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[School of Everything Else 2024]
Our years-long journey through the DC Animated Universe comes to a close, and it is both melancholy as we say goodbye to Kevin Conroy and at the same time wildly enthusiastic for some of the very best episodes across all that we have watched.
It is strange to think that we started this in 2020 when the DC movies at the cinema were on a high note: After years of the only success story being Batman, they had a billion-dollar hit with Aquaman, a cheerful adventure with the original Shazam!, we were moving past the embarrassments of Justice League and Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman was still a shining beacon and even though barely anyone saw it Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey kicked absolute ass... and now as we finish it, Aquaman 2 was a damp squid that made about a third of the original's box office, Black Adam finally appeared after over a decade of development for a "...that was it?" response, Shazam 2 pootled away the goodwill of the original, Justice League came back to satisfy the Snyder Cult... who then demanded more Snyder, James Gunn tried a Suicide Squad, but without Joker there, nobody came (everybody came to Joker), new management stepped in, they locked Batgirl in the dungeon and threw away the key, The Flash ran through time and space and development purgatory, resulting in a big, cringing NOPE! from audiences, Wonder Woman went back to 1984, her beacon puttered out and now she does birthday party cameos, and Blue Beetle kicked absolute ass... even though barely anyone saw it. The only big success story... was the Batman.
I honestly hope James Gunn can rescue ALL the heroes from this turd-fire, but whether or not that is possible, School of Movies can now definitively say that this IS the superhero universe to be held up as that shining beacon again (absence of a much-needed Wonder Woman: the Animated Series notwithstanding).
My personal final rankings are...
1. Justice League Unlimited
2. Batman: The Animated Series
3. Superman: The Animated Series
4. Justice League: The Animated Series
5. The New Batman Adventures
6. Batman Beyond
Between those, a breadth of the DC comic characters and settings was laid out in such a rich and consistent manner that makes this the definitive encapsulation of the mythology. If you've never had the pleasure of watching these in remastered High Definition, you will have your breath taken away by the artistry on show.
Guests:
Toby Jungius @TJungius of Through the Wind Door
Nama Chibitty @namathenerd
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[School of Everything Else 2024]
The DC Animated Universe marathon reaches its Avengers phase, as the established animated Batman and Superman from their own Animated Series' which had already crossed over, team up with Wally West's Flash (who had guested on Superman) John Stewart's Green Lantern (as opposed to the Kyle Raynor who guested on Superman) Diana Prince who should absolutely have gotten her own Wonder Woman: The Animated Series, J'onn J'onzz the Martian Manhunter (not to be confused with the unrelated Manhunters from the later Green Lantern: the Animated Series, which takes place in the Young Justice timeline) and Shayera Hol, Hawkgirl (not to be confused with Carter Hall, the unrelated Hawkman) of Thanagaria, the bird-people planet. Comics are weird.
The first two seasons, simply called Justice League are an odd fit. It doesn't have an explosive beginning that has all these new personalities playing off each other, and the event of them being revealed and meeting feeling like a special, momentous thing, they're just kind of all there, converging on a bunch of boring aliens to fight. The following episodes are almost across the board two-parters, making it less easy to sit down and just enjoy one. And they are still remarkably coy about getting inside their heads and playing out the drama of being this close to other supremely powerful beings. Making them gods first is always less appealing to me than making them people first.
Fortunately, when those first two seasons concluded we moved onto Justice League Unlimited. Self-contained episodes, even stronger animation and music, really making use of a massively expanded roster of seemingly everyone in the DC Universe, and a deft handling of smaller, more personal stories, with grand overarching umbrella plots. We get into some of that on this episode as there is some intersection between the two very different formats, (as well as a discussion of the Batman-Beyond closing episode 'Epilogue') but the grand finale will come in next week's concluding episode to the entire DCEU.
