#Pangaea (Character)

[beetlemug]

Hey crowd what y’all think of my OC Pangea? Cannot recall if I posted him here before and I’m too lazy to check

(Pangaea is an angel, it uses any pronouns!)

[lovdels-reblogs]

wouldnt it be so cool if adam literally just respawns as a sinner in hazbin hotel.

like pentious is in heaven bc he's genuinely a good guy. he literally laid out his life for his friends and whatnot. heroism of some kind. also kinda theorizing he revived as an angel bc he died from an angel's powers. like adam laser-beamed his ass and didnt use a weapon or anything, so maybe that has some influence..?

and adam is in hell (as a fallen angel or as a sinner idk) because he either died in hell, was killed by a soul belonging in hell, or his actions were bad enough that he gets to be reincarnated there. because, to be fair, (in hazbin hotel) heaven's judgement on souls is questionable. let alone the fact that nobody knows what specific thing gets someone into heaven in the first place

back to adam and pentious- like, heaven and hell had a little divine intervention from whoever the fuck, just to prove that souls CAN be corrupted (sent from heaven to hell) and redeemed (hell to heaven). said divine intervention can be from a higher rank within the story, or it's just the power of plot and storytelling.

[okdraws]

Meet Caline!

I was suggested to draw the guelder rose dryad. I didn't think it was such a beautiful and interesting tree, so I decided to add another dryad to the Anthousai Clan🌳

I don't deny that as I come up with some ideas, I'll suddenly add new characters. Still, I would like to show the diversity of the magical world of Pangaea (the name of the continent inhabited by humans, animals, and dryads).

[ogrepoppenangleaksofficial]

Do you guys like fan theory and speculation?

Because I'm wondering if you guys have been deliberately playing into the old connections between WoD and Exalted, and it keeps showing up. Big D specifically has a lot of Solar themes. A bit mad, and specifically mad in being passionate, bombastic, and larger than life. Grand in his ties. Ruled by the virtues of Compassion, Valor, and Conviction. Doesn't make him a Solar, even Big D is too low key for that, but notable given the ties between Solars and Hunters in the old lore. (Also a very, very fun crack theory to play with) All of the hunters, in fact, have a notable visual motif where — In their moment of need — things go their way and they just so happen to be framed by gold light like a very low key aura. Notable since a Solar's power is meant to come to them in their hour of greatest need and a blazing aura of sunlight. It's most frequent with Big D, but Kitten gets it upon finding the stilts, Remold when he takes his shot in Fatigue's name, and Marcus gets it when finding the eye, and Fatigue is outright haloed when coming to Spit's aid. Kitten's character sheet also pulls up a very Exalted sounding note with how "Will this [family bond] be our strength or our ultimate undoing?" pulls up one of Exalted's biggest themes. Boy's story... Do I even have to say anything? Probably, but I might run out of space if I went into detail. Picture Perfect Solar exaltation, on the nose Sidereal mentor, Not sure if Dragonblooded, 40k space marine reference, or both. Muddled maybe Infernal/ Maybe Abyssal exaltation. And I'll leave it at that. The mages of Norfolk Wizard Game are all dressed in thematically appropriate Sidereal colors. Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, and Purple. Too many to list, but the ones who get in fights wear red, (even just a red tie for a man in black) the ones who play into secrets wear green, the one who ushers in the ending via the transition to Awakening wears purple, blue serenity doesn't on the face of it match Samsons deal aside from dealing with Matter and what things are... (but does fit the Technocratic therapist) and the teleporting conspiracy theorist with the RV wears the yellow of Journeys. On which themes, Big D specifically invokes the morning star, Venus, to bring serenity to a vampire as she chooses to meet the sun's light. On the NWG clock I'm definitely off the deep end. Creation wasn't meant to be Pangaea... but if you flipped it upside down and Atlantised the Blessed Isle... I'm still probably reaching. (OTOH, deleting the heart of the Realm and the main empire of the Dragonblooded before whatever apocalypse came about would explain why the Kindred of the East aren't a thing in this take on WoD given the ties between the two splats) It feels like there's more I could dig for given how recently I came across the series, but that will do for now. So, yeah. It looks like there are a lot of Exalted nods and references in Hunter the Parenting, so to put this naked excuse for fan speculation in hopes of delighting the work's creators in the form of a question: What's up with that?

[please-be-nice-im-sensitive]

Bestie help why are my classmates so cought up in Continents Yaoi,,,

Africa (He/Him), Asia (She/her) and North America (She/Her) are all Europe's (He/Him) exes

South America (She/Her) is an absolute sweetheart. Also she's dating Oceania/Australia (He/Him)

Antarctica is albino, uses she/they and hates everyone.

India (He/Him) and the EU (She/Her) are minor characters. EU is Europe's right hand woman, sister and is absolutely done with his shit. India is Asia's right hand and bro HATES EUROPE. More than Africa, Asia and North America hate Europe. And that's saying something.

Also Pangaea is there. She kinda looks like Mel from Arcane. She's like super tall, and was everyone's babysitter when they were itty bitty baby continents

Aslo aslo the black (He/Him) and white death (She/Her) are villains. Who plague Europe. (They're literally just stalkers)

Do with this what you will. Either judge my dumbahh friends who made this up like I do, or help us brainstorm

North America x Asia. Do it for the gays

[pushovermediacritic]

The Land Before Time Liveblog 12

The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers

Last Time:

Littlefoot was small. Cera's dad met an old flame. Fraggle genocide.

This Time: Starting with this movie, I'm entering unexplored territory. If you don't count the TV show, which I might not cover, I haven't seen anything coming up, three whole movies I'm completely unfamiliar with.

I've heard dire portents of 13, but basically nothing about 12 and 14. Just based on the title of this one, I'm expecting Petrie focus.

The Universal logo is still not Pangaea.

Still pretty disappointing to me that they never play with the Universal logo, like it would be so cool if they-

Wait, what's happening?

YES!!! This running gag finally paid off! And they didn't just have the Universal logo be Pangaea from the start, they did a FAKE-OUT, having the Universal logo start normal and then reverse time INTO Pangaea!! That's SO GOOD!!!

I bet all of you who knew this was coming were just WAITING for this moment! Well, I can say this did not disappoint! I love when movies mess with the opening credits and logos, you're so used to just ignoring them that it's always jarring in a fun way.

I hope they re-use this opening for every future movie but I totally understand if they don't, because it would get repetitive and the fake-out wouldn't be surprising anymore.

Of course, this intro has to have the narrator talk. He talks about how the Earth has changed in dramatic ways, continents moving, becoming burning hot and freezing cold, species flourishing and dying.

Narrator: "Yes, the Earth is very different than it was in the days of the dinosaurs! But one thing that has remained the same since the time of the dinosaurs is the fact that everything is always changing."

From here, we transition to Littlefoot, Ducky, and Spike gazing up at the sky. They're searching for something in particular, but the movie isn't letting the audience in on what it is.

Ducky thinks she sees something, and Spike gets excited and bumps her off the ledge! Littlefoot stretches his neck down to catch her and when he pulls her up, she scolds Spike for scaring her and making her lose sight of what she was looking at. Littlefoot wonders where Cera is.

Littlefoot is voiced in this movie by Nick Price. I'm not familiar with any of the other things he's in. I haven't even seen that particular Peanuts cartoon where he played Schroeder. He hasn't gotten a lot of dialogue yet but so far, he seems to be doing a better job than Aaron Spann did last movie. Also, this is the first Land Before Time movie to be widescreen.

With Cera, she's glaring at an egg. Tria is also there and nuzzles it. Topsy (yup, I'm still using that name until "Topps" is actually mentioned by literally any character in-universe) walks in.

Tria wonders whether the baby will look more like her or him, and the two adults agree that they hope it looks more like Tria while giggling (odd that they'd agree on that, since Tria went on and on last movie about how handsome Topsy is).

Cera: *clears throat* "Is it okay if go meet Littlefoot and the others? We want to watch Petrie practice for the Day of the Flyers. ...I said 'I'm gonna go find my friends'!"

Tria: "Do you think it's cold? Do you think it needs more grass on top?"

Topsy: "No, it's fine!"

Tria: *sigh* "I think it's cold, c'mon!"

She leans over to rip up some grass and put it on top.

Topsy: "Tria, I don't-

Tria: "Topsy. Did you lay this egg?"

Topsy: "Um-mum-mum, nooo, but I was-"

Tria: "Than hush up and help me!" *Topsy grumbles but does it*

Cera: "So bye! I'm heading out to the Mysterious Beyond to see if I can get eaten by a Sharptooth!"

Topsy: "Okay, don't be late!"

Tria: "Have fun!"

Cera walks off, pouting, and now Tria thinks it's too warm.

Time-out! Topsy "married" Tria?! And got BIZAY! I was wondering if they were going to skirt around the implications, but no, they straight-up had Tria imply that she laid that egg. Props for going there. Hopefully whenever the egg hatches, the baby triceratops isn't as annoying as Dana and Dinah were.

Cera joins the others and she didn't miss anything. Right as she arrives, they see Petrie practicing. He's flying in a V-formation with 8 other young Pteranodons.

In case you can't recognize him, he's the one in the middle-right. They do some swoops and turns, Petrie following along perfectly, until he notices his friends watching and waves to them, which slows him down and makes him bump into the kid behind him! He flies forward and bumps into the Flyer in front of him, then falls onto the blue one, ultimately causing a huge pile-up and all 9 of them fall out of the sky!

They all crash to the ground, in various trees and bushes! One falls onto Ducky's mom's face. Petrie falls into a bush and has to yell to keep Mr. Clubtail from eating him with some leaves. Mr. Clubtail walks away grumbling, with another one landed on his tail. The Gang arrive as the group of Flyer kids gather, all glaring at Petrie. Petrie's mom flies in and the other Flyer kids are eager for the chewing out he's gonna get. But she's not mad, just disappointed. Which hurts even worse! Recognizing the situation has become awkward, The Gang leave.

That night, Littlefoot tells his Grandpa that Petrie was practicing with his brothers and sisters earlier, and Grandpa already heard about it from Mr. Clubtail. Wait, those ALL were Petrie's siblings? I assumed some of them were other Flyer's kids, Petrie usually has 4-5 siblings, not 8!

Littlefoot asks Grandpa why the Day of the Flyers is important. Grandpa explains that every herd has its own traditions, and the Day of the Flyers is a significant event because it marks a developmental milestone for young Flyers, showing they can fly with the herd. So it's a rite of passage, like a bar mitzvah. Littlefoot stomps his foot and says that it's not fair, Petrie can fly fine alone, his siblings just make him nervous. Grandpa reassures him that Petrie will do fine.

Over in Petrie's nest, his siblings are ganging up on him and shit-talking his flying abilities, saying that he does the opposite of what they do and he's hopeless. Seems inaccurate, he only messed up today because he got distracted waving to The Gang. Their mom comes over to break it up.

She makes them leave so she can talk to Petrie alone. She asks what the problem is, and Petrie doesn't know. She then asks Petrie if he'll be ready for the Day of the Flyers, and all he can promise is that he'll try his best. She reassures him that he always does, and bids him good-night. But after she leaves, Petrie's still in a sour mood.

Petrie: "They think me never do nothing right! Sometimes me wish me had a whole 'nother family..."

On that thought, Petrie goes to sleep while the camera ominously zooms out and music eerily reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings "Ring Theme" plays. Creepy.

Over with Cera, Topsy is kicking in his sleep, and Tria's too focused on the egg to sleep. Tria pokes Topsy to wake him up and demands that he move over so he doesn't roll over on the egg. Topsy protests, but does so, and Tria makes him scoot over further. Cera tells them good night, but they ignore her and Tria keeps telling him to move over even further and further. Topsy does and he falls off a ledge, to which Tria whispers "perfect".

