#disenchantment part 2

[imdcathsmeow]

Seeing Zøg and Oona end things on good terms was really touching 🥹🥹🥹

Also Oona being a great stepmom to Bean 😭😭

I feel like I barely get to see these kinds of moments in animation

[colin-firth]

at this point it almost feels like joe alwyn was the one kept locked away for 6 years because the man couldn't fill up his car or get a haircut without getting stalked. the photos coming out now are at events where he has an opportunity to know it's coming, select his clothing and styling, wear a pin representing a cause that's important to him. he has control of his appearances now instead of gritting his teeth during pap walks for backgrid.

we know how ts feels when she feels the narrative is being pulled out of her control ("gaslit by an entire system"). a sense of control over one's own life seems essential for sanity and i don't think it's fair for people to gloss over the part where she agreed to the level of privacy he needed and publicly endorsed it during some of her media statements made during the relationship (which i applaud for being unusually restrained and mature at the time). extreme extroverts and extreme introverts can try to make it work but neither is wrong if it doesn't work (if the breakdown is specifically about that difference between them) and it's kinda crappy to couch it in terms of "being locked away" now. especially since some of the locking away was due to a global pandemic.

joe alwyn wasn't on my radar for most of the 6 years except 1) i felt her music entered a new era of relationship contentment and grown up sensuality that reflected late 20s/early 30s womanhood and then transitioned into a more literary set of albums (folkmore) that had a broader focus thematically and 2) i heard little about him and there was effectively zero romantic drama for 5 full years. what a break for her (and us!).

now i'm more impressed by him than ever. he's quiet in the wake of it all, focuses on his industry commitments and the work he's doing, and absolutely glows with newfound relaxed joy. i absolutely do not think women shouldn't be entitled to have strong, deep emotions and write about those experiences. her work is perhaps the strongest ever in terms of conveying a feminine quixotic, idealized romantic viewpoint and then the flipside of idealizing (it's giving BPD!!!) which is devaluation/disillusionment/disenchantment, resentment, feelings of being deceived or let down ("maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up" being the early and best example).

the way joe has handled this, though, has made his status in my mind go from "just some guy" to an example of stability and fortitude that interests me. I personally believe that not publicly suffering is not necessarily a sign of callous lack of empathy - sometimes it means maturity and perspective. sw*fties harassing her exes want/ed to see a public mea culpa/punishment/expression of suffering that they feel equals their idols' - it's giving fatal attraction from those fans. maybe we don't need our past partners to suffer. maybe processing feelings involves personal reflection and doesn't require another party.

i'll leave off with this to support idealization/devaluation (the classic bpd trend):

Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes

'Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel

Say you're sorry, that face of an angel

And I damn sure would've never danced with the devil

Dear reader, when you aim at the devil

He looks up, grinning like a devil

[renthony]

Some recs for adult animation I enjoy:

People always seem to think I only watch kids' shows, so here's a list of animated television shows I adore, that were all made with adults in mind:

King of the Hill - Genuinely didn't think I'd like it, but I actually really love it? I expected something that was basically just The Simpsons or Family Guy, but got a surprising amount of emotional depth from the main cast. Bobby Hill is my son boy.

Futurama - I am legally obligated to list Futurama. I have watched the entire series so many fucking times. I'm going to watch the reboot and we all know it.

Disenchantment - It's more than just "Futurama medieval fantasy" but tonally, they are pretty similar. I enjoy it immensely. Bean is a #bicon, and that's fucking canon <3

Samurai Jack - The original show aired as a kids' show, but the revival apparently put it into the adult category. I haven't gotten that far yet, but holy shit, it's so good so far. Even the "kids' show" part is pretty mature, imho.

Bob's Burgers - I fucking love Bob's Burgers. I need to catch up on the more recent seasons. A sitcom that DOESN'T have parents who clearly hate each other? Whaaaat?

Harley Quinn - I'm not caught up, and there are aspects I have critiques of, but overall, it's been fun as fuck. I LOVE this interpretation of Ivy so fucking much.

Metalocalypse - My dad's a metal musician, so this was on in my house all the time when I was a teenager. I haven't watched it in *years* but I still reference the early seasons in conversation constantly. The Duncan Hills will wake you, motherfuckers.

Big Mouth/Human Resources - They are better than you think they are, and the "ugly style" reminds me of classic Klasky-Csupo. Compare it to Rugrats and tell me it doesn't have similar caricature styles. Story-wise, it nails the exact blend of panicked awkwardness I felt as a disaster tween, it has SO MANY queer characters. They dramatically improved on their more problematic aspects after getting called on it in seasons 1 and 2. And Human Resources made me sob like a little baby in the episode with Kieth from Grief.

BoJack Horseman - Starts off as a goofy gross-out humor sitcom but very quickly becomes a serious drama. Incredibly heavy and dark, but holy shit the catharsis. Delves into a lot of musings about morality, celebrity culture and Hollywood, generational trauma, and the perpetuation of cycles.

Tuca & Bertie - Goofy slice-of-life about characters navigating their 30s. Lots of musings about family, trauma, sexual abuse, queer dating in your 30s, friendship, and trying to survive it all. I relate so fucking much to the main cast.

Magical Girl Friendship Squad - It's a magical girl cartoon about milennials. Their magical girl weapons are birth control pills and a bong. It's fucking amazing. I'm really sad nobody else seems to have heard of it. :(

Little Demon - Sitcom about the Devil's daughter. Unsure if it's going to get a season 2, since it's about to get taken completely off of Hulu. Still worth watching if you can, because it's so fucking good. Centers on a teenage girl navigating Being A Teenage Girl while also dealing with her dad being the Devil and her mom being a traumatized mess who's figuring her own shit out.

Q-Force - The advertising did this show so fucking dirty. It was genuinely fucking funny, and it was clearly made with love. This isn't straight people making fun of us, this is queer people making queer comedy. Watch it.

Arcane - Arcane's politics are all over the place and I am in my "Silco Was Right" corner, which is right next to the "Magneto Was Right" clubhouse. But goddamn, the animation is gorgeous and the story is intense.

