#90's game center

[tamara-kama]

Japanese high school girl in arcade Center 1995

[retrogamingblog2]

Pokemon Sea Breeze Figures

[raguonmynieceandnephew]

"It's so unfair to the Rat Grinders that they are killed instantly and the Bad Kids get to roll death saves." SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUP

THIS IS LONG, AND HONESTLY FOR MYSELF, SO YEAH READ IF YOU WANT

I swear to god, this discourse is going to fucking be the end of me. Idk what kind of mind boggling spell Brennan Lee Mulligan wove into the fabric of the universe that spread through the data center of Dropout in order to absolutely hijack y'all's brains when it comes to Cocklord Assgape and her ragtag of character foils but whatever it was has made you Rat Grinder stans INSUFFERABLE in this site.

The levels of treating fictional characters as if they were real people have reached a level I honestly have never anticipated, to the point of y'all actually being mad AT THE CAST for "mistreating" them and ACTUALLY QUESTION BRENNAN'S CAPACITY TO DM. Do you not get how fucking insane that is?

We can't make fun of Copperkettle, one of the most pathetic, petty and incompetent villains in D20 history anymore (even though she is masterfully written and developed to generate this reaction from us) anymore because it's bullying apparently. I saw an account flip the fuck out because someone compared her rivalry with Kristen to Drake and Kendrick's beef. KIPPERLILY IS NOT A REAL GIRL. SHE IS A MAKE BELIEVE CHARACTER IN AN IMPROV SHOW SPAWNED FROM THE BRAIN OF A 36 YEAR OLD MAN

And then what truly pissed me off the MOST about this whole hell is the fact that, being chronically online avid consumers of this goddamn show, I would think you would have but a grasp of the main cast of characters' characterization.

Why the uproar about Riz saying they should chop Oisin's head off? The same Riz who tortured that pixie from Freshman year by shooting off their finger one by one? The same Riz who murked a disarmed and unconscious Coach Daybreak without battin an eye? The same Riz who ATE THE CORPSE OF KALVAXUS?

And the whole Fabian vs Ivy debacle MY GOD, THE GIRL WAS RACIST TO HIS GIRLFRIEND AND USED HER LAST BREATH TO CALL MAZEY "OBJECTIVELY UGLY". And the funniest thing is that is not even the most unhinged shit he has ever said.

And finally, Death Save Gate: THE RAT GRINDERS ARE NOT PLAYER CHARACTERS. THEY ARE NPCS! THE RULES FOR EACH WORK DIFFERENTLY, ESPECIALLY THEM BEING BOSS ENCOUNTERS. Imagine having to still hit Ivy or Oisin 2 more times to kill them when there is 14 foot tall Porter throwing legendary actions left and right, with Jace, and other 3 spell casters + Mary Ann and KLCK up and running. It's called balancing the fucking game. Also, game masters are entitled to break, mold and make up any rules they want if they find necessary in order to service themselves and their players. IF YOU PLAY WITH ALL THESE RULES AS THEY COME, GOOD FOR YOU AND YOUR TABLE. THIS IS NOT YOUR TABLE.

Not only is Brennan DMing for his CLOSEST FRIENDS EVER, he is also shooting and producing an ENTIRE TV SHOW. So yeah, i think he knows wtf he is doing.

"But the Ratgrinders had no real development": True. But it wasn't for lack of trying from the players. Everytime they tried to know more, the dice didn't let them, so they decided to focus on the mystery. It simply do be like that sometimes.

"But they are just kids!": And so were Penelope, Dayne, Ragh, Zayn, the Bloodrush Players, Aelwyn and Biz. Why wasn't it a problem then? Because most of them were evil to some extent and were about to bring the fucking apocalypse to the world? Yeah, sounds familiar right? And the ones who were manipulated or had any sort of redemption worked their way into earning it, right? Yeah.

In conclusion, I fucking love the Rat Grinders, I truly do, and not unlike 90% of this website, i'm still holding on to hope that they have any sort of development and redemption in the last episode, because I agree, they ARE children and they WERE manipulated by Porter and Jace, but like, can we also agree that they are fucking assholes and had it fucking coming? Also, the BKs are children too y'know. SO STOP BEING FUCKING ANNOYING.

[aethesfaelibrarae]

Mouthwashing has given me a lot of brain worms and we've got thoughts—time to share them with the hungry void that is Tumblr. One of the last places I'm 90% certain my words won't show up stolen or regurgitated by machine.

Warning for spoilers about the game and rambling!

I believe that Mouthwashing is a modern-day Lolita. The storytelling is similar, in that, almost against their own better judgement and will, the audience finds themselves thinking like our unreliable narrator(s).

Most people.. Sorry, some people have cottoned on to the fact that Anya's personality is not that of a scared, timid and ultimately, useless nurse and she's been in fight or flight response for months now with no other choice but to fawn. As someone who has been in a similar situation for only one day a week for months, the fear only got worse, the longer I went without support. And the things that she does in the background.. No doubt similar to the way that Daisuke kept track of their food supply was brushed over and unsung.. So is the fact that Anya has been keeping a severe burn victim—with 4th degree burns so severe, any treatment we currently have is experimental and expensive.. If the pain does not kill you first—she's been keeping Curly alive for months with no help and incredibly minimal supplies. (I personally think that Anya probably was on the side of giving him an easier death or maybe even suggested a gentler way of giving him medicine—but (sterile) syringes in space? Limited water? An especially dismissive Swansea and go with the flow Daisuke?.. Easier to try and give Jimmy what he wants.)

But. I believe that people overlook the ways in which Catastrophe Jim's perspective on Curly twists our own. Pre-Crash Curly exists upon a pedestal—a good man, better than Jimmy could ever hope to be; a good, well-liked captain. Well-off, better looking (I say this because of the similarities in how Jimmy mentally views himself in similar shape and age as Curly) and still reaching for more. For better. People catch the underlying jealous and resentment for the life that Jimmy wants at all cost but.. They miss the pedestal. The miss the fact that if Jimmy says that Curly's better than he is, a good and better Captain.. That means that Curly is doing the bare fucking minimum: keeping them all alive year after year. Curly is a nice captain with the capacity to soothe over minor issues and keep a cool head and keep the crew on schedule.. But he is not a good one. He's not even a good person. Not really. Jimmy thinks of him as a good person, puts him on this pedestal that he's foaming at the mouth with excitement to pull him off of. Dirty the golden boy and spit on his silver-threaded bootstraps once and for all.

Except.. What evidence do we have that Curly is especially liked or respected? Where is this cheering crew? Where is Curly good?

Curly is a human, at the end of the day.

And.. Which comes to my more complicated and no doubt contriversal take... Curly is also a victim of Jimmy stuck in fawn response. This doesn't absolve him of the ways in which he failed the crew but Anya especially by letting Jimmy run amok and failing to take any action while he still had the chance. He stood by when Anya begins to hint at something beneath the shiny veneer of a happy tight-knit crew and most damningly, he stood by as Jimothy entered the cockpit immediately after suggesting a plan to kill everyone aboard.

I genuinely.. Genuinely.. Don't know what he thought would happen.

But he does take action.. And his last action is what makes he and Anya swap places. Except.. Not truly.

Yes, they are in similar situations—vulnerable to the whims of a psychotic madman with an inferiority complex and their plight largely ignored by the crew; a necessary sacrifice to keep the peace.. Just until safe harbor—but where Anya begins to gain autonomy and some relief from Jimmy no longer having a need for her.. Curly finds himself the center of Jimmy's world.

And that is not a great place to be in.

Curly is systemically isolated (bad-mouthed to the crew over and over again, berated publicly, blamed for an awful accident that Jimmy caused) and his torture and abuse mirrors the continuous, silent medical, emotional and physical abuse that many disabled people face. And almost in a worse way, his voice is stolen from him and used in such insidious inspiration porn.. A lot of people think that he actually said those things.

But we won't know. And if he did say these things.. Why does Jimmy only seem to (mis)understand them in the final acts? Recalling them in Curly's voice but not as the Captain but as a savior, his last charitable act to wipe the ledger of blood clean.

Jimmy doesn't want to see Curly better. He likes feeling useful. He enjoys having Curly watch him and in the same breath, he loathes it. He wants Curly's judgement. He wants Curly's praise. He wants.. Everything that makes Curly Curly.

Curly as a silent observer isn't remarked on often.. Nor is the fact that more than likely, the others heard Curly's sobs of pain from the medbay. But Curly is very conscious, very aware and very alone in his thoughts.

There's a point in which the perspective changes during Swansea's mercy killing—a gift that no one offers Curly—and once again, Curly is stuck watching all of his mistakes play out, one after the other. Unable to do anything but laugh.

But is it a laugh or a sob? Jimmy doesn't care and neither does the player—what's important is the objective: the gun. 739. Click. He steps over Anya's body like it's not even there and runs away.

We don't find out what set Swansea off—maybe Jimmy couldn't help himself and said something about Daisuke or Anya that blamed them. Maybe it was something else. Curly watches on. Helplessly.

There's something to be said about the black screens and the static that occurs when Jimmy hurts Curly or kills Swansea—like he's cutting the memory off before the guilt can get to him. And it's the same thing I'd like to bring up about Curly's voice. Yes, it takes a lot to speak without lips.. Or from what it looks like a tongue.. But there are more noises Curly can make. Noises that can refute Jimmy.

