Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 10 (Mother's Mercy)

AHHHH! Crazy finale time! And this is my last Game of Thrones review for the year so let's go all out. "Mother's Mercy" certainly isn't short of things to talk about and obviously, if you haven't seen it yet, go away. This is as spoiler-y as spoilers get. This one was directed and written by the same dream team as last episode, David Nutter and showrunners Dan/David, respectively. Realistically, except for George R. R. Martin (who isn't writing for Game of Thrones anymore, allegedly), no one but Dave and Dan, who know the inner workings inside and out, should be writing the finale. Our talented directed, Nutter, also doesn't disappointed.

What We Liked:

• Stannis marches to war with only half of his men, once the sellswords have abandoned him and taken his horses. Stannis, being the antithesis of a sellsword must push forward. The moment we remember that Ramsay is meeting him on the battlefield is twinged with terror and intrigue and, Stannis goes out swinging just like we'd expect him to. He's limping, and he's the same age as the two men in front of him combined, but he's going to keep swinging even when he's bleeding out. While last week, many of us felt that Stannis died spiritually when he allowed Shireen to die, this was a little bit of a saving grace before his body soon followed. He was anapologetic: he had no reason to explain himself to Brienne and he definitely wasn't going to beg, but I think that in some way, especially after Shireen and Selyse, he was happy to see death. (+10)
• It seems Brienne is the one to deliver the final blow to Stannis (though we do not see this and cannot yet confirm), and the late Renly Baratheon gets his justice. It's a vow that we've forgotten for quite a few seasons now, but it's nice to see that Brienne has held strong to this, and to remember that Renly is who Brienne is first and foremost loyal to. At least we got someone's happy ending in this episode! (+10), 
• While Ramsay is out, Myranda and Reek find Sansa causing mischief outside of her room, but right before that she-devil can mutilate Sansa and continue to verbally abuse her, Reek pushes her to her death. Once-Again-Theon and Sansa jump off the Winterfell walls, presumably into some feet of snow (I doubt they are dead). I loved to hate the Myranda-Sansa dynamic because it was atypical of what was becoming the default "evil male sexually abuses female in some way", it was a more dynamic and human kind of evil, stemming from jealousy but no less immoral. I wasn't constantly rolling my eyes at Myranda, and this tirade, unlike many parts of Game of Thrones, made me truly uncomfortable. Myranda is somehow both so sadistic and so human, not some evil caricature, and the realness of her was terrifying. I was mostly relieved, but felt a slew of emotions when she plummeted to her death. That was quickly interrupted by my mixed feelings for Reek/Theon (again, mostly positive). It's a lot to chew on, but we receive it all very viscerally so that it's not overwhelming. (+15)
• Cersei confesses (kind of) to her sins and then does the walk of humility, naked and shaven, from the sept all the way back to the Red Keep, where she meets the newest Kingsguard, the silent and swollen Ser Robert Strong. This part felt drawn out in comparison to a lot of the rest of the episode, and I feel like it didn't live up to its potential-- I wasn't exactly sure why the scene had to cover the entire walk back to the Red Keep, either, including what felt like 10 minutes of straight profanity. That doesn't mean it doesn't hit some good points, though. Crying Cersei, with her feet bloodied, felt important for us to see, as well as how she differed from beginning to end. (+10)
• Jaime, Myrcella, Bronn, and Trystane sail away from Dorne. Right as Jaime and Myrcella have a kind-of-cute-kind-of-weird "I'm your incestual father" moment, Myrcella is poisoned and collapses. I actually enjoyed the Jaime-Myrcella conversation in this weird way, but this all felt rushed, like they really wanted it in the season finale to fit with the rest of the story arcs, so they put it in before it should've happened. (+5) 
• Arya kills Meryn Trant in a brothel in the most brutal way we can imagine, and it's perfect. I took longer than I'd like to admit for me to realize that the last girl was Arya, but she leaps on her with such a ferocity that I have to applaud everyone involved. Arya also delivers this absolutely stellar line, which completely sums up her entire character: she reminds Meryn Trant of who she is, and then tells him that he's no one before slitting his throat. Arya is deeply grounded in her identity and killing Meryn was definitely also that. I can't sum up this line any better than that line. (+15) 
• Arya is blinded by Jaqen for taking a life that doesn't belong to her. I like his little trick of pretending to kill himself: it's shocking but it actually makes sense, because it reveals that a) Arya is not ready to handle death and b) Arya is still attached to the notion of having friends, and the importance of keeping them alive. (+5) 
• Daenerys is found by a Khalasar, so we may assume she is in the Dothraki sea, slightly east and much farther inland than Meereen. Drogon is close at hand, but seemingly a little lazy to go anywhere. This wasn't super special, but keeping us excited for the next season! (+5)
• Jon is stabbed by his brothers for making peace with the wildlings. The final perpetrator is Olly, as they each claim, "for the Watch." while doing so. We pan out with a shot of Jon Snow heavily bleeding out into the snow. I wish I had more to say about this, but it is what it is. It's heartbreaking and real and honestly I'm still processing what this means (Is he really dead? Will Melisandre bring him back? What is Ghost going to do about this?). More things to look forward to for next season, but if Jon really is dead.... we need a moment of silence for him. The final shot is an absolutely perfect one to wrap the season up with. It's foreboding and shocking, visually beautiful and heartwrenching. My heart truly goes out on this one. (+10) 
• The naked woman confronting Cersei is also joined by a naked man which is a nice, weird step towards equality, because the age-old defense to gratuitous female nudity in fantasy media is, "it's a part of nature" but we very very rarely see male nudity. (+5)
• Jon and Sam have bro chats and conclude that Sam is gettin' it, and this is heartwarming in the fact that they just seem like regular guys-- almost like it's Kit and John talking and not Jon and Sam. (+5)

What We Didn't Like: 

• Stannis finds that Selyse has hung herself in the wake of an unusually sudden wave of guilt, brought on by the death of Shireen in episode 9. It's predictable and out-of-the-blue at the same time. As the guard approached Stannis, I literally muttered under my breath, "Selyse hung herself". Lo and behold. But up until her little outburst in episode 9, Selyse would constantly propose to Stannis getting rid of Shireen and trying again for a male heir. Her character was a lazy plotpoint and a foil, not a character. (-5)
• The naked Cersei teetered between fanservice-y and purposeful, but wasn't deliberate enough to definitively be either. (-5) 
• Varys magically arrives in Meereen to help Tyrion, Grey Worm, and Missandei and I feel like this would have been a better thing to introduce in S6E1, instead of cramming it into the backend of the finale, maybe. 

