#Asterix analysis

[tiffany-chan123]

Not gonna lie, I have a lot to say on this as an Asterix fan, mostly positive though.

First off, I was legit surprised that on the original French dub Alain Chabat is playing Asterix here, I was honestly kinda expecting either Jean-Claude Donda (His current French VA, who also took over a lot of other roles the late great Rodger Carel played before his death in 2020.) or Christian Clavier (The actor who did play Asterix in the Asterix Film Alain Directed, that being Mission Cleopatra, to even voicing the character in the French version of Secret of the Magic Potion mind you.), though to be honest…I kinda like his portrayal of the character actually, and from what I read up he has done a couple of dubbing roles before (In particular as the French voice of Shrek oddly enough) so Alain Chabat isn’t completely alien to voice acting.

Also in the French version, Gilles Lelouche (Obelix In Asterix and the Middle Kingdom, which is probably one of the few good things in the movie IMO) is voicing Obelix here, dude was a solid Live Action Obelix, so I don’t mind him voicing the character in this.

I would also like to say it’s cool to see Netflix keep up tradition of the English Dub for Asterix movies having English Voice Actors, really curious about the voice actors themselves, hope we get to find out the VA’s when it gets closer to the release of this mini series.

Second, HOLY CRAP this already looks really solid animation wise, especially in the colours and art direction. There definitely seems to be some vibes of the Alexander Astier Asterix films he wrote (Mansion of the Gods and Secret of the Magic Potion), as well as some Spider-Verse influence here as well with the addition of the comic onomatopoeia in certain shots, and while I am not that familiar with TAT Productions (Need to watch Pil and a few other of their animated films sometime).

While yes, it would have been cool to see an Asterix comic story that has never been adapted, at least in animation (Really want to see Asterix the Legionary someday be adapted personally), but in Big Fight’s defence, the 1989 animated adaptation wasn’t the most accurate and was essentially a fusion between Asterix and the Big Fight and Asterix and the Soothsayer, and while I will admit the 1989 movie was fun, getting to see a more accurate adaptation to the story would be a fun watch and they could even pull a Mansion of the Gods and expand on the story and speaking of…

Is that Caesar’s mother Aurelia I see?

For context, Aurelia has never been featured within an Asterix story, let alone in animation for that matter, so its really interesting to see her, though she is not called Aurelia in this, but instead is called Mother Caesar here.

But she isn’t the only new character in this adaptation. There is also a female character named Metadata, and I think she might be this girl, not gonna lie she has a cute design. I wasn’t kidding with those Alexander Astier Asterix Movie comparisons with them expanding on the original story a big

Even if this is basically a teaser, this has left me really curious for more, already miles better than Middle Kingdom and I cannot wait for this mini series to release. Especially with Alain Chabat at the helm.

[badly-drawn-doflamingo]

Can I just say I am so fucking excited that Oda gets to showcase some of his biggest inspirations in this up and coming Elbaf arc?

We know of a few, such as DBZ, Astro Boy but two that really are going to shine this arc, and already have before and now, are Asterix and Obelix and Vicki the Viking. As the son of a French/Spainard, I personally grew up around the latter, so when I first started One Piece, it really came to mind, especially the color spreads.

Seeing Usopp wearing a Obelix's costume (as well to a degree Queen from The Beast Pirates but thats it's own thing) seems oh so fitting for an homage, as Obelix's entire character is kindness, and a strength of both physical and of heart. We also, the chapter before have a very similar design to Obelix, showing perhaps Oda had a favorite. (Not to mention the way Oda draws certain people seems to stem from some of these, uncharacteristic, designs.)

Than we have the Vicky The Viking insperation, which is absolutely undeniable and EVERYWHERE. From Kaido and his beast pirate uniform being clearly just Sven the Terrible, to a little boy wearing a very familar hat- right down to the barrel and dancing and singing, Oda clearly has taken the series to heart. I am BEYOND excited to see even more of this love for his childhood and comfort in his work.

To leave this post off-- have Zoro dressed as... Zorro.

[bdslab]

You ever think about how Obelix's career is "Menhir Delivery Man" like it's his job to make and carry Menhirs. He also doesn't have any money, he's mostly bartering these menhirs but other menhir sellers take actual money for them Of course, there's the issue where Obelix starts making bank off menhirs but I'm not talking about that one. I'm mostly wondering why people are buying menhirs what do they need them for. Obelix brings people menhirs as gifts too and sometimes they dont have space Obelix gives the townsfolk menhirs as trade sometimes too, where do they go? These menhirs just disappear. Does Asterix have like a place out in the woods where he puts the many menhirs Obelix has probably given him over the years? Who knows, I certainly dont Too many people focus on Asterix's job being the "best warrior in the village" where's the "Menhir delivery man" analysis at huh? I wanna see that dialog broken down. Does every village have a menhir delivery man? Certainly they wouldn't be as good at it as Obelix is

-----

Both of my siblings have taken time out of their day to tell me personally that they never think about how obelix is a menhir delivery man, one going so far as to say they never think about literally anything I tweet about that starts with “do you ever think about”

[kustas]

would you say people making Tintin fan content on tumblr is the series "renewing" itself in a way? obviously not the same as a new official installment, but in a similar area perhaps?

Yes, but not in a way that matters on the large scale.

The content I see on tumblr is entirely removed from the real life fandom, who's very old school. Its unlikely any fanart I would find online would come from the same place - more likely, the online and irl communities are completely separate. While the online fan creations are indeed a renewal of the series (some are really impressive too, I lost their username but I once found an artist who posted their own partially animated fancomic focused on a side character!) they remain a niche isolated community.

