#Wolf and crystal reboot

[saranootnoot]

ILOVEITSOMUCHOMGAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

Made for @saranootnoot :D I wasn't planning to post it but I like how it turned out

[saranootnoot]

I'm probably going to give up on writing the wolf and Crystal, I haven't even gotten to writing it☹️👎

And I always end up getting burnt out in the process

I don't know for sure... we'll see what happens

[therobotmonster]

My Retro-Cartoon Ramblings, Part 5

I am not going to insult anyone by telling them they need to watch Gargoyles. This fact is self-evident.

Taken series-by-series rather than by franchise, it is the king of the Battle Animal Genre, even if they're not technically anthros.

Great characters, great story, great animation, a fan-frikkin' tastic voice cast, as deep of lore as you could hope for. The fact that it has yet to be rebooted or resurrected or turned into a movie is baffling.

In my book, the way you reboot a kid's franchise to work for a sophisticated audience is you "Gargoyles-it-up". Rich characters, a sorrowful undertone, scenery-chewing villains and a satisfying lore.

But Will Riker in a robot Gargoyle suit is also here. (He represents capitalism.)

Now taken by franchise, the TMNT of course rule the battle animal roost.

They made the genre, even if there were others who were scrapping for that place at the time. I can't tell you the kind of switch that went off in kids heads when we first saw this:

You can not understand what the initial TMNT wave was like unless you were there to get caught by it. Context doesn't help. A nation of children botched our save VS ridiculous but extremely fun bullshit, and my kidvid/toy aspirations crystalized just a bit more.

What gets lost is just how bonkers the show actually was. While remembered more like an AdverTtoon in the Has/Ken model, with wisecracking action figures going on sci-fi capers, the reality was way more Looney Tunes. An old lady pulls an assault rifle on the boys in episode 1!

The whole thing is exceptionally cartoony, though not in the way a lot of latter-day crossovers would have you believe. The world is less wacky-for-wackiness's sake, and is more the exact kind of world where "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" make sense.

It's the one thing that makes OG Fred Wolf TMNT unique among all its other variations, reboots and predecessors. Everywhere else, the boys are the barometer for weird. They're the out-of-place thing in a (more) sane world.

In 87, they might live underground, but the turtles are cool-kid everyman characters. They're normal New Yorkers compared to the tourists from Dimension X and the horde of mutants, robots, robot-mutants, and a grown man calling himself the Shredder that show up each week.

Coming out of the first major wave of turtlemania was like awakening from a fugue state.

[cartoonmadness]

Multifandom sideblock for my fav comics / games / animated series / movies / short films / other stuff

My art blog is @peikonlainen

Movies

the Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Alice in Wonderland (Disney)

Alladin

Akira

Barbie

Beauty and the beast

Bee movie

Book of life

Boy and the beast

the Boxtrolls

Captain Underpants movie

Catnapped

Chicken Run

Coraline

Craig before the creek

the Dark crystal

Disney movies

Ernest and Celestine

Ethel and Ernest

Flight of dragons

a Goody movie

the Great mouse detective

Gremlins and Gremlins 2

Hellraiser

Hercules (Disney)

Hoodwinked

Hotel transylvania

Kubo and the two strings

Kung fu Panda, 2 and 3

the Labyrinth

Land before time

the Last Unicorn

Lego movies

the Lion King

the Lord of the rings

Madagascar

Mary and Max

Mary Poppins

Megamind

the Midnight gospel

Missing Link

Monsters VS Aliens

the Muppets

Muppets movies

the Never ending story

One 100 and 1 dalmatians

Osmosis Joe

Paprika

Paranorman

Penguins of Madagascar

Ponyo

Porco Rosso

Puss in Boots and the last wish

the Prince of Egypt

the Rescuers

Return to oz

Rise of the guardians

the Road to El Dorado

Robin Hood (Disney)

Rock and rule

Rölli

Scooby-Doo animated movies

Secret of Nimh

Shrek, 2 and 4

Sinbad, legend of the seven seas

Spirit, staliom of the Cimarron

Studio Ghibli movies

Tekkonkinkreet

TMNT Mutant Mayhem

Toy story, 2 and 3

Treasure planet

Tree of Palme

Trolls movies

Turbo

Up

Wallace and Gromit

the Wizard of Oz

Wolf Children

Cartoons / Show / Anime

Adventure Time

Alfred J. Kwak

the Amazing wold of Gumball

Amphibia

Angelic Layer

Apple and Onion

As told by Ginger

Avatar the last airbender

Batman the animated series

Bluey

Bob's burgers

Bojack Horseman

Care bears

Centaurworld

Clone high

Count Duckula

Craig of the creek

Cyborg 009

the Dark crystal age of resistance

Darkwing Duck

Digimon 01 and 02

Ducktales (2017)

Evil con carne

Fiona and Cake

Fraiser

Futurama

Gargoyles

the Gilmore girls

Golden girls

Gravity Falls

Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

Hazbin hotel

Helluva boss

Infinity train

Jellytown!

Kaiba

Kid Cosmic

Kim Possible

Kipo

the Legend of Korra

Looney tunes

Mao Mao heroes of pure heart

Masters of the Universe 2002

Maya and the tree

Moomins

Moon girl and devil dinosaur

the Muppet show

Murder she wrote

My little pony (g1, friendship is magic and choose your tales)

Oggy and the cockroaches

Olivia

the Owl house

Ping Pong animated series

Pokemon

Reboot

Regular show

ROTTMNT

Saw 1 and 2

Sesame street

She-ra

Sherlock Hound

the Simpsons

Smiling friends

Spiderman

Spongebob

Tuca and Bertie

TMNT 80s/90s

TMNT 2003

Transformers (80s)

Transformers prime

Twelve forever

Unicorn - Warriors eternal

the Venture bros

Wander over Yander

Winx

Indie animations

the Amazing digital circus

Bigtop burger

Chikn Nuggit

the Devil and Daniel Mouse

Don't hug me I'm scared

Lackadaisy

Metal Family

Monkey Wrench

Soviet Union animations

Shred force

Spooky month

Wallace and Gromit

Comics / Manga

Adventures of Tintin

Bamse

Batman

Cyborg 009

Detective Conan

Donald Duck (Aku Ankka in Finnish)

Dragon ball

Garfield

Moomins

One Piece

Peanuts

Paradise kiss

Popeye

Niilo Pielinen

Spiderman

Spirou and Fantasio

Vinland saga

the Walking dead

Wimpy Witch

Books

Amazing land of Oz

Agatha Christie's books, Poirot and Miss Marple stories

Babar storybooks

Dr. Seuss's books

the Little Prince

Moomin books from Tove Jansson

Murderer's ape

Pettson and Findus

Pippi Longstocking

Sherlock Holmes stories

Uppo Nalle ja Nukku Ukko

Games

Animal crossing

Crash Bandicoot

Frog detective

Garage: bad dream adventure

Journey

Katamari

Kirby

Pokemon

Sly Cooper

Sonic the hedgehog games

Super Mario Bros games

the Walking dead

[saranootnoot]

REBLOGING THIS AGAIN

OKAY LISTEN.. ON DISCORD.. I SENT YOU THIS?.. WELL.. CAN YOU PLEASE DRAW THIS

(ignore this if you don't wanna)

i am really really poor with comics. This ask reminded me I need to finish my other IBVS oc

[hrkingston]

Eleven Favorite Women in Video Games

Women in video games are as many and varied as the worlds they appear in. Here are eleven of my favorites from over the years, in no particular order!

Claire “Lightning” Farron (Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2, and Lightning Returns) Lightning makes this list because not only is she a dynamic character, but she’s a badass. While having pink hair and being overwhelmingly attractive, Lightning is not a pushover of a character by any means. She’s a soldier first, then something of a goddess, and her progression only escalates from there in Lightning Returns. I love how she started as a practical character and stayed a practical character, even when weirder and weirder stuff is hurled her way. She knows how to think, she knows how to fight, and in XIII, she touts one of my favorite weapons in all of Final Fantasy: a gunblade that actually makes physical sense. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)

I will admit, I got into the Tomb Raider franchise rather late and there are still a lot of games in the series that I have yet to play. However, in many people’s eyes, Lara was the “original” female protagonist in video games. She was smart, she was strong, she was daring, she could fight, and, as we all know, she’s not bad to look at.

