism, and power imbalances. Their relationship required a lot of growth, a lot of work, and a LOT of learning on what love actually was, how to maintain it, and how to right their wrongs like-They needed to actively explore and learn what love means. They needed to find a real connection that would actually give them chemistry. Being soulmates is a complete cop-out. (Soulmates don't rely on reincarnation, but some do- and reincarnation is not a thing for demons???) You could say I'm overthinking it and being nitpicky with this visual, but this is exactly what it is! That is a soulmate string!!! He even says "I'll grant you this mercy, this bind on our souls-" LIKE BRUH wHAT !!! I'm so mad about what their relationship has become. They were toxic but not doomed. Now they're nothing Anyway..... still very beautiful and pretty
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I have friends who actually know this guy and work closely with him. Apparently, Viv was the one who asked to change the lyrics of the song because it didn't "fit her story"???????? The lyrics changed: OG: "Come now, my little impish plaything, we both made our choice" Viv: "But dearest, I know better now I must give you this choice" It makes sense why she would want this changed since this song is about Stolas actually finally being in love. But it's still very sus because we still have not addressed Stolas's classism problem that seems to fluctuate episode to episode. OG: "Is this how she'd feel? Abandoned, all alone and left to fend For herself, for some semblance of happiness that doesn't have to end?" Viv: "Is this what you feel? Scorned by a realm that cannot comprehend, What you are, so I'll grant you this mercy this bind- on our souls needs to end" Again I can understand this change because we are going off-topic with Octavia here. However, I do find these changes very suspicious, especially if she wanted the song to better "fit her story". Because these circumstances are things that I have accused Viv of retconning before. Where Stolas wasn't actually in love with Blitz from the start and only saw him as a shiny toy, an "impish little plaything". Where Stolas was actually shady in cheating on his wife and not being there for his daughter nor really understanding her. "Home doesn't feel like home anymore. You ruined it." I can understand in the context of the song why these lines would be removed, but in the context of the overall story, I'm very suspicious of it, because those are very important contexts that people try to insist are "just people's headcanons" when they literally aren't. This could be considered active proof of Vivziepop retconning her story, but I will go with the latter and stick to my logical explanations for why the lyrics were changed- gonna try to have some faith here.
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Apparently, Cherri and Angel's AMV Addict was also a fan song. In THAT video, this is the description. Fully acknowledging it was a fan song, and giving clear credit to the person who made the song.
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THIS. IS THE DESCRIPTION FOR "JUST LOOK MY WAY"
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NO acknowledging this is a fan-made song. NO credit for Paranoid DJ. No thank you, no praise for the original, no links to the original song- He is at least in the credits, but not the description! This is insanely shady! I don't know if this was just a mistake or not, but this is really uncool. Again, he's at least in the ending credits, but... the description would make it more obvious. Vivziepop has a history of not crediting people for their work- I don't know if she was the one who made this mistake nor not.... this is not the worst it could have been, but at the very least whoever runs the youtube should fix the description out of respect.
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minggukieology · 1 year
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Happy FACE era and happy Jikook days to all!
I promise I'll write a few in depth reflections on the latest Jikook interactions and also will address 편지 in another post but I just wanted to get a few things off my chest so I wanted to post this first. (Sorry, this post will mostly include my reflections and no profound analysis so if you're not interested in my ramblings, you can skip this one)
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*inserts these pics to catch your attention lol*
I guess I'll start off by this: I did make the conscious decision to lay off the petiness a few months ago though I can't help but think these few days (even weeks) happened for the sake of all the hateful trolls who have been making rounds even on here revelling in the fact both Jimin and Jungkook were mostly off-grid and Kook spotted having a social life, which somehow automatically discounted any possibility of him keeping in touch with/seeing anyone else for some reason.... but anyways... for the sake of keeping my karma clean let's move on.
Being an ARMY with a special fondness for 3J and Jikook I have to say my life is pretty easy, I just lay back and enjoy as their appearances happen and let things unfold without having to get angry or hateful. Mostly because my love for them doesn't hinge upon a never-ending need for validation for what has been a constant for the past 10+ years. And I hope by communicating and trying to explain more closely to you how especially Jimin and Jungkook interact, trying to help you bridge the language gap, I really hope you feel this sense of calmness as well. There is never anything to question, to fuss or argue about. (Not to stray too much off topic, but rest assured I deeply value and appreciate each and one of your replies and messages, despite the fact I am notoriously bad at replying to them 🫣)
Watching Jimin and Jungkook interact always feels like home, like you have been granted an insight into a familiar scene, with people that are so close they can't help but joke around or poke at each other yet at the same time can't hold back on their appreciation and softness for each other. (If you need a visual representation just take any moment Jimin talks about/with Jungkook and automatically gets all giggly and soft and Jungkook's last live where you could see the little goofball laughing at ex. the teasing scenes but at the same time couldn't hold back his starry eyed expression 🥹)
I have to admit though, I myself got proven wrong when I confidently posted about how they are both missing ARMY based on the Weverse interactions and then proceeded watching Jungkook turn on a live barely interacting with the comments (even remarking on the fact he isn't checking them yet people keep writing lol) just to watch over 1hr of Jimin content and admit to have been staying on top of all his promo releases...To then read Jimin's reply in which he left no room for debate. 국민 정말 미안해ㅠㅠㅠ
So what have we learned over the past few days?
Jimin and Jungkook are fine, in fact better than fine, and not seeing them in public proves absolutely jack sh*t (reverting back to a bit of my pettiness here)
Jungkook was involved with the album more than we could have ever imagined. (can't wait to talk more about 편지, I have to say not many songs have ever touched me as much as this one, for various reasons...)
Jungkook visited Jimin's rehearsal (and was really interested in watching him record for a music show too 🥺) and was also for that reason so confidently announcing that something "amazing beyond words" was coming before the teaser for Set me free pt. 2 dropped
As expected Jimin's latest schedules are recording/company-home-eat-sleep and repeat so he has barely any time left and Jungkook misses him a lot :(
Jungkook is as supportive and admiring of his hyung as ever- his words not mine (still a huge Serendipity stan though 🤭)
And once again highlighting: their communication feels very warm, friendly and familiar, there is no sign of them not knowing about each other or being distant
This was all I just had to write down before my head started spinning, I will be back with more of my nerdy language analysis posts, thanks for reading if you decided to! 😊
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archivalofsins · 5 months
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In a funnier turn of events after getting that Mikoto post out I am feeling more comfortable discussing his character. It was really bugging me that I was perceiving the fandom as an unsafe space to discuss plurality on a two alter system basis. It never seemed appropriate to gush about it given the things I'd been shown being said.
Yet, I was really happy with Double and the Neoplasm voice drama. Because it showed how diverse dissociative identity disorder can be with just two alters. Instead of just doing the same old hi I'm the totally good one and I'd never hurt a fly and I'm sin incarnate sometimes I just do bad shit for the lols you know.
The thing that most media does when discussing that presentation. I don't know how to really tackle my own feelings on it. It's like most my life I grew up seeing it represented as oh no, the evil one is out. As though the person had been possessed almost. So, it was very refreshing to see it be like, "Oh well, they're both just people. No one is as simple as just good or bad. They both have a variety of behavior."
It's something that should by now rightfully be expected when it comes to that sort of representation of it. Yet when it comes to two people always focus on the duality. The light and the dark the good and the evil. They try to separate all nice in neat like that without really focusing on the individuals. So, I was ultimately really pleased by Milgram. Though it could be because I'm more on the older side or just I gave up on looking for good representation and started avoiding anything thar covered it in middle school.
Honestly, I still avoid things that deal with it outside of Milgram. Simply out of habit of thinking, man, is it gonna be this shit again? How do I know it's not that shit again? Oh well, you gotta watch it, of course. I'm not doing that. I don't trust it. Yet with Double, there were just so many great things about it that really made me go.
Yeah, they get it. This is actually great. I couod harp on the lyrics all day.
Like favorite lines were,
1. That'd be good.
With the lyrics before it and how it's enunciated with so much longing paired with the visuals of him wiping the blood to look down into the other end of the train. It really fucking goes hard as a line. Really embodying the whole come on praise me for helping you I did good right I saved you right so hey where's my thank you it'd be good if you said it energy.
2. Doesn't matter if you didn't wish for it, can't get rid of me now. Just the two of us, relieved, aren't you? I'll protect you (us).
Just the enunciation the growl. It's just really good as if going oh you want to push me down well I'm not going anywhere.
3. "He's a liar," you said and made me out to be a scoundrel, why?
The fucking double meaning if this one line is just so got damn amazing. It's not only calling back to the ridiculous accusations lines in Double but discussing the audiences response to Mikoto. Calling him a liar claiming he was faking. But the second half is referring to the audiences reaction to John making him out to be a scoundrel immediately blaming the murders on him. Labeling him as the bad one without even a second thought. Only leaving him to ask why? Putting more meaning behind the line
4. Hey, I just wanted to save you, so why did it come to this? Cling to me hoist me up as your savior stand up and sing out your gratitude- So, why?
As though Mikoto is their asking why is your song like this you should be praising me. You should be grateful so why?
5. I don't remember a thing it couldn't be helped I'm Double (MeMe).
This line is super great because it's like John and Mikoto both claiming onus of their own songs. And John answering Mikoto's question about why his song is like this. Basically going it couldn't be helped I'm Double. Basically saying it was bound to turn out like this because I'm like this.
6. Why, why? If only I were never born, if only-
To me, this came off as John going. If only I had never been born at all, then neither of us would have existed, and this wouldn't have happened. Expanding on the idea that Es and Kotoko both bring up that his existence is the problem. Which most wouldn't immediately go they mean because of my disorder but go yeah fuck it you're right if I never even lived to begin with this wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't even be here for this to happen and then the apology after these lines as if apologizing for having been born at its sooo good.
It has no right to be sooooo good. So, yes despite the incredible detriment that this week has been to my mental health and my anxiety literally being on a fucking hundred. Double has been the best fucking thing to ever happen to me personally. And it's so fucking amazing.
I love it so much.
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phoenixyfriend · 1 year
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I want to plug two Etsy stores that I recently had amazing experiences with.
I realized I needed a shawl pin, and all of mine were on another continent... so I decided to search out small crafters in Serbia, and see about purchasing from someone in the area because yay, small, local businesses! The ones I found weren't at any craft fairs or the like, but they did have open Etsy stores, and when I ordered from there, the sellers at both shops were incredibly sweet.
The pricing on these products is high for the area, but is very reasonable by American standards. I would expect pieces of this quality to be priced at least three or four times higher in the US, so if you're trying to support a small business and get some impressive jewelry without breaking the bank, while still paying a fair wage for the area, these are a good option.
(This isn't sponsored or anything, I'm just really happy with these shops and products and I like promoting things that bring me joy. It's the same energy as when I do fanfic rec lists, honestly.)
The first shop is Didulishop, from which I got this lovely spiral/coil brooch.
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The photo really undersells the warmth of the bronze, but the color is more saturated than it looks here, and the stones are nice as well. The coiling of the piece lends a lot of visual complexity to it while looking refined and elegant, but it's pretty understated, so if you're like me and need something to hold a knit cardigan together, especially in a professional setting, this is great!
The other shop is Tangledworld. I actually got three coordinating pieces from this shop since it's much easier to order while I'm here and I don't know when I'll be returning to the States): a bracelet, a necklace, and a brooch.
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I absolutely adore these. As you can see, these are a different kind of complex from the other brooch, but the art nouveau swirls are absolutely gorgeous. The pendant in particular is beautiful, and reminds me of a highly stylized Greek lyre, and while the product image showed a chain, I'm actually really happy with the hammered choker that I got instead. I didn't have any in my closet yet, and having this as my first one is great.
I ended up going into 'leaving a review' voice, but anyway. Check these folks out.
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fennelockley · 4 months
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An analysis of the Toymaker and The Giggle
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I'm completely unhinged for this character so this is going to be LONG long. But there's a brief character analysis at the top.
Character portrayal - Perfection. Has exactly all the points and quirks of the OG character while NPH builds upon it in his own way - and everything he does is perfect and in character.
Mannerisms - This feels so bizzare to say, but we barely have any footage of the Toymaker before this episode. So this is essentially all we have to go on in terms of body language, facial expressions, etc. This is all new, but it feels like it's been a part of this character all along.
A character that's portrayed as being full of energy, shifting emotions and tones like masks - he doesn't sit still for a moment, he's constantly shifting even if its just the minutest of facial expressions. And we finally get to see it!!
The explanation - The Doctor always has an understanding of what he's up against, even if it takes him time to learn. But the Toymaker was essentially the very first enemy the Doctor ever meets (ty Divided Loyalties), and he still doesn't have an explanation as to who or what he is, or how he does things.
This was the bit that had me worried about the episode, and I know people like an explanation - but I'm of the firm belief that the Toymaker should always defy explanation and any known logic. The moment you understand him - he fundamentally changes and you've lost all understanding. You can't use the same trick twice.
New canon points:
- Being brought into this realm through a superstition at the edge of the universe. Such a brilliant and poetic way to summon such a character.
- Not having a choice but to accept a challenge. Normally, the Toymaker would accept anything tbh. But he wasn't bound by nature to accept. This episode has made it a fundamental flaw of his character. That does, unfortuantly, make it easier to beat him. But I like it, it fits the character, it makes sense. And, no matter how much I love him being this untouchable godly powerful person, he does need flaws.
This also goes hand in hand with the OG canon about how he can't accept failure. His down fall in Solitaire.
And I'll also point out the tibit about him being incapable of cheating. The Toymakers biggest pet peeve, numero uno way to piss him off.
What I wish was different/could have been added:
- The Toymaker is infamous for his tantrums. We got his show-off personality to the 10s, but we didn't see him register his loss properly. Should have let him had his toddler moment.
