Anime Review: Demon Slayer - Season 2 - The Mujen Train Arc

 

The following is a review of the Season 2 rendition of what was also the first Demon Slayer movie, The Mujen Train Arc. I find it funny, in our last review involving Demon Slayer, I complained of the fact that we spent what seemed like six episodes taking on a single demon which was one of the weaker of the 12 high ranking demons, and yet this entire season is all about a single demon except for the first episode which is a precursor to the previously mentioned demon; and I did not mind this time around. Maybe it was because I had it in my mind that I was actually watching a movie, and therefore it's okay that it was only involving a single demon. This show provides a lot of insight into what kind of people our three main heroes are. Tortured souls who want to help the world, but also crazy loons who probably shouldn't be provided a weapon. Overall, I would give it a 4 out of 5-star rating just like the first season. I may even consider giving it a 4.5 star because I didn't end up disliking part of it like with the first season. I would definitely consider watching it again if I were given the choice.

*** SPOILERS BELOW ***

• Episode 1 - Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku
• We start the season off with a slight jump from where we left off, but not much, I don't think. We left off getting onto a train, here we are already on the train, but with different characters, and they are enjoying odon. We do get a little backstory into a train that had a murder occur on it, and rumors about it being kept in a secret spot. 
• I love that we can accept a mass murderer slasher guy existing and being scared of it, but we will not accept that a demon could exist and be said slasher. 
• So, apparently, just as the blood can smell sweet from certain folks, the blood of some folks can be just as revolting to demons. Wow, he grew back his hands almost instantly! 
• Flame breathing - first form - unknowing fire.
• The fire demon slayer guy gives vibes comparable to Almight from My Hero Academia.
• OH! It's not a time jump at all! We got a preview before the end of the last season! This episode ended with our main characters getting onto the train.
• Episode 2 - Deep Sleep
• The fire demon slayer guy really has an appetite! We learn that, like there are 4 elements in the Avatar, there are 5 types of elemental breathing techniques in this show: fire, water, air, rock, and thunder. 
• There was not one but two demons on the train, but that felt almost too easy for it being a plot of an entire movie... Also, the flame guy agreed to mentor all of our mains in using swords. I WAS RIGHT! Everyone on the train was put to sleep. ... There's an army of demon children waiting to awaken? Or are they just regular children being influenced by a demon? No, they have to be demons because they were told to be careful so that the demon slayers would not notice the stench of the demon when being tied up. 
• We get a glimpse into each of their dreams; Tanjiro dreams of his family. The demon kids are tying themselves to the demon slayers, not tying them up. Why? Are they trying to enter their dreams? To kill them in their dreams? 
• Episode 3 - Should Have Been
• The yellow kimono man dreams of drowning, but then it changes to dating Nezuko instead? Oh, maybe they are literally drowning because boar head guy is drowning too, and his dream makes Nezuko his bunny companion, and the other two are a raccoon and a mouse taking care of whatever he tells them to do. Fire mentor man dreams of telling his father all he has accomplished, but it seems like he knows something is off. Can you really just quit being a Hashira? I thought once a demon hunter, always a demon hunter. So the demon kids can rip into the spiritual core of a being and kill them by entering into their dreams and ripping through the corner of that dream. The girl failed at killing the fire mentor man, but he doesn't seem awake either, just super protective. I wonder if it's because of using total breathing around the clock? I wonder if the spell affects demons or if Nezuko is secretly awake in her box... where is her box? THERE SHE IS. I have a funny way of saying things a little too early. Not Nezuko hurting herself by headbutting her brother. But she is helping wake him up, so that's good. Tanjiro's soul is a beautiful and peaceful blue sky with fluffy white clouds. 
• Tanjiro sees a figure in the woods in his dream, his father, maybe? An older version of him? Who knows. But the comment is made that what he must cut is within his reach, and we as the viewers know it's the edge of the dream, but Tanjiro thinks it's his OWN FRICKEN HEAD THAT NEEDS TO BE CUT OFF?!?
• Episode 4 - Insult
• Tanjiro has little baby sun blobs in his core. I feel like they could be his siblings. It seems that cutting off his own head worked, though, so that's good, I suppose.
• Boar Head Man found the demon kid in his dream, so she failed. And the yellow kimono boy has pitch black in his core because he is crazy?
• Why is Tanjiro starting to rush toward the demon on his own? Shouldn't he have tried harder to wake the others first? So while fighting this demon, he is apparently being put back to sleep over and over, and every single time he cuts his own head off to reawaken and take out the demon. So the demon gives him a nightmare instead to throw him off. But Tanjiro still prevails. The demon then turns into some weird big blob monster. Except the blog monster is not the demon either, the demon is the train. The train needs to be completely destroyed. Boar head man woke up! Yay! Now Tanjiro won't be alone!
• Episode 5 - Move Forward!
• The tentacles are taking over the train, gross. Beast breathing, fifth form, crazy sword slash. I don't think Demon Train Man was expecting another demon to be on the train. Is it weird that he couldn't sense her? The sleeping yellow kimono man came to Neziko's aid. Fire mentor man fully woke up and lit the whole train on fire. Boar head goes back and forth between being chill and working with the group, and being a butt face and being rude, and I really don't like it. I get why he was tough to begin with, but I really thought he was coming around to the teamwork thing by now and was going to be chill with them the rest of the series. Maybe it's just the dream that made him act this way. 
• They are struggling to stay awake; every time they wake up, they look into one of the Demon's eyes, which puts them right back to sleep. Good defense mechanism though tbh. Also, Tanjiro just almost got tricked into cutting his own head off in real life because he thought he was asleep again, but he wasn't. 
• Beast breathing; 4th form - slice and dice. 
• Tanjiro used his father's technique again and severed the head of the demon off by severing the entire front end of the train off. 
• Episode 6 - Akaza
• The demon is going through an existential crisis.
• The fire mentor guy taught Tanjiro how to heal himself using total concentration. Another high-ranking demon comes to try and take out Tanjiro, fire mentor man slices his arm in half in the protection of Tanjiro, but the demon makes it whole again without a second to delay. The rest of this is just a fight ... 
• Episode 7 - Set Your Heart Ablaze!
• Fire mentor guy puts up a good fight, even gets Tanjiro's scar as a wound himself, but unfortunately, he dies. Having the fight music stop while they are fighting is kind of weird and gross, not going to lie.
• We get a flashback to Fire Mentor Man's mom telling him to only ever use his strength to protect those who are weaker, and then we come back to him mustering up as much of his remaining strength as he can to try and cut off the demon's head. He unfortunately failed. Debatably because Tanjiro and the Boar Head kid tried to help, and the demon said I'm out. And Tanjiro then sends his sword flying toward the demon as he is running away into the woods, he manages to pierce him very well, but now he is down a sword again. 