I myself am partial to the rendition of Lara found in the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider from Crystal Dynamics. It was the first time that I felt completely comfortable playing as Lara, because while she was beautiful, I didn’t feel like the male gaze was being directly pandered to. This was a Lara that I had an easier time relating to, and is what really drew me into the series. So yes, while I was very late to the Tomb Raider party, Lara has claimed a special place in my heart. Commander Shepard (Mass Effect) Few people have kicked as much intergalactic ass as Commander Shepard, and the fact that you can get it done as a woman makes it twice as satisfying. Some might view this as cheating, since Shepard, while she does have her own base personality, is very much informed by the decisions the player makes. But no matter how the player steers Shepard, she is never any less awesome, and the fact that you can personalize her adventure only makes her that much more likable and easy to relate to. Yuna (Final Fantasy X and X-2) While Yuna was only playable very briefly in X, I always felt that she was the true protagonist of the story. Anyone who knows me well knows that I complain about Final Fantasy X a fair amount, but despite any and all of that, it was my first Final Fantasy, and Yuna my first heroine. Despite some character flaws and inconsistencies that I still question to this day (Yuna is relatively smart but makes some unfathomable decisions, her fashion sense changes beyond all recognition between games, etc.) she is still a wonderful character with a lot of heart. While she can fight through the use of her aeons, her truest power is her strength of character and strength of heart. She is brave, selfless, loving, and fiercely protective. I admire her greatly years after picking up my PS2 copy of her game at a flea market. Okami Amaterasu (Okami) Okami will always and forever be one of my very favorite video games with its gorgeous cell-shading, unforgettable characters, and wonderful storytelling. One of the things that may be a little off-putting to certain people about Amaterasu is that she doesn’t speak a single line of dialogue. Amaterasu takes the form of a wolf in this game, and all of the dialogue that advances the plot from her perspective is done through Issun, he sidekick. However, Ammy is loveable and memorable in her own right by getting her thoughts and points across through primarily canine actions, such as growls, whines, barks, and iconic postures such as the confused head tilt, the coil before an attacking spring, and even biting or headbutting people. She’s a different kind of protagonist and a model example of non-verbal storytelling, and will always be one of my favorites. Miranda Lawson (Mass Effect 2 & 3) Miranda isn’t the protagonist of Mass Effect, obviously, but a party member. However, she still deserves to be on this list because she’s so dynamic. It took me some time to warm up to Miranda, but the more I got to know her in-game, the more of a shine I took to her. She is tough, she is vulnerable, she is smart, she is emotional, she’s a leader and a follower, a hard-ass and a friend, and it’s these oxymorons and more that showcase exactly what a multifaceted and real character Miranda is. She’s complex, and getting to know all of her different sides was an absolute pleasure.

(I also may or may not have a massive crush on her and be bummed that you can’t romance her as Femshep.)

Fran (Final Fantasy XII) Fran is an almost frosty, aloof character due to how old she is and will be. Fran is one of my favorites because, despite how collected she is, you really get to see into her layers when she interacts with her sisters, and when she interacts with Balthier the sky pirate. Fran’s relationship with Balthier is not only one of my favorite aspects of her character, but also one of my favorite aspects of the entire game itself. Unlike how things normally seem to go, Fran is not Balthier’s sidekick, or subservient to him in any way. Fran and Balthier are partners, and I really love the camaraderie that all but oozes from them. Also, Fran by default is an archer, and I have a weakness for a good ol’ bow and arrow. Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn) What did I say about archery? Guerilla Games has essentially delivered us a neo-Mesozoic Merida simulator and I could not be more pleased. But despite the lush world and intuitive gameplay, one of my favorite aspects of the game is our star herself, Aloy. Aloy is a perfect example of the coming-of-age narrative, as she spends much of the game trying to discover her origin and save her world with the information. She’s fiercely motivated and incredibly capable, using a combination of strength, cunning, and finesse to take on everything the world throws at her from prejudiced humans to deadly bandits to giant killer machines. Oerba Dia Vanille (Final Fantasy XIII) When XIII first came out, I couldn’t stand Vanille. Her voice bothered me, her personality bothered me, her in-game animations bothered me, everything about her bothered me. But then one day (I kid you not) I woke up and thought “Why did I hate Vanille so much? I really like her! What was my deal?”

Vanille was one of those characters I had to warm up to first. I see a lot of myself in Vanille, which is perhaps why I was so harsh on her in the first place. We are our own biggest critics, and I believe that I had been unknowingly using Vanille like a mirror. The fact that she tries to be so hopeful in the face of adversity is a trait that we share, as well as trying to cheer others up and make them see the bright side. Vanille and I, we can be annoying in our tactics, but we both mean well in the end.

Vanille has a good heart and is a lovely person, and the fact that I relate so strongly to her has given her a permanent spot in my heart. Elizabeth Comstock (BioShock Infinite) Elizabeth Comstock is, in herself, a journey. The story of BioShock Infinite is largely focused on her, and she really does propel it forward. One of my favorite things about Elizabeth, besides the mystery and intrigue that surrounds her character, is how much she changes as a person over the course of the game. In the beginning, she reminded me very much of Belle or Rapunzel, but by the end of the game, without giving too much away, she seemed like she was about a thousand years old, too wizened and tortured for her years.

Elizabeth is a very real character, and in a game where you play a protagonist that you never really see, she does a wonderful job emoting and making you really feel both for her and for the world around her.

Elizabeth is a masterpiece inside a masterpiece; both she and her game have resonated very deeply with me. Kasumi Goto (Mass Effect 2 & 3) Kasumi is a downloadable character, and the fact that not everyone experienced Mass Effect 2 for the first time with her on the team makes me sad. We don’t get to see as much of Kasumi as we do other characters, but what we do get to see is very well done. Bioware had the task of making people care about this character in a relatively short amount of time, since she isn’t technically “in” the story, and so most of her character development occurs during her loyalty mission.

Kasumi is one of those characters that I wanted more of, and I found myself bringing her on many missions just to hear snatches of her dialogue if I took her certain places or did certain things. Even during the final climactic mission, I found myself snickering at her quips. She was an optional character that, for me, didn’t feel optional, and that’s when you know a character is very well done.

(I also remained disappointed that the bug in her mission in Mass Effect 3 was never fixed.)

[amplesalty]

Halloween 2023 - Day 5 - Freddy vs Jason (2003)

Voices in the air I hear 'em loud and clear Telling me to listen...

OK, so I know I've been slacking this year so far but it's Friday the 13th and I sure as hell wasn't going to miss this. I've been building up to it since last year after all and, whilst I might not have documented it on here, I capped off the original run of Friday the 13th movies with Jason X back in January. Having the done the same with New Nightmare last year, all that's left (aside from the reboots) is this, the ultimate showdown…Freddy vs Jason. Given that I wasn't into horror back when this came out, it wasn't really on my radar so I don't recall any of the build up around it or how much anticipation there was from the general public but I can't imagine anything other than this being one of the biggest events of the year. It's Freddy vs Jason, man! You don't even need a trailer at that point, that name will sell you on the movie more than any sneak peek at moments from the film ever could. It harkens back to those school yard debates about who would win in a fight or the golden age of 'versus' movies in horror like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man or the House of… films.

Right out of the gate we find out that Freddy has been banished to Hell but is unable to come back to wreak havoc upon the next generation of Elm Street kids because he's been forgotten. No one even knows who Freddy is anymore and if's not remembered, there's no fear. No fear, no powers. But luckily there's someone else down there that he thinks he can use…Jason Vorhees. Jason can never truly die and is just buried somewhere, suddenly given fresh impetus to rise up when he sees visions of his Mother demanding his go take care of those naughty kids down on Elm St. Sadly, the role of Mrs Vorhees is not reprised by Betsy Palmer but Paula Shaw does a good job as this angry, Freddy-inspired version as she berates Jason. Given the name of the movie, we all know this alliance isn't going to last forever but I really love this idea. It brings this whole extra layer of danger to proceedings, this dual threat of being targeted in your sleep as well as when you're awake. Plus it gives a plausible reason to allow Freddy a route back into the dreams of his victims and it adds this extra edge to him. He's not just this violent killer, he's manipulating Jason for his own nefarious needs. It helps play in to this odd sense of sympathy the movie seems to be trying to elicit for Jason. He's being used here, there's a flashback to his mistreatment by the other kids and councilors back at Crystal Lake and he's often taking a beating during the later fight scenes with Freddy. Kinda weird to think of Jason as the good guy in any situation but when the guy is a half melted nonce with Wolverine claws, Jason is the lesser of two evils.

