#ditto the beetle

[someguyiguess23]

"I just can't believe it...... he's dead..."

(Murmur from @sappedart. Ditto from @jayjar100)

This is a reference to this video from Studio C. ^^

[eatcrayonsalways-art]

FINISHED A SKETCHBOOK AND POSTING MY FAVORITE PAGES!! :]

Pt. 2 [doodles 2]

[lluvvjuuu]

:D

[lullabyes22-blog]

A small detail but I just wanna say I LOVE your food worldbuilding in your fic! I get so hungry reading about the dishes 😭 was there any inspiration behind your thoguts on Zaun crusine or any other fun lore? I was also wondering if you had thoughts on Piltover crusine and how that compares to Zaun.

Thank you so much<3

I actually have a Foodboard on Pinterest for Zaun's decadences and delicacies!

Re: Zaun and Piltover's food-canons...

I'm basing Zaun on a hodgepodge of multicultural meccas like New York, Mexico City, Mumbai, Rio, Tokyo, Seoul, Istanbul, etc. Lots of different histories converging to form a diverse street-food scene where folks eat on-the-go. Given the Fissures began as a mining town, the fare is heavy on greasy proteins and starchy staples to keep the average worker on his feet. At the same time, owing to their proximity to the riverside, Fissurefolk have a taste for the ocean, too.

The end result is a very subterranean and industrial city that's very, very proud of its culinary heritage, even if the "cuisine" itself isn't exactly pretty or refined. There's a certain "ghetto hustle" to it, with scraps taken from wherever it's available, and improvised into something distinctly its own. Plenty of emphasis on cheap shellfish, squid, octopus, shrimp, clams, etc, as they're a hardier food source that can be found in great quantities downriver.

There's also a lack of sunlight, fertile soil, and fresh greens in Zaun. So much of what's grown organically Down-Low is the more straightforward variety of root vegetables, ranging from potatoes, rhizomes, yams, lotus, yucca, sweet potatoes etc. There's also lots of cellars with candle-lit rhubarb, and a very eclectic range of mushroom gardens.

As for meat:

The Deadlands, which are more of a 'wild west' type terrain in the FnF verse, sport a hardy ecosystem of cave-dwelling, marsupial-like creatures I've dubbed Sump-voles. They're furred, and the size of a medium-large housecat. They're extremely agile and intelligent, and able to survive off the sparse vegetation. They're the primary source of food for the folks of the Deadlands.

There's also sump-boars: bristly, foul-tempered, and omnivorous. A bit like wild boar, but larger and more aggressive. Their meat, while rather gamey, is a source of rich protein, and often cured and smoked, or served as a roast during the Equinox Feast as a 'last supper', a chance to indulge in some fatty, delicious pork before the dark winter months of austerity. Their hides are also a valuable commodity and can be tanned and used to craft clothing, their bones ground into powder for fertilizer, and their tusks fashioned into weapons, jewelry, etc.

In Zaun proper, the primary source of meat are sump-rats. For the chem-barons, they are raised in massive, hydroponic-like farms that cultivate the creatures on an industrial scale. For the poor, they're either the unfortunate victims of homesprung traps or the prey of the many, many feral cat colonies. The cats in Zaun are extremely large and muscular, bred to be fierce. They're often mutated and have been spliced with a range of different DNA, from gen-0 to gen-X.

There's no real 'normal' cat, dog, or bird in Zaun; it's a land where everything is a mutant owing to the chemical radiation that pervades every single facet of life, to say nothing of its ambitious history of genetic manipulation.

That goes ditto for the bugs.

Necessity breeds creativity, and Zaun's not averse to a little entomophagy. In fact, the more common, and less-fetishized, way to get one's protein is through the consumption of locusts, beetles, dragonflies etc. These are a mainstay, and you'll see them sold on every corner. They're generally fried, and have a very similar crunch to a fried cricket. There's also cave-wasps: nasty buggers who build their hives in the caverns, and have a sweet, honey-like substance inside their abdomen. It's considered a delicacy, and a luxury item.

The cave-wasps are also a rare species that actually produce honey (similar to the B. Mellifica, or Mexican Honey Wasp) and the honey they store, though it has a much thicker, gel-like consistency, is prized as a source of hydration and energy.

