#yes i only cast that based on the musical episode SO WHAT

[astridthevalkyrie]

you know that once upon a time scene in s1, ep1 (i think) where, after giving birth to emma, snow and charming send her away to protect her from the Evil Queen's curse? well i've been thinking of a levi royalty au where that scene plays out: levi (flawlessly) sword fighting whilst holding his new born daughter in his other arm... levi loosing all his strength to keep on fighting after closing the wardrobe... yet the small peace he feels knowing she's safe... also zeke would be the 'evil queen'.

the fact that i am now niche enough to get an ask about a once upon a time au for aot makes me so incredibly happy.

i have to admit, i love the idea of levi sword fighting—but more in a swashbuckling, pirate way or even in a knight way than a prince/king way. there's just a difference. but, the idea of him holding his little baby daughter, protecting her from the soldiers trying to kill her? you just know he would fight to the death.

not to make it rivetra either, but queen petra who is also every kid's favorite teacher in another universe just makes sense. her being drawn to the strange, dark haired man who's been in a coma as far back as she can remember?? him waking her with true love's kiss?? i love it.

also, eren is regina and zeke is zelena. i don't make the rules i just enforce them.

#yes i only cast that based on the musical episode SO WHAT #we all have our flaws #being both a ouat and aot fan is mine #levi could also be rumple in a less giggly manner #and i can be belle lol #me @ rumple!levi: HUMKO HAMI SE CHURALO #levi ackerman #aot #ouat

[astrodances]

"Now I've had the time of my life No, I never felt like this before Yes, I swear it's the truth And I owe it all to you"

This is a very, very special drawing for me. ✨

In September of last year, I watched Dancing With The Stars' "Step Into the Movies" special again, at the end of which they recreate "The Time of My Life" scene from Dirty Dancing. And that sent me on a nostalgia trip back to my high school theater days over a decade ago now, where the drama club accepted my idea to do a "Time of Our Lives" theme, and a performance for that song à la Glee. Mind you, I was mainly the stage manager/techie sort, but I did some scenes for the showcases, and participated in this song with my then-boyfriend, along with two other couples.

And while we were hanging out in the green room backstage, a friend took some pictures of us. Including the one that directly inspired this drawing of Webby + Lena.

This started out as a memory remix of that photo, after watching the DWTS special, because I thought these two lovebirds would be really cute subjects for it.

But once I got going, it turned into a love letter, for many things.

As part of the remix aspect of it, I now picture myself in Lena's spot in the photo, getting to have the short hair I wish I had had back then, and getting to wear a suit and tie! (Yes, in the original photo, I am wearing the dress and red bow Webby's sporting here, and I have long hair. 🙈 Though I will say here that the little heart necklace she's wearing is exactly like the one I had, too! :)) Drawing this was really cathartic for my nonbinary self. 💜

And as for Webby, in this remix, she represents someone that, in retrospect, I wish I had shared this moment with from back then. In many ways, she really was the Webby to my Lena. 💜💖💝

(Literally) beyond the subjects of this though, this is indeed very much a love letter to a lot of things, to passions. The background is pretty much a replica of the drama classroom wall we were in front of for the photo, at least as far as layout goes, with a few direct recreations of things that were on the wall and on the table there. Everything else was me being a passionate (theatre) nerd.

(Details (many details) of said nerdiness and alternate versions below the cut!)

I've included un-blurred and background-only versions (and a version with drop shadow lines on the girls, because why not? it's a cool effect!) below, but I just want to point out the details, because I'm so dang proud of this.

The posters/programs for The Phantom Blot of the Opera, Featherspray, Chickago, and My Fair Dewey are obvious duck-parody references to their real-world counterparts (with the latter being the exact poster they use in DuckTales, in Dewey's dream in "Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!" So thanks, Dewey! 😂). The Featherspray one was also included because Hairspray was one of the shows we did in high school! And lemme just say, creating theater posters is really fun!!

The MJ the Musical poster and the half-shown Notre Dame de Paris "Duckbill" right behind Lena's head are particularly special to me, since they (along with Phantom) are my favorite musicals, and getting to draw those two was especially fun!

The L'Orange Theater poster in the top-right is a bunch of duck easter eggs in one - the L'Orange Theater is mentioned and seen in the very first episode of DuckTales 1987, and of course, there's Aquarioon from DT17! Looks like it toured in Duckburg a long time ago. 😉

And the sheet music is the DuckTales theme! (Or at least the left side of it :P)

The "Congrats" card, calendar (the whale for upper half was my own touch), folder, page of random backstage stuff behind Lena's head (which includes little Star Trek and Darkwing Duck references), and golden "Theatre" card (with my old director's favorite quote) are directly from the photo (or at least based on what I could see through its blurriness 😝), as is the very edge of a cast photo in the upper-right. The purple note (totally not with any secret messages whaaaaat) below that, the certificate of excellence, and the little pride heart pins everywhere are little garnishes/dedications. 😊

The stage/theater diagram below the certificate is really cool, because that's a direct recreation (+ another hidden message) of a project a friend and I did for stagecraft back in our freshman year - I was even able to copy my own handwriting for the labels! 😄😂

The "Time of Our Lives" poster is a reference to the showcase I mentioned above that inspired all this, though the real-life poster looked very different, from what I remember.

The green bag below is sorta a nod to the secret pal exchanges we used to do during shows. 😉

And finally:

The Glittering Goldie show poster is me just having an absolute blast drawing her once again and coming up with something for her Blackjack days! And bonus - I'll be posting a gradient-only version of Goldie tomorrow! Really happy with how she turned out!

And the "All the World's a Stage" poster is me combining all of my theatre nerdiness with my passion for space and a good pun! 😁

ANYWAY...

I learned a lot with this drawing, about creating and about myself.

And I just had so, so much fun with it - it was all love, all passion, all happiness for this one. 💜💖💝

Wishing the same for all of you. ✨

Love, Astro 💜

#DuckTales #Webby Vanderquack #Lena Sabrewing #weblena #my art #long post #I just have a lot of feelings for this one 🥹 #(the post itself kinda is a love letter? for future me as much as past me and present me. yeah let's go with that) #for real though still cackling over my design for the Phantom Blot of the Opera poster XD

[bkatlips]

Ranking and explaining my rankings of Mike Flanagan’s shows and how they make me feel in honor of spooky season and just finishing Usher!! Why not!! Everyone else is doing it!! I’m also going to give it a gay score based on how gay they are (which also includes how big of a role gay characters played).

Disclaimer: Every one of these shows is well-made in one way or another and deserves to be watched based on whether someone else finds the premise interesting and not whether I liked the show. Too often I see “that show was bad to me therefore you shouldn’t watch it” and I disagree with that line of thinking.

1. The Haunting of Bly Manor-I can already hear people screaming “Hill House is better!” In some ways, yes! In some very important ways, however, I disagree. The biggest being Bly Manor emotionally resonated with me a lot more. The themes, the found family (as someone who is an only child), and of course, the lesbianism. Dani’s story of compulsory heterosexuality may be one of if not the best in media and her love story with Jamie ended up being one of the best media has to offer, too. And really using a horror story and turning it into a love story is kind of brilliant (and annoying for the people who were just there for the jumpscares I guess). Don’t get me wrong the show has flaws (why the FUCK do Peter and Rebecca have so much screentime? was that eight episode really the best placement?) but the stuff that lands, really really lands. I’m still thinking about Dani and Jamie 3 years later. Hannah’s episode was very well done. The kid actors little Amelie and Ben were phenomenal. Upon rewatch you notice most decisions and dialogue in the show were made with some purpose and it usually relates to something thematic. Some people may say it doesn’t really have one defining central thesis therefore making it messy, but to me the fact it has many themes actually makes it more fun to think about. Gay score: 100000/10