Well. That's weird. Tria was a pretty thoughtful and kind character last movie, but with last scene and this one, her characterization has shifted dramatically. She's obviously being written as obsessed with making sure the egg is okay, but even with that excuse, she's just being written as straight-up mean. The last scene and this one feel like the writers watched some sitcoms and decided "nagging mean tiger mom with a put-upon emotionally detached husband" was a good dynamic to draw inspiration from.

Also, it's just inaccurate. We've literally found fossils of T-Rexs curled up around their eggs, we know that dinosaurs had the same instinct most other animals do to not roll over on their babies in their sleep. It's just a natural instinct. And the scene doesn't even make sense, Tria and Topsy were sleeping next to each other with the egg in front of them. It would be impossible for Topsy to roll over onto the egg.

The next day, Petrie is complaining to The Gang about what his siblings said to him last night. Ducky and Littlefoot assert that he IS a good Flyer, just by himself. Again, I don't know where they're getting this from, the problem earlier was him getting distracted, not flying in a group. They did a poor job establishing this.

Petrie: "That just it! Me good alone! N-Not so good with family..."

Cera: "Join the club... Huh?"

Okay, these faces are great, but I think they're a little bit of an overreaction. Like, what Cera said wasn't THAT dramatic. It reminds me of the group reaction shot in 2, but those faces were in response to Cera saying her dad told her not to play with other species. That's more of an appropriate reaction.

Littlefoot switches gears back to Petrie and tells him that the next time he's flying with them, he should remember how good at flying he is and that he can do anything! Petrie gets all hyped up on the idea that he can do anything, before deflating again with the admission that he hates flying through "sky puffies" (clouds), and isn't good at flying in the wind. Littlefoot points out that today is pretty windy, so Petrie should practice! Petrie takes off and makes some headway before being launched backward into some tall grass.

The others chase after him, but then hear a scream, which isn't Petrie! They poke their heads through some tall grass and Petrie runs out, petrified and pointing his finger forward, shivering uncontrollably! Ducky asks if it's a Sharptooth and Petrie shakes his head while still pointing. Grandpa and some other adults walk over, having heard the scream. The music builds to a dramatic crescendo as they all lean in to see whatever is hiding in the grass!

It's... it's... a weird little green bird-guy.

He's a Microraptor, which I actually mentioned last review as one of the smallest real dinosaurs, next to Aquilops. But unfortunately, he doesn't have one of the most iconic features of the Microraptor, that being their four wings.

Yup, Microraptors had wings on their back legs, too, and they were just as functional for flying.

The Microraptor walks out and timidly apologizes for scaring them. This only makes everyone more confused. He continues.

Microraptor: *clears throat* "Okay, I um, I guess you're all wondering why I asked you here, huh? Aheeee- hehe- well you're all wondering..." *he grins awkwardly*

Topsy: *walks in* "Alright, who's making all the racket? Huuuh?!"

Microraptor: "Ah, yeah that would be me, hi! I'm really sorry if you were disturbed. Eh, not that anyone's saying you're disturbed, least of all me! I mean, uh, you know, in the sense of being, uh, not all there you're- you're obviously all there, I mean just look at you, you're uh, hehehehe, ooo..." (he grins awkwardly)

Topsy: "I don't know who, or what, you are. But we don't like noise around here. Some of us are trying to hatch eggs!"

Microraptor: "OH!" *whispering* "I mean 'oh', I'm sorry lady, I didn't realize!"

Topsy: "Grrrrrr, not me!"

At that, Ducky cracks up laughing, but Cera glares at her and she shuts it. Topsy walks away, and the Microraptor warns him not to go that way. He ignores the warning and slides down a hill into a mud puddle. At this, EVERYONE starts laughing!

Ducky briefly stops out of fear, but resumes laughing when she sees Cera guffawing, too. Topsy gets up and glares at the Microraptor, growling. The Microraptor jumps into the mud on his own!

Topsy: "Just what we need: another weirdo!" *he leaves*

Grandpa: *walking away* "Ha ha ha ha! i just wish Grandma were here to see it!"

Damn, roasted his ass! That line of Grandpa's was clearly added late in development, too, since while he's saying that, his mouth isn't moving.

The Microraptor climbs out of the mud and Littlefoot asks why he did that.

Microraptor: "Saved him the trouble of pushing me in."

He shakes off the mud and asks where he is. Littlefoot answers the Great Valley and asks where he's from. He's not sure, he just kind of woke up here. And he's not sure how he got here, either. He says "they" call him Guido, but he's not sure who "they" are. And he doesn't have a herd, he's the only one like himself he's ever seen! Well, obviously because he has amnesia. Also, goodie, an amnesia plot...

The Gang are enamored with the concept of being the only one of your kind, especially Petrie. This leads into song 1 of the movie: One of a Kind.

But before I get into that, there's something I NEED to address about Guido. Just based on this one scene, I can tell that Guido's whole shtick is drawing from a VERY specific comedic stereotype. That being the "dweeby and nervous Jewish chatterbox". You know, like Mort in Family Guy or Kyle Schwartz from South Park. Guido doesn't have the accent, but the voice and mannerisms are an exact match. And if you know anything about those shows, you'd know that those characters aren't exactly a FAVORABLE comparison to make! As a Jew myself, I'm a little offended by Guido!!

Alright, that little rant out of the way, let's listen to One of a Kind.

It's kinda bad. I do like the structure of the song. It starts with Petrie and Cera complaining about their plots, then Littlefoot and Ducky reassure them, then Guido complains about being lonely, then The Gang accept Guido. However, it's poorly executed. The singing, lyrics, and musical flow are pretty annoying, actually.

And it has issues with canon. They're now fully and completely retconning Cera's siblings out of continuity. She had siblings in the first and second movies, but ever since movie 3, she suddenly became an only child. Except then 6 had an off-screen sibling who was old enough to have kids of their own and Cera had to babysit them, but that whole situation has never been referenced since.

And in this song, she complains about the new egg and wishes she could go back to being a single child, when it was literally a plot point in the first movie that Littlefoot was the only single child in the group. Even Spike got adopted into Ducky's family.

Also, the animation and choreography is really weird. Like, the faces are REALLY off-model in those shots where they're walking toward the camera, and the lip-synch varies from great to bad, sometimes even in the same verse! The song is lacking in creative or compelling visuals, Cera's verse is the only one that has anything interesting going on with the reflection and her on the rock. The last verse is just a copy of the "walking around the new kid" bit from You're One of Us Now.

Also, I'm not sure how old Guido is. He's got amnesia, so even he's probably not sure. And he's a Microraptor, he's supposed to be tiny. But it doesn't feel like he's written as a child, he feels like he's written as an adult. Specifically, as an adult stand-up comedian, and that makes his new friendship with The Gang feel weird. I wonder if they meant to get a famous guest voice actor for him, like Doc, Pterano, Thicknose, Bron, and Big Daddy had. But they couldn't get one, so they just said "fuck it, give him to Spike's VA" (yeah yeah, I know Rob Paulsen is a legend in his own right, but he's not a guest, he's voiced Spike in every movie but 1 and 6 and he also did Mo).

After One of a Kind, Littlefoot suggests that Guido might not be the only one. He's got kind of a long neck like Littlefoot and a sharp beak like Petrie, and maybe the weird stickly things on his head could fan out like Cera's frill. They take him to go see if anyone in the Great Valley is like him.

They talk in this scene like they've never seen anything like Guido and his feathers before, but they literally have. Remember Ichy from 4? Yeah, Guido is only a few steps removed from Ichy on the evolutionary tree. More bad continuity.

Later, Guido is on Grandpa's head and Grandpa explains they have long necks to eat the tenderest tree stars at the top of the trees (I thought it was to save the world during a solar eclipse?) Guido bites a leaf and tries to pull it off (I was doubting the "neurotic Jewish stereotype" read for a second, but he literally pulls while going "guuuuuu"). He pulls it off and flies backward down Grandpa's back and off his tail! Then he chokes on the leaf until Grandma whacks him on the back to make him cough it up! He is not a Longneck.

They try talking to Mr. Clubtail, who explains that he's got a bopper on his tail. When Guido asks what that is, he thwacks Guido with it!

They walk toward Topsy.

Topsy: "Don't even think about it."

They turn around and walk away from Topsy. Some good jokes here!

At the lake, Ducky shows him how to swim in the shallow end.

Guido: "Eh, oogh, I gotta tell ya, I got a real problem with swimming where I drink, yehh. Eh, I- it just doesn't seem right!"

Ducky: "Give it a try! You will be fine, yep yep yep!" *she leads him into the water*

Guido: "Ehhh, eh ehhh... Wait, wait! And you're sure there's nothing in there that bites?"

Ducky: "I am pretty sure."

Guido: *a shadow swims up next to Guido* "Bad answer! Nyehh-ehh-ehh-yee!"

He runs out of the water as the shadow surfaces, revealing a confused turtle. He runs into Spike and falls back, deciding that he's not a Swimmer.

I was finding it funny, but now I'm IMMEDIATELY getting sick of this bit. When Guido isn't talking or he's suffering slapstick, he's tolerable, but when he starts talking, it grates on my ears. This whole sequence is like a lamer version of the kids showing Chomper their specialties in You're One of Us Now, but where Chomper was cute and innocent, Guido is annoying and offensive!

From his position looking up, Guido sees Petrie practicing with his siblings in the V-formation. Petrie follows along fine, but then the leader decides to fly through a cloud and he panics, asking if they can just go around and then freaking out, yelling "roll" when they reach it! They collide with each other in the cloud, then all fall out!

Random Parasaurolophus: "Strange weather we're having today!"

This movie was written like a sitcom. Straight-up. It feels like it should have a laugh track.

Later, Petrie's sitting on a rock on a hill and Guido walks up to him, gasping and wheezing and panting the whole way. He's this close 🤏 to whining about needing his inhaler for his asthma (which shouldn't be something to laugh at, but it is a running gag with Kyle Schwartz in South Park). Guido says that everyone's looking for Petrie.

Petrie: "Me not know why. Me mess up everything! Me worst Flyer in Valley."

Guido: "Hey, come ooooon! Don't say things like that about yourself!"

Petrie: "Me not say it, brothers and sisters did!"

They're REALLY mad at him.

Guido: "Yeah. Eh, well, I thought that roll you did up there was really good! You know, I me- I mean, it was, it was excellent, beautiful, eve- spectacular!"

Petrie: "Good if me alone, maybe! But whole point of Day of Flyers is to fit in with others!"

WHAT ROLL?!?! Petrie yelled "roll" before he hit the cloud, but he didn't actually DO a roll, he just stalled in mid-air and the others crashed into him! Again, what they're saying happened and what ACTUALLY HAPPENED are completely different! Both times, Petrie has been told his issue is that he flies independently, but both times, the real issue was him getting distracted!

I swear, it's like the writers and animators are not on the same page here!

Petrie and Guido bond over not fitting in, and Petrie invites Guido to live with him. Not because he's a Flyer, no (it's not like the last feathered creature we met was a Flyer...), but just because they're both outsiders and could be friends over that. Then Littlefoot walks up and tells them that Tria's egg is about to hatch!

The entire Great Valley gathers for this special occasion! They didn't do that when a bunch of eggs hatched in 2, but every movie since then has ignored that happened. The egg hatches into a beautiful healthy (pink) baby Triceratops girl!