Anime Review: Demon Slayer Season 1

Now, the following is obviously my own opinion; yours could vary. Overall, I will say that this has been a good show to follow this first season. We get a lot of different characters, all with their own character development and their own stories to tell; they just all happen to lead to a combined and intertwined path that will lead them to a catastrophic end. Not that we see that catastrophic end in this season, it's just something we can expect and continue to anticipate later on. Some funny little things I have picked up on throughout this season, like the fact that the scar we see on our main character's forehead changes between the first episode and the second, as well as the fact that our art style depiction of the characters adjusts to one more cartoonish and child friendly in the end compared to the crisp animation lines we saw in the pilot episode; make it seem as though there was almost a miscommunication between parties or a switch up on who was in charge, and not just once but twice or maybe more. It was not so big of a difference to make me unwilling to follow along, but it was enough of a difference to notice. The only point during this show that I really no longer wanted to watch included the 6 or so episodes toward the end of the season, when we are stuck watching the same battle drawn out over what felt like far too long a period. I also did not fully understand why we needed the full backstory of how the demon family had come together; just knowing that our main character could see and empathize with his sorrow in the human life would have sufficed, I feel like. But maybe that is just me. Again, overall, not a bad watch, enjoyed the style and the culture mixed into the fictitious storytelling. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars with a high probability of watching again.

