And now, back to rewatching Durarara!!, because why not.
Things that are awesome (1): this Baccano! AMV! I had actually thought of making one with that song, way back when, but I decided there weren't enough matching clips. Apparently someone else had the same idea, but they had the smarts to remember the best friend of all AMV-makers who just can't find the right clip for a lyric: lip-syncing. It fixes everything! Everything! Certainly it is the only way I was able to do the Claire vid. Truly, the technique is a friend to us all.
Things that are awesome (2): this Doctor Who vid! It does have spoilers through the whole season, be warned. Pretty much this is the best instrumental vid I have ever seen, not gonna lie. (Possibly this is because a lot of instrumental vids try for drama, whereas I am always more disposed to things that try for wacky musical hijinx. I mean. Wacky musical hijinx, how can you go wrong with that. Okay there are lots of ways you can go wrong with that but my point is, this is not one of them. This is just a thing of joy and delight, and that is something you cannot go wrong with.)
Things that are awesome (3): I got a letter from rionaleonhart! Well, technically I got a letter from Rin Tezuka and Emi I-forget-her-last-name, but it was sent throughrionaleonhart, obviously. Rin and Emi are characters in what is technically a dating sim but does not actually feel like a dating sim; were it not for the options in dialogue, if you told me it was a straight-up visual novel I would believe you 100%. Probably this is because the characters are, you know, interesting and strong within their own right and frequently talk about things that are not related to you. It even manages to pass the Bechdel Test as much as any story from a guy's perspective can--all the girls are friends with at least one of the others, and when they're onscreen together they often talk to each other while you stand awkwardly waiting for them to remember you're there, about school and extracurricular stuff and, well, things that are not boy-related. This is kind of very, very awesome.
What could make it problematic as a dating sim, but mysteriously doesn't, is that all the characters are physically disabled in some way--the game starts with you discovering you have a congenital heart defect and having to go to a school that specializes in students with needs most high schools can't provide. One of the girls is partially blind; another one doesn't have any arms. And if this were fetishized in any way, it would be creepy as hell and I wouldn't be talking about it right now, but instead the characters are, well, actual characters, and their disabilities are for the most part only tangential. The girl who doesn't have arms is not just the girl who doesn't have arms; she's the blunt, scatterbrained artist who just happens to paint with her feet. While their physical setbacks are obviously present, they're in no way the be-all and end-all of the characters. And while apparently the final chapters will have sex scenes (only the first chapter is available thus far), you'll get the option to skip them, which rather says something about the developers' intention for the story--in that it actually is a story, not a porn game. And the story is a surprisingly sweet and interesting one, at that. Download it here if you're interested; it's free, and no translation patches are required, since the game is actually created by English-speakers.
(I've only made it to three of the endings so far--the aforementioned Rin, the aforementioned Emi, and the surprise ending where you fall off a roof and die if you haven't made a sufficient connection to any of the girls. Being antisocial gets you punished, yo. Also, one of the girls is covered with burn scars all down her right side and including her face, which has left her shy and low on self-esteem because well teenage girl covered in burn scars, and every time I see her I can't help but think, OH HONEY, THERE IS SOMEONE YOU SHOULD MEET. A seventy-year time difference and a language barrier mean nothing when it comes to sisterhood.)
--anyway, rionaleonhart, the letter was lovely and you can tell Rin I have no idea why my family is named that, probably it is German or something, we don't even know. All I know is that I am definitely keeping it, especially if I ever have kids, because the idea of being a mama with the last name Bear is kind of ridiculously awesome. No one will dare touch my children.
Things that are awesome (2): this Doctor Who vid! It does have spoilers through the whole season, be warned. Pretty much this is the best instrumental vid I have ever seen, not gonna lie. (Possibly this is because a lot of instrumental vids try for drama, whereas I am always more disposed to things that try for wacky musical hijinx. I mean. Wacky musical hijinx, how can you go wrong with that. Okay there are lots of ways you can go wrong with that but my point is, this is not one of them. This is just a thing of joy and delight, and that is something you cannot go wrong with.)
Things that are awesome (3): I got a letter from rionaleonhart! Well, technically I got a letter from Rin Tezuka and Emi I-forget-her-last-name, but it was sent throughrionaleonhart, obviously. Rin and Emi are characters in what is technically a dating sim but does not actually feel like a dating sim; were it not for the options in dialogue, if you told me it was a straight-up visual novel I would believe you 100%. Probably this is because the characters are, you know, interesting and strong within their own right and frequently talk about things that are not related to you. It even manages to pass the Bechdel Test as much as any story from a guy's perspective can--all the girls are friends with at least one of the others, and when they're onscreen together they often talk to each other while you stand awkwardly waiting for them to remember you're there, about school and extracurricular stuff and, well, things that are not boy-related. This is kind of very, very awesome.
What could make it problematic as a dating sim, but mysteriously doesn't, is that all the characters are physically disabled in some way--the game starts with you discovering you have a congenital heart defect and having to go to a school that specializes in students with needs most high schools can't provide. One of the girls is partially blind; another one doesn't have any arms. And if this were fetishized in any way, it would be creepy as hell and I wouldn't be talking about it right now, but instead the characters are, well, actual characters, and their disabilities are for the most part only tangential. The girl who doesn't have arms is not just the girl who doesn't have arms; she's the blunt, scatterbrained artist who just happens to paint with her feet. While their physical setbacks are obviously present, they're in no way the be-all and end-all of the characters. And while apparently the final chapters will have sex scenes (only the first chapter is available thus far), you'll get the option to skip them, which rather says something about the developers' intention for the story--in that it actually is a story, not a porn game. And the story is a surprisingly sweet and interesting one, at that. Download it here if you're interested; it's free, and no translation patches are required, since the game is actually created by English-speakers.
(I've only made it to three of the endings so far--the aforementioned Rin, the aforementioned Emi, and the surprise ending where you fall off a roof and die if you haven't made a sufficient connection to any of the girls. Being antisocial gets you punished, yo. Also, one of the girls is covered with burn scars all down her right side and including her face, which has left her shy and low on self-esteem because well teenage girl covered in burn scars, and every time I see her I can't help but think, OH HONEY, THERE IS SOMEONE YOU SHOULD MEET. A seventy-year time difference and a language barrier mean nothing when it comes to sisterhood.)
--anyway, rionaleonhart, the letter was lovely and you can tell Rin I have no idea why my family is named that, probably it is German or something, we don't even know. All I know is that I am definitely keeping it, especially if I ever have kids, because the idea of being a mama with the last name Bear is kind of ridiculously awesome. No one will dare touch my children.