Tria and Topsy shed a few tears at how precious she is, and Tria introduces her to Cera, her sister. We see from the baby's POV as her eyes adjust for the first time and Cera smiling is the first face she sees clearly! Cera seems to like her, but then when the baby falls over, Tria and Topsy start cooing and fawning over her and Cera gets jealous again, walking away. Petrie calls the baby cute and Cera snaps at him!

Later, Petrie's mom is handing out berries to her kids for dinner. Petrie flies in.

Petrie's mom: "Well? Is it true? Does the Threehorn family have a new addition?"

Petrie: "Yeeeeaap! And uh, so do we!"

Petrie's mom (stunned): "Uh-huh. Petrie, I'm usually the one who makes that announcement."

Petrie: "Not this time! Everybody, meet Guidooooo!"

Lol at Petrie's mom's line.

Guido laboriously climbs up the wall into the nest, gasping and panting. Petrie's siblings are confused and surround him. They comment that he looks like a bunch of flowers, but doesn't smell like one. They painfully pluck a feather and ask what it is, and their mom tells them to quit crowding their guest. They walk over to Petrie.

Petrie's siblings (angry): "We've been wanting to talk to you, Petrie!" "Yeah, about what happened today!" "Yeah, you messed up again, Petrie!" "Yeah!" "Yeah, like you always do!" "Yeah, what's your problem, Petrie?!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!"

Guido: "Hey hey, fellas, c'mon, give him a break! I mean, uh, of course he gets confused when he flies with you! Your rear ends look just like your faces so, uh, h-how can he tell which way to go?"

After a second of stunned silence, they all burst out laughing. Even mom laughs a bit before telling them to go to bed. One says that Guido's alright and slaps him on the back! Mom tells them to go to sleep, and that they're glad Guido could come visit (notice this is the second time she's firmly asserted that Guido is NOT a permanent resident, just a very welcome guest). Petrie and Guido lie down, and Guido promises to help Petrie practice before they go to sleep.

They DEFINITELY wrote this movie under the impression that Guido would be played by a celebrity comedian, like Adam Sandler. He keeps getting these weird stand-up comedy bits, and this one resolving the conflict between Petrie and his siblings felt particularly pander-y. Except they couldn't get a comedian to voice him so it's not pandering, it's just weird.

The next day, Tria is cooing at the baby, named Tricia (pronounced "Trisha"). Tria asks Cera if she can watch the baby while she leaves for a bit. Cera claims the cute shtick won't work on her, but when Tricia manages to stand up and looks all proud of herself, she wins Cera over. Tricia runs off into the grass, but Cera catches up to her and picks her up by her horn to carry her back. Tricia accidentally pokes Cera in the eye with her own horn!

Tria returns and Cera explains the situation, but Tria completely ignores Cera and focuses on praising Tricia for being able to run. While Cera's rubbing her eye, Topsy returns and they both start cooing over Tricia for running. Cera stomps off, angry, and Tricia watches her leave with concern.

Littlefoot and Ducky are eating leaves off a bush and talking about Guido's decision to live with Petrie. Ducky doesn't get why you'd choose to be a Flyer over a Swimmer, and while she's distracted, Spike walks up and eats the cluster of leaves in front of her. She gets mad at him (add it to the list), but then the ground starts shaking! It's just Cera, who runs in like a bat out of hell, trampling the bush! She asks where Ducky is, but Ducky's pinned under the bush. Littlefoot asks what's wrong and Cera starts ranting and stomping about her parents ignoring her, then Ducky asks her to move. She does.

Littlefoot: "Hey, listen. At least your dad's with you! And Tria seems really nice."

Good reference to Bron (interesting that Littlefoot seems to have some resentment there). Cera admits that's true, and that transitions into song 2 of the movie: Things Change.

Sorry about the audio issue in the last third, that's not in the movie.

Aw man, I want to like this song. The singing is good, the lyrics are decent, and the message is great. Change is inevitable, it changes you without knowing it, and sometimes change is good. The visual metaphors are also good, with the dandelion, cloud shadow, reflection, frog family, and the butterflies emerging.

But oof, that animation. They STILL haven't gotten the hang of that walking-forward singing animation in a way that doesn't look fucked up. The dandelion blowing away looks terrible. Cera's eyes are BLUE for a section, and overall the art is weird and off. The animation issues are really distracting and actually hurt my overall score. Not too much, they drop the song from an 8/10 to a 7/10. But still.

At night, Guido is massaging Petrie's shoulders and hyping him up.

Guido: "Okay, now remember Petrie, you can do anything they can do, alright? I-its just a matter of doing it at the same time!"

Petrie: "Uh, yeah, same time."

Guido: "So, so just keep telling yourself, eh... ooh ooh: 'I fly along with all the rest, I'm going to pass my flying test!' Go- go ahead and say it!"

Petrie: "Me fly along with all the rest, me gonna pass the Flyer test! Like that?"

Guido: "Ehh, yeah, close enough."

Guido pats Petrie's head and his siblings set off. Petrie joins them in formation and Guido and Petrie's mom both let out one single tear of pride (okay, that's a good bit of visual comedy). They fly in formation without issue while triumphant "air force" music plays.

Then we get a montage of time passing. At night, Cera's family is sleeping, and she looks fondly at her baby sister. In daytime, Petrie's family are resting to eat in a tree, and Petrie throws a leaf down to Guido. He tries to bite the leaf, but then spits it out. Then he sees a worm on the leaf and eats that happily, grossing out some of Petrie's siblings. Cera plays with Tricia and bonds with her, then when Tria comes over, Cera hides behind a log. Everyone watches Petrie practicing and Guido runs over him before crashing into a log. Night, Tria wakes up and briefly panics when Tricia is gone, only to see her and Cera sleeping together.

I'm surprised the worm thing hadn't come up yet, Guido's a Microraptor, he's technically a Sharptooth.

The montage ends with Petrie and his siblings coming in for a landing, all in synch, one-by-one. They all celebrate what a good job they all did, including Petrie. The Day of the Flyers is tomorrow, so their mom tells them to get some sleep for the big day. Guido, feeling like he has nothing more to offer, stays behind, but some of the kids run back to pull him with them.

That night, everyone is sleeping in the nest, but Guido stands up and starts sleepwalking. He steps on Petrie, waking him up, and then sleepwalks out of the nest. Worried, Petrie runs to the edge but then is surprised to see Guido walking far away from the nest, not splatted on the ground at the base.

Petrie flies after Guido and starts following and calling for him. Littlefoot overhears Petrie's calls and wakes up to follow them. He asks Petrie what's happening and freaks Petrie out. They lose track of Guido briefly and then see him much further away, over a ledge.

Ducky wakes up from Spike's tossing, but then she gasps!

Good visual comedy, a dramatic shot of Guido walking forward menacingly over Spike's back, framed by the moon. I feel like this is a reference to some alien movie, but I can't quite remember which. Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind?

So, sleepwalking is definitely how Guido got to the Great Valley, though his amnesia is still in question.

Guido steps on Ducky's head to move on and then Petrie and Littlefoot walk up and tell her what's going on. Ducky is eager to go, and she wakes up Spike. Apparently Spike usually wakes up around this time of night anyway for a midnight snack (really? that hasn't been in any of the other movies). As they follow, Ducky explains her eagerness.

Ducky: "I know all about sleepwalking. My auntie sleepswims, and my momma says 'do not ever, never wake her up when she is doing it'."

Littlefoot: "Why not?"

Ducky: "That I do not know. But my momma is always right."

Littlefoot: "Then I guess we better not let him wake up."

Ducky: *gasp* "I will go get Cera! If we have an adventure and she is not here, she will be SO mad! And I do not like it when Cera gets mad, no no no!"

Ducky peels off from the group. A few things to note here, funny they're acknowledging Cera not liking when she's left out of an adventure, that was a big part of 10. We've never met Ducky's aunt, but I kinda want to. Also, there are a bunch of old folk tales about why you shouldn't wake sleepwalkers, that they could have a heart attack or suffer brain damage. That's all nonsense. You still shouldn't wake them, but it's just because they'll be very startled, maybe lashing out or tripping and faling over. Basically like waking up a person normally, but upright.

Later, Cera has joined them, and she's annoyed Ducky woke her up just to walk all over the Valley watching Guido walk all over the Valley. Guido sleepwalks toward a creek, and to prevent him from drowning, The Gang line up in the water for him to walk across them.

Guido walks toward a lava pit, but The Gang line up so that he walks up Littlefoot's tail, off Littlefoot's head to Cera's tail, then off Cera's head to Spike's tail, then off Spike's head, successfully... diverting him slightly to the right, around the lava pit. Seems like they could have just made him turn around. Guido keeps sleepwalking upward and Cera asks Ducky what will happen if they wake him up. Ducky's not sure, just something terrible.

Guido reaches the top of the mountain and there's a ravine on the other side. Littlefoot sees a huge fallen tree and directs The Gang to push it to make a bridge to cross, but it's covered in long branches, meaning they can only push it, not roll it. It starts rolling and scoops up all the kids in the branches before flying through the air off a ramp and landing conveniently in the exact right place of the ravine for Guido to walk across. After Guido passes, Petrie flies up to keep an eye on him while the rest try to climb up.

The Gang struggle to climb up, but their movement destabilizes the tree and it starts sinking! The kids scramble to cross before it falls and Littlefoot needs to do a big slow-motion leap to reach the edge as it falls out from under him! They pull him up and collapse in a heap, panting for air.

I wonder if this is the same ravine they easily jumped over at the start of 2.

Petrie: "Okay, you guys lie around enough already, Guido still walkin'!"

Cera: "One more word and you won't be walking! Not for a long time!

Petrie (nervous): "Hehehe, me only kidding! Take your time! 'Sides, me think he pretty safe now!"

Petrie looks over and screams, Guido has turned around and is sleepwalking back to the cliff! He clambers and flies forward, trying to catch him, but he's too late, Guido falls. And then something that should have been obvious but they seriously play as a huge twist happens. Guido spreads his wings and starts sleep-flying!

He flies up over them and they gaze upward, awestruck.

Cera: "Hey, you know what I just realized?"

Littlefoot: "What?"

Cera (angry): "We didn't have to do that whole tree thing after all!"

Littlefoot: "Hehe, sorry."

Petrie notices that Guido's flying over the Great Wall into the Mysterious Beyond. He wants to go after him, but Littlefoot reminds him that The Day of the Flyers is tomorrow, he might not make it in time. Petrie thinks it over, but decides saving a friend is most important.

Littlefoot: "We'll be right behind you!"

Cera: "We will?" *he glares at her* "Okay, okay, we will."

I feel like the series has been pretty inconsistent on Littlefoot and Cera's early characterization of "Littlefoot hesitates to start things and then has determination to finish them" and "Cera rushes into things but then hesitates when things get tough" recently, but this is a decent moment to show that. If we're counting this as "the point things get tough".

Guido glides into the Mysterious Beyond and crashes, then wakes up. He asks what's going on, and assumes this is a prank. Apparently there were no terrible consequences for Guido waking up while sleepwalking, so this whole thing was pointless. Then the "ground" starts shaking. Then it stands up.

Oh, cool, a Spinosaurus! Not anywhere near the water, so clearly this 2006 movie hadn't quite gotten the memo on them being semi-aquatic, like crocodiles. But still, one of my all-time favorite dinosaurs getting focus is nice!

Guido falls off and tries to run but then the Spinosaurus bites down! Okay, it ate him, adventure's over, Guido's dead, let's go back home! No, obviously he's not dead. He is inside the Spino's mouth, though, and he tickles its mouth from the inside with a feather, making the Spino laugh until he can jump out.

That was really fucking stupid.

Guido tries to shake off the saliva then runs for it, and the Spinosaurus gives chase! It's just about to catch him when Petrie swoops in to save him, grabbing Guido and flying up with him!