Bonus: 

Ian Beattie (Meryn Trant) tweets Miltos Yerolemou (Syrio Forel) and it's endearingly hilarious

@miltosyerolemou you're welcome you water dancing little git

— Ian Beattie (@ianbeattie_ian) June 15, 2015

Another bonus: Kit Harington says he's been informed that he really is dead, and will not be returning, but this wouldn't be the first time an actor has leaked fake information to mislead the press regarding GoT deaths, so we'll see. Kit's name also appeared on the billing for Season 6 earlier in the year, unless something has changed since then. 

This season has gotten better and worse. As a book reader, it has been both much more exciting and frustrating. Of course, Dan and David have their work cut out for them now that they're diverging from the books and there is allegedly some bad blood between them and GRRM. This season has been unbelievable in so many ways, both good and bad, and it's clear that Season 6 is going to be even more controversial.

Final Score: 85 (whoa and we finish off the season with a high score!) 

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 8 (Hardhome Review)

We're starting to draw to a close with only 2 episodes left, and so naturally, Episode 8 is set up to be a strong one. "Hardhome," named after the wildling settlement that Jon and Tormund travel to which takes up about half the episode, was directed by Miguel Sapochnik and was written by our (usually) lovely showrunners, David Benioff and Dan Weiss. In an action-heavy episode like this, it's the directing that stands out for me, particularly during Arya's scenes by the harbour and following Jon. It added a constantly-interesting tone to what could have been a really long, boring war scene (see The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies).

Recap:

• Tyrion advises Daenerys to continue Jorah's exile and he signs up for the fighting pits. Tyrion, on the other hand, convinces Daenerys to keep him. 
• Cersei refuses to confess her sins but is literally drinking water off of the cell floors so, we don't really know what her pride is doing to her anymore.
• Arya assumes her first Faceless Man identity: Lana the Oyster Seller. Bookreaders will identify this as the Cat of the Canals arc. 
• Theon admits to Sansa that Bran and Rickon (who's Rickon?) are still alive. 
• Sam tells Olly that Jon is "doing what is right even though other people may not see it" but Olly seems to be harbouring some resentment for the Free Folk
• Jon and Tormund convince some of the Free Folk to sail back to the wall but are ambushed by the White Walkers and their army of Wights. 

CGI heavy but beautiful!

What We Liked: 

• Love them or hate them (just kidding, no one hates Tyrion) there's something deeply satisfying about Tyrion and Daenerys matching wits, and nobody was better to write their dialogue than D&D. Emilia Clarke and Peter Dinklage also do stellar acting jobs. I was so excited for the next lines during their scenes. Everyone involved in it was a powerhouse, including the moment Jorah's (Iain Glen) face falls in despair at Tyrion's words (+10)
• Following Arya/Lana down the harbour was exciting; we're trying to figure out what she should be seeing, but we have to admit that Arya at this point is probably more keen than we are. It's all a little unclear at first: What is the chronology of these events? Is he explain what happened for many days (because Lana already has a regular morning customer) or what is going to happen? Wait, is that really vinegar or is that poison? Oh, just vinegar. Overrall, it has set us up for some good stuff. (+10)
• I am feeling the relief that Sansa feels knowing her brothers are alive! (+5) 
• The Sam and Olly scene is a little bit slow and drudging, but we're definitely seeing some cogs turn in Olly's head that will either get you thinking, or confirm your suspicions. Highlight the space below with your cursor for spoilers (suggested only for book readers). (+5)
  [Olly is going to be the one to stab Jon at the end of the season. ] 
• Tormund + Jon + Dolorous Edd running to safety scene! Let's be honest, as good as the Hardhome sequence is, all I really care about are if these 3 characters are going to be ok. I mean, we know Jon is ok. So I only really care about his 2 companions. Thank you for neatly tying it up with landing them all in the same boat, while they run for their lives in a Powerpuff-girls-esque fashion. (+5)
• Jon Snow's sword, Ice, has successfully destroyed a White Walker? WHOA ok read that again, because THIS IS A BIG DEAL. Is it possible that, not only obsidian, but Valyrian Steel can destroy the White Walkers??? It's a very rare metal now that Valyria (the Targaeryn homeland and the only people who knew how to forge it) has been destroyed, but that could completely change the White Walker game. It does hint, however that the secret to Valyrian steel is forging it with dragon glass, which is plentiful in Valyria. Jon Snow just rolls with it because he's in the middle of battle, and so do we, but this has certainly been noted. Fun fact: Brienne/Jaime's Oathkeeper is also Valyrian steel (+15)
• Nice way to introduction of the Wights and the White Walkers. The sudden quiet at the gates, the 4 stoic horseman on the ridge, and the army of the dead (the Wildling mother included) staring the Night's Watch down. It creates an unsettling quiet amongst a very, very loud scene. (+5)
• Kit Harington (Jon Snow) says that they filmed only a minute a day, but it was still the most difficult thing he'd ever done. He does so well though. (+5)
• And a little extra for not only the appearance of the giant Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, but the hilarious moment when you think he can't come with them on the baots, and instead just walks into the ocean. (+5)

If you need an idea of where Hardhome is, it's at the easternmost tip.

What We Didn't Like: 

• I actually like following Cersei, and watching her drink water off the ground was almost difficult. But the length of this scene, which didn't really take us anywhere new except to maybe watch her get taken down a few notches, had me asking, "But why?" (-5)
• Am I the only one who finds it super unconvincing that Lana the Oyster Selling urchin child is so clean? It was so distracting in the worst way.
• It was pretty obvious when the wildling woman sent her children on a boat without her and someone pipes up "but what about you?" that she's going to die. It was more of a waiting game than a shock, and when the wight children stare her down I audibly said "Oh. There she goes." I'm a little disappointed by how cliched this was set up. (-10)

The battle at Hardhome was more dizzying that I would like. Was it the camerawork, or a deliberate choice that made it impossible to tell if the Free Folk were being stabbed or the wights? While usually, this is a complete write off for me, the plot was continually addressed, and it did come off more as chaos than pointless violence. Especially with the ear-ringing sound when Jon falls that cuts straight through the middle of the scene. 

There are also some awkward plot holes. Seriously, WHY IS LANA THE OYSTER GIRL SO CLEAN? and Sansa is undoubtedly stronger than the deteriorating Reek at this point, why did she just let him go without asking anything more? Oh. Because they had to fit everything into an hour of screen time.

Still, for the most part, this was an exciting episode, and I liked that for once, we got to follow one arc for 20+ minutes, rather than digesting everything at a prescribed rate of a couple minutes at a time.

Final Score: 50

Anime North Haul!

This weekend was Toronto's Anime North! And of course, I blew way too much money on nerd gear because what else could you expect, right?

I DID wear my Harley Quinn dress but it wasn't a very full-hearted attempt and I forgot to take any pictures. The real score this weekend was all of the cool stuff I got: 

Is that a GIANT Survey Corps. patch from Shingeki No Kyojin/Attack on Titan for only $20? Yup!