*** SPOILERS BELOW ***

• Episode 1 - Cruelty
• When starting the series, our main character already has his scar on his face; what caused his scar? He clearly cares for his family as he puts their finances and health before his own, trying to work through the snowstorm and get down the mountain to the town to earn money. On his way back though, he stops for the night at a kind villager's house, and in the meantime, his family is being slaughtered. Slaughtered by demons, demons that our main character then makes it his duty to seek revenge on. I will note, the main character does appear much older and more mature in this first episode than I have seen him depicted as in later episodes. It could just be that he is cleaner and put together here, and that he is faced with much turmoil that leaves him in disarray. He tries running down the mountain toward a doctor with the only warm-bodied member of his deceased family, but it's too late; his sister is infected. Will this series result in him finding a cure for her? Also, it's weird to think that you can be turned into a demon just as you can be turned into a zombie; are they zombies in some cultures and demons in others?
• The demon hunter that comes and seems to want to turn our main character into a demon hunter himself gives far too much advice and sympathizes too much with them; it makes him weak as well. But it's nice that he decides to let them go and help, especially since Nezuko really seems to still hold onto at least a part of her humanity and wants to protect her brother.
• Episode 2 - Trainer Sakonji Urokodaki
• Our main character stops at a farm and gets a basket so that he can continue to travel with his sister, even though she can not be exposed to daylight, almost like demons are a cross between zombies and vampires? They honestly probably lean more toward vampires; they can't be in sunlight, they can make themselves larger and stronger than their human form when they go full demon, and they are turnt by having their blood come in contact with the demon blood of another. But I don't think vampires can heal like that, so hence part zombie. Along the way to the mountain they were told to go to by the demon hunter, they came across another demon actively eating humans. Their entire interaction is so funny because the demon ends up in multiple pieces thanks to them teaming up, but the demon is still fighting and creeping out Tanjiro... Tanjiro headbutts the demon, and the demon complains ... what is so special about his forehead that it's so hard? HE JUMPED OFF A CLIFF. So the only way to kill a demon is to cut off its head and completely destroy it. Or have him burnt in the sun. Why are some of the graphics so crisp, like they should be in 4k, and others are so completely and utterly obviously animated? 
• So Tangiro is put through a test to determine if he can be put into the demon corp. After getting to a hut at the base of the mountain, he is then taken through the forest and told he must make it back to the cabin on his own before morning. He must face thin air and numerous traps in the darkness. He makes it. 
• Episode 3 - Sabito and Makomo
• We get to know a bit more about the demon corp, and we get to see more of his training in this episode. As the obstacles get harder and new elements get added, like using a sword. That's most of the episode, just him training and getting stronger. His final test? To cut a giant boulder into two. Where has Nezuko been this entire time, you may ask? Asleep. No idea why. They called a doctor and everything. During his time trying to cut the rock, Tajiro is visited by the ghosts of former students (although I don't think he realizes they are ghosts. But also, we don't technically learn that they are ghosts for quite some time; I just happen to know because this is a little bit of a rewatch for me.
• Episode 4 - Final Selection
• We get a brief review of our main character slicing through the boulder, and then we continue the story; we learn that the reason he cut through the boulder is because he could see the threads that connect everything, the thread that is the weak point. It is after this that we learn of the dead children and how the master did not want to lose another student, but he believes that Tanjiro is worthy and will continue to take care of his sister while he is at the Final Selection test. Also, he cuts his hair, THANK GOD. He looked off with his super-long hair. For the remainder of this episode, I would just suggest you picture the Hunger Games. They are all put into the arena and must take out a demon and survive for 7 days. They don't technically need to fight each other, just take out the demons, but they also end up fighting each other. We do get to see some of the different forms of breathing he has learned. Fourth form: striking tide. Second form: water wheel. And this is when Tangiro finally realizes that the kids were ghosts. First form: water surface slash.
• That gross demon boss he is facing has eaten all of the teacher's students and has built up some gross-looking arm tentacles that guard his neck, making it really hard to slice off his head.
• Episode 5 - My Own Steel
• He did it. Tanjiro destroys the demon, or at least his outer layer. We then get to see his inner form and how sad he was to become a demon. We see the humanity that he lost when he became a demon against his will. We also get to see all the dead students who can now pass on because the cycle has ended. It's funny that our main character got bloodied up exactly where the scar is on his head. Wonder what that symbolism could mean. The rest of the week seems to go by relatively easily for him, even though he is searching for a solution from the other demons on how he can turn his sister back. 
• Out of 20 folks who went into the test, 4 of them survived. Only one girl. The yellow-robed guy has a lot of self-doubt, and the purple-robed man has a temper and really just wanted a sword. I don't think there was any reason he should have been accepted. Also, apparently there was a 5th survivor, but we only saw 4?
• Upon his return, Nezuko is awake.