The Legend of Vox Machina - I haven't watched Critical Role, so I can say with confidence that this show is fucking amazing even if you have zero interest in the original gameplay streams. Fantasy animation for grownups, where they can show blood and titties, my beloved. <3

[kuroov]

⸻ THE PATH OF SATORU GOJO AND HIS TRUE ENLIGHTENMENT

or in other words, me being a delusional gojo dick rider

this post contains: jujutsu kaisen spoilers, theories, slight gore, religious (Buddhism) talks. My maybe incoherent rambling? No seriously this might be very incoherent and messily put together, so I’m sorry in advance 😭

This is an expanded and refreshed version of my previous theory while I hate what Gege did, I have this odd believe there is a big piece we all are missing and it might be delusions, but I think this piece or rather those pieces are crucial to get Gojo back, so stay strong fellow Gojo lovers

ANYWAYS let’s dig into it

Before we go into the depths of the Jujutsu Kaisen Manga. I want to dig further into Buddhism, because part of it is crucial for this theory.

First of Buddhism basically teaches that human life is one of suffering, it’s a cycle that you can only escape through becoming a “better” person. If you’re bad person, you will be a bad person in your next life and so on, that is until you stop wanting things, until you start letting go off greed, hatred and ignorance etc. It’s believed one shall reach Nirvana and become enlightened when this happens — so to put it in simple words. Good now, good later, bad now, even worse later. Got it?

“The four noble truths”

1. Dukkha (Suffering) — Humans are subjected to desires and cravings, but even when we obtain those cravings, satisfy those desires. It’s only merely temporary. Pleasure does not last, so evenwhen we are not suffering from outward causes like illness or bereavement, we are unfulfilled, unsatisfied because none of this things last, and if they do they become monotonous

2. Samudāya (The origins of Suffering) — Buddha discovered that the root of all suffering comes from one thing and that’s desire, which comes in three forms or rather the three roots of evil.

Greed and desire, represented in by a rooster

Ignorance or delusion, represented by a pig

Hatred and destructive urges, represented by a snake

In the Fire Sermon Buddha has taught the Buddhist Monks more about suffering.

Bhikkhus, all is burning. And what is the all that is burning?

The eye is burning, forms are burning, eye-consciousness is burning, eye-contact is burning, also whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with eye-contact for its indispensable condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion. I say it is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs.

The Fire Sermon (SN 35:28), translation by N̄anamoli Thera. © 1981 Buddhist Publication Society, used with permission

Buddha went on to say the same of the other four senses, and the mind, showing that attachment to positive, negative and neutral sensations and thoughts is the cause of suffering.

3. Nirodha (Cessation of Suffering) — How do you stop suffering? Buddha’s teaching says that you stop it, once you liberate yourself from attachment.

Bhikkhus, when a noble follower who has heard (the truth) sees thus, he finds estrangement in the eye, finds estrangement in forms, finds estrangement in eye-consciousness, finds estrangement in eye-contact, and whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful- nor-pleasant that arises with eye-contact for its indispensable condition, in that too he finds estrangement.

The Fire Sermon (SN 35:28), translation by N̄anamoli Thera. © 1981 Buddhist Publication Society, used with permission

"Estrangement" here means disenchantment: a Buddhist aims to know sense conditions clearly as they are without becoming enchanted or misled by them.

When he finds estrangement, passion fades out. With the fading of passion, he is liberated. When liberated, there is knowledge that he is liberated. He understands: 'Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been lived out, what can be done is done, of this there is no more beyond.'

The Fire Sermon (SN 35:28), translation by N̄anamoli Thera. © 1981 Buddhist Publication Society, used with permission

[After death an enlightened person is liberated from the cycle of rebirth.]

4. Magga (Path of the Cessation of Suffering) — The fourth and last noble truth, is the Buddha’s prescription for the end of suffering. This is a set of principles called the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path is also called the Middle Way: it avoids both indulgence and severe asceticism, neither of which the Buddha had found helpful in his search for enlightenment.

The eight divisions. Note the eight stages are not to be taken in order, but rather support and reinforce each other:

Right Understanding - Sammā ditthi

Accepting Buddhist teachings. (The Buddha never intended his followers to believe his teachings blindly, but to practise them and judge for themselves whether they were true.)

Right Intention - Sammā san̄kappa

A commitment to cultivate the right attitudes.

Right Speech - Sammā vācā

Speaking truthfully, avoiding slander, gossip and abusive speech.

Right Action - Sammā kammanta

Behaving peacefully and harmoniously; refraining from stealing, killing and overindulgence in sensual pleasure.

Right Livelihood - Sammā ājīva

Avoiding making a living in ways that cause harm, such as exploiting people or killing animals, or trading in intoxicants or weapons.

Right Effort - Sammā vāyāma

Cultivating positive states of mind; freeing oneself from evil and unwholesome states and preventing them arising in future.

Right Mindfulness - Sammā sati

Developing awareness of the body, sensations, feelings and states of mind.

Right Concentration - Sammā samādhi

Developing the mental focus necessary for this awareness.

The eight stages can be grouped into Wisdom (right understanding and intention), Ethical Conduct (right speech, action and livelihood) and Meditation (right effort, mindfulness and concentration).

The Buddha described the Eightfold Path as a means to enlightenment, like a raft for crossing a river. Once one has reached the opposite shore, one no longer needs the raft and can leave it behind.

The five Skandhas. What are the five Skandhas? They are an essential concept in Buddhist philosophy and psychology, that describe the components that make up the human experience and the illusory nature of a self. They are said to be a big milestone to achieving enlightenment

1. Form (Rupa) — The material or physical aspect of existence. Form encompasses the physical body and the sense organs through which we perceive the external world. Traditionally, these are listed as the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

2. Feelings (Serdana) — The feelings or sensations that arise in response to our experiences, including all pain and pleasure. These feelings can be pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.

3. Perceptions (Samjna) — The mental process of recognizing, identifying, and interpreting sensory information. Perception involves conceptualizing and categorizing our experiences using the information gained by our five senses.

4. Mental Formations (Sankhara) — This includes all our mental activities, including thoughts, emotions, attitudes, intentions, and habitual tendencies.

5. Consciousness (Vijnana) — Consciousness is the subjective knowledge that arises in recognition of the other four skandhas. Simply put, this is your awareness of skandhas one through four.