Guests:
Toby Jungius @TJungius of Through the Wind Door
Nama Chibitty @namathenerd
(And on the Epilogue, originally recorded on our Batman Begins session)
Chris Finik @finmonster09
Kevin Veighey @KevinTimeGeek86
Bradford Yurkiw
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Eksik bölüm mü var?
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[School of Movies 2024]
This is an idea for a new kind of show that I've been developing. It just so happens to coincide with a period where my voice has been wrecked from illness and I'm trying to limit talking for long stretches so that my vocal cords can heal up.
I've been pulling together an archive of Director's Commentaries from the various discs that nobody seems to want any more. These represent a window of just over a decade wherein we got to hear what was in the heads of the filmmakers. As we move into the era of the vast majority of movies being watched over streaming, with scant few extras or documentaries on their construction, it is even easier to dismiss the works as 'content'. The general public never much cared for these materials, but if you love movies like we do, the bonus features are troves of creative insight to be uncovered.
However, most commentaries are a little bit dry, or might need the film there viewable for context, or the speaker falls back on saying what they're seeing onscreen, and the bigger issue is who has the time in the 2020s to sit down for two hours with one of these? My way forward is listening to them on my iPod as audiobooks. And what I want to share with you is the focused and collected cream the crop I'm studying. This brings our show closer to what it was always meant to be, Sharon and I learning along with you folks, from the craftspeople of film. And who better to start with than my absolute favourite person in this industry?
Now, I need feedback on this show, which is composed of the most fascinating parts to me from his commentaries on Hellboy (2004) and Cronos (1992). How much do you like this format and who else would you like to hear from? Because my archive is growing towards hundreds of hours worth of precious perspective, and to be the curator of that for you would be a literal honour.
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[School of Everything Else 2024]
The conclusion (for now) to this series of shows on the triumphant return of Star Trek.
Season 2 slaloms between unsettling and dark episodes which would feel more at home in Discovery if they weren't so personal to the characters in this rich ensemble... and some of the most hilarious, touching, light-hearted yet heart-breaking downtime episodes which highlight the comedy strengths and the charisma of everyone in the crew. It's bumpy, but so worth the journey.
Kaoru's recommended episodes of the original 1966 series, AND the redheaded stepchild of Star Trek, the much maligned Enterprise series which ran for 98 episodes from 2001-2005.
TOS S1-24: Space Seed
TOS S2-7: Wolf in the Fold
ENTERPRISE S4-4 to 6: Borderland/Cold Station 12/The Augments
Chris' Suggestion: The Orville - Season 2
Debbie's Suggestion: Talistheintrovert on YouTube with her presentation "PSYCH the best Sherlock Holmes adaptation in existence".
Jesse's Book Pick: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone.
Sharon's Book Pick: The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers.
The Bad Batch S2-E12: The Outpost.
Guests:
From Sequentially Yours Kaoru Negisa @Moonpanther22
and Debbie Morse @bastet8300
Jesse Ferguson of Recorded Tomorrow @TheDapperDM
Chris Finik @finmonster09
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[School of Movies 2024]
Is this the last true swashbuckler of the 20th Century? It's certainly the Zorro movie so great, and so wildly successful in all of its aims that there hasn't really been a landmark big screen appearance since then (that wasn't the leading man playing a cat). Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta Jones in their prime, and Anthony Hopkins delivering my personal favourite performance of his.
Here, in this commissioned episode, we go through every department, exploring the multitude of exceptional craftspeople, thespians, stunt coordinators, wardrobe heads, practical FX masters, all the while accompanied by the music of the late, great master of horns, composer James Horner. All of their work blends together into an absolutely magnificent, sweeping romantic adventure of revenge and liberation, with not only the greatest fencing scenes ever filmed, but the sexiest!
This is the second of a trio of absolutely astonishing films directed by Martin Campbell. We have already covered the third, (twice!) Casino Royale (2006), and we really do need to get around to covering the first, GoldenEye (1995).
