Like I said back on Day 1, I was actually introduced to Bubblegum Crisis via its remake, Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, and I have to say, it’s difficult to compare the two. The original has similar styling to Miami Vice: colorful and candy-coated exterior with a pessimistic center, almost like a game of whack-a-mole. No matter how hard you fight the Big Bad, it’s always bigger than you and cannot be defeated. But listen to the kickass music! By contrast, 2040 has the 2006 Miami Vice movie feel to it: its pessimism is worn … well, everywhere. And Priss has a fucking mullet for some reason.
Continue reading 28 day bubblegum crisis challenge, day 13: in which I compare the original to the reboot …Tag Archives: day 13
cowboy bebop 30 day challenge, day 13: in which I have a favorite bounty hunt …
Asimov Solensan is the first bounty we see in Cowboy Bebop in the very first episode, “Asteroid Blues,” and yes, it’s my favorite. Because I’m me, I didn’t watch the series in order (the first DVD was unavailable at the Sam Goody/Suncoast where I worked, so I purchased the second), which means I didn’t see the first couple of episodes until they came out on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. But y’all, I love this bounty so much.
Continue reading cowboy bebop 30 day challenge, day 13: in which I have a favorite bounty hunt …31 day star wars challenge, day 13: in which I have favorite music from the originals …
This set of soundtracks are such a huge part of my life and will continue to be probably until I die. I’m really hoping not to hear anything negative about John Williams – I’m speaking more in terms of like he’s a sexual predator or puppy killer – because if I can’t morally listen to his work on Star Wars, I will be incredibly sad.
1 – “PRINCESS LEIA’S THEME”
Leia’s theme naturally has to be the first track I put on here. Enough said.
2 – “THE BATTLE OF HOTH”
Just listen to this and tell me that you don’t feel the urgency behind the evacuation.
3 – “THE BATTLE OF ENDOR II”
I am pretty sure that I’ve already posted this on one of my “on rotation …” posts, but it really is one of my favorite tracks. That lightsaber duel theme (starting around 4:50-ish) is just *chef’s kiss* and no one can tell me otherwise.
4 – “THE THRONE ROOM/END TITLE”
This is what the parade music from The Phantom Menace wants to be when it grows up.
5 – “THE IMPERIAL PROBE DROID / ABOARD THE EXECUTOR”
I’m not normally a fan of dissonance, but I absolutely love how it’s used on this one.
Art Credit: 99 Designs
28 day xena: warrior princess challenge, day 13: in which I have a least favorite season …
I really, really hate mystical pregnancies. It’s a trope that is used often, and more likely than not, it’s terrible, no good, and exists solely to show that a woman is little more than a magic oven from which a savior – or purely evil hellspawn – will be born. And Xena does this twice, something I just can’t get over, considering how feminist the show was in other respects. I am a little more forgiving for one of them, but the other? Well, I have mixed feelings. Xena’s spiritually-induced pregnancy in Season Five was the worse of the two, by far. At least with Gabrielle’s pregnancy, it was an evil god, Dahak, who performed the mystical rape, as evil gods are wont to do. But since I’m going to get into this very topic later on this month, I’ll just have to explain the many other ways in which Season Five is my least favorite season.
Lucy Lawless having a kid and going on maternity leave is great for her, and I support her fully, but dear god, the writers could not make anything work. Almost the entire season is a mess of bad writing, even worse acting, and just pure ridiculousness, although it does show some promise (I’ll be discussing this on Day 21) by the last four or five episodes. However, that does not even closely redeem the others. It still makes me shudder a bit – it’s not even the fun kind of bad.
Alright, so I studied all freaking day and took a microbiology test (in case anyone is wondering why I randomly post bacteria-related content on my Twitter feed) and I’m now incredibly tired and pretty much ready to pass out. I will be definitely catching up this week; I’m only technically behind by one day now, and I’m actually proud of my progress with this challenge! So. Sleep time!
See y’all … tomorrow?
Art Credit: Varese Sarabande
30 day mass effect challenge, day 13: in which I have a favorite side mission …
I love sandbox games: the more optional content, the better. Well, the more optional content that gives me a greater feel of the game’s universe, the better. While Mass Effect may not be a sandbox game like, say, Fallout: New Vegas, it does have a pretty extensive set of side missions that, while not necessarily required to complete the game, they shine lights on characters’ histories, worlds’ mysteries, and they give you experience points. Now, instead of choosing just one side mission, I’m going to list my favorite from each game, which I think is a bit more doable than narrowing it down to a single one.
Mass Effect
Poor, poor Talitha.