I also hauled in a bunch of cute $1 stickers (you can see the No-Face sticker peekin' his head out) and some bookmarks that are just so visually satisfying. This artist really took the cake! If you like her stuff, you can find more of here at her Deviantart [HERE]. She goes by Sugar Mints!

I also got some sweet prints of squishy lil' Totoro and my Smash Bros. main, Sheik. 

And some sweet buttons. 

Honestly, I go Sticker Crazy at AN. Last year, I bought all of these stickers of famous game characters riding Yoshi's, (Snake from Metal Gear, Sora from Kingdom Hearts, and Link from.. well.. you know) which, if that's not the cutest thing, i don't know what is. 

Conventions are definitely the best place to go for original art, and people are sooo talented there (I could not, in a million years, be that good). 

I think that next year, I should be more serious about cosplaying because that seems like half of the fun. 

I also bought a ton of keychains and little useless things, but I wish I had more money. This guy tried to sell me a replica Longclaw sword for $100, and was saying he'd throw in an extra iron shield as a bonus. Which, I mean, I wasn't going to buy a second Longclaw, but it was tempting. 

So much fun!! 

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 7

We're nearing to the close with "The Gift" and this week's episode is directed by Miguel Sapochnik (another first-timer) and written by the Showrunners themselves, David Benioff and Dan Weiss. Miguel's directing is more distinct than the rest of the season, with more variety of shots, and while a lot of people-- myself included-- may sometimes question David and Dan's creative choices with the plot, they've got a strong handle on the characters and how to write them. So let's recap!

• Maester Aemon passes away
• Sansa Stark is locked away and abused; Ramsay catches Theon trying to help her
• Melisandre suggests Stannis sacrifice Shireen and he's disgusted. 
• Gilly and Sam get attacked by Night's Watchmen and are saved by Ghost
• Olenna Tyrell tries to convince the High Sparrow to free her grandchildren from imprisonment 
• Myrcella tells her uncle/father Jaime that Dorne is her home and she doesn't want to go back
• Bronn and the Sandsnakes are trapped in opposing Dornish cells
• Jorah and Tyrion finally reach Danaerys after being sold to a slaveowner 
• Tommen is distraught without Margaery and Cersei offers to bring her back but is thrown in the black cells herself instead

What We Liked:

• Before being burned on the funeral pyre, the last thing Maester Aemon sees his little brother Egg (Aegon V Targaryen, Danaerys' great grandfather). He says "Oh Egg! I dreamed I was old." This is another in-book line that I'm so happy that they kept in. Because Aemon has been blind for so many years on his deathbed, and he finally again gets to see his little brother, and he thinks that he's woken up from a terrible, long dream. We're glad he died peacefully: I feel like everyone can agree on that. It's just too bad that, if he had any information about Jon Snow's birthparents, it died with him. (+10)
• While I am not comfortable with all of the sexual violence in this show (it's getting harder to watch, not easier), the characters are nothing if not realistic. Ramsay gave us a glimmer of hope that he wasn't going to absolutely abuse Sansa but-- of course he has to-- it's in his nature. And they don't need to show that, just what it's doing to her. It's breaking her. Sansa and Theon have now traded places, with Theon being spineless and Sansa calling the shots in this dynamic. She doesn't take no for an answer, and demands he lights the candle in the tower. And he almost does. There's not some blatant message here, it just happens, and that's great. It's maybe a testament to the potential Theon almost had. He was even willing to light the candle and go so far as to take it to the tower. But in the face of someone with a bigger bite, Theon caves. And I think that, no matter what name he goes by, that's who he is at the heart of his being. (+5)
• We're not entirely sure what Melisandre's game is, or even if she's mostly magic or mostly crazy, but we know now that she needs to slow her ropes. Stannis is a man of straight lines. The quickest course of action while still being moral. He is disgusted at the thought of sacrificing his daughter: it's out of the question, and in a brutal world like Westeros, that's admirable. Still, he says, "We march to victory or we march to defeat but we go forward. Only forward." That, also, is what Stannis is. The opposite of Theon: he sees the straight line and walks it all the way through, even if there's nothing but death on the other side. (+10)
• Sam the Slayer, don't you ever give up. I mean, I genuinely thought we'd see some sort of plot twist here and you'd be dead, but you keep on kickin'. 4 for you, Sam Tarly. (+4)
• Olenna finally meets The High Sparrow, a man who cannot be bought or threatened, and she's lost. Cersei has similar troubles. I think the High Sparrow, without making direct commentary, embodies what religion is. It is an empowering thing, meant to give power to the people. It is often with good intentions, and often does so much good in the world, but such an ironclad faith can lead a person down a dangerously misguided road. He believes so deeply that he is right-- and he is in a lot of respects. "A Man of the People" Olenna calls him, because he lives like a beggar and treats everyone equally. But that only contributes to blindness when he's wrong, like in imprisoning Ser Loras for his sexual preference. Entertaining, and meaningful. (+10)
• Cersei being sent to the black cells. Wow. First of all, her little speech to Tommen captures (again) exactly who she is: a proud lion mother protecting her cubs. If she is crazy, it's only because love for her children has driven her there. (+5)
• It's such an excellently subtle conversation that she has with the High Sparrow, too. There's not a single line that causes everyone to make a snap realization: those lines are enjoyable but they're very common. This is a very subtle dance, that embodies the Game of Thrones surrounding Cersei. She thinks she's got the High Sparrow in her hands the whole time until she realizes she doesn't. It's a slow turning in the conversation, like seeing a dagger just a second before it hits you. Unguarded around who she thinks she can trust, Cersei has finally misstepped and found herself in an excitingly miserable position. Excellently written, and Lena Heady herself, who plays Cersei, is one of my favourite actors. She's so talented. (+10)
• Most of the characters were written so impressively: at least the ones Dan and David have had time to get to know.  While they're still getting their handle on the Sandsnakes, they really got to the heart of what their regulars are all about, and then let the plot revolve around that, which is a really huge plus, and really works in their favour. (+10)

What We Didn't Like:

• While Bronn's got a singing voice like oak trees and honey, I couldn't appreciate the Dornish cells scene. Did Tyene have it down to the exact second that he'd start to pass out? Was she really doing all of this so that he'd call her the most beautiful woman in the world? And I know that Tyene is a poisons master, but I feel like that should have been slipped in earlier so that this "oh btw you were infected with slow acting poison hours ago" didn't come out of nowhere. It had something there, but it was so contrived and poorly executed that the whole thing fell flat. The gratuitous nudity and Bronn's singing voice are the only things about this scene that an audience member might enjoy. (-5) FUN FACT: Bronn, played by Jerome Flynn, used to be in a British singing duo called Robson and Jerome. Look 'em up. He's got blonde hair. 
• WHY WOULD YOU SEND JORAH AWAY??? This isn't really a fault of the show, but SERIOUSLY Danaerys? At least make it look like you're trying to think about your decisions.
• Myrcella is randomly so angsty? I mean, she loves her uncle (*cough* father *cough*) Jaime, and Myrcella is a smart girl. I understand not wanting to go back to King's Landing-- they have not been her family for years-- but why is she throwing a teenage tantrum right down to the "you don't even know me!" cliches? (-5)
• Clunky pacing. This is the biggest misgiving in the episode. It has a lot of strong, individual scenes and storylines but the pacing from one storyline to another and then back again seemed so unsmooth. Was it the cuts? Was it just how the writing ended up? I honestly can't tell, but the episode seemed to drudge by without any overarching highpoint-low-point. I understand that in episode 7, there are a lot of plot-bombs to drop ("WHOA HOW IS SHE GOING TO REACT TO TYRION WHOAAAA"), but each scene seemed so contained within itself, it didn't feel natural. (-5)

