Doctor Who (Season 7)

Show: Doctor Who

Season: 7

Episodes: 14

Showrunner: Steven Moffat

Released: 2011-2013

Rating: 4/5

Basic Plot: The further adventures of the time traveling alien adventurer and his companions.
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The Mystery of Clara
The Doctor is introduced to Clara in the episode "Asylum of the Daleks". Not much of a mystery about her as she's clearly killed by the end of the episode. The thing that got people talking was the fact that the same actress was to reprise her role as the new companion in the 2012 Christmas Special. For the first half of Season 7 there is no real mention of Clara aside from "Asylum of the Daleks" as the focus for that part of the Season was the remaining time with the Ponds. With the second half of the Season underway, Clara takes center stage as 'the impossible girl'. There were so many theories going around of who/what she really was and it made me love my fellow Whovians for being so clever (though the good majority turned out to be wrong). Finding out who Clara is makes sense and gives some great callbacks to the Classic Doctor Who Era. Well...not so much callbacks as using clips from the Classic Doctor Who Era.

Letting go of Amy and Rory Pond
Amy and Rory were my first two companions of the Doctor. Yes, I watched other Seasons where there were different companions. But when I started to watch new episodes of Doctor Who they were the first ones I traveled with. I knew this Season would see the end of them and I was worried. When they left the show I needed a couple of tissues. The episode was very well done and it gave the duo a proper farewell. It highlighted Rory's love of Amy and Amy's love of Rory. The fact that they couldn't stand to be apart from each other, even when staying together meant death. The episodes building up to the duo's farewell were very well put together. When I cried that they had left it was a good pain. Not happy or giving me peace of mind. But a good pain nonetheless.

The Christmas Specials
The first of this Season's Christmas Specials ("The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe") was a poor episode. I don't like saying this, especially when I made a big deal about watching it with my fiance (well he slept during the good majority of it, he's not a Whovian poor soul). It didn't really capture me but I was pleased when the Doctor reunited with Amy and Rory at the end of the episode. The second Christmas Special of this Season ("The Snowmen") was much better. Besides bringing back the Great Intelligence (I've heard the same 'being' was in Classic Doctor Who), it also introduced us to Clara. Both would play a large part in the second half of this Season.

Final Thoughts
Overall this was a good Season. Long time companions were given a proper farewell and there was a mystery about the new companion to explore. Madame Vestra and Jenny were great to see onscreen together. They are lesbians (though they are also different species) that are married. "The Crimson Horror" showcased how well a spinoff of the pair would work. This Season pulled at all the right heartstrings and ended with a cliffhanger that won't be answered for many months. While "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" wasn't a good episode, there were more good than bad episodes. "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Angels Take Manhattan" being two of them.

Elementary (Season 1)

Show: Elementary

Season: 1

Episodes: 24

Created By: Robert Doherty

Based on the Characters Created by: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Released: 2012-2013

Rating: 3/5

Basic Plot: A modern take on the cases of Sherlock Holmes, with the detective now living in New York City.
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Watson's Gender-swap
I admit this is the thing that gave me a little worry when I heard about the series. I could find no good reason why Watson was now a female in this series. I went from "so Watson can be a love interest since the media seems to have trouble with queer relationships" to "it's to show Sherlock's misogyny better". I have not yet found a good reason why Watson is a female, but it's something that doesn't bother me while watching the show. Lucy Liu does a great job with making Watson a strong, female character that is able to put Sherlock in his place. While I do ship the pair, Joan Watson is anything but a defenseless female.

Bits of Excitement
I don't remember any episode where I was dying to know what happened next. I was willing to wait a week to find out. Even when Irene was shown to be alive I was interested, but not dying because I had to know what happened next. However, there were parts here and there of true brilliance. Such as when Sherlock goes after the man that he thinks killed Irene. This shows such a vulnerable side to an otherwise logical character that it reminds the audience that Sherlock is indeed human. Overall, it was a very meh Season though the Watson and Sherlock moments are always a pleasure to see.

