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semi-imaginary-place · 3 years

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rewatching decadence

ep1: so... indoctrinating kids that they life their life in service to an upper class. also like, the way deca dence takes care of giant gadoll is to punch it like no giant sword or laser canon or anything just the power of a giant mountain sized fist. this show actually has some good foreshadowing from seeing Natsume from the perspective of Kaburagi’s hud, to Natsume’s dad (Muno) finding the Solid Quake logo at the beginning of the episode and the logo again being shown in the last shot at the announcement signs off with have a profitable day which is a weird public safety announcement but makes sense as a company slogan. I’m still not sure what the “TIME 1:00 POINT SE,07,G” means. I didn’t write it down last time because I was unsure of myself, but my first thought when the cyborgs showed up was VR chatroom for the upper class.

ep2: yeahs that’s totally an advertisement that plays right after natsume realizes the human costs of war as the tankers pay respects to the fallen. I realized what it was with the cartoony designs, the bright colors and patterns, the funky shapes of all the structures aboard the space ship, it looks like a tv show for toddlers. inoffensive and deliberately cheerful to distract from the horrors of a corporation owning your person. the eng subtitles are confusing here it should be “real death(simulation) awaits” in that the company is advertising being able to experience death but not have any of its permanent consequences as a feature of the game. The cyborgs are corporate wage slaves being compensated for their labor in company credits and the only other things we seen them do outside of work is play the company’s mmo, or recreational drugs. “I should be proud of my function and to be scrapped” as property of the company. aaaa that’s terrible. aaa. what are cyborg cores??? and why are they valuable. Solid Quake has no control over the core, only the cyborg’s housing. Is it that they cannot produce more? Considering the others on the team got executed for sentenced to an eternal forced labor camp with appalling conditions, Minato really did pull some strings for Kaburagi. ooh so “time until scrapping” and “operational limit near are two different warnings. the first is a general reminder of lifespan and the second is because oxyone levels are low. now its “TIME 20:00 POINT SE,05,I”. all those new gadoll events probably wreck havoc on the tanker economy. its 400c now and i think it was 500 for 2 earlier. First time through I wasn’t paying attention and totally thought kaburagi was an assassin, but no he’s just clean up crew. ahh yes, come spend you wages at the company run stores. micro transactions... wait so where were people getting the number 13 from?

ep3: ah yes Solid Quake charges to use the media center, truly a micro transaction hell. Natsume’s character arc is about whether to push herself or not. Here Fei acts as part of a continuing dialectic saying that Tankers have no place outside of Deca-Dence, that sooner of later Natsume will die from it, and once again highlighting Natsume’s right arm. In the other level of this though, tankers shouldn’t go outside because that’s not their role in the solid quake mmo, and those who would disrupt the mmo are killed. I like how you can see Kaburagi switch from videogame logic (oh she’s low level so let’s just stick her in the tutorial zone) to real life (what skills and experiences would help in fighting). So several corporations took advantage of desperate people to sell them a service that would augment them with mechanical parts. I get that pipe in a little outfit is funny, but does no one really realize its a gadoll, i meant natsume recognizes it instantly. like the scene where Natsume talks about her right arm, the anime does a good job of showing how her feeling about it are complicated. She’s lived with that arm for years, but it also hinders her sometimes, and people will comment about it. there’s this specific type of humor that pops up in this show and given how its the same joke, my guess is that its the same person behind it. The “joke” being that Natsume is put in a position that references sexual assault. The first is with fennel where she makes up an excuse of having to go see kaburagi to get away from him. And then there’s this episode. There’s also a few stray lines here and there that alarm me in that they imply Natsume has dealt with the threat of assault before. Since they didn’t do anything meaningful with this, I’d rather it just not be there. Minato is in on the secret of Pipe’s existence and by the way the two talk, they’ve called each other before in the last 7 years. Its good to know that Kaburagi wasn’t JUST brooding for 7 years and that the two of them stayed in contact.