Final Score: 49

Ultimately, S05E07 is a really solid episode. It just doesn't come together as one, single episode. I feel like I could more accurately describe it as a solid set of mini-episodes. While it wasn't put together as neatly as it could/should have been, it still is solid in the content, both entertaining and subtextual. Only 3 more weeks to go before the countdown for Season 6 begins!

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 6 Review

And we're back! This episode's title is "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken". Fun fact! I will be tattooing that on my body hopefully within the month. This episode was directed and written by the same dream-team Jeremy Podeswa and Bryan Cogman that stole back my heart last week! Unfortunately, if you've read anything about this episode already, you know people aren't super happy with it. ESPECIALLY the last scene with Sansa and Ramsay. But we'll get to that.

Re-cap time:

• Arya is awoken by Jaqen to finally see what's called the Hall of Faces. 
• The Sandsnakes clash with Jamie and Bronn in Dorne, Myrcella is ripped from Trystane
• Jorah and Tyrion are caught by slavers but Tyrion convinces them to let Jorah in the fighting pits instead
• Petyr goes to King's Landing to strike a deal with Cersei
• Olenna goes to King's Landing to put Cersei in her place (and fails)
• Loras is put on trial 
• Sansa and Ramsay are married and they.. (ahem) consummate. 

After S05E06, some people seem to have quit the show entirely while others are fiercly defending it so I'd chalk this episode up to a misstep overrall. I don't think I'd assert to feel quite that strongly for either favour, but I'd agree that this episode was far from Game of Thrones' best work. The directing was a little unimaginative, but that's forgivable: it's the writing that's the weakpoint.  It seems that this tag team (Podeswa and Cogman) finds their strength in ending strong. 

What We Liked:

• Areo Hotah is a great addition to the cast. I'm a little disappointed with Game of Thrones' casting directors (Nina Gold and Robert Sterne) at times, because it seems like all of the black people in Westeros are slavers or henchmen. I love Areo Hotah. While stoic, he's redeemingly loyal, and doesn't back down. To Jaime, he says something to the effect of, "it would have been a good fight when you had two hands". This ray of sunshine gets (+5).
• "Cock merchant". Nice. While I find it hard to believe Jorah and Tyrion didn't see that army of slavers behind them sooner, it was still an entertaining scene. (+5)
• Arya gets a rude awakening. She's not a little girl anymore. Jaqen isn't protecting her, and he isn't all coy smiles and impressive theatrics anymore. Now that he's teaching her something, you bet that Arya not getting the client service anymore. (+5)
• Petyr's deal with Cersei is clever and satisfying. I love that wash of realization when all of Petyr's plans come together. It was long enough coming, and now I have something to  actually be excited about in coming episodes. (+5)
• It's always nice to see Olenna in her sassy IDGAF glory. (+5)
• Loras' trial. Cersei does have her sly, "you can't arrest the Queen's brother!" moment, and I like the way they convicted Margaery-- for sticking by her brother, she made a big mistake. (+5)
• Sansa and Ramsay. Here's the plotpoint that everyone and their mothers seemed to hate: especially feminists. Don't get me wrong, I definitely consider myself one. The issue here is that Dan and David seem like they're just inserting gratuitous sexual violence against women for exhibition's sake and not for plot. But I disagree! While I would definitely like to stop seeing our strong female character's trampled on, I would argue that this scene had point. And I saw it before Bryan Cogman had to release a statement about it where he says that he deliberately made those writing choices because he believes that Sansa was making a grown woman’s choice by walking into that room. Petyr says "do anything to save your home" and Sansa, willing but not happy, does anything to save her home. The Bolton's have invaded every inch of what Sansa could call just that, including her body, but she's going to let her anger turn into a ruthless wrath once she gets the chance. Furthermore, a lot of people argued that, since Sansa isn't even there in the books, this sexual assault didn't need to be added in: however (and I don't think the people who asserted that even read the books)-- the girl who is there in Sansa place does have that happen to her-- and worse. I actually liked what this scene did, even if the scene itself made me uncomfortable. (+10)

What We Didn't Like:

• The Hall of Faces was disappointingly uncreative. Let me clarify: I won't take off points, because it wasn't bad or anything, I just feel like this place could have been either shot or designed so much grander. It was still cool to look at, but it wasn't the "wow" moment that I felt like it should have been. 
• The Sandsnakes' encounter with Jamie and Bronn is unexciting. Seriously? These are 5 formidable fighters (Ok, maybe 4. Tyene is a poisons master, but not wild with a weapon). This rarely occurs, but I was actually actively bored with the scene. I looked away a few times. I thought it was dull, packaged too neatly and not chaotic enough to be exciting. And that timeline of events was also too smooth. Did it all have to be shot in the same location? The director and the choreographer (do they even have one anymore? Seriously.) really dropped the ball on this scene. (-5)
• The "birthmark"  plot point. Seriously? They didn't even try to come up with any defense for that? It just seemed sloppy, especially because that's the only conversation we hear Loras and Olyvar having. And why did he sell Loras out in the first place?? Just so many holes in this. It didn't come across as fast paced so much as disorienting. Give us more please! (-5)

Final score: +30. 

Wow, that's half of what it was last week, and not because it made a lot of mistakes. Just because there wasn't a lot in here to work with. Again, it wasn't a terrible episode. Unlike some people it seems, I don't plan to quit Game of Thrones anytime soon. But this episode lost a lot of it's potential. 

Besides, even if a lot of fans hated the last scene, at least Sophie Turner (Sansa) enjoyed it. 

All images courtesy of Tumblr

Take a peek inside the Pokemon Centre in Japan

Can you say Pokemon Nerd's dream???

This place (sorry, no, you can't heal your party there) sells stuff only available in Japan from shelves and shelves of Pokemon dolls, Pokemon stationary, Pokemon food-- and I mean, they even sold Pikachu themed curry powder. So of course, if you ever visit, buy EVERYTHING because who knows when you'll be back, right? That's what I did.

