Overplaying Your Hand

I think it was a bit of a missed opportunity not to have Matt Mercer voice Ambrosius, the spirit of creation. Loved Marrow and Winter in episode 12 - they're sassy. Penny's human now, but she's missing her boots and gloves. I expected Ironwood to go back to normal in episode 13 once his semblance was broken and he shouldn’t have been hyper-focused on his goal, but he’s still cuckoo for coco-puffs, blasting Jacques and trying to do the same to Winter. Vine was the next one to nope out of the plan, nearly getting killed for it as well. Harriet is dead set on killing Qrow and blowing up Mantle because “it’s what Clover would’ve done." If that’s true, then Clover was an even shittier person than I thought. Cinder apologizes to Neo and says Watts is getting what he deserves when he stays behind to sabotage comms and presumably kill more people. I don’t know, Cinder being nice just feels wrong. Next time, I guess we’ll see what happens when you fall off a platform and disintegrate. Really wish someone would’ve asked Ambrosius why they shouldn’t fall, because people did and are still going to. It was already enough of a problem landing in Vacuo and instantly hitting a sandstorm and attracting Grimm there, we didn’t need a bottomless pit too. We could’ve ended the volume with the Grimm showing up in Vacuo and having the showdown with Cinder there, and then started the next volume with Team SSSN and Team CFVY showing up to save the day and have part of the volume be about them (without repeating everything from the books, of course). 

The Fruits Basket dub season 3 episode 1 dropped early, followed by a 10-minute Q&A with a few of the voice actors. Akito really went for it when she choke-slammed her mother, Ren. I didn't think they got that much air in the manga. I never thought about who might voice Akira (there will be another flashback with him, I'm sure), but it was Chad Cline, the original male voice of Akito. And Katelyn Barr (who voiced young Ritsu) voices Ren. Now that she’s had more lines, she doesn't sound as close to Akito’s voice as I’d first thought. Hanajima to the rescue - da da da da! Megumi has some good insights, even though he still feels the need to fake-perv on his sister's friends.
 

The DuckTales finale was kinda weird, but it made sense that they were building up to that. The end credits reminded me of the Kingdom Hearts end credits with all the characters doing things off to the side (in this case, free-falling from a plane). Speaking of Kingdom Hearts, that new version of the Final World cutscene from Melody of Memory. What purpose does this serve? I'm happy for them, of course, but they got them in the booth just for that? Well, they're all recording from home still, I'd imagine, but for one line each? They didn't even have to animate it because it was just static. Could they not see what was happening and that's why the debriefing became necessary? I would think the debriefing would have happened regardless. It's not like we see them waking her up. I also thought that Ven would've been normal, but it looks like he's been pure light all along. Can't wait to see how things wrap up next month, if they do at all in a satisfying way.

Appearances

Just a thought, but if you put a blue anime wig on Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he could play Zexion. I was also thinking more of the staircase scene in KH2 Final Mix. It could’ve been done with Zexion sitting and reading in the common area when the other two came in and bothered him, but instead it showed them using the stairs instead of corridors of darkness to get around. It shows they value cardio, or maybe someone just wanted a more dynamic scene. In fact, since Axel and Larxene are having a conversation at the bottom of the stairs in the book, it would make even more sense for this to take place in the common area since other scenes of the sort take place there. Then have Zexion say he should go someplace quieter to read.

After hearing a scathing review of the Pride and Prejudice musical, which was an Amazon production apparently, I found the soundtrack posted to Youtube. The review wasn't wrong, but if you can get past the first twenty or so minutes, it's not that bad. The beginning is rough, but I enjoyed the parts with the Gardiners and Lady Catherine. Lady Catherine's song sounded like it could've been sung by Eartha Kitt. I would've loved to see that. She is like Yzma, scary beyond all reason. Then I found the Bob Jones University production on Youtube, which is also rough in spots, but also interesting. If the whole play had been Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's opening scene with the rest of the story playing out around them, I would've still enjoyed it. The actors playing them nailed their personalities (Mrs. Bennet’s nerves and Mr. Bennet’s chill attitude), and I could've watched them all day. Mr. Collins was another highlight; the actor really brought him to life in a way that I hadn't gotten out of the book. The actor playing Darcy could've just as easily been portraying Snape. The runtime is just shy of two hours, so they condensed things a lot more than I would've liked. Having Collins there in the beginning worked, but having Bingley announce that he's leaving at the first ball is moving a bit too fast. Bitch, you just got here. The set was simple and unchanging, but I enjoy the fact that it was two giant books and a sealed letter. The addition of swings in one scene surprised me. Overall it felt like a high school play with a little more production value, as some of the actors weren’t up to snuff, mistakes aside.
 