Character Changes
Now I am not going to talk about Irene Adler because she is a major spoiler for the series. Ms. Hudson is now a transexual. She is still a she but she just has male genitalia. For those unused to trans people, it is both correct and polite to refer to them as the gender they call themselves. It is for this reason I am very happy about Hudson's character being the same gender but a different sex. You don't know how happy it makes me. Moriarty's character being changed leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand it's a very interesting take, on the other hand it is odd and confusing.

Final Thoughts
I know I have said negative things about this show. However, I was watching the show before Day 1. Before the Pilot aired I saw a pirated version of it (link given to me by a friend). It entranced me enough to keep me watching each week. I love Johnny Lee Miller's Sherlock since there is so much life, joy, pain, sorrow, logic, and emotion in him. He really helps keep the show afloat. The show even has its own little gag which is bees. Supernatural has pie, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has pancakes, and Elementary has bees. I am not a big Sherlock fan so I don't know if big time Sherlockians will like this take on the classic tale. I'd suggest watching the Pilot and what you do from there is up to you.

Supernatural (Season 8)

Show: Supernatural

Season: 8

Episodes: 23

Created By: Eric Kripke

Released: 2012-2013

Rating: 3.5/5

Basic Plot: The Winchester brothers attempt to close the Gates of Hell forever.
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Ending a Let Down
I'll start off by saying that the Season 8 Finale was wonderful. Had its ups and downs but, overall, was good. However, the main plot of this Season was closing the Gates of Hell. I won't say here if the brothers managed to close them or not. What I will do is bring up Season 5 of Fringe and how important the device (that the Fringe Team spent all Season getting parts to build, around half of the time not even knowing what it would do) was at the end. That's about how I felt when the closing the Gates of Hell plotline was concluded.

Sam and Dean's Relationship
The whole of Supernatural is based around Sam and Dean's brotherly relationship. If they weren't working together, there would be no show. Yes, there might be stuff happening, but the show known as Supernatural would be no more. This season has the two brothers seeming to take their relationship to an unhealthy level. I don't mind Sam getting a normal life during the beginning of the Season, what I have a problem with is that he never looked for Dean (who had been sent to Purgatory at the end of the previous Season). This caused the brothers to be farther apart than before and it was painful. Mainly because it seemed Sam had been written out of character for it to happen. Sam ends up making Dean lose contact with a friend and Dean texts from Amelia's phone to stop Sam from interfering with a job. However, only what Dean did is shown by the other characters to be wrong while what Sam did is okay. Luckily, by the middle of the Season their relationship is back to normal. The too close, co-dependent Winchester normal. Though the Finale brings back the fact that Sam seems to have a need for Dean to care only about him (which is unhealthy as sibling love is a great thing, but it shouldn't stop other relationships from forming). All in all, though, the Season ended with the Winchester brothers having a much improved relationship from the start of the Season.

Meg's Death
Now I do ship Megstiel, but that isn't the reason Meg's death bothers me. Meg is a character who is female and has survived many odds. Odds where other female characters have failed. So the death of such a long running character had to be handled with delicacy. Right? Nope. Now, Castiel not knowing that Meg died loving him is a good pain. That's a pain that hurts and burns, but is still a good pain. What isn't good is that Meg is basically tossed aside with neither Sam nor Dean having a word for her. I can understand the brothers not liking her, as she's been a villain in the past, but not acknowledging the one who saved your ass is unforgivable. A long running character needs a good death scene.

Final Thoughts
This was the first Supernatural Season I kept up with. In other words, I dvred each episode and watched them as soon as I could. I would've done this last Season, but Fringe and Supernatural came on at the same time. And I like Fringe more. So I went into this Season with no knowledge of how the Season would end. It was a great ride and when the Season Finale came up I was jumping up with fangirl glee when the "Carry on my Wayward Song" portion came up in the beginning. While there were some great moments of this season (Charlie getting a backstory that had nothing to do with her being a lesbian, the Winchester brothers getting a secret lair, and the Trials among other things) there were also some bad things (Meg's death, Sam being written out of character during the beginning of the Season, and the episode "Bitten" [don't believe I did a vlog of that episode, suffice it to say it's my least favorite Supernatural episode so far] among other things). With the Finale there is some hope that next Season will be full of lovely pain.