I bought earrings, pencils, chopsticks, folders, masterball candy, cute little pouches-- so many things!

I brought my tiny fluffy Pikachu on the trip but then I found this giant smiley one and another one where he was taking a nap and I completely lost it. How cute are they?! Too bad they were too big to fly home and also like.. 8000 yen ($80).

There was also replicas of some Pokemon inside the store of Charizard, Megacharizard, Lucario, and Mew

You can really tell which ones are the fan favourites because they get way more merchandise. I mean, I can promise that not all 649 Pokemon are here!! Sorry, if Trubbish is your favourite pokemon, you're out of luck, but if Inkay, Wailord or (obviously) Pikachu are more your speed, then you'll have a wild time! There was also a lot of Sylveon, so I was a pretty happy camper. 

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 2

BEFORE THIS POST: I will be in Japan for 10 days starting tomorrow. I queued posts for regular blogging, but updates will come-- be home on the 30th!

[Warning: these are spoilers for Game of Thrones book and show watchers]

Hits

• The House of Black and White/The Titan of Braavos are stunning and satisfying 100%:
  Hi... Can you say beautiful? If you couldn't before this episode, you'll be able to now. The House of Black and White is not as temple-like and sacred as I think it should have been. After all, people come to the House of Black and White to be taken care of, for a peaceful death. The ill and the wounded bleed or pass out and the priests take care of the bodies. It's a temple to the Many-Faced Gods above all else. This looks more like a fortress. Still, it was beautiful. The doors, for one. The Titan of Braavos was also wonderful. We already earned a glance of this a while ago, but now we get a little bit of context-- it is the protector of Braavos. And it's breathtaking.
• I've always wondered, now I know: The Kindly Old Man is Jaqen H'ghar
  YES! There are a lot of non-canon things that give me a sour taste in my mouth. I immediately ask if Dan and David even bothered to think deeply about those implications. But this-- this is something that a lot of book readers speculated about: whether the man at the House of Black and White who takes Arya in really is Jaqen H'ghar. I think that this is one of those things that was wise to reveal, and even makes me excited for any changes they might make in the future. It was so shocking for everyone watching. And this is awesome! Because the Arya/Jaqen team makes my heart warm.
• Shireen is a sweetheart and it's nice downtime in between arguing. 
  Agh! Stannis' Daughter-- what a sweetheart. She's not very fleshed out in the books. This is another creative change that was made that I think was successful. She teaches Gilly to read, and while that doesn't happen at all in the books, if Shireen met Gilly (like she does), I like to think that that's what would have happened. They would have gotten along-- and they do! I think that, having them meet and giving them any other relationship would have been inorganic.
• Daenerys is flawed and dynamic and it makes me love watching her.
  Daenerys is not a good ruler, let's make that clear. At least, in my eyes. But that's the point of her character. They say that whenever a Targaryen is born, they flip a coin to decide if he will be great or mad. Daenerys seems to struggle with wondering which one she is. She's not the wonderful perfect Khaleesi. She has good intentions, but she is young, brash, and unwise in a lot of ways. She doesn't have her own fully-developed grasp on what "justice" means to her but she works through it anyway. I like her as a character, because she is dynamic. Interesting, because she is highly flawed. I think it's important to recognize that she can do wrong. The slaves of Essos call her Mhysa (mother) for breaking their chains (don't even get me started on the white saviour complex going on here)-- but she is not ready to be a mother yet, it seems like. I like showing her vulerable side. She's young and ruling is not easy. I like that they made her fuck up royally. She isn't looking too great right now, because this is a learning process for her. Oh, plus, Emilia Clarke is absolutely killing the Valyrian accent. Get it, gurl.
• [Bonus]: The Dark-Skinned man guarding Doran Martell? I believe that's Areo Hotah, and he's a Point of View character in the book series (one of the narrators). I'm unspeakably happy that he's making an appearance. 

They DO NOT hurt little girls in Dorne.

Misses

• We explicitly know that Magaery is a two-faced bitch, instead of having to guess.
  I don't love that this is explicit. Something fun about Margaery in the earlier seasons (and even now in the books) is that you don't know if she's sweet or not. Is she ever genuine? Is she ever ingenuine? We're pretty sure it's somewhere in between, but we don't know, right? She's plays gentle and graceful to some people, and then reveals her wicked greediness to those she trusts, but her sweetness also seems real often. Last season, it seemed a lot like she wanted to be the Queen, but most of the behind-the-scenes plotting and scheming seemed to be the doing of her grandmother, Olenna Tyrell. This season, she's taking on a bit more of a flat "smile in front of people, frown in front of my family" dichotomy that spells it out for us: she. just. wants. to. be. Queen. I think it would have been best if we're left to wonder, or at least if we saw the two mixed together simultaneously, rather than seeing someone with two personalities. I love the actress, Natalie Dormer, but it's a little boring.
• Ellaria Sand wants to go to war, and that pretty much kills who she should be. Ellaria is wonderful because when Oberyn dies, she says fights passionately for the Sandsnakes to lay down their weapons-- it's what he would have wanted. That's what Dorne is, really. They are an lively, passionate people who stand up for what they believe in, but at the end of the day, they are lovers. When the Sand Snakes urge Doran to go to war with the Lannisters, she begs them, and says that enough blood has been shed. She is the one who exercises peace and restraint, even in her heartbreak. Now she is just a foil to expose Doran's character. I admired what Ellaria should have been: she showed me that a woman can be strong, and still seek peace. She holds no grudge against Myrcella. "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" does not mean you have to be aggressive. I was hoping we'd get this line from the book:
  "Oberyn wanted vengeance for Elia. Now the three of you want vengeance for him. I have four daughters, I remind you. Your sisters. My Elia is fourteen, almost a woman. Obella is twelve, on the brink of maidenhood. They worship you, as Dorea and Loreza worship them. If you should die, must El and Obella seek vengeance for you, then Dorea and Loree for them? Is that how it goes, round and round forever? I ask again, where does it end? I saw your father die. Here is his killer. Can I take a skull to bed with me, to give me comfort in the night? Will it make me laugh, write me songs, care for me when I am old and sick?"
• Jamie Lannister goes to Dorne which feels so unnatural it's unbelievable
  They replace a wonderful character, and don't introduce him. They just cut him out. Aerys Oakheart is a member of the Kingsguard, like Jaime, sent to keep an eye on Myrcella. The wonderful thing about Aerys is that, unlike the rest of the Kingsguard, Aerys is pure, through and through. He's a wonderful foil to all of the darkness in the world of Westeros. Refreshingly noble: but not in the self-righteous way. He's humble, and a little naive, like a child. Jaime Lannister should be in King's Landing. His interactions with Doran might be good: they're both good and reasonable people from opposing houses. But in what world would Jaime be sent to Dorne? The Lannisters would not let it happen. Not only that, but Jaime Lannister is an intrusion in the Dornish peace. Aerys fit there, in a weird way. Jamie seems like a disruption. Unnatural. I feel aggression and violence spawning from this.
• [Bonus]: Bronn and Lollys: Bronn doesn't get to marry Lollys and own lands? He's going to DORNE now?!  

