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talenlee · 5 months ago

Note

do you have any thoughts on how (if at all) the Toy Story films impacted how children play with their toys?

Yeah, quite a bit.

Toy Story is a 1995 animated feature film by Pixar Studios, distributed by Disney, that serves as one of those iconic examples of early 3d Animation that ‘holds up’ over time by people who haven’t gone back and looked at any of the humans in it. With the voice talents of Tom Hanks and Tim Toolman, it follows the narrative of a pull-string cowboy doll competing with a kung-fu action grip spaceman toy for the attention of their gigantically towering owner, whom they must never allow to know that they live, breath, and know his name.

For kids!

Look, classic yada yada, groundbreaking yada yada, wholesome yada yada. I actually got to see this one while inside a controlled christian media bubble, and if tomorrow I found out all copies of it had been deleted I would react like that ‘oh no, anyway,’ meme. It is not a movie for which I have an enormous amount of affection. I don’t want to talk to you about the narrative, though, not of Wilson’s Best Friend negotiating with the Last Man Standing about which of them will be more validated by an actual literal child and the ontological questions of why aren’t the parts of Mr Potato Head independently alive?

I want to talk to you about the humans of Toy Story. Specifically, about Andy, and Sid, and the weird world they live in, and the weird world they’ve created.

Andy’s a weird kid.

Andy’s a weird kid, in this specific case, because of the toys he loves.

Andy’s collection of toys features a lot of things that were, for want of better phrasing, are old. Plastic army men, Mr Potato Head, metal slinky dogs. In 1995, none of that stuff looked like the heavily branded, overmerchandised toys I was used to. Kid didn’t own any legos? No rainbow vomit coloured plastic slinky?

Sure, my collection had some old toys in it. That was because I was poor, and we got a lot of toys from the Salvation Army story or second hand from the throwouts in the church charity bins.

Thing is, as toys, Woody and Buzz aren’t really like the toys I was interested in during the 1990s. Cowboys weren’t cool. Cowboys were old. Cowboys were shown on TV in largely black and white. Cowboys were always about being sour and mad and long periods of nothing happening and nobody did a single kick flip and there weren’t any ninjas. Buzz Lightyear looked extremely embarrassing, and not like the kids’ toys of the time. He didn’t transform, he was big and chunky and not an action figure. Lords knows he wasn’t going to stand up to either GI Joe or Action Man. The scale was all fucked up, he clearly cost a lot, and we never saw signs of playsets or vehicles in the movie.

Though I say that, and you know what he did look a lot like, size wise? GI Joe. Not my GI Joe, from the 1990s, which were the size of my thumbs and cost five dollars so you could army-build. Original GI Joe, from the 1960s, which was a much taller toy, literally a foot tall. You know, like how tall Buzz Lightyear is.

My point is: Buzz Lightyear is not a 90s toy. He was a toy that looked like a boomer’s toys. Andy, a child created to fit in 1995, in a large expensive home with lots of toys, has lots of old toys. Andy has toys that speak to growing up in the sixties, with one toy that’s meant to be a toy of the 90s that’s still kinda not.

But now those toys are iconic kids’ toys, now, because Toy Story became a classic, and people who saw it as kids had kids and shared it with their kids. That is, the parents saw Toy Story and went ‘oh that’s fine for my kids,’ then those kids passed on Toy Story to their kids, and so on and now thanks to it being interdimensional meme cryptid’s extended tentacles into our reality, Woody and Buzz are now iconic kid’s toys that rely on being this sort of post-packaged boomer nostalgia.

That’s the wildest thing. The combination of Andy’s wealth and diversity of toys (why do you have a ceramic Bo Peep statue?) creates this weird impression of Andy being somehow a child with vintage toys that represent taste thirty years older than him. If Andy was poor and isolated it’d make a ton of sense for him to have all these old toys and none of the newest, coolest toys, like Sid has.

I’ve written about Sid in the past, in part because I think he’s the only character in the entire universe I have any real fondness for.

Well okay, maybe Rex.

Anyway, Sid’s poor? Like, his house, next door to Andy’s, is grungy and grimy and there’s a question about how Andy’s house is so nice and clean and fancy and Sid’s is basically a hell dungeon, but in hindsight it’s kind of hard to look at it and not see it as classic Disney Fisher King stuff. You know, the way that when Scar ruled Pride Rock, there was a drought, and the second Scar was replaced by Simba, there was rain. In this case, Sid, being bad, has a house that’s full of Badness, and Andy, being a good kid, has a good house.

But Sid is signalled as being poor. Everything in the house is grungy and secondhand, and he’s constantly playing with toys that have been discarded or lost, and he modifies them. Sid is curious and creative and yes, destructive, and he’s destructive of things that, as far as he knows until the movie decides to massively traumatise him, are just toys.

Like, think about that. Sid damages and messes with toys but he uses that to make other toys, to make things he plays with. His play is seem as scary and traumatising, because… what? Because he violates the ‘proper’ image of the toy. The toy that is not properly preserved, the toy that is torn in pieces and put together again is seen as somehow violated because it is no longer’ right.’ The implication there unstated is that toys are ‘right’ when they are sold to you, and when you change them from that product, they are ‘wrong.’

Sid’s sin is making his own toys, and he is punished by the avatar of a multinational company that will sell you toys that are right.

There’s this fun story beat, where in Toy Story 3, you find that Sid is now a garbage collector. You can see him wearing the same shirt, and dancing happily as he collects trash. In the garbage dump in that movie, you’ll find there are also no toys, which creates the strange question of how things get that way. A story that explains this, a story I like, is that Sid, with the skills he has with toys, took the job as a garbage collector to rescue these tiny sentient creatures from humanity discarding them and is running some sort of toy game preserve in his home. After all, he is, as far as we know, the only human aware that toys are alive.

And he’s the asshole, not the seeming adults who traumatise a kid for playing with toys. Sid, after all, doesn’t play nice.

Source.

#toy story #disney #pixar

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kairithemang0 · 5 months ago

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Disney is such an interesting company, the way it's evolved over time to what it is now. Apart of me is disappointed, another part of me feels as though the current drought of good Disney content was inevitable.

I think about right after Walt died, how the company struggled then. However, even then I think their movies were still good, Robin Hood, the Aristocats, Great Mouse Detective, they're still good movies.

That's the era my parents grew up in, sure looking back on it now you can see the flaws in some of the movies, how the animation wasn't as polished as it was before Walt's passing, but then I compare it to the movies now.

The 2020s haven't been a good decade for Disney, Raya, Strange World, Wish, they all flopped. Encanto only made waves on Disney+, which is a good thing but that's one movie out of 5 that have come out of Disney in the past 4 years

Then you have to look at the remakes, how much money they're getting from those. However, their recent ones are flopping. The public knows what they're doing now, just remaking their old movies isn't going to keep bringing in money. The Lion King, Aladdin, they made over 1 billion dollars, The Little Mermaid? Under 600 million. That's still a lot of money, but Disney is also putting in so much money into these movies just for them to fail. People are sick of the remakes, they're sick of the sequels, but their original products aren't causing any excitement.

I don't know if Disney is still dealing with lost time and profits from Covid, but it's sad to see other studios doing so well only for Disney, who reigned supreme last decade with Moana and Frozen and Wreck it Ralph, to fall behind again

Disney seems to do this a lot, actually. The 80s were bad, the 2000s weren't great, the 2020s are bad again. Maybe the 30s will bring us something good, if Disney gets their act together and figures out what people want again.

People ask for 2d, for that old disney feel to come back. An obviously evil villain. Villains don't need a tragic backstory, they don't need anything, but this twisted foulness, a catchy song, and to be memorably evil.

Scar, Ursula, Lady Tremaine. You look at them and you go "oh yeah, they're evil". Which not to say Disney can't do twist villains, but it fails more often than it succeeds. Turbo was a great twist villain, his motivation was there and he was fun. But Hans? And Yokai? It felt random, out of place, like they were lacking the motivation to be good villains.

Scar wants power, so does Ursula, and Tremaine more of enjoys torturing her adopted daughter. These three are so iconic because they're so unashamedly evil and cruel, they're these powerful figures that spark fear into people who get what they deserve in the end.

But Magnifico? He's so painfully boring, he's so underdeveloped. It's sad, disheartening the way he could've been so interesting and yet fell flat in such a pitiful way.

I sometimes think about once upon a studio, this gorgeous mix of all pieces of disney animated history, every movie in there. No pixar or marvel or star wars, just everyone who started this, who made disney disney. It's such a lovely short, and it just radiates this pure disney energy, vibrant and colorful and magical. That's what disney is missing now, maybe that's me growing up, maybe it's just not for me anymore.

but honestly, i don't think this generation is going to have that nostalgia for disney the way me or my parents did, it's lost that because it feels so manufactured, this charm that only disney could do gone.

a weird way to say this is the new intro that plays at the start of their movies, it just feels so manufactured, like all it wanted to do was slide references into it to remind you of better movies. that 2000s/2010s CGI intro? that's my shit. the basic 2d intro? it's a classic, it's memorable, but this new one just doesn't have that affect

this is one man's opinion on something he once loved, but i'd love to hear other thoughts on what disney has become

#disney #disney movies #disney live action #disney animation

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ladyloveandjustice · 10 months ago

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Is there anything you think the 90s did better then the original manga?

Oh yeah, a ton. I prefer the 90's anime to the manga overall. The manga was pretty bare bones, though I think the manga does have it's strengths, I'm not like super anti-manga or think it's all garbage like some of my friends. It was the foundation for the anime, I think there are reasons why it was the way it was (a lot of them being crushing deadlines) and a couple of really interesting ideas it had I wish the 90s anime had fleshed out. (PGSM, notably, did flesh out some of those ideas--like Rei and Makoto's backstories--and it was really good).

I've talked about it before, but Haruka and Michiru wouldn't have been such icons and so important to queer fans if we only had the manga--the anime fleshed out their relationship, fleshed out their characters, and importantly, never had Haruka inexplicably suprise kiss Usagi, thus cheating on Michiru and never addressing what that means for their relationship. I just generally prefer their characters and how they were handled way more in the 90s anime. Michiru in particular was pretty done dirty by the manga, while she's wonderfully complex in the anime.

The anime also fleshed out the other girls and put emphasis on their friendships way more than the manga, which I heavily prefer. I'm not one of those people who's going to complain Mamoru was "shafted" by the anime, I prefer the relationship with the girls, who often had absolutely nothing to do in the manga and got captured over and over again. The manga was very focused on Usagi (and Mamoru and Chibiusa) above all else.

(I will say though, that the manga treated Usagi and Mamoru more as a passionate relationship between equals while the anime was often "ugh usagi is sooo childish and unreasonable and jealous and Mamoru is the Reasonable Man who has to put up with her, women amiright" you can kind of tell which one was written by a woman vs a man. doesn't help that the anime worsened their age gap.)