We soon meet said Elm St kids and amongst them, for some reason, is Kelly Rowland. I guess I never had her pegged as an actress. It's funny because I've been looking at a Japanese movie called Kairo recently which was then remade in America as Pulse which starred Christina Milian. Again, AM to PM is a banger but I didn't realise she did acting too so I guess having that on my mind made this Kelly Rowland appearance catch me even more off guard. She's fine here though, the role is just standard slasher movie fare as the friend of the final girl who doesn't quite make it through the whole show so there's not much you can do with that. Her character does refer to Freddy as a 'faggot' at one point which is a bit…of it's time to put it politely.

It doesn't take long with Jason to show up and start bumping everyone off, including one gruesome kill where he stabs a guy half to death whilst in bed, then folding him up in said bed like a sandwich. This first kill takes place at the old Thompson house so when the cops show up and see where it happened, as well as the violent nature of the murder, murmurs soon start about it being 'him', murmurs that are very quickly shot down. The local Sherriff isn't keen on people talking about he who shall not be named (not Voldermort) and with the kids being asked all sorts of strange questions about their dreams rather than who might have just massacred their friend, it does lend the whole thing a bit of a conspiracy vibe, like the parents are covering something up. Kinda brings full circle because the original had that as well.

Conspiratorial would be accurate given that one of the kids dad is killed and I did a double take thinking it was Alex Jones.

There's these other characters as well who are in a psychiatric ward who keep making references to 'dream demons' and being kept away from their families so there's a lot of moving parts in play here but it really adds to the whole atmosphere and I like the angle they're going for, it was something I really wanted in Freddy's Dead.

It's easy to tell this is an Elm Street sequel because only hours after the death of two of their friends, the kids are quietly ushered off to school where they're gawked out by their classmates. Aren't their regulations in place for this kind of stuff? Give the kids some time off at least, maybe a passing grade. You know, that 'passing by catastrophe' kinda thing, Dead Man's Curve? Maybe given all the killings they had to abolish it because they were having to pass everyone given how prolific Freddy was.

But it's not just subtleties and world building here, this movie can deal out some action when it wants to. Such as when Jason's 'fun police' alarm goes off and he breaks up the kids party out in the cornfields. Someone tries to fight back by setting him on fire, which only seems to make him stronger especially when he starts wielding a flaming machete. The power of the Charcoal Pine Resin strikes again!

Or a vicious scene where one of the kids is haunted by visions of his brothers suicide, the brother played by non other than Scut Farkus himself, Zack Ward. Scut Farkus staring out at us with his red wrists! So help me God, red wrists!

And when this movie promised Freddy vs Jason, it duly delivers. Multiple times in fact. You get the best of both worlds, with one fight taking place in the dream world after Freddy possesses one of the kids and uses tranquilisers to put Jason to sleep. Then, in the finale, Freddy is draw into the real world. It allows both of them to play to their respective strengths; Freddy with his powers and use of misdirection in the dream world and Jason being able to use his strength and invulnerability in the real world where Freddy is weaker.

It's a cool touch that Jason ends up being reverted to his child form in the dream world fight, obviously ties in to Freddy being a child murderer but also brings back that origin story of Jason as well. The actual ending, whilst it doesn't sour the overall movie in the slightest, I'm not overly happy with. I get that it's ambiguous and doesn't necessarily undo what came before it, plus are these characters ever really dead? But I think with the hindsight of this being the last big send off for both characters, it was nice to have this Double-KO as a way to write them out and send their franchises off into the sunset before their reboots several years later. The original ending was apparently disliked by those at initial test screenings. It featured one of the characters suddenly turning violent and wielding the Freddy glove as a final sting which doesn't seem out of place with the franchise. After all, right back in part 1 we had the false finish of everyone thinking they'd beat Freddy only for him to re-emerge. And whilst we're talking about endings, this apparently had all manner of different possible endings including a giant hand pulling both villains back down to hell to play out a Sissapyhian battle for all eternity to the amusement of onlooking devils and demons. Or one where they both run into Ash from Evil Dead, supposedly shot down because Sam Raimi insisted on Ash winning. Or, Freddy and Jason waging bloody war on one another, only to be suddenly pulled apart by hooked chains before Pinhead emerged from the shadows.

Maybe some people could argue that not having a definitive winner is a bad thing, I think it would have been cool if they'd done something where Jason wins in certain showings and Freddy wins in others. Probably wouldn't have worked even back then due to the growing prevalence of the internet, whilst not as widespread and immediate as today since it was before social media and the like, news would have travelled fast and it wouldn't have been able to get that sort of urban legend feel. How cool would that have been though, you're talking to your friends about the movie and you're like "Man, I can't believe Freddy won." and they're like "What are you talking about, Jason killed that motherfucker!". Think of the repeat ticket sales! As it is, I really loved this one. Certainly the best Jason movie out there, even if the likes of Part VII and Jason X had their charms (we'll get back to them one day). Certainly up there with the best Elm Street movies too. I just really dug the city wide cover up going on to try and suppress Freddy, really fleshed out the story and allowed it to be more than just padding whilst we waited for the main event showdown.

[onlydylanobrien]

❝We’ve heard your howls, and we’re howling back! 🐺 A Teen Wolf MOVIE is coming to Paramount Plus in 2022.❞

🎥©: teenwolf

‘Teen Wolf’ Revival Movie Set at Paramount Plus as Creator Jeff Davis Inks MTV Entertainment Studios Overall Deal (EXCLUSIVE)

A movie revival of the “Teen Wolf” MTV series is in the works at Paramount Plus as part of a new overall deal series creator Jeff Davis has signed with MTV Entertainment Studios, Variety has learned exclusively.

Davis’ multi-year deal will see him write and executive produce the film, with talks currently underway with original series cast members to return. The news comes on the four year anniversary of the original “Teen Wolf” finale on MTV.

In addition to the “Teen Wolf” movie, Davis will also develop a new series for the streamer based on Edo Van Belkom’s “Wolf Pack” books, with Davis serving as showrunner on that series. Finally, the previously announced “Aeon Flux” live-action reboot — on which Davis will serve as showrunner and pilot director — has moved over to Paramount Plus after originally being set up at MTV.

Davis’ slate falls under the purview of MTV Entertainment president and CEO Chris McCarthy, who has previously laid out a strategy of using existing IP within the ViacomCBS ecosystem while also building out new franchises to boost the company’s programming and streaming efforts.

In addition to developing “Teen Wolf,” Davis also served as executive producer and showrunner on the series throughout its run. He is also known for creating the hit CBS procedural “Criminal Minds,” which ended its time on the broadcaster in 2020 after 15 seasons and over 300 episodes.

He is repped by WME, Authentic Talent & Literary Management, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

In the “Teen Wolf” movie, a terrifying evil has emerged in the town of Beacon Hills. The wolves are howling once again, calling for the return of Banshees, Werecoyotes, Hellhounds, Kitsunes, and every other shapeshifter in the night. But only a Werewolf like Scott McCall, no longer a teenager yet still an Alpha, can gather both new allies and reunite trusted friends to fight back against what could be the most powerful and deadliest enemy they’ve ever faced.

Tyler Posey starred as McCall in the original series, with the cast also including Dylan O’Brien, Crystal Reed, Tyler Hoechlin, Holland Roden, Colton Haynes, and Arden Cho. It was loosely based on the 1985 Michael J. Fox feature comedy of the same name. The show aired on MTV from 2011-2017 for six seasons and 100 episodes. In December, the full series will be available to stream on Paramount Plus.

In “Wolf Pack,” a teenage boy and girl’s lives are changed forever when a California wildfire awakens a terrifying supernatural creature and drives it to attack a highway traffic jam beneath the burning hills. Wounded in the chaos, the boy and girl are inexplicably drawn to each other and to two other teenagers who were adopted sixteen years earlier by a park ranger after another mysterious wildfire. As the full moon rises, all four teens come together to unravel the secret that connects them – the bite and blood of a werewolf. There are four books in the “Wolf Pack” series, which were released between 2004 and 2008.

Source: Variety.com

[agenericplaceholdername]

This is definitely a more negative take on Jay than I have, but on the other hand I'm certainly not gonna defend Jay's actions in Rebooted through the end of Skybound. It did make me think of something though -- what does "shattering goodness" mean?

