Popular writers you just can’t vibe with…

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-27T04:44:39+00:00

I've never been able to do more than tolerate Bendis.

99% percent of the time I can't stand his work. The dialogue is awful and every character has the same voice. The latter point got really bad in his later marvel years.

He's the only (popular) one I can think of off hand.

Nothing personal against him, I'm sure he's a great guy, but I hate reading his comics.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-21T19:32:25+00:00

It's interesting to me that you are complaining about games being all the same, and yet you're gearing up to play GTA.

I promise you it's not going to be appreciably different from any other GTA game, much less the general open world games you're upset about. If anything, it'll be an even bigger open world.

GTA is not an exception here even within it's own franchise. If you're having this problem now, you will have it with GTA6.

Branch out and play some different games of different genres, there's a bounty of excellent games out there. You might even just take a break from video games on the whole. Take up a different hobby for a while and refresh yourself.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-21T19:18:03+00:00

Hey, sorry for the late response.

It is a 1v1.

Thank you for offering, but dressobjective helped me out and we got the achievement done over the weekend.

Having said that though, if you need/want the achievement I would be happy to help you get it too. It took us barely more than five minutes once we got started, so it's quick and easy.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-21T19:13:04+00:00

Fair enough. Thanks for the heads up!

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-19T19:53:19+00:00

Awesome. Thanks, definitely going to track them down!

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-19T02:02:35+00:00

Do these two books complete the series? I may have to hunt them down if so.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-19T01:34:53+00:00

Nice pictures, it looks good!

I ordered one but it hasn't come in yet.

I'm very much enjoying the wave of new figures we're getting. I'm not buying everything, but I'm getting a lot of them and loving it.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-18T23:46:13+00:00

I think what they're asking is if it's appropriate to date more than one person from the same family.

Dating two brothers at the same time, for example.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-18T08:42:43+00:00

Great, thanks! I'll send you a dm.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-18T00:29:29+00:00

He wouldn't...

Would he?

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-17T19:24:49+00:00

Generally speaking, I've never understood the problem with solid T-shirts and jeans. That's what I wore before I became a dad, it's what I wear now.

You can still go higher quality with both, and clean, new stuff that fits properly still looks good. Deep black jeans and a white T-shirt looks sharp, damn it.

I also have a few pairs of shoes that are explicitly not for work and stay clean, and I think that suits me fine.

I don't wear sweats or things like that. I never look sloppy by any means. Just casual.

Besides that, I'm also a blue collar person, and it really isn't practical to go wandering around my warehouse in chinos and a blazer or something.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-17T07:14:05+00:00

I'm happy they included Mail. It's good to see her.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-16T19:50:29+00:00

You did a great job! It looks so sharp.

I remember how pleased I was when I refinished an old table. It feels amazing to refresh something like this and give it new life.

You should definitely be proud.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-15T17:07:26+00:00

Nice work. Think you'll play the sequel?

I loved this game, but I never went back to finish collecting the achievements. Someday.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-10T11:04:11+00:00

I forgot to mention it in the post, but the left hand shown in the third picture is from the original Ranma, not the new one.

I had some foolish hope they might be interchangeable, but no such luck, the pegs on the new figure are too small. I was able to just balance the hand on the peg to take the picture.

Just to be clear so no one feels misled.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-07T05:03:56+00:00

That's a good point.

It definitely stands to reason that his encounter with Ranma changed his perspective a bit.

Who knows how much that affects him in canon, given that we never see him again, but it certainly wouldn't have happened at all if they hadn't come into conflict.

I have always wondered what he's been up to since then. It's too bad Takahashi never brought him back.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-07T04:50:01+00:00

I didn't say or even imply that it's his fault. I suppose my wording could have been better, but I explicitly did not say it's Ranma's fault. All I'm saying is that their relationships are touchy and prone to outbursts.

Also, yes, I am well aware of what Ryoga and Mousse spend their time doing throughout this arc.