And in the same way that he's at the precipice of something so terrifying he keeps returning to the same spot that's slowly killing him, he's learned that fighting is useless.

It's 2 months after the crash when see Jimmy's perspective again, after all. And while Anya's requests for help seem to be new.. Who's to say that the beatings are?

The worse type of abuse is the type that leaves no bruises. After all, Curly cries all the time in pain.. What's the difference here?

To cycle back to my original point in this.. I don't see a lot of people consider Post-Crash Curly's living hell as another facet of Jimmy's abuse going unchecked by the people around him as anything other than comeuppance. As Karma. And it's the coldest take I've seen from the fandom so far. Allow me to reheat it up for you: disability so severe that you must rely on others is not divine punishment. It's not just desserts. Just as disabled people are your infantilazed, idealized, inspirational iron woobie that can take pain and push through it.. They are also not being punished by the divine. They are humans and sometimes shit just happens and it sucks.

The way that Jimmy views Post-Crash Curly as a saving prop.. Proof that he can indeed fix it.. is so normalized that as the audience, it can be something that you aim to achieve–one of the earliest and easiest achievements you can get is opening and closing Curly's mouth like a mannequin.

There's a relief that we share when Curly shuts up. There's a shutdown in empathy when Jimmy brutalizes him. Up until we can no longer look away.

Because Jimmy can no longer look away. And that is the chilling part of all this. Jimmy gets away with it—all of it—because of the crew's inability to overcome their own apathetic acceptance of the monster in their midst.

Just like most people accept the main character from Lolita as a gentleman, the crew accepts Jimmy as a guy. A little rough and short-tempered but what do you expect from blue collar work? Hold your nose, it'll be over in a year. In 8 months. In 10. Soon. It'll be over soon.

I can't help but worry if Jimmy weren't so bad at being likable and if he were even a smidgen of the charismatic mastermind, he so clearly wants to be..

We'd have another Valentino on our hands.

Mouthwashing is a horror that I can't help but devour. FEAST, indeed.

[starlightseq]

Continuing my Archie cover redraw series with issue #1 of the miniseries !

I feel like the original still draws the eye much easier due to the action lines and dark hatching on Robotnik. Perhaps I should have included some of that into my own piece but oh well!

Sketches and thoughts on the issue below ⤵️

I posted a timelapse of my piece on BlueSky.

For Robotnik, my series is focused on redrawing the covers as if they stayed true to the original JP game designs. So, while Robotnik in this cover feels far more menacing and angry, I wanted to give a far more quiet menace to Eggman with his signature grin.

Sally in the mean time, I wanted to try and translate her style a bit into the classic Sonic style, while also maintaing her SATAM look. It makes me feel like I'm drawing her a bit chibi haha.

As for my thoughts on the issue...I don't really have any tbqh. It's very basic saturday morning cartoon humor ! Though, I'm not a big fan of miscommunication plots which was the center of the main story of this issue.

This is the issue that tells us Rotor is the tech guy of the group and Antoine here feels a bit less like a punching bag and more capable than the previous issue. Still a punching bag, but, y'know. Less.

It's also the issue where Sally's colours change from blonde hair and red fur to black hair and pink fur. IIRC, she'll have that colour scheme for a little while. I'll still be drawing her with her red hair and brown fur, though I did consider doing the black/pink combo. After all, they gave a canon reason why her colours were different before.

The most important detail of this issue is OBVIOUSLY the fact that Mexico was made canon in Mobius with this issue /j

It'll be several issues into the Actual series before we start seeing any semblance of the wild stories to come, but for now we just silly humor for those 90's 10 year olds.

[vintagelasvegas]

Sands Hotel & Casino '52-'96

Sands, December 1952

Kit Carson Club ('46-'50) Kit Carson Motel ('46-'63) La Lue nightclub ('50-'51)

'46: Kit Carson Club opened by H. Bynum, D. Anderson, G. Frisbee on US Hwy 91 outside of Las Vegas, adjacent to Kit Carson Motel. The club will later become LaRue nightclub, then the Garden Room of the Sands Hotel.

'50: Kit Carson Club reopened as LaRue nightclub opened by Billy Wilkerson, Nola Hahn, 12/23/50.

'51: LaRue closed by summer. Mack Kufferman buys LaRue, and hires architect Wayne McAllister to build around the existing club. Kuffman and partners apply for gaming license. The project is called Sands by 12/51.

Sands ('52-'96)

'52: Kufferman gaming license denied in Apr., sells to Jake Freedman (RG 4/9/52, RG 6/13/52). Partners running the Sands are B. Barron, E. Levinson (casino manager), S. Wyman, J. Entratter (showroom & restaurants). Hidden partners are believed to include J. Stacher, M. Lansky. Sands road sign designed by McAllister, built by YESCO. Sands opens 12/15/52 with 200 rooms in five buildings arranged in Y-shaped layout. The guest wings are named after race tracks: Arlington Park, Belmont Park, Haileah, Rockingham Park, Santa Anita. Three other wings of equal size were added circa ’53-54 (two were named Churchill Downs, Hollywood Park), another by ’58, and larger wing by ’60. The total room count in ’60 was 465.

'53: Frank Sinatra plays his first engagement at the Sands and becomes two percent owner in Oct; Carl Cohen joins the Sands as shareholder and casino manager in Oct.

'54: Sign modification: Second reader board added below the main board, Feb or earlier. Antonio Morelli joins the Sands as musical director for the Copa in Jul.

'55: Sands partners assume control of the Dunes in Sep. They sell the Dunes in four months later.

'58: Jake Freedman dies 1/19/58; Jack Entratter becomes Sands president.

'59: Sign modification: Attraction board attached to the sign, Feb or earlier. Baccarat begins at the Sands. Sands acquires the former Orinda Motel, property to the south, used for expansion of the Sands parking lot.

'60: Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop (the "Rat Pack") are first billed together in the Copa in Jan-Feb. during the filming of Ocean's 11. Senator John F. Kennedy visits during the Democratic primary campaign.

'63: Opening of Aqueduct hotel wing (83 rm) in Apr. Julius Gabrielle, architect (RJ 4/28/63). Sinatra surrenders ownership 10/7/63.

'64: Sands acquires the former Kit Carson Motel; Belmont and Arlington buildings (base of the Y) moved southward to accommodate construction of a hotel tower.

'65: Second sign in Aug; tower completed late in the year and officially opened Jan. ’66. Martin Stern Jr, architect.

'67: Howard Hughes buys the Sands, 7/23/67. Sinatra leaves his Sands residency after confrontation with Cohen, 9/11/67.

'69: Dean Martin leaves Sands to join Riviera.

'71: Entratter dies, 3/8/71.

'73: Cohen leaves the Sands, Jan. '73.

'80: Inns of America buys the Sands from Hughes heirs Summa Corp in Oct.

'82: Third sign, new porte-cochère, marking the completion of remodeling effort including new Copa room, 1/15/82.

'83: Summa Corp reassumes control of the Sands, 4/5/83.

'88: Kirk Kerkorian buys the Sands in Jan. Kerkorian sells to Interface Group led by Sheldon Addison in Apr.

'90: Sands Expo and Convention Center opens.

'94: Remodeling of the casino.

'96: Sands closes 6/30/96. Tower demolished 11/26/96.

Photos of the Sands

Sources include David G. Schwartz. At the Sands: The Casino That Shaped Classic Las Vegas, Brought the Rat Pack Together, and Went Out With a Bang. December 1952 photo courtesy of Slidetreasurehunt.

Construction of the sign, 1952. The pylon sign pedestal was 56’ high, 21’ wide, with the S at 34’ tall. Design by Wayne McAllister, fabricated and installed by Young Electric Sign Co. Photo: YESCO Corporate Records (MS-00403), UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

Opens Dec 15. Danny Thomas, Connie Rusell, Lou Wills Jr, Ray Sinatra Orchestra. Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, 0007-0345.

Aerial view of Kit Carson Motel and the Sands, '62

[patemi-pk]

I would like to make a post with every Disney magazine/book series currently published, by country, to help people orienting themselves in this environment.

Of course I will start with Italy (and I ask for everyone from a different country to share their perspective of their own Disney magazines. For example the Brazilian Culturama ones... I have a hard time understanding the different identities of the various titles).

ITALY - Part 1

Topolino (1949-)

The flagship title, that publishes new original stories every week. Although it is named after Mickey Mouse, duck stories have always been pretty prevalent, but the trend has never been as strong as in northern european countries. It has now 164 pages, so it accomodates both long stories (with chapters on different issues or in the same libretto) and shorter ones. It is truly a magazine, so the comic stories are accompanied with artciles about lifestyle, games and more.

I Classici Disney [2nd series] (1977-)

This is the most historical of the reprint titles: since its first iteration, in 1957, it helped to spread Disney comics culture to generations of readers, proposing classics to kids and adults who may have lost track of them in the weekly magazine. The new revamp of the second series (since 2019, and following some changes in 2021) goes back to the original format of linking the stories proposed in longer narrations through inbetween pages, now written by some reknown Disney writer, who gets to choose the stories too. The title has generally reprinted more recent stories, compared to the subsequent I Grandi Classici, and nowadays thw covers are by Stefano Zanchi. It is published once every two months (plus a special summer issue).