ep4: Natsume after having gained confidence in herself takes down several gadoll and earns her place in The Power. Its a fulfilling payoff after seeing her train for several episodes. Natsume is where she always wanted to be, fighting gadoll in the Power. gahh It really is a patch release trailer. Ohh so I assumed that the other structures on the cartoon earth were other corporations, but in this episode we see one of them (the white and red striped cone thing opposite the deca-dence dome) and the cyborgs there are talking about the game (MMO LARPing lol), so either Solid Quake owns multiple of those structures, or these cyborgs are customers not owned by Solid Quake and playing of their own volition. that would makes the cone cyborgs where solid quake is deriving its profit from since its not like it pays its workers. reading comments online, a lot of people missed that because a ranker was found to be cheating (mikey), the rankings were abolished. In the present time, gears/players are not ranked. Ah so Kaburagi was transferred to the maintenance department from the warrior department. Wow reassignment is so much better than the poop jail. I remember it being said, armor repair, doctor, and weapon shop could be employee(cyborg) run so I wonder if the medics and that one armor shop guy are tankers or not. So this anime already snuck in a sex joke with the when the poop gang swapped kaburagi’s avatar with a sex toy, so i wonder if the safetyprivatemode was made so that the mods wouldn’t have to listen to robot sex. I really wish this show could have had 24 episodes. The trend for the past 20 years has been shorter and shorter shows so I know it would have been likely impossible to get the clearance and funding for 24 eps but oooh in som alternate universe maybe... i brought up fleshing out minor characters and character relationships before but there also stuff like Natsume’s right hand almost clamping on ... Mindy? Which usually would be a narrative flag but is completely dropped because of the episode limit. And the confidence Natsume gained last episode come to work against Kaburagi trying to keep her from the suicide mission. Its only from this point on that Kaburagi starts to really change, as of this point he is still a loyal cog to a machine that does not care about him. Kaburagi and Natsume in the 2nd half of the episode continue the same dialectic that runs through the whole of the show, about giving up and learning to try again, about pushing your limit, about why someone bothers trying. On the collectivist versus individualist spectrum, Deca-Dence is on the individualist side with assertions of the importance for deciding for yourself what you will do with your life. Its an interesting counterpoint to The Twilight Mirage (Friends at the Table) which I am currently listening to in that The Twilight Mirage is a western production and strongly collectivist with one of the antagonist being sort of kind of an embodiment of independence/individualism while japanese works as a whole tend to be more about the whole over the individual than western ones. Kurenai talking about why she fights is very good and very important for 2 reasons, first it help flesh out not only her but offer a very needed other opinion on what its like to live as a Tanker, second it segues nicely into Natsume’s memories of her dad telling her about the outside world and him being the only one to believe she can do it (fight in The Power) as contrasted with flashbacks of all the other characters telling her she can’t. This culminates in Natsume gathering her resolve to fight not because of something grand like changing the world or the fate of humanity, but something very personal scale: changing herself and proving to herself that she can do it. The is also the climax of her character arc, the point of no return.