Sushi, Sake, and Tanuki: Love and Leaving 4

For a few minutes I looked at my kill. I was glad that the Eastern was dead and Yomosa was now safe. Probably not forever, but for now she could have some peace. She climbed off of me and looked at the dead dragon. I wish I knew human expressions better so I could decipher why her muscles were reacting like they were.

I shifted back into my main human male form and then walked over to my love. The Eastern looked very different from this level. It was not merely a foe and could be mistaken for a demigod. Humans were very different in so many ways.

I put an arm around Yomosa and she put her head onto my chest. I let her have a few minutes of looking at the Eastern before I started speaking.

"It won't come for you again." I told her.

"I know it won't." Yomosa said softly. "But there will be others, won't there? Things much worse than this?"

I wanted to tell her that this was as bad as it was going to get. There would be nothing else that would be worse. But Akumie was a goddess and I couldn't lie to the woman beside me.

"Yes." I replied simply.

I kissed the top of Yomosa's head to try and calm her. I was better equipped to fight the forces of Akumie than Yomosa would ever be. But my lover had shown herself to be brave and remarkable on her own. That wouldn't change the fact that she had been thrown into a new lifestyle quickly. A lifestyle that meant fighting and facing your fears so that death wouldn't claim you. It was understandable why Yomosa was nervous now.

"Is the Akumie you mentioned the same one that this creature meant?" Yomosa finally asked.

"Yes." I said and was about to stop there but had to continue. "Its and my Akumie are one and the same. She was angered that I used her for sex and she has never forgiven me since. Only now is she coming after me."

But had it only been for sex or had there been something more? Something that I had ignored because Sajoki's ghost had still haunted me back then?

"Why won't she come after you personally? Is she too frightened of you?" Yomosa asked.

I let out a small chuckle at the thought. A goddess being afraid of an obake would be a sight to see.

"No, there must be another reason. She must be banished from Japan or something else must be keeping her from attacking us directly." I answered.

"So if we leave Japan there's a chance we might have to face Akumie ourselves?" Yomosa timidly asked.

"Yes. Do you still want to follow me?"

"Until the end of time." She answered and we embraced. I enjoyed feeling the warmth and found it a comfort. Even if I were to die in a second I would face death with the knowledge that someone had loved me in life. That someone was willing to die by my side.

We finally ended our embrace and stood in silence looking at each other. I didn't know how I looked to her but I knew how she looked to me. A strong and loyal woman that I had ripped from her intended husband, given to Hijunaki, had killed Hijunaki to keep safe, and now loved me like I didn't deserve.

We nodded and walked side by side down to the harbor. She stayed a foot away from me so I would have room to attack if need be. Any joy that could be found racing each other had been taken away.

Upon arriving at the harbor we were glanced at by uninterested eyes. By the expressions of the people there, they hadn't noticed that I wasn't human and just that two Easterns had attacked each other. They didn't look to be questioning why but just trying to get back to business.
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Links To Places About Sushi, Sake, and Tanuki

Hannibal "Fromage" Review

Hannibal faces off against another killer and Will goes more crazy.

Supernatural "Sacrifice" Review

I talk about the Season 8 Finale of Supernatural. I ramble on a little bit...

Hannigram (Everything You Want)

Series: Hannibal (tv series)

Pairing: Hannigram

Plot: Hannibal Lecter is a complicated man. On one hand he is perfectly fine with the life he is living. On the other hand Will Graham represents the man he wants to be and yet doesn't care to be.

Shipping Confessions: Jesse Flores x Riley Dawson (TSCC)

Again we find ourselves at the doorsteps of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. There are just so many reasons to come back to this show. As this is another edition of Shipping Confessions, we are looking at yet another non-canon ship from this masterpiece of a television series.

I say that I like femslash because I find myself attracted to femslash pairings easier than slash or heterosexual ships. I don't mean that I have more femslash pairings than any other kind of pairing, just that there is something special I feel towards femslash pairings. I don't fetishize these kinds of pairings to the point it affects my perception of real people, like some others do.