It's also a nifty hallucinogen, and can be mixed into ales, beers, and ciders.

In terms of fixings and flavorings: Zaun is an underground city. That means staples like sugar and spice are at a premium, and either imported from the harbor, or smuggled from Topside. However, Fissurefolk understand the importance of boosting their immunity with the right nutrients, and have a keen interest in herbal remedies. There's a strong apothecary culture in Zaun, ranging from quacks to savants. You'll see plenty of peddlers selling the dried mushrooms, roots, leaves, and other fungi, all of which can be boiled into a tea, or steeped to make a broth.

Two homegrown minerals Zaun prides itself on are its salt deposits and its volcanic rock. Both are extremely potent, and have sparked a range of industries from salt-curing to cosmetic masks. The rock salts are a rich source of iodine, and used to clean wounds. The volcanic rock has a high level of iron, and is ground into powder and mixed into broths to prevent anemia and boost blood flow. There's also a thriving industry for beauty products in Zaun. Because of the constant, humid air that lingers beneath the surface, it's common for folks to break out into acne, boils, or other rashes. The rock salts are a good exfoliant and antiseptic.

Jinx, for instance, has an entire apothecary's chest worth of creams, gels, and tonics she applies whenever she feels a breakout coming on. She's also not above mixing her own blemish cream out of a blend of rock salt, crushed-up coral, and a few drops of oil squeezed from a luminous jellyfish.

Silco, similarly, uses a combination of salt water and crushed-up volcanic rock to exfoliate the calluses on his palms and heels, and soaks once a week in a warm bath of rock salt, mineral oils, and medicinal Shimmer. He swears by the concoction, and considers it the secret to keeping his joints well-lubricated and his reflexes in fighting trim for running from stray bullets.

And Jinx's occasional tantrum-prone grenade.

The Zaunite diet is also very heavy on pickling. It's an excellent way to preserve foods, and a great source of vitamins. Their choices run the gamut from sour pickled cabbage to spicy, chili-garlic fermented fish to lime-spiked octopus. Pickling is a necessity. And, because there's not enough space for farms, livestock, or pasture land, a lot of the food in Zaun is preserved via canning and jar-making. There's a robust canning industry, and a very well-developed glass-blowing and masonry business, lauded for its innovative shapes and designs.

Finally, there's the beverages.

Zaun has a strong history of drinks, from fizzy, chemically-colored sodas to a wide variety of spirits. There's an emphasis on teas, tisanes, and coffees, as the underground water can't be fully filtered, and isn't exactly the cleanest. A cup of hot tea with some lemon and honey is an effective way to keep one's immune system up and running. Zaun is also famous (re: notorious) for coffee that's guaranteed to jolt you wide-awake after a nasty hangover. Their most famous brew is the Wake-Up Call, which is a mix of ground coffee beans, ground cacao beans, ground guarana seeds, a touch of cinnamon, and a dash of powdered cayenne pepper.

It's not for the faint of heart.

The most popular non-alcoholic drink in Zaun is cherry soda, which is basically a cross between Coca-Cola and cherry Dr. Pepper, but brewed with a mixture of fruits, berries, and a healthy dose of cave-wasp honey and citric acid. It's fizzy, and tastes amazing. It's also extremely cheap, owing to the fact that a lot of the fruits and berries are foraged from the caverns, and the honey is, well, free-range.

In terms of alcohol, there's a huge emphasis on beer, wine, and ale, owing to the fact that these can easily be canned and fermented, and can last for long periods of time without refrigeration. Potato beer is an extremely common, and easy-to-consume source of calories. It's light-bodied, and low-alcohol, with a range of styles, from pale-ale, amber, and dark. There's also a huge emphasis on hops and malted barley, as these are cheap to acquire, and readily available belowground.

Zaun's signature drink is made via fermented cavernfruit. It's very hoppy, fruity, and acidic. It's got a high alcohol content and is a great thirst-quencher. Then there's Devilfruit: a deep red liquor made from a blend of various berries, and a texture and viscosity similar to cherry liqueur. It's usually enjoyed neat, but can be mixed with a splash of mineral water, or served over crushed ice. There's also drinks fermented from unusual ingredients such as mushrooms and fungus. One, known as Dungeon's Kiss, is a cloudy, milky white ale made from the sap of a cave-dwelling species of mushroom. It's extremely thick, the color of a pumpkin spice latte, and guaranteed to get you hammered in five sips.