Overrall, great episode. Perfect pacing for Game of Thrones, with just the right amount of gore, while still setting us up for excitement. 9/10 for sure! PS: Happy late birthday, Maisie Willliams (Arya Stark)!

Be A Better Gamer: FPS Fun (Counterstrike)

I'm just going to come out with it: It's been a rocky re-start.

I'm not afraid to admit I'm not a bad shot. I've got good reaction time and I can hit a headshot pretty consistently. 

I used to play Counterstrike more, and I got used to it. I found things that work and don't work for me and it become more natural to remember certain mechanics. I found a rhythm, and that's important with this sort of game. In fact, I was so predictable playing Counterterrorist that my friends called me Aug-Cat (my Steam tag is Ang_Cat), because I was always loyal to my Wings Aug

 But... I haven't touched it in over a year, and my ability really really fell off the map. Which is saying something because I wasn't amazing to begin with. 

Unfortunately, I got pretty accustomed to more forgiving games. A couple years ago, when I played a sniper in Mass Effect long enough to quickscope like an MLG champ I thought I was the Queen of the Castle. And that skill translates pretty well, pretty often, in the occasional Halo/COD game, or in an offline shooter RPG, or occasionally if an enemy sneaks up on me.

But that kind of work isn't going to cut it in Counterstrike (I've been playing GO) on the regular, so I'm going to need to improve. A lot. 

In Counterstrike, it's less about your ability to react. It's a lot more cerebral.

SO... I'm going to start a new tag (we're still testing out how well it'll go), dedicated to getting better at gaming! If you're reading this, we can improve together. :) 

PS. Being 100% honest here, I completely stole the title from my favourite streamer and my secret soulmate, Day9.

GAME OF THRONES SEASON 5 PREMIERE (aka My Entire Life)

[[Game of Thrones series and book spoilers below]]

Oh wow oh WOW. So for about 9 months in the year, I just kind of float around and exist, but when Game of Thrones is on, I thrive. In highschool, during those long 9 months, people would ask me how long until Game of Thrones premiered and I'd be able to give them a countdown on any given day.

So you cannot imagine my excitement when Season 5 FINALLY went up. Now, as excited as I was about this episode, there were some hits and some misses (especially coming from a book fan).

Hits

1. Maggy the Frog Flashback: I noticed Dan and David like to skip a lot of the history of Westeros, or flashbacks that a lot of characters have: anything kind of "lore"-ish doesn't really seem necessary to them. (I'm pretty upset that they cut out Patchface the Fool...). I'm really happy that they gave some context as to why Cersei hates Margaery. It's this Snow White, mirror-mirror situation-- I like that they point out that this is Cersei's deep fear and not some petty jealousy that appears against every woman to walk into King's Landing. 
2. The existiantially-wrought Tyrion and Varys: Tyrion's old love is a whore named Tysha. When Tywin found her, he gave her to the Kingsguard and sent her off. This was never mentioned in the show, though, which is his entire personal reason for going to Essos. I really liked that they didn't draw up some other reason, like dredging up Shae's death and making a big deal about it. Instead, he's just purposeless, with Varys constantly around for him to verbally reflect that nihilism.  
3. Brienne and Pod meet Sansa and Littlefinger: This is more of a minor thing, but I think it's an interesting choice. I like where Sansa's storyline goes in the books, but it's not very action-y, or made for television. So instead, Brienne does find her. I like the idea of really pushing and making this "hardened" Sansa overt-- she doesn't trust anymore. It gives us more satisfaction than what has happened all the way up until Winds of Winter: Brienne is still searching for her. 
4. Mance Rayder: In the books, he's not really dead. Melisandre casts a spell. It's really a different, crueler wildling made to look like Mance, burned alive. In the show, it really is Mance who is dead. I think it adds more dynamic to his character. The actor, Ciaran Hinds, commented that it wasn't just pride-- and he understood that about Mance. It's this deep seated belief that dying for his people, to show them strength, is the right and best thing for them. I will miss him, for sure, but a big part of me respects his choice. (+ big ups to Jon Snow for being a) being humane and b) being a good shot).
5. The Harpy Statue: It's in the trailer so we think it's this big event, but no. It's in the first episode. It's like "Bam, she's taking over and there was nothing you could do about it. It happened already." That's it. 

Misses

1. Lancel: He's supposed to be this old man. His illness and then his piousness make him all wrinkly and gaunt, and his hair starts to fall out, and he's really quite homely looking. I don't like that they just made him look all clean-shaven and new, and then he's on his way. I thought it would have been weirdly satisfying to see this youthful, blonde-haired boy fallen from grace (I swear I'm not evil....). 
2. The Sons of the Harpy: Not really explained. My boyfriend said that he was a little confused as to who they are after the episode. The Sons of the Harpy are supposed to be the Masters and Sons of the Masters killing their former slaves; and that's kind of a big deal. It sucks that without context, showwatchers only really see them as something of a "pro-slavery terrorist group" and not the fallen Masters themselves. I do love those sweet masks though. They're just the right amount of creepy + ornate. 
3. Viserion and Rhaegal:  It seems pretty clear to me that Danaerys has bonded with Drogon, the biggest dragon, and so she'll never be able to ride Viserion and Rhaegal (after all, "a dragon may have many riders, but a rider may only have one dragon"). The dynamic is interesting now, where the "Mother of Dragons" can't reign in 2 of them, and the other one does whatever he wants. We'll have to see where it goes though. 
4. (Bonus Points) Melisandre: I like what they're doing with her, I just don't like her. Don't you ask Jon Snow if he's a virgin, you cougar. It's weird. 

Overrall, the episode has set up some very exciting things for us, but it was a little underwhelming in terms of the wow factor. Episode 2 is primed to be much better paced. 

I'd give it a 7.5/10, which is low for Game of Thrones. But it's still Game of Thrones. 

Webcomic: Ava's Demon

Alrighty, I haven't found any good webcomics lately and that's pretty unacceptable. Recently, I ran into this very unique one (shoutout to my brother-- I don't know why he was reading it though because it's pretty cutesy).

It's called Ava's Demon 

The pages/updates are pretty simple but it updates every Monday and Thursday, so new stuff is posted very often!

It's great buffer for a patient webcomic fan who's waiting for other, longer stuff to come out.

Like this incredibly long-term but, honestly, breathtakingly beautiful comic by Yuumei filled with kites and lights and pollution and vivacious teenagers set in front of modern day China called Knites. (I'm getting distracted....)

At first i thought Ava's Demon was going to be this mental illness metaphor type deal, but it's really something a lot more fantastical and out-of-this-world than that.