ep5: If last episode was natsume’s point of no return, then either this episode or episode 7 is Kaburagi’s. Rationally speaking, the optimal scenario would have been for Kaburagi to stall long enough for the Tankers to escape before pulling back himself, but emotionally and narratively, there’s no way he couldn’t. After all the build up of deciding for yourself how to live and pushing your limits. Its appropriate that here in defense of the girl that inspired him to live and choose for himself rather than just continue existing in the default of what Solid Quake demands of him, that Kaburagi chooses to release his operational limiter (literally pushing him limit) and derail the company’s plans. How did no one realize purple dude was breaking imprisonment to play on a hacked avatar. Like he’s still as purple and bloodthirsty as ever. He acts and speaks the same. Someone would have totally seen him and gone “eyyyyy [i forgot this guy’s name] is back” and talked to people about it and someone should have heard. So I remember reading comments from various idiots who were mad because they mistakenly thought the anime took place in a virtual space and that Natsume was made of lines of code. And first off even if that was true there’s a difference between objective reality and the lived experiences of a person and what’s to say her experiences and emotions would be any less real than yours. And second, did everyone forget The Hunger Games? Like its just another game that plays with real lives and doesn’t care who gets killed. Solid Quake is just using humans as a stage prop. Man this episode is jam packed. Its like getting punched in the face 4 times. The pacing of the last 4 minutes was really good. The quiet scene as dawn breaks acts in direct contrast to the high energy of the Stargate takedown that preceded it. After time and against not listening to him, Minato still calls Kabu to check in with him. There’s also his certainly that it was Kaburagi that saved the Deca-Dence mech (i need to be clearer when I’m talking about the physical fortress city mech, the mmorpg game, or the deca-dence system itself). And then when the world state gets reset is just so good because it make it clear that the gadoll were never the true enemy. The tankers could kill as many gadoll as they want and nothing would change. Kaburagi’s at an interesting point here, in that he’s no longer in a state of having given up like he was in episode 1 just waiting to die and following along with Solid Quake’s orders, as of this episode he has deliberately gone against the company’s rules, and yet he’s still believes that nothing will actually change. He’s broken a rule and resigned himself to punishment instead of say for example getting rid of the punishment all together. He’s still a good little employee that hasn’t rebelled against the system. And then the “Take care of Pipe” and Natsume turns around and he’s already gone, is sooo good. The final shot too of his avatar face down in the snow! The “This world needs bugs” is in direct contrast to Hugin/Fugin(?) repeating that this world must be rid of bugs, and the same phrase Kaburagi repeated 7 years ago when he was transferred to the Maintenance Department instead of being killed. I wonder how much the cyborgs feel in their original bodies vs. how much they feel in their Gear avatars. Kaburagi doesn’t seem to care about food and no food stalls were shown in the Gear area so maybe they doesn’t have much sense of taste? The avatars also have a lessened sense of pain. And then the limit release sequence shows connections increasing between the two bodies so does it make the cyborgs more attuned with the avatar’s senses?

ep6: eh so this is another example of what I mean when I say some of the humor in this show is in bad taste. They probably put the oxyone port where the ass would be just to make this joke. But this is better then doing to it Natsume. The animators even had a gleam censor for the over where the capsule was inserted as if it wasn’t obvious enough what it was suppose to look like. Spurned on by the the promise that one day if they work hard and behave (”rehabilitated”), the cyborgs will get let out when in actuality its a forced labor camp so that Solid Quake can squeeze just a little more labor our of the cyborgs for even less compensation. The cartoony style here helps offset just how horrific there working conditions are. And Kaburagi still the good little employee (iiko) tries his hardest to play by the rules and win. Except in this game, there is no “win’ written into the rules. So finally he is forced to move outside of the system Solid Quake has made. I still can’t believe they let Donatello keep the gun... Maybe cyborg cores are brains. In 5.5 Kaburagi’s core is in the top half of his metal case, and Donatello’s is also in his head. I’m still not sure what that sequence where Kaburagi takes the head fin and an image of a cyborg core is overlayed, means.

#deca-dence #deca dence #anime #i think too much #reviews #writing

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suckitsurveys · 7 years

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Find the nearest book. Read the second sentence on page 13. There are no books near me.

Do you own anything that is made of metal and pink? I have pink scissors. Does that count?

Is there laundry in your dryer right now? Nope.

Would you eat a hissing beetle for $1000? Nah.

If you had to spend a year studying an animal in the wild, what animal? PANDAS. What is your all time favorite recipe? Tropical Sloppy Joe’s which is basically just Sloppy Joe’s with pineapple, but I make them from scratch.

What’s the first thing you think of when you smell strawberries? Uh, just strawberries?

What’s the nearest thing to your right that starts with an L? Light. Are there any bells in your house? In my parents’ house yes.

What’s your favorite informercial? I haven’t watched a legit infomercial in AGES.

Ever been to AsSeenOnTv.com? Yeah.

If you could have a shopping spree in any store, what would it be? Target, naturally.

Where’s the best place to register for a wedding? Target, naturally.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever found on the beach? I found a small crab on a beach in Chicago once.

Have you ever kissed anyone within an hour of meeting them? Nah.

Can you watch a birthing video all the way through? Of course. I’ve also seen a real life birth before.

What would be your act in a talent show? Crying a lot.