I never bought into the relationship between Jesse Flores and Derek Reese. The pairing made Derek dumber just so the pairing would work. However, I can't deny that it's a canon ship. But who I pair Jesse with in the show is not canon and yet works so much better.

I pair Jesse up with Riley Dawson. Not because they are two girls but because they fit so nicely together.

This is a ship in which only one of the pairing holds any real power. Jesse Flores is that person. She is a conniving woman that isn't afraid to do the darkest things in order to see her plan completed. Jesse decides to go back in time with Riley Dawson in a plot to have John Connor kill/destroy Cameron.

While Jesse x Derek is canon I believe she does not really love the older Reese boy. I think it is the fact that she is using him that she gets worried about him not being with her. Any feelings she had for her Derek (Jesse and Derek are from two different timelines, long story short) were lost when she decided to enact her plan.

Jesse has a great hatred for Terminators and so didn't like how close Cameron got to John Connor in her future. So destroying an influence that pushed the Resistance in the wrong direction was something Jesse didn't mind doing. However, she forgot that Cameron and John were both close and the Terminator put John in the center of her universe.

Riley Dawson was basically a nobody in the Resistance and Jesse chose her. It would seem that Jesse chose Riley for no other reason than she thought the girl would be attractive to John and didn't question authority.

In other words: it would seem as though Jesse thought of Riley as nothing more than a weakling.

However, there is some part of Jesse that wants to drop the facade and abandon her plan. There was something else to her choosing Riley to be part of her plan than just to be attractive to John. She chose Riley because the girl was also attractive to her.

Riley Dawson is a pitiful character. She is one that doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the Terminator Universe. I think this makes her unlikable to a lot of the Terminator fanbase as well as to the Jameron (John Connor x Cameron) Shippers.

To me, though, I just she her as pitiful. I think she accepted not because she's a weak character, but because she felt attracted to Jesse. Here's a good looking woman telling Riley she wants the girl to come with her. So Riley follows.

Riley stays with Jesse partly because she is weak and being abused by the older woman, but also because she loves Jesse. Riley must sense that Jesse isn't as open to a relationship as she is, so she acts like a good little girl. She follows the plan.

Riley never loves John, but pretends to because she loves Jesse. She believes that if she follows the plan Jesse will love her. There is at least one point where she was physically abused and another point where she just loses it. But she handles it all because she loves Jesse and believes there is no one else that can love her.

The scene where Jesse kills Riley is just full of tension. Riley has found out that Jesse's plan revolves around Cameron killing Riley. So Riley goes to Jesse because she feels betrayed. Riley feels so betrayed and so lost that death is the only way out.

The woman she loved was willing to sacrifice her. Riley had also been thinking of suicide (including one scene where she cut herself in the bathroom) because she just could not handle there being a Judgement Day. That what she had seen in the future was going to happen again.

So when Jesse killed her she was happy. Because if she couldn't have Jesse, at least she didn't have to live in a world that she was terrified of.

Jesse didn't like killing Riley. She only did it because of her warped sense of duty. She had to kill Riley or the girl would tell John about the plan. After she kills Riley, Jesse pauses before she takes the body out. Jesse knows she loves Riley and is disgusted at herself for what she did.

Jesse even swims at the pool her and Riley used to go to. While this may seem cruel, it is probably Jesse's way of dealing with the guilt. She recalls why she did what she did and feels close to Riley.

Jesse and Riley don't have a perfect relationship by any stretch of the imagination. Both have faults that ultimately destroyed both of them, but they did love each other. They both cared about each other. It's just neither could do what was necessary for them to find peace with each other.

Jesse is my least favorite TSCC character and Riley is despised by most of the fandom. However, I like Jesse only as she relates to this ship and believe Riley is given much more hate than she deserves.

What is up for the next Shipping Confessions? We go into the show Revolution and explore a type of pairing that some people might consider "gross" and "perverted". But I consider okay since it's in the realm of fiction.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 1 Review (Parts 1 & 2)

I go over the first three episodes of the season.