• He gets his sword, and apparently, it changes color depending on the wielder, and they were hoping for red for some reason, and the sword turned pitch black, which is apparently pretty rare. Once he has gotten his sword, he gets a message from a crow with his first mission to help a nearby town where young girls are disappearing.
• Episode 6 - Swordsman Accompanying a Demon
• "I don't care if I'm destined for greatness", as he sets out to achieve greatness by turning his sister back... did his scar change shape? Eighth form: water fall basin. The demon split himself into three, and each form of him can think and speak, and act independently. Even the demons are confused as to why a human and a demon are working together. But you know what, that's fine, together they will obliterate them all. 
• So the teacher guy used hypnosis on Nezuko and made her believe with her everything that all humans are her family and that if anyone tries to hurt any human, she should attack the demon because they are harming her family. This explains why she starts helping her brother fight.
• Episode 7 - Muzan Kibutsuji
• Our main character goes underground to fight the demons, and they think he is going to be slow, but he is even better down in their swamp. My issue is, if he is in their fake swamp, when he kills them, will he still be able to get out? Sixth form: whirlpool. He finally finds a demon who knows who he is talking about when he asks about the first demon, and the demon has been sworn to secrecy. As if he isn't going to die regardless, he should have just told him. 
• Tanjiro immediately gets another quest from the crows to go to a nearby town for a demon, and it turns out he recognizes the scent; it's the first demon, the one who turned his sister. But he has a wife and a child, both of whom are human; this rattles Tanjiro, and the first demon then scratches a passing guy, who then immediately turns into a demon, and Tanjiro must stop him while the first demon guy gets away.
• Episode 8 - The Smell of Enchanting Blood
• While trying to restrain the freshly turned demon person, the first demon got away with his family; another demon, who seems to have quite a bit of experience, then comes to Tanjiro's aid and distracts the police, who do not seem to know what a demon is, and offers assistance because she also wants to get revenge on the first demon. She can use her blood to create hallucinations. 
• The first demon assigns two under demons to attack the main character, and he identifies him by his earrings, what is the significance of the earrings? I assume a family heirloom, what's the power his family possessed that he didn't even realize? Nezuko and Tanjiro then follow the one assistant guy back to the doctor demon's secret hideaway. 
• I thought only the first demon man could turn somebody into a demon? Oh, she is over 200 years old. 
• The extra demons find our main characters in the hidden hospital using their blood skills to track the footsteps. They then destroy the hospital by bouncing a ball. Then the episode ends because why wouldn't there be a cliffhanger?
• Episode 9 - Temari Demon and Arrow Demon
• This episode is the fight between the first demon's minions and Tanjiro. They have some weird ball that acts like a boomerang. Seventh form: drop ripple thrust. We get our first telling of the 12 kubitsi whom the doctor lady wants blood samples from.  Where does the demon girl hide her extra arms? She has six of them and six balls apparently too. Is that part of her blood skill? How do they get blood skills? Third form: flowing dance. I wonder what the medicine the doctor lady gives Nezuko has in it. Second form improved: lateral water wheel. Do you think all demon hunters have these types of moves? Do you think they can all modify their moves to face harder foes?
• Episode 10 - Together Forever
• Tanjiro looked like he had the guy demon taken care of, but then he wasn't, and he had to use all the water forms to escape. He broke his leg and a rib and decided to try and crawl his way to help the others. Meanwhile, Nezuko is playing soccer with the demon girl. xD. Oh dang, if they say the first demon guy's name, then they get ripped inside out by beast arms? At least they have her blood. If the demons were not part of the 12 Kiezuki, then why did they claim to be? 
• How is it that our main character can see the original humans of the demons as they are dying?
• The doctor demon offers to take Nezuko with them a they move to keep her safe, but Nezuko doesn't want to be separated from her brother, and neither does he.
• As Nezuko and Tanjiro are leaving, they get their next assignment, and they also come across one of the guys from the "Final Selection" begging some random girl along the path to marry him. 
• Episode 11 - Tsuzumi Mansion
• We literally just watch the two demon slayers walk along a path together. That is, until they get their combined assignment, and then we are watching them walk to that together. When they finally come across the house with the demon that they are meant to take care of, there are 2 little kids sitting outside. The two demon hunters then go into the house, and the kids follow them in. As they are moving around within the house, the rooms shift, the rooms change to other rooms, and there's a man with a hog mask on. It's just a lot of chaos.
• Episode 12 - The Boar Bares Its Fangs, Zenitsu Sleeps
• We watch as Tanjiru starts to pick up on the patterns of the shifting rooms and as the yellow kimono man continues to be a coward. We also see a little bit more of the hog mask man and his ruined swords that he seems to love because they "cut flesh". Is this the kid who we didn't see but also finished the final test? So yellow kimono man finally stepped up and embodied his actual demon hunter-ness. What changed? Besides his voice, I mean. He uses thunder breathing. The hog, in comparison, uses beast breathing. As it turns out, one of the demons in the house was at one point one of the 12 kusekis, but then he was removed, and the first demon guy put a giant 'X' in his eye over his number. 
• Episode 13 - Something More Important Than Life