If Bioware was trying to desensitize people to the annihilation of the batarians at the beginning of Mass Effect 3, this was the most effective way to get that ball rolling. After living the life of a batarian slave from a very young age, Talitha manages to escape but does not know how to exist in a world where she isn’t considered an animal, a thing. True, there’s no shooting or running from a volcanic explosion, but hearing Talitha tell her tale with the mental state of a victim is just as engrossing. Despite the short time I spent with her, I was delighted to get that email from her in ME2.
Shepard,
I don’t know if you remember me. I had a gun and you stopped me from hurting myself. My doctors say I am doing better. One of them works with the people you work for. He told me he could get a message to you.
I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t talked to me that day, but the doctors are helping me. I am getting better. They put me in a special school, and they say I am doing good. The doctors say that other people are getting taken like I was. I hope you can help them like you helped me.
Thank you,
Talitha
It actually reminds me of when I worked at the Department of Human Services. A nineteen-year-old girl came into an interview with me, very nervous, and when she refused to explain how she was paying her rent, she nearly broke down into tears. She then just started babbling, saying that yes, she did turn tricks, but she never put her babies in any danger. I took a deep breath and told her, “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to set you up with a three-month certification period for your food stamps and Medicaid and get you an appointment with our Families First department, so they can help you get a job. But until you do get a job, I need you to keep receipts. Or a ledger. It doesn’t really matter what you write on it, either, just as long as I get an idea of how much money you make, okay?” She was so surprised that I didn’t threaten to turn her into the police, and eventually, she did stop prostituting. But that wasn’t the best part. About a year and a half later – she had been working at a Wendy’s, if I recall, but still needed help covering food costs, childcare, and medical insurance – I got a phone call from her, and she proudly announced that I could shut off her food stamps.
“Well, I most definitely can do that! What happened?”
“I got me a real job! I’m now a legit massage therapist!”
She then went on to explain that, because I had treated her like a human being, she felt confident in herself and had gotten a scholarship to attend a tech school. It just filled my heart with joy knowing that I had any affect on that young woman’s life so that she could, ever so gradually, realize her worth as a person. Probably one of my favorite moments from my life.
Mass Effect 2
Say what you will about Conrad Verner, but I absolutely adore him. He’s just so gloriously naive and foolhardy, and he seems so blissfully unaware of everything that it’s amazing he can figure out how to put his armor on. Or walk in a straight line, for that matter. I love that we find out in ME3 that he has a doctorate in xenoscience. It’s just like, “Of course he does.”
I look forward to this side mission on Ilium every time I play the game, and I’m not exaggerating. Seeing him pretending to be Shepard (even if it’s not accurate to how my Shep treated him in the first game) in the bar is just so damn delightful, and honestly, I never had the heart to be mean to him, so I always leave him to remain ignorant of the fact that he’s a dumbass. I think I need to go watch videos of how a renegade can handle him, though – even if I’ll never be able to do it.
Mass Effect 3
I’m nothing if not consistent when it comes to the krogan, I guess. Not only do I resolve Char and Ereba’s relationship from ME2, I get to see Grunt again! This mission is also why I chose to kill the rachni queen in the first game; I didn’t want Grunt mad at me because his whole team is lost. Unlike the other two side missions on today’s challenge, this one focuses more on action than story, and I’m actually okay with that. I mean, this is Grunt, after all. Plus, without this mission, we’d never get to see this:
“Anybody … got something to eat?”
I love you, Grunt.
Art Credit: eTeknix
29 day challenge: friends, day 13: in which I have a favorite season four episode …
I am a naturally competitive person. It will occasionally (e.g. always) get out of hand after a certain amount of time, and I’m thankful for those who are able to overlook this one area without wanting to separate from me completely. Although they don’t let me play games with them. Now, Monica has me out-competitived in ways that I probably can’t even conceive, and I know myself well enough to know that I will not gamble, not even by buying a singular lottery ticket. I still find the character trait endearing, especially since it’s the reason we get my favorite Season Four episode, “The One with the Embryos.”
Continue reading 29 day challenge: friends, day 13: in which I have a favorite season four episode …30 Day Parks and Recreation Challenge, Day 13: Favorite Season Seven Episode
It’s always sad to see a show you love go off the air, even in an age of streaming, and when I found out that Parks and Rec would be ending after seven seasons, I went through mad withdrawal, even before it ended. I frantically watched all of my favorite episodes and both eagerly and cautiously waited as the countdown began. I love how they skipped ahead three years; it really did revitalize the show after Chris and Ann departed, leaving a lot of unanswered questions to be resolved over the course of the season. the big question at the beginning, of course, was why Ron and Leslie at each other’s throats. A few hints were dropped along the way, mainly from Leslie’s perspective, but it wasn’t until the fourth episode that all was finally revealed. And that, my friends, brings us to my favorite episode of Season Seven: “Ron and Leslie.”