- I wouldn't change how it was, but I know what feels so... wrong? With this episode. I think the reason it's not hitting about how powerful he is is because he's not in his own universe, that sheer fear that he controls everything adds an extra dimension to the story. But we got to see a snipit of it when they were lost in the toy shop - so that works for me.
_______ The lengthy episode analysis _______
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Opening scene
Firstly, I was ridiculously happy that he appereaed straight away. I've waited so long 🖤
But first up is the Toy Room. Which is about as close as we get to his realm in this episode (and judging by it collapsing later on, I'm assuming it is a smaller form of his realm).
This is what the the original episode would have shown if they had the budget. Classic, old, and creepy toys filling a room to the brim. It looks so childlike and nostalgic until you look closer at the items.
Big Finish have described a very similar setting before, in Solitaire, but to see it visually is amazing.
And he fits right in to his habitat.
Very classic Toymaker in this scene. Reminded me alot of Solitaire when Charley walks into his toy shop, and he's talking talking talking - never ending commentary about his crafts, the theatrical speech mannerisms and near child-like excitement when he's speaking about his dolls.
His almost pouty way of speaking when Stooky Bill is being chosen but not his family, one again a very classic mannerism. This is a character that switches emotions, accents, and tones of voice quicker than light - and NPH does it well. He even drops to mimicking the other guys accent, not even trying to hide his mockery.
And I loved the tibit about taking the hair from a victim - "she will not miss it" - the whole idea that a victim succumbs to his play if they lose (but we will touch on that later).
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The street view
Then we move onto the insanity. The Toymaker is already there, practically following the Doctor about. He's there in the background when the Doctor tries to calm that man down, and he purposely bumps into the Doctor a moment later.
"Ooh La La"
Next mockery he makes of an accent. This is purposeful nod back to unfortunate racist element in the 60s. He mocks and copy's, because its funny to him. Humans are just pawns for amusment to him, and messing around with their characteristics like that is a small part of it.
Purely in his element in this scene, he's got that blissful and happy look to his face - a creature of chaos, in the chaos that he caused.
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Back in time
First face off between the Doctor and the Toymaker. Loved the little peek-a-boo dance they did through the windows.
In the Doctor goes and the Toymaker doesn't give him time to breathe. His speech is brilliant, and I'd like to think the whole "killing a man with a rock" was a Torvic mention.
Endless sense of humour and quips at the characters expense, that falls flat as they're too tied up trying to figure him out.
The endless juggling balls was a brilliant touch; such a small way to show the Toymakers powers but it gets the point across immediately that something isn't right.
The sheer fear radiating off of the Doctor that you can see leak onto Donna as she steps back and quietens down. Very few characters make the Doctor feel that way, and it's of course aimed at the one that's caused the most trauma in his life. And one that's barely survivable.
The shift in accent once the Doctor has clocked him, his little bow - and of course, the flash back to Michael Gough and the first episode, with NPH nailing his smirk. For someone that didn't know what Doctor Who was until he was cast as the Toymaker, NPH is the spitting image of the original character. Everything up to this point has been how others have portrayed the character, and NPH carries all of that forward in his performance.
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Hide and Seek
If its one thing I like about this character, is that he can't stay in one state for longer than a moment. He's constantly moving, shifting states. The moment the Doctor gets steady feet the Toymaker rips the floor from under him.
This is a character where you're barely keeping your head above water with, one that just doing your all to survive against that you don't have time to think about defeating him just yet.
I could be here forever in this scene, but ill cut to my favourite bits:
- The backrooms. Because of course the Toymaker would have an never ending maze of corridors and doors as one of his tricks. The Doctor is immediately fed up and unsure of how to deal with this.
- Telling Donna he might not be able to save her this time :( as I will always say, the Toymaker is a character you survive, not defeat (and this is still true for the ending of this episode).
- "when I was young, I made a terrible mistake" you can pry Divided Loyalties from my dead hands this was a nod to that I don't care what anyone else says.
- The living puppet of his earlier victim. Another classic Toymaker move - death is a nice way to lose to him, because he usually keeps you for eternity to do as he pleases with.
- The God like hovering above the Doctor with the marionette strings. Perfect way to show the power imbalance.
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The Showroom
"WELL THATS ALRIGHT THEN"
Puppet master with dolls of the Doctors companions, the whole set, the critique of the Doctors handling of his companions (hello, Divided Loyalties again)
The immediate shift in demeanour the moment the Doctor challenges him. Little creature of his games, the only thing he takes seriously.
And that beautiful surreal shuffling? That was all NPH, whos said to have a natural talent for such a thing.
The casual boasting of what he considers normal activities for himself. Doing such impossibly powerful things and hes just... and? So what about it? Very on brand. The Supernova mention was a nod at Nightmare Fair.
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Trapping the Master. Hysterical. That's 3 people from the Deca that have lost to him now. Did Koschei learn NOTHING from Divided Loyalties?!?! Also trapping the Master within his body, similar to Rallon 👀
"The one who waits" and him supposedly being scared of it? What the ever loving hell could make the Toymaker run? In terms of Who lore, he's the most powerful thing out there. I'm intrigued.
The whole unraveling of the plot with the human race. Making everyone think they're right. Toymaker, that's low hanging fruit, but I respect the lesson.
And his little switch from calm to excitable the moment he wins. He's a big kid.
"He'll cheat" favourite bit of canon of all, and it's stood through all of the characters stories. The Toymaker hates cheating. He'll find loopholes that look like cheating, of course, but cheating itself? Big no no and an automatic failure (how the Doctor lost in Divided Loyalties).
"I'm already running" pretty much all stories end with his realm collapsing, interesting that it's his choice this time.
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~ Spice Girls ~
This is where it stops becoming a homage to the OG character, and NPH makes it his own variation.
The only way I can describe the Spice Up Your life scene is that - it was in character, but its a side we haven't seen from him before.
That's such an interesting thing to happen, it's completely and uniquely NPH but it adds and makes sense to the character.
An all-powerful entity that taunts his power by dancing circles around his victims, both sinister and bizzare. An antagonistic move to make people uncomfortable and flaunt that he's untouchable. Extremely him, I'm upset that we haven't had this until this moment. But NPH killed it 🖤
The Doctor just before it happens looking all grave and at a loss "oh, I think he's here". Such beautiful juxtaposition.
Trapping peoples souls in bouncy balls - yes.
The rose petals - A mockery and I love it.
Dancing with people - me next please.
He turned up, was unnecessarily camp, and left again. No reason for him to have done except that he wanted to *chefs kiss*
His heart hands as he leaves, I did it right back.
Also his best outfit in my opinion!
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The Laser
"I think they're still falling" that was sinister, my good god man. I shouldn't have laughed but I did.
"All that exists is to win, or to lose" his mentality and existance boiled down into that once sentence.
The whole part where the Doctor proposes to him, lmao. Actually a nod back to the OG episode...
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The Toymaker doesn't like being told no, so he's probably remembering this moment.
His speech about humanity, and all the games they play within their existance.... 🗣🗣 SOLITAIRE 🗣🗣 such a brilliant and sinister speech in that audio, and this is very similar and uniquely different. Love it love it love it. "You make me dizzy"
Catch
The Bigeneration possibly being his doing, brilliant. Although I have my own seperate feelings on that topic.
Loosing to a simple game of catch. Others would say that's over whelming, but when it comes to powerful complex characters - simple is the way to go, they're too in their own heads to foresee the simple defeats.
The Toymaker is bound by winning and failure, that's always been the same. But he wasn't in his own realm this time, so him being booted from existance instead works out.
This wasn't a defeat. This was a singular win. He's had his soul scattered, he's been collapsed into a singularity, he's had his realm collapse around him multiple times. But you can't touch him. He's like a boomerang, you can throw it as hard as you want but it's never truely gone. You can't kill him, and you can't defeat him completely.
100/10 brilliant portrayal, excellently brought back to modern audiences. Beautiful beautiful episode I have it on repeat.
If you've made it this far, you're probably as unhinged as I am - so hi, welcome to the madness, and thank you for reading.
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venbetta · 2 months
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I took some time and actually watched Hazbin Hotel... I watched the pilot 6(?) years ago, and seeing the hellfire commentary from Twitter made me reluctant (rightfully so I guess).
But I say it was pretty alright. I feel like I have some complaints. I'm not a diehard fan at all, nor do I see myself in the fan base, but I feel like I can add my own input, I guess. These are my opinions and personal reasons, please be nice.
Spoilers/commentary beneath the cut (16+)
For starters, I think the concept is good, I like some of the designs for the characters, especially since they improved from the pilot.
I think I have at least 3-4 favorite characters, ranking them from my most fave:
Lucifer, Alastor, Vox, and Nifty.
... I didn't like anyone else. I'll probably explain that.
The only reason why I liked these four was mostly cuz they had some funny bits to them. I told my friend that Lucifer reminds me of Hunter from TOH??? And I said "Maybe it's cuz their both blonde and depressed." Lucifer just has that appeal for me. Vox didn't have much screentime, but I like his niche design and voice. Alastor is also cool. Nifty is just a cute gremlin that I fuck with honestly. Good for her. Everyone else I either didn't care much for or straight up didn't like...
Charlie annoyed me a lot, I know she's the MC, but I didn't like her. I get that she's supposed to be good, but her behavior in some scenes bothered me. Like in Ep4, I understand she was coming from a good place, but I couldn't help but feel agitated. I can't explain it. She has a savior complex which is her flaw, and maybe I just don't exactly understand it.
Of course, she's not the worst character (looks at Valentino and Adam), but she could improve. There were a few characters that I feel should've been written better, but the pacing made it hard.
I feel like the pacing was something I didn't like, but I can't blame it since it only has 8 episodes. The writer in me deflated seeing how fast things moved along, but I get why they sped it up towards the end. I wanna ramble about how the show could have gone if it had 24 episodes- but that feels like another post. Also, another thing that irked me were characters word vomiting.
Again if this show had more time to explore each individual character, it wouldn't have happened. I thought ep 4 with Angel Dust pouring his heart had good intentions to tell the audience that he's fucked up, it could've been built up more (if there were more episodes) until he finally blew up, similar with Husk. It's different because it's an animation, but you can still show and not tell visually about someone struggling. That's just me.
The excessive swearing isn't funny, I didn't find myself laughing that much except for Ep 8: Adam telling Lute to chill the fuck out, Alastor's mic breaking, and Lucifer saying "I'm gonna fuck you!" are the only bits I found funny. I've laughed at dumber things (my sense of humor is garbage, I'll laugh at a waffle falling over), but I didn't find most of the jokes funny.
I knew it was a musical, and I love musicals, but there weren't many songs I vibed with. Maybe a few, but not a lot. I'm a music person, and the songs just didn't feel right? Like the lyrics either felt awkward or general direction of the song didn't feel cohesive. I think I only like 4 songs in total.
The VAs were great, I recognized a lot of them, and I enjoyed their performances. They all fit their characters.
The animation was good for what was originally an indie project, and I hope the animators/artists were properly compensated. I know there was a lot of shit going on about Vivi allegedly not paying them but regardless, they did amazing.
I'm gonna be serious and say I feel like I didn't want to give HH a chance because I just didn't exactly care about it. My friends watched it. I saw Twitter's scolding opinions and hottakes on it, and I didn't want to hate watch it. But I was still curious. While I wasn't laughing through most of it, I think it's good. There's a lot that I'm trying not to say or get into because that would derail my commentary and make it about other discussions I'm not fully knowledgeable about...
I sailed the seven seas to watch this show, and I say it was sort of worth it. Again, I'm not a crazy fan, but anyone that likes it, good for you.
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dailycass-cain · 6 months
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I do apologize for taking so long for this, but I had a rough second half last week and took time to recharge mentally.
That said here are my thoughts on Spirit World #5!
I think the only negatives I have for the issue is that well the next issue is the final one, and I want to know so much! So much more on Xanthe. Spirit World. Jade Court (though we get A LOT of info dump this issue). There's just SO much happening in this series.
Like I really don't want this series to end, and kind of want a sequel series to just be announced. Because writer Alyssa Wong just is giving us so much lore that I want them to continue on. Obviously, the stuff introduced this issue with Xanthe.
But to go deeper into Jade Court and Po Po. Like, they hook me this issue with the revelations of what Po Po is, and I want more. One more issue isn't enough for that.
Xanthe is a character and this series is really making me want to do a deep dive further in Chinese mythology and the like because the stuff Wong has introduced in the series got me craving to learn more and see what they incorporated into this series.
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Plus I kind of want to see how Xanthe met John Constantine. More Xanthe interacting with Cass's world. Of course, Cass continued interaction with this side of Chinese mythology. It is all rather exciting for ALL of this.
Like I don't feel cheated at all if Wong doesn't answer the stuff they seeded earlier with Cass having been in this place but losing her memories. Not to mention the warped way she "died". Like I want DC to give Wong just even more glorious room to tell this ALL.
Give me that double dose of Wong with both Cass/Xanthe. Two mini-series by Wong. One being a sequel to this, and the other just letting Wong go to town on a solo Cass series (literally its the character's anniversary). They showed us the readers they write an EXCEPTIONAL Cass.
Cass while her role is mostly downplayed this issue (I don't mind it) with what she gets is still to be freed by Xanthe from the last issue's shenanigans. Do I wish there were more people "tethered" to Cass? Yes (Harper, Tim, Dick, and *ahem* Shiva).
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But I'll take my Duke Thomas brotherly crumb THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Also, Babs being more prominent than Bruce too.
I feel like I have to stop gushing on Wong's writing to also give due to artist Haining. What they've done in this series and lead-up? The designs and visuals throughout this series? Like, the way he can switch from comedy to action to horror.
Just really exceptional stuff.
Not to mention the designs he's spitting out with all the members of the Jade Court? Like, given how unique and interesting the visuals set up each member is WHY I want to know more. Add to that the heavy introduced this issue too (I want Cass to fight him).
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The same goes to the colors by Sebastian Cheng. They make the art by Haining pop even more and give a visceral feel to what Wong crafts with this world.