That's impressive, Petrie has consistently struggled to carry Ducky, and Guido's bigger than her. Then again, Petrie has also gotten a LOT of flying exercise recently, and Guido's probably built light, since he's a Flyer, too. Petrie mentions that he's surprisingly heavy, and Guido attributes it to being soaking wet with Sharptooth spit.

The Spino keeps chasing them, and Guido's too heavy for Petrie to get enough height to get out of reach! Petrie's getting tired bobbing and weaving! The rest of The Gang crest the mountain and hear a roar, then look down at the scene.

There's a front-on chasing shot (a lot of those recently), with really bad compositing, they mess up the Petrie and Guido layers, putting Guido's head behind Petrie's legs when Petrie's carrying him by his nape. Petrie asks Guido why he's not flying himself, and Guido retorts that he can't fly! Spike slips and collides with the other kids, knocking them down into the valley! The Spino shifts attention to chase the bigger kids! Petrie bonks the Sharptooth on its head with Guido to try and distract it, but that fails!

Littlefoot leads the gang through a pair of interlacing rocks. Petrie tells Guido to hold out his arms and leg! Wait, and legs? is Guido actually supposed to have the Microraptor's leg-wings, and they just forgot to include them in his design? The Spino roars at them before a bite, and its breath hits Guido's wings, pushing them forward through the rocks and getting the Spino stuck in them!

Petrie lands, exhausted. Littlefoot tells him those rocks won't last forever, and Petrie walks over to rest on his head. There's a weird comedy bit where Guido freaks out at a jaw of sharp teeth but it's actually a Sharptooth skeleton and he apologizes to it for getting mixed up. Cera picks him up, and the Gang run away while the Spino struggles with the rocks and roars in frustration.

Back at the nest, Petrie's mom wakes up and tells her kids to wake up for the big day. While stretching, they notice that Petrie is missing. The Gang have crossed over the Great Wall and are on their way back. Petrie's worried he'll be late, but Littlefoot reassures him that he's got time. Cera tells him to rest up.

Guido: "Oh, this is all my fault! Hey, if you hadn't come to rescue me you'd be home and rested and- and- and ready to go! And I STILL don't understand how I even got there!"

Littlefoot, Petrie, Cera, and Ducky: "YOU CAN FLY!"

Guido: "What? In my sleep?! Okay, how weird do you guys think I am?!"

Cera: "Don't get me started..."

Petrie's siblings are worried what they're going to do without Petrie, and their mom says they'll have to go without him. The Gang have reached the lava pool on the way back, and Petrie thinks it might be better this way if he misses it. Cera insists he's a great Flyer, and Ducky says he flies like nobody else. Petrie points out that's the problem, repeating that the whole point of the Day of Flyers is to be like everybody else. Guido chimes in.

Guido: "But but but-but maybe that's not the problem, m-maybe it's the solution! Eh look, if there's one thing I've had to learn it's that you can't worry about being like everybody else! You just have to be yourself. Just be Petrie, and you'll be fine!"

Where did this revelation come from? Guido was asleep most of the previous scenes, he hasn't even flown yet. The last time he was conscious, he was cheering and celebrating Petrie successfully flying in formation!

Petrie agrees, and they hear a screech. The three judges are flying in, meaning it's just about to start! Littlefoot tells Petrie to go now, they'll catch up in time to cheer for him.

Why are there judges? I thought this was like a bar mitzvah or quinceañera, not a competition.

Tricia also hears the judges screech and she follows them, while Tria and Topsy are still asleep. They take positions on a cliff and Petrie's mom talks to her kids about how they'll have to make due without Petrie. Petrie flies in, demanding to know who said he's not here! His siblings ask where he was and then impress the importance of flying like them. He says that he'll fly like him, and their mom seems intrigued before asserting he'll do fine. The sun rises, and with it, tons of young Flyers in the Valley take to the air.

I didn't know there were that many Flyers in the Great Valley. Usually, when we see crowd shots, it's just Petrie's family and one or two others.

Petrie's family takes off, too, and take formation. The Gang trudge back, very sleepy, but then they see all the Flyers in the sky and wonder which one's Petrie. The Gang cross the creek from before over some rocks, while Tricia plays nearby, staring upward. She trips on a root and almost starts crying, but then a dragonfly distracts her and she chases it.

Petrie's mom watches her children fly in formation with concern, as the judges look on.

I like their designs.

Petrie chants to himself.

Petrie (nervously): "Me fly along with all the rest, me gonna pass the flying test." *he gets more confident* "Me fly real good, me fly okay, me gonna do it Petrie's way!" *more confident* "Me fly real good, me fly okay, me gonna do it Petrie's way!!"

He flies out of formation high above the rest, doing a spin, then returns to the group without hitting them. They're still annoyed at him for messing around. Their mom wonders what he's up to. Littlefoot sees him and Ducky wonders what he's doing. He's doing figure-8 loops around the front of the V-formation, before returning to it seamlessly! Guido climbs up on a tree for a closer look.

When Petrie returns, his antics inspire one of his siblings to break from the group, too. They fly up and spin around like a top, and Petrie praises them when they return. Petrie does another loop, and one-by-one, each of Petrie's siblings break from formation to do one little trick, then return to their spot in formation, keeping the practiced synchronicity while adding spontaneity in controlled bursts! This leads into song 3 of the movie: Flip, Flap, and Fly.

...goddammit, I am not immune to big showstopper musical numbers. This song rules! The closest comparison point I can think of is You Can't Stop The Beat from Hairspray, and that's high praise. In contrast to Things Change, the animation here is absolutely ridiculously good, constantly moving and shifting and escalating to the big finale!

The lyrics are a little repetitive, but there are enough breaks and solos to keep it feeling fresh. Especially with the judges, I'm so glad the judges weren't sticks in the mud, they're actually fun and encouraging. Which makes sense, they "judge" a children's rite of passage ceremony. It's not a serious competition, and it makes sense they'd be friendly and good with kids.

And the singing is great. Especially with the judges adding low and high pitched elements, they really add depth to the song's soundscape. And the message is great, Guido and the judges especially do a good job with their verses.

I was a bit concerned for the egg, but the song kept coming back to it as a throughline and the resolution there was pretty great with it hatching mid-song.

I'm not really a fan of Mo and the Tinysauruses, and while their cameos are short and fun, they're also confusing. The path from the Great Valley to Big Water involved like two waterfalls and a huge rock, how is Mo here? Also, a huge plot point of the last movie was that the Tinysaurus cave system was destroyed, how were they able to fly through it?

Whatever, that's a nitpick, the song is still fantastic.

As you can see, the song ends on Tricia. She's entranced by all the pretty Flyers in the sky. So entranced, that she doesn't look where she's going and falls into the river! She cries and screams as the current takes her downhill! Her cries wake up Tria and Topsy, who are still asleep even though they were clearly awake and watching during the song (bad continuity). The Gang hear her crying too, and Cera recognizes her little sister's voice and run off.

From his perch in the tree, Guido can see Tricia in the river. He wishes there was something he could do! He flashes back to everyone yelling at him that he can fly, and decides there's only one way to find out, before jumping out of the tree! He flails wildly before the wind catches his wings and he starts gliding. Petrie also hears Tricia crying and splits off from the group to dive down, not caring about finishing the show!

Guido dives down and grabs Tricia out of the water!... using his arms. Which have his wings on them that he needs to fly (a shame he doesn't have wings on his legs like a Microraptor should). He and Tricia immediately fall back in the water! They're being pulled by the current toward a massive waterfall! Guido tries to paddle with one arm, but it's not enough!

Right as they go over the ledge, Petrie dives down and grabs Guido's arm! He's strong enough to fly with both of them! Just barely! And he's slowly descending! So not quite strong enough! He yells for help and his siblings fly down to help, grabbing onto his wings in a V-formation and pulling up together!

You know, I think it'd be more effective if they were just grabbing different parts of Guido and Tricia and lifting, instead of putting all that stress on Petrie's shoulders.

Littlefoot and Cera run up to the bank of the river, and Tricia is so excited to see Cera that she accidentally wriggles out of Guido's arm! She falls, screaming, as Tria and Topsy also run up and gasp in horror! Cera manages to catch her on her face!

Tria celebrates that Tricia is safe and Topsy celebrates that Cera is a hero. Guido, Petrie, and all of Petrie's siblings float down to a satisfied and tired heap on the ground. Topsy thanks Petrie and Guido for saving Tricia. Guido puts his foot in his mouth.

Guido: "Well and-and thank you very much eh-huh, big guy! Eh, I mean, eh, I don't mean that you're, you know, like fat big, I mean that you're big, you're tall, I mean, well of course anybody is taller than me, you in particular, I mean hey, hey you got a nosebleed 'cause look how big you are, I mean ah-heh-heh, I- I really think I'd better go away, buh-bye, big gu- sir, oh!"

Guido exits stage right. Littlefoot points out that Petrie and his family didn't finish the Day of the Flyers, meaning they'll have to do it again. They're okay with that, since it was fun. Petrie's mom comes down and Petrie apologizes, but she's proud of them for knowing what's really important. And then she says that the Day of the Flyers will never be the same again, as the camera pulls back on a huge cloud of Flyer kids playing and swooping around in the sky!

Tricia gets distracted by a butterfly and follows it for a little bit before walking straight up to Cera.

Tricia: "Cewa!"

Her big sister and parents gasps with joy, and Cera nuzzles her.

The camera pulls out as the narrator explains that many changes occurred today and many more would come. Change is a part of life.

The end credits song is just an instrumental version of Flip, Flap, and Fly, not particularly noteworthy.

This was a bad movie that could have been great if it had a few more writing passes.

Like, I can't believe the Spinosaurus didn't come back, especially after Littlefoot literally said it would get out. And then the climax is based around Tricia being washed down a river and Spinosaurus is semi-aquatic, that should literally write itself!

The Spinosaurus is the most nothing Sharptooth encounter in the whole franchise. More nothing than the Sharptooth in 8, at least that Sharptooth got multiple scenes. This just gets one. Absolute waste of a Spinosaurus!

Similar to 11 and 8, this is a film where a huge part of the premise just DOESN'T WORK. Specifically, here it's no-one realizing Guido is a Flyer even though they've met Ichy before.

The whole "Guido sleepwalking" thing, despite being foreshadowed with his first appearance, feels like a cheap plot device to pad for time. It takes up 20 whole minutes of the film and accomplishes very little aside from filling the "adventure, crossing a chasm, Mysterious Beyond, and Sharptooth" quota. And they never answer the question of Guido's amnesia, they never go into his backstory. He just sleepflew here one day and that's it.

Overall, Guido is annoying, shallow, and offensive in the Jewish stereotype he embodies. If he wasn't a stereotype, he'd still be really annoying with how they obviously meant to cast a famous stand-up comedian to play him but couldn't get anyone. But because he's a walking stereotype, that makes him so much worse. He has good moments but they're few and far between, outweighed heavily by his bad and cringey moments.

On the other hand, the other new character: Tricia, is great. She's not NEARLY as annoying as Dana and Dinah. She occasionally gets into trouble, but it's usually very mild trouble, she doesn't mean to, and she's sensitive to when others are angry. She's also genuinely adorable, Nika Futterman did a fantastic job with the baby noises, and that little "Cewa" warmed my heart. Cera barely tolerated Dana and Dinah, but you can feel how much she loves Tricia.

Something I was disappointed by: they didn't even MENTION Pterano! With how Petrie-focused this film is, they should have at least mentioned him, considering how close he and Petrie were. Like maybe have Petrie's mom make a comment that Petrie is very similar to Pterano, they're both individualists who stand out from the crowd, and Pterano had issues with his Day of the Flyers, too. Something like that.