I Grandi Classici Disney [2nd series] (2016-)

I Grandi Classici has been another title of reprints, but with a lens more interested in digging up older stories than the ones proposed in I Classici. A big role in defining the identity of the magazine has been played by the never forgotten Luca Boschi, who took the reins of it, becoming the curator, in 2004, during the previous run of the title. He led this book to become more philological, always proposing balanced indexes, between stories which can clearly considered Great Classics, parodies, and more minor and lesser known stories, like some american and S-coded ones. His mantle was then passed over to Pier Luigi Gaspa, who continued to follow this path. As a title dedicated to more in-depth knowledge of the material published, it presents a few articles, detailing the more interesting adventures appearing on its pages every month. Since the 2005 revamp, the cover artist has been Giorgio Cavazzano.

Disney BIG (2008-)

This is the disapponting title. Initially it competed with the Classici for the same stories, period-wise, as it is more centered around recent ones, but, as Classici went back to its original format, BIG could fly more freely in the skies of Disney publications. The main advantage of it is its size. Beaing cheap for its number of pages (initially over 500, now over 400) its popularity rose among parents who want to have their kids occupied for a lenghtier time than the average Disney magazine. But the choice of stories has always been... disapponting. Its size could favour longer and lessen known series, but it rarely went that way, publishing even parts of different series, leaving them unfinished. The selection is, so, pretty random, albeit initially it was supposed to be thematical, a differentiation from other riprints that was soon lost. It is monthly and the covers (which nearly always are dedicated to the first sstory in the volume) have always been done by Corrado Mastantuono.

Paperino (1986-)

One of the oldest titles, Paperino is now not much more than the covers of Alessio Coppola. The series started as a ploy to capitalize the popularity of Donald Duck, producing even some original new stories and selecting some old classics. In the 90s it recolored those old stories and, under the guidance of the usual Luca Boschi, developed some taste for lesser known tales, revolving every issue around a theme. Now it mostly reprints itself, with stories having appeared multiple times over the years. Recently the original story has become, more often than not, an Egmont story, as the places to publish foreign material have winded down over the years and to curb the investments on it. It presents, nevertheless, some articles to introduce the stories, every month.

Paperinik (2017-)

With the popularity of Paperinik, could we not have a title dedicated to him? Many times the numeration has been rebooted and at every iteration there has been the will to change some minor aspect (proposing a chronological reprint of the stories of the Duck Avenger, publishing the Frittole series, importing some Egmont stories or some DPW ones, getting more "social") but its identity has stayed more or less the same. The title is monthly and the covers are now by Ivan Bigarella.

Zio Paperone (2018-)

This is a more interesting title. Zio Paperone in its previous iterations was the magazine for the "collectors", the Donaldists, if I may say, focusing on Carl Barks, Don Rosa and the artists perceived as the heirs of the Man of the Ducks. The articles and the analysis have been so important for the more cultured readers that it was the go-to title for everyone interested in behind the scenes and te re-discovery of lost material. This new book, started years after the demise of the previous one, has a very different aim: it is pretty much the equivalent of Paperino, but for Uncle Scrooge. The choice of stories has, instead, been pretty interesting, as they always publish a new story (Egmont or, more often, dutch), the "Superstar" adventure in every monthly issue is really a source of interest in many ways. There are a few more articles than the norm (2) and they care to publish even some series (and complete them, do you hear, BIG?). The cover artist is Andrea Freccero.

Almanacco Topolino (2021-)

We end this first episode with the heir of Zio Paperone, the current title for more cultured readers, Almanacco Topolino. Its role is easy: to publish selected new foreign stories, older international stories with some significance and a couple of episodes originally published in the previous historical series of Almanacco. The link between all of these proposals is, among others, the fact that it is mostly dedicated to 4 rows per page stories. Originally edited by Luca Boschi, his mantle has passed to Davide Del Gusto and recently to Marco Travaglini. It has plenty of articles, to dive deep in the Disney lore and it is published once every three months. The cover artists is Emmanuele Baccinelli.

Next time we will dive into the less regular magazines, divided between the more popular ones and the prestige titles.

[t1ts-4-donaldson]

Christmas with them

Art would have you waking up to the smell of fresh baked cookies for breakfast a secret recipe his grandma handed down to him and he insisted was better than anything anyone else could make (you agree).

He’d sneak extra presents under the tree last minute the ones he knew you’d be most excited about and was shaking with joy the minute you stepped foot in the kitchen smothering you with kisses.

He’d tug you towards the tree and pull you onto his lap wanting to be center stage to your reactions with what he gave you, heart soaring at every happy gasp.

He’d tear up at all the things you got him even if you felt they were insignificant or not as good as the things he gifted you would insist to stop being bashful pressing kisses to your lips between every “sorry I should’ve gotten you something better”.

It would be cuddling him all day to Christmas movie marathons completely enveloped in his arms, he was cute when he pout grumbling and whining whenever you needed to go to the bathroom or grab a snack

the day ends the day with slow dancing in the kitchen holding your head against his chest his hand wound lightly in your hair to a personal playlist he curated on for the holiday. Both of your initials surrounded by hearts as the title of it, he sways you to the tune of the old Christmas classics softly humming the tune off key.

Tashi would wake you up with a kiss in the morning and a gentle caress of her fingers against your cheeks whispering for you to wake. She would drag you out of bed and insist that she made Christmas extra special for you guiding you out into the hallway hands covering your eyes trying to hold back her excitement. Her heart soaring after witnessing your reaction stars flowing in your eyes moment you step into the living room entirely decked out like a hallmark movie, intricately wrapped gifts with stockings filled up to the brim, the largest tree you’d ever seen decorated with ornaments from high end designers,

she makes surprise a reservation to the most famous and upscale restaurant in New York, booked out a room just for you both overlooking the skyline towards the end of the night.

You’d both spend the rest of the night at home together watching old reruns of 90’s and early 2000’s Christmas movies even the cheesy ones she insisted she hated but was locked in when watching

Patrick would be simple but it would be enough. He’s half awake the night before doubt clouding his mind wondering if what he’s bought is enough. the half hazard wrapped presents strewn under a tree be bought last minute a bit lop sided but full of ornaments and decorations passed down by his family, the cutest framed baby photos of both of you hung front and center of it . He just hoped you adore even though it burned right through his wallet but he doesn’t care he wants you to be happy

You’d be so grateful for your gifts jumping into his arms quelling any of his worries squeezing his cheeks and pressing kisses on his lips repeatedly thank you’s and with the cutest puckered smile on his face.

It’s actually the chillest day you’d bought him a new strip poker board game it ended up with you bent over every surface in your home and more

He burns dinner he has looked up recipes a month before Christmas night, meals you had been showing him on your TikTok feed so instead you end up ordering take out from chilis instead scarfing down triple dippers watching trashy tv like Jersey Shore and passing out right after in bed with a smile on his face with his arms wound tightly around your body.

Barely proofread I’m sorry :(

[tobiasdrake]

hearing you call live-action sonic surprisingly conservative in your post about media moving forward felt like being shot in the heart

i mean, sonic as a character is pretty leftist. his whole deal is being free and setting people free,

beating up enemies in the game is literally breaking the shell that the animals are stuck in

Eggman was an analogy for pollution, with him destroying the environment for personal gain, and later being more of a fascist dictator

and his thing is always turning people into products, into literal machines he can control to do his labor and fight his wars, which would be every capitalist’s dream.

and so i never put the pieces together when it comes to the movie being conservative.

damn.

ouch.

could you elaborate more on it? idk, the conversation hurts but i’d like to know what your thoughts are on live-action sonic specifically

Oh, sure. We can talk about the surprisingly conservative themes and ideas of the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog films. With the caveat that this is old-school traditional conservatism, not modern nakedly fascistic conservatism. The Sonic movies are conservative in a Home Improvement sort of way, not a Lady Ballers sort of way.

What it amounts to is that Paramount approached the films not with intent to make a Sonic the Hedgehog movie but with intent to make a "relatable" story for an audience that also has Sonic the Hedgehog in it.

Have you ever seen 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters? A film which centers a broken family trying to connect with each other, while also there's a disaster movie happening around them? Like. Godzilla and Mothra and Ghidorah is all stuff that's happening, but what really matters here is whether this daughter can forgive her mother.

It's the of writing a low-stakes personal drama and then stapling the film premise to it. The kind of move that makes sense with something like The Day After Tomorrow where the premise is just "It got fucking cold" so the movie kinda needs something with some actual characters that it can be about.

But when it's an adaptation, it shows low confidence in the IP itself to carry a film. It says, "I don't think a Sonic movie would work, so instead I'm going to just make a movie and have Sonic in it."

And the a movie that they made centers some conservative values. But, like, old-school conservative values, not the hyper-fascistic transphobia and white supremacy and stuff you see around today. Things that were considered commonly recognized conservative values in the 80's and 90's, when white people were still supposed to believe that racism was over and all that jazz.

For one, Tom is a cop. Which is a wild choice for a film coming out at the height of BLM and ACAB. The film, as well as its subsequent sequels and spinoffs, play Tom's policing very sympathetically. A major theme of the first film is that Officer Wachowski is a vital and valuable part of his community.

There is no ambiguity; The cops are the good guys here. They're kind of wacky but we're meant to love both of them, Tom and Wade. They are, however, contrasted by the wickedness of the Feds.