Like all conditioned or compound phenomena, the five skandhas are impermanent and subject to change and decay. Understanding the nature of the aggregates helps us to realize the insubstantial and impermanent nature of the self and leads to the insight of no self (anatta), which is the foundation of the Buddhist path to liberation.

Buddhahood

Buddhahood is the state of an awakened being, who, has found the path of cessation of “suffering" and they are now in the state of "no-more-learning" as they understand the principle of Suffering and how to cease it. Their mind is cleansed from the three roots of evil (Greed/Desire, Ignorance/Delusions, Hate/Destruction). A Buddha is no longer bound to the cycle of rebirth, but has ended the suffering of it alas a Buddha reached Nirvana.

Nirvana

Nirvana means extinguishing. Attaining nirvana - reaching enlightenment - means extinguishing the three fires of greed, delusion and hatred.

Someone who reaches nirvana does not immediately disappear to a heavenly realm. Nirvana is better understood as a state of mind that humans can reach. It is a state of profound spiritual joy, without negative emotions and fears.

BUT there is “two” stages of Nirvana, one in life and one upon death. The one in life marks the state of a Monk, whose got rid off all attachments and Desires while still having an identity (Body, Name and Life). The Nirvana upon death however is the complete cessation or liberation of everything, including consciousness and rebirth.

We are almost there (no we are not)

Bodhisattva

Bodhisattva means to “seek enlightenment”, it’s the second type of enlightened next to Buddha. The Term however has taken on multiple meanings.

1. Bodhisattava originally referred to the Histrorical Buddha before he reached enlightenment — a Man who has first enlightened himself and then will enlighten others

2. One who achieves enlightenment but not Buddhahood yet — remains on earth to help humans attain salvation

3. Bosatsu is the highest aspiration of Bodhisattava and it’s goal is to save all sentient beings.

Great! Now what does this got to do anything with Jujutsu Kaisen and Gojo?

A lot, because let me tell you. Gojo has never been truly enlightened. But how? I thought his enlightenment was in Hidden Inventory arc.

No we, as the readers have been always under the impression that Gojo was enlightened because of his proclamation, quoting Buddha’s infamous quote. But that doesn’t mean he’s been actually enlightened. Because truth is Gojo was never enlightened.

Satoru Gojo is currently supposed to be 29 years old, however, he isn't. Gojo was sealed October 31st, at around 9:00 pm and unsealed November 19th at an unknown time line. So this means he had spend roughly around 17 days in the prison realm— a space where time didn’t pass for him, and therefore his body has not aged for those 17 days. Gojo’s birthday is the 7th December, but due to the circumstances of the prison realm his body was behind on aging, therefore we adding those 17 days he hasn’t aged to his birthday, the 7th — that would bring us to the number 24. The battle of the strongest was on December 24, so hence that information Gojo is supposed to turn physically 29 that day. But why is the timeline when Gojo turned 29 so important? Because Buddha began his spiritual journey at the age of 29 and this is crucial for Gojo’s possible revival.

As I said Satoru Gojo was born December 7th, 1989 at an unknown time. Instantly the focus was on him, the golden child of the Gojo clan. Why? Because after 100 years, the clan had another potential heir with both the limitless technique and the six eye. It was literally said the balance of the world was altered when he was born, therefore we can all imagine the amount of responsibilities he had. And Gojo most likely was raised with this knowledge, which might be a fundamental reason why we have never seen child Gojo hanging out with people his age. He was either alone or with an adult by his side — but then he went to Jujutsu Tech, he met Suguru, Shoko, Nanami etc. He seemed to finally have friends and what’s more important, he had found an equal in Suguru.

Geto’s department was the reason why Gojo had become a teacher, to foster and guide the new generation and to mend the mistakes that the system did back then with him and Suguru. Gojo wanted to actively create an environment, that would be safe for his students and not make history repeat itself. Personally I believe part of the reason why most of Gojo’s students are considered outcasts in the Jujutsu Society — Maki as someone with zero cursed energy, Toge as someone who can’t even communicate properly because of his technique, Yuta who had a curse attached to him and so on.

But although Gojo cared for people, he still identified them by their strength. And this is another reason why Gojo decided to teach the outcasts of Jujutsu, because he mostly saw the potential in them to be strong, stronger than him under his guidance and share the burden of being the strongest with them or have them outshine him one day. Does this make him a bad person? No, while his selflessness might have stemmed from selfish desires, it doesn’t make him a poor character, but only shades his personality more.

Why am I mentioning this? Because Gojo’s character has always been defined by his strength, his powers — it’s what he identified with, and boosted himself with. And that’s exactly where his flaw lies. Don’t get me wrong, again I’m not saying that Gojo is a bad person or anything along the lines, but I am saying that Gojo is a deeply troubled and complex character and part of the reasons for this are his powers, because he identifies and defines himself by them. Even some of his closed ones define him by his powers.

That being said Gojo had declared to win the battle against Sukuna, because he has no other choice — He’s proclaimed as the strongest sorcerer, so it’s a given he must win, no? HOWEVER Sukuna has never made those claims, he has never called himself the strongest or promised to win on December. What he did say was, that he would kill Gojo and that’s what he did. But fact is Sukuna has never felt the need to attach his identify to titles like Gojo does because, Sukuna is secure in his identity and to be honest he doesn’t give a fuck about anything. He just does want he wants, does things he takes pleasure in and that’s it — A prime example are Haruto and the twin girls, Mimiko and Nanako, he killed them because he just felt like it, simple as that. Sukuna‘s understanding of Jujutsu is also completely different than Gojo’s since he only needs to see something once to understand it and copy it for his own uses. As Angel pointed out, it was a mistake for Gojo to "show" Sukuna how to restore his burnt out Curse Technique. Because Sukuna is able to understand its inner workings and deduce its limits better than Gojo — the fight between him and Mahoraga was another prime example for that. But most important Sukuna doesn’t rely on his techniques, whilst a crucial part of Gojo relies on his six eye to understand and detect cursed energy/techniques.

That brings us to the infamous identity crisis of Satoru Gojo

The recent chapter had this question stand in focus again, because perhaps we finally get an answer to it now. (Putting this off for now, cause I want to focus on something else) and that’s Gojo’s six eye, specifically a Music Video that has dropped months ago by Eve.