2. The Haunting of Hill House-A horror classic that got me into Flanagan! This is Flanagan’s best series as far as making you pee your pants. That hat man is just scary! The character work is nice. Those first 6 episodes are incredible. Perfect. The thing that brings it under Bly Manor for me is honestly the ending. It left something to be desired for me. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but it just did not conclude in such an emotionally resonant way as Bly Manor to me. Shout out to the Newton Bros because the music on this damn show (and Bly too but that’s basically Hill House music continued) is so so good. Also the character work is masterful because Shirley Crain is kind of a bitch but you do come to love her. In fact, there wasn’t a Crain I didn’t feel for. They’re deeply fucked up, sympathetic people. It’s a great show with some great thematic work but it just doesn’t speak to me quite as much as Bly, that’s it. I know that’s unpopular but it is what it is. A great good show nonetheless. Gay score: 8/10

3. The Fall of the House of Usher-This show is wild and honestly I couldn’t decide between ranking this one or Midnight Club third. I went with this one because the acting and technical stuff was so phenomenal. I’m not really into gore horror so this wasn’t like my thing on the surface but I do appreciate what a homage to Poe it is in the very limited knowledge of Poe’s work that I have. It was fun to see all the cast from previous shows back again especially T’nia. One of the downsides to this show is it doesn’t really make you feel a lot and so compared to the Haunting shows for me that makes it inferior for sure. But it’s a fun watch and honestly I need to rewatch the final episode because I had a hard time paying attention for that one. Gay score: really fucking queer/10

4. The Midnight Club-Ah Flanagan’s little dud. This one is really not very loved compared to the others, seems to be just about nobody’s favorite, however personally I liked it. I think people are a little unfair to it and while it may not be Flanagan’s best, I don’t think it’s awful. It doesn’t really tackle anything new when it comes to themes. There’s some death, grief, stages of acceptance, and cult stuff. I think the way it has these kids telling stories to deal with their reality was really brilliant in a way. There was one episode (six I think) that dealt with depression and suicide that made me sob and I thought was super well done. That one stuck with me.I think it would have benefited from a more likeable main character and also from the second season that was planned! Gay score: 6/10

5. Midnight Mass-To be honest, I probably could have gone without watching this show. It just didn’t really resonate with me and didn’t really entertain me save like the very last two episodes. It’s technically well-made and I appreciate what Flanagan was trying to do and convey with the danger of cults and religion. It was obviously a very personal project and was him working through his own experiences but it wasn’t for me. It had a few too many monologues and I don’t think monologues make an interesting character piece. However, it’s a critically acclaimed work so I recommend anyone who wants to check out Flanagan’s work still check it out! Especially if you like weird vampire stuff I guess. Also the acting especially from the priest was phenomenal. So there’s definitely pros to this show, but it didn’t add anything to my life for me! Gay score: 3/10 :/

Also, shout out to Mike because every single one of these shows is queer to one degree or another. He loves the gays! Ally! Bisexual wife probably helps too!

#the haunting of bly manor #the haunting of hill house #mike flanagan #the midnight club #midnight mass #the fall of the house of usher #bly manor #hill house #thobm #jamie and dani

[benis-chillin]

Thoughts and theories on Sonic Prime

So, Sonic Prime has ended, good fellers, and since it's a Sonic thing, I shall simply say…

My feelings are mixed.

So, let's start off with just saying that the animation and voice acting? All good. If the English game cast blew up in a mysterious gas leak, these guys would make for fine replacements. The fight scenes are fluid, though do get a bit repetitive in the final few episodes(cause I think they were running low on budget), and everyone moves better than they have in the games…Maybe ever? Music is passable, but outside of the main theme, it's fairly forgettable. I think they used some game music in those sprites scenes that suck ass, so I don't see why they couldn't use a tune or two. At least use "All Hail Shadow" once, dude.

However, I feel that the writing and premise lets it all down. The premise feels like it would be better for a game or IDW arc instead of the rare animated series, especially since this show doesn't establish what Sonic's world is SUPPOSED to be like for new audiences. Sure, the games are at a decent level of popularity recently, and the movies have boosted the brand considerably in the public consciousness, but at least one episode before we start hopping around the multiverse would've made the stakes feel a bit tighter. Just because this is the game world doesn't mean you can skip basic shit like that. A status quo needs to be established for it to be shaken up.

And yes, I did say this is the game world. Prime is, by standards I will explain in a bit, canon. Sonic fans have been arguing against this because of little details, like Green Hill being used interchangeably with Sonic's world(even though they never outright state that they're the same thing, leading me to believe this is simply a weird writing quirk), Sonic not noting other Metal Sonics exist when Chaos Sonic is introduced(even though he never says, "I have never seen a Metal Sonic before in my life!" Or anything like that), and Sonic having particularly shaky characterization(bad writing doesn't dictate canonicity, as otherwise the 2010's games wouldn't be canon either).

All of this is not good writing, to be sure, and Sega should've cracked down a bit harder on that stuff while making this show, but nothing here outright contradicts canon, if you know what a contradiction ACTUALLY is. It's an ongoing problem in the Sonic community that they don't know how to lore at all, and Prime is a good example of this. You don't have to like Prime, but if you count Colors or Lost World as canon, then you have no reason to not include Prime. Otherwise, you're just basing canon on what you do or don't like, which is an AWFUL approach to canonicity.

Personally, I slot it between Lost World and Forces for the moment, but this could change at a later date. Now, let's sit down and speculate on some things.

What are the Shatterspaces?

Long explanation short, I don’t believe the Shatterspaces to be a traditional multiverse setup. They aren’t variants of Sonic’s universe in the traditional sense, but rather partial worlds built on “fragments” of Sonic and company’s collective psyche, and this concept can explain a few things.

(Note: This is purely fan speculation, and not Objective Canon Zone. We’ve gotten past that point)

Let’s break down each Shatterspace.

New Yoke is a dimension entirely overrun by the Chaos Counsel. Nature has been weeded out, and people live by the “mercy” of the Eggmen.

However, this Space is the only one with any Eggman variants, and this is very deliberate, because New Yoke is Eggman’s dream made manifest by the Prism. Remember, his robot was holding it when Sonic shattered it, so it’s logical that at least SOME of that energy came into his control. Hey, if anyone besides Sonic could control it, it would probably be Eggman, right? And when they make a giant construct at the end of Season 2, it looks like regular Eggman, so maybe there’s something to that?

But of course, that begs the question: Why 5 Eggmen?

Well, 5 Shatterspaces.

New Yoke-Mr. Doctor Eggman

The most similar to mainline Eggman, it feels best that he represent this Shatterspace.

Boscage Maze-Dr. Deep

The more zen of the 5, who may have more of a connection to nature than the others. For the crime of possibly having touched grass, I give this Shatterspace to him. The closest to a nature side that Eggman has.

No Zone-Dr. Don’t

This one is a stretch, but bear with me.

This version of Eggman is still a youth, likely to have wanted adventure and freedom before reality set in and he chose instead to zone out to his video games and other electronic forms of entertainment as a substitute for the action he craved. Eggman’s a playful sort when he’s not trying to rule the world, so it’s JUST possible enough.

The Grim-Dr. Babble

(Where the hell did he get a doctorate as an infant?)

A Shatterspace fairly undeveloped, its potential not yet fully tapped, much like dear Babble himself. Also a representation of Eggman’s childishness, though perhaps it more links to his feelings of being neglected as a child, as hinted at in the Frontiers audio logs? Who knows?

Ghost Hill-Dr. Done-it.

A shadow of the past, barely hanging on, just waiting to die out so the new hotness can take over completely.

Also looks oddly like Eggman Nega? Idk.

However, these are merely reflections of what the Shatterspaces already represent, which are aspects of Sonic's Personality…Save for New Yoke and Ghost Hill. The former is mostly Eggman’s domain, and the latter is just what was left after the Shattering.

Also, I believe the Shattering to be an event localized to Green Hill, and not encompassing all of Sonic’s world, which would explain why they use the terms interchangeably. I can’t fully explain WHY I feel that way, just have a gut feeling this is how it works. My main basis for this is the flashback in New Yoke where Rouge and Knuckles are just in Green Hill when the Eggmen take over, suggesting that perhaps they were “localized” when the Shattering redistributed them.