The anime also added a lot of the humor and fun we associate with Sailor Moon, and got to make the villains memorable in their own right--see the anime's version of professor Tomoe, Kunzite and Zoisite, so on. It added a lot of queer stuff too (some good like Kunzite and Zoisite, some pretty problematic and bad like Fish Eye).

Overall, Sailor Moon wouldn't be what it is in our hearts without the 90s anime, and I think it's the default for a lot of people (myself included) for a reason.

#ask nev #sailor moon

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s10127470 · 5 months ago

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The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Odd-One Out of Two Universes

I'm pretty sure most of you reading this are familiar with The Spectacular Spider-Man.

Often considered the best of the Spider-Man cartoons and one of the best iterations of the Spider-Man mythos, the short-lived animated series, even after 16 years, is still held in high regards for it's unique art-style and character designs, pretty strong animation, engaging ongoing storylines, and most importantly of all, showcasing a strong understanding of Peter Parker's character.

But one thing to note about Spectacular is the fact that it was originally meant to be part of not one, but two different shared animated universes!

One that actually got to be made, and the other that....didn't.

To start this off, we'll be talking about the latter since it's the one that not many people know about.

Even i didn't know about it until a few months ago.

As many of you know, Spectacular was created back when aside from literally every other medium, Spidey was just not allowed to interact with or mention the much greater Marvel Universe.

However, that all changed in mid-2009.

Shortly after wrapping production of Season 2, series creators Greg Weisman and Victor Cook, started toying with the idea of including team-ups in the planned additional three seasons of Spectacular.

This was most likely because they heard about The Walt Disney Company's planned acquisition of Marvel Entertainment.

And since it would mean that all the television rights for Marvel's characters would revert to Disney (including Spidey's), Weisman and Cook most likely believed that they were gonna be continuing Spectacular, but with Disney now.

Oh how naive they were.....

Anyway, Spectacular's rendition of the Marvel Universe was gonna be a little different than what most people were used to.

During this time, Spidey was one of the few active heroes around, with the only other ones being The Fantastic Four and Ant-Man.

But the former were usually too busy going on adventures and facing off against much bigger threats, and the latter kept a relatively low profile.

As for the other big names....

-The Wasp had yet to be become Ant-Man's partner.

-Captain America was still frozen in The Arctic.

-The Incredible Hulk was an urban legend, wandering around The American Southwest.

-Iron Man was still a simple business man.

-Thor was still roaming the Earth as Donald Blake, having yet to be reunited with Mjolnir.

-And while mutants existed, The X-Men had kinda yet to be formed. Professor Charles Xavier had just opened his school, and as of right now, only had Cyclops and The Beast as students.

This is actually really cool and well-thought out.

The status of this Marvel Universe feels like a modernized version of The Silver Age, when most of their iconic characters were introduced.

Plus, it would've been cool to see this Spidey interacting with his fellow Marvel heroes.

I could already see these planned episodes essentially being adaptations of these issues right here.

However, there would obviously be one major difference between these two versions.....

Peter here isn't gonna be a bitch.

Yeah, these issues are famous two reasons.

These were Spidey's first meetings with the Big 3 hero teams of Marvel

These meetings didn't go all that well.....

And it wasn't the fault of those heroes. In fact, they were actually quite civil and well-mannered towards Peter.

The problem was actually Peter.

As I'm sure many of you know by now, Peter during his early years was an asshole.

This dude was the personification of "no chill".

Being needlessly spiteful and rude to just about everyone except for Aunt May, and a total smart-ass.

So yeah, unpopular opinion: I'm not a big fan of this Peter.

Which I know seems strange to say since this was how he was like back 60 years ago and he's long grown out of this characterization.

But the reason I'm saying this is because of his fans.

So recently, the Spider-Man fandom have decided to start gassing this version of Peter up.

The reason being with how Peter used to have anger issues, and people wanting to see that come back.

Which like.....okay?

Like, Peter should be allowed to be angry.

But I've never really seen anger issues as being one of his defining traits when compared to characters like Wolverine and especially The Hulk.

Not only that, but fans are saying the Lee/Ditko-era Peter is the template for the best and most ideal version of the character.

And I must say to that mindset....

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I think it's safe to say the reason for this recent opinion is how Peter has been portrayed in recent years.

It's no surprise to know that a lot of recent Spider-Man media has portrayed the character as....kind of a punk and a pushover.

Especially in the comics.

To the point where he literally gets his ass kicked by The Vulture!

Ya know? The very first villain he ever fought.....back when he was like 15.

Who is also canonically a geriatric in a bird suit....

Yeah, the last 17 years have not been kind to Peter in the comics.

I understand wanting Peter to show more backbone like he used to.

But you guys know this can be done in a way where he doesn't have to be an insufferable asshole, right?

But back on topic, it would be great to see a version of Peter that isn't an unhinged prick meeting these other iconic heroes for the first time.

Plus, they actually would've been important to Peter's character.

His team-up with Captain America in particular.

It would've been revealed that Uncle Ben not only had a collection of Captain America memorabilia in the attic, but that Cap was also a major inspiration for Peter's choice to become a hero.

But the best part about all this was that these team-up episodes would've served as back-door pilots of sorts, as Weisman and Cook toyed with the idea of having a bunch of spin-off series set in the Spectacular universe that focused on the other heroes.

So we could've had a Fantastic Four series, an X-Men series, and an Avengers series!

All set in the same universe as the greatest Spider-Man show ever made!

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But unfortunately, this planned shared universe never came to fruition due to....obvious reasons

However, this wouldn't be quite the end of Spectacular.

Or it taking place in a shared universe.

Ladies and gentlemen!

Let me reintroduce you to....THE YOSTVERSE!

For those who don't know, The Yostverse was a short-lived shared animated universe (and Marvel's second after the 90s MAU) consisting of the shows The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Wolverine and the X-Men, and films Hulk vs. Wolverine, Hulk vs. Thor, and Thor: Tales of Asgard.

And while connections here are noticably thinner when compared to the other shared universes by Marvel, they were still there to show that the media in this world were connected to each other.

In my second part of my Wolverine and the X-Men rewrite, I mentioned that the episode "Wolverine vs. The Hulk" referenced the events of Hulk vs. Wolverine.

Plus Bruce Banner, Hulk and Nick Fury have similar designs and the same voice actors throughout their appearances in this universe.

There's also the beef between Thor and The Enchantress, which we saw the origins of in Tales of Asgard, which took place back when they were teenagers.

Anyway, season 2 of EMH really upped the ante by expanding the world-building and introducing other notable heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe.

This included the likes of The Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom, The Heroes for Hire, Wolverine, The Skrulls, a pre-MCU Guardians of the Galaxy, and of course, Spider-Man.

And when making Spidey's debut episode, "Along Came a Spider...", Christopher Yost (the head director of the series and the entire Yostverse) was planning to make this Spidey the same one from Spectacular.

So much so that quite famously, he got Josh Keaton (the voice of Spectacular Spidey himself) to reprise his role as the character!

Essentially, he was trying to continue Spectacular without having to actually continue it.

Unfortunately, this plan all came tumbling down due to one reason.....

During the production of EMH's second season, a new Marvel cartoon was in development.

Specifically, a new Spider-Man cartoon.

If you haven't guessed it already, that cartoon was none other than Ultimate Spider-Man!

Hell. Both Season 2 of EMH and Ultimate Spider-Man premiered on the exact same day, April Fool's Day 2012, for an all-new programming block: Marvel Universe.

And since Spidey was planned to appear quite a bit in Season 2 of EMH, the powers that be at Marvel believed that EMH Spidey had to resemble Ultimate Spidey because they believed that the kids would've been confused by seeing two different Spider-Men at the same time.....

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I wish I was joking....

This is dead-ass like the infamous Bat Embargo, except it's the other way around.

This decision resulted in Peter to be designed to look pretty similar to his Ultimate counterpart (which was most likely not the original plan), and most importantly of all, being voiced by Drake Bell (the voice of Ultimate Peter) rather than Josh Keaton.

This change was most likely done after the episode itself was completed.

Given that we only see Peter costume-less for like, 4 minutes, it probably would've taken them at least a few days to remake those scenes with the new design.

And in the case of Peter's voice acting, I DEFINITELY know that it was done after the episode was completed.

If you listen closely, you can actually hear a line from Josh's recordings.

It's when Peter asked Hawkeye if the S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles were safe.

But apart from the appearance and voice, it's pretty apparent to anyone with more than two brain cells that these two aren't the same.

EMH Peter works at The Daily Bugle as a photographer (as well as on the company's website), while Ultimate Peter doesn't even have a job.

Ultimate Peter works with S.H.I.E.L.D. and with a team of fellow teen heroes, while EMH Peter is still a solo act.

Hell, even some of smaller details prove that these two aren't the same.

EMH Peter has the Spider Signal, while Ultimate Peter doesn't.

Even their ages play a big part in this!

EMH Peter is 17-years old, while Ultimate Peter is supposed to be 15.

With all that being said, EMH Peter (with the exception of his appearance and voice) has much more in common with Spectacular Peter.

Just like EMH, Spectacular Peter.....

-Works at The Daily Bugle as a photographer

-Is primarily a solo act

-Has The Spider-Signal

-And although he's about a year younger then EMH Peter at 16, given that he was suppose to be this version of Peter, it would make sense that he would be a little older since we last saw him

However, one thing that Spectacular and Ultimate do share is that when compared to each of them, EMH Peter isn't exactly one-to-one with either of their characterizations.

This Peter is notably more awkward, slightly reserved and not as quippy as most of his other counterparts.

As for the other Spider-Man characters featured in EMH.

J. Jonah Jameson wasn't voiced by Daran Norris like in Spectacular.

Instead he was voiced by long-time recurring actor, the legendary J.K. Simmons!

Which was obviously done for the same reason as Peter's redesign and recasting.

But Daran Norris is still in the episode, specifically as a cop talking to Iron Man and Captain America about a Cap statue that was knocked down by an angry mob.

Apparently, somewhere in The Disney Vault, there is a version of "Along Came a Spider" that has all of Josh's recordings and dialogue for Spidey.

And I remember hearing somewhere that this version also has Daran Norris reprising his role as Jonah.

For Betty Brant, they didn't even bother to look for a different voice actress, as she's still voiced by Grey Griffin.

But the strangest out of all of them would be Robbie Robertson, who was voiced by Troy Baker, whereas in Spectacular, he was voiced by Phil LaMarr.

This is even strange when you remember that Phil was a recurring VA on EMH, voicing several background and minor characters.

He even voiced a few major characters like Jarvis and Wonder Man.

I'm guessing he wasn't available when the voice acting for this episode was done.

Anyway.... that's kind of all I have for now.

This is just something I've had on my mind for the last few months, after finding out about the former.

And I wanted to share it with you guys.

But before I go, I must ask.....

Between these two universes, which one do you think Spectacular would've been better off in?

As a part of The Yostverse along with other iconic animated Marvel projects from around the time?

Or as the beginning of a new shared universe within it's own world?

Let me know what you guys think.