Sushi, Sake, and Tanuki: Love and Leaving 3

The Eastern was getting closer and closer. I felt fear like I had never felt it before. I had been against many different dangers when I was under Hijunaki's control, but I had never been protecting someone I loved. There was a difference between protecting oneself and sensing the little signs of your lover about to go into a panic.

I started to shift into something large. Something that could take down this creature. Before I could even get halfway through the change, the Eastern used its magic to throw me away from Yomosa. My half-formed body could only look at Yomosa in fear as the Eastern held me down with magic.

"You will know fear, obake." It hissed as it landed in front of my lover. "You will know fear when your human toy dies."

I could only watch. I could do nothing else. Not at this moment. Yomosa had flinched when the Eastern had tossed me aside, but she had since regained her composure. The Eastern smiled and let a little hiss of pleasure out. It lashed out with its head. It intended to easily impale my lover on its teeth. But that was not to be.

Yomosa managed to evade the attack by lunging to her right. The Eastern quickly readjusted itself and swiped at the human woman with one of its claws. My woman took a chance and it was only the Eastern's magic that made me stay still.

Yomosa had jumped at the Eastern which surprised it for a brief instant. It flicked its neck and my lover plummeted to the ground. She tried to regain her stability, but before that could happen the Eastern took her in its claws.

"The obake must suffer. My master has given me orders I have to respect." It said sorrowfully and moved Yomosa closer to its mouth in preparation of eating her.

Yomosa started to sing to the dragon and it paused for a moment. My lover was facing death with song instead of screams. She was pleading without fear. In that moment I was truly proud of her. Truly proud to have her be my own.

Then it struck me: if I didn't try to resist the Eastern's magic she would be dead. The first woman I had truly loved would die if I didn't act now.

The thought of Yomosa dying made an unknown power pour through my veins. I didn't know what flowed through me, but I knew that it could help me. I didn't care if it would damn me, I would use it now.

I yelled out as I was able to break free of the Eastern's grip. I shifted into an Eastern and roared. The Eastern turned its head to look at me and snarled. Before it could move an inch, I ran at it. My roars increasing in volume until our jaws clashed with each other.

I could tell that the Eastern hadn't eaten Yomosa and had probably discarded her. We started to fight in earnest as I made sure not to step on Yomosa. When the Eastern pushed me to the ground I looked around for my lover. I did not see her and hoped she had run off into the woods. The fight I was having with the Eastern wasn't one that a human should be involved in.

After what seemed like mere seconds, the Eastern gripped my neck in its jaws. Struggling was difficult as I could easily give the Eastern an opening. One wrong move could mean my death, in other words. But it was a chance I was willing to take.

Suddenly the Eastern let go of my neck and let out a roar. I took the opportunity to push the Eastern on its back, claw at its stomach, and clenched on its neck with my jaws. Blood came out of the Eastern slowly at first and then more quickly.

I smiled as the Eastern came closer and closer to death. It was then that I noticed something on my head and realized that it was Yomosa. She must have jumped onto me after distracting the Eastern.

The dragon turned its head to me and smiled. "Akumie sent me. I have died but there will be more pain for you, obake."

There was one final breath and then silence.
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Sushi, Sake, and Tanuki Links

Disney Vlog: April 2013 (Parts 1-3)

I visit Disney World! I go to both Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom with revrezner.

Red Dragon (2002)

Title: Red Dragon

Series: Hannibal

Based on the Book: Red Dragon

Written By: Thomas Harris

Director: Brett Ratner

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, and Ralph Fiennes

Rated: R

Released: 2002

Personal Rating: 5/5

Oscars: N/A

Plot: A retired FBI agent with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down "The Tooth Fairy", a mysterious serial killer; aiding him is imprisoned criminal genius Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter.
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My First Hannibal Movie
Now I know it's a crime to not have seen any Hannibal movie before this one. But I haven't seen a lot of movies (when I was younger I hardly watched movies and instead spent most of my time reading books). I started getting interested in the Hannibal series when I started watching the new show Hannibal. In short, I was basically going into this movie without any preconceived notions that Red Dragon had to be like The Silence of the Lambs. I think this might've helped in my enjoyment of the movie. If you're wondering: No, I haven't read any of the Hannibal books by Thomas Harris. But I plan on reading them all in the future.