Pros: The Universal logo fake-out. One song is good, another is fantastic. Tricia is great. Petrie and Cera were both great in their own plots.

Cons: Guido offends me. Guido is unfunny, despite constantly making jokes. Guido's sleepwalking wasted 20 minutes. What Petrie's issue is, exactly, is inconsistent. Very bad continuity. Terrible Sharptooth, waste of a Spinosaurus. One song is bad. The writing for the first half is hackneyed and sitcom-y. The climax is tacked-on.

Score: This is a movie with highs and lows. But, frankly, it's a lot more lows than highs. And while some highs are REALLY high, some lows are REALLY low. I'm giving this one a 3/10, with a huge asterisk that it has some genuine 8-9/10 high moments.

The Land Before Time: 8/10 (hypothetical uncut version: 9/10)

The Great Valley Adventure: 8/10

The Time of the Great Giving: 7/10

Journey Through The Mists: 7/10

The Mysterious Island: 9/10

The Secret of Saurus Rock: 2/10

The Stone of Cold Fire: 10/10

The Big Freeze: 6/10

Journey To Big Water: 4/10

The Great Longneck Migration: 9/10

Invasion of the Tinysauruses: 2/10

The Great Day of the Flyers: 3/10

[ducktoonsfanart]

Six, seven, and eight characters from the Duckverse/Mouseverse (classic Disney-Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck comics) - Made requests for my friends - My style

I haven't done this in a long time, and I'm indebted to you guys from last year when you asked me which characters I should draw in a random table from classic Disney, more specifically from the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck comics (Duckverse and Mouseverse). So I did my own table with the characters you asked for plus added my own characters from those franchises, and most people are not familiar with these characters except for a few. Yes, I did it in my own way, in my own style. I hope that won't be a problem and I hope you like this.

Source: https://x.com/mcapriglioneart/status/1240054958508179456

@3rdexistence asked for Phantom Blot from the comics, @ducksinspaceadventure asked for Eurasia Toft from the Mickey Mouse comics, and @boingodigitalart asked for Adelia De Spell from the Topolino comics. The rest I added, since there was no one to ask for character requests for it. So there you go and I hope you like it and sorry for the long wait.

Yes, I drew a table again with eight characters from the Duckverse and Mouseverse, with a combination of heroes and villains in their own way. The first is Eurasia Toft from Topolino comics, created by Italian artist Andrea Castellan Casty and she first appeared in the comic "The Lost Explorers' Trail" from 2004. She is an anthropomorphic mouse and the niece of Professor Pangaea Toft and is a great explorer and travels the world on various adventures and yes, she is in a way the Lara Croft of the Mouseverse version. Mickey Mouse and Goofy go with her a lot in search of unknown spaces and unknown treasures. The second is Phantom Blot with a mask and without a mask and he is very reminiscent of Walt Disney and he was invented by Floyd Gottfredson. His task is to steal valuable treasures or to rule the world and he is Mickey's biggest rival and enemy, along with Pete and Mortimer. He first appeared in Mickey Mouse Outwits the Phantom Blot from 1939. I drew what he really looks like with the mask and I generally like the comic book version the most and it's a shame that in the animation, except for maybe House of Mouse, they didn't get his essence and that he's Mickey's rival, not Scrooge's or Magica's.

The third is definitely the evil scientist Emil Eagle, the leader of the Evil 7 group from the Ultraheroes comics, but also mostly an evil scientist innovator and the main opponent against Gyro. He was invented by Jack Bradbury, Steve Steere and Vic Lockman and in addition to being against Gyro, he often works against Super Goof and Mickey Mouse. Yes, he is an anthropomorphic eagle. The fourth plus the fifth are Gyro Gearloose and his Little Helper or Lampy, from the Donald Duck comics, the best innovator in Duckburg who wants to help everyone, but sometimes his inventions don't go as planned. Yes, Carl Barks invented him, but he is certainly the most represented in the comics and was in both versions of Ducktales. I like him the most in the comics where he is a very pleasant rooster and drawn as he looks in Carl Barks comics and usually in Dutch and Scandinavian comics (Egmont comics). Little Helper is his assistant and a light bulb that often helps him and Gyro's best partner next to Donald. Surely everyone knows about him.

The sixth is Arizona Goof or Indiana Goof, Goofy's research cousin and archaeologist, who often travels the world and brings various exotics. He was invented by writer Bruno Sarda and artists Maria Luisa Uggetti and Massimo Vita and he first appeared in the comic "The Lost Temple" from 1988 and is mainly represented in Italian comics. Created on the model of Indiana Jones. The seventh is Adelia de Spell, the cheerful cousin of Magica de Spell and unlike Magica, she is more of a fairy godmother, not a witch. She appeared only once in the Topolino comic "Amelia e la cugina fata" from 2007 and she was created by writer Carlo Gentina and artist Daniela Vetro. In Italian, Magica is Amelia, and Adelia is like the total opposite of her cousin Magica. And the eighth one is Mad Ducktor. Created by writer Bruno Enna and Italian artist Corrado Mastantuono and mostly appearing a few times in Italian comics. First appearing in the 2011 comic "Paperinik and the Friendly Threat" ("Paperinik e l'amichevole minaccia") and he was Gyro's evil alter ego until he split from Gyro and became a separate personality. His intention is mainly to get revenge on Scrooge for the bad things he did against Gyro, and also to get revenge on the Duck Avenger (Paperinik). Certainly an evil scientific genius, maybe not on the level of Emil Eagle, but certainly a brilliant villain.

If you want to see previous drawings with these Ducktales/Duckverse tables, check out my drawings from last years:

I hope you like this. If you like this, just like and reblog this! And please don’t copy my ideas and my style of these characters without my permission. Thank you!

[mac-ann-cheese]

Again with fur coats

I'm sorry for irregular posting, I've been snowed under with my uni work lately ( Ó⁠╭⁠╮⁠Ò )

Nevertheless I'm always grateful for your support!!!!! ( ⁠＾⁠ω⁠＾)

Under the cut lots of thoughts on current manga arc (I've got no one to talk about it,...)

I like to imagine that in gangsta au they still use flip phones. But it got me thinking about how that universe works,... Are there any transnational corporations? Is history in general the same just with criminal elements?? Like there should be some sort of grand gang bang I and II if the United Districts organization exists (the analogy to the UN, of course). And the Big five is just the security council.

Moreover, in the same strip, the fall of the USSR is brought up as the permanent members of UD discuss whatever they should keep or kick out newly formed Russia (or district 7. It's cute that they call each other after the first number of the nation's phone code. One thing bothers me with this fact. What were the districts called before the invention of telephones? Countries received permanent telephone codes only in the mid-20th century. Or in terms of au the actual number of the district isn't connected with phones and just a number?? Another bit of useless info: Kazakhstan also uses +7; will they be [I doubt that they would make an appearance in au, but let me DREAM!!!] also a part of the whole district 7 like NA bros with district 1???). Buttttt I was talking from the perspective of our history being pulled over on the lore of gangstatalia, cause we don't have those events described in canon, which IS interesting!!!!!

Also, the sputnik was mentioned, which means the whole cold war (or at least the space race period) had happened... Um. Do districts own nuclear weapons? It's just a theory. a MANGA theory!

Considering in that the characters aren't probably immortal anymore (well, I can make that conclusion only from the panel with young Alfred literally saying, "oh so you're the representative of the 86th district? I'm the new representative of the 1!", it means... that there was someone before him ruling the district.............), the timeline of parallel events shortens.

Therefore, the events are closely packed together; there aren't gaps of decades between them, but more likely a couple of years.

How does this world work? Judging from the map, the districts are on a Pangaea-like continent. Or are they districts of some bigger country...?

Is there a ruler over all districts? Who is it then? Flying mint bunny? Tony? GRANPA RO-

Was there always the gangster's paradise in the regions, or was the government more authoritarian before??????? WHY IS CRIME THE NORM? Why did they decide to regulate everything with the help of playing cards?

And lastly. The electric collars. How? How did the idea even cross Alfred's mind? If I'm not mistaken he is, well, not the creater, but the person who suggested wearing them. "Let's fry our brains to crispy nuggets!!!" Haha. Fun.

And others in the big five agreed to it. Like that isn't totally bucknutty. Not at all. Electric chairs would be much better...

Oof my head hurts just thinking of it

Maybe I'm not the first one to ask these kinds of questions, but still. I need answers.

[heytherecentaurs]

Usha is the second D20 character to be born on Pangaea

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Personally I've been assuming that there used to be one big Dark World, but that when Darkners were sealed away, this Dark World was... both shattered and put into stasis, or that time flowed differently there somehow. So in the unified Dark World, Darkners from different Dark Worlds could have a history--like King and Queen, or Spamton, Jevil, Mike, and Tenna. Creating a Dark Fountain does not revive the whole Dark World, only a small part, but who knows what happens when you take all those shattered pieces and gather them together...

Hey, I wonder what other thematically-relevant persons or hidden items or concepts with darkness might be described as 'shattered' which get explored more thoroughly in Deltarune than in Undertale. I wonder if reuniting the pieces of one or more other shattered things for Purposes. Oh well, I'm sure it's totally irrelevant.

Oooh, that's an interesting take, particularly with the notion of something being "shattered"... or someONE, I suppose, in the case of Gaster! It makes you wonder what would happen in the instance that all the parts are brought back together... hopefully nothing that might portend the end of the world or anything like that. Surely not :P

The idea of a big dark world that used to exist before is also really interesting to me - kind of like an alternate-dimension version of Pangaea. I would presume such a space would be entirely separate from the light world - i.e. not dependent upon overriding a location in the light world to exist - which would actually allow the various disparate characters from different worlds to have shared history. The way I'd see it working in this scenario is that each character - King, Queen, Mike, etc - would exist more as an idea or concept, that interrelates differently with other such concepts - so King and Queen would of course correlate in this way. Then when the classroom and librarby dark worlds were created, those concept-characters inhabited the objects that most closely correlated to the ideas they represented. In essence that would divorce (haha!) the darkner from its light-world object and allow that shared history to genuinely exist, which is kinda cool!

Always enjoy thinking and talking about this stuff, so thanks for sharing your perspective! Really interesting to see all the different theories swirling around right now :)

[sweet-caress-of-twilight]

Going off of one of my previous reblogs, i attempted to make a list of where in the world every Disney Animated Canon movie takes place

Antarctica:

Pablo the Cold-Blooded Penguin (The Three Caballeros) (Pablo starts out living in the South Pole and then he goes to Chile, Peru, and Ecuador)

Africa

The Lion King

Tarzan

Asia

Aladdin is set in a mishmash of Middle Eastern countries. It was supposed to be in Iraq, but because of the Persian Gulf War, Disney said no, so it takes place in the fictional country of Agrabah, which is inspired by Baghdad in Iraq.

Raya and the Last Dragon is set in a mishmash of Southeast Asian countries, but takes the most inspiration from Vietnam

China: Mulan

India: The Jungle Book

Europe

England: The Wind in the Willows (The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad), Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh, The Great Mouse Detective

France: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Aristocats, Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Germany: Snow White, Tangled

Greece: The Pastoral Symphony (Fantasia), Hercules

Italy: Pinocchio

Norway: Frozen (Arendelle is heavily inspired by Norway)

Russia: Peter and the Wolf (Make Mine Music)

Spain: Wish (Rosas is inspired by Spain and located off the Iberian Peninsula)

Turkey: Pomp and Circumstance (Fantasia 2000) is about Noah's Ark, and many people believe that the ark landed at Mount Ararat in present-day Turkey

Ukraine: Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria (Fantasia) (the real Bald Mountain is Mount Triglaf, near Kyiv in Ukraine)

Wales: The Black Cauldron

North America

Mexico:

Las Posadas

Mexico: Pátzcuaro, Veracruz and Acapulco

You Belong to My Heart/Donald's Surreal Reverie (all from The Three Caballeros)

United States:

Different towns in Massachusetts and California have claimed to be the Mudville that Casey at the Bat (Make Mine Music) takes place in, but the author of the original poem said it has no basis in fact.