First of the chopped fish with the six eye, the biggest eye destroyed specifically. Now while this might seem random, hear me out. Sukuna has referred to Gojo as a nameless fish in one panel, the chopped fish is mostly a reference to that but why destroy it’s eye? When Sukuna didn’t even mention anything about eyes and then the biggest one aswell (as if it’s like a core point here) being destroyed and the other two pictures from the mv — Clearly that’s supposed to be Gojo’s eyes, but why the chains over it? (in the anime chains were used to represent a binding vow) and then the chains disappear and suddenly the dark spot pops up (it’s supposed to be blood I’m assuming, but if you watch the video you can see how it suddenly just stains the picture after the chains disappear. In a way it reminded me of Nobara and how she lost her eye) and that brings me to a significant question: Why make it seem as if Gojo would lose his eye? Or perhaps not his eye but his six eye.

In a picture collage I made, there are several pictures of manga Gojo, and one thing stood out in particular about those frames. One eye is always covered or not shown and that Gojo sketch is drawn in his current fit in the manga, even the hair looks similar to how it was drawn when his dead body was shown — so going back to the main point; WHY IS HIS EYE COVERED?

(Just some examples)

Gege has not done this with anyone so consistently and frequently, but with Gojo. Whose main focus has always been his six eyes; the reason he’s the strongest. The reason his birth altered the jujutsu society is because Gojo has both limitless and the six eyes. In the pictures there are two, where one eye is shown to be injured — he has cuts all over his face, but only one of his eyes is injured directly in the middle of it and it’s the same eye that has been covered up multiple times (this alone is pretty weird but it goes further) Same eye, with a cut/line through it in one picture — looking more bleary than the other eye. Also again in lot of fiction bleary eyes are used to show off blindness. And then the other pictures there, the eye that has been covered and injured before, completely dark now and not even shown and it’s also Gojo’s last move before his death. Again fiction uses one dark eye to represent eye loss (And while I know for anime it’s there to show off rage or badass moments, I believe considering everything this doesn’t sound so far stretched)

And even when he died, you can see that the same eye is more bleary than the other one and even has a subtle line drawn in it, if you look closer. It even seems like it still has some light in it (the little white dot). AND the eye thing has been going on in the anime aswell. shattered glass, blurred eyes — all that.

[Gege is also working closely with Mappa on the anime, just adding this information to make you consider everything that was stated.]

In his official art of Gojo’s revival he has no stitches, but his eyes is glowing or something like that.

Keeping this in mind aswell, let’s move onto the point that made run laps through my room. Kenjaku/Geto, Yuki, Toji and Yuji.

Kenjaku has stated that ever since he possessed Geto’s body he had Moments where he started acting/speaking like him. Furthermore this also seems to be the first time, a body he’s possessed actively tried fighting him. As we see in this panel below (he’s actually trying to choke himself after Gojo called out to him) — now hear me out Gojo’s body is healed, and Yuta is not Kenjaku. He would most likely not resist if Gojo’s body tries to take control over his consciousness. Also according to Kenjaku the Body is the Soul and the Soul body, which is essential to Yuki’s Soul Research and Gojo’s comeback.

Yes you read right — Yuki Tsukumo has been doing active Soul Research and journaling it. And who owns her Journal now? Itadori Yuji, the Protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen and also someone who’s able to capture the Soul.

I am at the picture Limit unfortunately, so I will make a part two that comes out a bit later today

[astralestarologia]

As some of you already know, I am working on a Disenchantment Tarot Deck (Rider Waite Smith based) which is almost complete (all the 78 cards).

It's not the easiest thing to do, because all the images I am using are stills and official artworks from the cartoon, so I have to find a way to fit every image with every card in a way that makes sense. And as a professional Tarot reader, I try to be faithful and loyal to the meanings and symbolisms of the cards and also my work.

One person who told me Elfo should be The Fool (and I agree, already had a Fool card for him that I left the idea behind, but why not posting 2 representations, right?!). But the reason I choose The Jester is not only because he is literally the fool, but also unlike Elfo, Jester is not appearing everytime on the deck (there are literally 2 images on the internet where he graphically looks acceptable to be part of this deck).

I still am struggling to find a great quality picture of Malfus, I want him to be part of the deck as The Hermit, it's the only major arcana I haven't done yet because of the lack of good quality images.

You can see that there are two High Priestess. The Bean one is supposed to be a joke, because that convent moment in the episode made me cry of so much laughing, one of the most iconic moments of the whole show to me! Arch-Druidess is officially the High Priestess anyways...

I also posted two versions of The Lovers. Again, even tho I love both of them I am more of a tradicionalist. I got a picture where shows King Zog very tense in between Oona and Dagmar and to me that would be the PERFECT representation of The Lovers, but the image really did not fit the frame of the card, that's why I choose a scene between Mora and Bean. Which one did you like the most?

Let me know your thoughts so far on this work. Thank you so very much for all the attention given! <3

[tamzarian]

1, 16, 24 for the simpsons ask! With Gloria and/or Laurel, or any other OC you wanna ramble about :]

[Simpsons OC Asks]

1 – How did you discover the show in the first place? Did it inspire you to create an OC right away, or later on?

Having been born just about 10 years after the first episode aired, I was always ever aware of the shows existence for as long as I can remember—of course, I always, for whatever reason, was under the assumption I wasn’t “allowed” to watch the show—after all it was an “adult” show, and I was a kid, so I wouldn’t be allowed to watch it (even though that logic doesn’t hold up—I was allowed to watch way worse stuff as a kid! my parents let me watch pg-13 and R rated movies with endless cursing and innuendo—and one of my favorite shows to watch growing up was Saturday Night Live—a far racier show than the Simpsons)

So, for years I never touched the show despite my awareness of it—even when I started watching Futurama, it’s sister series, I still dared not to touch the Simpsons! (Again, even though Futurama often had significantly racier episodes/jokes!!!)