Sad that DuckTales is wrapping up next week. I just saw the one with Kit and the Sky Pirates. All Sam got to do was scream as the pirates got turned into chimeras. Now he IS Bigby’s Hand.

Mental Health Break

I wanted to start off by saying that I was kidding about the karmic victory. Obviously, that went out the window once the infrastructure started failing. Cold weather was the karma, not everything else. I fully expected to send plows and salt trucks (if their dumbass government officials would allow it), but everything else that happened with the electricity was astounding. I’m glad Beto and AOC stepped up where Cruz and Abbott failed.
 

Depending on what Xigbar does as Luxu, I’m starting to think it’s less like Ozpin possessing Oscar and more like Molly having been a part of Lucien. The Mighty Nein want their friend back, but he may not exist anymore. Braig may not exist anymore, and no one who knew him as such may choose to speak of him again. No magic or whatever involved, it’s all up to him. Additionally, the more I learn about WandaVision, the more I realize that Wanda is the Marvel equivalent to Raven. The Teen Titans episode “Fear Itself" is sort of like that (except as a horror movie instead of a sitcom), and Injustice would have pushed Raven all the way there instead of just turning to her father. Both of them struggle with loss and mental health issues, but what hero doesn't these days?
 

Speaking of loss, Hazel. It hurt when Emerald said his name. She is now the Gohan, as Oscar wants to keep her around, which Jaune and Yang aren't okay with (although, aside from fighting for Cinder and losing her mind when she thought she died, all she did was cause Phyrra to kill Penny and had nothing to do with Adam's actions and hated seeing the fall of Beacon). Ironwood is a monster. I would've liked to see Glinda take him down, but we’ll see what Qrow and Robin end up doing. I appreciate the Archer references - Elm yelling “WHAT?" after the explosion and Cinder just sitting and pouting after Watts took her down verbally. I can't believe that worked. Watts misunderstands Salem's intent, though - Cinder was racing the Hound to Penny, and she thought she would need to break him out to get control of her. Salem had left him to his fate. The Hound is the reason Penny hasn't reached the Vault yet, as her still unconscious body is shown lying next to Nora's bed. As for how Cinder's supposed to get the maiden powers once Penny's dead, she may not have absorbed any of it for the rest to come to her or she wouldn't be in Penny's final thoughts. If Penny had died thinking of Ruby, then Cinder would have to fight Ruby and keep her promise to Neo. We'll have to see what, if anything, gets sorted out in the next four episodes.

More of the Same

I was disappointed with the chocolate churro Pop-Tarts. Out of the four packets in the box, two of them were so hard I couldn’t even bite into them. The flavor was okay on the two that I could, but I wouldn’t recommend toasting them. On the plus side, I recently discovered the 12 pack variety boxes of strawberry, cherry, and blueberry. Now I don’t have to choose! Golden Grahams is sort of Nostalgic, but it’s definitely better now. I didn’t notice much of a difference overall, though.
 

It seems more people caught on that Gatomon could’ve been the DarkMaildramon that SkullKnightmon was riding on, so they changed it so that Gatomon had been turned into SkullKnightmon by Millenniumon’s dark power, not just trapped within him. That makes even less sense, and I hate that they would rather do something nonsensical instead of admitting we were right. MarineAngemon somehow between episodes gave them the power to fight and talk and breathe underwater as if they weren’t underwater. I didn’t quite like that, and it was weird that MarinDevimon just sat there and waited while Hikari had to calm Gatomon down from her freakout about SkullKnightmon and Digivolution. Everyone’s saying that Angewomon’s Digivolution was a Sailor Moon reference, and they’re not wrong. Otherwise, the Hacker’s Memory game is going well. Nancy Weeler and Brandeen have reached Dianamon and Lotosmon, and there’s still time left in the game for them to go back down to Ultimate and explore their other options (Sakuyamon and Kuzuhamon for Nancy and the Sistermon line for Brandeen).
 