#spider man #spectacular spider man #the spectacular spider man #the avengers earth's mightiest heroes #avengers earth's mightiest heroes #avengers emh #tssm #peter parker #j jonah jameson #betty brant #robbie robertson #shared universe #marvel animated universe #yostverse

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emerynn · 3 months ago

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MAX 🥺🥺🥺

(double exposure spoilers under the cut)

I knew episode 5 was gonna be a nightmare sequence but i still ate that shit up what can i say it's fanservice and im the fan lol

genuinely did get a bit emotional at the end like okay im HAPPY FOR HER

post credits scene was wild?? Not sure how I feel about them just handing out super powers like halloween candy but...okay? and MAX CAULFIELD WILL RETURN HELLO ???? part of me is sceptical and part of me is like yay more max hehe (fanserive, fan, etc.) - either way, guess im gonna be insufferable for a while then whoops

'will you ever go back to arcadia bay' 'one day' 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺girl i'll cry

lowkey the journal entries were nerfed. i mean i dont really care but still.

amanda max flirting scenes gave me major flashbacks to my own lesbian situationship so 10/10 points for accuracy on that one

i really enjoyed all the characters ngl!! and safi was so good and so intriguing i love that they let her be morally dubious oooo

'our lady of the storm' iconic. shes my fucking GIRL.

okay but is safi creating the lis avengers. like what is her plan. im concerned

how many endings were there because i strongly suspect there might have just been one and if that's the case that's hilarious but also like, come on

they kinda baited me with the "two maxes" bit at that one point i was like YES time travel bullshittery and max being a bitch to her alternate self EXACTLY WHAT I ASKED FOR and then i figured out the twist like 10 seconds before it was revealed and i was like well thats cool but.....i just wanna see max bully herself is that too much to ask for.....

'text from: chloe' like okay my heart did skip a beat lbr

okay so did max actually kill safi or what because that was never clear. like i think the polaroids were from the original timeline and then max shoots safi in that timeline leading to timeline 2 which is OUR original timeline i.e. the dead timeline and then...the living one happens asw? or was it like a pre-emptive timeline split did max ever actually shoot safi? i mean someone had to right? maybe this will make sense in the morning. or on the wiki. who can say

knew there was gonna be darkroom shit in the nightmare sequence fuck yeah (lowkey wanted more but hey im just being greedy now)

another tiny criticism but the krampus party did not feel like a college party lol like the vortex club end of the world party felt intense it felt dramatic it had stakes - krampus i was like oh this is giving me dead freshers week vibes guys just animate in some more extras please i know you can do it

music was amazing ofc

man i had this whole theory going on where max died in the "living" timeline at the same point that safi died in the "dead" timeline and that was why there was no alternate version of herself and it was some safis trying to save max while max is trying to save safi thing - obviously very wrong but i still vibe with it

i just really like max okay <3

To form something of a coherent conclusion: Really solid game, with some great scenes (the end of chapter 2 and start of 3 were def the standouts to me) and (in my opinion at least) really really good development for max - she was so clearly the same max as the original game but also she's grown up and she's grown into herself and ahhh it made me so happy to see!

I found some of the twists more effective than others and I think there could have been more build up to the storm (like in the original lis you KNOW it's coming for so long and there's this feeling of dread throughout whereas it kind of felt like we rushed to get to it here), but overall i had a good time, i really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and most of all, i really enjoyed getting stupidly attached to Max Caulfield again <3

7/10 looking forward to going down the rabbit hole with this one and i guess we'll see where we go next...??

#life stuff #MY THOUGHTS #to be read by nobody but i thought my future self would enjoy these at some point #haha isnt that on theme #i think the conclusion of this all is just that i relate a lot to a certain protagonist and thats why this has had this Resonance with me #something something Rita Felski and theories of attachment #<-- me trying to justify whatever this has been #anyways! this has been my random thoughts on the new lis game #a good time #didnt quite hit like the first one but lets be real nothing can because im never gonna be 12 years old playing that in my basement again #and sometimes thats okay😌#or something idk #life is strange #life is strange double exposure #life is strange double exposure spoilers #lis #lis:de #max caulfield

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tears-of-amber · 2 years ago

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FREYA (a deity deep dive & some UPG)

⚔️Who Is Freya?⚔️

Freya is a Norse goddess of war, love, beauty, sex, pleasure, magic, and so much more! Its very hard to summarize the extent of her powers, and what knowledge remains of her through artifacts and myths suggests she was once as complex a deity as Odin (bearing many alternate names and ruling over so many aspects of life). I took inspiration from @coinandcandle for the layout of this post. Hopefully that isn't a problem! If I get any information wrong or site sources that someone else discovers to be unreliable, I am open to feedback! Note: some of this is UPG, and I'm very clear when I'm stating UPG. If there's any confusion, feel free to message me!

⚔️Parents & Siblings⚔️

-Njördr (Freya's father, a Vanir god)

-Njördr's Unnamed Sister (Freya's mother, who some scholars speculate is Nerthus, yet it remains a mystery)

-Freyr (Freya's brother, a Vanir god)

⚔️Significant Other⚔️

-Odr (Freya's husband, a mysterious wandering god who is suspiciously like Odin)

⚔️Children⚔️

-Hnoss (Freya's daughter)

-Gersemi (Freya's daughter)

⚔️Epithets⚔️

-Hörn (meaning "flaxen", probably in reference to her hair)

-Gefn (meaning "the giver")

-Syr (meaning "sow" a creature that was associated with fertility like Freya)

-Valfreyja (meaning "lady of the slain", as Freya is the goddess who picks and rules over half the slain warriors in her hall Sessrúmnir, in the field of Fólkvangr.)

-Mardöll (meaning "sea-brightener" or "one who makes the sea shine") Note: I always think of her making her father Njördr proud, as a way of making the sea shine, but that is UPG.

-Vanadis (meaning "Vanir goddess")

⚔️Important Notes⚔️

-Freya is famous for her beauty, and her lavish taste. An example of this is her iconic necklace Brísingamen. She acquired this necklace by sleeping one night with each of the dwarves who made it. In return they made the necklace (which is said to have been gorgeous and forged out of gold with amber beads).

-Something that also confirms that amber and gold are sacred to the goddess Freya would be the story of how she cries tears that turn to gold when they touch the earth and to amber when they fall on the sea. Its important to note that she cries these tears for her husband Odr who has not returned in a long time from his wandering journeys. Below is a picture of the famous artwork that depicts her tears by Gustav Klimt:

-Oh, and Freya rides a chariot pulled by cats. Pretty cool, huh? The original cat lady. Cats are sacred to her, so if you want to honor her be sure to treat feline friends with extra respect and adoration!

-When she doesn't ride her chariot, Freya is said to ride her boar into battle. The boar's name is name is Hildisvíni (meaning battle swine).

-Freya possesses yet another treasure: her falcon cloak. This magical cloak of falcon feathers helps her to fly with the ease of a falcon. Therefore, its safe to say that falcons are sacred to this goddess.

-Despite being a goddess of sex and pleasure, Freya is not easily won over. The myths reveal she wont just sleep with anyone. Many giants sought to steal her away and wed her, yet she never caved and slept with someone she didn't see the benefit in sleeping with. In my UPG, she is a very independent goddess.

⚔️Modern Deity Work⚔️

Correspondences (These are based off of my UPG)

Rocks/Stones/Crystals

-amber

-gold

-falcon's eye (also called blue tigers eye)

-carnelian

-rose quartz

Herbs/Plants

-rose

-cinnamon

-mugwort

-daisy

-lily of the valley

-cowslips

Animals

-cat

-boar

-falcon

-rabbit

-hawk

Offering Ideas

-cinnamon tea with honey

-sweet decadent foods

-pieces of amber

-cat figurines

-jewelry (specifically necklaces)

Acts Of Devotion

-spending time caring for cats

-fighting for what you believe in

-standing up for yourself

-being respectful of your own and others sexualities

-beauty routines

-glamour magic

-learning seidr

-connecting with magic in whatever form feels right for you

-practicing being more loving and compassionate

⚔️Sources⚔️

#freya #freyja #freyja worship #norse gods #norse paganism #norse pagan #norse deities #norse witch #deity devotion #goddess freyja #deity deep dive #mythology

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gatoraid · 1 year ago

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Anime recs for The Radiant Emperor enjoyers

I was watching the new Ooku anime on Netflix some weeks ago and I thought it hit that ”court drama dealing with gender roles and making me cry” spot that He Who Drowned the World has been occupying in my heart lately (even if it engages with some of these themes very differently).

Somehow that got me thinking about other anime that might align with the vibes and themes in The Radiant Emperor book series and eventually came up with this list.

Some of those themes include gender roles, queerness, disability, politics, oppression, rebellion, revenge, impossible and messy relationships and tragedy. Darker themes like war, violence, sexual assault etc are also often present. Please lmk if you agree or disagree with these choices and feel free to add more!

Dororo (2019)

Historical fantasy based on Osamu Tezuka’s manga classic from the 1960s.

An orphan who hides her gender in order to survive meets a young man who fights demons to claim back his body parts that his father traded away in a demonic pact. There’s tons of pain and tough moral questions and complicated family relationships, and the way Hyakkimaru deals with having lost and then slowly regaining parts of himself is super interesting.

24 episodes. Stream on Prime Video, Hidive

The Heike Story (2022)

Retelling of the historical epic Heike monogatari through the eyes of an orphan girl who gains the ability to see supernatural things after her father’s passing. Inevitability of fate, the impermanence of all existence, praying for your loved ones’ happiness in the next life, all of these things are beautifully woven in this visually stunning story. The story also hits different when you know that Heike monogatari was traditionally performed by blind musicians and singers.

11 episodes. Stream on Cruncyroll, Apple TV

Inu-oh (2022)

Historical fantasy. Two outcasts find each other and change the history with their music in this story that also pays respect to the Heike monogatari’s origin as a singing tradition. Focus on things like identity, disability, nonconformity, ghosts. Yes, the ghosts part is important. Also, the gender expressions and the bond between the two main characters is something I’ve seen a lot of queer/trans ppl relate to and Inu-oh is voiced by none other than the trans icon Avu-chan.

Movie. Stream on Hulu

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers (2023)

Alternate history where most men in Japan have been wiped out by a mysterious disease. Very much a court drama centered in the Tokugawa shogun’s residence where men serve the woman shogun as concubines (and sometimes have relationships with each other). Also, one of the main characters is a monk who ends up giving up his vows! Based on Fumi Yoshinaga’s acclaimed manga that has also been adapted to various live action movies and drama series.

10 episodes. Stream on Netflix

Toward the Terra (2007)

Scifi classic with two main characters who are at the opposing sides but feel inexplicably connected. There’s just so many insane relationships and emotions here, I still have not recovered from the ”I want to kill you but I will also protect you with my own life” thing…… Based on the 1970s manga by Keiko Takemiya. Not to be confused with the movie from 1980.

24 episodes. Available on DVD

Devilman Crybaby (2018)

Apocalyptic fantasy with demons and stuff. Based on the classic 1970s manga by Go Nagai.