• We get to see our main character conquer yet another demon as he still cares about humanity and respects the creations of the demon, including his storytelling. In this episode, we also get a very short look into how the yellow kimono man knew that Tanjiro had a demon with him the entire time, and yet he still opted to be beaten near death by the boar head demon hunter to protect it because he knew it was important to his friend. 
• Episode 14 - The House With the Wisteria Family Crest
• In this episode, we watch as the kids get a chance to go home, and our demon slayer heroes get a chance to relax. It's weird that after sending our main character to place after place after place, fighting demons, and then suddenly the crow tells them that they can relax and heal up. 
• Episode 15 - Mount Natagumo
• The group is fully healed now, and the boar-headed man seems to be chill with the demon sister now. Also, the three of them are all getting sent out on a mission together. On this quest, they come across another demon slayer who is stuck to demon threads in a forest. This mission they were sent on was first given to 10 others who had pretty much all failed. Our mains should definitely get a level up at this point because like tf you mean they are still basics? 
• Didn't the doctor demon lady say that the demons aren't allowed to group up? How do we keep having family units and multiples and all that jazz?
• Episode 16 - Letting Someone Else Go First
• This episode shows the boar head guy and our main work to decipher how literal strings were attached to the demon slayers, controlling their every move and causing them to attack one another, even though it is against their code. Eventually, they get the hang of it though, and they find a way to save their friends by throwing them up over branches to dangle and wait. Except not actually, because the spider lady just gave up on them and killed them all instead. And then she kind of just gave up on living, and that left a big opening for our mains to win the war. Fifth form: blessed water after the drought. 
• Episode 17 - You Must Master a Single Thing
• It looks like our yellow kimono demon slayer found the other demon that was here and needs to be taken care of. This spider demon is like an actual spider though, rather than mostly human, like the lady Tanjiro took care of. How did he not feel a spider bite him? The amount the poison has messed up his hand feels like he should've felt something. 
• We got a flashback to when blondie wasn't blonde... why is he blonde now? ... Oh, he was struck by lightning. So his sleep unlocks his abilities. His single ability. We get a lot of looks into his own training and how he was taught that it's okay to cry and be scared, but to always know you are capable of doing stuff on your own, and that it is okay to only have one skill, so long as you are a master in that skill. 
• Episode 18 - A Forged Bond
• They finally send in some of the higher demon lsayer corp people as they are just about finished taking out the entire spider demon family... how helpful. Also, the characters are Naruto running... why do we call it Naruto running if so many animes use it? 
• Spider brother is killing his own sister. Wait, they get money for killing demons? I knew it was their job, but I didn't realize it was a paying job. There are so many spider siblings, more than I realized. And the way in which they are some mostly human and others mostly spider is really confusing to me. 
• HE BROKE HIS SWORD
• Episode 19 - Hinokami
• The yellow kimono man slowed his breathing, which stopped him from turning into a spider long enough to receive the antidote. 
• Nezuko came out of her box to save her brother, and now the spider guy wants to take her as his own little sister.
• Tanjiro starts to remember the sun technique.
• Episode 20 - Pretend Family
• So we thought that using the remembered sun technique killed the spider brother, but it was a rogue. The spider demon cut his own head off. Spider guy made his own family by turning the people into demons and saving them. 
• We just keep getting more info about their fake family. Honestly, it's kind of boring and repetitive at this point. Just kill them already. Who cares if he wanted a fake family?
• Episode 21 - Against Corps Rules
• ...This is the backstory of the spider demon man... for what? Also, what happened to him getting blood samples? 
• Just as they are going to kill Nezuko, the crows come with a message that Tanjiro and Nezuko are meant to be brought to HQ alive.
• Episode 22 - Master of the Mansion
• They want to put Tanjiro on trial. The highest-level demon slayer person comes out and states that Tanjiro and Nezuko are sanctioned in all their work, that she is helping to take out the other demons. 
• Episode 23 - Hashira Meeting
• This felt like a filler episode where they just discussed how they felt the other demon slayers were weak and not useful in any regard, except for Tanjiro, whom they can use to lure out the 12 kanjiro or whatever they are called.
• Episode 24 - Rehabilitation Training
• All three of the guys have to go through rehabilitation to work on their muscles, and it's the blondie who gets the other two guys to actually start mastering stuff. But then the blondie and the boar head quit on the final task. It's only Tanjiro who keeps at it, and he eventually finds out that the secret is he needs to be able to use total breathing all day, every day in order to be a master. 
• The butterfly lady wants to befriend demons.
• I feel like the graphics of the show just get more basic and childish in style the longer the show continues.
• Episode 25 - Tsuguko, Kanao Tsuyuri
• This one just seems to be them learning to do the total breathing 24/7.
• Episode 26 - New Mission
• The first demon person is a shape-shifter? He sounds male still, but looks female now. Also, he killed off a bunch of his demon minions. 
• How have they never seen or heard of a train, but they have them in this world? Well, here starts their next mission, I guess. As well as the end of the first season, the longest season.