What channel is on channel 37 on your tv? We have Sling so we don’t have channel numbers.

What’s the last thing you wrote? I don’t remember.

Do you have a community mailbox or an individual one? Individual, except our mail person likes to put everyone else’s mail in there too.

How many keys are on your key ring? 4.

What was your first myspace song ever? Oh man I have no idea. Probably something by mc chris.

Besides mama and dada, what was your first real word? Probably “cory” or something for my sister.

Would you rather be stuck in the desert or in a blizzard? The desert.

What dessert do you hate? Canolies. Is that considered a dessert?

What candy factory would you love to work at? None of them.

What does an envelope taste like to you? Some envelopes taste like spearmint candy canes.

What’s your favorite line in your favorite movie? Oh man, too many gems.

Have you ever gone to the bathroom outdoors? Yes.

Would you help a baby cougar w/ the risk of the mama attacking you? Probably not.

What international monument would you like to visit the most? I don‘t know.

Have you decided where you want to get married? Mark and I are going to the Skokie Courthouse.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten in a sandwich? I’m not sure I‘ve eaten anything strange in a sandwich before.

What’s the most exotic thing you’ve eaten? I mean, define “exotic.” I’ve had alligator and ostrich before. Do those count?

Is there a crime/criminal that intrigues you the most? Not really.

What Disney prince/character do you think is the cutest? The cutest Disney character is baby Dory.

Can you name some of the clever names of OPI nail polish? I had one called “Teal the Cows Come Home”

Can you sing the entire theme song to any show? Oh yes.

Did you ever get ‘the talk’ from either one of your parents? Sort of. I got it more from my older sister.

Do you remember drinking from a bottle? Not baby bottles, no.

What’s in the third drawer of your dresser? Tank tops and long sleeve shirts that I wear under other shirts.

What do you keep in the little pocket of your purse? I have a couple small pockets. In the outside one I keep my phone and in the inside one I keep birth control and tampons.

When people ask for ID, which ID do you use? My driver’s license.

Who was the first person you knew who’s name started with a P? The first person who comes to mind is Paula, a girl in my Kindergarten class, but I am sure there were others before her.

What’s the last form you filled out online? Uhh does placing an order for tank tops from Target count?

How many times have you had to renew/change your driver’s license? Maybe twice?

Have you ever been given a bouquet of carnations? I have.

Do you have an old computer that just sits at the house? Mark has a lot of computer parts in our apartment.

Do you read the lyrics in the CD sleeve while listening to the song? Back when I still used CDs, yes, I loved doing that.

Name something you made out of play-doh when you were younger. I loved making coils for some reason. I’d roll out the dough into a long string and then roll it onto a coil/swirl or whatever you’d call it. Sometimes I’d make snails out of them too.

What’s your next appointment for? I don’t really have one set up. Which reminds me I have to book the courthouse and a hotel for that night too.

When’s the last time you put glitter on something? In April on Lydia’s golden birthday card.

What’s the worst birthday gift you received as a child? I can’t remember ever getting a bad birthday present.

Do you go into the gas station or stay by your car when pumping gas? You should always say by your car.

When’s the last time you sat on Santa’s lap? I don’t know. I was older. Probably around 8 or 9.

What’s your favorite kind of caramel apple? The ones with nuts on them.

Would you rather wrestle crocodiles or anacondas? My anaconda don’t want none unless you got buns, hun.

Did you sneeze last night? I don’t remember.

Do you hold the remote while watching tv or set it down? Set it down

Have you ever done farm chores like milk a cow or shave a sheep? I’ve milked a cow on a field trip in grade school before.

When’s the last time you used a coupon? When I ordered shorts from Torrid last week. They were having a $25 dollar shorts sale with an additional 30% code, and a I have a coupon for $10 off. So the $42.90 shorts came out to be $7.50, plus shipping and tax so more like $15 BUT STILL.

Does your mom know what size clothes you wear now? I mean, she did?

Is Love written anywhere in the room you’re in? I don’t think so.

What’s the nearest sports equipment to you? None here.

Have you ever glued your fingers or hands together? Yup, the joys of grade school. We use to pour glue on our hands and then peel it off a lot too.