Spirit World continues to be this amazing series that should be talked out more. It's introducing a new character in Xanthe, and renewing an old concept for modern audiences. Besides giving us the goods on Cass/John.
I'm truly gonna be sad to see this series go next month. But MAN what a ride this has been! I can't wait to see how this all ends!
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perfectlovevn · 1 month
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(i'm so sorry, i'm not sure if you accept reviews or not so feel free to ignore this)
Helloo!! I'm brazilian and i'm still learning english so forgive me for any grammar mistakes. I've gotten all endings (i guess- please let me know if i missed anything!) so here's my review of Perfect Love! ♥
I loved this game sooo much! I never played an visual novel with a mean main character and it was just amazing. The trope of ''us'' being the actual villains is very interesting and it made the game super unique! It's also pretty obvious the amount of effort and hard work that's in the game, I was impressed by the quality of it all.
The music and sound effects are pretty good, I loved it all! The artstyle is very pleasing to look at and the black/white/grey contrast with Milo's blue/red eyes are such a nice touch too. I also loved the amount of easter eggs (you couldn't imagine the face I made when I named myself 'Ren') and secret endings/scenes.
Fortunately, when I first played, I knew nothing about the game nor about Milo (which I believe made the experience better since everything turned out to be surprising) and the endings were really good. Through the gameplay, I've encontered one grammar mistake (which I forgot to screenshot it, sorry) and one sprite glitch but nothing that made me annoyed.
After finishing the 8 main endings, I decided it was time to look a little bit on the official Tumblr's page of the VN and that's when I decided to test out all of the easter eggs and that's when I discovered the secret scenes.
So, to summary it all: absolutely 10/10! I can't remember the last time I had so much fun playing a game and being so invested in unlocking all of it's content! I was flabbergasted when I lost all of my endings heh
Please let me know if I missed anything- I'd be more than happy to clear the game entirely.
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Hello there! I love reviews. On my other blog I always write recommendations/reviews for other vns, so I'm always open to seeing what people like and dislike about the game. I hope you don't mind that I'm just gonna mash these two asks into one ask.
Thank you! I also think that a lot of vns don't always focus on being the bad guy in the story and those that do I usually enjoy quite a lot! I'm glad you like the quality of it, it was a lot of fighting renpy and it's UI because I have a one sided rivalry with the base renpy UI. I tried to make it look good though I think I maybe should have attempted to redraw some of the sprites for Milo (for like the third time).
For the art style itself, I actually did it in black and white because it was originally for the 2023 yanjam and I wanted to make a style that wouldn't be extremely tiring for me, and I really like lineart so I made everything in black and white (and also because I'm lazy, I say as I animate half of my assets). The red and blue really make it pop at the end since it's one of the few time color is used in the game. I love when people put easter eggs in their game and I know of a lot of yandere vns so I wanted to put in a ton! I'll probably put in even more in the update when I get all of the extra stories done because putting easter eggs like that is very fun.
Having no knowledge of a game is always a good way to be surprised about the premise and I think it definitely was something good in your case too! For the grammer/ sprite errors if you do ever play or remember what they were, please let me know. I'll try to fix it in the next update if possible.
It's always so nice seeing that people like my game though! I tried my hardest to make it a worthwhile experience and considering it's (technically) my first game, it really makes me happy to see that people really like it! Hopefully it doesn't have too much of the first game amatureness that tends to come (nothing wrong with it, but I hopefully have showcased I kind of know what I'm doing, I say, sweating profusely) .
Yup! That is all of the scenes in the game so far. At least that you can access. If you look inside of the code, I actually have two scenes that I put in there. One of them is pretty much a test scene featuring the character from the next game I'm making, and the other is a special scene where you go to Milo's apartment. You can't access those in the main game, but you can play them if you edit the code a bit.
Basically (for those who don't know), all you have to do is put "jump" and then the name of the label afterwards (so for instance if the label is "rabbit" you would put "jump rabbit") after label start in the code. The two scenes that are not accessable in the game are the last two scenes in the script.rpy file just to make it easier for you. (I put a note that says like "#I'm very dedicated to my craft I say as I disect Milo and then beat him with a stick" because I'm sorry Milo, you deserve better)
But yes, thank you for taking your time and writing your long review! I love it so much.
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mooremars · 7 months
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Camelot 2023 Act 2 ramblings about the music and book and also the visuals again because turns out one post wasn't enough.
I still cannot possibly recommend anyone actually read this because it is so absurdly, comically long but I still needed to get even more feelings out.
Act 2, Scene 1: The castle courtyard one year later:
• "We shouldn't be alone together" like girl
• I love how she's almost exasperated by it
• When she fantasized about this all-consuming high-stakes love she probably didn't think about how exhausting it would be to actually live with it all the time
• Like having this conversation every single month does sound exhausting
• The way she's actively trying to drive him out of Camelot, Genny is so much and I respect it
• She's really doing her best in a way that involves truly torturing Lance, he should really do some soul searching about why he loves someone who treats him this way
• "I've trained dogs to chase you"/"And those dogs were fast.. the expression his bark is worse than his bite that wasn't my experience"
• Sorkin slightly breaking the tension of this scene which is so needed
• "You're not English"/"Neither are you"/"I think that changed when I became queen of England"
• I also feel like there is a lot to unpack in this exchange
• "And when would I do that Genny?"
• The angst in that delivery
• If Ever I Should Leave You is so gorgeous
• I think it was Sorkin who basically said that the show doesn't need magic because the songs provide enough magic on their own and this is the perfect example
• Jordan Donica is tremendous
• I knew him from Charmed and it took me a bit to place him but holy shit
• I may have actually seen him before, I'd have to check but regardless I need to be paying attention to literally any theater he does because I want to go
• This applies to all of them, who am I kidding
• Anyway, he's amazing here and I am probably underselling him in this post because I only saw him half the times and so my memories are much less clear
• And my reference is closing which was not him by this point
• And the outro music (? sorry I know nothing about music) is absolutely stunning
• This song is so romantic but also very shallow
• They're fulfilling a version of love that is all big gestures and big feelings but not necessarily substance
• Because they're trying to fill a void in themselves using the other and when you do that, you can't see the person as an actual person
• Just an extension of your unmet need
• Which is too bad because I think if they weren't, they might actually like each other
• But fuck is this song so romantic
• Every lyric is good, the way they're sung, I think I may for the first time have use of the phrase swoon worthy
• Specifically the end
• "I have a thrilling engagement. I'm giving prizes at the potato show. I'm eager to find out what the qualities of a prize winning potato are"/"I'll be at your side Ma'am"/"Thank goodness for that, those potatoes can be dangerous"
• The lines are so funny and her delivery is so heartbreaking, I am suffering
• I do just love Genny so much and she deserves happiness dammit
• "So the rumors are true, the chain of wedlock is so heavy in Camelot it takes three to carry it"
• Mordred coming out with the one liners immediately
• "He's willing to make any old man a knight I see"
• Pelli immediately threatening violence, beautiful
• The whininess of "I shall be busy tomorrow afternoon" and slapping the bench
• Fourteen year old edgelord Mordred
• Very interesting to have him be a year younger than Arthur was when he became king, really underscoring how young he was
• "I was raising by a mother with a fatally broken heart. Makes for a dark childhood"
• Like do we think Mordred is just trying to drum up Arthur's sympathies or is this actually true?
• "And when you speak to the king, you should remember you're speaking to the king"
• Arthur literally never insists on any manner of kingly respect but his son is a little shit that he hates, so he will
• Love that
• "Dispatch to the court, the king has a child he fathered out of wedlock. Problem solved."
• The blackmail just instantly failing is very funny
• Also would love to know how the conversation about this between Genny and Arthur went
• "I'm not ashamed of you. You don't embarass me though it's not for lack of trying."
• That's too generous, Mordred is embarrassing
• "It's always been my wish that you and your mother stay here where I can take care of you both"/"Stay where, in the servants' quarters?"/"In any quarters you like"/"Except the queen's"
• I wonder if Mordred is the one who feels this way or if he's just parroting back what Morgan has said
• "I was a boy when I met your mother"/"And my mother turned you into a man"/"A man named Merlyn turned me into a man"/"That's a new bit of palace gossip"/"No you idiot, he was my teacher"
• Obviously sarcastic Arthur is always a treat and specifically the facial expression and tone of no you idiot
• But just so curious about Morgan and Arthur because Arthur gets pissed at that whole turned into a man bit
• And he has been pretty chill with Mordred being terrible for this whole scene
• He's very much not comfortable with what Mordred is saying and this is the only moment where Mordred gets under his skin and like that is very interesting
• "In this place the law applies equally to everyone"/"Even the king and queen?"/"Especially the king and queen"
• You are literally watching the light bulb pop over Mordred's head and it's played perfectly
• Everyone in this cast is perfect
• The Seven Deadly Virtues has no right to be this funny
• "Making my Beelzebubble burst" is my favorite but really this entire song is great
• It's such a petulant performance and it's perfect
Act 2, Scene 2: The King's study
• Another amazing bit of scene change music
• The intimacy of them spending their evening playing chess together and talking
• Presumably this is just what they do on a lot of nights and I love it
• I feel like there's definitely potential in a their relationship through chess fic
• Someone please
• I firmly believe they are at like a full 50-50 split in terms of who wins
• "Are you really reading while you're chasing me around the board?"/"Sorry I didn't hear you, I was reading and chasing you around the board"
• And his okay in the middle like he knows he set himself up to get mocked
• Making fun of each other is one of my favorite love languages
• Also same structure as Arthur telling her it will seem that she's rooting for Lancelot to lose and she says that's because she is rooting for Lancelot to lose
• It's just a fun little dialouge thing that I enjoy Genny doing
• Makes her lines feel hers
• I love that Arthur has Merlyn's final warning on his mind so naturally he consults Genny
• And then it devolving into a philosophical discussion about what is and is not possible
• "I was 10,000th person to try, how do you explain that?"/"9,999 people loosened it"
• A perfect and funny line that becomes sweet and profound later on, I will never not love that
• "We have greatness in our grasp, humanity does, but for some reason every time we see it we assign the responsibility to some supernatural force. Or to god."
• You would think given the structure of the love triangle that Arthur would be set up to scoff at the idea that god has responsibility for human greatness in contrast to Lance being extremely devout
• And like I do think Arthur and Genny are actually on the same page but I enjoy that she gets to voice that thought
• This is the woman who first ran away and then threw prayer on top after as a little afterthought so yeah perhaps Genny is not the best catholic
• "Perhaps when he died, his soul transmogrified-"/"What did I just say?"
• Arthur immediately needling her and doing that stupid little hand motion on transmogrified
• They're adorable
• "I enjoy seeing you get riled up"
• This is what you say to a woman you're about to call your business partner? In that way?
• I don't know who to blame because I can't tell if the line or delivery is more of the culprit
• No it's the delivery, I have literally put in the audio as proof
• The audacity, I'm obsessed
• He's got it so bad
• Could've had this Genny
• Like Mr. Purity of Soul who thinks women can't possibly understand politics has absolutely never considered the concept of female pleasure, for sure has never heard of foreplay, and definitely believes the clit and g-spot are both myths
• I love Lance but proposition: there's no way that man is good in bed
• Everything else mean I've said about Lance has been out of love but I love Genny and she doesn't deserve mediocre dick
• And yet he's playing by Jordan Donica so it is also valid and understandable
• Sorry, I digress but gotta find the humor in the whole none of them get to be happy business
• But actually I really appreciate that even in this tragic narrative with big ideas and a lot of angst, they get to have fun and be fun
• Even as their relationship is about to hit its breaking point, you can still tell they're not just torturedly in love but they actually like each other so much
• "And while you're enjoying it, let me ask you this... how often do you write to her?"
• Genny is attempting to play it cool but boy is she not
• The little pause between often and write and then to her, oof
• It's so soft but like the hint is there
• The silence while Arthur makes his move on the board, ugh
• "I send a letter a week"/"Every week?"/"Yes"/"For how long?"/"Mordred's fourteen, he came to me when he was ten so four years"/"That's 208 letters"/"I have a responsibility there, I'm trying to do-"/"Do the chivalrous thing"/"Yes"
• It's so painful to hear their deliveries and realize they're having two separate conversations where they're both upset and they don't understand the other person is feeling the same
• Like Genny getting alarmed at 208 letters, Arthur getting frustrated and defensive about it and cutting Genny's last line off, and then Genny delivery of do the chivalrous thing like she's so tired
• It is so besides the point but how exactly was Arthur expecting the fucking soap opera and/or sitcom situation he's trying to create going
• Like his piece of shit kid, his ex who hates him, his wife that he loves whose feelings for him he doesn't have a handle on, and his bestie whose feelings for his wife Arthur definitely does know
• I know castles are very big but I don't think they're big enough to make that situation good for anyone
• "You've never asked me her name"/"Is it Morgan Le Fay?"/"How did you know that?"/"And she's a scientist"
• Genny has been holding this in for a whole year and she's finally ready to use it
• She says it like she's caught Arthur in some kind of lie which obviously she hasn't but I do wonder if she's had this conversation in her head enough times that she's already thinking the worst
• "He blames me for her condition. All the more reason why I want them both to be here at the castle. She needs care."
• That long pause before condition and the way he says it like maybe Arthur also blames himself
• And they're still playing chess throughout this whole thing as if they can pretend that this conversation isn't causing them both pain
• The sound of the pieces getting moved on the board while during the tense silences, yes
• And now we get to me being emotionally destroyed
• This scene is a roller coaster and the writing and acting of it is perfect in every way
• "We're more than king and queen, you and I. Don't you think?"