Zaun's drinks are all brewed, bottled, and served locally. They're a point of pride, and a great way for families to earn their fortune. It's a fiercely competitive industry, and there's a lot of inter-clan rivalry.

In the FnF universe, I imagine Piltover has a very different diet than Zaun, given its bucolic setting, proximity to the sea, and the fresh produce, dairy, and livestock they import from all four corners of Runeterra. The food culture is diverse and beautifully artisanal.

There's a bustling farmer's market, lots of bakeries and cheese shops, and plenty of emphasis on freshness, seasonality, and regionalism. There's also a strong tradition of wineries, distilleries, and breweries. As a city of commerce, they also have a robust, and thriving, shipping and distribution industry.

All of this reflects a more rigid hierarchy of social classes that is more centered on the "white plate" aesthetic. It's all high-quality and extremely nutritious, but it's also very…bland and uniform. In Piltover, there's little to no street food culture, and there's a general disdain for the sort of messy, greasy pap that's associated with Zaun. You don't eat with your hands; you use utensils. You don't slurp, slop, or smack your lips.

And you certainly don't lick the sauce off your fingers.

In Piltover, there are very clear rules about dining etiquette, and the "food world" is just another part of the culture around class distinction, refinement, and propriety. However, the rigidity and regimented nature of their meals can be very stifling, especially when compared to the raucous and rollicking culinary culture of Zaun. It's therefore not uncommon for Piltovans to sneak off Down-Low, roll up their sleeves, and enjoy a bit of greasy, sticky-fingered fun.

Most consider it a calorie-loaded, guilt-free "cheat day."

[kingofanemptyworld]

Sugishita’s Team:

Greavard

Weavile

Heracross

Tangela (gifted)

It’s the boy! Umemiya’s number one stan and his most feral guard dog! I went into this with no clear picture for what he’d have, except for what I mentioned in another post regarding guard dog characters getting dog-like pokemon to match the vibes. Stumbled on Greavard and almost skipped over him except—

I haven’t read the latest chapter yet so I don’t know how he met Umemiya but this seemed too good to pass up in terms of this AU. Umemiya picked up a puppy dog who just. Never left him again.

Also I liked him having a ghost type since he comes across as a little gloomy in canon.

Weavile is… almost purely because of the little smug face he makes sometimes with Sakura. You know the one. I wanted Sneasler originally and then realized that’s from the Arceus game and therefore probably isn’t obtainable in the present. So Weavile it is! Plus, like, it’s just fitting. I don’t know I see it.

Heracross is based on the fact that Sugishita looks like the kind of person who would’ve collected stag beetles as a kid. Also ramming people with its horn is Sugishita-like behavior and you can’t change my mind.

And finally Tangela! Tangela was hatched from an egg that came from a Ditto and Umemiya’s Tangrowth mating. Sugishita — self-proclaimed apprentice who gets up at the ass-crack of dawn to check on the pokemon — was the one who found it, and by Umemiya’s logic that means he was the one to decide what to do with it. And because it’s Umemiya’s Pokémon’s child… Sugishita had to raise it himself. Obviously. (Kotoha thinks this is both the cutest and cringiest thing in the world; Ume just appreciates how dedicated Sugishita is to the daycare).

[iamblue15]

Moditrix AU: Alien Nicknames

Dipper

*Grey Matter: Little Grey

*Humongusaur: Gigantosaur

*Wildvine: Xenoplant

*Blitzwolfer: Weirdwolf

*Ampfibian: Ghost Jelly

*Shocksquatch: Shocksquatch

*XLR8: Acceleraptor

*Brainstorm: Crabstein

*Ball Weevil: Goop Beetle

*NRG: Meltdown

Mabel

*Wildmutt: Hyperhound

*Chromastone: Rainbowblast

*Ditto: Multi Buddy

*Grey Matter: Little Grey

*Humongusaur: Gigantosaur

*Bloxx: Build a Thing

*Cannonbolt: Maball (Mabel + Ball)