Guest:
Brenden Agnew @BLCAgnew of Cinapse
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[School of Everything Else 2024]
This is one of two commissioned podcasts on the first two seasons of the best Star Trek shows in decades. Refreshingly lacking in cynicism and tapping into the Kennedy-era energy of exploration and endeavour with a tight focus on character development, this one really is worth your time. We spend two and a half hours of spoilerific, textured discussion time really delving into these first ten episodes.
Kaoru's recommended episodes of the original 1966 series to watch for additional context...
S1-11 & S1-12: The Menagerie
S1-13: The Conscience of the King
S1-14: Balance of Terror
S1-19: Arena
S2-01: Amok Time
Guests:
From Sequentially Yours Kaoru Negisa @Moonpanther22
and Debbie Morse @bastet8300
Jesse Ferguson of Recorded Tomorrow @TheDapperDM
Chris Finik @finmonster09
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[School of Movies 2024]
The late 2010s. It is a period of civil war. The vast Empire of Disney has released four of its five first Star Wars movies, to mixed reception. Critically and financially, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi have done very well, as has Rogue One. However, the two episodes have divided the smaller portion of the global audience that amounts to the vocal fanbase, between those who are thrilled and those who are disgusted.
In a vain effort to smooth things over, it is decided that the pitched final film in this nine-episode Saga be made with nothing upsetting or challenging within. Writer/Director Colin Trevorrow is relieved of duty and replaced by the director of The Force Awakens and the writer of Batman V Superman. These two are then given a hard crunch time to get the movie developed, filmed, finished and released by the end of 2019. It must be by then, because a dark period for the cinema has been prophesised for the 2020s. What was released was designed to mildly please everybody, and as a result, felt largely mediocre, and did not become widely beloved.
Now, after years of living with the pain of this creative fumble, a lone film aficionado sets out into the wilderness of fan edits to see what has been done with the conclusion that left him so disappointed. What he discovered may shock and delight you, or it might induce a powerful rage. One thing is certain, that pain has been put to rest.
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[School of Everything Else 2024]
This was originally going to be an After School Club episode, but a combination of the community discourse regarding the X-Men, and an extremely well-timed trailer drop for the '97 reboot, AND a horrendous cold that has ravaged Sharon and I, along with our timetable, we're making this a Main Event.
If you're a little younger than us, you may well have been the exact right age and state of mind for this early-2000s animated series, which in many ways surpasses the much-vaunted '92 show. It is gratifyingly forward-facing, accepting that the Claremont era was thoroughly X-plored by its predecessor. And while its release clearly coincides with the early Fox movies, it holds to a high school relationship drama in a world initially unaware of mutants, and in distancing itself from the big screen, manages to be better, and more focused.
That said, there are some annoyances and character-handling that ground our claws, but it's in amongst some of the most relatable incarnations of these long-beloved weirdos. We absolutely urge you to track it down and devour the whole thing.
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[School of Everything Else 2024]
The infamous animated series with a theme tune you can hear just by looking at stills of it, finally gets a well-deserved podcast. We actually recorded this several years back, to coincide with the launch of the new X-Men '97 animated show on D+, and we're finally seeing images from that now. Whether it's good or bad, THIS ONE is worth watching, at least some choice episodes of.
While often held up with the likes of Batman TAS, this one's strengths lie less in the flawless execution of those DCEU shows, and more in the goofy heart, wild Claremont-era stories and memorably crystallised colourful characters. In many ways, this is the evolution* of several decades of comic book storytelling, coming out to the world at large, at the opening of their most successful and popular decade. Planting a flag in the ground with a big old X on it, to mark the spot.
We elected to focus only on Season 1 here, as after recording we went on to watch all of it, and that show would be five hours long and quite repetitive. But we nailed the salient points and I hope, managed to outline why this cartoon and its crew of kinda-silly characters meant so much, and could mean even more if Marvel play their cards right in future.