Do you think that they should bring the guillotine back? Nope.

If you could invent anything to make life easier, what would it be? A magic device that lets you eat anything you wanted but not gain weight. And wasn’t horrible for you.

Would you like to run in a giant hamster ball for humans? Sure.

What were that last kind of nuts you ate? Peanuts. I made Honey Sriracha Chex Mix yesterday and it called for peanuts.

Do you own any shirts with political or social statements on them? Nah. Unless “Peace - Love - Music” counts, haha.

Do you remember what your 2nd grade teacher’s first name was? I don’t.

Have you ever played Twister & had someone’s butt in your face? Probably.

What was the last thing you cheated on? I don’t know. A test, probably.

When was the last time you used a walkie talkie? I have no idea.

Where do you usually go camping? I don’t have a one spot.

Who do you sleep with when you go camping? I haven’t really been camping with the same people? Mark and I plan on going again soon.

Ever been afraid to see a ghost in your rearview mirror when driving alone? No.

Have you ever dated anyone whose name started with B? Nope.

If yes, was it a good experience? -

Do you remember what Doug Funnie’s dog’s name was? Porkchop.

What is your favorite episode of The Brady Bunch? I couldn’t tell you a specific episode, but my favorite thing ever was when VH1 used to do Pop-Up Video style reruns of The Brady Bunch with trivia about the episode. I wish every show had that. <–YESSS

Name a line from a Spice Girls song. “Stop right now thank you very much, I need somebody with a human touch.”

Have you ever jumped into a pile of leaves? Yes.

What does your swimsuit look like? A pink halter tank with black polka dots and black high waisted bottoms.

Do you like it fast or slow? What.

What’s the last holiday candy you consumed? Peeps.

What’s the last thing you bought at a grocery store? Firewood, propane, ice, cups for jello shots, popcorn, chex, fire starters, wine, two small American flags, and a mini pizza. I have the list on my phone still haha.

Have you ever done a backflip on a giant trampoline? Nope.

Do you believe that there is only ONE person out there for everybody? Kind of. Maybe not like in a predetermined way, but I definitely believe in finding “the one” or whatever.

Do you prefer flowers or chocolate? Chocolate.

Do you remember the first time you used a computer? Kind of. I was 8 or 9.

Do you remember the first computer game you ever played? Probably pinball.

Does your Wii character ever look like you? I think so, except I don’t think you can give it weird colored hair, so not totally like me.

What’s the last sour thing you put in your mouth? Lime.

Do you remember anything from before you were 3? Not too much.

Do you believe in hypnosis? Sure.

Do you reserve pages in the yearbook for certain people? Nah.

Ever had a fantasy about a teacher? Guilty as charged.

What’s the most humiliating outfit your parent made you wear? I don’t know. I’ve never really been humiliated by an outfit.

Did you ever want to change religions? Nope, I’ve never had one and I never will.

Is it hard for you to fall asleep when you have had a lot of sugar? Nope.

What’s your favorite thing to eat with strawberries? Bananas.

How do you eat a Reese’s Peanut butter Cup? With my mouth?

What would you do for a Klondike bar? Go to the store and buy one.

What’s the funniest bumper sticker you’ve ever seen? I don’t know.

Ever been up in the mountains? Not really.

When’s the first time you ever touched snow? Probably pretty little. I was born in September and I’m sure my mom wasted no time putting me in the snow that winter.

What color is your computer desk? The one I am at right now is black.

Are you baptized? Nope.

What did you dream of last night? I had a shitty dream. A family member got a leg chopped off.

Have you ever eaten an exotic animal? Define exotic.

What do you think is the funniest movie of all time? Of all time? Hard to say. The funniest movie to me? Wet Hot American Summer.

Name a line from that movie? There isn’t really a lot of good one-liners.

Would you be surprised if you found out your mom had tattoos? Not really.

Would you wear a leather dog collar for free drinks? Um.

When was the last time you danced the Macarena? I don‘t remember. I may have done it recently while reminiscing about it with some friends.

Can you sing your school’s song? I don’t think we had one.

