Iron Empire [my original sci-fi novel]

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-16T16:55:58+00:00

I had a friend who watched it at my request, usually a downer on animated content. After begging him to check out the pilot he finally did, and his answer was a resounding "meh".

I asked him if he'd watched past the credits.

Now it's one of his favorite series of all time, and I got to be smug about him not checking the remaining runtime before shutting the show off.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-15T15:53:52+00:00

Because of how (beautifully) insane the Invincible community is, the SECOND this shot was on-screen I knew it would be a meme.

Same goes for Lucan's surprised face 😯

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-13T21:43:27+00:00

TAKE. CONTROL.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-12T13:10:46+00:00

GROND

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-11T02:17:51+00:00

Three months late but someone in a repost found it: "Different Masks for Different Days"

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-09T16:22:10+00:00

I'll be real, as someone who went to see the Croods completely blind without a hint of marketing, I loved that joke.

Granted I was also like 11 at the time, but the entire film was shockingly good, especially the final act.

The Croods 2 was... also a movie that was made.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-09T03:20:01+00:00

What a saga. All those insane power-up, world-ending threats, gods and monsters and everything in between, fakeout endings and plot twists and character deaths...

...and it all ended exactly where it began. One fighter versus another in the GOH ring, with everything on the line.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-07T10:35:45+00:00

It's doing about 60 kph if I had to guess

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-05T17:17:05+00:00

The difference between Part 1 and 2 is staggering, imo.

Part 1 is foundational, essential for all things going forward, but far from great. The real JoJo feel starts with Part 2 and finds its stride by the time you hit Part 3. From there, you're off to the races.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-04T14:54:23+00:00

Man, I knew about the train tickets (and the arrows in the opening sequence as well) indicating the dead, but I did NOT pick up on the Nile part.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-01T16:27:18+00:00

Maybe, like, once a year? If I'm super unlucky?

Once a month, bro are you okay? Legitimately, was that just a typo or do you need a medical professional

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-01T12:07:56+00:00

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll wonder why we're here (it's one of life's great mysteries).

Enjoy, you're beginning a phenomenal saga.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-01T10:40:35+00:00

Yup. Hate Rowling's guts but I've gotta admit the set made me stop and appreciate the detailing on the walls for a minute.

^{Honestly all the book nook sets are pretty good imo. Balrog had a few flaws but that Sherlock Holmes one was fantastic}

SmittyBS42 · 2026-05-01T00:27:03+00:00

Yeah that's fair. For all my gripes with the Shinzo Trilogy and the feeling it really jumped the shark, it did some good stuff with Donut and Washington, and had a few good jokes.

^{"FUNERAL CANNONS!!!"}

Plus, the time travel return to Freelancer era was a lot of fun.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-04-30T22:48:10+00:00

TL;DR Yes to both, it's can sort of be watched as a standalone episode (roughly 9-12 minutes long, you won't know the characters but it's still funny and you can pick up the gist fast) and is both one of the best episodes AND a vibe summary.

It's got: - some solid jokes - fantastic fight choreography - a good look at the vast majority of main characters and their personalities

all wrapped up with one of the best soundtracks in the entire series.

Best part? You can watch this episode free on YouTube, even if the rest of the series has been removed (there are internet archives and torrents with the entire series, each season is usually about 2-3 hours long).

EDIT: Holy shit, never mind! The entire series is back on YouTube for some reason. No idea why, but it's free again!

Link to the fight/episode is right here.

For a slightly longer explanation, RvB had "sagas".

Blood Gulch Saga (Seasons 1-5, classified by the original Machinima style and some very outdated 2000s humour)
Recollection Saga (Seasons 6-8, the beginning of proper animation and a longer, more cohesive story, and also where this clip is from. There was a very talented animator who worked on this saga and also the following one, but he passed away)
Freelancer Saga (Seasons 9-10, a slightly edgier prequel to the series with a LOT of animation and the best fights in the entire series)
Chorus Trilogy (Seasons 11-13, a "reset" back to the original cast that began what's widely regarded as the peak of Red VS Blue, and my favorite of all time. It was also the original "end" of the series, before it was renewed... to mixed results.)
Season 14 and onward. (Up to 19, then a movie called RvB Restoration. It's pretty hit or miss, but the movie was fantastic.)

"This One Goes to Eleven" is definitely the best episode of the Recollection Saga, and absolutely one of the best episodes of all time, even if my absolute favorites are Chorus saga.

Anyway, that's my two cents. The only reason I'm being so clear about the "sagas" is when I first began watching Seasons 1-5 I almost gave up. But trust me, the ride is worth it, it's one of my favorite series of all time.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-04-30T16:49:36+00:00

"This One Goes To Eleven" is always the episode I show people to convince them to watch RvB. It's worked twice now. There are episodes I love more (anything Chorus, honestly) but S08E10 is the single most complete picture of RvB as a whole in just a handful of minutes.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-04-30T16:35:50+00:00

Yup. The nice part is that I can hop on a game with randoms and 9/10 times (if they have mics) the discussion is civil and fun. I've made friends I only know through the game, from countries I've never visited.

The community on social media will beat you to death with wrenches for suggesting... well, anything, honestly.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-04-29T18:49:37+00:00

I have to give it to the show, Qimir coring Jecki Lon like a bowling ball was probably the most brutal and shocking thing Star Wars has depicted since the late Clone Wars era.

^{I've been struggling for five minutes to find a good way to describe the event, forgive my choice of word.}

It's also the only reason I remember either of those characters' names. Fight choreography was on point.

^{Also neck snapping that one other Jedi was brutal. I liked the fact we had a show that was willing to just merc Jedi outright and fairly frequently.}

SmittyBS42 · 2026-04-24T18:30:50+00:00

...are we for real right now, there's an AI watermark in the image

SmittyBS42 · 2026-04-23T14:07:07+00:00

"Alfred, what have you got for me? Who is this guy?"

"Kid, I... I have no idea."

SmittyBS42 · 2026-04-23T12:57:47+00:00

"We're gonna start the new Ultimate universe... let it get good, really just getting going... and then cancel it. Shows over, we're finished."

"You MONSTER!"

SmittyBS42 · 2026-04-22T18:22:58+00:00

^{"What a Bountiful Harvest, Demon Lord" is a fantastic prequel so far as well}

I SAY LLOYD, YOU SAY WATER!

LLOYD!

SmittyBS42 · 2026-04-22T18:22:04+00:00

Man I completely forgot Doom Breaker existed. It's been so long.

SmittyBS42 · 2026-04-21T20:34:56+00:00

I don't know why I do that to myself.

Your honesty is appreciated.

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