Eggman, in the film, is reimagined from an industrialist to a federal agent. He represents the long arm of Big Government overreach coming for the sleepy town of Green Hill. Which is then further represented by G.U.N., who oppose Eggman once he goes rogue but are still the enemy nonetheless.

Even the Knux series still manages to be about fighting the Feds. The federal government has been the antagonist for 3 out of 3 entries thus far, when Eggman himself has only been the antagonist for 2.

The films leave the environmentalism of the original behind, instead centering family values. Rather than setting out to rescue woodland creatures from industry, Sonic has heart-to-heart chats with Tom about growing up and finding his calling. Knux isn't the guardian of Angel Island, but Sonic's adopted brother. Maddie can ground him for inappropriate behavior.

The first film also features the popular old-school conservative theme of Rural America vs. Urban America. Tom is a small-town cop who yearns for the glamour of the big city. He thinks his calling is there. But, over the course of the film, he learns to appreciate the value of small-town living and his importance to his community, and sets aside his foolish dreams of urbanity.

"I wanted to run away to the city but then learned that my Real 'Murica small hometown is where I truly belong" is probably the single most popular conservative story in decades of film and television.

It's worth noting that the film does feature an interracial marriage, which is something I hear brought up a lot as a way of saying "Actually it's not conservative because...."

But for as much credit as Maddie might warrant... There is the issue of Rachel. A character who exists primarily in the film to be a Sassy Black Woman who reacts with furious histrionics towards Tom for no apparent reason. She just. Hates him. From the bottom of her soul, despises "Relatable Cop Boy".

Like. So far as the film's concerned, it needs no explanation. Her relationship with Tom is just an eyeroll, sly glance at the camera, and "In-laws, amirite?" The second film at least gives her more to do, but the first concludes her subplot by having them tie her up and steal her car.

Like. That's it. That is what she amounts to. Maddie's sister yells sassily until she passes out and then the payoff is that they steal her car and leave her tied to a chair as... I guess her karmic retribution for being so sassy and mean to Tom? It's hard to really say whether this is mean-spirited because we do not know what her beef is. The film doesn't think we need to know. "In-laws are crazy, amirite!?"

When you set aside the cool action scenes of Sonic punching robots and look at what the films center as their emotional heart? You get a story about a small-town cop learning to appreciate his rural roots and build a family with his wife despite her unreasonably psychotic relatives, while the wicked federal government attempts to destroy their home, town, family, and way of life.

[imboredlw6]

Katie McCabe x reader

Calm

An: thanks for reading this although warning ut may be shit but oh well enjoy and don’t forget to request and asks.

You and Katie have been hecticaly running around your shared house trying to get ready to meet your team at the training center ahead of your game but as usual your girlfriends reluctantance to wake up had put you behind schedule. “Ready to go now baby” the strong accent came down the stairs. “Yes my love you got everything.” She nodded opening the door and planting herself into the car.

“Lovebirds were you been” Beth teased making the other players around her chuckle “well Bethany a certain Irish don’t like waking up.” You pointed the teasing towards your girlfriend who had her hood up and a frown painted across her faith. “Sorry but who in there right mind puts a match at 12:30.” Katie grumbled out. You just smile at your girlfriend before giving her a peck on the lips then gently pulling her cheeks which earned a grumble.

You were all sat on the bus Katie next to you leaning against your shoulder peacefully listening to your shared playlist which she created for your anniversary, some people wouldn’t think Katie can be all cuddly and romantic with the passion and physicality and strong persona she displays on the pitch but she’s really just the same person with the same passion but shown in a gentler more vulnerable side that you get to witness every day and makes you live just that bit more.

You arrived at the emirates making your way towards the changing rooms you feel Katie clasp her hand into yours, “you okay love.” You softly ask to which she nodded and smiled at you as she gives you a peck. You were happy with her answer as you arrived at the changing room and joining the rest of the players in getting into game mode. Arsenal were set to play Tottenham the notorious north London derby the answer to the infamous question which sparked immense rivalry over what color the capital was, a expected sell out only added to the intense stakes and you had no doubt that it would be a physical game with many cards and arguments. With this in mind you decided to keep an eye on your girlfriend and the players who would be marking her in case firery passion turned a bit to hot. The team was ready with Kim leading the pack onto the pitch with fireworks and fans all roaring. After the team photo and taking the knee the whistle blew and the 90 minute battle commenced.

Now the 63rd minute ticked over and the score was 2-1 to the arsenal with goals from both you and alessia and an unfortunate yet brilliant goal from Jess naz for spurs which seems to ignite that flame for the opposing team and they had been relentless for about 20 minutes defenders facing the brunt of attacks which included your girlfriend had been an enternaing battle if your a neutral but for your side it was irritating that arsenal couldn’t hold the ball but also seems to deplete the energy of the team. That was until spurs had a corner which was headed away by Leah and who latched onto the other end non other that you, you had caught it on the edge of your foot and gently passed into open field so you had time to continue your run and start a foot race between you and Ashleigh Neville that was until you felt yourself plant the ground almost inhaling the turf and a feeling a searing pain through your calf a opposing player had clipped your calf to stop you progressing. You laid there trying to breath through the pain and determine whether it was a major injury or if you could carry on the fans all booing and chanting about the tackle.

Eventually making you way up onto your feet slightly wobbly form the pain and adrenaline that began to flow but suddenly all your attention was on two women Katie your girlfriend and Ashleigh Neville the player who had fouled you the pair pushing eachother in the chest stumbling backwards every so often looks of fury masked across there faces and words coming through clench teeth and bitter spits, you knew if this continued Katie would get carried away and end up getting sent off so making your way over to her you initially tried calling her which fell on silent ears and seemed to spur Neville in to wind the left back up. “Come Katie she’s not worth it” “you should listen your girlfriend isn’t she pretty.” The pushing Intensified you began to get the feeling it wouldn’t stop if you didn’t intervene so you did the next best option. You walked infront of your girlfriend hand meeting her should to gently turn her before making enough distant to be semi isolated before going to face placing bother hands on her cheeks rubbing slightly. “Hey hey calm come on love take a breath.” You whispered to her exaggerating a breath as she mimicked your actions you continued whisper words of encouragement and reminding her to stay calm.

The game ended as 2-1 London now red you had showered at the emirates then traveled home with your girlfriend to enjoy dinner before sitting on the sofa to enjoy a soppy romance film before heading up to bed as the pair of you got into bed you felt Katie pull you into her wrapping her arms around you kissing your hairline before whispering “sorry for kicking off earlier” your heart ached slightly before you looked up at her “hey there’s no need to apologise it’s fine it’s why I love you for your unwavering firery passion in everything you do even if gets slightly too much sometimes.” And with that the both you whispered many I love yous and placed many gently pecks to skin you reach form your positions before calling it a night drifting off to a calm and warm slumber.

[tamara-kama]

Today is national arcade day..

Happy National Arcade Day!! 💜🕹️👾😃👍🏻

[retrogamingblog2]

Pokemon Waterfall Figure set released by Re-ment

[xf-cases-solved]

i've been doing my xfiles rewatch, but i've also been watching twin peaks for the first time with my partner (v weird that i haven't seen it before bc it's very much My Type of show, but w/e), and silence of the lambs was already my favorite movie. so since my personal aesthetic is apparently very specifically honed in on creepy and weird early 90s entertainment centered around fbi agents, here's a collection of random crossover thoughts i've had while watching these things, in no particular order:

-twin peaks, xfiles, silence of the lambs, except all the characters are shifted one plot to the left, so you have mulder and scully trying to figure out the death of laura palmer, clarice assigned to the xfiles division, and dale cooper having to make a rapport with dr. hannibal lecter

-separate thought: if mulder and scully met dale cooper, mulder would be absolutely delighted, and scully would want to put his head on a slab. this would just make mulder more delighted

cooper would be very pleasant to them both, but would find mulder's lack of self-care unsettling. mulder would be trying to talk about the case when cooper would interrupt him to tell him to try the mulberry pie and take a moment to savor it

he would also be able to follow scully's reasonings and would know all the references to scientific studies she makes, and would be like, "very clever! you're very intelligent!" not in a facetious way, he'd mean it genuinely, but then he'd still insist that his dream will lead them to the killer and she'd want to rip her hair out

-cooper to m&s, apropos of nothing: so how long have the two of you been in love?