There's also a bit of an elephant in the room to address. BD centered online fandoms, regardless of the original comic, especially the ones you find on tumblr, tend to both be maintained by very young online people and focus on more leftist aligned ideas that would clash with what IRL communities look for. Shipping is a massive one, especially if it's gay, as romance isn't a thing in the original at all and neither are gay people, with the average hardcore tintin fan being older and conservative it... doesn't help. Additionally, openly focusing on political critique and supporting an anti imperialist, anti racist stance is likely to get you some trouble (despite the original comic having those themes, lol). Not every fan is like that of course, there's probably a whole lot of BD scholars who are open to analysis, but as someone who's never stepped into a university but knows a bunch of comic nerds, it's what I noticed.

For series with a mainstream ongoing presence who welcome new authors having their take on the character this wouldn't be an issue (eg: asterix has showed very different attitudes towards female characters during its long runtime) but tintin's stagnation is making interest for it fade more and more into obscurity and the series being closed to new OFFICIAL (read: the average tintin fan is not going online for fanart) stories is assured to keep it that way

[turbo-gum]

Redoing intro cuz it was lowk cringe

Turb0_ram here! aka Ram! Pronouns: He/They/She (<- in order of how used i am to them, but i really could care less)

Interests: Art, Comics in general, Cars, Motorcycles, pretty much anything that has an engine in it, Writing, Critical analysis, Hi-Fi audio

Fandom's/media: TMNT, DC, Sonic (holy trinity of autism, I fear, if we forget abt transformers), Initial D, Wangan Midnight, Asterix and Obelix, Samurai Rabbit, Rayman, DnD, BULGAR RAAAAHHH!!!!! 🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬

COMIC PROJECTS:

The Adventures of Sir Dulbert and Willard Star - read here

DIMOBORETS/MRYAK - EAAARLY wip lol

Other socials: insta || tiktok || pinterest || spotify (music is important to me ok? + I need more friends to listen w/)

I'm probably gonna start uploading art here once I get my PC back (grrrr vacation)

Btw I'm literally Raph, all of them (except rottmnt).

[lafcadiosadventures]

Madame Putiphar Readalong. Book Two, Chapter XXVI, Part One.:

Including:

Architecture terms!

sexy mandolin playing and foot kissing

Borel’s version of Like a Virgin!

a great idea for art analysis and sadly ends on Orientalism

endless cultural references, -i didn't cover them all, I didn't even mention Borromini my beloved- and endless asterixes and parenthesis on my behalf :P

A Mermaid on a Dolphin's Back. Illustrated by John Gilbert Engraved by the Dalziel Brothers.

Let’s get the worst out of the way shall we? We have had various chapters sans big interventions by the narrator, here we have a pretty big, essaistic one. The questions Pétrus tackles in it is a fascinating one. Why is official art of a certain time period like it is, and what does it tell us about the ruling classes?  (more concretely, why is Rococo art influenced by """The Orient""")

Like Rousseau* before him, Borel doesn't separate the artform from the power it represents (something we invariably see brought up in pop culture/divulgation discussions on Asian, Egyptian, or Precolumbine art and architecture) but we rarely see this same scrutiny applied to Greek temples, or European Palaces (yes, I have a specific and relatively recent documentary in mind where the presenter was wanking hard at the enlightened beauties of ancient Greece and early modern Europe. Then we got to the Mexica chapter,,,, the focus was obviously put on Human Sacrifice-someone was in a bad need of reading Montaigne’s des cannibales, there WAS human sacrifice with religious and political aims in Europe at the time- the presenter argued that the intrinsic, racialized thirst for blood of the ancient Mexica lived on in Mexico today, and as an example our very bright presenter showed an audience enjoying.... a corrida.......... a Spanish import.)

*[I cannot find the original Rousseau quote, only how Kant paraphrases it in Critique of Judgement: “If someone asks me if I find the castle before my eyes beautiful I can surely reply: (...) like Rousseau, declaim(ing) against the vanity of the great ones who misspend the people’s sweat in such superfluous things. (...)”]

So, the problem at hand -how art voices the intentions/ideologies of those in power-, is interesting and legitimate. However, the complex, hard to pin down Borelesian Narrator, reaches some pretty fallacious and biased conclusions (what is this narrator like? Is it like Diderot’s stand in, the “je” in Rameau’s Nephew? a Diderot stand in, but also evidently portrayed by Denis as a classist, bland bonpensant (for example when the Nephew, who is usually the venal, cynical, sexist and more importantly, of a lower class character, says something “correct”, the character labelled as “je” condescends to him: “you don’t know how right you are!” the nephew bitterly replies, “yeah, you Philosophers think we (aka, the people) are correct only by accident!” Diderot makes the narrating je look and sound like him, and share some of his positive qualities, but it also voices flaws Diderot saw in himself, becoming a kind of self parody, and parody of the figure of the Philosopher as a whole. Borel’s narrator is contradictory, some of his views change from chapter to chapter, and his emphasis on chastity and religion for example do not seem consistent with views expressed elsewhere-> @sainteverge brought up the tale Medianoche, where the heroine is a Diderot reader while her father is a repressive religious fanatic, and the portrayal of Dillon and the dark priest in La caverne d''Arcueils hardly seem like creatures a catholic fanatic would come up with...)

