First off, thank you to everyone who participated in the tournament. Votes, submissions, and notes alike. Without you this whole blog wouldn't happen.
Our winner is Quasimodo from the 1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame film. Having been orphaned as a baby when his mother tried to flee Judge Frollo's hatred with him only to end up dead. And that was only the start. Yet he never truly let it get him down.
Nani Pelekai and Lilo Pelekai both had a single loss on their record. (Lilo's to Nani and Nani's to Quasi) The sisters were both orphaned after a rainy car crash but the after math for the young adult and the young child were quite different. Luckily they found their way back to Ohana.
And the last of our top group was Koda. A fit of rage taking his mother from him was the start but the worst part might have been finding out who was responsible. However he is blessed with a final moment with his mother allowing healing to begin.
Along the way to this finality there were many exciting moments! We started with two rounds of 16 polls (never let us do that again), the winners of the first facing off against the popular submission in the second.
It did surprise us how many of our selected orphans made it through both rounds, and who they bumped out! Elsa and Anna each failed to more on and Mama Coco took out Eugene!
But the biggest surprise for use was how devoted the Gravity Falls fans were in this tournament. They managed to defeat some other popular franchises, like King from The Owl House, only falling to the one who took the title: Quasimodo. In fact, the most popular poll was the Shape Shifter v Quasimodo (677 votes!)
Thinking of all the orphans, they were from a fantastically wide variety of stories.
The famous animated features did dominate, from the original Snow White and other classic eras to more forgotten films like the Rescuers, revival ear and modern icons.
There were also actual human children, from the always positive Pollyanna to Pete (without his dragon).
Some of you dabbled in the acquired and borrowed ips: Star Wars and the MCU had a few and there was an Annie and another Cinderella too.
Disney also put orphans on the small screen, with five of them making the cut.
And we had single reps from the Broadway Stage and international publishing/franchises. We love it all!
In all 48 polls we didn't get any ties, but there were a few decisions! The closest was the single point victory of Lewis Robinson over Princess Elena! Number two was animated Cinderella's victory over Oliver, the cardboard box kitten. There were also some pretty clear preferences, both Pelekai sisters won early rounds with over 85% of the love.
It's been a blast this month! We hope you'll return for the next game!
And as a reminder that all of these orphans (except apparently the Gravity Falls ones?) were able to get through their struggles and find happiness with the support of those around them. So always know that things do get better and try to be that better for those around you.
(alternative outlook: Play Pollyanna's game and soon everyone will play it for you.)
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Speaking only for myself, Sugar Hill is an Opera about Grief, Vengeance and Transformation. But it is also a Conversation about Sound—about what Power might sound like, what Grief might sound like, what the Dead might sound like when they rise.
To the best of my ability, the musical language of Southern Gothic and Dark Americana should not be an aesthetic overlay; I hope that it is the very substance of the work. The Swamp that haunts my dreams is not a setting; it is a Presence. The Guitar and Banjo are not instruments; they are Moral forces.
When the Audience hears the National Resonator's brassy honk, they should feel the City. When they hear the Vega's shimmering sustain, they should feel the weight of Centuries. When the two merge in Act Two, they should hear something new—something that has never been heard before, because it has never been made before.
That is the sound of Sugar Hill. That is the sound of the Swamp. That is the sound of the Dead: rising, waiting, singing.
the helpful griefer png here to make the cut and hide spoilers
(i hope this works. If not just scroll past Very very very fast Ok)
entails both my personal pros and cons!! all my opinion, i just wanted to ramble a bit about it :-)
LAST SPOILER WARNING!! LITERALLY SPOILS LIKE MOST OF DEMO 4!! INCLUDING GRIEFER CALL CARD + NEW GRIEFER DIALOGUE!!