Oh yeah, let’s explain that. It seems that Sonic’s friends, along with ALL of Green Hill’s residents, didn’t have much control over how they were split among the Shatterspaces, but aspects of them clearly adapted to the worlds they were placed in. For example, Rouge and Knuckles both took charge of the Resistance in New Yoke, which fits them well enough. Knuckles commanded the Resistance in Forces, and Rouge is literally a government spy in the main universe, after all.  Amy likely defended nature in this world, and paid the price for it when the Eggmen turned her into a cyborg. Tails seems to have withdrawn into himself completely, becoming Nine. This universe was made by a villain, so these versions are the darkest ones we could get. The bad ending.

Anyway, back to the other ones.

Boscage Maze represents Sonic’s love of nature, and is thus dominated by it. The people who live in this Space are thus devoted to their natural world, which adapts to be a primitive society led by more primitive urges driven by the need for survival. Rouge naturally leads again, and her more devious nature shines through as a part of her survival instincts, but she’s still doing better than her New Yoke version. Knuckles leans so far into his naivete from growing up on Angel Island alone that it gets remixed into paranoia, Big is Big, Tails seems to have still been isolated to the point of going somewhat feral, but is accepted nowadays by his peers(and has a knack for technology when he finds himself somewhere that it exists), and Amy vehemently defends nature to the point of absurdity. Much like how New Yoke is an example of technology being too dominant,  Boscage leans towards going too far in the other direction. The people don’t suffer as much, but they still DO suffer in the end if they don’t work together for a better tomorrow.

No Zone is Sonic’s love of adventure, and everyone in this space represents that. Tails is at his best, being very sociable and accepted by his peers with no hesitancies, clearly. Knuckles' desire for “me beauty” might be a memory of the Master Emerald, but I wouldn’t put too much money in that. Another theory is that it ties into his role as a treasure hunter, without any echidna honor to reel in any greed. This is overall the most positive Space here, tbh. 

The Grim is simple possibility. The future, what lies ahead for Sonic. He rarely looks to it, never plans it out, instead choosing to just live in the moment, but it’s always there waiting for him.

And yeah, that’s it. The only remaining question is where are these Shatterspaces now that the Prism is restored, and the main universe returned to normal? Well, Sonic gave the energy back that the Prism needed and it didn’t kill anyone, so it’s likely that they exist permanently now, stable outside of the main “multiverse.” Different from a dimension like Blaze’s, and the split timeline caused by Generations. But that’s just speculation. Who knows if these concepts will ever appear again?

Idk, could make for a good fanfic.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic prime #sonic prime season 3 #sonic lore #sonic theory #sonic prime spoilers

[rachelbethhines]

60 Years of Doctor Who Anniversary Marathon - McCoy 10th Review

Bernice Summerfield: Oh No It Isn't! - Spin-off

Part of what makes Bernice Summerfield such a long running success is that her series can function as a standalone thing rather than just a spin-off.

When Virgin Publishing lost the rights to Doctor Who back in 1996, they dug Benny (a character they had created for the New Adventures novels) out of the closet and designed a new series around her with no ties to Doctor Who what so ever.

That's not to say that they erased the character's past, she's still a companion and technically the series still takes place in the world of Who, but no mentions of the Doctor nor any other BBC owned character appear or are even named dropped.

So basically you can pick up this first novel, like I did, without ever having touched any of the NAs, or even without having seen an episode of Who in your life.

Because, besides Benny herself, the only other thing that can be associated with Who is Menlove Stokes from that Fourth Doctor book we covered, The Romance of Crime. And there's no references to that story here either.

But what about the actual book? Is it any good?

Ehhhh....

I want to like it. I really do.

I love the premise. Getting caught in a augmented reality based off fairy tales!? Yes please!

Also most the characters are likable enough, even with such a large cast.

But there's one thing that really drags the whole book down.

It's the subplot between Benny and one of her students.

Through out the story Benny keeps debating about whether or not she should pursue a romance with one of the college kids that she teaches... and it's just gross.

Granted, she never goes through with it, and the narrative repeatedly points out why it's toxic, but like... why the fuck would introduce your main hero with a such a subplot anyways?

I mean if you're going to tell such a story then actually tell it. Make it the focus and draw some real drama from it. Don't shove it into the background of a completely different narrative after introducing it.

The end result is just uncomfortable and distracting. The darker subject matter clashes horribly with the surreal comedy romp that the rest if the story wants to be, and so it never feels fully resolved.

In addition it winds up undoing any hard work the book made to present it's hero as relatable and likable.

I mean, my gosh, plenty of women get a divorce without turning into pedos... seriously what the fuck?

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know the character is in college and would technically be considered 'legal', but he's still described as a teenager several times through out the book and she's in her mid to late 30s.

Also.. She's His Damn Teacher!

However, whenever this unpleasantness is shoved aside for the actual story, it's pretty dang good.

It's charming, funny, and fun!

Even if you're not familiar with British Panto you can still follow along with the tropes easily enough as they're mostly still rooted in fairy tales and musical theater.

It's certainly more digestible then most Virgin fare, I'll give it that, but it's still not enough to make me a Benny fan, sorry.

#doctor who #classic who #seventh doctor #sylvester mccoy #benny #Bernice Summerfield

[gleesongtournament]

Glee Song Tournament Update #1

I’m hoping to start the tournament on Sunday the 16th, but I will post a more concrete confirmation of the schedule once I get it 100% sorted

For now I wanted to talk about the songs that are included and excluded, and how I’ve set this up

What didn’t I included? Well the only two concrete answers were anything that was just a dance performance with the original song in the background (Single Ladies, Bubble Toes, etc), and any song that was album only with no filmed scene to go with it (Dancing On My Own, I Was Here, etc)

Some musical moments I left out might seem hypocritical. I left out songs by rival glee clubs that basically only served to show that yes, there is a third club competing, here’s ten seconds of their song (Broken Wings, Starlight Express, etc) but I included ten second snippets of songs from main characters (Respect, Mr. Cellophane, etc)

I also didn’t included (most) songs whose only purpose was to be bad or get cut off which unfortunately cuts out half the times Tina got to sing. Some exceptions are Crush (because we at least got a full studio version) and Pink Houses (which we heard enough of in the episode). But things like The Climb or Revolution will not be found here

Lastly, songs in deleted scenes. These were cut or kept in based on what I thought was more popular. I can understand someone being miffed if Santa Baby or I Want You Back wasn't included, but I doubt anyone would care as much about Oklahoma or Mr. Monotony (if you stan the latter two songs, I'm sorry). So I only kept in the ones I thought were more well known/liked

If you're upset about one of the above songs not being included, or think I'm not being fair, you should know that there will be 340 match ups consisting of 681 songs in round one alone. I only trimmed the tiniest amount of fat, and I promise there are still plenty of songs for you to vote on. But hopefully everyone can understand where I'm coming from and just accept what got cut x

Now, with hundreds and hundreds of songs in the mix, I wanted to do something a little more interesting than just throwing a million random match ups your way with no rhyme or reason. Bc 1) It could get boring and repetitive and 2) It could be harder to follow if it weren't split up in some cohesive way. That's where the categories come in

What are the categories? Generally speaking, they're the ways I've broken down the polls into themed sections. Hopefully this will make everything easier to follow, plus who doesn't love some good theming?? Specifically, the categories are...

Holiday Songs. All the Christmas songs + the one Hanukkah song. If you hate Christmas music, feel free to skip this round

Original Songs. Basically just any songs that aren't covers, whether it's the humorous or serious ones

Mash Ups. All the songs that are two songs combined

Same Songs. The songs that were covered multiple times on the show, pitted against one another. The only round that isn't matched up randomly

Tributes. Songs by artists/from musicals that the show frequently paid homage to (RHPS, WSS, Grease, Beatles, Britney, Fleetwood Mac, the Jackson fam, Madonna, Whitney, Stevie Wonder)(also the songs are from all eps, not just the one(s) that served as the actual tribute ep)

Musicals. Songs from musicals not listed in the last bullet point

Rivals. Songs performed by opposing glee clubs (The Warblers, Vocal Adrenaline, etc)

Guest Stars. Songs performed by, or heavily featuring, any of Glee's numerous celebrity cast members

New Directions. Songs performed by the main club. (Not necessarily a group number. Could be sung by half the club, or even two or three people, but as long as the rest of the club is there vibing, it counts)

Solos. Songs sung by one main or recurring character

Duets. Songs sung by two main or recurring characters

Misc. Everything else! Mostly trios, quartets, or group numbers that go beyond just ND

Of course there are plenty of songs that could fit into multiple categories. For example, "Somewhere" could fall under Tribute, Guest Star, and Duet, but will only be included in one of those. So if you think I left something out of a certain category, don't worry, you'll see it pop up in a different one later!