The only problem is that this artist is clearly in it for the long haul, because it's 1000+ images in and I am still trying to get a feel of where this story is going entirely. It throws you in, and considering a lot of her updates are dialogue-less, i feel like it will be a while before I get my full bearings on this comic.

Still, don't be afraid to check it out! I'd give it a ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Are Video Games Art?

OK! THIS IS A BIG TOPIC. And one that I feel very passionately about (because my two great loves aside from sushi and Game of Thrones are art and video games), but let me give you an introduction.

It's been a while since I've last played Dragon Age: Inquisition. I really wanted to play through it a second time as a Rogue (and I certainly still think I am going to!) but after I finished my mage playthrough I moved onto other things... Like Evolve and Dragon Ball Xenoverse! I've also gone back and started the old Trine because I've only played #2.

...I digress. Going back, I think that Inquisition is a really great new example of how video games are art. Actually, Bioware games in general tend to be a great combination of all of the art forms.

Mind you, as subjective as "art" is, I wouldn't call all games art. I couldn't really write anything about how Call of Duty could ever change my life. But a lot of people would argue that video games are entertainment-- not art-- they'd consider it low-brow. I think those people don't really understand games.

I very vividly remember a speaker at E3 2013 talking about how video games are the only artform that challenge you. He said "a book won't let you turn the page if you didn't read fast enough. A painting won't turn black if you don't look at it right. But a video game can say 'nope sorry, you're not ready to continue yet'."

I think that's part of its charm! It's not exclusivity, it's just a challenge.

Sometimes, you're not ready to continue on somewhere yet. A painting may encourage you to stop to look, but it can't make you. Engaging in a game will sometimes force you to slow down.

And you should! Somebody put their heart and soul, their whole life into this! Have you ever looked up at the sky in Skyrim? It looks like a painting. I could spend hours watching a virtual sunset.

Each game has a (usually identifiable) aesthetic.

If you've ever played Dragon Age or Mass Effect, it's rich with plot-- and such cute, human moments like Mordin singing Scientist Salarian in the last Mass Effect. I literally (not figuratively) cried actual human tears.

Inquisition and most of the Final Fantasy series' do an amazing job of creating dynamic and oddly charming characters that you can find yourself so attached to.

I'm so proud of how far games have come in establishing themselves as masterpieces.

Batgirl #41 Cover

There's been some controversy around DC lately and while I feel like that's almost becoming a redundant statement, I want to write about this one. This year is the Joker's 75th anniversary (he doesn't look a day over 50) and a lot of comics are paying tribute by releasing alternate covers with the Joker.
\
Though Barbara is Batgirl here, she later becomes Oracle when the Joker shoots and paralyzes her and she's confined to a wheelchair. The controversy here is that it's also implied that the Joker sexually assaults her, so a lot of fans consider it uncomfortable or triggering in the context.

Since then, DC has pulled the cover and the artist has very graciously apologized. And I 100% respect and appreciate their decision to do so.

Personally, I can't really see that it "crosses a line", but I guess, having never been a victim to this sort of thing, I don't really get to choose where the line is drawn. Still, I think that it's a pretty reasonable depiction of something you might see between any hero-villain dynamic and the artist, Rafael Albuquerque does a bangin' job on this one.

The only thing I don't get is that now, people are slandering The Killing Joke. A lot of tweets read along the lines of "it's 2015, we can stop pretending The Killing Joke was good." and "Most people who call The Killing Joke a classic weren't even old enough to read when it came out."

If you ask me, that's kind of a terrible defense.

No one on this earth was alive when Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet or when Bram Stoker wrote Dracula. Since when do you have to be alive during its time to call anything a classic?

The Killing Joke is canonically why the Joker-- the most famous comic villain of all time-- is the way he is. It's arguably Batman's darkest time; I definitely think Batman broke his golden rule at the end of the comic. It's heart-wrenching and uncomfortable and exciting.

People don't like it because, what, it depicts sexual assault? Isn't that a good thing? Isn't that giving a voice to victims? Isn't that giving an accurate depiction, an insight into what a terrible thing that is? And I think that's great, because it makes you feel things!

Say what you want about Batgirl #41's alternate cover (personally, I thought it was brilliantly executed), but do not insult The Killing Joke.

Bee and PuppyCat

So cute !!!

It's a new take on the whole "Magical Girl" thing-- she's kind of sassy and nobody is sure if her pet is a puppy or a cat, but she's still got the whole whimsical thing going on, which is pretty cute.

There's only 4 episodes out, and they're each actually 1/2 of a story, so it's more like 2 episodes. But I love it! It's from Cartoon Hangover, the same people who do Bravest Warriors, which they worked on with Pendleton Ward (the Adventure Time guy!) so it's another hodge-podge of random humour.

I really wish more were out, they've really captured the feeling of Sailor Moon and stuffed it into 6 minutes of an entirely new style-- in a good way.

And you can catch up in under 30m!

Holy wow, I love the aesthetic. I just want my room to look like her whole house.

Below is everything out for it:

Telltale Games' Game of Thrones

Can you guess it? Here's a hint...

THAT'S RIGHT. It's CANON.

We have approached canon. If anyone has ever played a Game of Thrones game, they're mostly pretty disappointing. I haven't played the text-based one, but Ascent, Genesis (the RTS one), and Game of Thrones: The Role-Playing Game...... not a great track record, guys.

Yes, telltale games produces some great work-- they do this fun new take on text-based adventures, kind of, where your dialogue options are what's mostly affecting the environment. It's like Zork on steroids! But I think there are reasonable grounds to remain suspicious of anything that falls under both the categories of "Game of Thrones" and "video game". 

Well congratulations, Telltale Games' Game of Thrones, you've swayed my heart! 

They actually do a wonderful job of telling a story; they practically mimic George R. R. Martin's voice and style while still delivering an entirely unique and original story, and Telltale Games chose the perfect house to follow: House Forrester. It's an insignificant enough house to take creative liberties with what is happening to them starting at the time of "A Storm of Swords" (the 3rd book/season), but a significant enough house that an avid fan would likely recognize the name. 

So far, only 2 out of 5 or 6 episodes have been released-- and I've heard that the iPhone port is quite buggy-- but it's been a lot of fun! Highly recommended. 

The gamer in me says 6/10. The Game of Thrones fan says 9. As long as you're not looking for a conventional video game, I'd give it a 7.5 overall. Pretty happy! 

Cosplay outfit post: Frilly Apron and Popura Taneshima!

So some of you might remember when I cosplayed as Taneshima from the (really really cute >.<) anime called "Working!!". 

Honestly, I usually just go to cons in a Harley Quinn or Misty outfit so this is the first time I've really had to make anything. It was still a pretty easy cosplay-- white school blouse, black skirt, knee high socks, and I bought a black ribbon and tied it around my neck. The only thing I really had to do was the apron. 