*Buzzshock: Zip Zap

*Fasttrack: Kitty Fast

*Upchuck: Stuff Up

Raz

*Heatblast: Hot Shot

*Jetray: Rayser

*Spider Monkey: Spider Monkey

*Clockwork: Time Lord

*Cannonbolt: Rollout

*Feedback: Feedback

*Echo Echo: Dupli-Sound

*Gravattack: Mars Head

*Ball Weevil: Gunk Mite

*Way Big: Goggalor

Lili

*Wildvine: Green Queen

*Chamalien: Camo Gecko

*Chromastone: Meteor Quartz

*Four Arms: Red Bruiser

*NRG: Rad Tank

*Grey Matter: Tinker Frog

*Snare-Oh: Celopatrap (Cleopatra + Trap)

*Astrodactyl: Jetrassic (Jet+ Jurassic)

*Buzzshock: Battery

*Whampire: Batula (Bat + Dracula)

Coraline

*Diamondhead: Hardstone

*Swampfire: Wildfire

*Big Chill: Frostbite

*XRL8: Rush

*Rath: Raging Stripes

*Water Hazard: Flash Flood

*Crashhopper: Kicket (Kick + Cricket)

*Ampfibian: Astrosquid

*Grey Matter: Liliphibian (Liliputian + Amphibian)

*Echo Echo: Surround Sound

Wybie

*Brainstorm: Shell-Minded

*Upgrade: Symbiote

*Feedback: Cable Guy

*Stinkfly: Mutant Fly

*Lodestar: Magnetizer

*Artiguana: Frizard (Frigid + Lizard)

*Ripjaw: Depthmaw

*Nanomech: Microdroid

*Ball Weevil: Crud Bug

*Spider Monkey: Arachney (Arachnid + Monkey)

Norman

*Goop: Slimer

*Echo Echo: Screamer

*Frankenstrike: Lightningstein

*Big Chill: Ghostmoth

*Ripjaw: Angler Man

*Snare-Oh: Bind Tut

*Wildvine: Trap Plant

*Eye Guy: Multeye (Muliple + Eye)

*XLR8: AMX (Alien Motorcross)

*Terraspin: Draftshell

Neil

*Four Arms: Double Muscle

*Cannonbolt: Wrecking Ball

*Upchuck: Spit n' Boom

*Wildmutt: Mad Dog

*Armadrillo: Diggin' King

*Kickin' Hawk: Rooster Fighter

*Fasttrack: Felay (Feline + Relay)

*Articguana: Sub-Zero Dragon

*Brainstorm: Intellishrimp

*Bloxx: Stackem'

[momwool]

Related to your DBZ/Pokémon series, what Pokémon would Chichi, Bulma and the others have?

Ooh oh, ok, so I already have pokemons picked for Bulma! :D She has a Slowking, Snubbull, and Margnezone! Slowking is known to be as smart as some world-famous scientists, and Bulma really is smart when she works on a project. Magnezone I picked it because it looked very mechanical, I liked the idea of it matching her tinkering side, and I imagined that she would try to mod it. It's also used as a generator in case of a power outage. Snubbull is a pokemon who barks a lot but is really kind of cowardly, but it also loves its trainer very much, and I thought this matched parts of her personality! We've often seen Bulma being all bark but then hiding behind the Z fighters, and I believe she genuinely cares about everyone.

Capsule Corps also owns the market on pokeballs. The technology is similar to capsules, so they invented them too. Bulma's working on a prototype for a master ball. Her dad has a collection of ancient pokemons roaming the interior gardens instead of dinosaurs. I haven't seriously thought about anything for Chichi yet, but she would most likely have pokemons who help her around her daily life. She would definitely have one or more milktanks. Raditz has a Heracross because of the whole thing with him playing with beetles as a kid in the manga. She's very shy and has a messed up wing, so she's can't fly. He has a Jolteon because, of course, it's spiky, but it also goes well with his electric personality, although that's more of a HC with him since we don't get to see Raditz a lot in the anime. He's also got a Sandslash because I thought it visually fit him.