• He's so unsure, he's always so unsure it is torture
• The emphasis on you
• But also he does in some way recognize that she's upset about Morgan and he gets so close but spectacularly fails
• Genny is so hopeful on the "Yes, yes I do"
• Him stammering out and Genny trying one more yes to get him to come up with something
• And then that something is business partners
• In my brain I am screaming
• I have done nothing but make fun of Arthur for business partners (and friends) since I first saw this show and I will continue to do it now
• However I do think that for him, in the context of his experience being thrust into royalty, he is actually expressing a very romantic sentiment
• He meets Genny and tells her about Camelot and she doesn't think she's worthy of that
• But here he's affirming that she is, that she's his partner in this and he recognizes her worth
• They talk in the second scene and she mentions that as a princess she doesn't have friends
• And here he's telling her that they are friends, that she isn't alone
• And we see how uncomfortable Arthur is being treated as the king
• And he's trying to tell Genny that he cares for her as a person and not just the queen he traded for in a treaty
• He wants her to see him that way because if she sees him as just Arthur and not the king, then maybe he can tell her how he feels
• But also maybe it you are a man and your confession of love to a woman contains the words "I know this is an unusual thing for a man to say about a woman but" you have turned down the wrong path
• "Yes. Friends. And business partners"
• Her delivery is so ice cold, it's perfect
• The fact that she says this and even Arthur picks up on her tone and knows he fucked up
• Arthur trying to fix things and being interrupted
• His frustration with himself is so heartbreaking
• I am still screaming in my brain just louder now
• Pelli is great but also he is the cause of so many of Arthur and Genny's resentments and miscommunications, the man's a magnet for drama
• He's so funny in this scene trying to complain to Arthur and Arthur already knowing all of Mordred's bullshit
• And yelling dammit so many times in the most perfect way like me with every person who has ever annoyed me
• "Because England doesn't have a law against limericks"
• The fact that even though they're in the middle of this weird emotional mess, Arthur looks to Genny when he's talking about how Pelli's question is complicated
• His thinking buddy
• And business partner
• Also the idea that Arthur is so chill with the fact that he doesn't have the answer, that he's laying groundwork for future progress instead of assuming it will be accomplished by him
• Which is just inherently a concept I think I struggle with, that the world will not change in all the ways it should in my lifetime but the work now still has to be done
• So I like to see it
• Not going to write out another good Sorkin speech about ideas but I love this one too rest assured
• And we've had a nice little break, now we're back to chess and Arthur trying to force out something coherent and me screaming in my brain again
• I still can't get over the way they're still playing chess I'm sorry
• Genny saying "you're in check" with a different delivery every time to convey her emotional state
• The range
• Arthur just trying so hard to come up with anything again, I am personally suffering
• "What I feel-"/"I thought it was right on the money"/"Oh you do?"
• Then I think he says "oh okay" but I don't even know
• They were so close this is the worst
• Still chess
• "Do you regret being born a princess?"/"I'm confident that most people would gladly trade their problems for mine"/"But you're not talking to them right now"
• Firstly the show does an amazing job recontexualizing What Do the Simple Folk Do and everything around it so A+ for that
• But also Arthur is so empathetic in this moment
• "I know you're sad sometimes. That you miss whatever life you were searching for the night you ran from the carriage. The simple joys of maidenhood you called it. You do a good job of hiding it from the court but when you feel sad you-"/"can talk to my business partner?"/"Well I think I might be good at cheering you up"
• The delivery is so sincere
• He sees her pain and he cares so much
• He feels responsible for the life that she missed out on by marrying him
• And he wants to help
• In many ways, he is terrible at expressing his feelings but again in some small respects, he does absolutely knock it out of the park
• Even if Genny can't see it
• "If there was a tournament for cheering you up, I think I'd win"/"Oh as long as there wasn't a bird nearby"/"It wasn't just any bird, it was a white tailed eagle both times"
• The way they move from emotional conversations and annoyed miscommunications back to humor with such ease
• Arthur's bird obsession continues to be one of the best bits of characterization ever
• Genny making fun of Arthur's various words for peasants
• I love What Do the Simple Folk Do so much
• It's just perfectly constructed and the rhymes are pretty genius
• I love every single lyric
• And I love that this song gives Arthur and Genny a chance to be charming and reconnect after the second half of act 1 and the beginning of act 2 were so focused on Genny and Lance
• And then this scene has so much going on that it reminds you why they're the couple of the show
• I didn't need reminding because I'm trash for them but other people might
• All of the little jokes between the lyrics are so funny
• The delivery of "the very last thing you should have is encouragement" is so much funnier than on the cast recording
• Like what is this? So charming
• "My father used to say I sang like an angel who'd been blessed with a particularly pretty singing voice"
• I'm so glad this is at least on the cast recording
• She plays it so straight, it's so good
• This may be my favorite of the songs
• And the dance, they're so cute, the squeeling kills me
• I can't adequately express how much I need to find a bootleg so I can witness this again, the whole scene really but mostly this
• I cannot handle the way they say "Genny"/"Your Majesty"
• Fuuuuck
• The groan in the audience at "a letter from my mother", the pure expression of fuck Mordred
• "He's been waiting a long time."/"Yes"/"My mother was his first, you know"/"I had that sense, yes"/"They say you never fully get over your first love"
• Genny hates Mordred so much and she's right
• He's hitting her exactly where it hurts but Arthur can't even tell
• Also fascinating that Mordred can actually see the dynamic between Genny and Arthur and Lance so much more clearly than the people involved
• "You think you might possibly be spending the night?"
• Like her deliveries were getting more panicked but then this one
• Like she can't even believe what she's hearing and he doesn't even get it
• The long silence after Mordred says Lance has the queen's protection detail
• As people make mmms in the audience
• And then their last little exchange
• Ouch
• Genny telling Arthur what she herself actually needs to be told and Arthur having no clue
• "His queen's in danger"
• Mordred is the absolute worst and it's perfect
• The reprise of the Simple Joys of Maidenhood, so sad and I can't handle it
• I think this is her moment of just fully sitting in the idea that her husband doesn't love her and sees her so completely separate from that that he doesn't even understand why she's so upset to see him dash away overnight to see another woman
• And that he therefore doesn't and won't love her in the way she's singing about
• And thinking that she has the knight pining for her but it isn't enough and sets up her trying to make it enough
• She's grown so much since she first sang the song but she still can't fill the void of wanting this kind of love
• But also knowing that kind of love isn't enough
• I love her
Act 2, Scene 3: The home of Morgan Le Fey/Guenevere's Chamber/ Castle corridor - on that evening
• The into music to Morgan is gorgeous, perhaps my favorite
• It's hard to introduce an important character this late into the show and make them so memorable, even if they've been hanging over the narrative for a while now
• And still have them knock it out of the park but once again, this show is perfectly cast
• The tension of this whole scene is everything
• Morgan's laugh and then "Jesus christ it's the king of England"
• Immediately sets her up perfectly
• And we get something totally different out of Arthur
• I love their dialouge which I am once again trying not to just fully write out, I love their chemistry, I love how quickly their friendliness breaks down
• He does sound genuinely happy to see her at the beginning but as soon as he asks if she's feeling well, they start to cool
• I can't even pick specific lines because everything is such a vibe
• You feel the history and complication and the years apart where everything has changed for both of them and the way that she's the one person who knew him as just Arthur
• "I know exactly who you are"
• Like of course this one was gonna have a line reading that lends itself to multiple things but that's always good and I like it
• Genny ranting to Lance about the number of letters Arthur wrote to Morgan
• She finally gets to be pissed and Phillipa Soo plays it so well
• "Don't review my arithmetic in your head, it's 208"
• Even at her most angry, she still must make sure Lance knows she's right, very relatable
• "I questioned the king, we've all questioned the king"
• This adaptation has built in the knights discontent so well that it's believable that they've just been growing more resentful over time
• "Because one cannot legislate goodness Pellinore, which at the end of the day, is the mission of the round table"/"And what say you Sagramore?"/"Well tell me, when we're all equal will peasants live like knights or will knights live like peasants?"
• Their entire speech is amazing
• The knights growing angrier as they realize they're all on the same page
• The way that it all fits seamlessly into the story we see on the stage but there's also no denying it's about the time we're living in right now
• But again, not in a way where it feels out of nowhere or too heavy handed
• "I throw away the letters, I give away the money"
• I love the way she delivers her lines so dismissively
• I wonder how much of it is her feelings and how much of it is trying to hurt Arthur as much as he's hurt her
• "That part gets left out of the legend" I think is the first moment where Arthur gets under Morgan's skin just a bit
• Like I'm not sure what she wants/wanted from Arthur but maybe it was just that she doesn't like being erased from the story
• "What wife could possibly object?"
• I love her bitterness mounting leading up to this line and actually hearing her call herself Arthur's wife which is I don't think is something she does before
• "I admire the king's commitment to doing the right thing no matter what. That's what a man does, and god knows it should be what a king does."
• I love watching Genny justify her anger because on one level she knows it isn't fair to be angry
• That she really does admire Arthur's goodness and believes he's doing the right thing
• That it's not that he's going to see Morgan, that he wants to bring her to the castle, it's about his actions with Genny
• Or I suppose the lack of consideration of her feelings in maybe the most hurtful way where there was nothing deliberate, it just didn't even occur to him
• She's so hurt
• Everyone in this scene gets to be extremely mad and I love it
• "When he ran out of here, he didn't think it would trouble me at all. He didn't think the letters would mean anything to me. Or staying overnight. Mordred said his mother was his first true love. Business partner. He said it right in front of me as if I wouldn't mind"/"Do you?"/"No, of course not. It's just that it was the first time that it's been demonstrated to me that-"/"Your husband doesn't think of you as his wife"/"Yes"
• Everything is on her face and in her voice
• She's so hurt, so angry, so tired of not being loved
• And when she says of course it doesn't bother her, when she pulls back her feelings in front of Lance
• And her delivery of yes like something clicks in her brain, probably their entire relationship is flashing in her brain and she's building up evidence that it's true
• Lance has articulated exactly what she didn't know she was feeling
• And the music under it underscores each emotion perfectly
• Again Phillipa Soo is just emotionally devastating in this scene
• But also gotta go back to "Your husband doesn't think of you as his wife"
• Like right now I'm just thinking back to Arthur referring to Genny as French to Lance when they first meet and again when he asks her to tell Lance he's being invested
• While Genny in that scene and in the first scene of act 2 keeps referring to her country as England while Lance claims her as French like him
• I wonder if that distinction is one of the things that feeds into her (and Lance?) feeling like Arthur doesn't think of her as his wife
• That she's trying to keep proclaiming her loyalty and he keeps putting a border between them
• At least in her point of view
• While he's as always trying to show her that he sees and respects her as an autonomous individual and not a thing he owns
• Am I reading too far into this? Probably
• (You're not my homeland anymore, so what am I defending now - honestly that it took me this long to make a Taylor Swift reference is a marvel)
• Anyway back to this tremendous scene
• Part of me does wonder if Lance really doesn't know how Arthur feels or if he's in denial because it's easier for him if Arthur doesn't think of Genny as his wife
• Like he does make a point to tell Arthur in the last scene that he and Genny aren't together
• He's gotta realize in this scene how Genny feels about Arthur but curious about the other way around
• Or ya know, maybe he doesn't, maybe he's just as emotionally inept as everyone else in this show
• Don't really have a point, it's just an interesting thought
• How do so many versions cut Fie on Goodness?
• Like not only is it an amazing song but also it's sort of the whole damn point
• If you cut it, the ideals of Camelot are barely even a plot, it's all love triangle
• Also just want to take a moment to appreciate how gross the lyrics to this one are
• This is for sure my favorite sequence
• The intro speech to the song is perfect
• Them just getting worked up about how England is special, it is better, that they're the ones who should be listened to
• "Don't dare question our loyalty to the king"/"A king who encourages debate"
• Again I just love the knights' conflicted feelings about Arthur
• So it's easiest to shift all the blame to Genny and Lance
• This song is so good, this cast is so good
• "That day that I became king, my cousin gave me his tutor, a man named Merlyn. And Merlyn spoke to me of a great cause that I could lead. But I would have to stay unmarried until a young princess in France came of age"/"And you left me unmarriable, a woman with a child"/"I didn't know about the child until he came and introduced himself"/"You raise your voice to me? Have I displeased you your majesty?"/"Stop calling me that"/"I know all about the French princess-"/"The queen"/"and the grand cause-"/"great cause"/"I don't give a damn"
• This is a stupid amount of text that I've typed out but I love their back and forth here
• Arthur trying to justify himself and not wanting to take responsibility and them both getting angry at each other
• Morgan and her relationship with Arthur have been changed pretty drastically to the point that she's not even the same character and I like it and her so much
• I do wonder what the intent was here because I feel like you could read a lot of different things into their dynamic
• And to what that means about Arthur
• I mean I get the sense that she's maybe always been maybe a bit of an outsider, maybe always was a little more world-weary (or maybe not, maybe getting left pregnant while he became king hardened her)
• And maybe their power dynamic has been completely flipped but also maybe Arthur still has a hard time not letting it flip back
• Because like there's no doubt for me that for whatever reason, she was the one holding the cards originally and he doesn't know how to deal with her now
• Like I don't know if she's older or Arthur was always bad at love so she would have just been the more confident person but there's something there
• She obviously has a completely different point of view than anyone else in the show which I love
• And she gets under Arthur's skin so easily
• I guess because she's the one casuality of his great cause, the one wrong he can't right
• Also "stop calling me that" is so petulant teen
• And he was that when he knew her so of course it comes out
• "You seem quick to betray the king"/"I would die before I betrayed King Arthur"/"Yet here you are"/"I can't rise above being a man, a human man. I can't transcend it no matter how hard I try"
• My favorite Lance line
• Ugh it's perfect
• He's so tortured and so good at conveying that in his delivery
• He's getting some character growth
• Genny being both not wrong but also putting it on him so she doesn't have to think about her own behavior
• "My duty is to god, King Arthur, and the round table. I can best serve all three with my absence. It's a small price for one person to pay for a greater good"
• Ooh the self-loathing hits so good
• And Genny panicking because she's about to get left for the second time tonight
• The playing of If Ever I Would Leave You
• Because he is, or he's at least trying to
• To do the right thing
• Genny and Lance speaking French together, always good even thought I can't understand shit
• "No more talking"
• And the bed just being pulled out of the scene
• I just love how the song is interspersed with these scenes, this sequence is truly brilliant and the energy of it in the theater is truly unmatched
• "All the letters that followed-"/"All the letters that followed offered me room and board along with the cash. Imagine how moved I was by the chivalry"
• Ah mocking chivalry, a family pastime
• Again, I just love the way she goes in on Arthur's attempts to do the right thing over and over
• And again I don't know if it's because he wouldn't give her what she actually wanted or pure vengence
• "Guilty and alive once more" is probably my favorite line from the song
• "Let me ask you this question and I'm entitled to the truth. If there hadn't been a cause, a great case, would you have married me? No."/"I was fifteen years old that night and the next day I was king. I was anointed by the archbishop of Canterbury in York and those men think they put me in direct contact with the divine. There was a cause."