Ok Hi
where do I even BEGIN??
the music is always been one of my favourite aspects about block tales, and the music in demo 4 was absolutely phenomenal. ESPECIALLY Ancient Tomb, Vermillion Village and Bizville Docks (my personal favourites)!! although, personally, I didn’t feel like The Ancients theme fit with the atmosphere the boss gave off with its appearance and dialogue. but the song was still incredible. go listen to the OST when you can, it’s amazing as always!! block tales music literally never disappoints
speaking of the Ancients, its?? their?? design is absolutely superb. at first I couldn’t stop staring at it, and then I COULDN’T stop staring at it because I kept DYING and needing to START OVER!! closest i got to raging over block tales. worse than the 3 fears in the pit and i mean that. i will NOT be doing demo 4 on hard mode im not mentally ready yet Give me 7 more years
Ok moving on Shivers I ADORRREEE FICTIONAL PIRATES!!! I HAVE PIRATE OCS!! I LOVE PIRATE CHARACTERS IN MEDIA!! I LOVE OTHERS PIRATE OCS!! so you can imagine how excited I was when they first showed up in THE block tales!!! i’m in love with the way they speak too, they’re how I strive to be!! i also hope that Calypso and Kyoko get reunited Let them be Happy Ok
Ok so ive established I Love Pirates. Fictional of course. So. You can ALSO imagine how absolutely distraught I was when I found all the pirates lying dead dude. my only complaint is I wish more was done with them. they would have made a great bunch for future demos…. but a man can only dream…. bursts into tears
and. i dont know how many people will share this opinion but i absolutely AODRE the great flocci?!?! I WISH HE HAD A BIGGER ROLE IN DEMO 4, BECAUSE HE’S SO CHARMING?! misterbeaverfever when he sees a fictional well-designed character that speaks in a recognisable/abnormal way
PLEASEEE COME BACK IN FUTURE DEMOS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEE!’! his design. his dialogue. his face. perfect. hes perfect. But not as perfect as my goat GRIEFER
if its a misterbeaverfever post griefer MUST be mentioned
Griefer Card. Griefer post-venomshank. Oh my goodNESS
griefer to griefer eye contact
yes griefer the plant features DO make you look cooler
CANON GRIEFER LORE DROP. I’m so extremely unbearably happy AND I’M SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM AGAIN!!!! ITS BEEN SO LONG MY GOAT!!!! now i have more about his character to leech off of
I. LOVE. HIM. HE WILL BE ACCOMPANYING ME IN EVERY SINGLE BATTLE. AND HIS NEW DIALOGUE IS SOOOO SWEET
he invites us to play games Ougggh erupts into FLOODS of tears WHY WASNT THERE AN OPTION TO SAY YES LET ME PLAY GAMES WITH GRIEFER
WAAAGHHHHAAAGHHAAGHH
BLOCK TALES IS JUST SUCH A CHARMING GAME DUDE. it has so much heart and personality, and thats what ive always loved so much about it. all the characters are so wacky and distinguishable and unique— its so easy to just latch onto them and go ‘i Love this guy actually’
I WILL BE MAKING ART SOON!! AND LOOKING FORWARD TO DEMO 5!!,
Now we’re getting to the point in the week where mostly everything ends. It’s sad that Isekai Office Worker/Bean Counter has finally ended, but at least the spring season has another BL anime that will air, so BL fans aren’t deprived yet. To be honest, while this isn’t the best BL adaptation, I do commend DEEN for doing the best they can because it definitely was ambitious.
The finale of the anime has Sei and the others going back to the church to put an end to the suspicious activities once and for all. Like they (and the viewers) predicted, Cipriano is the culprit behind the assassination attempt on Sei and is the one doing the embezzlement and storing Yua’s magic behind her back. What is his motive? He’s actually a heretic who believes in a goddess called Melke and ridicules Abran. He hates everything related to Abran, especially anything revolving around the Holy Maiden and purification. It’s to the point that he reveals his purpose of gathering Yua’s magical power—making a magical bomb that he plans to detonate inside the church. Fortunately, Yua’s powers have grown to the point that she’s able to stop the bomb with ease now. It makes me so happy to see her grow into a capable person. While Cipriano is stopped, he isn’t forgiven, so both he and Bishop Mateus, who was his accomplice in a way, got punished.