-scully would not enjoy twin peaks. too rustic, too weird, too many affairs to keep track of

-mulder would love it for all the reasons she hates it

-if clarice and scully met they would get to know each other carnally, obviously. msr can still exist, but mulder has to be ok with being cuckolded by special agent clarice starling

he can watch sometimes, if wants ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-agent crawford would have one (1) conversation with mulder and would immediately write him off as insane and never talk to him again

-crawford and scully would get along fine

-clarice and cooper would be buds, bc even tho cooper is fucking weird, he would be very enthusiastic about how clever she is, and would talk her up constantly, and clarice would appreciate the validation and kindness (besides, she's pseudo friends with hannibal lecter, cooper's idiosyncrasies are nothing in comparison)

-hannibal lecter wouldn't be able to manipulate mulder, but he wouldn't be that impressed by him either. it would be a mutual disdain. they could potentially have a hannibal/will graham-esque relationship but eh

-as badly as a "quid pro quo" scene between scully and hannibal would slap, i can't imagine scully giving hannibal anything to work with. she wouldn't stick around to play games; she doesn't have time for it and would never be able to regard him as anything besides a monster

mulder would agree to take on the puzzles, and hannibal might give them to him, but he'd taunt him and send him on wild goose chases more than he does with clarice, bc mulder doesn't have anything he particularly wants, but he is vaguely curious to see if he can figure it out. (mulder WOULD figure it out, but only with the addition of scully's analysis and theories, not hannibal's direction alone)

-hannibal would not talk to cooper lol. cooper would figure out who buffalo bill is anyway, tho

-nobody at the fbi in the xfiles universe would know how to handle dale cooper. skinner especially would be very -squints- about it, bc he'd get results, but would just be so fucking Weird™️ about it, but in such a different way than mulder is weird

-the lone gunmen would be very sweet and protective over clarice. they would be very confused and vaguely unsettled by cooper

-clarice would be skinner's dream agent bc she would listen to him and value his input and rarely punch him in the face or hold him at gunpoint

-while i can picture clarice getting the hang of the xfiles, i have trouble picturing her in twin peaks (tho, do note that i haven't seen all of it so mb that would change)

-this isn't a headcanon so much as a v obvious observation, but they are all so fucking hot, what the fuck??

-final thought: dale cooper, clarice starling, dana scully, and fox mulder = dream blunt rotation

anyway those are some of the things i think about in my spare time

the end

[theromanticscrooge]

The Marilyn Portfolio, Untitled Bella Goth, and Professor Venomous' Self Portrait

Marilyn Diptych, Andy Warhol, 1962

After Marilyn Monroe's unfortunate death in 1962, Andy Warhol released the Marilyn Diptych. The base portrait is a cropped, zoomed in reference pulled from a promotional shoot Marilyn posed in for her starring role in the movie Niagara. This portrait was screen-printed 50 times in color to black and white with varying degrees of quality/deterioration. Warhol's intention was to marry commercial art and celebrity culture with the kind of worship and devotional imagery found in churches and Christian art.

The Marilyn Diptych takes part of its inspiration from classic triptychs: multi-panel works depicting religious scenes and figures. Where classic triptychs were made to endorse and deepen someone's faith in God, the Marilyn Diptych was commentary on celebrity worship and how celebrities could and were placed on pedestals similarly to religious figures. The portrait repetition mirrored how often Marilyn was typecast as a "dumb blond" in movie roles. Because of how heightened celebrities are, they are the subject of intense public scrutiny. Their personal lives are as much spectacle and centers of intrigue as the fictitious characters they portray.

Her public image was the blonde bombshell and sex symbol; a fantasy that men lusted after and women both envied and admired. When Marilyn was outed as a scandalous subject because of her past pin-up work or the dicey nature of her movie roles, it only strengthened her image and reputation. Though, the fact her past was placed under such scrutiny and everything about her was subject to similar microscope slide treatment shows how much more Marilyn was seen as a character instead of an actual person. Marilyn wanted her celebrity image to exist as a separate, distinct entity from her personal life. Warhol's various Marilyn works are described as a tribute to Marilyn's desire for just this. Works like Marilyn Diptych are part of the library of iconic imagery that draws attention to Marilyn, but the hope is to redirect and keep focus towards Marilyn the immortalized image instead of the person behind the image.

Marilyn Monroe portfolio, Andy Warhol, 1967

The Marilyn Monroe portfolio series is a popular set of images to pull inspiration from for other derivative art and even art assets in games or shows. The intent behind the Diptych is similar to the inspiration for the Marilyn Monroe portfolio series. Though, the biggest difference is that the portfolio works center more on channeling commercial art and playing with varying color theory. Each of the works can stand separately as an individual piece because of how the dramatically different color schemes can change the mood or theming of the portrait. These weren't made as a deliberate, cohesive whole like the Diptych. That said, the varied, careful, and deliberate approach to color theory sets the portfolio as a striking but convenient set to reference or recreate.

In The Sims 2, the in-game Bella Goth pop art piece Untitled draws inspiration from the Marilyn portfolio series. Not only is the in-game art named after one of the Marilyn portraits, Untitled features a magazine posed and smiling series of Bella Goth in 9 different color variations.

Bella Goth has become an unofficial mascot for the Sims series ever since The Sims 2. In the original Sims, Bella, her husband Mortimer, and their daughter Cassandra were inspired by the classic kooky, creepy, and lovable Addams family. They share the Addams' love for Gothic and the macabre; they dress in darker colors and live in a Victorian flavored mansion next to a prominent graveyard. Most people are also familiar with Gomez and Morticia as a pair of hopeless romantics. Gomez peppers Morticia with shameless flirts and kisses. One of the iconic scenes in the 90's theatrical movies features a series of champagne corks popping off as Gomez dips and deeply kisses his wife. To an extent, Mortimer and Bella are supposed to recapture or echo Gomez and Morticia. Player success in recreating this are varied because of the finicky mood and intensive needs micromanaging Sims requires. If players can kick off successful romantic interactions between Sims, one of the kiss options is 'Passionate,' which features a tender embrace and dramatic music swell. This isn't directly related to Mortimer and Bella, but it isn't a stretch that these two might perform these interactions autonomously on a community lot.

After the Sims, Mortimer and Bella's relationship becomes muddied. Where Mortimer and Bella could be seen as a do-not-separate unit before, Bella easily overshadows Mortimer or the other Goths as a notable figure in her own right. In the PSP spin-off for Sims 2, Bella confides in the player that she only married her husband for the money and was in the process of running away from him period. In the mainline Sims 2 for PC, Bella has mysteriously disappeared. In-game bread crumbs point towards alien abduction, potential meddling from Bella's freshly-introduced sister-in-law that has convenient family ties with aliens, and Bella's prominent feature in the art for the paranormal-flavored and Area 51-inspired neighborhood Strangetown.

Game devs wrote an official Q and A with the Bella in Strangetown on the unfortunately-retired Sims 2 site. This Q and A was dropping further breadcrumbs about nefarious actors trying to use her as a means to get to Mortimer's neon green life-extending potion. There's no direct confirmation as to the why behind Bella's abduction, let alone concrete details on what happened after. Everything is a series of vague hints; pieces that the player strings together for their own personal soap opera. Overall, Bella's disappearance is something that has fascinated and enraptured players for years. There's still people writing stories, speculating, and drumming up theories about her 20 years later!

In game, Bella is portrayed as a beloved and highly charismatic socialite. She's a local celebrity. Artists are so enchanted by her that she has several pieces of in-universe art and sculpture modeled after and made in tribute to her specifically. Placing Bella as the subject for an art piece inspired by Warhol's Marilyn Monroe portraits is a stroke of genius. Bella is an iconic, larger-than-life figure among her in-universe admirers and Sims enthusiasts alike. The mystery around her catapulted her from fun pre-made character to such an established character in Sims canon that players expect some news about her or some hint at her presence in every existing Sims game, past and upcoming. She's beautiful, she's tragic, and she's such a mystery. Because of how few details players have to work with or piece together, Bella captures the imagination and plays with the theater of the mind. Regardless of how effective Simmers may consider Bella's story, it's become a front-and-center example for the storytelling potential a Sims game can have.

Marilyn is described as the postergirl for Hollywood glamour and part of celebrity culture. She has a very iconic look: heavy lidded eyes, sculpted bob, and red lips. Bella is considered fashionable and glamorous. While there has been some variation in her hair color, she's best known for her classic red dress. No matter how Bella's design or fashion is changed to try and keep pace with changing trends, the red dress is a staple. Red is Bella's trademark. In a fitting way, Bella is the immortal icon of the Sims world. She may have an official playable Sim in Sims 4, but her presence as a figure in Sims 2 will always eclipse or influence every following iteration of her in some way, shape, form, or respect.

(I included Boxman's set of Darrell portraits here as a potential nod to the triptych inspiration behind the original Diptych.)

There's also a Marilyn Diptych inspired portrait of Professor Venomous in the cartoon O.K. K.O. This portrait is prominently featured on his wall whether its at his house or in his personal office at Boxmore. Lord Boxman has a repurposed version of Michaelangelo's famous Creation of Adam mural placing himself in the role of God and his robot kids as the 'Adam' or otherwise reaching out towards him. This repurposed art is a cheeky nod towards Boxman expressing sentiments like 'I am your god!' to his first robot Mr. Logic and how much emphasis he places on the power trip he holds as the Boxbots' dad. Given the context of the original Marilyn portfolio, the Professor's variant might be part of his attempt to reconstruct himself and his self-image. The Marilyn portraits depict a very specific version of her; a very careful and highly curated image.

As soon as viewers learn about his alter-ego Shadowy Figure, the Professor tries to present the split as a Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde situation. Professor Venomous is his smooth-talking, level-headed, and reasonable public image. He has moments of being obnoxious or showing some irritation, but he usually tries to school his expressions. There's some level of restraint and control. Shadowy Figure is openly cruel and sadistic. He's the culmination of the more impulsive and desperate things Venomous wants to do: In his previous role as Laserblast, he was publicly reamed for suggesting inventions like a ray that permanently debilitates super powers, shrinks someone to subatomic level, or other obvious harm. He's openly evil as the Professor, but still feels some need to protect his image and reputation. He's still a very private and guarded person. At the very least, the increased secrecy as Shadowy Figure is an extra layer to make it harder to trace anything Venomous-related back to Laserblast and reveal his big secret.