I don’t even know how to describe the story, it’s just the tragedy, the queer yearning, the ”I killed the one I loved and then it was too late”, the ”things will get bad and then they will get worse” vibe that I think is very fitting. This one has the most extreme violent and sexual content out of the series on this list.

10 episodes. Stream on Netflix

Banana Fish (2018)

Gang wars, mystery drugs and complicated emotions set in New York. Based on the iconic 1980s manga by Akemi Yoshida. Deals heavily with trauma and CSA.

You guessed right, this one is also a tragedy. If you love Ouyang and/or Baoxiang, you’re probably going to love Lee Yut-Lung. That’s all I’m going to say.

24 episodes. Stream on Amazon Prime

#the radiant emperor #idk these made some sort of sense in my head at least #rec lists #he who drowned the world #she who became the sun #long post #anime recs

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blorbowhereartthoublorbo · 7 months ago

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Mortimer Outfit Catalogue (Part 1)

hey there, stranger! have you ever wanted to see every single one of mortimer’s outfits? no? well, with me and @scummiezzz’s extensive knowledge on mortimer media, we’ve collected all mortimer fits known to the public into post format just for you! (but mainly for ourselves lol)

i’ll go over (and rate) each outfit from his animated appearances, while scummiezzz will do the same for his comic + video game appearances! let’s begin :]

10/10

this is baseline mortimer. he establishes a common look for him, with the cuffed, striped sweater, the high waisted pants, the fancy hat. the pleats on his pants are a nice touch as well.

2/10

the difference in whites haunts me. i hate his shoes made out of ashes. why couldn’t he have just worn black or brown shoes? 😭

only getting 2 points because i did giggle when i found him in the movie.

12/10

whoever decided his shirt should be unbuttoned should have gotten a raise 🙏

ALSO!!! HE HAS HIS TAIL 🥹🥹🥹

6/10

although this is a quick outfit for a gag, it’s interesting to me how they chose green with white stripes. they could have easily chosen blue, but they chose green. i like to believe this is a nod to his classic design, especially since this is mortimer’s first reboot appearance :)

3/10

this design is lacking. i like how they tinted the gloves yellow to go with the warm colors of his outfit, and that they’re establishing his color as orange, but the hat throws me off idk

10/10

oh my god. the colors!!! the striped tie! the fact that he lied in court in this outfit! this is the epitome of mortimer! ❤️❤️❤️

5/10

i mean… it tricked the judge lol, decent disguise

he even wears it again in “mickey’s april fools”!

3/10

it served its purpose, but realistically, he can’t pull off the shorts. also does he have PECS here the hell???

5/10

now this is more like it! there’s potential here. add a few patterns here, and a few bright colors there, and you got yourself an outfit made by mortimer!

-10000/10

rating this gag outfit low because i cringe too much when i see this clip 😬

4/10

he just had this outfit on hand i guess LMAO

8/10

a great retro design for mortimer!! here, the hat works with the pants. also!!!!!!!!! he has his whiskers and tail :)

7/10

HE’S SO DEAR TO ME,,, he looks all nice and toasty for winter!! i like how they still establish that orange is his color in this series. it’s so cute how he tucked the pants into the boots. it gives this design a fun shape.

5/10

i don’t know what it is, but he can pull off this look. rated it a 5 because we don’t know the colors of this outfit.

9/10

this is one of the first mortimers that comes to mind when i think of him, so it’s definitely an iconic look. the color palette goes so well together here. the turtleneck gives this a more casual vibe. looks like a modern revamp of the suits he used to wear in the comics. :] (ALSO love how they made the jacket cropped, that was such a good move on their part.)

7/10

ngl… this one’s pretty endearing to me. awwwww, the primary colors. he’s wearing cuffed jeans??! THE BOW TIE IS SO DORKY… i guess you could say it ties the whole outfit together :D (BOOOOOOOOOOO)

8/10

he’s on model, with his own personal emblem and a dramatic collar?? you know i gotta rate that high.

also reminder that mortimer somehow obtained (or even created???) this glove of inordinate power.

5/10

i’m pretty indifferent to this outfit, but i do appreciate how they gave him his own emblem (again) and made his number 36, which is a nod to the year his original short was released!

7/10

you can’t go wrong with armor!

2/10

strangely, this matches him… 🤔 /JOKING

3/10

i don’t know what it is, but i just can’t like this outfit. maybe it’s the big pupils combined with the round ears that makes him off kilter??? i don’t like the choice of colors, nor his bowtie here. it’s nice that they added cuffs to the ends of his sweater, tho! (and they gave it a stripe :,))

4/10

i definitely like the sailor’s hat, but the rest is just okay. (shrugs)

6/10

i like the frilly bits and the bowtie here. he’s at a ball, of course he would wear something formal! the collar is always a nice touch (so dramatic XD)

(link to part 2)

#mortimer mouse #long post #WOOOO #this was a doozy!

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is-the-owl-video-cute · 9 months ago

Note

When did you start the original owl vid blog and what was it like? Was it more focused on reviewing owl videos? I’m just curious as to how you ended up involved in a bunch of discourse* about not-owls.

*lets just call it that for simplicity’s sake ahah

I made the original in either January or February 2020 after being frustrated to a breaking point seeing another video of an owl in an obviously bad situation being shared uncritically because the OP had mislead their followers about what was going on. “Oh this owl LOVES his kitten and duck friends!” “Oh look at this owl having SO much fun in the bubble bath!” It was endless. At the time there was genuinely no one questioning anything going on in any of them. My only outlet was to vent it to some of my friends in group chats and such. We would pass around different videos that ended up on our dashes and discuss the issues amongst ourselves just to be in a space where people actually said something because outside of those chats we were going mad seeing it time and time again.

I made the blog while scrolling tumblr aimlessly during a particularly long winded seminar I was sitting in on, I had reblogged a photo of a wild owl and tumblr began recommending various owl abuse videos mislabeled as cute. I had enough. I made a blog name and used large bold letters and emphasizing colors so my posts would be seen by people scrolling the reblogs. I scoured the entire owl tag and rated every single video I came across, typing paragraph upon paragraph detailing everything wrong with those photos and videos and it didn’t take more than a day or two before I had amassed a few thousand followers, people were interested. People were listening, there were a few “okay Karen” types here and there, but the large majority were willing to listen in a way I had never seen before. I had made posts like this on Facebook (not under an alias) and my posts were always immediately met with “who cares if the owl dies it’s just a fun video it’s not that deep let people enjoy things” and threats of lawsuits for “defamation” from the online personalities and “sanctuaries” i critiqued. To say tumblr was a breath of fresh air was an understatement, I have been on this website since ~2013-2015 (not on a themed blog, just various personal blogs I deleted and remade a few times, and a discourse blog or two mixed alongside a few admin slots making pride icons with cartoon characters for people), and I can honestly say this initial experience was the last thing I expected from this hellsite.

For the first few months, I wanted to hang onto that. I didn’t want to bring politics into it, this was just about owls and wildlife, I didn’t want to detract from the goal of educating people on how to spot animal abuse. And for a time that worked well. I was happy. The followers were happy. Until I started paying attention to the people following me and interacting with my posts. Usernames like “radical-clit” or “jake1488” would start to pop up more often. More icons would have kekistan pride flags, or just iron crosses outright. Some icons proudly just said “TERF is a slur” while others were naked white women in wheat fields. I had what I asked for, a truly “apolitical” space where everyone, even Nazis and TERFs felt very welcome.

And I took exception to that.

I made the first real post using my voice and my stances. I said trans women are women. I said Black Lives Matter. I said ACAB and I said wear a mask when COVID started to hit. I started blocking the ones that didn’t scatter from my blog like roaches, I went through my follower list manually and blocked every TERF, Nazi, and any other type of sleazeball I could find. I manually vetted a few thousand people.

This resonated with people. I expected backlash, and there was a fair shake of it, but I received more asks than I had before. Hundreds of strangers thanking me for making my stance clear and letting them know they were welcome. And that stuck with me.

I had made this blog to educate, and that is what I was going to do. So when I started getting asks from those opposed to my open sharing of political subjects, I responded to their hate mail as though it was a debate. I wasn’t trying to change their minds, I’m not that naive, it was to further educate anyone else reading about it, to tell the full story and to arm them with tools to fight back against bad faith talking points the right weaponizes. From that point on, I would get off topic asks questioning my political stances, and I continued to answer them. I wanted it to be clear where I stood because I did not want marginalized people to ever question if I was secretly a bigot.

I never stopped actually reviewing owl videos, however I did stop using the flashy long format responses to avoid annoying people. I had a following by then, I didn’t need to shout to be heard over scores of people fawning over animal abuse. I still rate videos today, but if it’s one that I’ve rated at all within the past year or especially one I’ve rated multiple times, I tend to ignore the message. I don’t go looking for them anymore for the same reason I’d imagine you probably don’t go out of your way to find videos of dogs and cats being abused. It’s upsetting, it’s emotionally tolling. There’s also only so many ways I can say “owls cannot safely cohabit with other species or more than one other owl”, “owls cannot swim well and don’t like being fully submerged in water for a viral tiktok”, or “owl cafes and pet keeping of owls are inherently abusive”.

If I’ve already rated three videos of people letting their toddlers or other pets manhandle large owls, do I really need to be sent six more? My point is Education, not sending as many upsetting videos of animal abuse as I can find to place on your dash and say things you already know if you’ve seen my other posts.

Anyway, for a shorter answer to your question: I get non-owl discourse consistently because I don’t shy away from addressing it. I don’t want my stances to be vague, I don’t want good people wondering if I support trump or genocide. I am a firm believer that silence is violence. I’m not going to do what white culture favors and simply look away and avoid the topic of injustices simply to make white users more comfortable.

This blog was never meant to be comfortable.

This is the “animal abuse is bad stop that” blog.

It would be weird of me to oppose animal abuse and them remain silent on abuses and injustices faced by human beings.

I don’t wake up in the morning saying “okay today will be 80% international politics, 12% discourse about the causes and ethics of pedophilia as a mental disorder, and 8% birds with 1% of that being owls. If someone asks me if I support trans rights I will answer them. If someone attacks me for that then I will respond to their attack.

If some days I don’t feel like looking for upsetting animal abuse and formulating an entire essay on why abusing said animal for entertainment is wrong, I do something else.