Other than that, the episode is mostly Aresh swatting away the other men trying to get too close to Sei as Kamil and Siegvold both express fondness towards Seiichiro that Aresh isn’t having; poor Nor for being the third/fourth wheel in the cafeteria scene. Fortunately for him, Sei is falling for Aresh to the point that he initiates a kiss towards him for the first time. It’s also revealed that Sei wrote a reply letter when he got Aresh’s first letter that he never sent, but Aresh received it when Valtom found it in his drawer. His feelings for Aresh is also apparent when he is protected by him as the bomb was about to detonate. Knowing how much Aresh risked his health and safety for him before, he realizes that he wants Aresh to be safe too. It’s definitely a nice conclusion to how he behaved throughout the story—not that it’s bad.
Still, it is unfortunate that the story ends with Sei and Yua still trapped in the isekai world and whether they will return or not is still left ambiguous. I do wonder how the overall story will end since it’s still on-going. Will they really go back? Will Sei leave Aresh behind? I honestly might have to buy the manga going forth… Regardless, I do like that the ending is happy in that the private school is finally in session and Yua and Julius are getting closer.
Regardless, one thing I really like about Bean Counter as a whole is that, while it’s BL, it doesn’t focus just on the romance aspect, but more on the world building and the characterization. It kind of shows that BL has gone a long way from being just a story about two guys falling in love and getting together. Now, there’s entire storytelling in addition to romance, which is what I enjoy most; it used to be uncommon back in the day. As a writer myself, I personally enjoy narratives, hence why Bean Counter was interesting.
Though, I do admit that this adaptation was mediocre in terms of quality, but it was still decent to watch. I know some of my moots on Twitter loathe the quality, but I’m someone who takes what I get and try to find the good side to things. Still, it’s nice to have BL animes in general. However, I do think the manga version is better than the anime. If you want to read the manga after watching this, the anime basically covers six volumes, which are what’s available in English. Basically, it’s incentive that you start the journey over and look at much prettier art as you do. By the way, the story is actually a light novel series, but I don’t think the light novel got licensed in English—please correct me if I’m wrong.
Overall, this wasn’t the best BL anime adaptation, but it’s still a decent watch for those curious about the genre. Hopefully, this will be an opportunity for more BL media to get anime adaptations. Let me know your thoughts on the finale and the anime as a whole!
Today, please post your final thoughts on anything to do with Cassandra, what did you enjoyed most about this month?, would you like to do this again or would you like a yearly appreciation week?
I want to thank each and everyone of you for all your contributions for this month! It has been fantastic running this event! And I really hope you all enjoyed the last month!
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Okay I after beating the final boss of MHS3, I have some thoughts.
Spoilers below the cut
There are a few things I wish they had wrapped up better- what will happen with Clarissa and Eleanor in more detail, for example.
Can the Skyscale Rathalos Twins cure Crystallisis?
Since the Covenant was rewritten, how many Vermeilans will cross the Maridian for a new start? How about any Azurians?
All of these are things I think the story could have wrapped up better. But there is one thing I think they handled well- Amara's amnesia.
I am honestly fine with the fact she doesn't get her memories back, and stays with the Scriveners. As satisfying as it would have been for her to remember it all and come back to her husband, King Arken, and the player in Azuria... I think this is also a good outcome.
Not everything needs a perfect, happy ending. Instead of waving away her amnesia with a trope or something, the writers allowed Amara to remain an amnesiac, but also showed that she and the player are able to have a new, healthy relationship. It isn't perfect, and maybe one day Amara will remember it all, but for now, she is at peace with not knowing, and the player still gets to have her in their life again.