*Oh, and if you were born a little while after us and grew up with the second generation show, X-Men: Evolution, then you're going to love next week's podcast.
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[School of Everything Else 2024]
We initially started watching this 2017 Paramount TV series just for some back-story context on a pair of commissioned podcasts we have upcoming on the first two seasons of the sister show about the crew of the Enterprise; 'Strange New Worlds'. As it turns out, after a rocky start, Discovery is really excellent in its own right and we wolfed down the first four seasons.
So, this is a largely spoiler-free round-table discussion on those seasons, to give you folks who haven't yet watched it incentive to maybe give it a go, along with details and character development to keep an eye on. And if you have watched it you will almost certainly love hearing our take, because, as it turns out, we are now in the middle of an unexpected Golden Age of Trek.
Guests:
From Sequentially Yours Kaoru Negisa @Moonpanther22
and Debbie Morse @bastet8300
Chris Finik @finmonster09
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[School of Movies 2024]
It's always a risk, setting a sci-fi dystopian movie only a few years from filming. You're going to make predictions about how the world might look and operate, with new technology or sociological and political upheaval within a time period so immediate that it's the difference between the launch of the Sony PlayStation and the PlayStation 2
But we are currently living in a dystopia increasingly left to the devices of the dumbest of AI, and many of us are wondering "How the hell did all this happen between the PS4 and PS5?". Plus, the writer/producer of this one warned us about Skynet before. James Cameron here teams up with director (and occasional wife) Katherine Bigelow to deliver a grimy neo-noir that failed abysmally at the box office when everyone wanted Batman Forever. A disregarded cult favourite with a mysterious and twisted psychopath murdering people in truly stomach-churning ways, the same year Se7en was a massive smash hit.
The tech is effectively Virtual Reality, only it's recorded, first-person real life experiences that go way beyond mere visual immersion. There are riots on the streets of Los Angeles as a terrifyingly militarised police force close in, and as the clock ticks towards midnight on New Year's Eve in the far-flung year of 1999 a young and twitchy Ralph Feinnes and a statuesque goddess, his long-suffering protector played by Angela Basset find themselves caught up in a dangerous world.
This show was commissioned by Greg Downing, and we had a blast delving into it.
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[School of Movies 2024]
After decades of very patchy sequels and spinoffs to the 1987 sci-fi classic, Predator, we finally get one that is not only worthy of, but in many ways surpasses its stealthy action-beefcake-slasher source.
So far we've had Predator 2 (1990), Alien vs. Predator (2004), Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), Predators (2010) and The Predator (2018). But this one takes note of there frequently being a woman of colour on the cast of the previous movies and this time put her front and centre, telling her story, rather than the grizzled guys she's babysitting.
Relative unknown Amber Midthunder (who has nonetheless been acting since 2001 at the age of 4) stars as Naru, a Comanche girl on the great plains of America, circa 1719. Her skills lie in being highly observant and resourceful, and her frustrations stem from the guys in her group not letting her be a hunter. This of course goes upside down when an outsider touches down in their territory and starts bagging trophies with horrifying ease. And these French fur-trappers are similarly surprised to find an alien Predator carving them up for his own shelf-candy.
From Dan Trachtenberg, the director of 10 Cloverfield Lane comes another absolutely riveting tale of a woman who must fight to survive.
Guest:
Actual Comanche Nama Chibitty @namathenerd
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[School of Everything Else 2024]
This is one we have been planning and looking forward to for a long, long, LONG time. One of the most significant indie video games of all time, and for our child, maybe their favourite forever (up against Minecraft and Stardew Valley).
In a gaming marketplace overflowing with charming retro-styled games with a dark, absurd sense of humour veiling heart-breaking stories about coping through pain, loneliness and grief, this one shines out as an inspirational beacon. With Earthbound on the SNES as his chief influence, creator Toby Fox set out to make a game that confounded, mocked and disapproved of RPG tropes, but in doing so, made an adventure where you could kill every enemy you meet... or make friends with them. And doing the latter results in profound and deeply memorable connections.