So I think that's all the basics so far. If you have any questions you can send them here or on my main @angelhummel

#glee #glee song tournament #klaine #pezberry #brittana #faberry #quinn fabray #blaine anderson #santana lopez #kurt hummel #mercedes jones #tina cohen chang #rachel berry #brittany pierce #finn hudson #etc etc

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group D Round 2: #D7 vs #D3

#D7: Girl who can play the biwa and see the future. 1180 CE Japan

#D3: Lots of traumatized minors messing each other up bad

Details and poll under the cut!

#D7: The Heike Story (Heike Monogatari)

Summary:

The Taira clan, also known as the Heike, holds immense authority over Japan. When a young girl, gifted with an odd eye that allows her to see the future, foolishly disrespects the clan, her father pays the price of her crime with his life. Soon after, as fate would have it, Taira no Shigemori—the eldest son of the clan leader—stumbles upon the same unfortunate girl, who now calls herself "Biwa." Biwa informs him that the downfall of the Heike is imminent. After learning of the great injustice Biwa suffered at the Heike's hands, Shigemori vows to take her in and care for her rather than let her be killed.

In an era of rising military tension, the Heike are in the midst of a cunning struggle for power, and bloodstained war is on the horizon. Shigemori, whose eyes allow him to see spirits of the dead, is both anxious and hopeful to prevent his clan's demise. Biwa, however, is reluctant to reveal the future to him and must adapt to her new life filled with both happiness and sorrow in this pivotal chapter in Japanese history.

Propaganda:

It’s based on historical events, so one can already know the ending before watching it, sort of like the main character Biwa. But seeing those events, getting attached to the characters as they have both fun, simple moments and difficult, painful moments and seeing the humanity in the characters and watching them grow up with the underlying promise that things won’t go well for them, and accepting that… themes of impermanence and grief… but also the art style is unique and bright and the music is great and fits the scenes, and I highly recommend watching this if you haven’t already !! It’s only 11 episodes!

Trigger Warnings: Suicide

#D3: Happy Sugar Life

Summary:

Satou Matsuzaka is a beautiful high schooler who has a reputation for being permissive with men. However, a chance encounter with a young girl named Shio Koube makes Satou realize that this is her first and only true feeling of love.

Telling others that she lives with her aunt, Satou secretly shares an apartment with Shio. Despite her innocent appearance, Satou is willing to do anything to protect her beloved, resorting to desperate measures to ensure that their “happy sugar life” remains intact.

Propaganda:

It is questionable, but in the way that the anime is meant to make you uncomfortable. It’s an uneasy psychological horror. You’re meant to dislike almost the entire cast, so you don’t know who to root for. Yes, the characters are fucked up, but it isn’t glorified as far as I can see.

It made my stomach churn, and I was sobbing at the end because that’s what it was trying to do.

I said it’s not good, meaning it’s not comfortable, and none of the characters are good. But it’s well-written and it’s interesting.

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Pedophilia (not graphic), Murder/Violence (one brief scene is semi-violent, but most isn’t shown), Kidnapping, Rape/Non-Con (not shown, but it’s obvious that it happened/explicitly stated), Suicide

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how they’re presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

#anime #best underrated anime #polls #poll tournament #tournament #anime tournament #animation #group stage #group stage round 2 #tournament polls #group d #the heike story #heike monogatari #happy sugar life

[barananduen-blog]

Sights from the drama & filming location, from local tourism office [Source] 🔊Sound on for the drama's cute "walking music"🔊

"BELL RINGING" - REVIEW

This drama performed extremely well, reaching #1 in viewership among currently airing short dramas and remaining in the top 2 spots through its entire run. Due to its good results, it stopped being only a webdrama and was broadcast on Chinese national TV and satellite TV as well! 🎉IMO, these accolades are very well deserved!

Plot Premise: The story takes place in Silver Bell Island, pastoral and peaceful with a hint of magic. Chi Ye, who, near the beginning of the story becomes the island's mayor, harbors a secret that none but his assistant know: he is immortal and has lived for hundreds of years, awaiting the return of his beloved, Shen Qi, for whom he made a sacrifice that not even he fully understands the depths of.

Present-day Shen Qi is a happy and carefree young woman, well loved by the community. She plans events and takes care of everyone, as they took care of her when she first arrived at the island. One day, she meets Chi Ye and falls in love at first sight, but, inexplicably, he always makes himself scarce around her. Thus begins her plan to "chase and capture" the reclusive Chi Ye.

✅Recommend! ✅Beautiful visuals, camerawork, etc. ✅Well-written, good flow and pacing ✅Interesting story ✅Good acting from almost all cast ✅Combination of ancient/modern was fun ✅Good characterization despite short length

❌It would have been nice if the second couple was developed more, but this was probably due to time restraints; it would have required a longer drama.

📺Where to watch: MangoTV website/app or MangoTV's official YouTube channels ("MangoTV Drama" and the language-specific channels)

Review (No Spoilers)

I was very impressed with this drama. It was very well written and the production and direction were excellent. Definitely one of my two favorite shorts/minis.

The writers managed the time restraints really well - I haven't read the novel it's based on, and yet I didn't feel like I missed anything at all for comprehension. I really, really liked how it's written like a long movie instead of a series of short episodes. In this sense, it's like a full-length drama, but shorter. This makes it stand out from among other short dramas: the flow is excellent, the plot and the two main characters have depth to them; so you do not get that feeling of superficiality that you see in most mini dramas.

The visuals also stand out. Despite being a modern drama, it has a magical, fairy-like feeling, with soft colors and lighting, rural and village scenery, lots of flowers (LOTS OF FLOWERS!). The camerawork impressed me, because the panning and zooming made even still scenes (like when the couple is just lying in bed) feel very dynamic, while contributing to mood and ambiance. Lots of people have described the drama's visual ambiance as "refreshing" and "healing," and I feel that's correct. The video above really shows a good sample of the feeling you get while watching the drama.

That said, plotwise, this is a very emotional show, and I think the juxtaposition of the peaceful scenes and the emotional turmoil was performed flawlessly. Life and death and fighting against fate are major themes, and the actors really make you feel for the characters.

The main story is set in the present time, with flashbacks to 500 years ago sprinkled throughout. The switching between the two time periods is done very well, and is neither obtrusive nor confusing. The viewer discovers and peels layers of what happened in tribal times as the characters themselves do. This layering is an integral part of the plot, and was written and executed very well.

Storytelling, camerawork, and post-processing filters come together seamlessly once again to create mood in the scenes leading up toward the end. The ending itself is very well written, too, and manages the viewers' feelings well.

Trivia: I forgot to add that voices are everyone's own and were recorded on-location, while filming the action. Recording studio work was limited to when characters were "thinking" and things like that.

#Bell Ringing #cdrama #Li Daikun #Song Fangyuan #Miao Weilun #Yu Yilei #Zhuang Yuan #chinese drama #drama review #B text post #original post

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I kinda want to know about really random things in the twisted world, like basic household appliances, etc. I'm probably wrong but the blastcycle (?) that Deuce owns runs on magic right? What about other vehicles and/or technology? Is there a magic toaster out there?? Do they still have plumbing issues or can that also be fixed with magic? It's very useless, mundane stuff but I'm still curious

I do think it's fun to think about how things might be different in another world, but I actually don't think some world lore is as mystifying as we think it may be 😅 Twisted Wonderland may be a world of magic, but I'm pretty sure they have (mostly) normal household appliances and objects.

There is definitely a cross that exists between magic and engineering (something Ignihyde students sometimes mention), but it seems to be a specialization and not the norm or the replacement for normal tech. Some items, like phones and cars, seem to work the same as they do in the real world (without magic), as Malleus, a creature who struggles with using technology and predominantly relies on magic to get by, has issues getting accustomed to them. He mentions in the Scalding Sands Fireworks event that he is shocked that people use cars to travel instead of flying, which seems to imply that little to no magic is used in the operation of cars.