So, what are the causes of orientalism in 1700’s France? The French aristocracy was as soft and decadent, and as autocratic as “the orientals”, that’s what made them interested in their art (the main problem here is that Borel does not distinguish between the diverse cultures and social strata that form the pot-pourri the Europeans melded into a monolith they call(ed) the Orient. Borel doesn’t have in mind the arts of the nomads of the Mongolian steppes for example. He has a very specific artstyle in mind, and his thesis wouldn’t have been that insane if he had not implied there is an “oriental” nature, like he wouldn’t speak of an "European" nature since he percieves the nations conforming europe as pretty diverse surely.... and if he had specified which strata of the cultures he had in mind he’s speaking of. If he had said, the autocrats here enjoyed the art of the autocrats over there, because it is an art form that both utilizes slave force to be crafted and expresses that way of government, which is the core of the idea he seems to be proposing, I could have agreed with him.) He does this instead:

“The limpness, the pleasures, the incest, the polygamy, the pederasty**, the joy, the no longer chivalrous but rather Moorish gallantry; the slavery and finally the lack of care for slavery, had assimilated two populations that are so different in other points. Up to Pharaoh who had his favourite sultana, his Parc-aux-Cerfs, his lettres-de-cachet, just as Mustapha had his harem and his cords. The Christian dogma which had rehabilitated Aesop was destroyed. Hercules and Venus, incarnating physical strength and beauty, were the only objects of worship. No more melancholy, no more chastity, no more modesty, no more meditation, no more reverie; nothing great, deep, sad, sublime! Eternal contemplation of God’s splendour, ridiculous! Instead, Muhammad and his joy, Muhammad and his sensuality, Muhammad and his houris. Indeed pure Islam reigned: in point of fact, under these wigs and baskets one was as muslim as under a turban and a basquine.”

(tr. @sainteverge )

The islamophobia is patent, the presentation of Christian culture (another monolith) as superior too. Is this supposed to be ironic? I cannot tell.

** (as everyone reading this surely knows, the term pederasty in the french 19th c included sexual attraction between men of the same age) I think it’s important to note that Borel figures in the index of pederasts of the French police -an index of people being surveiled for being sodomites, who curiously where also “loud and turbulent” republicans (as michael blix defines it, thanks cam for sharing that.)

After this thoroughly unpleasant paragraph, Borel returns to the events of the story. He focuses on the effect the legitimately intoxicating and seductive view of Pompadour playing her mandolin has on Patrick. The ambiance has the desired effect on Patrick’s still innocent soul, overcome with doubt and admiration, he plunges to Pompadour’s feet and kisses her soles. Her eyes fall on him from the heights of her nonchalance.

Then we get what Like a Virgin would have sounded like if Borel had written it:

“A suave feeling, of which she had lost the memory and which for that reason seemed as new to her as the first pulse of love in a young girl’s heart, was moistening her decrepit soul. Her body, worn out by debauchery, could usually not even be titillated by pleasure anymore, and yet it swooned before the chaste touch of a mouth placed on her foot.”

 (tr. By sainteverge)

(also I was exited to see Borel mentioning Philomela, but sadly not linked to Deborah as I had supposed in an earlier chapter, with the nightingale song, but curiously to Pompadour.... it’s an interesting choice since Philomela is clearly a victim and an avenging angel, none of which Pompadour is portrayed as, but it’s Patrick the innocent who calls her that, not the narrator, and he is refering to the singing)

Putiphar praises Patrick’s lyricism comparing him with gallant as Richelieu and poetic Dorat (writer of light, pleasing comedies, favoured by the mundanes in the VXIII th c), Patrick chooses more transgressive authors to correct her, “no, I’m actually like Young and Bayard” ->the latter a playright satirist of bourgeois mores. Putiphar enjoys conventional and conformist art, Patrick fights those choices with more transgressive authors. It’s like a miniature, low key battle of Hernani.

What follows is a key line about profit, money and the arts and voicing one’s opinions. Patrick obviously can earn very little by how he speaks. He is pretty fascinating here, definitely under Putiphar’s spell when he walks in, but he won’t flatter her like that other time or compromise his opinions when speaking to her... and that upsets her, there’s no way Patrick’s way of speaking will ever be lucrative for him, or help him ascend in court etc. He’s a terrible arriviste, Patrick replies he never had any intention of making his speech and feelings lucrative. That is such a slap in the face for Putiphar’s life credo...she’s kind of stunned that someone can think in ways so archaic (perhaps embodying what Borel mentioned above as Chivalry, Patrick is Quixotic) but more importantly, so radically disinterested, he wishes to transit the world speaking his mind and being true to who he is at all times. Putiphar changes the subject -because the conversation is turning too serious, and she has other projects in mind- and asks Patrick for a song from his land (Pat replies with a biblical citation) finally accepts to sing for her but he is afraid she won’t be able to appreciate it as Pompadour’s taste is too accustomed to Opera. In return Patrick asks her to finish her mandolin song (about Isis choosing between an blond or a brown haired man) When she finishes, she expresses the song couldn't be anymore perfect to which Pat, incapable of flattery at the present time,  replies the song is “bland, mannered”, has “rather silly lyrics”(So Pomps is like, well if your taste is so refined, show me the best song from the best poet from your country, after telling him how if someone heard him his candid opinions would worsen matters for him -love of the arts in court and in Pompadour’s worldview is nothing more than political posturing and statements, you have to like what is in, and that’s that) Pompadour starts flirting more aggressively with Patrick, who jokingly refuses her. She starts writhing sexily, showing her legs and remarking on how hot she is, even while wearing a very light robe. Patrick' is's attitude is cold, but his eyes betray him and Putiphar notices it. Patrick is in a very enlightenment man way, having a struggle within him between passion and reason, appetite and duty. His senses responded to her invitations, yet his mind begged him to refuse them. (it’s an interesting change from their first meeting, where Patrick seemed to be implied to be giving her more than just a few kisses in her hands) Patrick is also thinking of Pompadour’s body in a patriarchal sexist way, he recovers his wits when remembering, not only Deborah, but Deborah as someone who was a virgin before him, Deborah as the standard of Virginity, Pompadour’s body is beautiful and enticing, but when he remembers that perhaps there wasn’t a single virgin spot in it for him to pose his lips, an iron curtain fell between him and her and only then he thought of Deborah, one who was only his. Gross, etc.