The Legend of Johnny Appleseed (Melody Time) - the real Johnny Appleseed (real name John Chapman) planted apple trees in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Ontario, and West Virginia

Lady and the Tramp could take place somewhere in New England

The Fox and the Hound looks like it takes place in Appalachia, so maybe Pennsylvania or Virginia

Home on the Range is somewhere in the Old West

Bolt takes place across America: starts out in California, the title character ends up in New York, visits Ohio, and is back to California by the end

Alaska: Brother Bear

California: Wreck it Ralph (Ralph Breaks the Internet reveals that Litwak's Arcade is in California), Big Hero 6

Florida: Dumbo

Hawaii: Lilo and Stitch

Louisiana: Blue Bayou (Make Mine Music), most of The Rescuers, The Princess and the Frog

Maine: Bambi (the forest was based on Maine and the animators traveled to Maine for reference)

New York: Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet, The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met (Make Mine Music) (the Metropolitan Opera is in NYC), Little Toot (Melody Time), The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad) (the real Sleepy Hollow is in New York), The Rescuers (the Rescue Aid Society headquarters is in NYC), Oliver and Company, Rhapsody in Blue (Fantasia 2000)

Texas: Pecos Bill (Melody Time)

Virginia: Pocahontas

Washington, DC: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Milo works at the Smithsonian

Oceania

The Rescuers Down Under: Australia

Moana: Polynesia

Pangaea

The Rite of Spring (Fantasia)

Dinosaur

South America

Argentina: Pedro, El Gaucho Goofy (Saludos Amigos)

Bolivia: Lake Titicaca (Saludos Amigos)

Brazil: Aquarela do Brasil (Saludos Amigos), Baia (The Three Caballeros), Blame It on the Samba (Melody Time),

Chile: Pedro (Saludos Amigos) (The title character delivers the mail in the Andes, between Santiago, Chile, and Mendoza, Argentina), Pablo the Cold-Blooded Penguin (The Three Caballeros)

Colombia: Encanto

Ecuador: Pablo the Cold-Blooded Penguin (The Three Caballeros) (Pablo goes to the Galapagos Islands, which is an archipelago in Ecuador)

Peru: Lake Titicaca (Saludos Amigos) (the lake is at the border between Peru and Bolivia), Pablo the Cold-Blooded Penguin (The Three Caballeros), The Emperor's New Groove

Uruguay: The Flying Gauchito (The Three Caballeros)

Unknown/does not take place in our world

Any of the package film segments not mentioned here

The Little Mermaid seems like it takes place in the Mediterranean Sea, but it could also take place in the Caribbean, which would explain Sebastian's accent

Fantasia 2000: "Pines of Rome" is set in the Arctic, so it could be anywhere from Canada to Alaska to Finland to Russia

Most of Atlantis: the Lost Empire, since the city of Atlantis is completely made up

Treasure Planet

Chicken Little

Meet the Robinsons

Zootopia

Strange World

[chaosmagetwin]

Stories from The Waiting Dreams

Not real dreams, just from when I wait to fall asleep, letting my brain ramble to itself, wear itself out.

This was created over the course of months, letting my brain wander, and each night going "where was I last?", often with repeats, or re-examinations of a concept, but otherwise little lingering, revisited only to clarify a point, or add a mechanic.

This one is Never War to Come, which is a fake VRMMO set on a Pangaea continent in a WW1 time period. Trench warfare is the norm for most of the combat, but resurrection magics and healers turn the meat grinder into something even worse. War is fought over territory; edges of a domain protect the core of a nation, where PVE can be waged in ever evolving towns and quests, with outcomes dependent on what choices a player makes, and recurring NPC's that players can build relationships with. Players make up most of the military, with NPC's only stepping in if a player can't, up to and including generals. Player's do not log out - their persona remains, continuing their new lives within the game, and every so often the player simply downloads what has occurred from the outside. It is common for players to look at guides online for builds, and there is a meta that can be observed from within the game by avatars, but is not known directly unless new players directly state it. Most nations have a bot that creates a new character every week explicitly for bringing knowledge of the evolving meta to avatars.

Opening Cinematic

Long ago, people were close to magic - they communed with spirits, used magic like a limb, dreamed themselves new friends. Humanity stood with elves and dwarves and angels and demons and orcs and gnomes and a dozen more, hand in hand. But, one by one, all but the elves lost their connection to magic, for reasons no one knows. Technology rose to fill the gap, and as elves sequestered themselves, dwarves and humans took supreme control of the land. They no longer needed their friends. They no longer needed the gods.

Angels lost their connection to the heavens, and became the Vestigials. Demons mutated, perhaps under their own will, perhaps randomly, perhaps due to some plot, and became the Starved.

Arms and armor evolved alongside their compatriots. Nations rose in the place of kingdoms. The gods voices fell silent, or were ignored. The people ignored their hateful gods, and worked with ancient enemies and found themselves not so different. Enlightenment seemed so close.

And then guns were invented, forever changing the face of the world. Musket lines became trained riflemen. For the first time since the age of magic, flight was achieved. And the world, stratified in nations in carefully maintained alliances, hoping these new weapons would never be used, saw theirs and the gods nightmares come true.

Their intervention came too late; the magic they had hidden from the mortals, trying to prevent this, came spilling back out. Only dwarves remained deaf to the song, although humans struggled to hear it. And elves, at long last, realizing their gambit had failed, returned, thinking these new nations would need them. They didn't know that their magic would be silenced so easily by technology.

For in the Never War To Come, the only thing left to live for was what you had to die for.

Character Creation - Please keep in mind certain classes require tiers of magic or tech. Higher tech tiers mean greater amounts of technology are available, but the higher technology you use, the more your magical allies around you will suffer! Higher magic tiers means more spells, spell types, and spell shapes, but be aware, the higher your tier, the more likely you cannot be around certain technology without making it fail.

Example: A magican elf with tier 4 magic cannot use a radio or semi-automatic weaponry! A wizard elf with tier 5 magic cannot ride in trains for quick redployment, radios within 50 feet of them fail, and bolt action rifles have a higher chance of jamming or having other mishaps.

You have 4 points you may allocate.

Each species has their own stats - keep in mind that these statistics are intended only to help players understand what may be usable. Although gnomes are small, and their starting stats may suggest they'd never be able to pick up a heavy weapon, players may train themselves to be able to handle anything, even some of the heaviest gear, and there are always options to increase ones stats.

Strength is an estimation of how much one can carry. Flexibility is an estimation of ones ability to move and contort, which is best conceptualized as agility or speed. Grit is an estimation of ones ability to ignore pain, which is best conceptualized as health. Stats are ranked between 1 and 10, and are standardized around 15 points total.

>Choose your starting species -

Human (Starting Magic: 0-4, Starting Tech: 0-4)

Strength - 5, Flexibility - 5, Grit - 5

-Special: Versatile - Humans may choose an additional starting class at 30, which will upgrade only once at 60.

Dwarf (Starting Magic: 0-1, Starting Tech 3-4)

Strength - 7, Flexibility - 3, Grit - 5

-Special: Technologist Master - Dwarves may choose a single piece of technology one tier above their technological tier that they can use at levels 20, 40, and 60. If their tier increases, they may make new choices.

Elf (Staring Magic 3-4, Starting Tech 0-1)

Strength - 4, Flexibility - 7, Grit - 4

-Special: Magical Might - Elves may choose a single spell word one tier above their magical tier that they can use at levels 20, 40, and 60. If they learn these spell words through other means, they may choose a new one.

Orc (Starting Magic 1-2, Starting Tech 2-3)

Strength - 7, Flexibility - 2, Grit - 6

-Special: Equip Might - Orcs may use heavier equipment than typical at all levels, including specialized gear. This includes certain vehicle exclusive weapons.

Gnome (Starting Magic 0-5, Staring Tech 0-5

Strength - 2, Flexibility - 8, Grit - 5

-Special: Specialist - Gnomes may allocate one extra point in their understanding of magic or tech at level 1 and 60. They may reallocate this again at levels 20, 40, and 60.

Vestigial (Starting Magic 1-4, Starting Tech 0-3)

Strength - 6, Flexibility - 7, Grit - 2

-Special: Regain Connection - Vestigials may reconnect to the returning gods at level 20, 40, and 60. Warning: this can have physical changes outside player experience, and may cause irreconcilable species dysphoria.

Starved (Starting Magic 2-4, Starting Tech 0-2)

Strength - 5, Flexibility - 6, Grit - 4

-Special: Mutate - Starved must choose a mutation at levels 15, 30, 45, and 60. All mutations have their pros and cons. Warning: This will have physical changes outside player experience, and may cause irreconcilable species dysphoria. Recommended only for returning players.

Show more species? Warning: All further species are outside player experience and is recommended only for returning players, as they are more likely to cause species dysphoria. Consult your physician before choosing. Starting statistics and limits may be outside standard.

Starting Classes - Classes upgrade at level 30 and 60, with 3 choices at both. These upgrades may have requirements, and might lower or raise your tier.

Soldier - Requirements: Technology 1 OR Magic 1

Role - Standardized role, versatile. Increases both magic and technology by 1. Limits do not interfere with one another an additional tier higher.

Gunner - Requirements: Technology 2

Role - DPS focus. Increases both magic and technology by 1.

Medic - Requirements: Technology 3

Role - Support and healing focus. Increases magic and technology by 1.

Engineer - Requirements: Technology 4

Role - Utility and support focus. Increases magic and technology by 1.

Driver - Requirements: Technology 5

Role - Utility and support focus. Increases technology by 2.

Magician - Requirements: Magic 2

Role - DPS Focus. Increases magic and technology by 1.

Druid - Requirements: Magic 3

Role - DPS, healing, and support focus. Increases magic and technology by 1.

Artificer - Requirements: Magic 4

Role - Support and utility focus. Increases magic and technology by 1.

Wizard - Requirements: Magic 5

Role - DPS and Utility focus. Increase magic by 2.

Thief - Requirements: Magic 1, Technology 1

Role - DPS and utility focus. Versatile. Increase technology and magic by 1. Limits do not interfere with one another an additional tier higher.

Hunter - Requirements: Magic 1, Technology 2

Role - DPS and support focus. Increases Technology by 2.

Apothecary - Requirements: Magic 2, Technology 1

Role - DPS and Healing focus. Increases magic by 2.

Technomancer - Requirements: Magic 2, Technology 2

Role - Support and Utility focus. Versatile. Increase technology and magic by 1. Limits do not interfere with one another an additional tier higher.

Witch - Requirements: Magic 3, Technology 1

Role - DPS, Healing, and Support focus. Increase magic by 2.

Theorist - Requirements: Magic 1, Technology 3

Role - Support Focus. Increase technology by 2.

Arcanist - Requirements: Magic 3, Technology 2

Role - DPS and Utility Focus. Increase magic by 2.

Awakened - Requirements: Magic 2, Technology 3

Role - Utility Focus. Increase Technology by 2.

Ancient's Apprentice - Requirements: Magic 3, Technology 3

Role - All roles. Extremely Versatile. Increase technology and magic by 1. Limits do not interfere with one another a two additional tiers higher.