Keep in mind that it seems that a vast majority of the human population isn't capable of magic (I believe only 1 in 10 people can use magic), so it's likely that most products and services made are to cater to the magicless rather than those capable of using magic (ie they wouldn't require magical input to be of use). Yes, items can be enchanted in advance by actual magic users to grant magical properties so that even non-magic users are capable of using them (think of magicless MC's ghost camera or NRC's talking portraits), but it seems that these items are considered rare or antiques. In other instances in which magic is cast upon inanimate objects, it serves a certain purpose that usually wouldn’t be possible without magic (ie harvesting mandrakes, changing the color of apples, etc.).

In the case of magical wheels (not going to use blastcycle, I don't like the localization name 🤡), they are stated to run on magic, but they also contain magic-infused batteries so that even non-magic users can ride them. However, some features (it’s not explicitly said which features) are limited if the rider does not power the magical wheel with their own magic. Deuce says in episode 5 that it is dangerous for beginners to ride a magical wheel, which implies that a certain degree of skill is needed for it.

I think here, this rule applies: “just because you can doesn’t mean you should”. What’s the point of making lots of products which require magic for its full potential to be realized? It doesn’t make sense if most of the people you’re marketing this product to cannot make use of it. Another thing to consider is that it would be... plain unwise to just slap on “you need magic to use this”? That alienates a large part of the customer base and adds an unnecessary production step that may overcomplicate things. Like... what exactly makes an enchanted food processor better than a non-enchanted one??? Or an enchanted toaster from a non-enchanted one??? They perform the same exact function, and they’re both technically “automated”.

ASDHYUBASDBASIVDSA ACTUALLY, NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT????? I-Is magic here actually a metaphor for companies in the real world that needlessly add Wifi/Bluetooth capabilities or an app to everything... even the things that don’t need it?????? (I remember seeing that one high-tech saltshaker that needed to connect to Wifi to play music as it measured out the exact amount of salt you needed it to dispense for your meal????)

As for professions... I think there would definitely need to be some specialties to account for magic (like I’m sure there are lawyers that specialize in magical malpractice or whatever, and there are confirmed to be magical healers, which I assume are like real world doctors, PAs, nurses, etc., and magic policemen that work on specialized cases). However, I don’t know if there would be magical plumbers, simply because plumbing problems don’t necessarily need magic to clear up. There probably are plumbers that happen to be able to use magic, but I don’t think resources would be dedicated to making a specialized magic plumbing squad (unless you’re telling me that Twisted Wonderland has plumbing issues that can only exclusively be resolved WITH magic). I think part of the problem is that magic is hinted at to be very “temporary”/not long lasting (especially in episode 5), so it’s not like it’s a quick or a permanent fix for every issue people might have.

Twisted Wonderland probably experiences a lot of the same problems we have in the real world. It’s just that some of those problems are more quickly resolved or addressed using magic, while other things (again, like magical medical ethics) are further complicated by it.

#twst theory #twisted wonderland theories #twst theories #Malleus Draconia #Deuce Spade #twisted wonderland theory #notes from the writing raven #question #spoilers #Kalim Al-Asim

[cray-cray-anime]

Number of reasons why freefonix was pretty cool

Let's ignore the weird slang and could be better plot (tho the creator was told to avoid an overarching plot)

Apologies in advance for the pixels i just took whatever in galleries on the wiki

@obscure-song-tournament if you're interested to read my rambles go for it lol

The music obviously- they literally mentioned there's over 100 songs made for this show and covered alot of genres w different artists; tho honestly idk who done all the singing as the cast list doesn't mention all the characters singing and searching said cast can you get you multiple ppl

I can't remember all of the songs but some of them just has a nice message behind it like do want you want and being yourself which ye typical but still nice

The characters designs I love so very much, from the clothes and general art style. (The episodes are better quality i swear lol)

Especially appreciate they didn't do those ugly black lip that some other cartoons do. Sugar Che is just so pretty and her afro is like those art where people's hair is like a plant or outerspace

Bonus her and Freezone (other black character) is voiced and sung by a black person

Also like expanded on black inspired/based (?) music as a kid who only would hear "those bad raps that kids shouldn't listen too" or that they're the jazz guy + occasional pop song that come on radio; i think I'm more appreciative oh hip hop/ rap partly cos of it

Totally anticonsumerism like prob add on the start of my anticapitilistic views lol

They literally fought with music like the instruments would literally shoot stuff in the sound clashes; also the instruments itself looks cool (the clip is from the first episode so miiight not be the best show of it but ya get what i mean)

The antagonist band Mantyz isn't bad cos they're a rock/metal band, but the fact they just do the same music to keep being rich/famous and don't really care abt staying original

They also used to be free wavers which freefonix is. Which really all abt making your own music (cos they love/really get music) that's against "prepsie" or better known as corporate/manufactured music

Oh ye the other villain Mya who done a contract Mantyz is literally just rich CEO and want to rule the world. Bonus is the accent w/o stereotyping accent and like nothing to do w becoming evil cos of a guy. Plus her suite is cool

I can't remember exactly but there's some interesting concepts around the show like vox, the bigger villain trapped by sugar che that if freed by the "13th note" could rule the world (i mean typical but he doesn't look typical) and destroy sugar che and freefonix

There's also some sci fi stuff idk like time affected by the music powers

General plot is people who are musically talented are one of the guardians of the 13th note which have alot of power

From wiki "Freefonix have discovered a sophisticated way of fighting their battles against rival band Mantyz, by using the power of the Thirteenth Note, an awesome force that can bend space, time and minds when the perfect sound is created. When the two rival bands meet, the result is an explosive Soundclash, where the opposing forces do battle as all the energies of the Thirteenth Note are released."

#Youtube #cray-cray-anime post #cray-cray-anime analysis #freefonix #music #tv show #cartoons #unpopular media #unpopular show #pop #rock #r&b music #r&b #techno music #pop music #indie #? #alternative music #long post #not sure lol #anti consumerism

[fancoloredglasses]

Once More With Feeling (Better than Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark)

[All images are owned by 20th Century Fox Disney and Mutant Enemy Productions. Please don't sue, bite, or stake me]

(Thanks to Samantha Graff for all video clips)

Joss Whedon wanted to do a musical episode for Buffy since its inception, but it wasn’t until Season 6 that this would become reality.

None of the actors had much experience with singing or dancing (though Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Dawn, had ballet training and Anthony Stewart Head, who played Giles, was in a band), and the episode’s musical/dance scenes (19 hours of singing and 17 hours of dancing!) were shot at the same time as four other episodes, making it one of the more grueling episodes to film.

The actors really didn’t want to do it. Sarah Michelle Gellar protested until Whedon suggested asking Jewel to dub in her songs (there was no way Gellar wanted to have someone else sing what would be a key moment in the season!) Trachtenberg and Alyson Hannigan wanted their singing to be minimized (Whedon agreed, giving Dawn a ballet number…and Willow has a bit in one song stating “I think this line’s mostly filler”)

I will note that, due to Tumblr’s restrictions, I can only include so many videos of the songs. Any I cannot include I will provide links for the curious.

Enough background, on to the show…which starts with (as all but the earliest episodes do) with…

PREVIOUSLY ON…

At the end of Season 5, Buffy sacrificed herself to save Dawn (wait, does that mean there are now THREE Slayers running around?) Willow used a spell to bring her back, thinking she was trapped in Hell (SPOILER: she went the other way) Since her return, she’s been pretty much sleepwalking through her days.

Tara and Willow had a fight about Willow’s irresponsible use of her magic, so Willow cast a forget spell on Tara (doesn’t that prove her point?), with a sprig of a plant known as Lethe’s bramble as a focus.

Xander and Anya have gotten engaged, but Xander’s still having issues getting past the fact that Anya used to be a demon.

Dawn, mostly in an attempt for attention, has begun stealing from various shops around Sunnydale, including the Magic Box (the shop the Scooby Gang uses as a base of operations).