Which was hell to find. 

My friend (pictured above) and I went to countless stores in about 5 different malls just to find a plain white apron. Then, after that, I had to cut about half of the middle out and then sew it back together so that it wasn't so long. 

Then I used that extra fabric to make the frills. Usually if you'd like to sew gathers, you sew a strip of fabric along the bottom normally and then push the fabric together so that it bunches together. Big, anime-ish frills work differently (but are just as easy)!

Start to sew the fabric along the bottom as normal and once you'd like to create a frill, take some of the unsewn fabric and double back over it (there should be 3 layers of fabric on top of each other) and sew. It's a little hard to push through so much fabric, and the hardest part is just not pricking yourself, I find, but it ends up making everything so much cuter. ☆

Fighting Games: Madcatz Fightstick!

For Christmas, I got my boyfriend a Madcatz Fightstick! It looks pretty much like this:

Except that the original parts (the buttons and the stick), were replaced with these green Sanwa parts which you can see in the ebay link above.

Its been a while since he's had it, but I finally got to try it out for myself and I think he agrees with me-- it plays like a dream (and, by extention, it is automatically an A+++ Christmas present, right?).

So I picked Street Fighter back up after years of putting it down-- because when you're young, Street Fighter is 95% button mashing-- and actually bothered to learn combos. 

I feel like the game is a lot more fun when you're... actually playing it. 

Anyway, this fightstick is both PC and Xbox compatible, and (I think?) can be used for other fighters. 

I wouldn't call  myself an expert, but I did do a lot of research and this fightstick is what I'd bet is the best you're going to get for how cheap it is. 

You can get them here at eBay where there's still a ton of listings with different skins. They'll range from $150-400 but the cheaper fightsticks should work just as well!

(Although one thing I've learned from a ton of shopping on eBay is, look out for shipping prices too... sometimes they try to trick you by putting all of the pricing into shipping :l).

Why It's Great: The Name of the Wind by: Patrick Rothfuss

I've mentioned Name of the Wind briefly before but I want to post about it again because it's somehow widely known as a secret gem in the world of fantasy novels.

How is it both widely known and a secret? I don't really know.

I guess because all of the fantasy book nerds I've ever met (including myself) could rave on about it for hours, but it doesn't really get the critics/press/mass audiences that, say, Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings might bring in (yet).

Still, and take this from someone whose entire life revolves around Game of Thrones and who compares every aspect of her existence to it: Name of the Wind is the best written fantasy series I've ever read.

Now first, to be clear: note that I said best written and not best. George R. R. Martin tells a killer story. He's got his lore game on-lock and he'll keep you roped into his story by playing with and twisting around the best and the worst characters. Still, his imagery leaves something to be desired, unless he's talking about the food, which is by far the most described aspect of the novels.

It's somewhat justified because each book is around 1000 pages and they're trying to give you insight into an entire world.

On the other hand, Name of the Wind is more scoped (only one Point of View Character, for example). It's clever, and is written with equal parts excitement and comedy.

Rather than covering a lot of ground in terms of space, it covers a lot of ground in terms of time, and you get really acquainted with Kvothe as he develops in this endearing, charming way that makes you feel like his friends are your friends.

If you've read the Song of Ice and Fire series and are waiting for Winds of Winter to come out, or you're just a big fantasy nerd, this is definitely at the top of my list (although I've been so busy with schoolwork, I haven't even finished the 2nd book, Wise Man's Fear). There's also a spinoff called A Slow Regard for Silent Things, and Patrick Rothfuss is in the midst of writing the last of the trilogy.

If I can only say one thing about this series, it's this: When I was younger, I used to love teen fantasy novels until I picked up Stephen King. The Name of the Wind has got that same magic and splendour, without being cheesy or catering.

Getting Really Sad When Your Favourite Thing Gets Popular

Am I the only one who does that? Because for me, that definitely happened with Game of Thrones, but it's applicable to anything! The revival of Doctor Who, when Scott Pilgrim was made into a movie, Community-- ya know.

I had started watching it from the very first episode (April 17, 2011) and from then on, I was hooked. I devoured the first four books (and pretty much absorbed them into my skin) but by the time I was on the 5th one, I was literally afraid that i would feel purposeless without A Song of Ice and Fire.

 So I cut down my reading to one page a day. Eventually I gave up on that and finished Dance with Dragons, too, and I only had 2 or 3 other friends who really knew what Game of Thrones was.

Years later, it started getting popular. It was exciting for me! My high school knew that I was the go-to person about it, and people would ask me for a countdown exactly of how many days until the next season. Trying to convince people to read the books was like a challenge.

But then it grew... and grew... and grew... suddenly, it was abnormal if you didn't like Game of Thrones. It didn't feel like my special thing anymore, events that last year were empty were sold out and packed, and everybody was talking about it. I felt like Tyrion post-Purple Wedding but pre-Essos

But then it hit me... everyone was talking about it. 

Now, I have so many people I can rave to about Game of Thrones! And every time someone who watches the show tells me they're going to start reading the books, I absolutely light up! My dad started reading the series and today asked me if I knew that Jamie and Cersei were twins. This is the man who thought that Tywin and Tyrion were both named Tywin. Precious.

It's not your special little thing anymore, but a bigger fanbase means more events, means the show doesn't get cancelled, means even more for you!

Exciting, right? At least, most of the time.

Online Finds: Mass Effect/Cosplay Guns

Shopping online really feels like treasure hunting.

Wow. I've really locked myself in my room playing Dragon Age: Inquisition. I mean... sitting down for 10 hours at a time, not eating, sleeping, or getting up at all, really. But I finally pried myself away and....

I found this awesome N7 pistol!

[Insert the Legend of Zelda "discovered treasure" sound... da da da... daaaaaaa!]

It's all battle-worn and the N7 logo is nicely printed, too, which is a bonus!

I don't really cosplay so I guess I can't justify dropping $100+ on this, but if I did, I'd be all over it. Or maybe I'll just buy this because it's nice to have.  I am all about those paint scratches. 

The shop does custom designs on guns, if you want to cosplay any characters who use them. His store already has a ton of cool stuff up from other games like Resident Evil and Borderlands (two other games I love and make me wish I cosplayed). 

Or do most people just make their own cosplay weapons? Someone enlighten me!

Digimon: The New Series (AKA the "Jordan, I Told You So" Post)

Back in August I made a post about how Digimon is coming back and I flipped my shit because, I'd imagine like a lot of the type of people who read my blog, Digimon was a big part of my childhood.

This is kind of an irregularly-scheduled post but it's because when I told people a lot of them didn't believe me and told me it probably just was a fanmade teaser.

False!

Here's the link that just got posted on more information.

It's happening! Is anyone else excited?! I feel like my babies are all grown up!

Are there tears in my eyes?!

...................................Maybe.