It isn't clean-cut, it is messy, and honestly it is a real representation of what can happen when a loved one loses their memories in real life. The game presents a valid and positive outcome for the Azurian royal family, without a magical fix-it.
Even the things I wish were clarified more that I listed above can also fall into this category. And as much as I want to know more, I also appreciate the open-ended approach the developers took. And if we never get those answers, that is okay.
I will just go to my own head canons and fanfiction, as I am sure many of us will do.
Now I just need the ability to explore post-final boss like the last titles, and all will be well.
so I got a loooooot of asks about the Jiyong and Soohyuk episode when it first aired, with people alighting on two specific things - the Jiyhuk ship and the absolutely INSANE hint from Jiyong about Seunghyun's new album:
Ok so here's what I'd say first off the bat - I think the episode absolutely killed Jihyuk dead lmaoooooo. And I'm not just saying that from the perspective of a gtopper, I mean that ship is literally floating around in the water as a wreckage of its former self. My reasons for this are:
in the beginning where Daesung is talking about Soohyuk, he says that, although he's known him for a long time, he's not particularly close with him and only sees him at Jiyong's stuff and doesn't really talk to him much. If Jihyuk were real, I figure they'd know each other better, right?? I'm close with my best friends' partners because I love my besties and I want to be part of their lives which involves their partners, but I don't know my best friends' other friends because like.... what would be the point lol they're not MY friends, you know what I mean? idk it just struck me as the 'strike one' of the ship imo
I will say, Soohyuk is brilliant in this ep, he's so dry-witted and sarcastic, but I think a bit too... boring for a relationship with Jiyong 😠like, the dynamic between the two of them feels more like two aging queens who are just catty bitches to each other but they do it with yeaaars and years of friendship behind them, rather than people who are besotted with each other. We've seen Jiyong's love-eyes and we've seen the sort of weirdness and stupid sense of humour he's attracted to, and I just don't think Soohyuk has it, I'm sorry!
Think about it logically lmao how could Daesung's plan have worked if Jihyuk were dating? Surely they'd both know if they'd been asked to be on his show if they were genuinely in a relationship hahahahaha
I think Dae bringing the fact that they seem like an old married couple and people think they've been matching each other a lot... isn't that weird actually? He's smart lol he knows that's what the fans would want them to talk about, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was possibly used as an in for them to dispel any rumours and clear up any weirdness between them. I do have my own opinions about Jihyuk as a ship, but I don't think there was anything really there between them, especially not from Jiyong's end
In terms of my general GTOP thoughts that came up in the ep:
Baby Jiyong telling baby Soohyuk that he can't be in BigBang because he's too tall is HILARIOUS to me because he went and tracked down...... another tall guy with a deep voice lmao he's been nursing that crush on Seunghyun for forever, hasn't he
I do not believe for one SECOND Jiyong's nonsense about liking things so quickly he doesn't realise what he's liking because that's simply not the truth, Ellen - I know we're not taking his likes as seriously anymore but I absolutely do not believe that he's scrolling past them so fast he doesn't see them, and Soohyuk's smirk tells me I'm probably right
And him talking about how he puts a lot of effort into his instagram stories, so all those references to Seunghyun were absolutely him and were absolutely deliberate and something he spent a long time on, ok Jiyong, I know your game!
Jiyong himself says "I hate doing things halfway" and that he's a perfectionist, so I 100000% believe all the hints and references he's been making are intentional, nothing gets past him
and then, in the FINAL MINUTE, he drops the "multiple perspectives/another dimension" line, which makes both Daesung and Soohyuk freeze up - I think even Jiyong knew he'd possibly crossed a line because he immediately jumped in about Daesung's phone to cover their terror hahahahahahaha, he's such a fucking sneaky little shit and he absolutely LOVES his man and he loves supporting him and bigging him up in little ways where he can 🥰🥰🥰
Following from that, if his likes mean something is 'GD approved', we can assume he agrees with everyone!