A Moment To Remember

We try to avoid the touchy subjects around these parts, topics such as politics or religion; but sometimes you can't help but discuss something that impacted not only your own country, but all countries around the world.

Today, we take a moment to remember the tragedy that was the fall of the World Trade Centers. There were countless lives ruined on this day 24 years ago. The scars are still felt from those who were there that day and lived to tell the tale of the devastation. The numbers will never be accurate but that day we lost approximately 1,700 lives from the North Tower, an additional 1,000 from the South Tower, 125 lives in the Pentagon, and somewhere around 265 more on various flights that crashed. These casualties were felt that day and every day since then for those families. Since these events, more lives have been lost. As of 2014, nearly 1,400 additional lives had been lost due to medical conditions caused by the collapse of the towers.

Today, in place of the towers are two large craters. Two reminders of what was once a center of business for the world. Two dedications to many of the lives that were lost that day and continue to be lost every day. 

Thank you to all the men and women in every city, in every state, in every country, on every continent, who do their best each and every day to make the world a better place, who strive to help save lives instead of take them. We commend you and your bright spirit that burns like an ember in your soul.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

So Rambo made me write about this book because it took me like a year to read, and there was one thing that stood out to me that was very different in the book than it was in the movie. It is simply the line in the scene where the golden trio have to make it across the chessboard to go get the stone. In the movie, it was Ron saying 'Do you want to stop Snape from getting the stone or not? Harry, it's you who has to go on, I know it. Not me, not Hermione, you.' I thought this was a very powerful moment in the movie as it shows Ron will sacrifice himself for the greater good. I really liked the scene, it was very quotable and I think about it often, but in the book it's rather different. 'It's the only way... I've got to be taken.' and Harry and Hermione shout no, to which Ron replies, 'That's chess! You've got to make some sacrifices. There isn't really a big song and dance about how Harry needs to go on. It actually happens that in the book there is a next room with a puzzle that Hermione solves for Harry to progress to the final boss.

Something noticeable about the book that is different from the movie was another quote from Ron where he says, 'Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you is that good at chess.' I don't remember anything like this in the movie, although it has been some years since I last did a re-watch of the Harry Potter movies, and I may have to do so now after I have written this to fact-check myself. 