Yet Patrick is afraid he’ll succumb so he hilariously gets up and starts looking at Putiphar’s paintings and boiseries. She calls out from the sacrificial altar, begging him to return claiming he owes her an irish song. So Patrick returns and plays what seems like the longest, least sexy irish balad he could think of. Yet Putiphar is in ecstasy while listening, looks at him both like a mother and a lover proud of her choice. When the song is (finally) over Pompadour straight up poses Patrick’s hands on her heaving breasts. (in a quasi “frenetic” way)(since the chapter touched the arts in a romantic/classicist way, the word frenetic seems loaded) Pompadour cannot praise him in any better way than telling him he sounds like a neapolitan. Patrick of course corrects her telling her that the Irish have always been great at song. She insults the English language thinking that would please him, she does this shrewdly, since “all loves are brothers and that a soul which trembles with enthusiasm is usually an easy ship to catch.” (and Borel takes the chance to praise Gaelic -and Spanish comparing the sonorities of the two languages as majestic- and to complain about how English is advancing in Ireland while Gaelic declines) She asks Patrick to translate his song, is it a love song? She coyly asks? Is it about a cold lover who disdains an unrequited woman?

Is Putiphar right? Is Pat such an easy prey? Will he bite the bait? Find out.... soon XD

( @sainteverge @counterwiddershins )

[noelledeltarune]

🍓

YAYYY i find your passion for and enjoyment of learning really inspiring and i think it's so great that you're pursuing languages :-] it's just really amazing to me that you're studying lote and translation in general because i've always considered it a really important and interesting field it's just really cool. also world's #1 gaylois truther which is probably the most important position anyone can have. even if it wasn't you who got me into the series i know i'd still think that your analysis and writing for asterix is spot on :-] which btw i really do love your writing in general i know i've said it before but i think you have a unique and recognizable style. all of that aside you're also just like a really nice person and you're fun to talk to :-] i'm glad i know you 🔥💯💙

[walkman-cat]

happy sts !!!!!!!

are your ocs readers? and if so, which genres/stories do they enjoy? is there any genre they despise but that still read?

wribtlr: @vsnotresponding

happy sts! i'll answer this ask with the undiscovered country lads!

arsenoë elefterakis: BIG reader, spends most of her time at school reading. mostly reads sherlock holmes, but'll read any detective fiction and any books about harry houdini, magic, or escapology. is difficult to convince to read anything else. she WILL read greek childrens books though :)

jack conan ong: also a big reader. is willing to read pretty much anything except romance (books that contain romance are fine), and will annotate anything they read. likes reading literary fiction, classics (especially late 19th and 20th century), shakespeare, certain manga (dcmk, kamen rider manga adaptations, nge, mp100, etc.), discworld, and books about asian diaspora and historical fiction set where their parents/grandparents are from (vietnam, malaysia/singapore). they'll also read essays and criticism for funsies (big fan of ursula k le guin). they started reading more detective fiction after befriending noë (though they 'd already read some because dcmk recommends a Bunch of authors), and like christie (poirot), chandler (marlowe), ranpo (akechi kogoro), and doyle (holmes). ALSO likes reading queer books.

markos elefterakis: wasn't a big reader before his major depressive episode, isn't much of a reader in the present either (but is trying to read a bit more). his favourite books growing up were calvin and hobbes, the corfu trilogy, and the bartimaeus trilogy, but after he's recommended catcher in the rye it quickly reaches very high up his list (he relates a little too much to holden). i think he likes shakespeare but prefers reading it in the context of performance rather than analysis, and he definitely likes reading plays and comics.

peter elefterakis: likes sci-fi and fantasy (but especially sci-fi) (favourite authors include ursula k le guin, douglas adams, arthur c clarke, martha wells, philip reeve) and will read space-related non-fiction. will also read comics if he feels so inclined (he and markos grew up on calvin and hobbes, and comics translated into greek-- ie. asterix, lucky luke, iznogoud).

deb ong: reads a lot of those greek myth retellings (silence of the girls, the song of achilles, etc etc. they're everywhere). has also read the iliad and odyssey and all the percy jackson novels. (pete ribs her a little for it). she also likes reading classics, fantasy, historical fiction, and ursula k le guin novels. she also reads a Lot of manga (favourites including bungou stray dogs, toilet bound hanako-kun, chainsaw man, assassination classroom). she also reads bl and gl, but doesn't tell anyone (apart from jc) (i think she cried over given).

phyl marlowe: she Loves horror. is willing to read any kind of Weird and Horrifying fiction. also loves fluffy slice-of-lifey romances (both she and deb watched/read heartstopper together).