• Clearly in her mind he was never going to marry her but we know from Pelli that when he met Arthur when he was already king, he was still very much in love with Morgan
• More than 10 years (plus then a year that's passed in story) before this could be lots of different amounts of time but it could have been up to a few years into Arthur being king which is a long while
• So the answer was probably yes
• But he doesn't say any of that because his feelings don't matter, he's too focused on justifying his cause, that it was important enough to make up for her life
• And ya know Camelot is what's important now, Camelot is what he and Genny have devoted their lives to, he can't fail
• This is the scene where I just conspiracy board Genny and Arthur's relationship
• This is fine, I'm normal about this show, that's why I wrote all of this
• Either way I think it must really bother Athur that Morgan might think he's not a good man
• We saw it with Genny and the courtesans thing too
• Like obviously part of that was being in love with her but also I think it fucks with his self-image as a person who does the right thing which is his entire life
• And Morgan's the biggest crack in that in his mind which is why he gets angry pretty much constantly in this scene
• At least that's my theory
• I love that we get see him cracking a bit under the strain of being good and trying to rise above being a human being just like everyone else in this scene
• He's got a lot more moral fortitude than the rest of the characters so it just manifests as him getting to be angry and express it to another person for once but still
• He makes excuses, he gets mad, he won't accept that Morgan's version of events is also true and he can't force her to be okay with it
• I don't know, there's something nice about narrative not saying that making the choices of the knights or Genny and Lance is inevitable, Arthur does make the right choices but he still isn't perfect here
• "And I won't live in a spare room in a castle and be the used and discarded former mistress of a king... but I will be the mother of one"
• So like how much of Mordred's plans are Mordred and how much is Morgan?
• And you know used and discarded former mistress of a king is killing Arthur
• "And he didn't"/"What?"/"Put you in direct contact with the divine"/"That is made clear to me every day"
• Morgan did a good job of pretending indifference at the beginning but the more she lays into Arthur, the more hostile things get between them, it's so clear that if the opposite of love is indifference then they haven't managed to get over loving each other
• It's just soured and rotted but won't die
• More so for Morgan because she paid the price, she couldn't move on in the way he could
• "And I wouldn't want to see your face when you realize it didn't make a difference. There'll be greed and injustice and hate and horror. You can change the stuff but people stay exactly the same. No one whose opponent was human nature has ever won a fight. Human nature responds to-"/"Inspiration"/"Fear. And that's it"
• It's so cruel but also a great illustration of the ways that they're fundamental opposites
• "I don't forget anything"
• Another extremely loaded line delivery
• (Don't make an All Too Well reference, don't make an All Too Well reference, don't)
• The panic and realization of "he's not stupid" and the music that builds to it and Morgan's laugh ugh perfect
• The intro music to I Loved You Once in Silence is gorgeous
• Lance and Genny in white feeling guilty as hell is a good visual
• So much regret
• Just instantly
• I feel like the moment they've actually acted on their feelings, they know that it's not only a mistake but also that their feelings aren't actually what they thought
• Well maybe Lance doesn't quite have it yet in this scene but he gets there
• Not to repeat what I said about the first scene in act 2 but
• My take is that they intentionally deepened Arthur and Genny's relationship and Lance's character but not Lance and Genny's relationship
• They intentionally left it shallow
• That these are two people who are missing something and the easiest way for them to get that is to frame what they have as love
• I mean for Genny it's sort of obvious, she's married to a man she's in love with but that she thinks doesn't love her
• Lance makes her feel certain about his feelings for her and that's validating
• But Lance, I feel like I have thoughts but I'm not sure
• Lance has never been forced to reckon with temptation before
• And instead of facing that in himself
• He just makes Genny part of the list of things that define him
• A goddess on earth and a god above
• Along with the table
• And he can worship them all to avoid having to figure out who he actually is
• It's not him admitting he has a human weakness, it's a grand tragic love story that he can suffer for
• And suffering, well that's what lets him cope with whatever about himself he feels is so terrible that he needs to punish himself for it
• He's so terrified to look inward, so afraid of something in himself that he just finds his identity in other people and institutions
• And he can't hide behind that anymore because he's betrayed it all, every single thing
• I feel like this makes it sound like I don't like Lance and I very much do
• He's just particularly flawed because he's the only one who doesn't start the show knowing that about himself
• They all make choices out of self-loathing and fear of unworthiness but I do think Lance thinks consciously he's above that for most of the show even if subconsciously he knows he isn't
• He's the only one of the main three to not really finish his character journey within the confines of this narrative
• Arguably he only starts right now and finally realizes he's not the man he thought he was
• Again fic potential somone???
• Well that was a tangent
• Jordan Donica's performance of I Loved You Once in Silence is so heartbreaking
• "Lance I made a mistake. I'm sorry but you're a good man and I should have been nicer to you."
• I love that, I love that she takes her responsibility (even if she's already trying to cover up what happened)
• But also it's just the clearst indication that acting on her feelings killed them
• She doesn't need to push Lance away anymore to stop herself from doing anything
• I love that Lance tries to surrender peacefully
• He's willing to take responsibility not for his noble suffering anymore but because he is a good man and he knows he's done what he's been accused of
• And he only attacks because he has to
• Mordred's evil laugh
• Lance being slightly disheveled and grabbing Mordred's sword to fight off the guards and escape
• I don't have any kind of intellectual take, this is just a personal problem for me
• My jaw was on the floor when Lance started yelling back about coming for her if he survives
• Such a tense ramp up into Guenevere
Act 2, Scene 4: The trial/The Battle
• Guenevere has such amazing lyrics
• The entire "more than love met its doom"/"came the sundown of a dream" verse destroys me
• And I love every word of added dialouge, so correct to put it on the cast recording
• I feel I must explain my love for the staging of this song some more because it is so simple and I understand that some people are not into it but I so much am
• I love the way they close off the back of the stage for I think the only time in the whole show and it becomes claustrophobic all of the sudden
• Now Arthur is stuck in this little box in front of the audience while everything falls apart for him and that's what you have to look at so there's no getting away from how devastating it is
• We just get some full force Andrew Burnap acting and I love it, I think by now it should be clear that I would
• In other versions that I've seen, there's a lot more happening and we see Genny
• And we see Arthur see her tied to the stake and Lancelot show up to rescue her
• Which I do like in theory
• But we don't really see Genny have any actual role or even seeming to have any particular feelings about what she's done or what's about to happen
• Like she's about to die and I've yet to see a version where I have any idea if she's got a single emotion about that
• Despite the name of the song, I think this show decided this scene isn't about Genny, it's about Arthur
• It's about the consequences of his laws
• It's about the beginning of his new war
• Arthur screaming "Pelli I know" like we see him start to crack
• Oh to know who told Arthur and how he took it
• "Well do something"/"She's under arrest. She's been accused of treason"/"Arthur I understand that you're angry but"/"She's been accused of breaking the law. She has to be judged"
• The delivery of that last line, ugh
• He keeps it impersonal, it isn't about what she did to him or his pain, it's about the law
• The law they lovingly crafted together
• "What a magnificent dilemma: let her die and you're a monster, let her live and you're a fraud. Which will it be? Do you kill the queen or the law?"
• Fuck
• The delivery is so good
• Mordred is having the time of his life shrieking about Arthur's pain
• The killing the queen or the law bit seems to be mostly unchanged and it's maybe the best single line from the original book
• Although it went from kill the queen and your life is over to you're a monster
• Mordred has to know Arthur is in love with Genny, right?
• Maybe he just can't imagine Arthur could love a person more than he loves his ideals which I guess would make sense given Morgan and Arthur's relationship
• Arthur drawing his sword on Mordred!!!
• "Ooh careful your majesty, you wouldn't want to be barbaric"
• The fact that Mordred thinks that's going to work, that he can continue to poke at Arthur and he won't respond, he really does believe in Arthur's goodness doesn't he?
• "You are exiled from this court. Return and I will show you what barbaric looks like"
• Arthur screaming at Mordred with his hand around his throat is so intense
• It's so good
• Another gasp out loud in the theater moment
• Arthur is fully unraveling and I'm obsessed
• "I know my way out"
• It's such a teenage delivery and like Mordred is just a kid who feels abandoned by his father
• And as much as this is a tragedy for the three main characters, it's no less a tragedy for Mordred
• Aging down Mordred, also a great choice
• And again, just another stellar performance
• Every single person in this cast just knocked it out of the park in a way I never could have anticipated
• "Arthur please, I'm an old man and I know I'm ridiculous but for the love of god, it's Genny. She made a mistake, she knows that."
• I love that Pelli loves her too
• That he isn't judging her
• "She broke the law Pellinore. A law signed by the king. So say the people"
• He starts trying to be calm but then the fact that it's his law brings up the anger and then he breaks on so say the people
• He's written his own destruction
• And empowered others to take the decision out of his hands
• I love the dialouge in this scene so damn much
• "Neither you nor I nor god himself can stop this terrible thing that's been put in motion"/"What are you waiting for?"/"I'm waiting for what's inevitably coming next"
• The delivery of coming next...
• Like obviously he wants Lance to save Genny but he knows that no matter what
• No matter if she lives or dies, peace is over and the round table has been destroyed
• And he needs to prepare
• Also the way he frames what's happening
• It's not what Genny and Lance or even Mordred caused
• It's just what's been set into motion by all these tiny and giant choices throughout the show that have bubbled over into the death of Camelot
• "That's Lancelot du Lac out there and he's brought a battalion. Double the guard, triple the guard, those guards are going to die tonight"
• How many times can I just copy a bunch of text and write the delivery
• Because yup
• The lack of hope from Arthur is chilling
• Arthur getting dragged back into the war he worked so hard to end
• Just every line delivery in this scene is perfect
• Every lyric of the song
• Every acting choice
• And I love to see it visually
• Preparing for war isn't an exciting spectacle, it's tragic
Act 2, Scene 5: Outside Joyous Gard - on the eve of war
• The way they fade in on the eve of war just broke my heart every time
• I would love to know how much communication there was between Arthur and Lance and how
• Like how much of a role did Arthur play in the whole Genny not getting burned business?
• And the fact that his first question is whether they've been injured
• Even after everything, he's a good man who cares
• And Genny and Lance too, being willing to come back and die
• They're all good people who made mistakes but still good people
• "I assure you, if I thought it would end all this, I would light the fire myself"
• Absolutely brutal but like after he lays out all the death and rebellion that have already happened I guess brutal is fair
• Ya know, if I thought he meant it even a little
• "Lance, come morning some of your countrymen are going to be at the end of my sword. It's not personal, it's just my job. Stay safe Lance."/"I can't do that. And neither can you. Godspeed your majesty."
• I just love the idea of Lance and Arthur as these two people who love each other spearheading this war neither of them believe in
• It's so tragic
• Their goodbye is so understated which for Lance is like truly a great bit of contrast
• They've had enough big declarations, these few sentences just distill everything perfectly
• And then we come to Genny and Arthur, fuck fuck fuck
• The first time I saw this I spent like all of intermission and act 2 with a loop in my brain of but they love each other, right?
• I am unrepentant trash for them in this version as though that wasn't abundantly clear
• And Aaron Sorkin delivered for me so hard in this scene
• "Please let me die, Arthur"
• The pause before his name
• And now we get to the part where I start to get like teary-eyed in the theater
• "Two very powerful men did this to you... not Mordred and Lance, your father and me"
• That long pause before and me
• I love his whole speech, I almost typed it all out
• And they allow so much silence during it
• And the way he's like trying to hold it together but he can't by the end
• "You were treated like a queen but you were my hostage Genny, what the hell did we think was going to happen?"
• That he recognizes and actually admits the ways that his choices have harmed Genny, the unfairness in the entire situation he's put her through
• That he can see even through his own hurt and the enormity of what has been set into motion, his own responsibility for what's happened
• Like he's not right but he's also not wrong
• "And for it's worth, I've been in love with you this whole time"
• Not even looking at her so we have to see it instead ugh
• And then watch that long silence while Genny just like rearranges her entire view of their relationship
• "For what it's worth? Did you just say for what it's worth?"/"Well I thought maybe you'd like to know that. But I wasn't sure."