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twistedtummies2 · 3 months ago

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Top 15 Werewolves

If there is a specific trifecta of truly classic monsters - a Terrible Trio as iconic together as they are separate - it would undoubtedly be Count Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Werewolf. The interesting thing there is that, while “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” are specific creations, the werewolf is more woolgathering. (Ha-Ha! Sheep puns for the win!) There is no Bram Stoker or Mary Shelley novel for the werewolf that everyone looks to for inspiration and remakes, reimagines, or re-adapts over and over again. Yet, at the same time, the idea of the werewolf is older than either Dracula or Frankenstein and his progeny: werewolf myths can be traced back all the way to Ancient Greece. That’s older than even most vampire legends! And that, dear readers, is probably why this list proved…challenging. I could go on and on about the symbolism of the werewolf, the themes present in most werewolf tales, the appeal and evolution of the concept, and so on…but I’m not going to right here in this introduction, for two reasons. First of all, because I will have ample room to bring those things up throughout the countdown…and second of all, because I just want to state OH MY FREAKING GOD, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HARD IT WAS TRYING TO MAKE THIS LIST. This was sincerely one of the most frustratingly tricky lists for me to sort out that I’ve ever made. There are multiple reasons why, but it ultimately comes down to two major ones: first, much like with vampires, I haven’t seen every single werewolf-related thing under the Sun. So I knew there were a lot of really popular werewolves that I couldn’t rightfully include simply because I don’t know anything about them. Second, for the ones I DID know, it was hard to figure out what would make certain characters count, and what would help determine who ranked higher than others. There were just a lot of different factors to consider. Just as there were two major issues that made this difficult, I ultimately made my choices based on two points. First, I decided to exclude characters who were anthropomorphic wolves, but weren’t necessarily werewolves: to qualify, the characters in question had to either shapeshift from a more human form to a more wolf-like form, or - if they were in the same form all the time - the human side had to be more the focus. Second, I simply asked myself one question: “What characters do I think of most when I think of werewolves?” That was really the plain and simple point, and I tried to approach my rankings based on that: this is not a list of the “hottest” or the “coolest” werewolves, and it is not a list of the most sympathetic or the scariest werewolves, nor is it - for a change - a list about which ones I’d rather play or write for the most. I’m still not sure the ranking here is in any way definitive. If there are wolf characters you don’t see here that you really love (I KNOW there WILL be, frankly), the chances are high that I either just don’t know them, or they just didn’t make the cut because, again, this was a very difficult list to sort out in general. If you don’t like it, make your own. :P With that said…in honor of Halloween, here are My Top 15 Favorite Werewolves!

15. Grimm, Caesar, and Douglas Wolf.

From the games “A Villain’s Twisted Heart,” “Ozmafia,” and “Lost Alice,” respectively. I decided to include all three of these characters in the same spot because a.) I like all three of them roughly the same, and b.) all three of them have a lot in common. Grimm, Caesar, and Douglas are all “anime boi” type characters, all of them originate from fairy-tale themed romance games from Japan, and all three of them are their universe’s version of the Big Bad Wolf from “Little Red Riding Hood.” All three also start off the stories they appear in as villainous characters: brutal, vicious, murderous monsters, who will gobble you up as soon as look at you. However, in all three cases, as their stories in the games go on, you do see more sympathetic sides to them; in the cases of Grimm and Caesar, you even have the option and ability to fall in love with them. Douglas remains a villain to the end, but that’s about the only EXTREMELY major difference within the trio, at least that’s worth noting for this countdown. While I love all three characters, and the obvious eye candy cannot be ignored, I frankly don’t tend to think of “sexy anime guys” first when I think of the word “werewolf,” so I decided to place them very low on the list. Sorry, for any (if any) who were hoping they’d be higher.

14. Keaton, from Fire Emblem.

Yet another “anime boi” character. (Don’t worry, if you’re not a fan; they won’t be in great abundance from this point on.) I’m not SUPER familiar with the Fire Emblem universe as a whole, but I AM fairly well-versed with at least one character, and that is Keaton. He is the leader of a pack of lycanthropes referred to as “Wolfskins”: a tribe of barbaric, man-eating hunters living in the mountains of Nohr. They are able to shapeshift from an appearance that looks basically human, but with some wolf-like traits, to huge, hulking, grotesque monsters that are even more wolfish in form. At first, Keaton is an enemy of the main characters, but he ultimately becomes an ally and a friend and joins forces with the heroes on their journey. Keaton is one of those characters I love who effectively has two different sides to his personality: on the one hand, he’s a bloodthirsty sadist who makes no secret of the fact he enjoys tormenting his prey, and even collects the bones of some of his victims. On the other hand, however, once he comes to trust you and care about you - which is absolutely possible - he suddenly becomes flat out adorable: just a scruffy, silly puppy dog who likes to act all big and scary, but really is a softy. The funny part about this is that neither side is a facade for the other: Keaton is both a savage beast and a sweetheart, and that dichotomy is just so interesting to see at work.

13. Eddie Munster, from The Munsters.

From Japanese gaming guys, to suburban USA; what a segue. “The Munsters” was a 1960s sitcom series, inspired by the popularity of “The Addams Family,” which was going on around the same time. Though it only lasted two seasons, the show made a big impact, largely due to its interesting premise: it featured a family of Universal Monsters, interacting with the normal folks of the American town around them. While the original Wolfman - here called “Uncle Lester” - did appear in a couple of episodes, the most prominent werewolf character of the series was Eddie Munster: the daughter of Herman Munster (Frankenstein’s Monster) and his lovely bride, Lily (Dracula’s Daughter). How they gave birth to Eddie is beyond me, but regardless, Eddie is probably the friendliest and most adorable werewolf you could ever meet. The character didn’t start off that way, though: in earlier ideas for the show, including an unaired pilot, Eddie was a vicious, bratty little gremlin. However, by the time the show officially aired, the character had changed into a loving, happy young fellow who simply enjoyed spending time with his dad and was never seen without his beloved werewolf plushy, Woof-Woof. The character was originally played by Butch Patrick on the TV show; like other Munsters characters, Eddie has been reimagined and reinterpreted a few times over the years, but not a single version has really had the success that the original had.

12. Jiro, from Kamen Rider Kiva.

And now we return to Japan, though this time in the world of live-action media. I’ve mentioned “Kamen Rider Kiva” a couple times this month, and on other past occasions, but for those who don’t already know: the long and the short of “Kamen Rider Kiva” is a Japanese superhero show themed around Universal Monsters. One of the main characters of the series is our resident anti-hero, Jiro - a.k.a. Garuru - the last of the Wolfen Race. Most of his most prominent appearances take place in the past scenes of the series, set in 1986. For much of that section of the series, Jiro is an antagonistic presence; unlike Universal’s Wolfman, he isn’t a tortured soul tormented by his animal nature, but instead a cynic who sees the world of humans as corrupt and filled with folly. He enjoys devouring people whole, especially young women, and is as seductive as he is dangerous. However, as the series goes on, he shows more and more of a noble side to his character. By the time of the present day in the show, Jiro has changed his ways, and now works alongside Riki (the Frankenstein Monster character) and Ramon (the Creature From the Black Lagoon) to assist the main protagonist, Wataru, on his quest to defeat the vampiric Fangires. In his human form, Jiro was played by Kenji Matsuda. As Garuru, he was played by Seiji Takaiwa.

11. Man-Wolf AND Werewolf By Night, from Marvel.

Just as Marvel has had many wizards and vampires, it is also home to multiple werewolves. And just as I credited two vampires from the comic company in the past, I’m going to credit two werewolves. First, there’s Man-Wolf; a recurring foe of Spider-Man. The Man-Wolf is actually John Jameson, the son of J. Jonah Jameson. John is an astronaut, who was transformed into the monstrous Man-Wolf thanks to a mysterious ruby he found while exploring the Moon. (As you do.) The jewel was grafted to his skin, and though it was eventually removed safely, John has returned to his Man-Wolf form off-and-on throughout comics history. Next, there’s the Werewolf By Night. A couple of people have held this title, the first and most famous being Jack Russell: a man whose entire bloodline is plagued by the curse of the werewolf. Initially a drifting beast of ambiguous alignment, the Werewolf By Night now uses his lycanthropic abilities to battle other supernatural terrors and criminal powers. While neither character is a household name, both have shown up in other media multiple times; Werewolf By Night, for instance, recently got a very interesting short film adaptation in the MCU, where Jack Russell was played by Gael Garcia Bernal. As for Man-Wolf, while John has appeared multiple times, his werewolf alter-ego isn’t QUITE as common. His most popular appearances have been in cartoon shows like “Spider-Man Unlimited” and “Ultimate Spider-Man.”

10. Ethan Chandler, from Penny Dreadful.

“Penny Dreadful” was a Showtime series that was made in homage to the various characters and tropes of “Ye Olde Gothic Horror.” The main cast consisted of a combination of original characters, as well as figures from famous works of dark classic literature, such as “Dracula” and “Frankenstein.” Ethan Chandler - played by Josh Hartnett - was sort of in-between. At the start of the series, Ethan is a gunslinger working as a performer for a Wild Bill style traveling show. He leaves show business - albeit reluctantly - after being offered a job as a bodyguard by the two main protagonists of the series, Vanessa Ives and Sir Malcolm Murray. Ethan thus joins them on their quest to find the vampire that kidnapped Sir Malcolm’s daughter and Vanessa’s friend, Mina, and thus the series is set in motion. However, things take a turn when it’s revealed Ethan has some dark secrets of his own: his real name is Ethan Talbot, and he is - what else? - a werewolf. (Interestingly, while Ethan’s true name was inspired by the Wolfman, Josh Hartnett’s werewolf makeup was inspired by an earlier Universal werewolf, the Werewolf of London.) As a man, Ethan is a charming, heroic, attractive fellow, albeit not one without flaws. When he becomes a werewolf, however, he turns into a feral, monstrous beast that has no other purpose but to kill. As a werewolf, Ethan recognizes neither friend nor foe, simply lashing out in bestial fury at anything and anyone that enters his path. As the series goes on, Ethan’s werewolf nature becomes more and more a focal point of his character, eventually leading him on a journey back home to America, where he must try to come to grips with the ghosts of his past. While Ethan’s actual werewolf form didn’t show up very often throughout the show, this just made the moments where he gave in to the beast within all the more impactful and interesting.

9. Jon Talbain, from Darkstalkers.

I’ve brought up Darkstalkers two or three times throughout this month, and it seems I must do so one last time. For those who don’t already know, this classic fighting game series was a tribute to the Universal Monsters, with characters inspired by Count Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Mummy, the Creature From the Black Lagoon, and others. Jon Talbain is our resident werewolf of this universe, and while I actually only recently got into this series and its lore, I actually knew about Talbain for a long time. The character seems to be one of the more popular in the franchise, and I’d seen a great many pieces of fanart featuring him long before I actually looked into the games and spin-off materials. Talbain is a bizarre combo of the Wolfman and Bruce Lee…no, seriously. Those were the two separate influences on his character. Talbain has been plagued by the werewolf’s curse since birth: his parents were a human and a werewolf respectively. He has lived as an orphan most of his life, as his mother died in childbirth, and his father apparently left early on. Talbain finds his lycanthropy a curse, as he is shunned by human society, which he has since formed a bit of a grudge against. While not necessarily evil, Talbain sees humanity as corrupt, prejudicial, and untrustworthy; he doesn’t go out of his way to hurt people, instead hoping to find a way to fight his primal urges, but he has no love for humanity as a whole. Now, that’s all well and good, but your probably wondering where the Bruce Lee side of things kicks in: to try and keep his powers in check, Talbain took to studying martial arts, and his moveset in the games, and his taunts, are inspired by Lee’s, with a bit of supernatural spookiness thrown in here and there. I think it’s the exposure to the aforementioned fanworks, before even learning much of the universe, that gets Jon so high in the ranks; I always liked the character’s design and the bare basics of what I knew from those pieces, and learning about him AS a character has only intensified that interest.