[mediamonarchy]

https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240719_MorningMonarchy.mp3 Download MP3 Trumpomania, cancel culture double cross and Asterix + this day in history w/gunning for hits and our song of the day by The Rifles on your #MorningMonarchy for July 19, 2024. Notes/Links: #NewWorldNextWeek: Are you Not Entertained? Trump Shooter, Veep Announcement, Boho Grove ’24 https://corbettreport.com/nwnw562/ Shooting Near RNC in Milwaukee, One Person Reported Shot by Police; One person is reported to have been shot by police in an area near the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. https://archive.is/cRYF5 Ohio officers shoot, kill man near RNC venue in Milwaukee https://www.wisn.com/article/milwaukee-shooting-police-near-rnc/61614074 Looks like someone shorted Trump stock & Truth Social the day before the assassination https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Article/365583-2024-07-18-looks-like-someone-shorted-trump-stock-truth-social-the-day.htm Many Streams and Sales for 50 Cent Classic & New Tom McDonald Single Following Assassination Attempt on Former President Donald Trump https://archive.is/PcxvU Trump Site Launches Limited-Edition Assassination Attempt Sneakers https://archive.is/Nb7yi Video: Improvised stand-up right after Trump Shot #standupcomedy #standup #trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkmGO7k6If8 Video: 🇺🇸 Hulk Hogan Rips His Shirt on The RNC Stage (Audio) https://x.com/nikc26263/status/1814112499035156805 Biden experiencing ‘mild upper respiratory symptoms’ related to Covid, WH doctor says; Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a letter made public Thursday that the president does not have a fever and his vital signs are normal. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-experiencing-mild-upper-respiratory-symptoms-related-covid-wh-do-rcna162556 Jack Black Cancels Tenacious D Tour After Being “Blindsided” by Partner Kyle Gass’ Trump Comment; Gass said “don’t miss Trump next time” during a performance in Australia, sparking outrage. He has since apologized and has been dropped by his agent. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/jack-black-cancels-tenacious-d-world-tour-kyle-gass-trump-comment-1235949644/ Jack Black puts Tenacious D ‘on hold’ and cancels tour after bandmate’s Trump shooting comment; Actor and rock musician says ‘I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence’ after Kyle Gass joked about assassination attempt; Analysis: Tenacious D’s Trump shocker upends a career of perfectly judged musical comedy https://www.theguardian.com/culture/article/2024/jul/16/jack-black-puts-tenacious-d-on-hold-after-bandmates-trump-shooting-comment Video: Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass makes joke about Trump shooting on stage during show (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLqoKGHugNE ‘I was drunk’: Ingrid Andress responds to criticism of national anthem performance https://archive.is/KZPxY Video: Ingrid Andress sings the worst national anthem ever at the Home Run Derby 2024 (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ-bMbmQv0Y Jacques Brel – “Il Peut Pleuvoir” (Vinyl // Audio) https://www.discogs.com/release/3773005-Jacques-Brel-Ne-Me-Quitte-Pas // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNrKcBxgyIE Former Fox News Host Lou Dobbs Dies at Age 78 https://archive.is/ihg7p Video: Lou Dobbs, Veteran News Anchor and Political Commentator, Dies at 78 (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIG9MQ3KrHI Bob Newhart, sitcom pioneer and beloved ‘Elf’ actor, dies at 94; Newhart approached comedy with economic precision, honing his craft by watching other comedians and seeing what they did well — especially his idol, Jack Benny. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/bob-newhart-everyman-comic-elevated-sitcom-art-form-dies-94-rcna41588 Video: Remembering Bob Newhart (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y20GRNjXDC0 The Drums – “Saddest Summer” (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VZUe6VorOo Will JJ Wetherholt go No. 1 overall in the MLB Draft? ‘I’m just excited to learn and grow my gam...

[thegoldensplayd]

I just rewatched all animated Asterix movies, they are very nostalgic to me and I am sick so I got time to lay arround...

Anyways I made a tier list after having an hour long video review worth of analysis on my head of my opinion on them:

S Tier -

Asterix and Cleopatra

Asterix: The Secret of The Magic Potion

A Tier -

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix

Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods

B Tier -

Asterix the Gaul

C Tier -

Asterix Versus Caesar

Asterix in Britain

D Tier -

Asterix and the Big Fight

Asterix Conquers America

F Tier -

Asterix and the Vikings

If I were to resume it all uh... S ones are just fantastic in general, A are very very close but not quite, B is good but not amazing, C is okay, has some good jokes, but kinda boring, D ones are just boring with maybe one good joke

We don't talk about the one in F.

I refuse to believe such a terrible movie was made to taint that series so badly-

[osarothomprince]

Cinema attendance is picking up again — Actuhebdo

Guillaume Canet’s film, Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Empire took the top spot at the French box office in February. PAthea ANALYSIS – In February, 18.2 million French people went to see a film on the big screen, ie 5 million more than a year ago. To say they have come under fire from criticism… Cinema attendance is picking up again — Actuhebdo

[atherflame-theconcubus]

I just saw it and did a mini analysis of the entire thing, we get to see Molly as an enemy, we have two possible new characters (a tiger from the banners at the beginning of the trailer and towards the midway to end area we have a cat or a lion character on what appears to be either a backpack, a drawstring bag a cup I don’t know what it is, and there’s consistently an Asterix by anything referring to Rambley as an AI so he might not just be an AI!

INIDGO PARK TRAILER WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[elevatorelevenhatesyou]

Final Fantasy 14 Part 26: These Garleans Are Crazy

Pictured: Brash “and her people” infiltrating Camp Westworld I mean Westwind.

Right so gotta fight whatshisname. Rhita.. Rhitaha..? I'ma call you Ritalin. 

Ritalin makes a good first impression by telling his men to retreat before Brash ruins all of them. Thank you for acknowledging that Brash has in fact punched several gods to death. 