Hell, even as a teenager, consuming far worse media content wise—I still didn’t watch the show—but at this point it was because it didn’t really pull my interest—from my understanding, the show was more “slice of life” (I didn’t know that was far from the truth, of course) and I just…wasn’t into slice of life type shows. I was into more fantastical adventures (stuff like steven universe, rick and morty, and of course futurama—I seemed to really like sci-fi animation for the most part, and fantasy here and there as well)

So it wasn’t, believe it or not, until 2021, when I was 22 years old, that I finally sat down to properly watch The Simpsons. Up until that point, the ONLY Simpsons episode I had EVER seen was the Futurama crossover—and I ONLY watched it for Futurama (I remember HATING the Simpson characters voices, even)

Anyways, I sat down, put on Season 1, Episode 1…and I thought it was boring. VERY boring.

I pressed on anyways with Season 1, but eventually stopped around episode 3 or 4–because it was just. Too boring. I couldn’t get attached to any of the characters, the pacing felt slow—it wasn’t even that funny. Homer was straight up unlikable, Marge and Lisa barely had personalities…and Bart? Was just okay. I knew he was like, the mascot of “edgy media” circa early 90s, but to me, a person watching in 2021, who grew up on creepypastas and Homestuck? He might as well have been Dennis the Menace (the *American* Dennis—the one that BARELY feels like a menace)

So I stopped watching and didn’t touch the show for two years after that.

In that time I thought about trying again—so I asked everyone in the group chat I was in (who’d watched the show) to tell me all of their favorite episodes, and I would just try watching those instead (since maybe it was just that season 1 wasn’t great, or the first episodes weren’t great) and of course, that’s when I found out that, yeah. Season 1 actually *wasn’t* that great. (I’ve seen a LOT of watch guides say to start with season 2 or 3) Even with that list though, I kinda forgot about the show (the list just. stayed in my backburner for the longest time)

Anyways, it was finally in 2023 I decided to give the show an honest chance again after watching a bunch of Futurama and Disenchantment, and having started my Futurama/Disenchantment account—and after running out of accounts related to those two shows to follow, I decided “hey…maybe I could follow some Simpsons accounts, since its just close enough” …and THAT is how I ended up giving the show another chance.

This is when Gloria started to come together a little in my head—I told my best friend that I was thinking of making a Simpsons OC (before I actually officially started watching the show—I just thought it might be fun to go into it with a rough character idea and develop her as I watched more of the show) and asked her for a suggestion of Who to pair her with (since I thrive off making OCxCanon pairings) and she suggested, immediately, to pair the OC with Krusty the Clown.

I, already being *slightly* familiar with Krusty (and the archetype he fulfilled as a “washed up TV Clown”) thought that was an intriguing idea—so I started trying to think up ideas of how my OC would meet Krusty—so I looked into him as a character, and then watched a bunch of Krusty centric episodes—and because I noticed the circus-theming of his show, I thought “hey, what if I made an acrobat character, and she comes onto the show to do acrobat stuff” so then I came up with and idea of what kind of person would end up being an acrobat on a local television show…

and so her backstory about being a disgraced olympian gymnast came to mind immediately—after all, only someone struggling in that way would put up with the conditions of working on Krusty’s show, lol.

So I put together her backstory, and it just all started falling into place—her parents and family all being athletes (her father being a Mexican olympic swimmer, her mother a Polish olympic runner), Gloria also competing as a figure skater (I needed a way to up the amount of medals she won in the short time she was competing so I picked whatever the most similar sport to gymnastics that there is in the winter games lol), her parents dying tragically when she was very young, her having a previous romantic relationship with Sideshow Bob (him being the reason she was able to get a job on the show—it was a ploy to try and win her back on his part), her already having an obsession with clowns to an extent (in my research, I found out Mexico LOVES clowns. Not surprising to me, since clowns are great, in my humble onion!)

And after that, I started building my universe—eventually I made Laurel because I wanted to make another OC (and Priscilla—fun fact about her—even though I never really watched the show when I was younger, I always thought if I made a Simpsons OC it would be a child named Priscilla? so that’s why I named Laurel’s daughter that—because that name for a Simpsons OC was always in the back of my mind) and somehow Laurel ended up being Krusty’s ex-wife (it started at first as just a quick plot twist my bestie came up with, for an RP I was doing bc I hadn’t decided on Priscilla’s father yet at that point—another potential father we had considered in the RP was Snake, but I couldn’t think of a reason why Laurel would have ever met him. Meanwhile with Krusty, I was able to come up with a backstory for that almost instantly!) and then I just. Kept making more OCs. Vanessa, Jeanie, Fatima, Echo, Hiroshi, and then Bev.

16 – What would an episode centered on your OC look like? Are there specific themes that would be explored through your OC's life?

So a recurring idea I keep thinking of, but haven’t actually figured out the specifics of yet, is the concept of Gloria doing SOMETHING outside of her role on The Krusty Show that gets her significant public attention (which, even as a disgraced former olympian—she still was already fairly popular—especially in Mexico—due to having a likeable and kind personality, being very friendly, and having an infectious laugh)

And I imagine that when she starts getting this attention, it would cause Krusty to get worried that 1) she might leave the show, and 2) she might leave *him* for someone better—Krusty as a character is a very insecure individual, so I imagine any time something like this would happen, he would worry about the stability of their relationship, and if she would stay with him.

So the conflict of the episode would Gloria getting more and more attention, while Krusty gets more and more insecure and worried that she’s going to leave—to the point where he starts pushing her away.

Of course, they would resolve this conflict by the end of the episode, and she would assure him that no matter how popular she gets—HE is the man she is in love with, and that she wants to be with him, for better or worse. He’s HER guapo payaso, after all.

24 – Aside from their home, is there a specific place in Springfield where your OC likes to spend time?

As mentioned in the previous ask, she’s in a relationship with Krusty—so the time not spent at her home, would be spent with him at his home—doing all sorts of things—watching tv, drinking, getting high, and also sleeping together (both literally, and in the innuendo sense.)

I imagine that’s probably what would make the conflicts in the previous ask begin—they already spend a lot of time together, so of course if she gets more famous, and thus more busy—that’s why he would get worried about their relationship and feelings about him.