 The Interaction Between Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter
In the beginning of the movie it is implied that Will and Hannibal had had previous meetings. That they had worked together before (or at least Will had consulted with Hannibal about cases before). The first scene between the two ends with Will finding out the truth about Hannibal and then both nearly killing each other. So in the meat of the movie, Will is mentally scarred about what happened between himself and Hannibal (makes mention of this to Reba) and Hannibal is angry with Will. So each of their meetings is very tense with you seeing that, even though he's behind bars, Hannibal is the one in control. I saw that they both valued their past friendship (some of Hannibal's jabs seemed to be testing/teaching Will), but both know that any chance of them becoming friends is long gone. Will, being the one who has more normal human feelings, may be partially afraid because he remembers Hannibal as he used to know him. Hannibal, who is able to put emotions aside more easily, is able to have feelings for Will but at the same time seek revenge when the opportunity presents itself.

Buildup and Reward
Red Dragon has good buildup. It sets up this very eerie tone from the beginning (Hannibal serves his dinner guests human for dinner) and continues throughout. The whole movie relies much more on atmosphere than outright gore factor. I like this. Gore is good, but just because you have gore doesn't mean you have a horror movie. But a big thing with atmosphere is you need a good payoff. And this movie did that part well. The movie managed to give a good ending to the RebaXD plotline, Will having a showdown with D, and Hannibal's own musings on the outcome of what he put Will through.

Final Thoughts
I loved this movie. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter was a great sight to see. Remember, this is my first FULL Hannibal movie and so I've only seen bits and pieces of the other ones. It's one thing to see clips of something, it's something else to see the whole movie. Edward Norton as Will Graham was good. In the scenes he had with Hopkins I could tell he was trying to hide his emotions. But he couldn't fool Hannibal. I liked seeing the villain being conflicted and so wasn't a fully evil character. He killed and had twisted views of the world, but he was also capable of feeling love. However, his mental instability won out in the end (though it seems he did truly care for Reba until the end). I can't wait to see the other movies in the series as well as read the books (yes, I'll probably even check out Manhunter).

The Following (Season 1)

Series: The Following

Season: 1

Episodes: 15

Created By: Kevin Williamson

Released: 2013

Rating: 4.5/5
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Anyone Can Die
A lot of shows/movies/ect. like to tease the premise that anyone can die. This show starts off with Sarah Fuller dying. The fact that Sarah died isn't anything to write home about. It's the fact that the actress who played her, Maggie Grace, seemed to hold enough creds to warrant it very unlikely for her character to die. Starting off with killing off a character played by a film actress, just made The Following's point that anyone could die very clear. There are some very surprising deaths in this season. Some deaths are a good shock and others seem to be a tad bit lazy.

Emma
Here is yet another character I love and everyone else hates. Here is a character who has less humanity than Joe Carrol (the leader of the Cult). Emma's main traits are her cruel ruthlessness (she has killed and left fellow cult members to die) and her obsession with Joe (they have a brief affair, well it all depends on what happens next season). I think it is her pure inhumanity that attracts me. There are some characters that you love to hate and she is one of them for me. By the way this season ends, it seems that it is possible that she will play some big part come Season 2.

Complexity of Some Characters
Some characters are shown to be more than one dimensional. Joe Carrol is shown to be a loving father that cares for his son and wife. Cares for his wife so much that he doesn't want her to feel guilt for what he's done. Joe Carrol is also shown to be a killer who is willing to kill his own wife just for the sake of writing a book. Jacob is one complicated character as he is both ruthless but has his own doubts about the cult. I really wish that the rebellious Jacob plotline was given more time. Ryan Hardy (played by Kevin Bacon) has a lot to him. But he's the "man who has seen too much and just wants to quit, but gets pulled back in to his old job because of a new case". This isn't to say Ryan is a flat character, but he isn't the most fleshed out character in the show.