But, then he starts talking about how much he loves Gaius, and how much better off he and his country are ever since Gaius conquered them. Something something great man, liberator not a conqueror, fair and just ruler based on merits, uh huh sure.

Then he says Gaius will free Eorzea’s people from… false faith? Uhh, faith is a big problem in Ishgard, but like, as far as I can tell, organized religion isn't really much of a thing in Eorzea, nor do the leaders evoke gods as means of controlling people. Gaius has been saying shit like this too, and no concrete details or examples have been included yet. I'm really not sure what they're going on about. Has there been shit about this in Eorzea before and I’ve just already forgotten?

Ritalin also says Gaius is great because he let a foreigner have rank and station. I haven’t mentioned it before but this comes up like every time anybody talks to Ritalin. Both Ritalin and Gaius constantly talking about how cool it is that Ritalin was given high rank despite not being Garlean make it pretty clear that such a thing is very unusual for their empire and not even close to the status quo. He’s like the entire Garlean Empire’s one black friend they insist makes them not racist.

Anyway, I reached the point where Brash Anvil's free-trial limited-to-level-60 ass could no longer expediently solo level 50 content made for eight players, so I asked one of the people who told me FF14 was good for help and he said yes for some reason. His character on this server is level 71 and does like three times Brash's damage and has like six times her health even though she's a healer. Stat gains from leveling up increase exponentially.

Guess Livia wasn’t the only one who wanted that guy’s dick.

So we killed Ritalin, busted up his camp and his big magic thingy that’s important somehow, now they can't reinforce Castrate Meridian or whatever. Good job Brash and no one else according to this cutscene. Time for the next phase of the operation to begin.

hey speaking of which can I ask how I’m supposed to do that? no? okay..

Oh look who's here.

He literally pops in, talks to himself for a few seconds, then laughs, then teleports away again. What sensible behavior. And Ritalin is lying over there all like why didn't you help me.

An Ascian Pisses Off Without Trying To Kill Brash With Lasers: 7

I mean when you think about it that counter should just be going up at all times, seeing as Ascians can teleport anywhere they want and always seem to know where Brash is. Literally every second that passes just continues to raise the question of why no Ascians are attempting to murder Brash at the moment. The only conclusion I can draw about why they aren't doing that is because the Ascians are all phenomenal idiots. There is plenty of evidence for this, after all. Having the primary bad guy of the story be a phenomenal idiot makes for a pretty weak plot. Unless you're writing comedy.

Now there ain't nothin left for nobody down at Camp Windward. I mean Westwind.

Another interlude, Gaius is pissed that Ritalin’s dead.

with the ultima weapon?

no, not with the ultima weapon.

Brash goes to the gates of Castle Maximillian out in this blue foggy wasteland near a place called Camp Bluefog, and she meets up with Minfilia, Alf, Cid, Raubahn, and Raubahn's guys. Some morale is raised, some speeches are given, fight for the future of Eorzea and all that. Anybody want to tell me how I'm actually supposed to destroy the Ultima Weapon?

Okay but how though

Yes but But HOW

We bust the place up, take down some big generator things to shut down the big shield thing around the Praetorium, kill a bunch of dudes, mess up a bunch of mechs. There's actually not much to talk about here. Cid shows up to do some of the work and talk a lot.

I will say I quite like the look of the place though. Like I’ve said before, visuals are some of the best parts of the game. The cold dark blue metal aesthetic is as good here for dark mechanical oppression as it was for the Combine, though I think it clashes somewhat with the extremely full of themselves pretentiousness that the Garlean people have going for them, which is I think supposed to be part of their whole Roman theme, along with their naming schemes, centurions and legions and such. It’s like if the Combine were the ones doing the building but then the Romans were the ones actually in charge and they mostly just sat around wasting huge amounts of money on overly extravagant monuments of themselves to stamp on all the actually functional stuff the Combine built for them. Not that that’s like inaccurate to fascist governments or anything, that’s basically exactly how the Third Reich operated.

Speaking of ridiculous pompous weirdos, we also get to fight Livia here.

wh- HIS meddlesome frien- what am I the fuckin butler- yeah fine whatever everyone is a more important character than Brash. I’ve just accepted it. Which is good because it’s going to get MUCH worse in the next one.

Livia only tries to stop Brash after Brash is finished destroying all the important stuff, which is nice of her.

She's a bit uh..

Uh…

Livia… are you coming on to me?

Because, I think maybe you are, and I want you to know that if you want to settle this in a competition of sexual prowess, 

I would be okay with that!

Brash nimbly dodges Livia’s stream. The fight then involves Embrace, and the firing of Brash’s cannon, until finally the thing Livia is riding on explodes.

ahem, anyway.

I uh, what? Wait,

Um, that's not..

Whoa, holy shit..

Livia… Do you want to talk about it?

She doesn't wanna talk about it. Girl you could use some ritalin.

Her fight sucks and then she dies.

well that was weird. Guess all those guys from the Waking Sands can’t remember their names are avenged now or something. yay. I’ll just mention that here since no one talks about it in game. FF14 doesn’t remember their names either.

And that's it for Castanet MarbleGarden. Only one stupid dungeon left. They saved the stupidest for lastest though.

OKAY BUT HOW

[ariasune]

Tagged by @isisishtar and tagging, but with no obligation @nenya85​ @sitabethel @rowingviolahere @phoenix-downer​ and @demenior​

1) How many fics do you have on Ao3?

Publicly? 72.