• Just smashing my heart into tiny little pieces
• After everything they've been to each other, after all they built together, he still doesn't even know if his feelings will matter to her
• While Genny is getting ready to lose her mind after for what it's worth
• They're so absolutely emotionally inept
• "You weren't sure? Why didn't you ever tell me before?"/"It doesn't matter"/"Why?"/"How could I? I'm the king of England. You'd have been forced to pretend you felt the same way"
• Again they are delivering lines in a way that is continuing to smash the little pieces of my heart into complete dust
• Like Arthur is again not wrong but not right
• His life is so lonely because of this crown he didn't want and his desire to actually be responsible with that power
• And even now he tries to get out of explaining that to her
• I love him so much is the problem
• And then her mmm like all the pieces are coming together in her brain that they've both been suffering for nothing and she is pissed
• I love her so much which is also the problem
• Incidentally, both of these things are also their problem so very relatable
• "Out of curiousity, if I had told you, what would you have said?"/"That I loved you from the moment I saw you, from the moment you spoke, from the moment you sang me that stupid song about the weather"/"It's not about the weather it's a metaphor"/"I know it's a metaphor"
• The way Genny overlaps him asking, she can't even wait for him to finish
• The way she says stupid song
• The way that she's like, I did fall in love with you over that song but also I still hate it and think it's dumb
• She says it with such contempt
• Icon
• Even standing before the wreckage of their lives, they still can't stop bickering about the song, I'm obsessed
• "I prayed every night that one day you would see me the way I saw you. And then you told me I was your business partner. Yes I was and I am in love with you"/"Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse"
• She prayed every night???
• For two years???
• That he would return her feelings???
• Fuck
• Like I don't know if I can convey how much them being in love with each other and thinking it's unrequited for two whole years ping pongs around my brain and just lights up all the synapses
• "Do you really think 10,000 people loosened that sword for me?"/"I do"/"So do I. That's a nice thought isn't it?"
• It is a nice thought
• I love the philosophy of this show, I love that there's no convoluted Arthur is actually the son of the last king so he was destined to be special
• These are just two people who though birth or circumstance ended up in this position of power and chose to do good with it
• Genny begging for just a little more time like the only reason I kept anything together was being in a theater but if feel confident that if I ever get my hands on footage of this show, I would have already been sobbing by this point
• "They won't let me let Lance save you twice so you have to go Princess Guenevere"
• Hearing him call her by her name is so deeply distressing
• Literally not once before in the show does it happen and it hurts
• And then they're playing Before I Gaze at You Again what an amazing choice
• Turning a love song she sang about Lance into this romantic moment for her and Arthur because theirs was the love story the whole time like brilliant
• That they chose the show's first love song and brought it back for Genny and Arthur being unable to leave each other without that hug and that kiss
• Like this song that is originally about the pain of unfulfilled love for the wrong person and then flipping it to the pain of fulfilled love with the right one
• I am so not okay
• Also people did very loudly applaud at closing when they kissed and I was so glad because truly in my head I was doing it every time
• "I love you"/"I love you too"/"God save the king"
• I mean these are some good last words to say to each other, I'll give them that
• The thing about the original version of the musical is that the ending was already a perfect concept
• Here it just feels more meaningful because they lay that groundwork about inspiring the next generation throughout
• Tom trying to con Arthur about his age is very funny
• This kid is so good and adorable
• "You're speaking to a king"/"I'm twelve years old"
• Like his comedic delivery, very impressive
• "And when did you decide upon this nonexistent career?"
• We get a solid 60 seconds of cynical Arthur and that's about it
• The entire concept of this kid being inspired by the stories of Camelot is just deeply moving and beautiful
• And just the entirety of Andrew Burnap's performance of that realization hitting Arthur
• I love a story that's about the power of stories
• People also applauded at the last show when Arthur says the stories were all true which I also just deeply love
• Arthur's I know exactly how you feel when Tom says he's not ready to be a knight and putting his arm around him, so cute
• "And you will return to your home alive"
• The way he says alive
• Like I think Arthur knows that he's not making it out of this
• Even if he would manage to survive the battle and Mordred, he knows his time is done
• But the the future is still there
• And there is about to be so much death
• Some of it from his sword or his orders
• And the rest of it of his men
• But at least this kid, he's going to live
• The reprise of Camelot... I just love it so much
• "I've won my battle, here's my victory"
• Not a new line but just such a gorgeous one
• The entire idea of the story of Camelot as a tragedy but a hopeful one just gets me
• It's such a beautiful conclusion that this version sets up so so well
• I love that we end on a speech again, just like act 1
• Also that last bit of music as they walk off, stunning
• I have attempted to track down as many older productions of this show as I can including the movie which was good but I am biased and I do sort of think Sorkin and Bartlett Sher and the actors and everyone else involved had the more interesting take on the themes and characters
• A Broadway musical is best when it has simple but impactful themes and big emotions
• And that's exactly what this version gave us
• The highest compliment I can give this show is that not only have I not stopped thinking about it, not only did I tell everyone I know to see it, not only did I want to see the show again (and again and...), but it also just made me feel inspired to see more theater in a way I haven't in a serious while
• I just love this show so much and I'm so glad there are some people here who can't get over it either
• This is what I have to offer, the longest possible unhinged rant and bad quality closing audio, that is all
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not-poignant · 3 months
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I remember reading some asks that when you were in Guardians fandom, people were always correcting some stuff too, that they though is wrong or smth. And I feel like especially after so long writing your own universes, those very "smart" anons are really annoying. I just hope that they won't suck any wind from benith your wings and you don't spend much energy on answers to their asks and that you know always know - your writing is your own and we are fucking blessed for reading it <3
Maybe I just have forgotten so that I can mostly remember the good things (haha) but aside from people always having a bone to pick with me calling Pitch's daughter Seraphina, Rise of the Guardians was generally pretty chill!
I think back then there were a lot more 'why are you depicting Bunnymund this way?' or 'Why are you making this choice?' which as open-ended questions I really don't mind answering!! Even when it's obvious that the person who's asking the question doesn't agree with my depiction, then I can explain myself, vs. someone just anonymously coming in to go 'hi you are wrong' when... I'm not O.o
Different fandoms have different feels to them, kind of like visiting different countries! DnD / FR as a fandom seems to have a pocket of vocal people who want to prove they know more than me about DnD / FR to which I'll just say - you all know more than me, you win, here's your trophy, now let me write my fic the way I want thanks and learn how to read tags/author's notes :D That being said, the folks who don't care about that shit and just want to enjoy Astarion being railed / living his best-worst life have been the BEST and I really enjoy how thoughtful they are and how cool their comments are. There's some super engaged folks in this fandom who have really great takes on things, and I enjoy that side of it a lot.
Rise of the Guardians was incredibly creative. Like, to this day, I know one fanartist who went to work at Dreamworks, one who does official art for Hearthstone and works for Blizzard (her dream - and I still have her fanart of Gwyn in my house!), plenty more who went on to become professional artists, comic writers, writers, animators etc. I think the visual art and style of that show attracted so many people who love art, which was fun. We also had antis, but whatever, I feel like every fandom has those if you're active in the fandom.
Stardew Valley is mostly very mild, because it's intermittently very quiet and there's so many different pairings, and I've always written rarepairs. Generally people who enjoy that game are pretty low-key, and they're some of the nicest folks I've met in like anon asks and in comments! Love SDV peeps and it's been a pleasure to come back to the fandom.
Dragon Age: Inquisition was... lol. Lol. Well, look, I made some amazing friends through that fandom who I still know today. It attracted actually a surprising amount of older fandom folks who brought a lot of knowledge about how to write fic, so the fandom is drenched in really good fic, really good art. There was a ton of fucking drama, and some of the most acephobic rhetoric I've ever seen came out of this fandom, including asexual block-lists where people hunted each other down on Tumblr with things like 'have you blocked this person yet they're asexual' in anon. So like... DAI was a RIDE. The people I met in that fandom as friends I'll treasure. The actual fandom itself was a trash-fire depending on where you were. There were definitely a couple of BNFs in this fandom who made it their job to just hate other people, especially if they were ace and liked writing an ace Dorian Pavus. That was the first time I learned that blocking is good for the soul.
The Beast that Chose Its Own Bridle is a tiny fandom made of people who all love Felix and Mildmay very much :D
Detroit Become Human was a weird experience and it felt like a weird fandom. It was I think Korean or Japanese fanart that actually inspired Eversion, since that's where the first reverse!AU fanart (at least that I saw) began. But the comments could be weird, the anons were sometimes weird (not always, but sometimes! Especially in the beginning - and I just think first impressions really count lol), and I remember joining a Connor/Hank Discord where the most active folks were very quick to tell me how I should write my story, which was like - I like that they liked the story, but I've never had people try to show how much they like something by trying to change it into something they like more in quite that way before? I didn't really feel like staying in the fandom, tbh, it's extremely cliquey, especially all the folks that have like 400 names for the different versions of Connor, and it feels like it has a steep learning curve if you want to join the 'club.'
It was also the story where I had to do the most heavy lifting on BDSM education. Like, this fandom felt very BDSM naive *overall* - there's obviously exceptions, but I had to literally change how I was writing the story to explain more things than I normally would have done in a fic like that, because I was just getting so many 'why would Connor want to be humiliated during sex' anons and comments which was like okay, okay, let's actually do some 101 brochure stuff with this (the chapter where Connor calls Luuk and they talk about Connor liking being humiliated was not meant to be a whole chapter dslkfjas).
In fandoms like Thorki I could assume that the majority of readers would sort of get that even if it was a kink they didn't like - it was still just a kink that people can like and/or help others out with explanations. So it's possible D:BH skewed young and/or just not BDSM experienced! Which is fine! It's just I've noticed it here the most of all the fandoms I've been in. There were folks who knew kink really well who didn't need any explanations there at all, because I tend to over-explain a character's reasoning at the best of times, but yeah.
These are all like... deeply personal experiences influenced by the pairings I'm writing and how deeply I'm going into each fandom! I was tag-tracking in RotG / D:BH / DA:I, so I saw a lot more stuff, I think.
There's other fandoms I've been a part of but not really written for much or at all, like Thorki (love it there) and Sebaciel re: Black Butler (love it there too, but we lose a lot of writers because of antis), and also Murderbot (really weirdly cliquey in a 'oh... I see' kind of way, which might explain why a small pocket of people are writing most of the fics - because they're the only ones allowed in their Discord lol). Murderbot fandom is why I didn't end up writing Murderbot fanfiction sdalkfjdsa
Anyway, fandoms are weird, personal spaces that should be heavily curated! But I can't stop anons coming into my inbox with certain 'flavours' of question per fandom unless I turn off anon and honestly where would be the fun of that :D :D :D
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ilovescaredysquirrel2 · 11 months
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My top 5 bird-themed movies because why not
Okay, you guys I'm very excited about Illumination's new movie "Migration for a ton of reasons, but the main reason is that I love ducks. I'm personally, as a Chicken Run fan, NOT excited about Chicken Run 2 because I feel like they're going the wrong direction with it. Getting a new director, firing most of the old voices actors, and then Netflix taking over the ownership? No thanks! I'll still give it a try though. Here are my top 5 favorite bird themed movies, and why
(Chicken Run, 2000) I love this movie mainly because of the message and the fact that it tackled some heavy subjects in a family friendly way. The humor is really well done, like most DreamWorks movies, and the voice acting is amazing! I don't recommend it for children as much, but I'd say the age rating to start watching, is maybe 10-12 or older? It's a bit dark but it's still a beautiful movie and there's a character that almost everyone can relate to!
(Storks, 2016) Okay, this one is more for children and family, but has a few subtle jokes that mostly adults will understand,. I personally think it still has an amazing message about the lives of people come before objects and also that family isn't always birth given, adopting kids they're still family. And of course, the characters are very fun and adorable. Compared to most teen-young adult girls in animated movies, I really love Tulip's design. They don't make her too "sexy" but still make her look cute, she dresses plain, and she's a total goofball. I personally love seeing more female characters like that.
(Rio, 2011) You guys know this one's a cult classic! My mom and I loved this one a lot and were sad when Disney shut down BlueSky Studios. The movie is still incredibly underrated, although it has a strong fanbase of 2000s-early2010's kids! The music in the movie is incredible, the visuals and scenery is gorgeous, and it actually makes you want to travel to Rio! I feel like they tried to show the culture in the best way they could, even though I'm not an expert, they did it in sort of a subtle way, but still enough that it makes you admire it!
(Duck Duck Goose, 2018) This is an adorable and underrated movie for the family, even though the villain may be a bit scary at times! I love how it focuses mostly on the animals, I love when movies focus mostly on the animals to the point that you forget the humans are there, but they still do show humans sometimes. The humans don't have like, speaking lines or anything. Also, the characters are adorable! Peng's character really reminds me of Rocky from Chicken Run, but a little more childish and care free. A better comparison to Peng would be Otis from Barnyard, at first he acts like he wants to party all the time, but then learns to become a man by the end of the movie. The ducklings, Chi and Chao, are so adorable! Chi's a very loving and helpful big sister, and she's voiced by Zendaya! Also, Stephen Fry voices one of the crane brothers (or maybe they're gay cranes? I have no idea...). The voice acting and characters are so amazing in this movie, and the scenery is also so gorgeous! The humor is also on point, and you'll love the little squirrel character! I also think this movie is good for maybe 6 and up, depending on how used to movies the kid is. My 6 year old self didn't have that kind of attention span yet but some kids are different. Anyway, I just consider it a good movie for the whole family!
(Ploey you Never Fly Alone, 2018) Okay, this one can be a bit sad but also has a pretty good story. I'm personally not too comfortable with kids having love interests in movies/shows, like kids that are younger than teenage. Because they're birds and have no confirmed age, you can feel however you want about the Ploey and Ploveria relationship. I'm only uncomfortable about it because they both sound young and it wasn't much time after Ploey hatched from an egg when they met, but again, they're birds. It's still a beautiful movie with fun characters and really talented voice acting! I put it at the bottom of the list because it's not one of my first choices, but I haven't seen it in a while. You may have different feelings about it. I think i recommend this movie more for 10 and up, it does have some emotional moments though. It's not really funny or anything either, so I don't recommend it for parties or family movie nights. If you love bird themed movies and have a friend who does, it's something nice that you can watch together when you're not busy.
I hope you like the movies I recommended, and let me know what you think in the comments! I love to chat!
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abimess · 2 years
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My thoughts on MoM [with spoilers!]
Alright, as I said, I have a lot to talk about this movie. So let's start with the good parts:
The movie is very beautiful, visually speaking. The colors were great and the takes were very creative, quite different from the other Marvel movies. As for the effects, I saw it in 3D, which makes the edges blurry, but overall I thought they were good.