Recap it! The crew has had it up to here with Ron and Leslie attacking each other (in an earlier episode, Leslie pushed Ron into a giant cake meant to celebrate Ben), so they locked them in the Parks and Recreation office overnight, so the two could discuss their issues and hopefully move past whatever was going on. Ron is reticent as expected, and after accidentally breaking the baby monitor that could have ended their torment, Leslie tries to annoy Ron into talking by doing some of the following:
- Covering Ron’s entire body in Post-Its
- Dripping water down Ron’s mustache
- Singing along to Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” without knowing any of the words
It was this last action that elicited a response, and even though it was short-lived, it was the beginning of a very important reveal: Ron had arranged a lunch with Leslie to discuss getting a job with the federal government because he missed his friends after everyone started to go their own ways, and she had completely forgotten about him, due to how busy she was. Afterward, he left the government and started the Very Good Construction Company, which was contracted to build around Lot 48 (Pawnee Commons) and tore Ann’s house down. Once the two finally talk, the walls come down, and while they return the Parks and Rec office to what we have seen over the past six seasons, their friendship is slowly repaired.
While this episode is hilarious, the core of why I love it is Ron and Leslie reconnecting. It’s a sweet story, so true to the – I hate to use the word again, but it’s so appropriate – sweet tone of the entire series. You just knew the animosity between the two wouldn’t last, but knowing why Ron did what he did in the first place makes you realize that there are always two sides to every story*. His decision to demolish Ann’s house wasn’t out of anger with Leslie, and had she stayed for more than two seconds after ripping Ron a new one, Leslie might have discovered more about Ron’s choice to go private sector. But like most drama, it erupts over all parties involved not actually talking and just letting resentment grow. “Ron and Leslie” showcases both Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman so well, and seeing them play off of each other is just magic. It’s not Rashida and Amy magic – I mean, how could it be? – but it’s perfect for these two characters. I’m glad the writers learned from the Ben and Leslie problem and only had this feud go on for three full episodes before fully delving into it because the show works so much better when the characters work with each other – even if a fight has to happen every now and then to get things moving.
I don’t know if it is necessarily as accessible as some of my other favorite episodes, because you do kind of have to know a lot about their history to fully appreciate where the characters are at the beginning and the end of the episode. Still, I’m fairly certain you can pick up on all the necessary stuff to understand who Leslie and Ron are as people. Poehler and Offerman have such great grasps on what makes their respective characters tick, and you can see how well they work together.
Art Credit: Reppiced, Sports Alcohol
31 Day Challenge: Battlestar Galactica, Day 13: Favorite Season Two Episode
The friendship between Caprica-Eight/Athena and Admiral Adama is one of my more favorite ones on BSG. It starts out rocky, since Adama has yet to get over being shot by Boomer (fair), but ultimately, she becomes his mentor and confidante. He tells her things he could not possibly reveal to anyone else, even Roslin, and she, despite his complicity in covering up Hera’s survival later on, feels comfortable providing insight into his – and her own – humanity.
Continue reading 31 Day Challenge: Battlestar Galactica, Day 13: Favorite Season Two Episode28 Day Challenge: The Adventure Zone, Day 13: Favorite “The Stolen Century” Moment
Prequels are a bitch to do. It’s tricky balancing out pre-established canon and adding suspense to a story where you know the characters survive. But then Griffin upped the ante and changed from D&D rules, using a whole new game that was based off Powered by the Apocalypse, which honestly? I loved. It had its rough points (I wasn’t too big a fan of the “trip to the beach” episode), but it expanded on the in-game universe and weirdly even made me love Davenport*? The McElroys already kind of played it loose with traditional D&D, so going even further outside of those restrictions helped them tell the story of IPRE even more effectively. But before I go onto a rant about how much I adore PbtA games (and why!), let’s get to my favorite moment.
Continue reading 28 Day Challenge: The Adventure Zone, Day 13: Favorite “The Stolen Century” Moment
30 Day Challenge: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Day 13: Favorite Season Three Episode
How do I love Season Three? Oh, let me count the ways.
- The Mayor
- Faith
- Armin Shimerman’s Principal Snyder
- Angel finally leaving because he’s toxic to Buffy
- Buffy realizing that everyone kind of knew something was special about her but acted like dicks anyway because they were high schoolers on the Hellmouth and then completely (well, kinda) redeemed themselves by naming her their Class Protector
- “Dopplegangland”
There are so many other reasons, but I figure I’ll just stop there because that’s the answer to today’s challenge.
Continue reading 30 Day Challenge: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Day 13: Favorite Season Three Episode