2) What’s your total Ao3 word count?

306, 137

3) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Only Half-Bad

Akhet

Dusk

i wanted more from life, than it could give

Only Child

4) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to, and even open all my unreplied comments up pretty routinely. I get some intense commenting anxiety for some absurd reason, so it often takes a few tries. It’s something I want to work on, in tandem with leaving comments.

5) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Huh. Depends, I suppose. Truths to Tell or The Ring is Empty I think, but in different ways. Truths to Tell ends with a sense of defeat and listlessness that also leaves room for growth. The Ring is Empty however is the notion of being trapped, even with an inability to accept it.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Oh gosh, I think probably... Head to Wind. There’s a frankly insistent and defiant sense of hope and brightness in it that is directly challenging cynicism. I don’t know. It feels bright.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so, what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Oh, I love a Daemon AU. I’m also a bit weak on mixing up Doctor Who with other sci-fi such as Red Dwarf and Animorphs.

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Oh yes, very much so. I wrote a number of controversial fics. One of them got an entire analysis post on how I used my writing skills for evil, I shit you not. 

9) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not enough, honestly. Most of my ships are MLM so there’s that, but no guarantee of dicks. It’s definitely more a private matter.

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Some scrubbed by sites, but I don’t count it, just file my DMCA and go.

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I did get a podfic of Crown you now, with many crowns !

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yep! Currently working on Breaking Light. 

13) What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Goddamn you ask a hard question. No all-time fave ships, but I’m feeling darkshipping, promptis, and destiel lately.

14) What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

Quite a few tbh. I wonder sometimes if I’ll ever finish City of the Dead or Chrysalis....

15 & 16) What are your writing strengths/ weaknesses?

Strengths, uh-- I think I can write some pretty solid prose, push comes to shove. And I’m partial to my verb choice when I’m on a roll.

Weaknesses are definitely action sequences, tense changing mid-scene and endings. I never know how to make a graceful exit.

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Depends a lot stylistically. Sometimes it’s a good way to signal language shifts, or to highlight certain themes, sometimes it’s better to do an Asterix and Obelix style translation.

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Beyblade, I believe. KaiTaka is still a great ship and I stand by it.

19) What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Well damn, another hard question. Antebellum or Head to Wind, maybe.

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Alex ze Pirate “Mini Review” 1: About Male Abuse

Alex ze Pirate is in my opinion the WORST “comic” series Dobson has ever written up until this point (date for archives: June 2020). Sure, I agree with people that his “hot take” comics on Star Wars Fans, political issues and virtue signaling for the sake of making brownie points are worse overall cause they are uneducated propaganda that give insight in how much of a loathsome human being driven by spite he genuinely is, but Alex “offends” me as someone who enjoys fiction. It may not be the worst thing ever written, but it just does so many things wrong in terms of storywriting, storytelling, presentation and creating fictional characters, I can’t help but wonder what went wrong that Dobson even remotely thought this thing would be a “successful” comic series to establish him as a creator. Cause I can tell you, having read the likes of Don Rosa’s work on Disney, Hilda, Cleopatra in Space, Spirou, Asterix, One Piece (of which I will talk a lot in my next few posts) and many more, I can confirm by comparison that Dobson’s pirates as a published comic would have only one use on the public shelves: alternative for toilet paper during the COVID-19 epidemic

 Believe me, I would love to write an in depth analysis of everything wrong with Alex ze Pirate, from the lazy artwork up to even the publication history of this trainwrack. But doing so would take a lot of time and there is one individual part of this I think deserve at least extra attention. Something that in my opinion embodies quite well a lot of things I consider wrong with this comic. So before I am going over Alex in its entirety (and believe me, the day will come) let me just talk within the next few posts about one certain aspect and story of the comic, that genuinely got me to loath this comic to the core: Sam the Cabin Boy and “his” own individual story Dobson drew in three parts around 2010.  

For starters, lets talk who Sam is: Sam is one of the main characters in the comic and actually the first person who joined Alex and Peggy in the initial pages of Legends, the “original” form of Alex ze Pirate.

See, back in 2004, Dobson released Alex ze Pirate in form of a single comic volume called “Legends” which features Alex trying to recruit a crew. The thing is around 78 pages thick and based on what I saw pretty terribly paced. For comparison: When Luffy in One Piece got his crew together, he spend multiple volumes and at least three minor story arcs to get Zoro, Nami, Sanji and Usopp to join him. All while also giving us good insight into the kind of people his new crewmates were (especially Sanji’s and Nami’s backstory got to me), defeating the likes of Buggy and Captain Black, meeting Dracula Mihawk and defeating one of the biggest bastards Eichiro Oda ever created in form of Arlong. What is the story how Sam joins the crew? An orphanage organizes an auction and sells kids off. Which I assume was even illegal in pirate times, so kudos for already showing us how despicable the world of Alex ze Pirate is to begin with and how much it deserves to be nuked in some sort of alien invasion.

 Sam also doesn’t really get anything to do when he is introduced, just helping Alex escape on a small boat. Which is weird because he does not know her at all, she is just some stranger who bought him off and has no means to keep him in check, so why even bother following her and not let the mob get rid of Alex? 

Anyway, I wish I could tell more about Sam’s involvement in Legends, but I don’t have really more than some scans of it in the beginning and near the end. So I don’t know his involvement in the rest of the volume. I also can’t say how he plays out in volume two, because that does not exist at all. Cause for reasons I will never understand, Dobson just abandoned the idea of telling a “coherent” and ongoing story with Alex ze Pirate and instead went to his colored one page comics/strips with it, turning it into what some people called “Garfield with Pirates” (which I consider a genuine insult towards any newspaper comic out there, even something as Boondocks). And the first thing we see of Sam in “classic” Alex ze Pirate?