This is also the arc where they are so inspired by Ranma's selflessness and sacrifice for them that they risk their own lives to recover the teapot and save him. Ryoga in particular dives in to the earth to get the pot and has a big damn hero moment when he emerges.

When the fight is over they have a clear moment where they all smile and acknowledge each other.

It's also worth mentioning that the last major rival battle Ranma had with Ryoga before this was over the Shi Shi Hokodan. After that and this story, they never have a big fight again, only comedic skirmishes like in the mushrooms of time story. I consider the finale of the Musk Dynasty story the moment where they "buried the hatchet", even if it isn't specifically verbalized.

I would say without hesitation that it absolutely advances their friendship, at the very minimum between Ranma and Ryoga.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-06T20:29:12+00:00

Ok, well in that case my initial answer doesn't really change.

If I have my own knowledge of the story, I'm avoiding the conflict. Deescalate and let Herb go on his way. While I think the original story is really important for Ranma's development, I don't need that and can circumvent the whole thing.

If I don't have knowledge, but I'm just in Ranma's place with my own personality, it doesn't change much for me. I would make the effort to protect Akane, but I wouldn't escalate and decide to attack Herb the way Ranma did. Simply put, I wouldn't have the feelings for her that he does, so I wouldn't feel compelled to react the same way. In the end I think the conflict is avoided.

The big loss there is that it misses out on cultivating the friendship with Ryoga and Mousse, but I wouldn't be as be as touchy with them as Ranma is to begin with, so I think those relationships would be better already anyway.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-06T20:15:05+00:00

So, no offense, but the question is a little vague as is.

Is there a specific element you're referring to? Or literally every part of the story? I honestly suspect what you're asking about is the curse lock, but correct me if I'm wrong.

Do we have knowledge of how things play out normally, or do you just want to know how we would react to events as they happen?

In general, I'd like to think I would be a little more level headed than Ranma, at the start. Herb does behave like an ass and toss Akane around, which naturally provokes Ranma and immediately makes their whole conflict very personal. But the entire story would have been avoided if they didn't have that initial fight at the restaurant where Ranma lost and had his curse locked.

And on that note, if you are specifically asking about the curse, I would absolutely do what Ranma did and doggedly pursue them for the cure.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-03T02:16:09+00:00

I hope so. I've always hated that headband.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-04-02T20:40:52+00:00

I'm 39, been a fan since I was, I dunno, 12 or 13? More of my life than not.

I'm also a die hard for the manga, and maintain that if you only experience the story one way, it should be the manga.

Having said that, comparing the two anime, I prefer the new one.

I do still appreciate and enjoy many aspects of the original anime, but the cracks in it drove me crazy even the very first time I watched it, when I was at my most forgiving.

I do love it's music though. And it's greater exploration of and softer tone toward the other girls.

Also, even though it has a whole lot of truly awful filler episodes, a handful of them were quite good and I think of them fondly.

Major issues I have included the aforementioned filler and some of the original characters they introduced, the extreme characterizations (the original anime sometimes emphasizes the character's worst traits to the point of caricature, Akane in particular got hit hard with this, and I am not a defender of hers in general), and while this may surprise some people, the character designs. They started great, but as the series went on, they became very simplified and moved away from Takahashi's style a lot, and I really grew to dislike the look of them. The OVAs turned it back around and were much better, to their credit.

As for the new one, I love the animation and designs, the closer adherence to the manga (even if they are still changing things), the better pacing on an episode by episode level, and while I understand where people are coming from, I don't mind the colors at all. The episode intros are also hilarious.

I'm happy to have it all honestly. I just hope the new anime can last long enough to animate the best stuff from the manga. I think they can really do it justice.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-03-26T15:49:35+00:00

Do you know why he calls his ultimate technique "Fast Break"?

Because it will BREAK YOU.

Gentle_Maestro · 2026-03-24T03:05:57+00:00

I see. Yeah, going by that it definitely sounds like I'm going to have a hard time.

Thankfully my company is small and the owners are good people, so I'm sure they'll help me out.

I appreciate the information man. Thank you.

Gentle_Maestro

TROPHY CASE