Finally, after getting a chip in his head by a government black-ops program to curb his more violent tendencies (with pain-inducing shocks), Spike has more or less aligned himself with the Scooby Gang and fallen in love with Buffy.

Now, on with the show! If you would like to watch the episode, it’s available on Hulu or behind your favorite paywall.

(As I mentioned, there are too many numbers for me to provide clips for, so I’m going to focus mainly on what I feel are the important ones. If you feel I left out one that was vital to the plot, let me know and we can debate!)

(Yes, that was the Lethe’s bramble Tara found under her pillow in the opening scene)

Now, Buffy doesn’t normally sing her way through fights with vampires and demons, so the following morning she asks if anyone else felt like they were on Broadway the previous night.

I’ll take that as a yes.

The group starts brainstorming when Giles suddenly breaks into song.

Xander thinks it could be witches (which earns a glare from Willow and Tara), while Anya sings a power verse about it being bunnies (that Anya, always good for a chuckle. I mean, it couldn’t be bunnies, right?…right?!?!) Meanwhile, Buffy doesn’t care what’s causing it because they’ll defeat it like they always do, and the rest of the troupe gang joins in the chorus in agreement…

The gang wonders how widespread this is, so Buffy looks outside.

Definitely widespread.

Then Dawn arrives wanting to tell everyone what happened at school, but they already know. So she sees a pendant lying on the counter and pockets it.

Then Willow and Tara make an excuse to leave (they say “research”, but I’m fairly sure it’s more about “exploration”) Sure enough, once they leave, they break into song and start a TV-13+ sex scene that is quickly cut away from.

Later that evening, we see the dark side it the musical-ness of Sunnydale (c’mon, you knew it was coming) as a man starts dancing uncontrollably until he starts smoking, then combusts!

Cue commercial break!

(In case you didn’t guess, this is the Demon Of The Week. He is never named in the episode, but IMDb calls him “Sweet”, played by 3-time Tony Award winner Hinton Battle)

 We come back to commercial the next morning with Xander and Anya in bed.

So, much like a traditional musical, the victims participants occasionally sing out secrets to the audience. However, unlike a traditional musical…

...Xander and Anya are fully aware of what the other was singing when the song ends.

As they lament about their number and Giles tells them about the man who burst into flames last night, we get an aside of a woman trying to sing her way out of a parking ticket (I’ve heard of worse schemes) The three continue to discuss as we get a dance number involving street sweepers.

The conversation switches to Buffy and her disinterested approach to her Calling. That night, Buffy looks to Spike for any insight.

Meanwhile at Buffy’s, Dawn tells Tara she’s happy Tara and Willow made up after their fight about Willow's magic use a few days ago…

…which Tara doesn’t remember. With an “oh shit” expression, Tara heads over to the Magic Box, leaving Dawn alone.

After Tara leaves, Dawn puts on the pendant she took earlier and starts singing…

…but is interrupted as demonic Pinocchios kidnap her!

Cut to commercial.

We come back to Dawn waking up in the Bronze (a nightclub that for some reason teens are also allowed in) where she dances a bit with the Pinocchio demons before meeting her host…

…Sweet, who does a bit of a tap dance before singing to Dawn that he’s planning on taking her back to hell as his Queen. Then Dawn sings to him about Buffy…

…so he sends the Pinocchios to invite the Slayer to the wedding.

We then cut to the back of the Magic Box, where Buffy is training. Giles tries to talk Buffy into having a more active role in raising/disciplining Dawn (Dawn has been acting out a lot since Buffy came back from the dead for a second time)

This sparks a song from Giles about being treated like a crutch as Buffy does a training montage.

Meanwhile, Tara finds a book in the Magic Box that tells her about the Lethe’s bramble.

To say she’s hurt is a major understatement. She’s so hurt that she has a duet with Giles.

Then Spike bursts in with a Pinocchio demon and tells it to sing for them. As the music swells, it simply speaks.

Buffy starts to brainstorm about their attack plan, but…

…yeah, Dawn’s life in the balance ain’t the time to cut the cord, Giles!

Anyway, this sparks the Big Inspirational Number!

Buffy makes a proposal to Sweet: If, after the Boss Fight, they’re both still standing, then she’ll take Dawn’s place as his Queen. Now for the Climactic Power Ballad!

So now it’s out there for everyone to know, but there’s still Sweet to deal with.

Sweet prepares to leave with his bride-to-be (Dawn, not Buffy), but Dawn denies summoning him despite wearing the pendant she stole found that contained the summoning spell. But if Dawn didn’t summon Sweet, who did?

…yeah, my money was on either him or Willow. Turns out Xander wanted a musical wedding and didn’t realize what he was invoking.

Turns out Sweet isn’t as enlightened as you’d think and decides he doesn’t want Xander as a bride.

With that Sweet gives a final refrain and vanishes.

Despite Sweet’s exit (stage left), his presence is still felt as the gang sings the closing number.

Hope you enjoyed this. While not the only bonkers episode (and not even the most bonkers), it is an iconic episode that is fondly remembered by most Buffy fans.

#buffy the vampire slayer #sarah michelle gellar #alyson hannigan #joss whedon #musicals #Fan Colored Glasses

[punderfulowl]

Top 8 Anime (That I've Seen) in 2022

Whew boy, I wasn't expecting last year to be such a whirlwind, but all that doesn't matter now when there's Weeb stuff afoot! For those who are unfamiliar, when I make an End-of-the-year list, I like to do so without handcuffing myself to JUST the releases of the previous year. If you are familiar, you guys know that I typically keep to the usual Top 10 (except that one year when it was 12), but as you can see, I only had time to fit in 8.

Rules:

- If an anime had already made it onto a previous list, a newer season can't make it on.

- I only keep to TV series, so no movies.

- No repeating franchises (i.e. if I saw two different Gundam shows in one year, I can only pick one).

- I'm skipping Honorable mentions this year.

8. Tales of Zestiria (2016)

Definitely not my favorite Tales story, but BOY was this show pretty to look at. Ufotable is what Ufotable does, I guess. Truth be told, I couldn't get into the game that this anime is based on, so I figured that watching the anime would be easier. And it was!

7. Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out (2020)

Ah, yes, one of those shows that upset Twitter. I thought this was an adequately told Rom-Com with our two leads having some decent chemistry together. Looking past the "controversy," it was a perfectly serviceable show.

6. Amagami SS (2010)

This was my surprise of the year. This Slice of Life Romance accomplishes a rare feat amongst its peers: Every girl gets a happy ending! You see, our male protag starts out depressed and lonely, develops a relationship with one of the girls over a 3 episode arc, and then starts all over again. Not only that, but during each arc, the camera shows how the other girls are living their lives and they do just fine without him. Maybe I'm not phrasing it the way I want to, but it's just refreshing showing potential love interests living fulfilling lives without Protag-kun. It does, however, lose points for having some questionable moments with its high school cast of characters. Based on a visual novel btw.

5. Komi Can't Communicate (2021)

I can't be the only one who rolls their eyes whenever a story about an average guy gains the affection of the most popular girl in school. I'm, of course, not rolling my eyes at the premise itself, but rather the quantity of stories like this. This story in particular saves itself by having our titular character stumble their way to success despite their crippling social anxiety. I find it both funny and endearing. I look forward to season 2!

4. Recovery of an MMO Junkie (2017)

Speaking of season 2, I wish this anime had one. I may have mentioned this before about a different anime, but I do find it to be a breath of fresh air whenever we have protagonists who are actually adults. A nerd in their thirties looking for love? Couldn't be me 🙂

3. March Comes in Like a Lion (2016)

I still don't know how Shogi is played, heck I don't even have a handle on Chess, but anyone who has ever seen March Comes in Like a Lion knows that's not why we're here. Again, not Shogi specifically, but knowing that people, regardless of age, have weight of some kind on their shoulders, it's such a shame that that weight is on a character so young. Expectations, anxiety, loneliness; all that can be overwhelming for anybody. I would definitely recommend anyone to seek this out. Bonus, it has music from Bump of Chicken!

2. Spy X Family (2022)

I'm sure most of you guys have seen this. You know.