Gohan is 100% a pokemon professor! If I had to pick a pokemon for him, it would be Infernape who has the potential to enter a rage-like state and tremendously increase its power. (it did in the anime and I really liked that) Everyone's favourite green dad, Piccolo, owns and works at the pokemon daycare centre. Frieza seeks powerful pokemons to add to his forces. He owns a mew, mewtwo, mewtwo X, mewtwo Y and a shiny mewtwo who's actually a ditto. And yes, together they do the Ginyu pose. Vegeta's pokemon represent parts of who he is. His Primeape is his rage and fury. Mega Lucario is his Pride. Luxray is his asshole side, for lack of a better word. Also, it has the same colour scheme and hair as Vegeta in his Saiyan attire, and shiny Luxray is golden like a Super Saiyan, so it just felt right. Goku's pokemons are meant to be more related to him. His Arcanine is his strongest pokemon, and in the early pokedex entries, it was treated as a Legendary creature. As a Growlithe, she wanted to grow and become stronger because of her drive to fight strong opponents. His Aipom is for his silly side (also, I wanted him to have a monkey), and it has attacks that a younger Goku would have used like tickle and sand-attack. And his Bidoof, let's be real, Goku is a himbo; there's no question about that. Goku's Bidoof comes from Piccolo's daycare centre. It was born there and abandoned by its previous trainer. Goku wouldn't like a weak pokemon but he saw in this little bidoof a drive to fight, and he took a liking to him! Along the way, Goku lost his pokeball, so it lives forever by his side like Ash's Pikachu. Goku has no idea that, through breeding, Bidoof actually knows some killer moves like double-edge and skull bash, so he keeps on using tackle instead.

I included everything I've ever drawn for this AU!! It's been dormant for years, but it still means so much to me, so THANK YOU FOR ASKING! <3 <3 <3

[chernobog13]

Blue Beetle (Vol. 5 ) #2 (August, 1967).

This was Charlton's fourth go at the Blue Beetle character, after acquiring him from Fox/Holyoke in the mid-1950s.

Originally Charlton had published Blue Beetle reprints in 1955. These featured the original Dan Garret Blue Beetle. Garret was a police officer who wore a chainmail costume and took a special vitamin that gave him "super energy" (the 1940s version of meth).

In 1964 Charlton revamped the character. Now he was Dan Garrett, archaeologist and university professor who gained Superman-like powers after coming into possession of a mystical scarab. He was given his own book, which lasted a whopping 5 issues.

Three months later Charlton gave the super-powered Blue Beetle another shot. He again lasted 5 issues before being abandoned.

Eight months later, artist Steve Ditto revamped the character yet again as a back-up feature in Captain Atom. Now the Blue Beetle was a non-powered, acrobatic scientist named Ted Kord, a former student of the now dead Dan Garrett.

Ted proved popular enough that he graduated into his own self-titled book. Three guesses how many issues it lasted.

The issue pictured above finally revealed the origin of Ted Kord as the Blue Beetle, as well as revealing the fate of Dan Garrett. Dan is presumed dead, but Ditko leaves enough doubt that I wonder if he was leaving the door open for Dan to return had the book lasted long enough.

DC Comics acquired Blue Beetle, along with the rest of Charlton's superheroes, in 1983. In 1986 Ted Kord's Blue Beetle got his own book again. The creative team, writer Len Wein and artist Paris Cullins, revisited the Dan Garrett story and revealed his final fate.

[katenepveu]

Museum for Art in Wood (Part 5)

The last of my posts about the Museum for Art in Wood! This is the set of things that made me or my companion say, This ought to be a SFF book cover, or a story prompt, or some other speculative fiction type-thing.

For instance, every single thing on this shelf is a SFF story. By Fabrice Micha: 370, Sculpture and 632, Castle. By Michael Mode: 636, Akbar's Delight. By Michael Mocho, 505, Satinwood Hollow Form; 635, Box; and 467, Sentinel.

These two ought to be Yuletide fandoms: A Collection of Goblets, Chalices, and Spirit Vessels from the Seventeen Peoples of the Eight Inner Worlds by Stephen Mark Paulsen, which is incredibly hard to photograph but the official photo is hardly any better??