8. The Three Werewolves from Van Helsing.

Yes, once more we return to Stephen Sommers’ less successful attempt at managing the Universal Monsters, following his generally more lauded work with “The Mummy.” A critical and box office failure, “Van Helsing” - a tribute to classic “Monster Mash” movies of the 40s - nevertheless gained a cult following, and while it has its fair share of detractors, it also has a decent number of fans. I suppose you can count me as among them, since I do consider the movie to be something of a guilty pleasure; it’s completely over-the-top and insane, and that’s part of the fun. While characters like Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster are prominently featured, the film chooses not to adapt the Wolfman specifically, and instead gives us three different werewolves! The first is an unnamed, somewhat older-looking lycanthrope, whom Dracula sics on the last members of the Valerious family: Anna, one of the main protagonists, and her brother, Velkan. Although Velkan succeeds in slaying this werewolf, it is at the cost of becoming a werewolf himself. In his werewolf form, Velkan ironically becomes a puppet of Dracula, until he is slain by Van Helsing. But the cycle continues, as Van Helsing himself ends up bitten by Velkan in the process. This leads to a climactic final battle, where a werewolf Van Helsing duels the demonic King of the Vampires. While the CGI in this movie is notoriously “meh,” I’ve always loved the actual character/creature designs, and the three werewolves of this film are among the first I think of when I think of werewolves in general. Incidentally, Will Kemp - the actor who plays Velkan - is most well-known as a dancer; I say this because he later appeared in a ballet version of “Peter and the Wolf.” Somehow, I doubt this casting choice was a coincidence.

7. The Colony, from The Howling.

“The Howling” was a 1981 horror movie, based on a bestselling novel of the same name. I actually HAVE read this novel, for a change…BUT, I’ve only read it once, and it was a long time ago, so I really don’t remember a whole lot about it, sadly. As a result, I can really only judge the movie, but thankfully the movie is pretty good. The film is considered one of the key essential werewolf movies ever made, as it took the concept in a very different direction from most. In many past werewolf movies, the focus of the story was on the singular, outcast werewolf, who was usually depicted as a tragic figure: possessed by a literal inner monster they couldn’t really control. “The Howling,” however, changes things up: the story focuses on a young husband and wife, traumatized after an encounter with a sadistic serial killer called Eddie Quist. To try and recover, they head to a place called “The Colony,” a secluded countryside resort. It turns out, however, that the people who live at the Colony are all werewolves, and among their ranks is none other than Eddie and his family. There is nothing remotely tragic about most of the werewolves in the Colony: instead, the idea of the animal within is taken in a more twisted direction. This pack of wolf-people believe they are superior to the human race, and gleefully embrace their dark sides with wicked abandon; to become a werewolf, in their minds, is to embrace the carnal, primal, powerful sides of themselves. They are truly free and in control of the world around them. It’s an interesting and genuinely scary direction to go with the concept, and the film led to multiple sequels…none of which I’ve seen, and my understanding is that most of them suck, sadly. But hey, at least one of those sequels had Christopher Lee in the mix, so I guess they can’t be ALL bad.

6. Leon Corledo, from Curse of the Werewolf.

When Hammer studios gained Universal as a North American distributor, they were given access to use more characters and concepts from the classic Universal Monster franchise for their films. Their one and only werewolf feature, “Curse of the Werewolf,” is usually overlooked, sadly, with many dismissing it as just being Hammer’s version of “The Wolfman.” I find this incredibly saddening because - while certain story elements are shared between the films - the two movies are extremely different, and this film takes the concept of the tragic monster in its own unique direction. Played by Oliver Reed (in his first starring role for a motion picture), our werewolf of the hour is Leon Corledo. His lycanthropy is a supernatural affliction that has infected him since birth: his mother’s tragic and extremely brutal life and death have apparently led to his blood being tainted with some evil curse, which manifests itself in the form of werewolfism. Leon gains a taste for blood at an early age, and struggles to keep his vicious, predatory side at bay. As he grows older, Leon finds that the love of a beautiful woman is able to tame his inner monster, but his struggle with his cursed nature remains a hard one. Reed’s first starring performance remains one of his best, in my opinion, mixing powerful ferocity with a gentle vulnerability. While the explanation of the werewolf’s curse is a bit bizarre, the actual trials poor Leon must endure are among the most harrowing of any movie monster.

5. Jack Howl, from Twisted Wonderland.

Well, if you know me, and you know about this game, then this really shouldn’t have been a surprise. For those who are not aware already, however, “Twisted Wonderland” is a Japanese-made mobile game themed around Disney Villains. The premise has the main character getting transported to a parallel universe, where they end up staying at a School of Dark Magic, with different houses themed around seven of those villains. Throughout the game, you encounter characters based around “The Great Seven,” as well as some other Disney characters. Jack Howl, however…he’s an anomaly. Jack isn’t really based on ANY Disney character in question. He seems to be more a tribute to just…ALL the wolves Disney has given, with references to the pack from “The Jungle Book” and the more vicious predators from “Beauty and the Beast” both being made at different points. While these may have inspired Jack, he is, in essence, a totally original character. Jack is a bona-fide werewolf, able to shapeshift from a sort of “beastman” form (pictured here) to a massive silver-white timberwolf. He is also quite possibly the most adorable werewolf in history since Eddie Munster. While he looks tough and tries to act standoffish and surly, Jack is basically just a big puppy dog. Despite his constant insistences that he doesn’t really care about anyone and isn’t out to make friends, he gets attached to people quickly, is always eager for praise from those he respects, and has a strong code of personal honor (which often gets him into trouble as much as it gets him out of it). In short, he’s a big softy who tries to seem meaner than he really is: always a fun character, in my books. It’s more my love for the game, as a whole, that lands Jack so high up in the ranks, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a warm spot in my heart for this wolf-eared sweetheart.

4. Professor Lupin, from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

While there are a couple of werewolves in the Harry Potter universe, by far the most famous is Professor Remus J. Lupin. In the third book of the series, “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” Lupin is introduced as…well, quite frankly, the only GOOD Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Hogwarts has ever seen. He’s supportive of his students, friendly to his peers, and ends up forming a close bond with Harry. This is partially because Remus and Harry’s father, James, were best friends in school. As a result, Lupin feels a certain responsibility towards Harry, trying his best to keep him safe. Ironically, however, it turns out that Professor Lupin is a potential danger to Harry and his friends, himself: it’s revealed that Lupin is a werewolf, and he goes from one of the main protagonists of the story to a major antagonist in the climactic chapters of the novel. Much like with Ethan Chandler and many other classic werewolves, once Lupin transforms, he changes from a good and amiable man to a bloodthirsty monster, who recognizes no friends. While Lupin has a special potion or medicine he can take to keep the wolf at bay, it is only a temporary fix. If he runs out, or just accidentally forgets to take it, you can imagine the consequences. As a result of this terrible tension, Lupin ultimately resigns from his teaching duties at Hogwarts (continuing the running gag, if you want to call it that, of Defense Against the Dark Arts always being the class with the worst luck), but he remains a major character in later books. The same goes for the movies, where Lupin was played (as pictured here) by the great David Thewlis.

3. David Kessler, from An American Werewolf in London.

This is yet another “essential werewolf movie” in the ranks, which made a big impact on lovers of the concept back in the year of our Lord 1981 - the same year as “The Howling.” (I’m sensing a pattern.) However, while “The Howling” took the concept to its frightening extremes, by making the werewolves murderous monsters without a shred of human decency, the titular character of “An American Werewolf in London” is both one of the most tragic werewolves ever put to the screen, while also being one of the most utterly horrifying. The story begins with young David Kessler (played by David Naughton), an American graduate student, on vacation in Yorkshire. He is accompanied by his friend, Jack Goodman. While backpacking across the Moors, the two are attacked by a werewolf. Jack is savagely killed, while David is bitten and forced to become a werewolf himself. As the film goes on, David is haunted by the ghosts of Jack and his own victims, as they try to convince him to commit suicide, since only the death of the werewolf can free not only David from the curse, but also release their souls. While the film has a deliciously dark and wicked sense of humor, it is still, at its heart, a horror story, with a somber ending and a very disturbing edge. The realization of David’s werewolf form, and the transformation he undergoes, is widely regarded as one of the most horrifying in cinematic history. I am heartily inclined to agree.

2. Bigby Wolf, from The Wolf Among Us.

Let’s take a brief tangent to discuss the fairy-tale of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Many scholars and historians have suggested that the classic fable may actually be one of the earliest examples of werewolf fiction. After all, people certainly believed in werewolves at the time, and how many normal wolves can wear human clothes, speak human language, or are large enough to swallow a little girl and her granny alive? Whether this is true or not, it is not uncommon for reimaginings of the story to envision the Big Bad Wolf as a werewolf: I already discussed three such examples with the “Anime Boi Trio” at the start of the countdown. They, of course, are not the only instances: enter Sheriff Bigby Wolf, the main character of the video game “The Wolf Among Us,” based on the “Fables” comic series (which I have not read). The game is essentially a noir-styled murder mystery story, with Bigby as our resident hard-boiled detective of the hour. In typical fashion for such an archetype, he smokes, drinks, and is equal parts grumpy and sarcastically snarky. However, unlike most such examples, he’s also a werewolf: a rarity for film noir. (Unless you count Sam Spade. No way someone that cool is human.) Bigby is able to transform from a human form, to a sort of half-human form, to the “werewolf form” shown here, and finally to a giant feral wolf that’s bigger than an elephant. The story of the game once again plays with the idea of our protagonist battling his inner demons, but with a different twist: Bigby can’t change what he is, nor does he really wish to. HOWEVER, his struggle is more with his villainous past and the darkness still inside him. He’s the Big Bad Wolf, the bogeyman of many legends; that’s a hard thing to deal with when your job is to save lives and try to make amends. Being a Telltale game, the players can choose just how nasty or how nice Bigby really is, but regardless of which direction they take him, he nevertheless seems sincere in his desire to do right. It’s an interesting twist on both the fairy-tale figure and the idea of the werewolf.