Narrative ties aside, the Professor's portrait is also an interesting parallel to some of the art direction choices around him. Marilyn Monroe was considered a sex symbol. As Laserblast, he was called 'the hot hero' in a newspaper headline for his obituary. Otherwise, the Professor was given an elevator eyes treatment from Lord Boxman. That scene can be argued as a POV camera that's similarly applied to Boxman from Venomous' perspective and again applied in a ship-bait scene between Enid and Red Action. There's also the how-did-this-slip-past-censors scene where the Professor is leaning back in his office chair, legs spread, and slight drool dripping from his mouth. That scene has the same energy as a sex appeal fan service camera in most anime. The camera is full-on ogling Venomous here. This move was as deliberate as Studio Bones turning a Reigen Arataka undress and shower scene into something more dramatic and theatrical than the mundane, candid shot it is in the manga it was adapted from. At least Reigen's scene has a layer of irony to it; it's a Poe's Law situation where viewers aren't 100% sure if the fan service approach is a joke or earnest.

It's not an appropriate one-to-one comparison to Marilyn's sex symbol status, but it's interesting to look at both the cartoon's portrayal of Professor Venomous as well as fan reception. He's part of the ever-growing library of Tumblr sexymen and given draco in leather pants treatment. In a roundabout way, the Professor's pop art portrait is a reflection of the complicated commentary around Marilyn and what dialogue the portfolio and other works have drummed up about her image and celebrity culture in general. Characters like the Professor can drum up interesting conversations about how 'sexy' villains are portrayed, how that might impact the way people interact with the story/media they are from, and what it says about the play between someone's looks vs their actions. In the Professor's case, his looks arguably help drum up more sympathy than he might get otherwise. The bigger part of his particular story is about reputation and public image than physical appearance, though. Even when he has a come-to-Jesus moment with his ex, he has a moment of L'oreal model pout, but that doesn't stop Carol from attacking him or demanding answers.

In a nutshell, it's interesting to pick out a Marilyn-inspired self-portrait as part of the Professor's decor. Looking at the history or commentary around Warhol's Marilyn portraits, there's strong emphasis on her identity as a cultural icon vs who she was in private. The commentary centers on her lack of privacy; she's not allowed to have a separate life outside of being a celebrity. Profesor Venomous' portrait borrows this commentary and applies it to his ongoing struggle with identity. He managed to escape a role that didn't fit his values or personal self-image, but he still felt forced to create and maintain a new identity. There was always some tug of war between his private self and how he wanted to portray his public image. The other example pulled from Sims 2 highlights the difference between Bella Goth as a grand mystery vs the mundane Sim she is when she's actually playable.

Regardless of what someone thinks of the original Warhol Marilyn works, there can be some nugget of intriguing character writing or other commentary when a character is deliberately centered in their own Marilyn-esque portfolio.

[hexhomos]

HI! hope your day is treating you well, i’ve been interested in doomreed for some time but cape comics are sort of daunting to me just because there’s so much content and i really don’t know where to begin. what do you suggest? thank you!

STRAIGHT OUT THE GATE ill say, read [ "My Dinner With Doom" ] (this is a rly high-qual upload, open it up on desktop!)

It's a key issue oneshot with a lil bit of backstory retelling, featuring a private dinner that happens in the 00's - a good entrance point if you're curious about doomreed in summarization + generally speaking a Real Good Comic overall.

LONG POST INCOMING THIS IS A LONG POST / click readmore

the fantastic four are one of marvel's darling old founding teams so there is pretty much... endless archival, ongoing, multimedia and games content popping up all the time.

They are also kinda one of the rare teams where the growth of the characters is consistent? The kids are allowed to grow older and events from every major run are carried/referenced by the next author so if you want to do chronological there's a lot of incentive and fun stuff.

If you wanna dip your toes into the F4 as a concept, check out:

*the #1 issue of Fantastic Four By Waid & Wieringo (1997) *Mythos: Fantastic Four (2007) [ *The FF (1994) movie that is up for free on youtube!! ] *Fantastic Four (2022) by Ryan North as the current ongoing!

(Some) Singles centered on Doom/Doomreed:

*Fantastic Four (1961) Annual 2 is Doom's original backstory issue *Marvel Two-in-One (2017) by Zdarsky issue #11 & Annual #1 are both crazy good but they spoil big events/conclusions from previous runs if u care abt that!!! (My current fav fic came from these issues.) *Doomgate (novel) by Jeffrey Lang is a good option if you want something that is mostly prose, instead of a comic or movie

NOW BEFORE YOU JUMP AHEAD WITH ANYTHING I *am* following [ this reading guide ] which breaks down specific issues relevant to their relationship as a line through all the different authors over the years.

[ There's also this 2021 guide w/ a few other story/AU highlights! The author said u can send the blog questions and theyll answer too ]

The 'Modern era' (late 90s/00s/10s/Now) Starts with Waid and McDuffie's stuff. The latter wrote My Dinner with Doom!

If you're scared by all the names, don't be - when searching for the issues, just pay attention to the year, # number & author/artist creds.

What I'm reading/liveblogging rn is Hickman's Secret wars era, generally regarded as yaoi ketamine; It's a good epic narrative entrance point if you want to jump into it, and it eventually led into this huge marvel event that changed the multiverse and even brought miles morales into the main timeline, so its BIG and it happened in multiple books - the best way to go about it is;

Pre-hickman:

Fantastic Four (1961) #551 #552 #553 ➡️ (these introduce main ideas we will touch again in secret wars)

Fantastic Four (1961) #558 to #562 ➡️

Doom appears in these too, first/last issues more heavily. Stuff here will be ref'd during the next era.

If you're having fun and want to keep reading you can! Just know that the next storyarc has gathered a largely mixed response bc..... its Millar going hammywammy....... not that necessary.......

anyway when you see hickmans name in the cover STOP and

Jump to actual Hickman secret wars era:

Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman: The complete collection➡️

(optional, side plot) If you like Val + Doom, read specifically; *Fantastic Four (2014) #3 & #5 + Fantastic Four Annual (2014) #1 *Agent of Asgard #6 & #7 *Avengers World (2014) #15 & #16

New Avengers (2013) ➡️ check issues on picture, or, if you're a completionist, look for 'Avengers by Jonathan Hickman; complete collection' and skim for the doom/reed relevant bits. There's a lot of characters here but this is a buildup to the big secret wars. Secret Wars (2015) ➡️ (All issues!) Infamous Iron Man (2016) ➡️bendis' doom writing is not very good but hang in there because right after him: Marvel 2-In-One (2017) ➡️ (All issues!) is a banger. Yaoi btw.

You can basically read all the future/past ones as listed, or starting from the beginning of that author's period without worrying, bc they aren't as indebted to each other storywise.

You can also start somewhere else if you want or check out other single issues on the reading guides; It's not a crime! There's a lot of stuff with different takes and genres, I'm slowly chipping away at the secret wars era bc its just very thick and like a serious television drama attempt, except its also insanely funny sometimes.

(I'm still making my way through it so that's what I have at the moment!)

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 5: It's (Dahlia of) Wednesday, My Dudes (2000-2010)

I apologize for nothing.

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Last time we left off, the 90's had come and gone, bringing with it a whole cavalcade of mecha shows as well as Pokemon in its wake. Now the Torchics have come home to roost, as Pokemon explodes in popularity in the 2000's. This means that mecha shows can no longer rely on child audiences in order to make their money. Add onto this the slow shift into the modern seasonal format throughout the decade, and we begin to see the start of the decline of mecha.

Though not all is bad news, as a fair bit of mecha stories would come out and become some of the most iconic stories of the decade. Heck, this era of mecha stories is rife with at least three examples of "Not Like the Other Girl" mecha shows, two of which are pretty bizarre as "Not Like the Other Girl" shows.

So with that out of the way...

Wake up, Dann!

FLCL (2000)

So, uh... what a way to start, huh?

FLCL (pronounced fooly-cooly) is a Studio Gainax/Production I.G. OVA series made in 2000 supposedly as a way to relieve the studio's stress from working on a little series called Neon Genesis Evangelion. FLCL is, to put it lightly, very bizarre while also being surprisingly heartfelt.

FLCL was another major [adult swim]/Toonami series in the US, and like The Big O before it, the folks at Toonami would eventually reach out to Production I.G. to produce sequels that, in my opinion, generally fail to capture the energy of the original.

Bionicle (2001)

LEGO would release its BIONICLE line of Technic toys in 2001 as a last-ditch effort to save the company from financial ruin, and boy would it succeed. Building off of the success of Throwbots, BIONICLE would have a serialized adventure centered around the six Toa as they fought against the forces of the evil Makuta.

Bionicle would last throughout the decade as well as a little bit into the next, until LEGO, who was at a much better place financially at this point, decided that it was time to pull the plug on the series. Bionicle would receive a reboot in 2017 only to be shut down a few years later.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (2002), Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny (2005), & Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom (2024)

Coming in with a bang, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED would air in 2002. The first series of the Cosmic Era timeline is, without a doubt, one of the most important entries in the entire Gundam franchise due to how it renewed interest in the franchise. Gundam SEED would also be the first series in the franchise to use digital animation over the more traditional cel animation.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED would be followed up with Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny in 2005. There were plans for a movie releasing shortly after Destiny wrapped up its run, bit it wouldn't be until 2024 that the film, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom, would finally release.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is also a, shall we say, very contentious series to talk about. While it is almost always one of the most popular entries in Japan, the series is a lot more hotly debated about here in the west. A lot of people tend to downplay this series' importance (*cough*Professor Otaku*cough*). But that is not for me to say, as I have never really watched Gundam SEED or anything related to it.