We get two explanations, one from Hantro and one from Cinder. Hantro says that "once you shatter your goodness, you can learn all kinds of evil things ... Fighting techniques, mystical powers, all the stuff your goodness was holding you back from." Cinder says that he "can feel the gong resonate inside [him] shattering the parts of [his] soul that hold [him] back."

These aren't non-explanations - the lore established is that people can't learn certain techniques because of their innate "goodness," but the Gong fixes that. But beyond being able to learn Shatterspin, how might losing one's goodness affect them?

Ex. 1: Cinder

We barely know what Cinder was like before the gong, but even after he uses the Gong, he's still not totally evil -- see him being concerned after Ras announces five monks will be sacrificed to the Blood Moon.

(The Spell at the Waterfall)

We only see Cinder briefly before the Gong is first used, when he fights Arin and Sora in the season premiere. Does he act meaningfully different (nicer?) in that battle than later on in the season? No. And when he says the Gong is shattering the parts of him that hold him back -- what parts of him? When does his moral compass stop him from doing something?

Ex. 2: Jay

Jay has a bigger difference, namely that he goes from being a decent human being (at the end of Crystalized) to a villain. But how much of that was his memory loss and being trained by Ras, and how much was it the Gong of Shattering?

Memory-less Jay is certainly nicer to Bonzle after she starts talking to him, but he still wants to carry out Administration orders to arrest Bonzle and agrees with the Administration that Zane is a piece of equipment.

Ras is also an expert at persuasion (see Beatrix, Jordana, Arin), so I assume he convinced Jay to join him without forcing a wolf mask on him and hitting the Gong. Maybe he's more vicious in his fight against Nya, but given that he has no memories and has been trained to distrust anything the Ninja say, I don't think his "inner goodness" being intact or not is particularly relevant.

So where does this leave things? To go back to the original post... it's even more disturbing to think that these in-show actions are coming out of Jay independent of the Gong's effects.

Had she always been living with such a monster?

There are obviously questions of whether you're still "you" without your memories (long running philosophical debates) but it seems like the answer to Nya’s question here (contingent on believing that memoryless Jay is still "Jay”) is yes.

Conclusion:

Is it a missed opportunity that the true effects of the Gong of Shattering are never explored? Absolutely - maybe the Shatterspin comics will provide more. But if it's true that all the Gong does is enable you to use Shatterspin, but your actual personality is unchanged, not only does that have big implications for DRS3, but it means that "evil Jay" is a lot closer to this darker take on him than the show wants us to think (or will actually ever show).

Dragons Rising gives us evil Jay, but it's not that he's the bad guy, it's that he's just an awful person.

He breaks free of Ras's whole cohort, even joins the ninja in their fight. Everyone's excited, cuz you know, Jay's back! He still doesn't have his memories, and maybe we're back to square one on everyone's relationships with him, but he's here, fighting by their side once again, and everyone's glad to have him.

But things feel different. He's got even less of a filter than he used to, and things tend to get uncomfortable around him fast. All the underlying entitlement, and self serving tendencies he had before are on full display. He complains a LOT. Was he always this much of a buzz kill? And after they've spent some time trying to get him acclimated back into the group, the friction grows even more. All his sexist, unrepentant, self pitying mental manipulation boils to the surface, and the team has stopped trying to actively engage with him.

And Nya. Boy do they regret ever telling him about Nya. After finding out they used to be together, he's oddly pushy about it. He thinks he's discovered a short cut to getting a girlfriend. He already won her over once, it's as if he's earned her already. Why is she being so resistant about them?

She gives a definitive no to this version of Jay, several times, and he simply can not process it. He's caught on this stalker-like obsession with getting her to love him again, even though he knows almost nothing about her. Eventually he takes it a step too far. Crosses some physical boundary, or gets into some obscenely misogynist argument, and that's it. Nya doesn't even have to do anything, the team runs him off for her, Kai nearly kills him.

Everyone tries to comfort her by assuring her "it's not your fault, we should have dropped him sooner, he's clearly not who he used to be" and Nya is just left sitting there in terror like... "isn't he?"

She's seen this all before. His blatant disregard for her feelings and opinions, the refusal to apologize, his entitlement complex around her specifically, none of it is new. It's just so much more obvious coming from a mind that doesn't know her. He had done all of it, and she had still loved him.

Had she always been living with such a monster?

[mh-midnight-wanderer]

{part 1} {part 2} {part 3}

Checklist of G2 characters that return for G3 reboot.

1. Ari Hauntington

2. Silvi Timberwolf

3. Moanica D'Kay

4. Raythe

5. Gob

6. Bonesy

7. Skelly

8. Crystal

9. Woolee

10. Treesa Thornwillow

11. Thorna Thornwillow

12. Harriet Wolf #

13. Clawdeen's younger siblings #

14. Alivia Stein

15. Fangelica VanBat

16. Cleo's younger sisters

I don't know if I should include Monster Celebrities like Zomby Gaga or Madison Fear

If they mention or made appearance in the show I will add them later

[saranootnoot]

Grrrrr

Dennis and Ivy:DD (shout out to @unagidevi for making the refs of them for me, definitely check them out:DD)

[twisting-echo]

Wooo!!

Queer Ladies of Sonic the Hedgehog

The Sonic franchise doesn’t have a whole lot of romance.  There’s the occasional ship tease, and that’s about it.  And there definitely isn’t a lot of queer content.  

However, there are some Sonic characters who have been confirmed to be LGBT+ in some way.  It’s usually just a behind-the-scenes comment from someone working on the series, rather than representation in the story itself - but hey, it’s better than nothing.  

I was interested in the women and girls in particular, so here’s all the (almost) canonically queer ladies associated with Sonic the Hedgehog.  

Look under the cut to see the full list!  

Keep reading

[lady-of-lyon]

So, I made one post a while back about how awesomely feminist the show Wild Kratts was, with how its two main female characters were women of color in engineering and deserving roles of power, female villains who weren’t motivated by spite or quest for youth, etc, but today I wanted to talk about something slightly different, that I’ve wanted to cover for a while now, because I also think it’s very good - and that’s how the show portrays masculinity, in a way that’s really positive!

First, we have our two main characters, Chris and Martin Kratt. Keep in mind these two are basically self-inserts - and there are plenty of creators, especially males, who have used self-insert characters in really scummy ways - all I have to say is Powerpuff Girls reboot and you know exactly what I’m talking about. Even if they weren’t literal self-inserts, male characters, superheroes especially, oftentimes serve the male power fantasy, being just the strong, stoic, all-powerful person so many boys are told they’re supposed to be. I could get into a whole discussion about how the male power fantasy is present even when males are not (ever look through a fashion magazine and wonder why there are so few men? Sure, part of it is that the industry thrives off exploiting women’s insecurities, and men aren’t as concerned for their appearance, but another part of it is so that the guy, looking through it, can feel like he has no competition for these women - there’s a reason so many comedians have jokes about fashion magazines being their sexual awakening as kids. It’s really scummy) but that’s not what this is about. So, the bros had every opportunity to do just that - make themselves these traditional heroes who aren’t actually really good role models, like batman or what have you. It’s certainly not uncommon for celebrity cartoons to do stuff like that. But Martin and Chris chose a different approach. They’re pretty strong standouts for positive masculinity. They’re openly affectionate - both with eachother as brothers, and with their friends. They cry, sometimes over little things - most of the time when big superheroes cry, it’s ‘cause they lost the girl they loved or their mentor or something like that, only in the big, most agonizing moments do they shed a tear. But here, Chris or Martin will cry just because they’ve had a bad day, or because they’re overwhelmed and overjoyed that someone named a mantis after them! In a lot of shows or movies when a guy cries over something little, it’s usually played for laughs, or to emasculate him, but here it’s casual without being unreasonable or overdone. The brothers cry just ad much, maybe even more (haven’t gone back and counted or anything) as the girls do. Not to mention, it’s a very nice depiction of a loving, healthy sibling relationship. As the youngest sibling myself, it’s refreshing to see a pair who don’t abuse eachother with noogies or cruel and snarky remarks. When they do fight, it’s never a screaming match, and also because they had a conflict of interest or disagreed over a fact, not because, say, one of them stole the other’s shirt or is neglecting the other’s feelings. Kids, being very impressionable, get exposed to a lot of abusive sibling relationships played as normal in media, and start thinking this is how siblings are and should act. For instance, my sister (who is now my best friend and has gotten over all these bad habits over time) when she was younger watched a lot of Kim Possible, a show that is great, but has a bad family dynamic with Kim and her little siblings. The “tweebs” as she calls them are always irresponsible, destructive, and making Kim annoyed to no end. My older brother was one of the most polite, reserved, kind little kids, but she still treated him like he was a brat and a nuisance, because that’s what shows like Kim Possible taught her little brothers were. Additionally, I was always treated like a spoiled crybaby who just wanted attention and got away with everything - I was not any of those things, ever, but that’s what shows teach you little sisters are. Sure, Wild Kratts has a smidge of that, with Chris seemingly being the stereotype of the know-it-all little sibling, but instead of being constantly looked town upon for being too “perfect” like with Hailey Long in American Dragon, Martin often praises his brother for his abilities. Sure, Martin gets annoyed when Chris tries to correct him on things, like in the episode Wolf Hawks, but everyone else does too, so it feels more like a take-down of mansplaining than a sibling spat.