The fight scenes were amazing, especially Wanda invading Kamar Taj, I was holding on to my chair the whole time! The scene of the two Stranges in the "musical duel" was very creative as well.
Now, the bad parts:
The story seems to have no purpose. I'd commented to some friends that the script would be simple in order to fit everything they wanted to do in only 2 hours. And indeed it was, but it was a simple without purpose (not to mention rushed). It actually seems that the movie is just a piece of a larger narrative, but we don't know what this larger narrative is, so it doesn't make much sense.
I didn't like that the MCU's Earth is the 616. Although it's inspired by the comics, it's not the same as the comics, it has a loooooooot of different things, a lot. It would've been much better to say the MCU is a different universe, which would respect the 616 one and everything it has already created.
And finally, about the characters:
Strange was very poorly used and the struggles he faces are futile and overused. He spent almost the entire fight against Gargantos sleeping and in the Illuminati he had those handcuffs that prevented him from using magic. They clearly didn't want to use Strange's abilities much except to fight himself, which I thought was a waste, especially considering it's his movie. About the struggles, his arrogance being part of the main narrative again was annoying to me. Everyone knows he's arrogant, there's no need to make the movie about it, again. Not to mention at this point I thought he would've changed but oh well. But not to say only bad things, his powers were very cool and it was nice to see him more creative, especially in the last scene with zombie Stephen.
America is amazing and the character is super charismatic, I can't wait to see more stories with her. But I thought the hero arc was overused. "The hero who can't control their powers because they don't believe in themselves and in the end they succeed" nobody can stand it anymore.
Wanda was divine in the movie. Finally they stopped making her use her powers from an emotional "instability", it was getting too upsetting. I loved seeing her using her powers and casting spells because she wants to. However, her not caring about killing America was completely out of character. Okay, she was under the influence of the Darkhold and they can use that as justification, but it still didn't sit well with me to see her deliberately wanting to kill a child. The scene where the children see her as a monster hurt too much to watch. I understand it was necessary, but it was extremely painful to see her go through that, she has already suffered too much. Wanda (variant) being the only person to offer comfort to Wanda (MCU) was a punch in the gut. The sacrifice was an interesting, but unsurprising, move. Considering she's the most powerful in the MCU, that would be the only way to "stop" her and a lot of people (if not most people) already suspected that would happen. BUT, she didn't die and I have strong theories about what her return to the MCU might be like.
Well, I guess that's it. Those are the comments I thought of making now. In the end I liked the movie, I think it entertains very well and is a fun fan service to watch. However, maybe because of the high expectations I had for it, the movie left a lot to be desired. My rating would be 7/10. It can change over time, though.
Let me know your thoughts! About the points I raised and about other points I left out too. Also, if you want to know my theory about Wanda's return, let me know and I'll comment on that as well.
Edit: So, here's my theory, if you guys wanna check it out: Theories for Wanda's future in the MCU
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alltimefail-sims · 9 months
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In honor of me rising from the dead I think its time I talk about my two(?) fav lore families in the sims franchise the smith-curious and the spector-beaker families and I guess also the singles as well - lore anon
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Hello lore anon and welcome back! ❤️
Sorry I took a minute to answer this, it has been a crazy busy couple of days! I'm going to put my whole response under a read more because I have lots of thoughts on this topic!!!
We all took for granted how insane and amazing TS2 lore was. God, I pour one out for her everyday RIP.
Anyway, let's get into this! ↓
Strangetown is my favorite world in TS2 as well! No one is surprised by this I'm sure. I actually ended up tying it (and some of its townies 👀...) into my Strangerville story because I just couldn't help myself. But I'll be honest - the family tree stuff with Lola/Chloe/Jenny/Pollination Tech 9 has always made my brain melt a little. I'm a visual person so I had to reference their family tree as a guide for our conversation. I'll provide the one that I used below!
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Lore-wise, you have to start this conversation by talking about alien pollination and normal sim reproduction. You just can't avoid it. For me, I've always seen them as completely separate entities... otherwise Jenny is married to a man who, for lack of a better term, knowingly banged and impregnated her father lmfao. But not only that - if they were the same, that would imply that aliens are abducting people and engaging in sexual relations with them (with willingness or unwillingness not playing a factor; sim abductions can happen to sims who want or fear them) and this is kind of reductive and uncharacteristic of what we know about their species (plus the implications are icky imo). Therefore, I never thought that Pollination Tech 9 would view Lola and Chloe as his children, even though they technically are, in the way that Poli Tech wouldn't view Tycho as his child either (nor would Pascal regard Poli Tech as the father either).
If I'm recalling correctly, I don't think sims are necessarily aware which alien pollinated them in game (even though each sim neighborhood in TS2 has only one Pollination Technician, therefore making all the half-alien babies in that neighborhood half-siblings by default within the limited span of the game). I also don't know that male sims in TS2, from what I remember, are aware they've been pollinated because they're always surprised to find they're "pregnant," meaning there likely wasn't any a-typical intercourse happening that they could connect to the pregnancy (even if, let's be honest, Pascal might have been down for that). I think of pollination as an act similar to cloning, (the wiki says through "advanced technology") or as the name implies it could also just be a consequence of coming into proximity with their species (their name being a reference to reproduction methods of flora by pollination, for example). But realistically... it's a fictional simulation game, and in the case of TS2 it was super campy and a knowingly-leaning-into-the-outrageous kind of simulation game (which I loved and miss). So who knows!
All that to say that I agree; regardless of how the baby process works for aliens, it is still an absolutely crazy family tree lmao. But on the bright side... that at least implies that Pollination Tech 9 wasn't into his wife's father, nor might he be aware that Chloe and Lola are his children. 😅 But I'll stop here because if I think about it for too long, I think my brain might explode lmao. Still, I'm inclined toward the belief that the messiness adds to the flavor! 😂 The Sims team today could never write such a juicy bit of lore. My ass ate their dynamic up.
Also, quick note, JILL HAS EYES IN THE BACK OF HER HEAD?! THAT IS WHY SHE WEARS THE PIGTAILS? WHAT THE HELL?! Gonna look this up -
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Holy shit!!! This fact is equal parts incredible and terrifying. Thank you for bringing this my attention. I can't believe I did not know this before this moment. What a (horrifying) little legend.
Oh I loved (and still love) Nervous Subject and Pascal together. Just thinking about that ship makes me giggle because it was one of my first exposures to "shipping" and "fandoms" as a preteen. I always put them together and had them raise little Tycho to fulfill Nervous' family aspiration. (I should note that I was also an avid JRO enthusiast. Johnny has two hands, why should he have to pick between Ophelia and Ripp?) Another interesting layer to the Ophelia/Olive/Nervous family is that Ophelia would be unaware of her direct relation to Nervous (1st cousins)! I loved playing around with this; Olive was a very secretive person who had a dark side for sure, so I'm sure Ophelia would have a lot of questions following her aunt's death (the first being why her aunt's inheritance is going to some rando named Nervous lmao). Plus, who says Ophelia didn't know her aunt was taking people out? She might not have known why, but she had to know all those deaths around Olive couldn't have been coincidental. That's messed up on its own lmao. I like to think that once Nervous and Ophelia meet, they become close and he even helps care for her in a weird-older-brother type way. I just know they would trauma bond lmao.
I didn't care for Loki or Circe (I never played with their household), so I don't have super strong opinions on them. That being said, I love reading people's theories on their connection to the Curious brothers. I think the ongoing feud with the brother's and their connection to Nervous is the most interesting part of their story, but my ideal ending for them would have been being exiled from the town and their careers in general for their shady practices. Pascal seemed like the science antithesis to Loki and Circe who seemed to believe that it was okay for scientific truths to come at the cost of the wellbeing of others. Also, I think Circe is too hot and too evil for Loki AND Vidcund. That's woman commits many crimes, but her taste in men is up there as one of the worst things about her lmao.
Lastly, LAZLO. He's so silly goofy and so chill in comparison to his brothers, and he's definitely the black-sheep of the family. I love how in comparison to Vidcund and Pascal, his personal life is pretty typical and mild. He's just vibing as a third party witness to the chaos. He didn't sign up for any of the drama, yet you know he's a ride-or-die. In my mind, he's also the cool uncle. He'd catch Johnny smoking and be like, "Gotta share little man." He's the best. Little Fun fact - when I watched season 4 of Stranger Things, I couldn't unsee Lazlo Curious every time Argyle opened his mouth.
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If you don't see it, that's okay. I can't unsee it though! He's high af, he's precious, he's always has snacks, he will take down the government or transport a dead body for the homies. He should be protected. I totally, 100% agree that Nova is his child!
WHEW sorry for blabbing! Strangetown was a doozy and you're right that the Bella Goth situation adds a whole other intricacy (which I'll definitely be talking about in her specific deep dive post).
So glad to have you back! 🤗
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fategoflatass · 1 year
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final thoughts · fall 2022
since i know there're people who like to read my opinions on the different seasons, here you have my thoughts on this (HOLY SHIT OMG WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???????????) season.
akiba meido sensou (7.5/10)
so, i never meant to watch this show. i thought it would be just another CGDCT slice of life where maids do their maid stuff, and they have fun... I WASN'T EXPECTING THIS THO. this series is crazy, like, the first ep starts with a maid being shot in the head like ??????? and then ranko (best girl imo) starts shooting this rival maid group along with a cutsie song like ??????????????? i was both confused and charmed. this anime is such a blast, it's filled with twists and turns, random shit that it's bizarre but it also makes so much sense. i can't fully explain it, you need to watch it.
akuyaku reijou nano de last boss wo kattemimashita (4/10)
dear lord the toxicity here is astronomical. the way i was looking for a hamefura replacement and i ended up getting this... i feel scammed. this was meant to be a fantasy romance story, but it ended up being a contest to see who's the most toxic person in the relationship. between throwing someone out of a flying carriage just to see them cry and almost stabbing someone on the crotch because they want to break off their engagement with you... i don't know who's worse. they totally deserve each other.
blue lock (8.5-8/10)
i cannot decide myself on what rating i should give to it. while i do love bllk and think is one of the best sports series i've ever read, 8-bit's adaptation is... interesting. while i did think the first episode was amazing, the visual level just started dropping. some of the hand-drawn animation looks weird, and the cgi sometimes looks like it has been taken from a mobile game. i have mixed feelings with these series; while it's still fun and interesting, it just doesn't kick me as much in the chest as the manga does. if you wanna start bllk, please read the manga first.
bocchi the rock! (6.5/10)
as i said before, i'm not a big fan of CGDCT, and this series is just that. i was into the music part of the series and bocchi's social phobia (which, as someone who went through it, i think it's a pretty good representation), but it's still not my cup of tea. it bores me at times, and i'm the one to blame. it's not bad, it's just not my thing. if you're into this kinda stuff, i fully recommend it.
boku no hero academia 6 (8/10)
NOW THAT IS A GOOD SEASON. this one's adapting one of (if not the) best arcs in the series and hell yeah i'm hyped. in case someone hasn't started it, i won't spoil anything. i'll just tell you to please not worry about the quality: the art, animation and everything in general is being tretaed with so much thought and love. i'm just so happy to see all of them back!
boku no roboco (4/10)
(at this point, i've only watched two eps. my opinion on the series may change) i know the manga is popular, i know it makes a lot of anime references. i wanted to try giving it a chance and oh lord. first, it's difficult to find. second, it isn't even funny. if i'm not dropping it is because the episodes are short and fuck it. but not because you make a shit tone of anime references means that you're gonna be funny.
c danchi (1/10)
chainsaw man (9/10)
i'll just leave this here and go on with my life.
GUYS. GUYS. IT'S FINALLY HERE. BABE'S FINALLY HERE. AND OH LORD SHE'S LOOKING AMAZING. i've been waiting for this series for so long, (since it first got announced like holy fuck the feels). i have the entire part one on my bookshelf and it brings me so much joy (and tears and trauma and—) to finally see it animated. the animation, the art, the music, the voices— everything is just fantastic, perfect even. the op is a banger and each and every ed is just so good (some better than others imo). i'm so happy mappa were the ones that took the project like omg thanks mappa but fr fr. if i'm not giving it a higher note is because i'm afraid that would be my inner fangirl speaking so yeah. my children look perfect, that's enough for me. and fuck those who complain about the cgi istg—
cool doji danshi (7/10)
just a pretty chill slice of life short series about a bunch of dorks trying to survive in the wild. they're all so relatable and idk what to think about it. babe's also pretty absent-minded, so this is pretty comfy to me... is this how #representation feels like? besides that, there's not much to say about it since it's just... that. they exist, and i'm happy they do.
do it yourself!! (5/10)
how many times have i said i don't like CGDCT series? many times, but i still go and watch them. why? because i'm dumb ig. it's just a series about a bunch of girls doing bricolage, that's pretty much it.
fumetsu no anata e 2 (8/10)
second season of "don't get attached to the cast because they're all going to die". at this rate, i think i'm made of stone because i haven't shead a tear in the entire series. i'm also getting use to the show's formula (introduce new character → make you feel attached to them → kill them), so ig that's also why i don't feel that sad anymore? idk, i do feel sad but not that sad yk. anyway, is as good as the first season so you should give it a try.
fuufu ijou, koibito miman. (6.5/10)
i started not liking the series (the male mc was annoying to me and i felt like he would only see the girls by their "personality"), but i ended up getting attached in some sort of way? it's an easy to watch, funny romcom that, even if it's nothing special, will entertain you for the time being.
kage no jitsuryokusha ni naritakute! (5.5/10)
i like the idea, but not the execution. i mean, kinda. it started being a parody of isekai series, but i feel like isekai is slowly but surely eating the show alive. i'm not that interested on the plot and the ecchi scenes and comments are... something. to give you some example: there was this scene where these girls would pose in ways others could check their breasts better and perceive them as bigger than their opponent's. or maybe the many comments they do about the protagonist's dick being a fricking sword????? umm not thank you.