[historyhermann]

My top ten animated shows for 2023

Collage of all ten top animated TV shows for me in 2023, using available screenshots. Top row: Kizazi Moto (left), The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (middle), Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (right). Middle row: Villainous (left), Supa Team 4 (middle), My Adventures with Superman (right). Bottom row: Disenchantment (left), Adventure Time: Distant Lands and Young Love (middle two), and RWBY (right)

I decided to put together my own list of my top ten animated series for 2023. I'll be focusing only on Western animated series, not anime or films. Like Jean pointed out, this year, for television, was tumultuous, with the twin strikes of actors and writers through the summer and into the fall, leading to delays. However, this, generally, did not impact animated series, only live-action ones, for the most part. There are rumblings on social media of a possible strike by the Animation Guild when the union's contract with Hollywood studios expires next year. Whether that comes to pass or not, the impact of this year's strikes will undoubtedly impact future creatives in animation.

There are many shows worth putting in this list. I struggled with only choosing ten shows. However, I'm content with those which made it onto the list, reflective of my (sometimes) eclectic and animation-heavy tastes. Although I watched live-action series in this past year, like Jean, I didn't watch enough of them for an entire list. This year was, as Jean pointed out, strange when it comes to entertainment. I see that as a positive. I look forward to the series upcoming in 2024 and 2025. The Disney animation powerhouse will lead the way, followed behind by other studios. As a warning, this review will discuss murder, blood, death, mental health, near-death experiences, gentrification, sexism, suicide, blood, torture, and abuse.

excerpted from "Burkely's Top Ten Animated TV Shows of 2023"

10. "Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire - Streaming on Disney+"

9. "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder - Streaming on Disney+"

8. "Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur - Streaming on Disney+"

7. "Villainous - Streaming on Max"

6. "Supa Team 4- Streaming on Netflix"

5. "My Adventures with Superman - Streaming on Max"

4. "Disenchantment - Streaming on Netflix"

3. "Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake - Streaming on Max"

2. "Young Love - Streaming on Max"

1. "RWBY - Streaming on Crunchyroll"

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[evaludate]

Evaludate Episode 100: Diversity Win! (Tyril I Lister of even if Tempest, part 2)

Summary:

Today on Evaludate: hazardous weather conditions and wizard curses aren't going to stop us from recording our 100th episode, Madelyn drops the bit, witch trials continue to be a shameful blight on human history, and oh good lord there is always some shit happening to children in this game.

Content Warnings: Discussion of islamophobia: 21:21 - 21:34 Suicide: 1:09:26 - 1:10:34 Cannibalism: 1:16:12 - 1:20:17 Child death: 1:20:17 - 1:24:00 Sources:  Side note, Montague Summers appears a lot here. He was evil and sucks but he also translated a lot of witchcraft manuals. Due to believing what they said. 

Cautio Criminalis, or a Book on Witch Trials by Friedrich Spee, Translation and Foreword by Marcus Hellyer Compendium Maleficarum by Francesco Maria Guazzo, translation by Montague Summers Daemonologie by King James I The Discovery of Witches by Matthew Hopkins The Disenchantment of Magic: Spells, Charms, and Superstition in Early European Witchcraft Literature by Michael D. Bailey Esoterica Witchcraft Lecture Series by Dr Justin Sledge The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century by Joel F. Harrington A Guide to Grand-Jurymen by Richard Bernard The History Of Witchcraft And Demonology by Montague Summers A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718 by Wallace Notestein "I. Inquisitorial Manuals." by Robin Vose Male Witches in Early Modern Europe by Lara Apps and Andrew Gow Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, translation by Montague Summers On witchcraft : an abridged translation of Johann Weyer's De praestigiis daemonum

[utilitycaster]

Any thoughts on why the gods waited to contact their followers? I'm thinking they tried to solve it without involving Exandria's people but realized they couldn't.

I mean, Doylist explanation - and I think that Doylist explanations should not be ignored - is that the story benefits from giving the party some free time to explore Uthodurn, decompress after the big solstice event, allow them to integrate with Deanna and FRIDA, and go to Molaesmyr as their own decision. We’ve gotten a huge amount of character development in a short period of time in part because the characters were, perhaps for the first time, not rushing around at the behest of various powers that be.

(This is a long off-topic conversation but I think some of what I struggled with in the build up to the solstice is that the DM-led guiding the party started before the party really formed an identity and the characters’ motivations were solidified. Matt is phenomenal at giving players hooks that they and more importantly their characters will find irresistible, but he and the players need to know the characters first, which is why a low level period of character-driven fuck-around time a la early Campaign 2, and characters with concrete and significant things they wish to achieve from the outset a la Imogen, Caleb, and Chetney (to name a few), are so important. Anyway, back to the answer.)

In-universe though? My guess is that they didn’t try to fix it themselves. I don’t think they can. The gods are well aware of their limitations on the Material Plane: a fundamental concept within Exandrian cosmology is that the gods must work through mortals because of the Divine Gate (and speaking of Doylist and Watsonian, Matt’s worldbuilding generally addresses a lot of typical fantasy plot holes such as “why don’t the gods just fix everything”). My guess is they had some discussion of their options, and which mortals to work through. So perhaps they waited to see how some new worshipers like FCG, and some at times conflicted ones like Deanna, acted in the wake of the solstice. They may have also waited to see whether Imogen would accept this as a direction from her colleagues given her internal conflict prior to the solstice on how best to proceed. Honestly, while again, Doylist explanation here, Matt was probably going to have the gods send this message whether or not Commune or a coin flip happened (let’s be real, coin flip at least was gonna happen), FCG explicitly saying “hey, we want to continue helping and to reunite with our friends; would this be a good path forward?” serves as an invitation.

It’s also possible that some of the worst of the solstice effects are lessening. Short-range Sending is working now, which it wasn’t earlier (Imogen tried to send to Chetney when he remained in the throne room and it failed). The divination spells to the gods are no longer failing, and we haven’t seen any further disenchantment effects, so while it’s still a perpetual solstice, perhaps the arcane energy and leylines and such have stabilized enough to let the gods communicate in such a direct manner, as opposed to the vaguer answers of the Changebringer’s first appearance.