What is your nation of birth?

The following nations have implemented a draft (Recommended for new or returning players to even the playing field.)

Percival's Rest - Nearly Lost City Nation, Seaside Port Town. (Population: Extremely low; Friends 2 (PoshPoshPosh2, ProblemChildxxDxD). Allies: None. Status: PVP Only. Warning: It is expected this nation will soon be removed, due to being conquered. The playing field is extremely unfair. If the nation is conquered, your avatar will be moved to Central as a mercenary)

Mountainhold - City Nation, Mountain Mining Town. (Population: Low; Friends 0. Allies: Ringfort (bordering), Schoshire (Metabordering, Distant). Status: PVE low, PVP High)

Yrirrickston - Declining seaside nation. (Population: Low; Friends 0. Allies: Thapo (Close.) Status: PVE Extremely Low, PVP Extremely High)

Thapo - Declining Portside Nation. (Population: Low; Friends 1 (NameNameHardIsIsHardOMG). Allies: Yrirrickston (Close). Status: PVP Only. Warning: It is expected this nation will soon be removed, due to being conquered. The playing field is unfair. If the nation is conquered, your avatar will be moved to Central as a mercenary.)

The following nations are recruiting

Ringfort: Declining Empire (Population: High; Friends 0. Allies: Mountainhold (bordering), Schoshire (Bordering). Status: PVE High, PVP High)

Schoshire: Burgeoning Seaside Nation (Population: Medium; Friends 0. Allies: Mountainhold (Metabordering), Ringfort (bordering). Status: PVE Medium, PVP Medium)

Decidua: Stagnant Forest and Field Nation (Population: Medium; Friends 3 (ILYHunnyBunny33, JeanEpic709, KataliaOfFerriston). Allies: Aifyo (Close), Letiy'l (Bordering), Skyrl (Metabordering). Status: PVE High, PVP Moderate

Aifyo: Declining Mountain Nation. (Population: Medium; Friends 0. Allies: Decidua (Close), Letiy'l (Moderate), Skyrl (Far). Status: PVE Moderate, PVP High.

Letiy'l: Stagnant River and Marsh Nation. (Population: Medium; Friends 0. Allies: Decidua (Bordering), Aifyo (Moderate), Skyrl (Bordering). Status: PVE High, PVP Low)

Skyrl: Declining Lakeland Nation. (Population: Medium; Friends 1 (TheRiversRiver). Allies: Decidua (Metabordering), Aifyo (Far), Letiy'l (Bordering). Status: PVE High, PVP High)

The following nations are not recruiting (Population full)

Central - The Nation of Neutrality and Mercenaries (Population: Overfull; Friends 305 (HunnyBunny33, AlyssTheVampireSeer123, KidneyTheIf, ... ). Allies: None. Status: PVP Only - borders are set. Warning: Where all conquered nation soldiers go. Holds the only known Ancient Archive.)

Expand this list?

Species: Starved - Magic 2(3), Technology 2(3)

Class: Thief (+1/+1)

Starting Spell Words: Light, Enhance Bullet, Freeze

Starting Spell Shapes: Pierce, Small Projection, Line

Starting Spell Types: Enchantment, Throw, Trap

Starting Gear: Combat Dagger, Gunnhildr Type 202 Bolt Action Rifle, Basic Recruit Uniform, Reclaimed Leather Shoes

Character Name: Illeri Shadesmith

Nationality: Yrrikstoner

Place of birth: Northern Homestead (territory lost)

Recruitment type: Expanded Draft

History: Refugee Homesteader Orphan - Quest: Lost Sibling (A.I. type: Perpetually optimistic downtrodden outcast; relationship type: Affectionate and Reliant; age: 12; )

Age: 18

Pronouns: She / It

Design your character?

[cdyssey]

Elsbeth (1.10) Reactions:

as always, spoilers under the cut ☺️

ANDRÉ DE SHIELDS!!! LAURA BENANTI!!

THIS EPISODE OF TV IS FOR MEEEE! <33

OH, YES. I absolutely adore that we’re not going to get the culprit straight off the bat. It’s a good and a welcome subversion

SKFJSJSKSJ, Elsbeth blaming her fashion sense on her knees. But also, that red ensemble is stunning.

Yay, Donnelly!!

Kaya calling Elsbeth because she knows she would want to see the festival up close. 😭

“Huh, have a hunch?” / “Ha, I usually do by now, don’t I? But I don’t.” And that thoroughly shocks Elsbeth herself. I really love that we’re getting to see her off-kilter and how it messes with her sense of self. Elsbeth KNOWS she’s damn good at what she does, and so when she’s off, she’s off.

wow, that pantsuit on Donnelly. 😍

“And because she’s good at it.” Kaya defending her gf. <33

NOT ELSBETH CRYING NO. I CAN’T TAKE IT!

NO!!!!

“Dont leave without saying goodbye.” You just kicked her off of the job she loves, man. You can’t say THAT to her too. 😭

“Can we still talk about the case?” / “um, I can’t really think about that right now.” Baby is too distraught to even think about solving high-profile homicides. :((

“Like combination nail polish and staple remover.” / “Sounds like a winner.” lmao

“And also in the healing power of the sun and certain textiles.” ALAKDJJAS, ELSBETH’S FACE

I love that Nadine is a dumbass.

Laura Benanti kissing Elsbeth’s cheek is the stuff of dreams!

The pawn owner giving a hyper specific definition of Pangaea lmfao. This show does throwaway jokes so well.

I could watch Donnelly, Kaya, and elsbeth forever. Best trio. Kaya and Donnelly’s deadpan humor just works so well as a foil to Elsbeth’s general cheeriness.

“I don’t respect it, but it works.” 🥺

Laura benanti is so hot

Aww, Nadine sharing cookies with Elsbeth!! Love that she unironically likes Elsbeth.

“I get hodgepodge and hot mess.” Don’t listen to them, sweetie. Ur a fashion icon.

Matteo making an Elsbeth inspired show!!!!! He gets it!!!!!!!!! I don’t even care if he’s the murderer!!!!!!! (He so totally is.) He gets it!!!!!!!!

Elsbeth’s reluctance immediately turning into eagerness when Matteo offers up Nadine as her fashion coach. I know what you are!

“And I saw your sports illustrated spread. That bathing suit totally showed your—“ ELSBETH GESTURING TO HER WHOLE MIDSECTION. HELP ME THAT IS SO FUNNY. I NEED A GIF OF THAT NOW

“Well, I can’t figure out everything for you, can I?” Gkdkskskwkwosk

“Now, remember, chin up.” [Nadine gently tilts Elsbeth’s chin.] god bless this show for its commitment to constructing such intimate moments of connection between Elsbeth and other women every single episode

Gonzo! Glad they brought her back.

Matteo: “That was twenty years ago… before Nadine had an accent.”

Dear god, the pangaea project ☠️

Elsbeth’s instincts being off because she’s upset about having to leave the precinct is such a nice touch. Oh, god, the way her voice goes all wobbly.

“I came here with an assignment from the Department of Justice and maybe you think I was wrong to accept that because you think you’re above blame, but I did my best to be fair, and you know, there was plenty of evidence that made you look bad.”

OH, perfect moment, writer’s room. It would have been so easy to let Elsbeth sit there and take the unfairness, but the fact that she stands up for herself is a fundamental truth of her character that we’ve seen time and time again throughout the season. She’s not a pushover. She’s not dumb. And she’s the furthest thing from weak.

And she will damn sure let you know it.

“Okay then. I guess you’re right, as you always are. My work here is done.” GET HIS ASS!!!

Kaya: “I’ll be there.” 😭

Kaya immediately turning back to Wagner. “What was she supposed to do?”

YES, I NEED THIS PERSONAL DRAMA! Up the stakes between the main characters! Give them deeply intimate things to fight for or to fight about!!

That Kaya/Elsbeth hug. 😭😭

Donnelly: “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m gonna miss you.” GKSKSKSK, Donnelly running away from her hug.

Matteo exuberantly pointing at Elsbeth and it immediately cutting to her looking like the saddest little kitten. 😭

Elsbeth, violently sobbing: “I don’t know. I think… I think I’ve lost my mojo.” OKAY, I HATE TO SEE HER CRY, but the angst lover in me is also enjoying this deeply.

Nadine trying to comfort her, stroking her arm. 🌈

MY FUCKING GOD LOOK AT KAYA. LOOK AT HOW HOT SHE IS. WHAT THE FUKC

THAT DRESSSSS AUWHGJA!

Wagner showing up to the fashion show, lmao. They filmed that like the end of The Parent Trap when the dad shows up at the end again.

“Oh, I wish I didn’t have to do this.”Elsbeth’s tenderness and compassion towards Matteo—(towards so many of the culprits)—is just stunning. Absolutely character defining.

“I’m old, darling. Time collapses.” Gorgeous way to put it.

Love the high drama of the whole Nick/Nadine/Ezra/Matteo story.

For Good Wife/Fight fans, was Celetano a character over there, or is he a new invention?

Elsbeth and Laura Benanti still hanging out!!!

“… but actually, they’re far worse than what I imagined.” QLLQOQKWOEKDMSKW

“Thank you for teaching me how to notice things… and for being my friend.” 😭 Oh, that little break in Kaya’s voice.

Elsbeth grabbing her hands. 😭😭

“I know a bunch of people died, but we did have a lot of fun.” / “Yeah.” this is the fun of Kaya and Elsbeth, too, that they have an ungodly amount of fun solving gruesomecrimes.

ELSBETH GETTING AN OFFICE! YAYAYAYAY! KAYA EXCITED ABOUT BEING OUTSIDE OF ELSBETH’S OFFICE! KAYA GOING TO BE A DETECTIVE!! ELSBETH AND KAYA SO EXCITED TOGETHER! WAH!!

final thoughts on the finale: oh, this was such a wonderful episode—I had a goddamn blast.

I really hate to say it because I think the howcatchem gimmick is what makes Elsbeth structurally unique as a procedural, but not knowing the culprit worked for me so well for me in this episode. It was fun to piece it together with her, and even to watch her struggle a bit as she dealt with other stressors. That was all great—I felt both grounded in Elsbeth’s emotional state and invested in the case as it gradually unfolded. André and Laura were excellent guest stars! They understood the Elsbeth assignment of high camp fnekdnsns. Carra Patterson and Wendell Pierce were fantastic as always, too, but I have to admit, I wish the Wagner corruption plot had been more interesting in general.

(He was never ever going to be the antagonist, but having it be Noonan felt a little anticlimactic after all the cool set up. 😭 I sort of wish we’d gotten one last quiet moment between Elsbeth and Wagner to talk about it, too.)

looking ahead, I’m so, so excited for what Elsbeth has in store. Carrie Preston is just a delight, from start to finish. There is a high chance I’m going to start binging TGW/F soon just to get a chance to see her at the start. :’)

I really hope that S2 leans into more of the elements that made the finale such a treat—like not being afraid to shake up the formula and playing to personal drama/stakes/moments between the central cast. They’re all gorgeous characters, and I desperately want to know more about their internal lives, and share some of those tiny, unseen moments with them. and if that means sacrificing some of the screen space that would have originally been used to get to know a culprit better, I think that’s absolutely okay from time-to-time. <3

But overall, Elsbeth has genuinely and quickly become one of my favorite new finds of 2024. It’s fun and clever. It doesn’t take itself seriously, which I think is crucial to the DNA of the show. And yet, it has such a big heart at its core, which is what gives it life.

I’m going to miss it sm while it’s on hiatus!! Thursdays just got a whole lot duller.