I talked too in the feminist post about how refreshing it is that Chris and Martin more or less willingly put themselves under the authority of Koki and Aviva, two women of color. I don’t think it’s possible to say any one character is the “leader,” they all work as a evenly balanced team, but it’s safe to say that Koki and Aviva make the more responsible decisions. The bros try to get out of their calls a few times, but the show plays it more like they’re being irresponsible, and less like they’re renegade cool dudes who don’t take nothing from nobody, especially not two girls. They are pretty much always punished via karma for their reckless choices, most especially in To Touch a Hummingbird, where their arrogant attitudes blow up in their faces rather spectacularly. We also never see the narrative most present in sitcoms, where the male leads mess up and go out of their way to cover it up and ultimately gets away with it - after all, you have to root for them, right, because sure they messed up and had no consequences, but aren’t they just so lovable? No, here Martin and Chris always have to fix their wrongdoing, and it’s always deserved when they get comeuppance. Another aspect of the show I like is that, many times, when the bros get captured or are in peril, they are saved by the women - and most refreshing of all, there’s never a moment of “wink wink nudge nudge wow I can’t believe I had to be rescued by a GIRL” or even “wow you saved me you’re pretty good honey guess I shouldn’t have underestimated you, you go girl!” No, when the girls save them, it’s just - you know, relief? Because they were saved? It’s never a scenario played as an exception, or any more dire than when the bros need to rescue eachother. The bros are genuinely happy to have them as teammates. The show even did the standard “boys vs girls” episode in the form of When Fish Fly - but instead of being actually girls vs. boys, it’s engineers vs. adventurers. There’s nothing really gendered about it - the girls happen to be engineers, and the boys happen to be adventurers. And the episode doesn’t end with the boys being “wow gosh darn I shouldn’t have doubted you girls are better at everything,” it’s a mutual agreement that both parties have hard jobs. Basically, the bros are very naturally respectful of women. That plays more into their feminist narrative too, but either way, it’s refreshing.

Then, we have Jimmy! Jimmy, the lovable gamerboy pizza man. At first glance Jimmy seems like the stereotypical cowardly, pathetic, emasculated loser. He’s frightened of most things, as of yet has no power suit, and he BAKES for crying out loud! But none of these things are framed as terribly bad traits. Sure, we laugh when he screams and runs from an animal, but though it happens over and over, the crew doesn’t get sick of it. They don’t berate him or belittle him because he’s so gosh darn cowardly. There’s a great scene in Rattlesnake Crystal where Jimmy has to deliver something to the bros alone, in the middle of a spooky desert. He is terrified the whole time, sprinting off after he delivers the goods. When Martin and Chris run into him, they don’t laugh at him for being spooked, they just greet and then bid fair well to their friend. To them, this is just Jimmy, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Jimmy isn’t coddled, but he is reassured many times that he’s a valuable member of the team. I love that little message, that you’re just as important of a person even if you can’t do as much or have greater limits. When his friends do try to get him over his fears, it’s not because they have to, that the day will somehow be ruined by Jimmy’s incompetence p, but because they’re his friends, and want him to experience fun and wonderful things that he would otherwise miss out on. But what Jimmy CAN do is just as important! Jimmy is a gamer, which in a lot of shows, is portrayed as a lazy, useless, mindless hobby. But here, because he plays video games, it makes him essential for piloting the ship and teleporting important items. There’s always the joke that video games improves your hand/eye coordination, but recent studies have shown it has much better effects. It can make you much better at keeping track of multiple moving objects and processing technical but variable information- two traits which, fittingly enough, are really really important for air traffic controllers and airplane pilots! He also demonstrates a lot more courage behind the wheel of the Tortuga, which makes sense - in an impersonal setting, he would have more sense of calm and control and courage, because it’s so similar to a video game world. It’s not all too different with how I feel more emboldened to pick fights with people on the internet, but get crazy anxious if a real person so much as looks at me. So Jimmy’s love of video games isn’t because he’s irresponsible, it has real benefits. A quick last point - Jimmy also eats a lot, but they thankfully don’t make him fat or greedy or anything like that. He never takes food from people, he actually bakes, and shares it with others! Having the baker be a boy is a lovely touch.

I might do another post about the toxic masculinity of the two villains, (or four villains, I guess, if I wanna discuss the minions) but I’ve got other work to do, and this post is long enough already, so I’ll get around to it later. I’ll sum it up with this - Wild Kratts is a show that teaches boys it’s not only ok to be kind, but essential. The brothers protect defenseless animals, advocate for things “icky” and “weird,” like bugs or snakes or worms - not because they’re boys, and boys like icky things, but because they genuinely see the beauty in all life, and are encouraging us to slow down and do the same. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world not by being the strongest or smartest or coolest, but by looking after those who are exploited and vulnerable, who are essential to the world, even if they can’t always do everything. In Wild Kratts the only weaknesses a man can have isn’t what he can’t do, but what he does do that he shouldn’t have. Sure, it’s a cute show about two funny guys who have cool powers, but it’s also a show about accountability, compassion, respect and trust. The show says “boys will be boys” in all the right ways - Martin is a lovable goof with a heart of gold, but he still has to get his act together when he messes up, and he’s still creative and smart and openly sensitive. Chris is a bit of a know-it-all show-off, but he can also mess up as much as his brother, and is still bold, brave, adventurous, and can put his money where his mouth is. Jimmy is a cowardly, napping, eating machine video-gamer, but he’s still a valued member of the team, has incredible skills and talents, and will always help his friends, even if he is really, really scared. It is so important to have role models like these, in a world dominated by unhealthy machismo. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world - both animated, and real.

All they need now is a canon queer character, and I’ll stan them forever! My money’s on Aviva!!

[unfortunatelydead]

SO I am a really big Adventure Time fan and I made a decision for all the people in my life who wanted to watch the show but didn’t want to watch unnecessary episodes: to create a watch guide.

Surprisingly whenever I talked about it, a lot of people were interested. 

So, below the cut, my Adventure Time watch guide:

*Not a lot of episodes could, in my opinion, be cut. My reasons for not cutting an episode could be because it has a character that comes back later in the series, a certain character needed more screen time, or as simple a reason as I personally feel like it shouldn’t be cut. However, some episodes that I think just enhance the series or are particularly memorable, but aren’t necessary, are labelled as “not necessary but fun/cute”