[kikiskitchenwitchery]

Happy whenever this post finds you. Today I woke up very anxious. I have a lot of stuff going on in the background of my life and honestly, I am tired. So I asked the cards to point me in the direction of miracles. I pulled up some meditation music and sat with the cards. This is what they have to day. One thing that sort of struck me visually is that the cards feel very "amethyst and emerald". The color scheme of all these cards are very much in my favorites. I am not yet sure how that plays into miracles other than perhaps a reminder that sometimes miracles are small flashes of color in a grey sea of life.... Card 1: The Five of Mirrors (cups). Fives often symbolize the hardest part of the journey. As I sit with the card and look at what the author intended... it will be. This is a card of moving through disenchantment and moving toward forgiveness. I don't do blanket forgiveness. Forgiveness is something sacred to me. Because for me to forgive, I need to know that there will be change. Perhaps I need to forgive myself, or examine my hard line with forgiveness (probably that for sure). What I do appreciate is that this card isn't saying forgive, it is saying greet with compassion those who have harmed you. That I think I can do. (Universe, please don't test me on that today...) Card 2: is the Illusionist (Knight of Stones {pentacles}). I love the art of this card, he looks as though he is being formed out of the earth itself. He is sort of the Fool grown up. He is still going to tackle an adventure without a lot of forethought, but he does so because he packed a go bag (experience) before the adventure popped up. If that makes sense. In this case he is telling me to take the mystical journey. I need to travel to the land of self and figure out what the heck is holding me back (this is clearly a reference to card 1 telling me to examine my stance on forgiveness). I can take this journey in safety without threat to the things I hold dear, because the foundation work has been done. I am no longer a page, but a knight who can quest without fear. Card 3: The Healer (Page of Mirrors {cups}). To do this work that the cards are calling me to, they also offer a companion to make this journey to self with my. My own personal inner healer. Her role here is to be the space I tell my concerns and my worries to. As I do that, she will inspire me (one of her roles is also muse) to the solutions to my problems. She will point me in the direction to travel further. The message is clear, today I will sit with my inner healer and we will have a long conversation about my personal relationship with forgiveness as a concept and an action. If you would like longer form readings like this, please reach out and we can talk pricing and scheduling. Have a magical day

[imdcathsmeow]

Started Disenchantment Part 2 and WHY IS THIS SO PERFECT 😂😂😂🤣🤣

[daydreamsia]

I just realized - the villains in the show are showing up in a really weird order (only speaking of seasons 1-3 and Secret of the Lost Kingdom).

In my mind it would make more sense if season 2 was for Valtor - maybe he comes out of hinding after 16 years when he heard the Power of the Dragon Flame is back. He has been sent by his creators (the Ancestral Witches) to gather power in order to free them from their imprisionment and bring the Shadow Phoenix back to former power.

He would also be the one turning Bloom into Dark Bloom in order to get a hold of her powers.

Of course he would have gotten Icy and Stormy out of Light Rock Monetary (Darcy refused, wanted to stay and he respected that). He would have given them a piece of the Shadow Flame in order to boost their powers and created the Gloom. (In my mind the Ancestral Witches created him with a spark of the Dragon Flame and a spark of the Shadow Flames).

Everyrhing else would play out similar to season 2. Valtor would just be the one in Darkars Place. And i guess the Pixies wouldn't play as big of a part in the beginning.

Season 3 would then be about the Ancestral Witches and Icy who is the only one of the Trix left, since Stormy stayed in Omega whilest Icy followed the calling of Belladonna and chose to fight on their side. And she gets really mad. In the prozess of gaining enaugh Power she's tapping into Dark Magic and gains Disenchantment (through killing someone).

The Winx Girls would still earn Enchantix and I guess Icy would have to do the main things Valtor does in the show - giving others (mainly Cassandra and Diaspro) what they want in order to help the ancestral Witches get out of their prison.

The Winx (minus Bloom, because her Enchantix is incomplete) get the Water Stars (also Bloom has to stay away from them because they could destroy her power). The Witches get out of their imprisionment. Dark Bloom has a little comeback to because the incomplete Enchantix makes everything weird.

In the end Icy would be defeated in a final fight á la Agni Kai and the Spirits of the Ancestral Witches would get set to rest for good. But! they were able to Reawaken the Shadow Phoenix.

So he would be the last villain for the Winx in my Version of Secret of the Lost Kingdom.

I know this is far from beeing a full-fledged plan - it's just a late night thought i had. It would make so much more sense to me like that because Darkar is the literal Darkness. He should be the big end boss.

I will think more about this and might use it for my AU.

[ghostofafruit]

You know what? My favourite episode of Disenchantment is actually Part 2 Episode 8 In Her Own Write, I don't know why but it is.

[spoocys-glade-of-dreams]

Rayman Head Canons: Voice Claims Part 4

Clark the Giant:

Clark was a character introduced in Rayman 2, I believe that was really the only time we saw him. In Rayman Retold, he was going to appear often. He's one of Rayman's best friends just like Globox is.

I could never get the idea of Clark being voiced by John DiMaggio out of my head. John is known for his roles as Bender the Robot in Futurama, King Zog in Disenchantment, Jake the dog in Adventure Time, Killer Croc from Batman Unlimited, Timandahaf from the English dub of Asterix and the vikings, and the Scotsman from Samurai Jack to name a few.

-------------------------------------------------

Andre:

The same black lum from Rayman 3 hoodlum Havoc. Andre is another I where I veer off from the original voice material for a fully voiced character.

The way I portray Andre is not as much of a villain, but more of just a general troublemaker. Similar to Raymesis. He's had to stay on the down low since he lost his main muscle. He causes trouble to the local lums and this includes Lumlight.

As much as I liked the original portrayal, there is a different voice actor that I think fits this little trouble maker a lot better. Alex Brightman.

Alex Brightman is a Broadway Actor well known for his role as the voice for Fizzarolli from Hellova Boss, Sir Pentious and Adam from Hazbin Hotel, but my personal favorites is his acting role as Beetlejuice.

-------------------------------------------------

Space Mama:

Some of you may have seen the stand alone post for this. That will be taken down shortly after this post launches.

Space Mama is one of the characters from Rayman 1 that will pop up over to Rayman's current homeland. She is a famous actress and will travel all over the world to give performances. After the events of Rayman 1, Rayman and Space Mama hold no ill will towards each other and have become good friends. Space Mama will even reserve special seats for him whenever she's alerted that he's coming to her show.