[fifty-ten]

anyways I was thinking about my OCs so I'm "doing it scared" (scared isn't quite accurate, but whatever) and posting about them real quick. specifically i want to talk about land-sea-sky mailcarriers today

landseasky is about a year old now (a little over I think) but it's solidified into something that feels really fun so that makes me happy. it's kind of difficult to know what to say about it though in a way that includes enough context to make it understandable? the basic concept is that it's something similar to PMD (specifically it's made to be the "opposite" to my personal PMD canon - gti was my first game so my canon is based around the concept of the pmd pokémon world being an alternate universe to the human world (that also has pokémon in it) but i also really really like how some of rescue team's locations imply pmd's world might be some kind of post human society. so i wound up incorporating that concept into LSS ^-^) and the focus is on a trio of mailcarriers who wind up doing odd jobs for the people they make deliveries to, so it creates for an episodic format that also lets them meet different characters and explore a lot of places. which is especially good for figuring out what the world's like and stuff and how the main trio reacts to different situations

the reason it's called landseasky (mailcarriers) is because the world uses an elemental typing system based around the land, sea, and sky. the current primary inhabitants of the world are creatures who can use abilities based on the land, sea or sky & the world's remaining landmasses also represent these elements (the world's split kind of cleanly into 3 parts, intended to be like a super scuffed pangaea proxima? that's kind of the idea, anyways.). so that combined with the post-human world concept is part of what makes LSS really cool - the underlying lore idea is that humans disappeared in a cataclysm a few centuries ago (accounts wildly vary - there's some that say that the great dragon (deity) killed humanity for their hubris, that the creatures killed humanity, that humanity killed each other, etc) and the creatures currently inhabiting the world used to be the mon-type monster partners of humanity. so the kind of void space left by humanity is kind of subtly felt even when they're just working at a café for the day after delivering ingredients or something. it's not necessarily the main focus of the story (at least up to a certain point) but it's in the backdrop.

so like I mentioned the world is split evenly into land, sea, and sky and there's not a ton of intermingling between these environments & the creatures that live in them (so land creatures only live on the land, sea creatures only live in the sea, sky creatures only live in the sky). (though I'm not entirely sure why yet). and there's also a smaller continent in the center of all three enviroments where there is actually a variety of creatures. so the mail system of each biome is mostly self-contained but packages to another biome have to go through the central post office in the central continent. but eventually the postmasters (one for each biome) decide to get a little crazy with it and form a group of three creatures from each biome, dubbing it the "through it all" initiative (a reference to the "through rain or wind or snow" thing). and that's how the protagonist trio comes together

i'm using creatures to refer to the characters' species but it could also be monsters or something similar. just something that evokes non-humaness but also not completely animal-ness. tho rn their designs are mostly just like cartoon animals but I do want to get a little sillier with it… I'm just not quite sure how yet.

and i could talk more about it but it's already far too late for when i have to get up… 😊

[aintgonnatakethis]

ask game!

#2, #5, #19, #29, #30

Hey @thestorieswesay thanks for the ask! ❤️️ I've actually delivered a response in less than 24 hours! 😲

fic writer ask game

2. a character whose POV you’re currently exploring

I'm currently battling through the final bit of a sex scene from Rush's POV that will complete the Beach Episode fic in the kink series that I started back in *checks* August. Which certainly isn't the longest it's taken me to finish a fic. There's that 6 month wait for an anon's request to be filled that we don't talk about.

It's been interesting moving through the kink series because I can approach the relationship between Rush and Telford from so many different points in their timeline (and I don't have to write everything in order!) I'm not 100% sure if the Beach Episode fits in before or after the First Fight mini-series with Rush's love confession and Telford's subsequent not-love confession, but it's set around that time period so they're a lot more comfortable with one another than if I finally finished the earliest WIP I have for that series which has been sitting around since April 2023…

5. first sentence of the fifth paragraph of an unpublished WIP

I looked through my WIP doc (over 100k words all squashed into one 😈) and picked two stories I think you'd be be into! #1 is a fic we discussed waaaay back when we first started talking in Tumblr DMs: all four of Rush, Young, Telford, and Destiny herself experiencing some form of sexual assault and how the recovery process would look different for each of them. I have 7 chapters written and ready to go (and might even start posting them next year as my completed doc is becoming a little sparse - over the last 2 years I've averaged 2.5k posted words per week on AO3 and I'd like to keep that going for as long as possible) but I have to be in the right mindset to work on it. I've written 2 paragraphs of it this year and the rest of the 32k was done in 2023.

Young is nursing a split lip from Rush's elbow, a bump is forming on his temple where he must have struck it on their way down, but it's his eyes that catch Rush's attention.

#2 was my first attempt at writing the 'Rush dominating Young' anon prompt I received on here last year, but unfortunately what my brain came up with was an 'aliens made them do it' scenario, where the 100% consensual stuff would have appeared in ch3 and ch1 would have some extremely dub-con/bordering on non-con if you weren't not in the know, and it didn't feel right giving that to someone without knowing if they were down with it. So they got ch3 of the 3some fic instead and I got to develop ch2 of 'aliens made them do it' into Telford being a rescue-mission-leading BAMF which was a great deal of fun. My notes say I haven't worked on this since 2023 either, but ch3's reasonably developed towards the point of dom!Rush which isn't where I left it back then.

Young snarled some very unpleasant things at the aliens that they gave no indication of understanding, though he was also wary of the sharpened bolts, not beginning to struggle in earnest until they attempted to remove his briefs.

29. how easy is it for you to come up with titles?

It's not too difficult! I've got a doc where I save any lyrics I come across that might make good titles/quotes-at-the-start-of-fics, and titles that aren't lyrics are usually pretty simple. Now, writing summaries? That's a while different ball game! They cause me so much emotional damage 😣

30. share a fic you’re especially proud of

It has to be a memory, a distant echo. I crafted that baby with my bare bloody hands and am incredibly pleased with the way it turned out!

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

During the pandemic, I researched pangaeas and continental drift and was planning the next bit of my 450k Lockdown fic to have an Ancient trap where if someone with a specific gene went to this one planet, magnetic forces would reform the pangaea, causing massive earthquakes and sickness in people with an active Ancient gene. Have 869 words below the cut!

Telford's eyes searched out Young, who was leaning heavily against the DHD but thankfully also on his feet. He was holding a clipboard and checking people off as they lined up to evacuate, several unaffected soldiers dotted along the path doing the same. Dozens of boxes of equipment were lying outside the buildings, obviously left when it became clear it would be all hands on deck just getting the people out. They'd put so many resources into this place; if they lost this planet to enemy forces it would be a disaster. He dragged himself over to Young; as he neared the gate his radio began to crackle and hiss, a word here or there audible in the mess. It sounded as if it was Command trying to contact them without success. "I sent Collins through with the sitrep," Young said, a slight slur to his words. "He was affected but not too bad. Needed Vala to help." He gestured towards the stretchers being carried to the gate, losing his balance the moment he took his hand off the DHD. Telford surreptitiously steadied him, watching as stretchers were laid at the base of the gate and then shoved through. There weren't enough people on their feet to carry them all through. "Look at this," Young continued quietly, half turning towards him and extending his wrist. The compass built into his watch was spinning wildly. Telford checked his own, feeling uneasy. "An EMP wouldn't do this." "Earthquakes," came from behind them, an out of breath Rush appearing out of fucking nowhere. "Localised around the ruins. One of your soldiers stood where he could feel it with one foot but not the other. Park said natural earthquakes don't act that way." There hadn't been any hint of seismic activity in the reports and they'd been occupying this planet for months. Telford didn't like the coincidental timing of its sudden appearance at all. "You should get through the gate," Telford told Rush, trying to make it an order without it sounding as such. "No, no." Rush shook his head and spread his hands in an obvious attempt at appearing reasonable. "I need to go back. There are enough of my team for us to keep working." Telford opened his mouth to impress on Rush just how very much that would not be fucking happening, but Young beat him to the punch. "You're fucking kidding me," he snapped, jerking his head towards the evacuation efforts. "Get back to it." Rush ground his teeth together audibly, the sound cutting violently through Telford's ears. "This is a unique opportunity. Who knows why the quakes are happening? We should be taking advantage of the situation."

There was a brief moment of silence that Telford could well recognise as Young biting his tongue against saying something he would later regret. "We are under attack," he finally gritted out. "I will not send civilians back into harm's way on your word." The glare on Rush's face could've stripped paint off a car it was so sharp. Hilariously, he looked to Telford, apparently thinking he might get some support, only for Young to raise his voice suddenly, "You don't look at him! You look at me!" Young always got loud when he was hurt in high stress situations. When it was someone else he was the steadiest commanding officer you could wish for, but Telford had a very vivid memory of having to pull a handful of shrapnel shards out of the man's thigh in the field and being called every name under the sun in the process. Rush took a decidedly aggressive step forwards, sneering. "You can hardly fucking stand. Who the fuck's gonna stop me?" Jesus fucking christ. Telford stepped between the two men, getting a good grip on Rush's vest and only now noticing he couldn't feel the arm he was using, which unfortunately made his attempt at shaking Rush rather unsatisfying. Even worse was the casual way Rush brushed him off as if it was nothing, causing him to lose his footing and stumble. He barely caught himself, hating the lack of strength in a body that was usually so reliable. A loud grunt informed him that Young's response on his behalf had been to barrel straight into Rush, though without any balance or finesse of his own it just ended with them in a tangled heap on the ground. Rush, possessing all his faculties, manoeuvred them so he was on top with so much ease it made Telford feel even sicker. Rush, also being a right fucking bastard, punched Young hard in the face and raised his fist again even as Young's eyes rolled in his head. Telford was still trying to get his legs in working order when Vala appeared and bodily hauled Rush up and away. It was funny in a way to watch as Rush turned in her grip, ready to fight, only for his enthusiasm for such an endeavour to flag when he realised it was a woman holding him. Vala didn't shake him, but her eyes were tight with the obvious desire to do so. "Relax," she told him, a fair deal more calmly than Telford would have managed.

[finlin000]

A little bit of oc posting :)))

Character info:

Name: Dr Shu Alam.

Scientist, explorer, political mastermind, and Dragon all in one. She participated in tbe illegal capture and experimentation on Soul catchers (a rare species of native creatures, not dissimilar to centaurs) which ultimately lead to their presumed extinction. After the events of Ventutre (a deadly apocalyptic style wave of radiation thaf decimated a majority of the planet) Shu was taken under the wing of Soullis (the God of light) and became an devote preacher of their word, unaware of tbe atrocities they committed against her own species hundreds of years prior.

Dragons once roamed the continent of Pangaea, they were loved, worshipped and feared. They had special abilities, bestowed to them apon hatching. Each dragon was gifted one unique ability, Shu was no different, apart from the fact that she hatched from the largest egg in centuries.

She has consumed her 2 sibling's gifts in the egg, and she was hailed as the messiah for it, her gifts of shapeshifting, heightened intelligence and immortality made her formidable, unstoppable and terrified.

Shu roams Almaaz. X as the last remaining dragon, a force no beast could kill wiped out the entire remaining tribe and in a single night, Almaaz. X lost it's most dangerous creatures.

Shu is by no means a morally good character, in my eyes she's deeply flawed, she doesn't trust, she's scared of vulnerability and she is not easy to reason with, she had a hand in wiping out generations of history, while tbe guilt haunts her, she knows she cannot be forgived.

Her blind faith in Soullis was made not out of true unwavering conversion, but out of desperation. She was (not in recent story) easy to manipulate and she was fragile.

She's probably the most interesting character I have, her story is deep and her motivations are almost unknown, she's crazy dangerous and she's not afraid to show off - however she's scared, frightened of the world, young (if you count 728 being young) and terrified and I love her :3