1. Larry Talbot, a.k.a. The Wolfman.

Our number one pick is the entire reason WHY I set up this list the way I did. As I said before, this countdown was never about the “sexiest” werewolf, or the scariest werewolf, or anything else like that. It was simply about what character or characters came first to mind when I thought of that word. And, let’s face it…for both myself and a lot of other people, Larry Talbot - the Wolfman - is that character. The 1940 film, entitled “The Wolf Man” with a space in the middle (contemporary spellings go back and forth between that and it all being one word), pretty much established the classical lore of the werewolf that so many of us recognize today. And while it was not the first movie to tackle lycanthropy, nor to depict its protagonist as a tragic figure who was more fallen hero than true villain, it was the first to make an especially potent impact. It is because of this character and this movie that werewolves are so particularly recognized today, and the influence of this one figure cannot be overstated. Lon Chaney Jr. and his performance are an important part of why; several other people have played the Wolfman in remakes and reimaginings of the character and story (such as Benicio del Toro and Jonathan Gries), but Chaney’s performance remains the most iconic, and the one that set the bar for how so many other werewolves would be portrayed. Larry Talbot is a good and fairly normal guy who finds himself transformed into a monster against his will, and while the stories of other famous Universal Monsters got warped and went into crazy territory as the series continued, the Wolfman actually remained fairly consistent throughout his run, helped by the fact that Chaney was the only person to play the character through the entire franchise in its original years. While the films and his makeup/costume do show their age, they’re nevertheless still classics for a reason, and I doubt very many of the other characters on this countdown would even EXIST if he hadn’t set the standard. For that reason above all else, Lawrence “Larry” Talbot takes the cake as My Favorite Werewolf. Case dismissed.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Dr. Wilfred Glendon, from Werewolf of London.

Predating the Wolfman, this is one of the earliest werewolf films, and almost as iconic. While it has its merits, however, I think that actor Henry Hull’s performance in the main role is a bit stiff and stagey, which brings the character down a peg.

Cornell, from Castlevania.

Despite being a huge Castlevania fan, I’m weirdly not very familiar with Cornell, by virtue of the simple fact I haven’t looked that much into most of his appearances in the franchise. Ironic, isn’t it?

Free, from Soul Eater.

This anime/manga series is basically what you’d get if you put Tim Burton in charge of…well…an anime/manga series. Free is a recurring figure, and he’s a lot of fun, but I just tend to think of other characters first. This may partially be because it’s been a long time since I rewatched this show…I’ll have to get on that in the future. :P

There are a TON of other werewolves I could name, but after this point they kind of all conglomerate into a lupine glob of interest. Again, sorry if characters you loved didn’t show up. Who are some of YOUR favorite werewolves? Feel free to name your picks below!

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destinygoldenstar · 2 months ago

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🍀Cliffhanger🍀 - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 2 Episode 12 “Money, Fame, And Shame Part 1”

So uh... I was gonna introduce this normally. Basically, explain why it's been a bit, mostly cause there was a new Digital Circus episode out and I was on the hype train for that.

BUT now I'm kinda concerned.

For those who don't know, recently, OddNations have been hit with strikes on their channel over an impersonation situation.

As a result, half of the show was deleted.

HOWEVER, they seem to be getting people on board to help them now, and the finale is back now.

So, you guys get a treat.

Because I'm going on vacation tomorrow, we're doing both episodes in one day.

And also because I'm worried the channel could get deleted, so I want to at least get this season done.

We'll see what happens in the future. Somehow someway I'll react to Season 3.

I don't think some people understand how DIFFICULT it is to get an indie animated show out there. Sure you have your occasional popular thing like Hazbin and Digital Circus. But there's also, like, SO MANY other indie shows out there that go completely unnoticed.

They're very expensive. They take a long time to make. It's a torture process.

So regardless on how I, or anyone else, feel about the show, it is so impressive to me that there are these passionate people putting their heart and soul into this. And I respect that more than anything.

Even if I loathed this show (which I obviously don't), I would never wish for this to be shut down. Especially so unfairly.

So, support OddNations. Help them through these hard times. Show you care about them and what they do.

We'll see if OddNation survives. If this is the end of my reactions or not. If they survive, cool, I can continue with this show and make reaction posts of Season 3.

(I actually really want to react to Season 3 if you guys want that too.)

If they do not, and I lose access to the show entirely... well shit.

No matter what. We should AT LEAST finish Season 2.

So, on with this finale! This is a two parter. Separate posts cause Tumblr has an image limit.

I've been on Tumblr since 2021. They didn't originally have an image limit. Idk why they put one there. Annoying, but I can't argue when I don't know the full story behind the decision.

OOH GIRL... that ain't a good look for you sweetie. I'm kinda scared for you.

"I brought your meds."

She takes meds?

"We heard that the producers want to renew your contract for another season."

Oh, Season 3! Okay so that's where this context is starting to come in.

Shit, there's actual LORE in this show! THERE'S A TIMELINE!!

I WATCH TOTAL DRAMA! I'M NOT ISED TO THAT!!

I mean I'm following it just fine. I'm just making a scene.

"And will you accept?"

"I don't know."

Well we know she does, right? Cause we saw her and Oliver at the end of Season 1 gathering footage of Season 1.

I mean Season 1 was a scam site by criminals, so I THINK this means Season 1 aired first in their universe too? Cause Krystal released it after finding the footage?

"Honestly I don't even know why I took the job in the first place."

"Before the show started, my father told me this job could change me, without realizing it until it's too late... and he was right. I overdid the challenges, I was cruel, and I hurt people."

Aw... yeah I can see Chris gaslighting her like that.

Is it bad that I kinda like Krystal? I do.

I get she's a terrible person, and she's nowhere near an icon like Chris McLean is, but she's actually pretty nuanced and interesting.

I like learning about her.

"You may be self centered, narcissistic, and sadistic at times, but there's always been goodness in you."

Yeah. Saying it like it is.

"Yeah, you suck, but also, you deserve an award for not killing anyone."

An award for Krystal.

OH I FORGOT HUNTER WAS STAYING IN THE TENT XD

"For my next showing, I will host a slumber party! WITH THE PUPPET!!"

NO RIYA THAT PUPPET IS GONNA GIVE ME INSOMNIA!

Why do you have that DEVIL SMILE on your face girlie?

What's going on, queen? You coping with the fact that no one loves you anymore?

I mean aside from me?

"Hey open the door!"

"Oh sorry! I already went to bed!"

GIRL.

OH MY GOD. XD

It doesn't benefit her at all, but she just REALLY wanted to give a real good "Fuck You" before the challenge XD

"For my next showing, I will give everybody insomnia and deprive them of the energy they need to beat me in the final challenge!"

NO RIYA THAT'S KINDA PETTY.

"That's gonna take like forty minutes!"

"Not my problem!"

"OH NO, IT'S NOT LIKE THERE'S ANOTHER CABIN AT THIS CAMP! Why don't you go sleep with your boyfriend? Instagram will love that!"

OH NO NOT THE FINGERS JAMES.

NO. YOU DON'T GET SYMPATHY JUST CAUSE YOU THINK YOU'RE CUTE.

AND STOP STARING AT ME WITH THEN BIG OL EYES!

"I'll sleep in the dining room, and no, you can't join me."

ISN'T THERE ANOTHER CABIN? HELLO?!?!

"Tomorrow is the final challenge, so having Aiden and James tired is crucial."

Hey that's what I said.

Hey, girl may be a Grade A BITCH, but she knows what she's doing.

Yay! I'm routing for a bad person to win the million! 😄👍

"I know what I'm doing is brutal, but... if I have to choose between other people's futures or my own, the decision is clear."

Yeah... I actually kinda get that.

It's immoral, obviously, but I get why she'd think that way.

"How DARE anyone hang out with people that aren't me! They probably think I'm WORTHLESS! Well fine, if you don't care about me, I don't care about you!"

Riya they can never make me hate you.

YOU SLEPT IN THE BATHROOM?!

Bruh.

Aiden does not look comfortable in that photo! Are you kidding me?!

You reflecting on your life choices? "Oh wow... looking at these photos I can see how I may come across as a greedy fame hungry predator."

Writing that I hear in my head that Ralph Breaks The Internet bit. "Up here I can see how I can come across as needy and clingy and-" blah blah blah.

That movie SUCKS by the way. It's crazy how Disventure Camp is better than that.

I'm sorry. You took a picture of him WHILE HE WAS SLEEPING?

THAT ONE WAS NO CONSENT.

And I'm supposed to feel bad for him? With the sad music and everything? I'm just kinda laughing.

Tatsu17did. Okay?

"What you did to Aiden is disgusting. Unfollow."

Yep.

Speaking FACTS Tatsu.

I think I'm SUPPOSED to be feeling bad for James here...

...but I don't.

I'm glad this is happening to him.

Oh that walking animation is choppy...

I mean I should be surprised I'm complaining about that, cause we saw this choppiness in the first episode. But they improved so much throughout the season that I'm now put off by it.

Aw, poor Aiden.

He deserves happiness. I'll say that.

Find a boyfriend that actually respects you!

Or girlfriend, idk, he might be bi or pan.

There's this blue haired boy I know about that went through two breakups. I'M JUST SAYING.

If things with Tom don't work, those two can meet up and see what works out...

Backup Jake ship. We found one.

AWWWW, AND THEY'RE SHOWING ALL THE GOOD MOMENTS WHERE JAMES WAS ACTUALLY OKAY.

Hey remember when we hospitalized Karol? GREAT TIMES!

Idk that one just feels so out of place compared to the others, cause the rest of these actually ARE moments where James was okay.

And the Queen is just vibing.

She's just living it up on top like she's the only girl in the world that matters.

"I AM the only one that matters, Golden!"

AWWW AND THE PERFUME.

"Just trying to be myself, because pretending to be someone else will only make people never know the real you."

AWWWWWWW

SHE LOST SIGHT OF HERSELF

That's actually quite sad to think about. That she got corrupted the way she did.

Thinking of all the people she lost... 😢

I'm telling you, I am routing for Riya to win.

If she wins, it will be the WORST ending for her. Because she'll be permanently trapped in this 'do what you need to do to win' mindset, because of her career. And she'll be losing everyone she cares about.

I WANT THAT ENDING. MAKE IT HAPPEN.

GIVE MY GIRL HER MILLION AND HER MISERY!!

"Who invited you to sit here?"

"I'm not even sitting near you. Relax."

Yeah get him girl.

"That's my next movie role! I'M A GERM!"

"Don't you feel bad?"

"What should I feel bad about?"

"I don't think you heard this song and dance properly: I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!"

"For stealing my phone, blaming Rosa, and ruining my relationship with Aiden."

"Um... you HAVE seen Season 1, right? That shit happens all the time."

"How do you know about that? It hasn't aired in universe."

"I'm psychic. FEAR ME."

"What about you, James? Do you feel bad for getting rid of Karol twice? Poisoning Yul? Manipulating Aiden?"

DAMN SHE GOT HIM.

She's also quite right XD

"So wait, what is the logic here? You can get people to the hospital and get away with it as a game strategy excuse, but I can't do anything remotely similar to that? I SMELL MISOGYNY IN THIS EDIT."

"I mean, the Yul thing was badass, but other than that, at least I didn't put anyone in lethal danger!"

Let Riya kill someone cowards /j

WHAT?????

I don't like that dress... Idk if this is a better look...

"I've been so focused on negative things about my father, that I hadn't realized that my real family is you guys. You've always been there for me."

Awwwwww❤️

That's wholesome. I like that.