Thank you so much for reading. I'm sorry it's not longer, but I didn't exactly take notes on when I was reading the book about things I should write about. I hope you all have a great rest of your day, and I will see you in the next one.

Lilly's thoughts and opinions on the recent changes to Dead By Daylight

Hello and welcome to some game talk. I try my best to play a lot of games, but I keep going back to a few favorites every time. Dead by Daylight is one of those games, and if you have seen any of my YouTube content, it is probably something related to Dead by Daylight. I don't quite have 1000 hours in the game yet, but as of me writing this, I have 900 hours in the game on Steam, so I am getting there. Dead by Daylight was my gateway into gaming with friends, as I had played a few games on my Xbox and Nintendo DS that were solo, such as Minecraft, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and Nintendogs. But Dead by Daylight was my first game that wasn't really in my comfort zone, and it was multiplayer. My sister said I should try it, and I did. That very night, after I had downloaded it, I hopped into a VC with her friends and tried the game. I wasn't the biggest fan at first, as everything was new, including these people with whom I was now hanging out. For those who don't know, I am an introvert. I don't really like meeting new people or spending time with people, but it has gotten better through streaming, and I am decent at hanging out with people online if I know them a little. Streaming was a way to take me out of my comfort zone, and it really has! I have met some wonderful people through playing DBD and through streaming. I am so glad I tried both. 

Once I got more into the game Dead By Daylight I then experienced some of the different events that they have started doing more often for example the anniversary events of the game being out turned into playing the game as much as possible and getting all the blood points I possibly could because the blood point bonus cakes were in the blood web at the time so it turned into a whole grind situation. Then they started doing the 2v8 limited-time event game mode, and I absolutely love this, as you can play as a killer with your friends. It's so much fun, but it takes roughly 20 minutes to get a match as a killer, and if you are playing survivor, you can get a match almost instantly. I love this game mode so much that I even made a series on it for YouTube, so if you would like to see what I am talking about, you can head on over and check it out. It's called through the killer's eyes. I am recording the content for season two of this series, as so many people loved it. When Behaviour (The makers of the game Dead By Daylight) brought this game mode back, they had added a new feature for the killer. The feature is that if you are playing Killer, you don't have to wait in these ridiculously long killer queues; you can ready up with your friend you are playing killer with for a survivor game. The ratio ends up being 2:1. You get about 2 games as a survivor before you get 1 killer game. This is okay if you like both sides, and I do. However, it can be a little annoying going back and forth. I have been clicking wrong buttons as the killer because when I load into the killer match, my brain is still in survivor mode, plus with my series hanging in the balance, I would like to get more killer games recorded than survivor games. For the series, I like to have a total of twenty-two episodes, just like a regular TV series. 

Don't get me wrong, I love that they have made it so you can play as a survivor while you wait for a killer game. I  just wish the ratio were a little more balanced. They could introduce some incentives to have new people play the game, such as some free cosmetics for simply playing during the event, and not just a login bonus while this specific event is running. Maybe one day they will fix it, but maybe not. One can always hope.

Thank you so much for reading my mad ramblings. I hope you have a great rest of your day, and I will see you in the next one. 

Words May Not Be Knives But They Still Sting

"You aren't better than anybody."

As if I didn't already know that. Thank you so kindly for pointing it out and giving one final nail in the coffin to end the day.

I was not expecting those words to come out of your mouth. Not out of the mouth of somebody I thought I was on good terms with. Not out of the mouth of somebody who was my mentor. Not out of the mouth of somebody who just a few days ago was sending my Instagram reels about Build-A-Bear, and I was sending photos back because I already had seen and gotten it.

You saying those words, directed at me or otherwise, sent me spiraling. I didn't say anything back to you; it would have been disrespectful. But in my head, all I could think was, I know I'm not. I am less than worthy. I am less than dirt. All I could think about were all my faults, all the wrongs I have ever done in my entire life. How I wish I could take it all back, change every little detail. But then I realize I am not me without these flaws, without these mistakes. Some would even say I am not human without them.

Does it make me less sad, no, but it makes me realize just a little that the tears I held back then, the tears I let stream down my face as I was driving away later on, weren't worth shedding.

I shed them anyway, though, because words do hurt. They leave mental scars that are nearly impossible to heal.