Adventure time watch guide: The necessary episodes Season 1: 1.) slumber party panic, episode 1  2.) trouble in lumpy space 3.) prisoners of love 4.) tree trunks 5.) enchiridion 6.) the jiggler 7.) Ricardio 8.) business time (not necessary) 9.) my two favorite people 10.) boom boom mountain 11.) wizard school (not necessary but fun) 12.) Evicted 13.) city of thieves 14.) the witch’s garden 15.) what is life 16.) fear of the ocean 17.) when wedding bells thaw, ice wedding (not necessary) 18.) dungeon 19.) duke of nuts 20.) magic man, freak city 21.) Donny 22.) henchman aka marceline pt 2 23.) bmo cuteness, rainy day dream (not necessary) 24.)what have you done (not necessary) 25.) BILLY THE HERO 26.) gut grinder Season 2: 1.) it came from the nightosphere 2.)horse eyes 3.)nice king (not necessary) 4.) blood under the skin 5.)storytelling (not necessary) 6.)snail love (not necessary) 7.) power animal 8.)crystals have power 9.)royal tart toter (not necessary but fun) 10.) beautiful hair 11.) chamber of frozen blades 12.) her parents 13.) the pods 14.) a silent king 15.) the real you 16.) guardians of sunshine (not necessary) (different animation style episode) 17.) death in bloom 18.) Susan strong 19.) mystery train (not necessary) 20.) go with me 21.) belly of the beast, party bears 22.) ancient psychic tandem war elephant 23.) video makers (not necessary) 24.) mortal folly, the lich king 25.) mortal recoil 26.) heat signature (not necessary) Season 3: 1.) conquest of cuteness 2.) ghost gladiators (not necessary but fun) 3.) memory of a memory 4.) hitman 5.) baby pb, lemongrab 6.) the monster aka lumpy space princess (not necessary) 7.) still (not necessary) 8.) wizard battle 9.) fionna and cake pt 1 (not necessary but fun) 10.) what was missing 11.) Apple thief, the pig 12.) murder mystery dinner party 13.) zombies, again (not necessary) 14.) beautopia, return of Susan strong 15.) no one can hear you, THE DEER EPISODE 16.) jake vs memow 17.) snow golem and fire puppy 18.) cosmic owl croak dream 19.) holly jolly secrets 20.) holly jolly secrets pt 2 21.)marceline’s closet (not necessary) 22.) paper Pete (not necessary) 23.) another way, clown nurses (not necessary) 24.) ghost princess’ story 25.) dad’s dungeon 26.) incendium, intro of flame princess Season 4: 1.) hot to the touch, more flame princess 2.) five short graybles 3.) stuck in spiders web (not necessary) 4.) dream of love 5.) return to the nightosphere 6.) return to the nightosphere pt 2 7.) in your footsteps 8.) hug wolf (not necessary) 9.) princess monster wife (not necessary) 10.) goliad 11.) beyond this earthly realm, (not necessary) 12.) gotcha 13.) card wars 14.) princess cookies 15.) son of Mars 16.) burning low 17.) bmo noire 18.) king worm 19.) lady and peebles 20.) you made me 21.) who would win (not necessary) 22.) ignition point 23.) the hard easy, mega frog, (not necessary) 24.)reign of gunthers 25.) I REMEMBER YOU 26.) The Lich Season 5: 1.) Finn the human 2.) jake the dog 3.) five more short graybles 4.) up a tree (not necessary but fun) 5.) All the little people (not necessary) 6.) jake the dad 7.) davey (not necessary) 8.) mystery dungeon (not necessary) 9.) all your fault 10.) little dude (not necessary) 11.) bad little boy (Fionna and cake pt 2) (not necessary but fun) 12.) vault of bones 13.) the great bird man 14.) Simon and Marcy 15.) a glitch is a glitch (not necessary but fun) (different animation style episode) 16.) Puhoy <3 17.) BMO Lost 18.) princess potluck 19.) James Baxter 20.) shhh! (Not necessary) 21.) the suitor 22.) party’s over (not necessary) 23.) one last job (jake jr’s episode?) 24.) another more five short graybles 25.) candy streets 26.) wizards only, fools 27.) jake suit 28.) be more 29.) sky witch 30.) frost and fire 31.) too old 32.) earth and water 33.) time sandwich (not necessary but fun) 34.) THE VAULT 35.) love games 36.) dungeon train 37.) box prince 38.) red starved 39.) we fixed a truck (not necessary) 40.) play date 41.) the pit 42.) James 43.) root beer guy 44.) Apple wedding 45.) blade of grass 46.) rattleballs 47.) the red throne 48.) Betty 49.) bad timing (not necessary) 50.) lemon hope part 1 51.) lemonhope part 2 52.) Billy’s bucket list Season 6: 1.) wake up 2.) escape from the citadel 3.) James 2 4.) the tower 5.) sad face (not necessary) 6.) breezy 7.) food chain (not necessary but fun) (different animation style episode) 8.) furniture and meat 9.) the prince who wanted everything (fionna and cake pt 3) (not necessary but fun) 10.) something big 11.) little brother (not necessary) 12.) ocarina (Kim Kil Whan’s episode) 13.) crabapples (not necessary but fun) 14.) princess day 15.) nemesis 16.) Joshua and Margaret 17.) ghost fly (not necessary) 18.) everything’s jake (not necessary) 19.) is that you 20.) jake the brick (not necessary but fun) 21.) dentist 22.) the cooler 23.) the pajama war 24.) evergreen 25.) astral plane 26.) gold stars 27.) the visitor 28.) the mountain 29.) dark purple 30.) diary (tv’s episode) 31.) walnuts and rain (not necessary but fun) 32.) friends forever (not necessary) 33.) jermaine 34.) chips and ice cream (not necessary) 35.) graybles 1000+ 36.) hoots 37.) water park prank (not necessary) (different animation style episode) 38.) you forgot your floaties 39.) be sweet 40.) orgalorg 41.) on the lam 42.) hot digging dam 43.) the comet Season 7: 1.) Bonnie and Neddy 2.) varmints 3.) cherry cream soda 4.) mama said 5.) football 6.) STAKES, part 1 7.) STAKES, part 2 8.) STAKES, part 3 9.) STAKES, part 4 10.) STAKES, part 5 11.) STAKES, part 6 12.) STAKES, part 7 13.) STAKES, part 8 14.) The more you moe 15.) summer showers (viola’s episode) 16.) angel face 17.) president porpoise is missing (not necessary) 18.) blank eyed girl (not necessary but fun) 19.) bad jubies (not necessary) (different animation style episode) 20.) kings ransom 21.) scamps (not necessary) 22.) crossover 23.) the hall of egress 24.) flute spell 25.)the thin yellow line (not necessary but fun) Season 8: 1.) broke his crown 2.) don’t look (not necessary but fun) 3.) beyond the grotto (not necessary but fun) (different animation style episode) 4.) lady rainicorn of the crystal dimension 5.) I am a sword 6.) bun bun 7.) normal man 8.) elemental 9.) five short tables (fionna and cake pt 4) (not necessary but fun) 10.) the music hole 11.) daddy-daughter card wars (Charlie’s episode) 12.) pre boot 13.) reboot 14.) two swords 15.) do no harm 16.) wheels (bronwyn’s episode) 17.) high strangeness 18.) horse and ball 19.) jelly beans have power 20.) Islands pt 1 21.) Islands pt 2 22.) Islands pt 3 23.) Islands pt 4 24.) Islands pt 5 25.) Islands pt 6 26.) Islands pt 7 27.) Islands pt 8 Season 9: 1.) orb 2.) elements pt 1 3.) elements pt 2 4.) elements pt 3 5.) elements pt 4 6.) elements pt 5 7.) elements pt 6 8.) elements pt 7 9.) elements pt 8 10.) abstract 11.) ketchup (different animation style episode) 12.) fionna and cake and fionna (not necessary but fun) (fionna and cake pt 5) 13.) whispers 14.) three buckets Season 10: 1.) the Wild hunt 2.) always bmo closing 3.) son of rap bear 4.) bonnibel bubblegum 5.) seventeen 6.) ring of fire 7.) Marcy and hunson 8.) the first investigation 9.) blenanas (for some reason this episode is separate on Hulu?) (not necessary) 10.) jake the starchild (out of order on Hulu, this one comes before temple of Mars) 11.) temple of Mars (out of order on Hulu, watch this one after jake the starchild) 12.) gumbaldia 13.) Come along with me Adventure Time: Distant Lands- 1.) BMO 2.) Obsidian 3.) Together Again (not yet released) 4.) Wizard City (not yet released)

[contre-qui]

Tag 9 people to learn about their interests.

I was tagged by: @just-a-cup-of-anxietea (I'm sure you already knew, but this just really highlights how indecisive I am!)

MUSIC

Fave genre? Pop rock/pop punk usually (but a little bit of everything)

Fave artist? It's hard to pick one but I really love Patrick Wolf and Dolly Parton

Fave song? Again so hard to pick but probably "The Magic Position" by Patrick Wolf

Most listened song recently? "Coming Home" by Leon Bridges

Song currently stuck in your head? "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac and "Vengo Dalla Luna" by Måneskin

5 fave lyrics? (Why is this so hard???)