And Desert Winter on Marquard IV, and Twelve Sacred Objects Exposed by the Storm by the same artist; fortunately the official photo is pretty decent because mine is not worth looking at.

Self Portrait by Michelle Holzapfel. This one feels very like a book cover (and actually has an artist statement at the link!).

I was going to put this one in "Sculpture" and then I saw the title: Post Nuclear Vessel by Ron Kent.

Ditto except that it's The Shedding Skin of Evelyn Mind by Jay Heryet.

I was so enamored of the spiky nature of the one on the front left that I didn't notice it was matches until my companion pointed it out; I was thinking mouths or viruses. (It's called Art Object to be Destroyed by Hilary Pfeifer, Dennis Carr, and Neil Scobie.) And I think the one on the right is a spaceship, though the artist Rolly Munro calls it Oceanic Angel. (I don't know what the one in the back left is.)

Interactive by Andrew Potocnik made me think of if n-tailed foxes shed all their tails at once. (The components are arranged differently in the website picture, basically parallel.)

That sure is a Space Burger, by Hap Sakwa.

I'm delighted to say that my companion pointed out the picture on the left below as something from Star Wars. And it is actually titled Vader Box #3, by Stephen Hughes. (Just visible to the right is the gas giant it's flying around, Strata by Grant Vaughan.)

This is a Great Fairy Fountain, was my first thought. But it genuinely belongs in this section: it's titled Grapefruit to the Moon, by Steve Madsen, and it does open up (pictures at link).

This is somewhere between War of the Worlds and a beetle. (Dancing Tryclops by Michael Brolly.)

Finally, this is incredibly charming and I'm glad the website picture is decent because there wasn't room for me to get one: Time Standing Still by Po Shun Leong and Bob Stocksdale.

And now I'm finally done, woo!

[pico-digital-studios]

👋 ^_^

So, since I can ask you any questions, here’s mine! ^^

Who is your favourite & least favourite character from:

Cartoon

Anime

Video Game

Comic/Manga

Etc

And why? ^^

OMT!Mina: Looks like we got our first question! Considering how obscure our stories seem to be compared to most, I'm honestly quite surprised.

CU!Sonic: Okay, let's see... @btnfstudios asks "Who is your favourite & least favourite character from cartoons, anime, video games, comics, etc., and why?"

OMT!Tails: Since there weren't any tags, I thought we'd take the question first to start things off. Sorry in advance that Antho, Brian and Devy couldn't be here for the question. They had some errands to attend to.

Nitro: That's fine. At least Smol Devy managed to get here!

Smol Devy: Hewwo! ^v^

OMT!Tails: Well, as it happens, aside from me idolising Benjamin, my favourite video game character's gotta be Alex Kidd. I really admire the effort he goes to to ensure his dad's safe from harm.

Nitro: Man, I really admire him for being able to do that, even when I couldn't...

OMT!Tails: (comfortingly) Solidarity, buddy.

Nitro: Anyway, if I was to pick between cartoon characters, I'd say I really admire Fluttershy's gentle and all-loving nature, even in the midst of danger. Trust me, you don't wanna be on the wrong end of her bad temper if she gets into one.

D-Sides Mighty: You know, I really dig Spider-Punk and his refusal to abide by society's perceptions and ideals. Reminds me of how my dimension's refusing to stick to a consistent "canon".

BK!Amy: If it's from my favourite anime, I've gotta go with Tohru Honda. I really enjoyed seeing her know that all bad things have to come to an end someday as well.

CR!Sonia: I don't really see much appeal in the cartoon characters that are solely girly and not much else.

CU!Sonia: Ditto. It's why I admire tomboy female characters from cartoons like Lana Loud, who's less enamoured with dresses and prefers activities the guys get up to like skateboarding.

Nitro: Heh, I remember she looks up to Ronnie-Anne a lot back home.

CU!Sonia: Wait, you used to live in the same town she did?

Nitro: Long story. I'll tell you later, if you'd like.

CU!Sonia: Of course!

CU!Sonic: You know, if a character in any of those media is in a healthy relationship with their loved ones, that's all I need to like for them. That, and good character development, of course.

Mr. Needlemouse: Favourite cartoon character? I am a cartoon character! (smug) What more needs to be said about me?