RWBY hiatus is over. I liked the scene between Ruby and Blake where Blake tells Ruby she used to be like her but then thought she couldn't survive that way, so now she looks up to her. I explained that badly but it's a nice scene between my two favorite characters. It was kinda baller how Cinder helps Watts up but then puts him across her shoulders. Too bad they didn't say much. While that was happening, Kat and Flynt are in the army fighting Grimm, which Marrow doesn't like. He doesn't want to sacrifice any kids to this thing, but Winter says sadly that she would even sacrifice Weiss (and her friends) if she had to because of duty. That episode ends with an homage to DragonBall Z with Oscar as Piccolo, Salem as Radditz, and Hazel as Goku.
 

Wish I could trade weather with Texas right now, but I also see this as a karmic victory for one Jeremy Dooley. Negative 20 wind chill isn't funny, Jack.

I Have Notes

Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake might be my new favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor. Oreo Brookie-o's are thick, being one layer of regular cream, one layer of chocolate cream, and one layer of that chocolate chip cookie cream they did a while back. I also bought java chip and hazelnut Oreos, so those should be good too. What’s not good is Oatmeal Cream Pie cereal, although it did taste better the soggier it got. I want to get the Dunkaroos cereal, and maybe the retro Golden Grahams, though I don’t think there will be much of a flavor difference. Entenmann’s cherry cheese danish is the most delicious. Cinnamon Mini Wheats are good too.

Playing Hacker's Memory as a group. I have a Lunamon named Nancy Weeler (because the h wouldn't fit) in honor of Jack Pattillo (Dead by Daylight). I also currently have a Renamon named Brandeen (7 Days to Die), but I’m probably going to turn her into BlackGatomon and go from there (whereas Nancy will ultimately become Dianamon). Speaking of Jack, I looked up Ted Lewis's credits, and it looks like he was in Red Dead 2 also. Cool.
 

Gatomon has arrived in the new anime. She can talk to dogs (the Komondomon), and her plan was to use the sea current to travel, two things very unlike a cat. However, she also wants Kari to stay back out of the action, very much like a cat bringing you a dead bird because it thinks you’re too stupid to hunt and feed yourself. But in a nice way since Kari hadn’t gotten her Digivice yet, but now she has it. Next time is Angewomon, supposedly. After Patamon has consistently been Pegasmon, I was thinking Nefertimon would make an appearance soon too.
 

I have questions regarding the Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss universe. Supposedly, there are some people who are being punished for their sins (it has been theorized that Alostor pulled Niffty out of a lake of fire), but it also looks like others are living their best lives in Hell. It's also unclear if Verosika was originally a pop star who went to Hell and became a succubus or if she was a succubus born in Hell who goes up to the living world in the guise of a pop star. People seemed to know who she was in both places. I wonder what the imps would look like in human disguises if they had them.

My Top 10 Videos (That I Made)

The three videos that I posted since YouTube halfway stopped working on my computer have either one or no views, so I’m guessing it didn’t make it into most people’s inboxes. That being said, I decided to make a top ten list of the videos I’ve posted. Honorable mention will go to the Kingdom Hearts comic dubs I collaborated on with two of my friends and my brother. They were fun but a lot of work.

1. Yu-Gi-Oh! Role - I may be biased, but I put this as my channel video (for newcomers at least) for a reason. It’s a crime that season zero keeps getting taken from YouTube and has never been licensed to be dubbed in English. I had such a good time watching the Monster World arc while I could. At least I have the manga to reread.
 

2. Organization Trolls - This is the funniest holiday video I’ve made. It’s a good thing there were multiple versions to choose from so I could include other parts as outtakes at the end. I think I matched the Organization members to the troll characters pretty accurately.
 

3. Saix vs Axel and His Other Friends - This was a messy video to do, but I’m glad I did it. Saix’s rendition of Spinel’s “Other Friends” song from the Steven Universe movie fits the situation (and to some extent, “Drift Away”). Isa is jealous of Lea’s new friends and thinks he abandoned him.
 

4. Face Your Fears in Hell - If not for the Helluva Boss season one trailer being posted, I would not have been able to finish this video and post it the same day. The characters of both Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel have things they must overcome, one of them being fear. There are characters to be feared as well, such as Alostor and Robo Fizz. I’m glad I got to use the orchestral version for this.
 