If you've not played it by now, you probably won't. So, throw the notion of spoilers aside and let's get into the juicy skeleton meat on this one, together.
Guests:
Hollywoo Actress Maya Souris @Mayasantandrea
Professional Underteller Willow Shaw
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[School of Everything Else 2024]
Part 6 of 6
We come to it at last. The final episodes of one of the greatest animated shows ever gifted to TV. And we pulled out all the stops this time, because it's bittersweet to say goodbye again.
Originally I planned to get this whole season discussed in one sit-down session, considering how much ground we had covered back in Season 1 with two sessions. But in the end a second was essential. What we have here is that unplanned final session with Kaoru & Debbie (joyfully back after a long absence while they brought a small person into the world) blended with segments held over from that first recording to close us out with fireworks. Many thanks to everyone involved in this challenging and rewarding project. You made it special, like it deserved to be.
Episodes Covered: Dipper and Mabel vs. The Future / Xpcveaoqfoxso / Escape from Reality / Take Back the Falls I / Take Back the Falls II
Guests:
From Sequentially Yours Kaoru Negisa @Moonpanther22
and Debbie Morse @bastet8300
Toby Jungius @TJungius of Through the Wind Door
Hollywoo Actress Maya Souris @Mayasantandrea
Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch
Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse
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[School of Everything Else 2024]
Part 4 of 6
Back in early 2020 (pre-pandemic even) just as Disney+ had launched, making this show super-accessible to everyone at last, we recorded three podcasts on the first season. Now we are finally back to talk about the second and final season and one of the most satisfying, bittersweet endings of any television series, and I am not being hyperbolic with that statement.
Dipper and Mabel Pines are a pair of tweens who have to spend the summer in the strange Pacific Northwest town of Gravity Falls with their conman Grunkle Stan. Now answers to the big mysteries of the first season finally bubble to the surface, presenting us with both hilarious hijinks and mind-bending sci-fi. It's the kind of smart, emotionally sensitive, poignant and genuinely funny programming for kids that we've seen rise most reassuringly over the past decade.
Episodes Covered: Into the Bunker, The Golf War, Sock Opera, Soos and the Real Girl, Little Gift Shop of Horrors, Society of the Blind Eye, Blendin's Game, The Love God, Northwest Mansion Noir, Not What He Seems, A Tale of Two Stans, Dungeons, Dungeons, & More Dungeons, The Stanchurian Candidate, The Last Mabelcorn, Roadside Attraction.
Guests:
Hollywoo Actress Maya Souris @Mayasantandrea
Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch
Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse
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[School of Movies 2023]
This is one of the hardest episodes we have ever had to record.
I'm not dealing in hyperbole when I describe the shockwave that rippled through our house when we found out that without the slightest warning Chadwick Boseman passed away in the night. He represented, for want of a better term a great responsibility. And much of these few hours is spent talking about that impact.
On top of that, there were elements of the film that bothered both of us, and our guests, but the undertaking of bringing this movie into existence, soaked in real world tragedy and during a pandemic was so challenging that how could we possibly be critical?
This is why it has taken us a silent year to gather our thoughts. And we are so grateful to our guests for being able to manage the weight and breadth of what gets discussed and land -as intended- in the most human place possible. Special thanks to Maya Souris who was actually IN this movie and gifted us with some precious insight into the filmmaking process.
The charity we are giving to this Holiday Season is Covenant House. They offer unconditional shelter and support for the abused, homeless and trafficked, and are currently willing to 5x match any donations they receive up to midnight on January 31st 2023.