"After four long weeks of intense challenges..."

FOUR WEEKS?! IT HAS NOT BEEN FOUR WEEKS.

FOR THIRTEEN EPISODES? ARE YOU KIDDING?

Oh no not these two XD

They're just casually back? I thought they were living in the woods!

"Eh, you know, can't hurt to get a front row seat on an event. We don't have a TV in the woods."

OH DAMMIT HE SURVIVED! NOOOOO!!!

Goddammit, I thought I would never see him again!

I mean I guessed he probably wouldn't die, cause otherwise James would be IN JAIL, but I still didn't want to see him on screen again.

Bring him back and I am gonna fucking SCREAM.

NOBODY LIKES JAMES. I LOVE THAT.

I mean I understand Karol and Connor.

Allyson? Tess? That's interesting. Wonder why? I don't think they've had a single conversation with any of these three characters.

Why the fuck is Yul with Aiden? You wanted to kill him!

"I'm routing for Aiden! I'm routing for him to die!"

I can see Yul being transphobic.

I hate that Yul is back...

"Everyone hates you!"

Right? Call him out.

"Actually, because you're cancelled online, my reputation has started to improve."

OH FUCK OFF. COME ON.

THAT right there, is the WORST part of this.

James was so predatory that a fucking BIGGOT, an OPEN BIGGOT mind you, looks BETTER to these people than him.

YOU FUCKED UP JAMES. GIVING YUL SPOTLIGHT LIKE THAT?

"I'd support you if you didn't poison me. Fuck you for that loser."

James is probably thinking "Damn... I should've just killed this bitch."

"Well I never talked to the others, so you're the only one I know."

Yeah, okay. I get that logic for Tess.

"Well... I'm not exactly good with people. I'll root for the prettiest one."

"Excuse me? It's not like she didn't cheat either."

Rosa I love you, but for the sake of Riya, hush.

"Didn't you watch the past few episodes?"

"I couldn't. I was busy opening a new warehouse."

Based.

"EEEEEHHHHH, well, I didn't watch the rest of it, so I'm assuming she didn't do anything THAT bad..."

OH YEAH I FORGOT ABOUT THAT!

OH I LOVE THAT!

THAT DUDE HOLDING THAT 'GO RIYA' SIGN IS SO BASED. CAN WE BE FRIENDS?

RIYA CULT UNITE!!!

"I choose Lake!"

Good choice.

"I... I choose Connor."

Riya, I love ya girl, but he's old. I would've picked Karol.

No she's old too isn't she...?

Allyson then. She's pretty good.

"Ummm... who am I supposed to pick?"

"James, because everyone has universally agreed that you fucking suck, YOU GET GOD'S HELP! GOOD LUCK!"

"Any volunteers?"

*Dead Silence*

😂

"Okay, I will do it."

Oh cool. Rosa won't get money, but it's the thought that counts.

Okay, um... this is very complicated...

OH GEE. I WONDER WHICH SUIT IS RIYA'S.

What's wrong with giving her pants? I don't think that suit is very safe.

ALSO WHY GREEN? DON'T PUT MY GIRL IN GREEN. SHE ROCKS THE RED.

Okay so it's similar to the first season. Halfway point, someone will be cut.

"Perhaps all this is just a misunderstanding."

Lake, I love you, but no. What's there to misunderstand? He used him.

"To be honest, I don't know if I want to..."

And you gotta respect that. MOVE ON.

"Rosa, why did you volunteer to help me?"

"Cause I want money for my daughter."

"I don't like seeing people having a bad time, even if they deserve it."

Based.

Mama Bear WITH A BACKBONE.

She ain't stupid, James. She also ain't forgiving.

"It doesn't matter anymore James. Riya fooled us all."

Damn... she will forever hate Riya.

"Hey I know that scent."

HEYO DO NOT SNIFF A WOMAN'S HAIR YOU CREEP.

"Oh yeah, hi."

Allyson's voice is still... ow...

I liked it better when her voice was deeper.

"Do you think we can talk?"

"Whatever."

"I wanna draw here. Let me draw in peace."

"How about we get something out of the machines-"

"Maybe later."

Oh wow, she really doesn't want to talk.

OH DAMN GIRL WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!??!

"For my next showing, I will recreate what Aiden did to Karol! KARMA'S A BITCH!"

NO RIYA YOU CAN HOSPITALIZE HIM!

"Can't you stop cheating for once?"

...I mean... Krystal never said "NO pushing and shoving"...

Also says the guy who sabotaged someone's sled.

YOU DAMN HYPOCRITE.

"Wow... we're just getting started and the campers are already playing dirty."

She sounded so unenthusiastic.

Krystal I thought you were into that.

"Playing dirty?"

Connor, do you not see what is going on right behind you?

Don't you HEAR anything that is going on right behind you?

Meanwhile James is just trying not to lose his head.

And then we cut to these freaks doing freaky things.

"And what are you freaks supposed to be doing?"

...

NEVERMIND, YOU TWO CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.

"Do you seriously think Aiden will win because of that?"

Watch it actually help him win.

I want Aiden to win now just to spite Yul.

"Winning is a concept beyond our understanding, and it's not always getting what we want, but what we need."

And that's why I want Riya to win. Cause she WON'T win.

"Why do you look homeless? I mean, more than usual."

GO BACK TO THE HOSPITAL.

"You better shut up if you don't want another black eye."

GET HIM GIRL!!! GET HIS ASS!!!!

Yul, I think a black eye would look real good on you. It looked great last time.

YO.

GIRL IS ACTUALLY TRYING TO KILL THEM.

I'm okay with Riya doing it but not James apparently...

Girliepop is putting my slay passes to use.

"Well you'll need more than that!"

*Gets a Ballistic Ad*

NO, SHE GETS A GUN?! XD

Riya just pulls out a pistol XD

"YEAH, YOU WANT MORE? I'LL DO MORE!!!"

James is so far behind, oh my god...

"Maybe it was all fake for James at first..."

LAKE WE'RE IN A CHALLANGE. CAN THIS WAIT?

"...but now he feels differently."

I mean yeah, I don't deny that. Not saying he has no remorse. He obviously does.

"Even so, a guy who's willing to use people like that isn't worth it."

IF AIDEN DOESN'T WANT TO FORGIVE JAMES, HE DOESN'T HAVE TO.

THAT'S HIS CHOICE.

"Do you really believe that people can change?"

"LOOK AT ME. I'M NOT WEARING THE SAME HAIR."

"Just look at me."

Exactly.

Oh that was a weird blink cut. Ew, that hurt my eyes.

Never do that again please.

Like that ACTUALLY hurt my eyes...

"That's enough Riya! What are you doing?"

"How DARE you swipe me of my slay pass!"

"You can't throw that at Aiden!"

"Of course I can!"

GIRL.

Connor's like "Well shit. I should've caught up."

"For my next showing, I will make a Disney movie villain death! I wanna be in a Disney movie!!"

NO RIYA IT'S A MOVIE!

Oh no...

Nevermind, Riya can slay all she wants.

"What happened to you?!"

"Connor, I'm so close to winning, and I'm not stopping now!"

"Do you really want to win like that?"

"I mean, it got results, didn't it?"

"It's easy for you to say! You have money! You've never had to feel lost or without a future!"

Oh... oh yeah, that's probably eating her up.

Honey.

We can talk about this.

I can fix you.

"This is very high. A fall from here could be deadly, don't you think, Aiden?"

Oh now she's taunting him.

OH CAUSE HE'S AFRAID OF HEIGHTS. I FORGOT.

"It would be a real shame if something were to happen to you... for my next showing-"

RIYA, YOU'LL GO TO JAIL.

"Riya, if that's the way things are, I'm done helping you."

Connor standing up for himself.

Riya, you lost everybody.

"Do you think I need you? I got here by myself! I don't need anyone!"

GIRLIE NO, YOU'RE DIGGING YOUR OWN GRAVE!

James, just forget it. You're not winning.

"Just be careful, I can't leave my daughter an orphan."

Yeah James, kill Rosa and you'll have me to deal with.

"When I got pregnant they didn't take it the best way. They just made me feel lonely and sad."

So she wants no one else to go through the same thing.

"No offense, but I didn't expect anything from you."

I do find James to be very genuine, BUT I like the roasts.

YOU HAVE A FLIGHT SUIT! YOU'RE FINE!

YOU CAN'T DIE IF YOU'RE GLIDING.

That's how that works, right?

"I'm sorry you're about to lose because of a three hundred meter jump."

"Yeah ya wuss!"

OH SHE IS UP AT HIM. GOSH.

"We both know that you don't deserve your place in the final. Everyone made you look like a fool, over and over again..."

GIRL, YOU ARE SLAYING HARD.

OH SHIT.

Riya's like "Oh shit... I didn't mean slay THAT hard, I just wanted to give him an anxiety boost. Uh... what do I do in this situation?"

GRAB THE LEDGE, YOU'RE FINE.

Or, hell, you're wearing a gliding suit. Put your hands in the straps and glide down. You're fine! You're not gonna die!

I mean I would think there's some landing equipment down there, right? It's a show. They would make it so that they wouldn't die if they used the suit wrong.

NO ONE'S KILLING ANYONE.

"Sorry, I already wasted too much time with you."

DAMN GIRL!!!

YOU FUCKING SLAYER!!!

"He can grab the ledge, he's fine! And we're on Reality TV! They're not gonna let him die! I am not responsible!"

RIYA THAT'S STILL KINDA SHITTY OF YOU, EVEN WITH THAT LOGIC.

"I'm AMBITIOUS, what did you expect?! YOU WANTED ME TO DO THIS!"

"In a rare and brave display, Aiden and James jumped off the lowest levels."

And Riya's over here like "WHAT DO YA MEAN A RARE AND BRAVE DISPLAY?! I JUMPED OFF HIGHER!! WITHOUT HELP!!! HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY SPOTLIGHT!!"

"For my next showing, I will lure Aiden to a cliff and shove HIM off! The show will love that!"

NO RIYA THAT'S MURDER.

...WELL SHIT. I KILLED AIDEN XD

OH NO I SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT.

I INFLUENCED HER TO SLAY!!!

This is what happens when you give a character too many slay passes.

THEY USE THEM.

"Don't worry, Oliver must have put up a security mesh or something."

Yeah exactly. He's fine.

"Um..."

Oh you're fucking kidding me.

These hosts are the ones that are going to jail.

Riya didn't lay a finger on him and she's under contract! It doesn't count!

How was she supposed to know they didn't do their jobs?

THESE HOSTS HAD A RESPONSIBILITY.

OH AIDEN DIED. WELP...

WELL SHIT. THIS EPISODE ENDED IN A CLIFFHANGER.

LITERALLY.

THE FINALE IS JUST EVERYONE IN COURT GETTING SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR THIS CASUALTY.

*TO BE CONTINUED*

#disventure camp #total drama #reactions #reaction #disventure camp riya #disventure camp aiden #disventure camp james #disventure camp kristal #disventure camp nina #disventure camp marcus

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