5. Kingdom Hearts 3: Everything Stays and Kingdom Hearts 3: Home - These were both touching songs to use to serve as a backdrop to the different groups reuniting in KH3. Everything stays right where you left it, and when I’m with you I’m at home.
 

6. Tea & Trepak - This was a nice little video to make for the holidays. The classical ballet music meshed well with RWBY Chibi especially. I love that the thumbnail turned out to be chibi Roman and Neo.

7. Audio Swap: Michael Jones (and Miles Luna) - These two were fun to do, but the third one got  complicated (it’s staying up despite he who shall remain nameless). The openings are the best parts: “Shove it up your ass” and the beginning of the Camp Camp theme.
 

8. Yu-Gi-Oh! D&D - All three of them, but especially the first one. What do you think the series would’ve been like if it was about D&D instead of (or in addition to) the Duel Monsters card game?
 

9. Digimon Sekaijuu - This is the only Digimon video that didn't get taken down for copyright, and so it holds a special place in my heart here at number 9.
 

10. Ienzo x Raven: Love Like You - This is at number 10 because it’s a weird, impossible ship that I made up, but people seem to like it. I do too. With or without the lyrics, it’s a good one.
 

Here is my one step beyond. It’s a list of the top ten videos I had to take down. Honorable Mention goes to all the musical stingers that had to be cut for the main videos to survive.
 

1. Victory - This is one of my favorite musical pieces of all time. It was also the first video with a stinger. At least that part survived and went on to spearhead other audio projects.
 

2. Kingdom Hearts 3: Found a Way - If I couldn’t use the song at the end of the Power Rangers Wild Force/Time Force crossover, I wanted to use this one, especially because Drake Bell voices young Eraqus.
 

3. Christopher Lee Christmas (both) - I’m sad that I didn’t find out about Christopher Lee’s musical career until after he died.
 

4. Kanji x Naoto: Just the Way You Are - This song fits them perfectly, but at least I got to pick a different one that also suits them.
 

5. Red Like the Holidays - The extra Mini Moose squeak during the silent part makes this video.
 

6. Trent Kort: Party in the CIA - He got done dirty. This tribute was pretty great, and the cut stinger to another video continued it using part of Tangled's “I've Got a Dream."
 

7. Your Score-oscope for Today - The best part is where it gets to the “kill them” line with Jade’s eyes going dark (or the glare over his glasses).
 

8.To Be a Nobody - It had to be done. Trying to swap in the Jackie Chan version may have been too ambitious, though.
 

9. Sleigh Ride & Miser Brothers - An awkward two-part holiday video featuring Gatomon, Frigimon, and Meramon.
 

10. Go Go Digi Rangers - The first Digimon video I did, so it also holds a special place in my heart.

What Did You Think Was Gonna Happen?!

 Remember when I said that if Lea and Isa tried to sneak into a government building here, they’d get shot? While not sneaking, and only one person was shot dead, I guess I’ve been proven wrong. Also, I think I remember someone making a joke that Sora, Riku, and Kairi should play Raft together. I believe that Vexen, Luxord, Xigbar, and Demyx should play Sea of Thieves. Vexen's the captain, Luxord's the helmsman, Xigbar's the powder monkey, and Demyx is the musician.

I never knew that live duels were a thing, but apparently they've been taking place throughout the 2010s, and there was a series one reunion panel at the virtual New York Comic Con last year. I like Marc Thompson's Astral voice, wish they could've used that for Bakura's father instead of the personality they gave him in that wretched movie plot. The way Astral and Ryou say “Oh dear" is the same, and it's cute. The moment that surprised me the most was when Jack beat Pegasus in one turned, snapped his fingers, and summoned a throne. On top of that, Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged is back for the Grand Prix filler arc. It feels like I'm back in high school, and not in a bad way.
 

The only episode of The Torkelsons I remember seeing is the one with Elmo, which is called “Educating Millicent.” The only episode of Almost Home, the sequel series, I remember seeing is “To Date or Not To Date," in which the two teenage daughters sneak out of the house, and Millicent demonstrates this with a loaf of bread. It's owned by Disney, which I didn't know. My mom used to watch it when it was on. It was the early 90s, so it makes sense she would've had me watch the Elmo episode with her or recorded it for me. The premise is that the dad walked out on the family, but it felt more like he'd died the way they were talking about him while looking in the yearbook.