I have Natasia Demetriou for Space Mama's voice claim. She is known for roles such as Cala Maria in The Cuphead Show on Netflix, Sleep in Orion and the Dark, and Wingnut from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

-------------------------------------------------

Carmen the Whale:

Carmen was a character from Rayman 2 that, as far as I know, did not have any in game voice lines. Possibly due to her only having like one line in Rayman Revolution. I'm not sure if she had dialogue in the over versions of Rayman 2.

Carmen is one of Rayman's many mother/aunt figures in his life. She will watch over him and protect him whenever he's swimming or boating on the ocean. She will make sure the Limbless gets safe passage and will chase off any foes that seek to do him or his boat harm. She is a very protective, motherly force of nature.

I posted about the inspiration for her character a long time ago. This is also why I chose this for her voice claim. Roz Ryan.

Roz Ryan has done voice acting for characters like Cake from the Fiona and Cake series, Bubbie the whale from The Marvelous Adventures of Flapjack (which is her character inspiration), Witch Lezah from The Looney Tunes Show, and Thalia the muse of comedy from the Disney Hercules media.

Since I've used the original Bubbie video to death at this point, I've opted for a different one for this post that is also 100% accurate for Carmen the Whale.

[astralestarologia]

Disenchantment Tarot Deck (part 2)

Hello again! As promissed, here are the new Tarot cards I made based on the Disenchantment universe, from Strenght to Temperance this time (:

I made two versions of Death card. Honestly, I'd love to have Stan as Death better than just skulls from a random scenario, because that guy is responsible for making some heads roll, but I am having a hard time to find great high quality images for him to be in this deck. As long as I don't find a nice image, I'll stick with the skull version for aesthetics reasons.

Not only that, it's great to add more chatacters to the deck, and from what I have created so far, Stan does not fit anything more than the Death Arcana. Also, I am in search of a better image for Malfus as the Hermit, this might not be the final results of this card.

I am using the Remini program to each image so some screenshots looks more acceptable to be used in a Tarot deck more than just looking like a crappy screenshot (like the Strenght card as an example), so the final results is gonna look A LOT better than what I am showing here right now.

I am LOVING to read every thoughts you guys are sharing, whether it is an encouragement, joyful comments or critics/suggestions. As a person who likes to polish my work, every single opinion counts. Thank you so much!

So, what do you think of these new cards?

Edit: already correct the Strength misspell

[vote-mean-lesbians]

mean lesbians: a comprehensive list

Below are the ladies we have selected, both from submissions from you lovely people, and our own brains. The way this tournament will work is that 32 of these bitches will go against each other in the first round until there is one final mean lesbian standing. Then, we run the other 32 lesbians against each other until there is only one of that group, and then the winner of the first round and the winner of the second go head to head to determine who is the biggest, meaniest, lesbianest one in all the land

But! In order to do this we still need your help. We have almost enough mean lesbians (enough for the first 32) but are 1 short of having 32 for the second round. Please continue to submit more if your favorite mean lesbian is not already included below. Refer to our pinned post for mean lesbian qualifying criteria

We have enough for 32 in each group, thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Now, onto the lesbians:

1. Haruka Tenoh - Sailor Moon

2. Michiru Kaiou - Sailor Moon

3. Machi Komacine - Hunter x Hunter

4. Juri Arisugawa - Revolutionary Girl Utena

5. Shiori Takatsuki - Revolutionary Girl Utena

6. Anthy Himemiya - Revolutionary Girl Utena

7. Cheryl Blossom - Riverdale

8. Regina Mills - Once Upon a Time

9. Tenko Chabashira - Danganronpa 3

10. Himiko Yumeno - Danganronpa 3

11. Hiyoko Saionji - Danganronpa 2

12. Celestia Ludenberg - Danganronpa 1

13. Reyna Ramierz-Arellano - Heroes of Olympus

14. Thalia Grace - Percy Jackson and the Olympians

15. Olivier Armstrong - Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood 

16. Willow Rosenberg...evil - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

17. Jolyne Cujoh - Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6

18. Abigail Jones - The Great Pretender

19. Shinobu Kocho - Demon Slayer

20. Misa Amane - Death Note

21. Rem - Death Note

22. Mai Valentine - Yu-Gi-Oh!

23. Kou Seiya - Sailor Moon

24. Kou Taiki - Sailor Moon

25. Kou Yaten - Sailor Moon

26. Sailor Lead Crow - Sailor Moon

27. Homura Akemi - Madoka Magica

28. Kyoko Sakura - Madoka Magica

29. Ishizu Ishtar - Yu-Gi-Oh!

30. Kyoko Kirigri - Danganronpa 1

31. Rose Lalonde - Homestuck

32. Kanaya Maryam - Homestuck

33. Vriska Serket - Homestuck

34. Foo Fighters/F.F. - Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6

35. Ermes Costello - Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6

36. Blue - Blue’s Clues

37. Trixie Troublebee - Lazytown

38. Yoru/War Devil - Chainsaw Man

39. Quanxi - Chainsaw Man

40. Taylor Swift - Real Life

41. Miorine Rembran - The Witch from Mercury

42. Harrowhark Nonagesimus - The Locked Tomb

43. Gideon Nav - The Locked Tomb

44. Ianthe Tridentarius - The Locked Tomb

45. Amity Blight - The Owl House

46. Princess Bean - Disenchantment

47. Talia Winters - Babylon 5

48. Susan Ivanova - Babylon 5

49. Poison Ivy - DC Universe

50. Susie - Deltarune

51. Melanie King - The Magnus Archives

52. Daisy Tonner - The Magnus Archives

53. Kira Nerys - Star Trek

54. Santana Lopez - Glee

55. Catra - She-Ra and the Princess’ of Power

56. Azula - Avatar the Last Airbender

57. Clarisse La Rue - Percy Jackson

58. Raven - Teen Titans

59. Haley - Stardew Valley

60. Roxy - Five Night's At Freddy's Security Breach

61. Jessie "Prepare for Trouble and Make it Double!" - Pokemon

62. Regina Georgie - Mean Girls

63. Heather Chandler - Heathers

64. Villanelle - Killing Eve