Final Thoughts
I don't know how the series will go on without Joe Carrol. This is because Season 1 had him being very important. So important that him surviving until the end is just as important as Ryan Hardy surviving until the very last episode. I hope every character's death next season will be as good as Sarah Fuller and Debra Parker's and not as bad as Roderick's. The gore in this series is good, though if this series was on HBO it would've been much better. The hiatus until Season 2 will be very painful, especially because of the killer cliffhanger Season 1 gave us.

Hannibal "Entree" Review

Callback to Red Dragon...

Elementary "A Landmark Story" Review

Someone tries to kill a person with killer bees and Moriarty appears...well...his voice does.

Let's Play Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Parts 72-74)

I finally complete Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.

Sushi, Sake, and Tanuki: Love and Leaving 2

My former sparring buddy ate the fresh wolf meat greedily. He savored each bite with a lick of his lips and then went down for another bite. In another time, when Hijunaki was still alive, Jirou would not resort to eating one of his own kind. Well, a very distant relative at most. But Hijunaki was dead and Jirou seemed lost.

I ate some meat of a recent catch and Yomosa did the same. I could tell she was uneasy, though she tried her hardest to hide that fact. I had fear too. Fear that I would have to kill a friend to protect someone that I loved. A choice between the past and a possible happy future.

I pretended to focus on guarding Yomosa and Jirou from anything that would try and pose a threat to us. But I was really just focused on Jirou. Watching as he enjoyed his food and tensed up when he looked at Yomosa.

He seemed happy of the food given to him, but he saw a much better meal in my lover.

Once I finished my food I put an arm around Yomosa's shoulder. I looked Jirou in the eyes. He just smiled back at me.

"You are a good friend, Rig." Jirou said and held out a hand to me. This despite the fact that we were at least three feet apart. "You gave me food and didn't attack me when you had every right to."

"Don't remind me." I replied and let out a sigh and stood up. "But you are hungry and I trust you. Your stomach is a different matter altogether."

"Do you want me to leave?" Jirou asked and his expression became one of pain as he put has hand down. He had lost everything and was worried about losing me. We would have to part ways, I cared about Yomosa's safety as well as my own, but I didn't have to part on bad terms.

"I don't want you to leave, but I have to." I said and sat down beside my old sparring buddy. "Akumie is seeking revenge on me and I can't stay here. Yomosa has agreed to come with me even though she doesn't have to."

From the moment I had sat down by Jirou, Yomosa was doing her best to ignore us. Though I knew she'd always be watching Jirou. Making sure he didn't attack her.

"She's still angry?" Jirou asked.

"Yeah, turns out goddesses have a very long memory." I replied and tried to smirk. "Yomosa and I are heading out for a harbor that's-"

"A little far away because you can't find one closer?"

"You do remember me."

"Yes, I do." Jirou paused for and then continued. "And I am willing to help you."

Over the next few hours Jirou discussed with me, and later Yomosa also joined in the discussion, about another harbor. It was indeed closer and would help the two of us get off the only land I had ever known faster.

As Yomosa and I packed up our things to go, Jirou touched my shoulder and I turned to face him.

"If you are ever able to get back, will you visit me?" He asked.

"I will do my best." I said and grasped her arm.

After that exchange Jirou ran off into the vast forest and my lover and I continued our journey to the new harbor.

After two hours I finally smelled the ocean. The salty air was breathtaking to my nose. I turned to Yomosa and yelled, "Race you to the harbor!"

It was a childish thing of me to do. But once we reached the harbor we'd be so close to getting away from Japan. We'd be away from the land I had been created on. Safety, though, made the heart break worth it.

As I started to run Yomosa ran after me. We shouted at each other. Teasing each other in a way that only couples were capable of.

A roar sounded and I stopped. I saw the danger and stood in front of Yomosa. While she also saw the danger and knew the chances of me defeating it were slim, she allowed me to feel like I was protecting her. That I could protect her.

I heard the humans in the harbor yell as the Eastern Dragon got close to my lover and I.

Its scales were silver and it had purple fur running from the back of its neck to the tip of its tail. On any other occasion I would call it beautiful. But not now.

Its angry eyes showed that it was a predator and all I could hope to be was prey.
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Sushi, Sake, and Tanuki Links

The Following "The Final Chapter" Review

The Season ends with a WTF just happened!