What was your all time favorite subject in elementary school? Science.

What’s the last song you sang out loud in the car? I don’t remember who sings it but its that Wait a Minute song.

Who is the last person you talked to whose name started with a G? Georgina, the girl who took my Starbucks order a few minutes ago (i left in the middle of the survey oops)

Have you ever bedazzled anything? I think so.

Have you ever bought anything off of HSN or QVC? Nope. Where do you keep your cash? My wallet, on the rare occasion I have any.

Do you fold laundry while watching tv? No. Most thing get hung up.

When’s the last time you used a protractor? Probably not since high school.

When’s the last time you used a Victoria’s Secret product? I don’t think I ever have,

Can you name the kids from the Cosby Show? That show is dead to me now.

What’s your favorite show on Nick At Nite? Three’s Company, I Love Lucy, and Full House.

Have you ever made a rubber band ball? Mhmm.

What zodiac sign do you find to be the most interesting? None of them really.

Would you ever see a psychic? Nah.

When’s the last time you had cotton candy? Probably at the babyshower I threw for my sister, which was circus-themed.

Where is your younger sibling? Non existent.

What’s the last thing you ordered at a Mexican restaurant? Chicken tacos and guacamole.

Do you have an ant problem in the summer? Nah.

Do you tan outside or in a booth? Outside, but not purposely.

Do you still use scrunchies? Nah.

Have you ever met someone for the 1st time that seemed so familiar? Probably.

What’s the most hours you’ve worked in a week? 60.

Do you keep anything in files? Yes.

Do you have special ringtones for different people? Nah.

How do you eat your steak? Medium rare.

Is your birthmark shaped like anything? I have a freckle/beauty mark/mole on my hand that looks like pac-man a little bit.

Can you put on mascara with your mouth closed? Yeah.

Have you ever worn men’s underwear? Boxers.

Do you own anything that’s fuzzy and purple? Socks.

When’s the last time you were kissed on the cheek? Yesterday.

Do you play with pogs? I’ve never even seen a pog in person.

What wild animal would you like as a pet? Panda.

When’s the last time someone hung up on you? I don’t know.

Have you eaten an entire pizza by yourself? Not in one sitting, but yes.

Have you ever fallen out of a tree? Nah.

Did you read the Babysitters Club book series? I read some. I was more into the show.

How about Goosebumps? ^

Ever worn a flower in your hair? Yes.

What kind of car did your parents have while you were growing up? My mom had two Ford Astro vans: a blue one that my dad ended up taking and then a brown one. In 2000 she got a brand new Dodge Grand Caravan and was the happiest person in the world.

Do you ever wish your birthday was on a different day? Sometimes I wish it was later in the month so people had to look at it on the calendar all month haha.

Do you sunburn easily? Mhmm.

Have you read the Twilight series? Of course not.

Why couldn’t you go to sleep the last time you were up all night? It’s been a while since that has happened.

What breed of dog do you find the most annoying? Yippy yappy ones.

What would you name your first born son? I’m not having children but I have always loved the names Alexander and Elliott.

Do you cook anything you don’t like eating? Nope.

Do you watch any reality shows on MTV or VH1? Sometimes I’ll watch Teen Mom or True Life.

Would you have a better chance of surviving in the Sahara or Alaska? Gross.

When’s the last time you pet a cat? This morning when Ramona crawled on me.

Do you remember Eureka’s Castle on Nick JR? I do!

What would you say is Paris Hilton’s occupation? Old News.

Are you wearing a necklace? Nope.

Do you have any noticeable moles or birthmarks? My mom always called them beauty marks.

Count to ten in another language. Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez.

Do you feel uncomfortable telling friends they have boogers in their nose? Nope. What do you remember from sex ed class when you were younger? In grade school my gym teacher awkwardly tried to teach us but it lasted one whole day. In high school we had a health class and half the class was so immature when we got to the reproductive sections the teacher just made us read them on our own.

What’s the first instrument you ever played? Piano. My dad owns one and I remember banging on the keys as a small child.

What’s the last thing you wore around your neck? A glow necklace last night.

#surveys

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