Hear the Salvation Army band./Down by the riverside/Bound to be a better ride/Than what/you've got planned./Carry your gun in your hand./Look around,/Leaves are brown,/And the sky is a hazy shade of winter. ("Hazy Shade of Winter" - yes the Gerard Way/Ray Toro version from Umbrella Academy let me live)

I hear her voice in the mornin' hour, she calls me/The radio reminds me of my home far away/Drivin' down the road, I get a feelin'/That I should've been home yesterday ("Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver)

If the children don't grow up,/Our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up./We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turnin' every good thing to/Rust.I guess we'll just have to adjust ("Wake Up" by Arcade Fire)

Just beyond your limits/Find the new frontier/I live in the darkness/It's dark in here ("Dark In Here" by The Mountain Goats)

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands | pop or indie | loud or silent volume I slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on

BOOKS

Fav book genre? Sci fi/fantasy

Fave writer? Neil Gaiman, Audre Lorde, Ray Bradbury, Lev Grossman, Markus Zusak, Mary Shelley, and probably more but that would take a long list

Fave book? I simply cannot pick a favorite. But a selection includes: Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, and the list goes on and on and on

Fave book series? The Magicians Trilogy by Lev Grossman

Comfort book? The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Rainy day book? Probably poetry actually

Fave characters? Julia Wicker from The Magicians, Elphaba Thropp from Wicked, Crowley from Good Omens... Probably some others but I don't really imprint on book characters as much as I do on the books themselves.

5 quotes from your fave books?

"Aye. You gender-malcontent. You otherling," she said [...]. "Me too. I am a boy and a girl and a witch all wrapped into one strange, flimsy, indecisive body. Do you think my body couldn't decide what it wanted to be?"

"I think it doesn't matter because we get to decide what our bodies are or are not, " he answered.

[...] "Is that so? Then I am magic. I say it, therefore it is true," she said. (An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon)

[...] for each of us encounters the Lady on the Grey at the end of our days, and there is no forgetting her. (The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman)

Most people are blind to magic. They move through a blank and empty world. They’re bored with their lives, and there’s nothing they can do about it. They’re eaten alive by longing, and they’re dead before they die. (The Magicians by Lev Grossman)

He lingered at the door, and said, "The Lion wants courage, the Tin Man a heart, and the Scarecrow brains. Dorothy wants to go home. What do you want?" [...]

She couldn't say forgiveness, not to Liir. She started to say "a soldier," to make fun of his mooning affections over the guys in uniform. But realizing even as she said it that he would be hurt, she caught herself halfway, and in the end what came out of her mouth surprised them both.

She said, "A soul-" (Wicked by Gregory Maguire)

Night after night we had talked until dawn in this room about language and poetry and love and the good conduct of living. Yet we were strangers. (Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde)

hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature | listening to music while reading or reading in silence | reading in order or reading the ending first | reliable or unreliable narrator | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or by the summary | rereading or reading just once

TV AND MOVIES

Fave tv/movie genre? Sci fi/fantasy and comedy

Fave movie? Lord of the Rings or Terry Pratchett's The Hogfather

Comfort movie? The Dark Crystal, The Parent Trap (1998), The Neverending Story, Legally Blonde, The Princess Diaries, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Last Unicorn

Movie you watch every year? Hocus Pocus, The Hogfather, Lord of the Rings (the whole trilogy), and The Muppets' A Christmas Carol

Fave tv show? Doctor Who (earlier reboot seasons specifically)

Comfort tv show? The IT Crowd

Most rewatched tv show? Doctor Who

5 fave characters? Donna Noble (Doctor Who), Chidi Anagonye (The Good Place), Maurice Moss (IT Crowd), Eliot Waugh (The Magicians [the show]), and Susan (The Hogfather)

tv shows or movie | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or bingeing | one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off | rewatching or watching just once | downloads or watches online

Tagging (no pressure!): @nr-studies @mymessystudyblr @magnusacademia and anyone else who'd like to do this!

[fizzingwizard]

Ep 38 is another good one! We are on a roll. I have some thoughts on why and whether I could still end up whining in future episodes again... but for now let’s just enjoy the moment.

We are finally catching up with Yamato (and Jou) who has the sort of episode you’d expect from the brooding lone wolf of the group. I wish they’d pushed it just a liiiittle further than they did and I’ll tell you why below. Still, the point is we learned some things we needed to about Yamato, and with some higher than usual stakes (for a side plot) than usual.

Pic of the day, though, is all about his highness, our lord and savior, JOOOOOOOOO.

You will bow before him, peasant!

More below.

Like I said, the stakes are a bit high this week:

Right off the bat, Gabumon’s been beaten, captured, and tied to a cross...

... where Mephismon (this guy) is apparently planning to kill him in ritual sacrifice.

In other words, this episode is: Yamato and Gabumon Go To Digimon Hell

:P

I mean... Mephismon even looks scary. Very Satanic. Gives me chill, lol. Probably not as scary for kids who didn’t grow up being hit over the head with a Bible every day by evangelicals, though. Sometimes I look back on my childhood and just think “wtf?”

That being said, Mephismon is the sort of lackey you’d expect Millenniumon to have, much more in the vein of Devimon or DarkKnightmon. Aka, pretty darn scary. I was so frustrated for so long by all the small fry Digimon Taichi “struggled” with by himself for no apparent reason - they felt like filler episodes, tbh - filler for a show that has no reason to have filler!

And I STILL do NOT understand why we got WarGreymon’s evolution over a totally forgettable nobody Digimon, but these recent episodes with Koushirou, Mimi, and Yamato have all been serious crises where the characters put everything on the line, and yet nobody evolves. It’s not that I think they HAD to evolve here - I can see they’re leading up to it and since that guarantees more focus on them in the future, I’m totally down for that. What I don’t understand is why Taichi DIDN’T get that. Why play WarGreymon so early? The episode itself did involve Taichi challenging himself, but it all felt so setup. And so unmemorable that it’s just hard to care.

Anyway... I’m ranting about things that didn’t happen in this episode. Rant over xD Back to Yamato.

His desperate play to rescue Gabumon by himself goes as well as you’d expect.

Yamato: I’m too cool for this shit

He is chased by those gas mask-wearing Digimon whose name I forget. But they are conveniently blown back by the gush of a timely geyser. Geyser, you say? That means hot springs must be nearby. If hot springs are nearby...

Jou: Now I know what it feels like to be Team Rocket!

Jou falls out of the sky and right into Yamato’s path. Dressed in nothig but a towel, he looks to Yamato like a scrawny, nerdy, guardian angel.

Yamato: You’ve gotta help me, Clarence. Fly me to the top of the mountain.

Jou: I can’t, I haven’t got my wings.

Yamato: Yeah, you’re about what I’d expect my guardian angel to be like...

So, Jou immediately starts to chatter at Yamato, and it looked to me like Yamato might be getting annoyed. If this were 99 Adventure, he’d had snapped and said something like, “Can’t you see Gabumon’s gone? Aren’t you even going to ask about that or do you only think about yourself?”

But this is 2020 Yamato, and 2020 Digimon Adventure, where the kids are all Very Nice and don’t have much in the way of flaws. That’s my number one complaint about this show so far. So Yamato just waits for the moment where Jou needs to take a breath to break and ask for his help rescuing Gabumon.

(Gomamon reminds Jou to get dressed first, thankfully.)

Up on the mountain peak, Mephismon sacrifices the Data of poor blue!Elecmon to the fragment of Millenniumon he is guarding.

At first I was like, why do Yamato and Jou know about these crystals?? But then they’re like, we heard from Taichi over the digivice. Ah, of course. I kind of miss the old digivices that pre-date smartphones :P

Yamato explains how they ended up in this situation, and I REALLY like this. They came across Mephismon sacrificing innocent Digimon on their journey to reunite with the rest of the team, and it was Gabumon who insisted they had to stay and save them. Gabumon!

So this is not the first time we’ve seen the Digimon partners take initiative this season. The lack of personal flaws and personality clashes are my least favorite part of the reboot, but the increased agency of the Digimon themselves is probably my favorite. When DanDevimon swallowed Taichi, it was Agumon’s pain that caused his warp evolution. Not saying Taichi had nothing to do with it, but the focus was certainly way more on how losing his partner sent Agumon over the edge. Now we’ve got Yamato actually arguing with Yamato because he feels so passionate about rescuing the captured Digimon.