I'm sure there's still plenty of people who haven't seen this yet. It's Everywhere. You guys STILL know.

This show was the right amount of wholesome I needed last year!

1. Mushoku Tensei (2022)

I would probably have to do some more thinking, but this might be my favorite isekai thus far. Has a well built world AND has utilized the whole reincarnation aspect better than most isekai anime. I would go into it more, but I think I'll make that its own post.

This was a bit late, but at least it's still January, right? Hopefully, I'll be in a better head space this year to make a full Top 10.

Make the best of this new year and stay safe out there.

#anime #spy x family #march comes in like a lion #tales of zestiria #uzaki chan wants to hang out! #amagami ss #komi can't communicate #recovery of an mmo junkie #jobless reincarnation #mushoku tensei

[icharchivist]

A series of events:

-One of my closest friend wants to bite the bullet and try up a3 knowing it is so important to me

-Thing is though that friend in question can't bear topics about theater, so he's really just doing it for me. (I did remind him we could drop anytime and that he didn't have to force himself, he just didnt listen)

-After one episode of the anime, he wants to drop it because nothing interested him

-The next day he tells me to watch another one, and go only by a pace of one a day

-Itaru makes his effect. Friend is now clearly watching for me and for Itaru.

-Yes friend made fun of me when i lost it when Chikage was on screen

-Friend made clear he had very little investment in the rest of spring and only cared for Itaru

-He started to feel emotionally hit by Itaru's storyline

-We listen to the a3 musics then. He's notoriously picky about music but ends up vibing with most of the songs, especially Autumn and Winter. He starts to be interested in Autumn.

-We go to Summer, still aiming one episode a day. Friend doesn't like any of the cast except Tenma he loved at first sight

-Tenma resonated with him and suddenly he insisted we binged all of summer in one day. It fucked him up.

-"I am not invested i can quit at anytime" - said a liar

-after Summer he asks to take a break before Autumn because he's scared of them. He didn't expect any of the characters to impact him but knew Autumn would be his type, and now that two characters he didnt expect ripped his heart out he's terrified of what it would mean for him

-He also asks that we resume to one episode a day

-I end up crying about Winter because im normal and i tease him that with the break and the pacing we wont reach him anytime soon, so i was safe

-Evilness oblige he decides that we're going to bing Autumn and Winter on the same fucking day

-Autumn didnt mess him up as much as he thought. At first. In the following days he becomes obsessed and starts to mostly talk about Autumn to me

-He gets bewildered by how little content Hisoka and Azuma had, saying "i thought when you said their arc were cut you were nippicking what the fuck was that"

-He guesses what were the themes of the plotlines by analysing the few we have and the knowledge they're my fav characters. He's 95% spot on. Now he cares winter because he sees me in every characters send help.

-I show him the game's content that was cut from the anime. He appreciates Winter but mostly because of what he can bully me with

-We had planned to stop there, so that he had a baseline to bully me.

-We didn't.

-He got invested in Azami suddenly and asked that we'd read his chapter together

-It messed him up and everything he thought should have hit with Autumn but didn't ended up hitting him a hundred times harder

-Friend gets overly invested. I send him Wandering Ghost. He loses his mind

-We discuss about the fact the song was not translated on yaycupcake

-The next day, as he's very good with Japanese, he decides to translate it and asks me to update his translation to yaycupcake

-he still refuses to acknowledge he's invested.

-Friend also starts to warm up to the cast members he wasnt found of.

-Friend has now asked me to show him Chikage and Guy. I insist that if we do, we read at least Winter 2nd and 3rd play and Spring 3rd.

-Friend complains because as he understands Japanese he's been mainly *listening* to a3 and have a hard time keeping up with the archive's full auto for the unvoiced events

-I bring up the events are voiced on the JPN server

-Friend decide to start playing it

-(i realize i lost my jpn account so i start one along with him)

-We sign in in time for the last 2 days of the spring 9th play event

-Friend decide to go ham

-Friend becomes obsessed with the event song

-Friend translates the song based on lyrics he found, has asked me to post it on yaycupcake (which i willdo when im back home), and is starting to work on a lyrics video for it.

-Friend still insists he's not involved. Despite the fact he regularly brings a3 up out of nowhere and had like 3 existential crisis provoked by characters.

-Friend is frustrated by all that is untranslated on the wiki and wants to help translate more regardless

-Friend is scared shitless about Chikage because i told him about him and he's terrified it's going to fuck him up (As expected from a Sandalphon lover.)

Tldr: i dragged someone into a3, he started out really disliking it, and now he's so worked up by what isnt translated and is working on things.

So there's that.

#apparently the thing that'll heal me from my a3 en grief enough to start reading jpn #is my friend saying tell me what isnt translated and ill do it for you #anyway hi if you check the wandering ghost wiki say hi to my bestie's translation #ichatalks about a3

[hilli98215]

I posted 6,980 times in 2022

485 posts created (7%)

6,495 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@queen-with-the-quill

@storyweaverofgondor

@roxycake

@tending-the-hearth

@skywalkerangst

I tagged 948 of my posts in 2022

#disney - 110 posts

#personal - 63 posts

#kingdom hearts - 54 posts

#thanks for the ask - 32 posts

#teacher things - 26 posts

#tagged post - 25 posts

#youtube - 24 posts

#fandom - 24 posts

#random - 22 posts

#disney parks - 22 posts

Longest Tag: 105 characters

#but i really only know jason alexander from his performance in seinfeld (comedy) and cinderella (musical)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

As he should....

Go see tick, tick... BOOM! if not for the musical aspect, just for Andrew Garfield's performance. He is wonderful and yes. He did learn to sing and play the piano for this role.

37 notes - Posted January 10, 2022

#4

...that 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' performance was bad. Very very bad. They could have made it so good but nope

42 notes - Posted March 27, 2022

#3

What do you think about Disney’s gargoyles, the tv show? I think it’s much better and mature and has some Batman the animated series vibes.

Hello Anon!

I was in the generation where I watched reruns of Gargoyles with my older siblings in the early/mid 2000's. We loved this show for the fact that it was much different than the animated shows Disney had at the time which were based on their IPs (Hercules, The Little Mermaid, and Goof Troop for example).

As for it was a better show, that depends on what you like to watch. It was diffidently influenced by BTAS (which ran from 1992-1995 but kept going on due to reruns) since that series took its audience seriously and knew it could still give its lessons but in a mature way.

The same could be said about Gargoyles. The creators took their audience seriously while also creating a show that was appropriate for kids and something parents could watch with them. It still had lessons but also characters who were more than comedic relief.

The villain is great, the cast of characters is memorable, and it's a series that may forget was a thing and is part of Disney Animation and storytelling.

Getting off track for a bit, but here is a video from NerdWire where they discuss the show and why it was so good and why people should watch it.

56 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

#2

This. This is a great example why people want to become teachers.

That scene on KLAUS (2019) made me smile because that's what we want to see in our students. The simple joy and wonderment of learning. Even as simple as writing your name.

(Also you need to turn your phone if you want to watch the clip. Sorry desktop users....)

95 notes - Posted November 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I've been sick for a few days so I can finally put my thoughts into words. I was in the middle of watching Infinity Train. Actually, I was on season 1 episode 3 and was going to continue watching the show when I had a chance.

But now I can't. I had to watch the news unfold by watching various TikTok users and reading Twitter threads. Then to realize that it was not only various animated shows that were taken off the HBO Max platform but also 200 episodes of Sesame Street.

And for what? A freaking tax credit? That's not how this works.

You see what Warner Brothers is doing is atrocious. Not only are they alienating an entire medium of entertainment, but they are also telling the animators, voice actors, editors, directors, and others that they don't matter.

Animation matters. The people who put their blood, sweat, and tears, and took time away from their families matter. The fans of these shows matter.

Warner Brothers is not going to save money, they are going to lose it in the worse way possible.