 The perverted dwarf of the crew showing of his shota underwear so that Alex and Sam stop bickering who is the cutest, leaving him embarrassed and humiliated.

 Which kinda sums up his role in the comic to a t. Cause this is what Sam is: He is the buttmonkey of the crew. And honestly, I would not have a total problem with Sam being a buttmonkey, if a) he wasn’t it all the time, b) he would actually do something to deserve any form of humiliation and c) if the other characters in this comic itself would not be some of the biggest assholes I have ever seen, who get away with abusing the poor lad.

 See, here is the problem: In a crew featuring a choleric homophobic soulless ginger

 A black rat person who wants to fuck the ginger even without her consent

 A furry abomination that has the same brain wavelengths as Chris Chan 

And a perverted dwarf who tries to impersonate Happosai from Ranma 1/2

 Sam is the only decent person in the entire crew. He works hard, he even questions the morality of his friends at times, he is honest, he is not perverted, almost good to the point of childish innocence and he has a very humble “goal” which is he wants to own his own piece of gold. Not even a big pile of treasure, just one single coin would be enough for him.

 So he is likeable and relatable. In fact, if anything goes by, he may have been one of the most popular ones in the comic. And yet he is the one who gets constantly abused by “fate” and his friends, because as Dobson would say it, he is supposed to be the buttmonkey. There is just one problem: People do not necessarily like buttmonkeys.

I can primarily speak only for myself here, but I hope what I have to say resonates with others too. See, I get it: A character who is the butt of a joke can be fun. Like Daffy in Duck Amuck. But there is a fine line where a character being humiliated for the sake of a joke is fun (and perhaps even deserved because of his own shortcomings or deeds/actions that make the humiliation sort of kharmic, like lets say Johnny Bravo) and a character being humiliated to the point it feels disproportional, unfunny and mean spirited if not outright sadistic, can be crossed. Take Meg Griffin from Family Guy for example whose only “purpose” for existing within the last 12+ years is to get shat on by her family and the writers. People have no idea for a plot with her, so what do they do? Have her father physically and emotionally abuse her, fart in her face for what is supposed to count as a joke and then add additional insult to it by acknowledging that they are only doing this, because they have no other idea for her and think abuse is fun. Let me just tell you from experience, it is not.

And that is essentially what Sam is: He is the Meg Griffin of Alex ze Pirate, used by his creator as the butt of very unfunny jokes, even if he does not deserve any of the things said or done to him. Want to see some examples?

 How about the description Dobson gives Sam within the introduction of one of his volumes, showing how little Dobson as the creator even cares for him.

Why is he called an unworthy “slob” if he is the only one who actually works? Shouldn’t a slob be someone like Dobson, who can’t even take care of himself anymore? Also the confirmation that he was kidnapped at the age of 16. And as we have no clarification how much time passed between Legends Vol. 1 and anything afterwards, that means that in a way Alex is a child abuser.

And now, here some examples by the rest of the cast. Like Uncle Peggy framing him for all sorts of his perverted actions and even trying to kill him for no apparent reason?

Alex trying to kill him with chicken pox…

…Destroying all his worldly posessions which is hilarious because he is a poor orphan…

…Essentially describing him as worthless because he was born with an Y-chromosome…

… doing the kind of thing Dobson claims women would never do to man, using their sex appeal to hurt them…

…forcing him to do some unnecessary and rather petty work for her in a physics defying manner (seriously, the way he holds the axe does not compute with how he swings it. Try it out yourself)

… stealing his food and just being a cruel sadistic cunt to him just because it is fun.

Which is “funny” in so far as that there are a few comics indicating she would jump his dick and ride it like a little pony if she could.

 By the way, Talus and Atea are not better. None of them calls Alex out on her bullshit on average, Atea uses Sam to trigger traps in one story arc…

And Talus, the closest to a “friend” he is supposed to have, once for no apparent reason made him dig through his litterbox

And don’t get me even started when the characters decide to gang up on Sam, to the point he gets sexually harassedor is called to be less worth as a human being than the dirt you find in your belly button

Fuck’s sake, even in fanart everyone gangs up on him, even the freaking big bad of the story everyone is supposed to hate or be afraid of

 Bottom line, Sam is an abuse victim played for laughs in this comics. And just to clarify, I do not think this was Dobson’s intention. But if the character is undeservingly the butt of jokes for the majority of over 120 strips, it turns nasty. The way Sam is treated, I just find disgusting and indictive of just how unlikable any other character in this comic is to the point I do not want to see this being turned into a proper “franchise”. And I assume others were disgusted by it too, cause Dobson eventually decided to make a story more or less addressing the treatment Sam receives, while also attempting to prove that deep down the assholes with starring roles in this trainwrack care for him. How did this play out? Well, I am going to talk about it, so likely not well. If you want to see the details, grab yourself some popcorn and take a toilet break before we tackle part 2 of this thing.

[keire-ke]

Asterix and the Secret of the Magic Potion is an extremely bizarre movie. It is batshit insane, but it’s also surprisingly sophisticated in when it comes to characters and motivations. It doesn’t need to be, because the movie is aimed at young children, but it is.

It’s well-made and genuinely funny, and the conclusion is so bonkers it defies all rational analysis and dives straight into pure enjoyment. I cry tears of disbelieving laughter every time.

Also, it has the cutest baby wild boar.