koukyuu no karasu (7/10)
a historical fantasy shoujo series with interesting plot points and a cute romance?? hell yeah, count me in! each and every character is lovable af and trust me when i tell you you'll never get bored. the art is so cute and comfortable (idk how to explain it), and the romance is just... i just want them to date already, am i asking too much? definitely give it a chance.
mairimashita! iruma-kun 3 (8/10)
new iruma season and the first one i'm watching as it's coming out. the children are back and more chaotic than ever in this new arc (the best one yet, from what i heard). i just can't stress enough how this series makes me feel, how comfy it makes me feel. i've connected with the characters in such a way it just makes me smile every time each and every single one of them just appears on the screen. i'm so excited to see who'll win! (no spoilers please)
mob psycho 100 III (8.5/10)
this isn't the last season. no, i refuse to accept it. even though many characters are getting their closures and all this chaos is going on and every wish of them to have a happy life has turned to ash. this is not the end. and that never happened. no. just. leave me alone.
mushikaburi-hime (6/10)
so, they're trying to bring historical shoujos back and while we did get some interesting results (koukuuu no karasu), we also got series like mushikaburi-hime. the series is about a girl who is obssesed with books and a dude that isn't, but because he likes her he's up to deal with that little trait of hers. and... that's pretty much it. the series revolves around their relationship (which sometimes turns a bit toxic due to the male mc). the female mc hasn't progressed in over ten episodes, she won't progress now. if you're interested, there it is. but it's not a series i would recommend.
renai flops (7/10)
i said it before: i love shitshows. this one seemed to be a parody on ecchi, harem series which caught my eye. i mean, the first ep involves the dog scene which is one of the most bizarre scenes i've seen on any romcom. at first, i was gonna watch it for the laughs from how bad it all was, but then the second half happened and it changed my view on the series. from a parody that makes things absurd on purpose to something else. i would recommend anyone who's interested to watch it and please, do not spoil yourself.
shinobi no itokki (4/10)
this show is about a dude who goes to high school and he gets confessed to by a girl he doesn't know. only that it wasn't a confession but a trap, because that girl was a ninja and was trying to kidnap him. but he's able to runaway because he has all these ninja abilities that his mother forced him to learn and never questioned why. and then his mum tell him they're actually ninjas and now he has to go to this ninja school that's literally a high school building in the middle of nowhere like ????? i thought ninjas were discreet???? except no one cares about the school because then someone (don't ask, don't remember) gets betrayed and blames the dude's clan and shit happens and wth is going on????
spy x family part 2 (8.5/10)
part two of this very wholesome but also very fake family! their shenanigans are as crazy as they were in part one, and we got introduced to our queen, fiona. also, the main fake couple are growing closer due to the mission and i think that's pretty cool now get married for real this time.
tensei shitara ken deshita (6/10)
just your average isekai with better than average animation and a wholesome bond between both leads. besides that, i have no much to say about it. i absolutely adore fran and amanda, but the whole idea of fran being op almost from the start is frustrating. i wanna see her grow, but this left me kinda cold.
urusei yatsura (6.5/10)
many people were hyping this show, and i do understand why. after all, it's pretty rough fighting against nostalgia. still, even though the visuals are so cute and the op and ed are pretty good, it just shows the series it's an old one. the comedy falls flat at times along with some characters, although it's still enjoyable. i don't know if i'll keep on watching the second season, but for now i don't feel like dropping it.
uzaki-chan wa asobitai! ω (6/10)
so, uzaki is back. the first season has never been one of my favorites, but i decided to give the second season a try and watch it as it was coming out and... well, it's uzaki. for some of y'all it may be hilarious, but to me it's just fine. it's boring most of the time, although i do like the idea of the mcs dating (please do so for fuck's sake). if you're into this kind of comedy, you should give it a try.
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egg-emperor · 1 year
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What are your detailed thoughts on the Mario movie?
I appreciate your interest! ^^
Gonna preface by saying I've only been interested in the Mario series for a few years (beyond the Mario & Sonic Olympics if that counts) for about 5-6, compared to 16-17 years of Sonic and still can't say I'm the biggest fan as I haven't played many games and don't have a lot of knowledge. So I feel I'm not equipped to speak much on some parts but I can share my thoughts based on what I do know and saw! And don't be surprised that I compare it to the Sonic movies quite a bit XD
Not gonna go heavy with spoilers by getting too much into specific moments but might mark as such just in case.
I'll start with the summary of my overall feelings and that I think it's simple, cute, and fun and that's been my impression of every Mario game I have played and seen so far, so it's along the lines of what I expected and I'm satisfied with it, I'm not sure what else people were expecting. It made me smile and feel joy the most I have from any movie I've seen in a while. And it's not quite as generic as a lot of other movies of the genre because they care about capturing a lot of the game's essence.
The visuals and atmosphere were gorgeous, I love how they took great advantage of some of the beautiful colorful worlds they've already created for the series and utilized them well, as well as how they merged them all together creatively. That's exactly what all movie adaptions could and should do, it'll always be so much more beautiful and appreciated than anything you can do in boring dull live action landscapes lol
I like all the references and callbacks, I noticed many despite not being the most knowledgeable Mario fan, compared to both Sonic movies where I didn't even notice a lot despite all my knowledge and years of enjoying it because I couldn't even see them. The Mario movie managed to include tons of noticable ones AND has more subtle easter eggs and background details.
The actual Nintendo games music being involved so much more instead of just outside licensed music was really good. The visuals of the returning environments are fantastic. The tons of characters they already managed to include in such a short but sweet movie and handle so well is amazing. The tons of game aspects, references, and easter eggs to find are a delight.
I like the implementation of the power ups and how they didn't turn them into some magical thing and change it drastically. I like how they know that the game mechanic can work for a movie story and cared to add all the things that people actually know and enjoy about the games. Unlike the Sonic movie not doing that and giving him completely different abilities.
The faithfulness to the series capturing the magic and fun all around makes me smile. Despite not knowing Mario for long I can appreciate all of these things too and it feels like they care about what the fans actually want and enjoy about the games. Every video game adaption movie ever needs to take notes from this because it has all the main most important fundamentals.
I like how Mario was silly but still brave and heroic. I like how he determined he is and doesn't know when to give up. I love how it's a good thing and one of his biggest strengths and the important theme throughout. He's told he can't do something or the odds seem against him and he still fights and believes in himself and protects what he cares about. A simple but good message.
I like how Luigi is the cute silly shy scaredy cat he is but how he manages to step up to help his bro at the end. Would've been nice to see him get to do more but his moment of saving Mario and teaming up with him at the end was great. Their bond and moments together was sweet and I like how much it motivates them and how they want to stick together and protect each other.
Bowser was great because he's funny and wants to marry Peach and is also genuinely really threatening. It makes you understand why he's the villain and why it's such a serious dire situation for him to take over, he's fucked up and mean and evil and destructive and that's what I love in my villains!!! And Jack Black did an awesome job and didn't just use his own voice like hey I'm Jack Black lol Very unlike Carrey just being Carrey instead of Robotnik, especially in the first movie.
If I got a movie Eggman anything like this I would've gone insane and died from joy went to heaven ahsjsbfjsnfb it's not faaaair. I'm happy for anyone that feels the way I do about Eggman but for Bowser because I'm sure y'all would've been especially losing it for this. I do love him too and he is hot but you know my ultimate preferred fucked up dilf of the two lol. Bowser got such better treatment in my eyes. Happy for him as a fellow bf of Eggman's XD
Bowser, Mario and Luigi were my favorites so they're the ones I'll bring up here but I think every other character was handled pretty well too based on my limited knowledge of them outside of the movie and I didn't have any issues, they added to the entertainment a lot too. I like how they pretty much all have a good balance between humor and seriousness when the scenes call for it, nothing felt really annoying or forced, handled with respect.
The humor in itself was actually fine too, my brother and I tend to cringe at certain jokes and humor in kids movies these days some stuff being in the Sonic movies ngl but there was nothing of the sort in this movie that made us feel that way, we both noted to each other right way. Very inoffensive, not super obnoxious or hip and just generally enjoyable for all ages, which is a cool pleasant surprise coming out of a movie by Illumination especially lol
The animation is fantastic too, really putting all the character's tooniness to it's full advantage so they're lively and bouncy and expressive in ways that really helps bring out their personality. Again, that's why cartoony characters will always be best in CG no matter how exaggerated and expressive you think your live actors can be. Every character was charming and pleasing to the eye, a ton of love was clearly put into capturing them visually.
I'm surprised it's rated so low by actual reviewers last time I saw, not that I care about their opinions but I'm with the audience more than usual. I don't know what I'm missing about it not being likable because I haven't read the reviews and don't plan to lol. I think this is practically everything a video game adaption should be, though in a perfect world I'd want all the characters to have all the same actors behind them too.
I liked this way more than both Sonic movies combined, though I'm biased as of course I'll love full CG over live action hybrid for toony series like Sonic and Mario any day. But man, Mario is genuinely better and more likable to me than both Sonic movies in every way because I'm not really a fan of those at all in comparison. Even without the comparison as I hardly even thought about the Sonic movie throughout, it was enjoyable and made me really happy.
But then it's funny because I've been a Sonic fan for near my whole life while Mario for a mere 5 minutes in comparison so you think I'd be biased and saying that the Sonic movies are better or just as good but they really didn't do it for me. It felt like both Sonic movies were too concerned about appealing to non Sonic fans with generic Hollywood plot lines taking up huge chunks of the stories than giving them more of what we all actually love about the game series in the first place.
The Mario movie went all out in almost every way it could right from the first movie and THAT'S how it's done, I have so much respect and appreciation for it. They knew they didn't need to appeal to non fans specifically and can hold up great as is. I think that should always be expected out of any video game adaption, especially cartoony kids ones that have existed as long as Mario and Sonic. They did a great job and there's a lot of video game heart in it bravely and unapologetically.
The voice cast is still their most bizarre choice but it's honestly okay once I'm watching it and I don't have major issues with it, I stopped thinking about it after the first few minutes and it wasn't annoying as it was random and unnecessary. But of course I still think it's really sad and not fair that Charles Martinet didn't get to at least have the main role of voicing Mario, despite him literally being right there and more than willing to do so because nobody deserved it more than him.
I wish they'd honor legacy actors by letting them shine in their role on the big screen instead of bigger names for audience and money. Same happened for the Sonic movie and it raises my fear that even if we did get the CG Sonic movie of my dreams, Eggman might not even be voiced by Mike Pollock then either :( But I love what Charles get to do, I'm glad he had some part in it! Hearing him as Giuseppe/Jumpman and Mario's dad was a delight, his performance is always pure joy.
Though he still deserved way more of course and I'll always be really sad that most actors in the Sonic series didn't even get any cameos or side roles at all.
Something also funny to me is there were TONS more people in the cinema than both Sonic movies, both on the first day when we almost went as it was sold out and there were actually a lot of people in there when I went yesterday too. I haven't been amongst an audience for a movie for so long. For both Sonic movies the cinema was near empty for all those, so everyone around here has a big preference! XD
So yeah, I had a great time with it! I recommend it to everyone and this is a movie I want to watch again and own on blu-ray. This has helped me appreciate the Mario series even more because of how much fun it has with things that are in the games and don't stray from using it for the sake of wider appeal. And it's a gorgeously animated and designed movie with a simple but sweet story and sometimes it's all a great movie needs! I loved it 🥰❤️💚🐢⭐🍄🪠
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asaara-writes · 1 year
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Just binged Dragon Age Absolution this afternoon and ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would! Here are some scattered (and spoilery!) thoughts as they occur to me:
Great ensemble cast! Qwydion stole the show (and my heart), but I liked Miriam a lot more than I thought I would, for some reason. Can't resist those prickly runaway elves.
I'll be honest, I thought the animation looked bad in the trailer but somehow it worked for me in context! I loved all those flashy battles and the in-game spells.
The voice acting was amazing! Ashly Burch's and Kimberly Brooks's performances in particular were incredible.
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn of Silent Hill fame as voice and casting director! That was pretty cool.
Damn, I did not expect them to reintroduce Fairbanks only to kill him off so ingloriously.
Undead! Demons! Blood magic! Dragons!
GAYS
I told a friend Rezaren would be played by Adam Driver in a live action and it only became truer the further I got into the series.
Speaking of whom, I thought he had a really effective arc as a villain -- his motivations were fascinating and I loved that he claimed Miriam and Neb were his equals while still denying them agency left and right. Great writing.
Man, poor Neb :( I expected the ritual to work only for him to die on his own terms, and I'm a bit sad he didn't get that.
At least Miriam got that closure <3
Oh, and how cool were the visuals in that scene? The red and black blood, the Circulum, the veil ... *chef's kiss*
Super annoyed at the pronunciation of "Infinitus" lmao
Got way too excited about that one offhand mention of Kirkwall in like, episode 3, only for them to never actually go there.
I felt kind of vindicated when Hira ended up betraying Miriam because all her talk of cheese farm always ended up sounding really manipulative, and I was relieved it wasn't actually meant to be romantic ...
... but man, I really wish Bioware would give us one (1) sapphic relationship that's not horribly unhealthy in some way.
Also LOL @ Hira saying the Inquisition wouldn't do anything about the Venatori. Bitch, I personally spent hours trawling the Hissing Wastes to hunt them down!!!!
I'd had the Meredith twist spoiled but wow I did NOT expect her to be literally stuck in crystal. Hilarious.
The more I think about it the more it annoys me, though -- Hawke is the only hero who never gets acknowledged as such, even retroactively, so it'd be fun if their exploits could at least like ... last? I know people meme about it but Bioware please stop shitting all over my fave, I beg you.
Loved the dragon flying off after Qwydion healed her, though :')
I hope we get a sequel soon, or better yet, A GAME.
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