Yamato’s not heartless, of course - he just prioritizes the people closest to him first. And I have no idea if we’ll see much more of this sort of willpower from Gabumon - it’s partly there for convenience, since no one else is around. (Last time, it was Sora who wanted to help others at their own risk and Yamato clashed with her over the same thing.) The other reason is, this is the episode where we find out how Yamato and Gabumon became friends - which is especially important for the guy who gets the Crest of Friendship - so they needed something a bit more meaty than “the proof of our friendship is I follow you wherever you go and do whatever you want.”

But I love it because it really makes them feel like partners.

Of course, Yamato can’t say no in the end, so he and Gabumon go to save the Digimon. But they’re overwhelmed.

The vision of his partner’s bony ass shrinking into the distance as bullets fly overhead will haunt his dreams always ;^;

Yamato: Once a psychic read my palm and said I have an unusually short life line. I guess she was right. But she also said I’d marry Emma Stone and have eight children.

Jou: are you sure she wasn’t just playing a game of MASH?

While Yamato and Jou plan their strategy, we switch back to the rest of the team, where the girls are having tea time.

I know I complain about this every time but WHO DA HECK decided Sora and Mimi should wear the same color scheme look what you did now they both blend into the couch

The boys talk a bit of shop, then Takeru reveals that he and Yamato don’t live together because their parents fight and don’t get to see each other because they both work so much. He doesn’t really come out and say “they’re divorced” but he says he and his brother are separated. Even though Yamato calls Takeru to talk a lot, Takeru still feels sad that there are things he misses since they live so far apart.

Taichi assures Takeru that Yamato will be fine, pointing out that Yamato had already been adventuring in the digital world for an unknown amount of time before Taichi’s group ever got there. Wow, haven’t referenced that in literally ages. I’m glad these things are finally relevant again. Also like how it seems to confirm Taichi still kinda holds special admiration for Yamato. That seemed like the route they were going way back when Yamato joined the group in episode 8, but then it wasn’t touched on till now.

Then we get the long-awaited Yamato & Gabumon origin story! Yamato appears to have arrived in the digital world in a similar way that Taichi did. He looks the same, so probably it wasn’t a huge time difference (in human world time anyway).

At first, Yamato’s like, “leave me alone. I don’t have any interest in the digital world. Where’s the exit?” And Tsunomon says, “Fine, then I will just protect you whether you want me to or not.”

Yamato: Reeeeeally wishing Ikkakumon could fly, lol

Yamato recalls how, despite his chilly behavior, Tsunomon still jumped to his rescue.

(The rescue involved Ikkakumon shooting torpedoes up the mountainside so Yamato can grab them and climb to the top. What I don’t get is why this didn’t draw Mephismon’s attention :P I guess he figured his gas mask lackeys would handle it but uh.)

Past!Yamato rescues Tsunomon, who is so touched that he is able to evolve. Yamato makes an attempt to remain aloof...

... but in the end he turns into Taichi :P

So that’s the origin story! It’s more or less what I figured. Kind of surprised we didn’t get any scenes of them in the digital world proper, since I got the impression Yamato was familiar with that world as well as this plane that seems to be a sort of interface between worlds. But maybe not, who knows.

What they try to do here is set up that Yamato is an aloof type who tries to avoid relationships. But he snaps out of it and warms up to people so fast that it’s hard to really appreciate it. Plus he doesn’t really do much to push them away other than say “leave me alone.” Eh.

Lol it’s funny because he’s strapped to the cross but because his leg fur hangs like that, from behind it looks like he’s just standing there....

Mephismon starts to sacrifice Gabumon!

A power blast of dark energy starts to pulse from the mountain, sending everyone to their knees. Jou thinks fast and hides inside his bag. Nylon is good at blocking out satanic chanting after all.

His eyes fall on... his textbooks! Social studies, chemistry, the periodic table, Japanese history memorization textbook... these useless books! Could they actually be useful?!?!?!

no.

no they couldn’t

Yamato: Ahh! That’s it, I have got to start lifting more.

But wait - Jou gets an idea. There’s something that calms him when he’s stressed and that’s... chanting passages from his rote memorization technique books x’D So he sits down and... it’s basically a throw back to the Bakemon episode in 99. I believe he’s chanting things from the Japanese history book, but as I’ve never been a Japanese kid, I’d have to do more research than I want to to figure out for sure.

He then switches to chanting the numerals of pi! He has pi memorized! x’D I don’t know why that should surprise me. He soon begins to glow with the Zen energy of a cram school trance.

Jou: 3.14159265359... 3.14159265359...

Gas mask Digimon: 3.14159265359.... 3.14159265359...

These bright ripples emanate from Jou, counteracting the evil ripples coming from Mephismon’s mountain. It soon pulls the gas mask Digimon into the trance as well.

Ikkakumon: ... I have no effing idea what is going in this episode on anymore

Jou comes out of the trance to discover the gas mask Digimon ARE NOW HIS OBEDIENT SUBJECTS. WHAT.

(see I told you you’d bow)

seriously what just happened! XD is this Jou’s mutant power

or is this something all Japanese children who survive juku can do as a result of spending so much time memorizing shit

Ikkakumon then is able to shoot a bunch better pathway of torpedoes for Yamato to climb and MEPHISMON STILL DOESN’T NOTICE

Yamato finally makes it to the peak!

Mephismon’s like, “nice try, but what were you planning to do now? You left your friend at the bottom of the mountain and I’ve got your partner. And I doubt you’ve memorized all the numerals of pi.”

He kindly creates an evil burning vortex to increased the hellishness of the landscape. He understands that a Yamato episode needs the proper ambience.

Gabumon’s about to be sacrificed to Digi-Satan lmao

Yamato steps into the pentagram and get shocked. But he presses on despite the difficulty (and the hellfire), thinking about how much his partner means to him.

He drops to his knees while Gabumon begs him to save himself.

Yamato: “You’re my... friend!”

The power of friendship destroys the pentragram and also frees Gabumon from the cross.

The Crest of Friendship glows...

Gabumon is strengthened and becomes... WereGarurumon.

:P

Yeah... seemed like a good time for MetalGarurumon but whatever.

After a cool but brief fight, Mephismon is defeated.

He appears frozen? Can Gabumon freeze stuff? Whatev. Anyway he’s frozen and then disintegrates.

Gabumon is tired but happy. Their bond is now even stronger.

Cute Takeru on Pegasusmon flies down to his brother at last.

And the others wave up to them from Komondomon. Aw. So finally the team is back together! ;__; Please let it last this time, please please please....

Kay so, overall... I liked this episode. The whole “You’re my friend!” bit would have been stronger if we’d seen more of Yamato resisting that though. I don’t really know why but the reboot seems to pull its punches a lot. I really wish they’d let the kids be mean to each other like 99 Adventure did sometimes. Being mean doesn’t mean you’re a bad person and a terrible influence on children watching your show. It just means you are human and your viewers can learn from watching your mistakes and seeing your growth. Try to understand that, showrunners :P

A missed opportunity in this episode: Yamato and Jou. I was excited that they were gonna be together because they often clashed in 99. And in the reboot as well, it was established that Yamato is annoyed by Jou, although he’s much more polite and hadn’t said anything about it till now (just stayed away from wherever Jou was until he fell asleep lol). So I thought, in this ep, we’d see them butt heads and learn to work together, something like that. But aside from the very first moment where Yamato might look a teensy bit annoyed, they just get alone fine. Idk. Not interesting.

In the end, though, the ep was clearly meant to be Yamato only and Jou was just there as a matter of convenience so the whole group would be together at the end. Since the team is finally reunited, I hope we do start to see all of them interacting in different ways that show their personalities more. Might not be the same as 99 (or, I should say definitely won’t be, at this point), but just something more than “look how well we all get along.”

Next week...

Looks to be a light and funny episode. The Burgermon were one of my fav bits of Frontier. But I’m a little nervous about this being a Jou epiosde. It’s his turn, I know, but everyone else got something meaningful. Even Mimi - though there was lots of humor in her episode, she was also major league cool the entire time. Maybe that will be the case with Jou here, but I’m not sure because 2020 Jou is a little different - more scatterbrained, more open, more talkative, less serious, less likely to act sullen... he’s quite different, now that I think about it. So I’m actually having difficulty imagining what his personal test will be in this episode. Guess we’ll have to wait and find out. Maybe it won’t even be that kind of episode anyway.

Also, just a guess, but next week is ep 39. So ep 40 maybe will be the start of something big again. It would be good timing: the team’s together and everyone’s had a chance recently for an episode to themselves...

See y’all next week! As usual didn’t check for typos :P