196 notes - Posted August 20, 2022

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[cosettepontmercys]

Hi! Happy Sunday! I'm glad you're feeling better. That's nice to hear. I'm okay and just used this weekend to relax. Haha wow..I don't actually know what Graceland is even about and I just knew that Aaron is in it but I hope it's a good show for you anyway lol. I haven't felt that invested yet honestly but I hope to listen to some cast recordings when they come out. I never did for last year though either. That's interesting about the reception though and I wonder why it's different. I'm surprised Back to the Future or the Notebook didn't get that many nominations but idk much about the shows that did yet. Gatsby was debatable and less likely based on reviews. I would say I'm most interested or rooting for the Outsiders at this point and I guess Merrily We Roll Along for best revival.

It's okay you don't like Sweeney but that was the first true musical I was obsessed with..like with the songs and score and noticing reprises and stuff. Same with the Newsies movie for me..I think the musical is better and have watched it tons of times. I was obsessed when the proshot came out. You made me laugh when you mentioned Mike Faist being in Newsies earlier this week cuz I also watched those videos a ton. I think I followed you when you had a beach read type url but I don't remember when that was.

Oh cool. I would like to read it since I haven't but I have so many books on my list right now first..some to read with my sister, and have not read a single book yet this year. But also Emily Henry's books seem great for summer too and Carley Fortune has a new book so i'm really hoping to get back to it soon, and maybe at some point I'll read Gatsby. I did not know that! I'm only familiar with the movie that had Leo playing him, so that's probably why I thought Isaac was pretty young. Do you like the Gatsby movie as an adaptation? I can't really remember but I think I liked it. I totally recommend the Outsiders book. Have you seen the movie? I thought the movie was a pretty perfect adaptation and I love it so much. I'm not sure how the musical will live up to it yet but it seems promising. Haha I guess your Gatsby is my The Outsiders..I remember reading it for English class and loving it and it also means a lot to me lol. I hope you like it if you do read it!

Idk what Water For Elephants got nominated for..if it was for best musical, but I think it has potential too. It's another one where I am only familiar with the movie that I only watched once a long time ago, but I think the circus stuff could be cool on stage. I'll try to listen to the cast recordings when they come out or possibly watch bootlegs and that could influence my opinions.

We have a lot of the same favorites! Unfortunately I was a little let down by the Manuscript, but it's growing on me. Do you mean more songs being performed on tour? I think it will be fun to see what the new costume or set looks like at least, but I hope she wouldn't cut a lot of songs for it, including Long Live. I do wonder if she will do more mashups again with new or old songs so we will see. It's only a few days away! But it makes it harder to guess surprise songs so maybe I'll wait and see what she does first. I hope you have a good week!

happy sunday!! i'm glad you had a relaxing weekend 🤍

i'm so bad at watching television, but i haven't been reading as much lately which means i get more television time. i'm only on like, the eighth? episode of graceland, it's taking me a while to watch! and yes, aaron tveit is the sole reason i picked it up 🥴 incredibly humbling behavior. i wonder if back to the future would've done better if it opened in the spring vs. at the beginning of the season? i just feel like the state of theatre is kind of bleak right now (most shows need a stunt cast to stay open / to even open in the first place, everything is so expensive, so many limited runs have closed early, etc.) i'm definitely rooting for merrily for best revival! it's funny, i was reminiscing on when my friends and i were so into theatre and the tony awards that we essentially did tony betting in our friend group. i started compiling my tony predictions but have to do more research! we aren't doing tony betting anymore because a lot of the friend group stopped being as invested in theatre (as in not reading all the reviews, checking up on weekly grosses, etc.). what a time.

happy closing to sweeney :( i'm curious to know if there'll be any audios floating around from tonight's show! i love listening to final show audios; they always make me super emotional. i wonder if it'll tour; i'd really like to see it live. i've been definitely back in my newsies phase lately. just the most special show to me, truly. the url was beachsread! so it's been over a year since i changed urls in honor of the adaptation announcement!! i used to have so many newsies related urls haha; i still have newsiesrevival saved and i was newsies-forever for a while back in 2014.

i just read the new carley fortune! i read the arc last week and it was fun, but not my favorite. definitely curious to know your thoughts! i haven't picked up a new book since, but am still listening to the iliad on audiobook and "working on gatsby" (i have not touched it in like a week). i did like the gatsby movie! it wasn't my favorite but it was still good! i think when i finish gatsby i will give the outsiders a go — i've never seen the movie but i know a lot of people love it! have you ever seen pippin? ugh i love the pippin revival, with all the circus stuff.

and yes! more songs on tour! tour starts so soon — i wonder where the TTPD set will be — i'm trying to remember where transitions are and what would logistically make sense; do you have any ideas? i'm thinking maybe after speak now, before red? or maybe after surprise songs, before midnights? or after midnights? i wonder if she'll do mashups and then do ttpd songs in full for surprise songs, or if it's going to be mashup central! can't wait to discuss with you!! 🤍 have a good week my friend! x

#post: answered #🩷 anon

[vinkunwildflowerqueen]

Hi! I was just wondering if you had decided how you feel so far about the Wicked film just based on the first look trailer?

I’m still torn on how I feel. I’ve been nervous about the film since it was announced because I love the musical so much, but I’m also intrigued about it. If I want to watch it, I may wait until it’s on streaming or able to rent on demand, and not see it in cinemas. I’m not sure yet, though. I may wait to decide until more trailers are released.

one thing is for sure I am most looking forward to seeing Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero and Michelle Yeoh as Morrible. Those were the cast announcements I was most excited for.

Hi :)

This could be a bit of a long post, so I'm going to put my thoughts below the cut so people who don't care can just scroll on past.

The TL;DR version is that I didn't hate the trailer but I'm still not completely sold on some of the cast; however I am reserving judgement until I see the movie in November and I'm really hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

"Cautiously optimistic" is how I would describe it.

Well, there's things I like about what we saw in the trailer, and things I'm really intrigued to see the context of and what they do with it. I hesitate to say there's things I don't like- especially from a teaser trailer, because the point of it is to tease, so I can't judge whether or not anything is "bad". But when I've spent 14 years wanting this movie and building my own mental Oz, which doesn't line up with Jon M Chu's, because he does not have access to my imagination; it is hard to be objective and let go of your own vision!

I'm really just trying to go into the cinema in November with an open mind and low expectations. I've been burned before with bad adaptations of things that I love, so trying not to get too excited (if that makes sense?) I'm also planning to try and see the movie with a mix of friends who have seen the musical and those who haven't; to try and get a wide range of perspectives.

I know there are a lot of people out there who love the book and really want the movie to include a lot of elements from it. I, sorry, am not one of those people. I know there's some apparently pretty reliable reports out there that they have included some aspects of the novel into the film; but this isn't really something I'm excited about. But I am curious which elements they've included- world building? Character aspects? Plot bits?

I'm super excited to see Michelle Yeoh as Morrible. She's such an amazing actress, and she was pretty much the only casting announcement where I was immediately on board.

Other than Jeff Goldblum, I really don't know much about anyone else in the cast. I'm not a Bridgerton gal, so the only thing I've seen JB in is Broadchurch. And really, my only hesitation with JB and Cynthia is that they're both older than I would've preferrred (but the time jump between movies, I hear you say. And yes, sure. Maybe they are lengthening the time skip of intermission to a more similar length of the novel; because although it's never been confirmed, the musical has always felt like a shorter time jump).

I didn't love the riff at the end of DG we heard- not because it was bad, I just prefer a... cleaner(?) riff (I don't know if that's the right word for what I mean. I am not a singer in any capacity, so I don't have the jargon nailed down).

I'm not an Ariana fan (of her music. I can't speak to her personally because I don't know her), and she's just not how I envisioned Glinda, but I really want to be pleasantly surprised by her. As far as her acting goes, my only exposure is episodes of Victorious, which I wasn't a fan of.

From what we've seen so far (trailer and leaked set photos from during filming) the things I am most unhappy with really have no effect on the story and they are weird things to be unhappy about, so I'm trying to get over myself.

A colleague said to me during the week "Oh once the movie comes out, you can stop seeing the show and just watch the movie on repeat." and I was like "lol, no."

The movie is going to be it's own thing. And maybe (hopefully?) there'll be world/plot/character elements I love and want to add to my own mental Oz for future fics. Or I could just be like "well, that was a thing" and ignore it completely. We'll see!