Xenosaga (2002)

Returning to the director's chair in 2002, Tetsuya Takahashi and the newly formed Monolith Soft would release Xenosaga for the PlayStation 2. Acting as a spiritual successor to Xenogears, Xenosaga brings all of that complex Gnosticism goodness to a new console generation. Originally planned for six games in total, Xenosaga was ultimately cut down in size into three games.

Eventually, Monolith Soft would be bought out by Nintendo (if I had a nickel etc.), and Takahashi would be given another chance to explore the Xeno series once again. But that's a story for another time.

Diebuster/Gunbuster 2 (2004)

Releasing in 2004 as a sequel to 1989's Gunbuster, Diebuster would be the third of Gainax's Big Four series. If you're wondering why Diebuster is the fourth, that's because this OVA series would be the starting point for a lot of the members of the team that would give us Gurren Lagann in about four years.

With the slow death of Studio Gainax, both Diebuster and its older sister series Gunbuster would transfer ownership to Gaina (formerly Fukushima Gainax) at some point in the 2010's. Gaina has plans to make a Gunbuster 3, though that will have to wait until they at least wrap up production of Grendizer U later this year.

Megas XLR (2004)

Meanwhile, Cartoon Network would also see the release of the mecha parody series Megas XLR. Originally an alien robot whose head has been replaced with a car, this series would lovingly riff on a lot of the tropes present in old mecha shows like Mazinger Z and Getter Robo. Unlike most other shows at the time though, Megas XLR has become hard to find since it wrapped up its run. A lot of that has to do with, if I remember correctly, legal issues.

Gun X Sword (2005)

2005 would see AIC Productions release Gun X Sword, a mecha sci-fi/western mash-up directed by Goro Taniguchi. Set on the wasteland planet Endless Illusion, Gun X Sword pulls a lot of its aesthetic sensibilities from shows like Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, though another show that may have helped influence Gun X Sword is...

Mobile Fighter G Gundam?! I really hope that's a stretch from me...

As a series, Gun X Sword is often left out of the conversation when it comes to 2000's mecha shows. A large part of that stems from people incorrectly assuming its just a ripoff of Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, which is only remotely true due to some more superficial elements like the planet of Endless Illusion being similar to Trigun's Gunsmoke, and Van's name being a riff on Vash the Stampede (a joke early on is that Van is constantly changing his title).

Psalms of Planets Eureka Seven (2005)

In 1999, a group of former animators for Sunrise would leave to form Studio Bones. While they had worked on a fair bit of shows prior to 2005, including one RahXephon, Bones would come to be known for, among other shows, Psalms of Planets Eureka Seven (or just Eureka Seven for short). With a unique style and a focus on romance (specifically the romantic relationships present amongst the main cast), Eureka Seven would leave an indelible mark on a whole generation of mecha fans.

I would also argue, due in part to personal experience, that Eurkea Seven is one of the "Not Like the Other Girl" shows, though I think I can see why some might disagree: You need to have watched Eureka Seven first in order to make a claim like that, and boy is the original TV series hard to find online.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (2007)

The year 2007 would see the publication of the first novel in the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn series. Gundam Unicorn would be an important series in the history of Gundam due to both its popularity and the fact that it represents a changing of the guard, as Universal Century Gundam stories would now be handled primarily by Harutoshi Fukui instead of series creator Yoshiyuki Tomino.

I think I'd also be remiss to point out that Fukui is a rather divisive figure when it comes to Gundam, as the original Gundam Unicorn light novels lean much more into fascist apologia than any other UC series. This would, thankfully, be almost entirely cut out in the animated adaptation of Unicorn that would air in the 2010's.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (2008)

2008 would see a trio of mecha shows that would more or less serve as a capstone to the 2000's as a decade. The first I will cover is Goro Taniguchi's Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Mixing in smaller mechs similar to that of Armored Trooper VOTOMs along with actual magic, Code Geass would cement its legacy amongst mecha shows by being one of the "Not Like the Other Girl" shows.

Which is weird, because the plot of Code Geass is that the show's equivalent of the British Empire is able to conquer most of the world through its use of the show's mecha, known in-universe as Knightmare Frames.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (2008)

Also releasing in 2008 is Sunrise's Mobile Suit Gundam 00. Leaning into real life elements like the rising awareness of terrorism while taking inspiration from Full Metal Panic, Gundam 00 would be the second of the three mecha stars of 2008. Whereas Gundam SEED would be Gundam's first foray into digital animation, Gundam 00 would up the ante in what is possible. If anything, part of Gundam SEED's legacy in the west is marred due to it's release being sandwiched between Turn A Gundam and Gundam 00, both of which are considered to be some of the best Gundam shows in terms of animation quality.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (2008)

Capping off this post is Studio Gainax's final series of their Big Four, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Created as a celebration of mecha stories, with Getter Robo in particular being a primary inspiration, Gurren Lagann is oftentimes considered to be the single most HOT-BLOODED entry in the mecha canon. What helps is this series would build off of the general tone of shows like its big sister show Diebuster as well as the aforementioned Getter Robo. I would even argue that other shows such as Mobile Fighter G Gundam and The King of Braves GaoGaiGar also had a hand in shaping this series.

Gurren Lagann is also, bizarrely enough, one of the "Not Like the Other Girls" shows. If you thought Code Geass was a weird example, then Gurren Lagann is far and away the most perplexing example of these types of shows. At least the other three have a "plausible" explanation as to why they're considered to be different. Gurren Lagann is pretty similar in terms of character dynamics and themes, not that similar to pretty much every mecha show I just compared it to.

Conclusion

That more or less wraps up the 2000's in terms of major works in the mecha canon. It's not until the next decade that we really see mecha works go into a true dark age, though the nature of the dark age is largely overstated. The 2010's is marked by a lot of duds, though I will not touch on the two biggest duds of the decade in the next post. It should be noted that the 2010's also has some major hits scattered throughout the decade, though a lot of them tend to be legacy titles from existing works. We'll also see two major entries in the canon appear from western creators that will also homage the works of old.

I...