CR!Sonic: To be fair, you did end up on the list of "Top Worst-Behaved Cartoon Characters" recently.

Mr. NM: That again?! Remind me what I did again?

CR!Sonic: Well, blowing stuff up for the heck of it, you and Beeman being as bad as each other, hello?

EX!Alice: You know, I've really found an admiration for Blue Beetle, in a way. Seeing Batman go out of his way to see if he has what it takes to be a hero is such an honour not a lot of people get to experience.

OMT!Mina: I'd say Sam Sharp's my favourite. Rock and roll!

CR!Sonic: My personal favourite game character to this day? It's gotta be Mario! Dude's just saving the day just outta the goodness of his heart, you know?

Mini Sonic: Hmm, let's see... I'll opt for Green Lantern. I mean, come on! He can build anything just with that ring of his!

Wacky: You know, I've found Tintin to be quite the intrepid adventurer in his comics and film, especially when alongside his dog, Snowy.

Hog: What about Cuphead? Does he count?

Wacky: Well, he started as a video game, not a cartoon, though the similarities are there. Plus, he got his own TV show!

Hog: Cool! Where can I see it?

Wacky: Let's see... Ah, bummer. It's behind a Netflix subscription.

Hog: Hmph! If only there was a way to pirate that so I could watch it.

Nitro: I'm sure Lucia will figure out a way later.

Nine: My favourite in anime's definitely that guy from Fist of the North Star. I mean, he's almost unstoppable with those rapid-fire punches and hitting weak points. Omae wa mou shindeiru!

CR!Manik: I'm... gonna pretend I don't know what that means. Dad has really been getting me and Sonia into Wind in the Willows, one of those older British stop-motion cartoons. I particularly find Mr. Toad really hilarious to watch, haha! Poop-poop! The poetry of motion! What about you, Smol Devy?

Smol Devy: Me really likes Ana and Kat! They awesome ninja fwiends!

Trip: Hehe! Glad you're getting on well with them, little guy. I haven't seen a lot of that media before meeting my Team Sonic, but there's something I found appealing about Gromit, Wallace's dog; he's often the one to save the day when all those inventions Wallace makes either go awry or are vandalised by villains.

OMT!Tails: He really is an admirable character, even if he doesn't talk. And there you have it! Thanks for the question, Brendan!

Footnote

Nitro: Pst! I just wanted to throw in my part for the second half of that question for you, Brendan. For the "least favourite character" concerning cartoons for me, under the Looney Tunes lot, that title's absolutely going to Pepé Le Pew. His whole schtick is absolutely inappropriate by today's standards, and I'm glad I haven't seen him around Toontopia. As Vincent Alexander once put it, "If there's any moral to the cartoons, it's that if you act like Pepé, you stink." Well, thanks for the question, dude!

[karltface]

Not exactly a mystery box, but I does contain mysterious things. Behold, three Ebay purchases with combined shipping.

Purchase #1: vintage MOTU goodness. I've been after Beast Man and Grizzlor, so that's a couple more off the list. Buzz-Off's in decent shape, but he's extra. Ditto that Skeletor. The Landshark sealed the deal, really: mine took a shelf dive and broke both gun mounts, but everything else besides the right cannon survived.

Oh, happy day! Totally had Grizzlor's crossbow in there too. A damn fine specimen overall; almost no damage at all.

Purchase #2: this rubber Viking head. It's one of those hand puppets with 3-4 finger holes in the back. Contort your digits to make the face look even sillier. It's minutes of fun. But it's significantly older than myself from the look and feel, and there's a definite charm to it.

And then there's Purchase #3: just, so many rubber bugs. The suction-cup grasshopper is a tough sort of rubber, with delightful old-school bottle-brush feet. The crickets are good jiggly rubber, but likely not 70s.

In the way of "pest" species, I scored two decent roaches, and a laughably crude one that looks more like a half-engorged tick in this shot. It's the sort of peach-colored, slightly translucent rubber you'd see sometimes in party supply stores.

A pair of jiggler ants are hilariously warped in their old age, while the central one is a late 80s release from Funrise, apparently a bighead ant. Also from Funrise are the fruit fly and tsetse fly, which are interesting choices. The bulk of the Diptera are very nice dual-injected rubber pieces.