Guests
Maya Souris iMDB Listing
Jerome McIntosh of GameBurst
Aquila Hope
Greg Downing of Through the Wind Door
Chris Finik @finmonster09
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[School of Movies 2023]
One of only FOUR movies directed by the all-too-soon-departed anime darling Satoshi Kon (along with Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress and Paprika), this is by far and away his most heartfelt, funny, camp and soulful tale, and it is most definitely Christmassy in nature, considering it concerns three impoverished homeless people and their desperate attempts to protect and ferry back to her parents a holy infant, so tender and mild.
But as well as being a fair and compassionate story of the destitute, this film has an exceedingly rare trans heroine in the shape of Hana, a hot mess who nonetheless has the most determined and forthright of dispositions. Together with the alcoholic Gin and the runaway girl Miyuki, they experience a series of unlikely coincidences that require them to do the right thing in order to reverse an interconnected web of hilariously bad situations.
No matter how lonely and depressed a viewer might feel at the beginning there is no way someone can reach the end without smiling from their very core. This somewhat obscure 2003 Holiday parable is deserving of its cult status.
This episode was commissioned by Alejandra Vargas & Joe G.
Guest:
Mackenzie Eastram @KenziePhoenix of Rainbow Connection @MuppetsPod
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[School of Everything Else 2020]
Part 3 of 6
The third of three shows on Season 1 of Gravity Falls. Season 2 will be covered in 2021.
We round off the first batch of episodes with a showcase of villainy, as a crazed piglet who holds small-town America in his thrall seeks unlimited power for himself. And on the other side of the reality curtain, a chaotic yellow triangle man hatches his schemes.
There's also a hilarious take on boy bands which was in fact creator Alex Hirsch apologising to his sister Ariel for being such a scornful bounder, admonishing her musical taste when they were tweens.
Episodes Covered: Boss Mabel/Bottomless Pit/Carpet Diem/Boys Crazy/Land Before Swine/Dreamscapers/Gideon Rises
Guests:
Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch
Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse
From Sequentially Yours Kaoru Negisa @Moonpanther22
and Debbie Morse @bastet8300
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[School of Everything Else 2020]
Part 2 of 6
The second of three shows on Season 1 of Gravity Falls. Season 2 will be covered in 2021.
We return to one of the best animated series' to grace the TV screen. A rich, hilarious, fast-paced puzzle-box of twisty mysteries and subversive, genre-savvy capers. Tween twins Dipper and Mabel Pines are staying with their Grunkle Stan for the summer, at his combination gift-shop and rube-trap. But strange things are both out there in the woods, and inside the wooden walls of the Mystery Shack.
Both seasons are available on Disney+ And if you have already finished it and want something similar but haven't yet sunk your beak into The Owl House, that's what's for dessert.
Episodes Covered: Double Dipper/Irrational Treasure/The Time-Traveller's Pig/Fight Fighters/Little Dipper/Summerween
Guests:
Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch
Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse
From Sequentially Yours Kaoru Negisa @Moonpanther22
and Debbie Morse @bastet8300
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[School of Everything Else 2020]
Part 1 of 6
Throughout the year we will be releasing episodes covering one of our very favourite animated shows, now available worldwide on Disney+ which is why we waited until now. Most people haven't seen this, so you can watch along with us. We won't spoil any later episodes and the podcasts won't release all at once. Next week the Spielberg Season continues with E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.
The elevator pitch for this one is "The Simpsons meets Twin Peaks". A pair of twins, one of them fascinated by strange and mysterious things, the other determined to have fun at all times go to stay for the summer with their grotty con-man of a Great Uncle Stan. As it turns out; Gravity Falls, this sleepy Pacific Northwestern Town is filled with both strange and mysterious things and fun!
Episodes Covered: Tourist Trapped / The Legend of the Gobblewonker / Headhunters / The Hand that Rocks the Mabel / The Inconveniencing / Dipper vs. Manliness
Guests:
Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch
Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse
From Sequentially Yours Kaoru Negisa @Moonpanther22
and Debbie Morse @bastet8300
- Daha fazla göster