.̴.̸.̵h̶o̵p̵e̶ ̸y̵o̷u̴'̴l̴l̴.̴.̷.̷

.̵̘̀.̶̡̦̄.̴̯̓͜t̷͖̆u̸̠̰͂n̴͇͗͘ḛ̶̥̇͑ ̷̘̃ḯ̶̻̋n̶̰͛.̴͈͈͋̀.̵̖̈́.̶̡̻̋

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“̵͇͗͂͠͝Ï̴͇̮̝̽̾ ̴̡̜̯̽̽͜f̵̠̘̈́̔̽ể̸͇̗͐͜l̸̻̟͓͉̀͆t̶̢̫̱̜̔́̾͠ ̸͈̙̜̟̊̅̈́t̵̗̟̤͓̿̂̂͑h̶̖͌͌e̶͕̣̅̒ ̵̡̞̀b̶̪̾̾̓̀ù̵̳͊͑͑ľ̸̢͕̺̭́ļ̸̛̰̈́̍̀é̵͈̯̳͐t̵̪̱̾͜ ̸͖͖̃t̵̥̓͆̄̕ȅ̷́̅͜͜a̵̬̘̙̻̋͆͠͠r̷͚̲̟̠̆̔̄̈ ̴̩̂̌̋t̵̨̳̆͜͠ḥ̸̥̿̈́̂̐r̵̩͇̀͛̿͗o̵̟̮̙͋ͅȕ̵̧̳̙̆g̷̜̜̏̐h̶̡̤͔̃̚͝ ̴̨͈́m̴̳̦̅̎̑̕e̷̼̼̣̭͑͝͠.̵͚̌ ̵̟̺͕̈̎̎́Į̵͕̿ͅ ̶̖͙̑͆̔͝f̶̠̉̂̃ḙ̸͝l̵̻̈́̌̈́̃t̷͇̣̱͐͋̀͆ ̸̙̲̎t̸͔̝̀͠h̶̛̜͔͋̿͌͜é̵̦̼̆̋̓ ̶̞̂̕b̴̰̲͈̽́̔u̶̯͛̇̓ḽ̸̭̮̘̔̇͋͘l̵̰̒̇̇ẹ̵͑͠t̵̡̼̫̙͌̈͆̃ ̸͉͙̀̓͒͝t̸͓̣̮͚̽̈́̽ē̷̬̲ą̷͇͙͐̈͑r̵͇̮̬̾ ̷͚̞͕̎͑ͅt̴̤̥̽̏͒ḩ̷̬̌͆́r̴̯̓̍̿̕õ̸̝͓ṳ̶͈̫͒̎͠g̴͍̯͒͌́h̸̰̯͖͕͊͗̕ ̶̳̫͛m̸͉̏̉̋͜e̸͖͉̭̱͗.̵͓̗̞͓́̏ ̷̺͕̖̀I̵̫̟͌̓̄̈́ ̶̢̞̯͗̾͂̽ͅf̸̲̝̖̈́͜ë̴̱͓́́l̸̫͓̪̆̾͝ţ̸̱̟̼͒ ̷̱̇̚t̵̲͔̻̋̏h̷̠͋ẽ̴̢̦̤̦̔ ̵̻̠̊p̴̞͗r̴̗͉͐̒͑e̷̘͙̼̩͊̾s̵͇̰͐s̶̪͔͚͛͌̍ű̴̱̪͖̌̊̎r̶̪̬̿̈́ḛ̷͐̐̑ ̸̝͙̉͗̎̑a̴͍̜̾̒͝n̸̡̹̓d̸̨̲͎͎̏̃̄ ̸̛̱̙̦̤͌͝͠ȉ̵̡̟̱͖͘t̷̢̛̥̉̀ ̷̛̺͖w̶̨͋ȃ̶̢͕̃s̷̢̤̦̀̊̈́͘ ̵̛̥̲̰̂͂͗͜m̵̦̋̔̀y̵̮͈̼͐̋ ̸̥̹͕̦̿̄͘b̴͉͔̑͂̓ṛ̵̇̿̇o̵͖͎̗̰̊̾ẗ̶͙́̈́͑̀͜ͅh̶̢̺͉̖͌̔̓͝e̶̬͍̝̞͛r̵̗̩͛̐̂,̶̤͎͎̉̊̎ ̸̨̖͉̬̇͑̈̅h̸͇̏į̴͉̄̚s̷̨̝͈̽̓̅ ̴̟̩̃f̵̦͖̩͂̏ȉ̸̡̯̳̈́̈̾ś̶͙̺ṭ̵̜̯̭̓,̸̮̭̇̓ ̸͚̜̃̑ḿ̷̻͈̓y̸̡͌̊̓ ̵̞̈́̇c̷͍̘͌̃͜͠h̵͖̉͘e̸̮͙̊̎ş̵͚̚t̸̡̗́̈́͋̑͜,̸̜͋͠͝ ̷̧̣͎̙̓͌͝͝a̴̖̥̅n̶̡̯͆d̶̢̠͛̿ ̵̭̈́I̴͎͚̺̥͆̋̕ ̸̧̥͙̦̔w̷̭̐̈́å̵̢̙͔s̷̖̋̿ ̶̫̘̾͊l̴̨̧̙̐́a̸͎̹͕͕̔̓̾y̷̧͈͖͚̌̀̂̊i̴̠̝͗͌̕͘n̵͙̻͌̄g̸̛̥̯̹̫͝ ̷̣̔̋̀͠ọ̸̀̾̃̃n̵̰͐ ̷̼̄͂͗m̴̟͘y̵̩̻̺̪̎̽̐ ̴͔̹̀b̸̛͆ͅa̵̡̧̬̓c̴͇͝k̸̢̐̍̏́ ̸̼̠̳͕̑̃̏͝ä̷̫̣̂̓͝n̴̫̬̐ḓ̵̎̈͝ ̶̦͈̈́̆̓͜t̵̨͗̎̈h̶̭̗͔̣̋̑̆̕ę̷͈̗̰͑ ̷̛̪͎̞͒͌͝s̵̼̝̽͝͠ͅk̶̰̠̥̔͘y̸̝͐̆̓̈́ ̷͉͖̳̀̈w̸̛͇̝̭̺ȁ̶̳̥̰̐̉̄s̴͙̊̈ͅ ̶̟̐̿b̴̭̞͗̔̓l̴͉̰̓ų̴̒̓͘e̴͍̟̐̋,̷̡̀̎ ̷͈̈́̈́̉a̴͈̠̓n̴̽̾̊͜ͅd̴͙͍͇̲̾ ̴͇̭̩́̂͐m̸̛̭͉̈̒͂ỳ̴͙͔͉̾͂̽ ̴̻̙̊͝m̴̨̽̚o̵͍̠͆̓t̸̡̻͖̫̉̈́h̴̛̗̺̖̾ë̶̖r̷̥͗ ̵̟̱̞͖̎̿̒͝h̷��̣o̷̧̓̓ļ̵̻̜̊̇l̵̖̬̹͑ḛ̴͚̈̕r̵̪͈͈̭̄̈́̃́ȩ̴͇̥̽d̴̨̼͓̿̽͂ ̴̻͎̬̩̔͐́a̴̫͔͐̃̽t̶̩̏̏ ̷̦̭͋ȟ̴̺͚̤͖ḭ̸̝̺̐̆͗m̶̞̄̋͘͠ ̶͌ͅá̶͉̜̜̪̈́̆͂ń̵̘̪̮̉̃d̸͔̥̟͌͂͗͝ ̶̛̺̪̲̩́̑t̸͓̱͐̀͗͊h̴̠̮̄̐̽͝ę̶͔̏̈́̄͝ ̷̗̖̌̉͝ͅb̷̭̄̚u̷̮̎̇̃̀l̸͉̣̓l̵̦̺̟̔͗̾͜͝è̴̡͔̝̲̑͌ț̵̮̽ ̵͎̗̏̀ȟ̷̹̝͕̀́ȃ̷̪͒̋͜d̸̞̤͕̦̈́̑͠͝ ̸̻̤͆̈́̊͝n̶̼̆͌̑̈́ē̷̳͔̝͙͌́́v̷͍͙̻̘̈́ẽ̷̗̞̳̓͝͝ͅr̴̾̽͜͠ ̵̣̜̂̌͠ͅh̷̦̜̦͚̓i̴͓̠͖͐ţ̸̂̋̿̾ ̶͕̑̕̚ͅm̴̛̥̈́ế̸̟̠͔̳,̵̱͖̳̲̊ ̷̨͍͛a̶̗̞͝n̵̯͇̿̏̚d̸̙͎̭͆͊͠ ̶̬͍͐̇t̴̢̛̲̖̟h̴̙̿͗̎͜è̷͖̱̞́̇̀ ̵͉̆͘l̷̡̬̀̌̌̒e̷̢͋̈̃̓͜g̷̢̢͉͜͝ï̵̟͈͉̞̇̆̐o̴̺̜̒́̔͜n̸͉̏͌ṇ̷̀͝a̶̡̖̓̽͛̍i̸̬̮͂͋̕r̵̲̗̈ë̶̮́ ̵̨̣̓ẅ̷̲̹͓̗͗h̵̻͉̠̱͑̓o̶̹̱̺͉̕ ̶͖̝͚̎͆̂̓s̸̛̛̰͓͜h̵̤̐o̵̭̝̹̅̇͑͜͝t̴̠͊̋̾͐ ̴̠̰̞̟̇͒̾͠ḿ̸̟̤̗͈̊͗ȩ̸̟̏ ̸̻̀h̴͕͈̹̾͛͌̓a̵̻̬̝̰̅͛d̵̨̘̀ ̷̢̹͉͑̿͜n̷̯͔̏͊̌o̷͙̟͔̍t̸̢̮͖̋ ̶͈̞̀̒ͅy̸̠͈͋̿e̷̮̬͍͂͛̑t̵̝̓͐͜ͅ ̶̨̛͓̌̐͐p̵̳̏̎̌̕͜u̴̗̎́̉l̵̢̩̩͇̆̍l̴͚͗̀̔̅e̵̞̼̐̎́d̶̜̲̃͊̈́̚ ̴̨̡͍̀̀̚̚t̶̘͙̤͙̍͋̚͝h̷̢̯͋è̵̹̳͑͒ ̴̳͋t̷̰́r̸̛̭̭̪ĩ̵̯̭̄̄g̶̻̹̥̅͛̀͠g̴͍͓̻̑̿̈́ͅẽ̴̦̞͚̾̀r̴̥̖͈̭̂͆,̷͖͕̊͜͜ ̵̧̤̪̻́̕â̵̯͂n̶͖̊͝d̶͉̠̭̠͆͂ ̵̗̫̪̬͘͠s̸̫̫̱̫̚o̴̡̤̘͊͒̈́ ̸̙̯͋̋ͅÍ̸͕̃ ̶̬͂́͆͝k̵̬̻̊̀̋͝ï̵̪̫̖̜ḻ̶̡͐̈́̂̄l̴͍͎̘̙̊̐̅͠e̵͛ͅd̸͎̰̋̊̾ ̴͇͖̗̃̽͠ḩ̴̟̓̀͆̕ĩ̸͚͐̆ṃ̵̧͍͙̊.̴̮̰͗̓ ̵͈̿̄͐Ḯ̴͖͎̊ ̸͓͍̮̲̀͝͠ḏ̶̘̲̐͋̕r̷͍̔͜a̴̧̛n̵̘̾͗͝k̷̰̋͑͝ ̵̪͙͎̆ḑ̴̱͙̔̈ë̸̙̝́̿͝ë̴̻̓͝p̷͖͔̔̎̎ ̵̢̪̣́͆͠ȁ̴̭n̵̡̧̗͒̌d̸͉̠̔͘ ̴̺͔̠̟́ḵ̵̫̈́̀͛̕ḯ̸̪l̵̠͋̂͋ͅl̸̼̯̬̲͛e̸̯̯̿͜ͅd̶͚͚͕̺́ ̵͎̩̃h̶̪͚̏̚î̵̩͍͍̲̒͗m̵͈͘ͅ.̷͚̼̪̺͐̈́”̶͙̌̊͝