Arachnid-wise, I'm most excited about the unpainted Hong Kong scorpion. The large, colorful spiders are large plastic knockoffs of the vendingachine jiggler toys immediately below them.

Two Creepy Crawlers tarantulas were a fun surprise, as is the tiny (and obvious) Ben Cooper tarantula KO. That little scorpion, though? Very strange. It's rocking a kickass three-tone gradient, and is about the consistency of a really really soft sticky toy, but with very little in the way of stickiness. It reminds me of the tentacles on those Blok Bots Mutroids.

Too deep?

Oddballs are an early 90s arcade prize centipede, a snail and slug (and caterpillar) cast in trans green rubber, a couple Creepy Crawlers beetles, a fat lizard, two plastic ladybugs (molded and painted with one eye each), and a few tiny bugs I missed at first. The snail is of particular notice: that's all one piece, but at a glance, it looks a lot like two. Really good paint work there.

A fine haul, all in all.

[someguyiguess23]

Zant in a maid outfit cuz I say so dammit!

(Also, little comic page featuring Ditto @jayjar100 and Murmur @sappedart)

[zahri-melitor]

Okay, it’s new-ish comics day!

A very dull week really.

Green Lantern #1: tried this purely on the basis of writer. Ugh, Hal Jordan.

I’m avoiding Batman RIP hard enough that I ALMOST decided to read Batman #126-130 but didn’t quite give in given I’m ALREADY avoiding Zur-en-arrh.

Warlord #1: (ok this is a very OLD comic) I had to open this because Skartaris. I enjoy all of DC’s weird locations. Anyway the first half of this feels more like a recap of previous events than a comic. Lotta stuff happening. Needs less slavery, though I assume it’s going for the Conan vibe.

Also Mike Grell, I just want to have words. Is that goatee something you’re into? Because Travis Morgan here is just white haired Oliver Queen (down to the crucifixion imagery on the last page).

Blue Beetle #1: (ditto on the OLD comic) yeah I’m remembering why I tend not to read pre-Crisis. Oh TED. Interesting that he’s getting harassed about Dan Garrett’s death. Back up is the Question, and wow Vic, things certainly happened there. Unsure WHAT but events were happening and you took down a gang.

[friendshipcampaign]

Session Recap 1/4/20 - Bird Murder, or Burder

Together, the party succeeded at deciphering the message that had been left with Amaranth’s things in the chest – correctly deducing out that the key it had been encoded with read “NOWHERE” – to find that it read:

My Dearest Callen, 

Technically these little trinkets are a bonus—you didn’t ask, but surely you deserve some sort of interest on an investment that’s been missing for so long. D has recorded their value and will be sending along a full report. I intend to receive a signature from your representative upon delivery as proof I’ve upheld my end of our little arrangement. For your own part, do have fun with your new toy. She did lose one of her companions in the altercation—that pathetic little elf. I could have made her remember losing more, but I wouldn’t want to deprive you of the satisfaction of breaking her yourself. 

Now, as agreed, I expect you to stay out of Veritas unless called upon. This is a delicate operation, and if your interference throws off the balance I am sure that neither of our patrons will look kindly upon it. You can resume your search for flotsam once everything is securely under control. It shouldn’t be long now. The demons are hardly bothering to hide, and the city is desperate for a savior. 

Cordially, 

The Lady of the Golden Brand

Amaranth, in particular, looked extremely nauseous at the text of the letter, but still managed to point out that there was a watermark of a white hart on the paper, suggesting the cult might be active at the White Hart paper mill. The group also discussed the fact that, according to the papers Thodri had given Kriv, there was an Elderberry Deckle at the Cavern paper mill who’d put an ad in the versos about looking for a tiefling named Dandelion Deckle.

Ditto asked Tiktik if they would be up for any spying that day, and when they agreed, transformed them into a beetle, so they’d be ready to snoop. The group discussed whether it made sense to deal with the devil cultists or the breaches being opened by the demonic cultists first—though the fact that Esmerelda’s letter made it sound like the former weren’t too concerned with the latter seemed potentially even more ominous than the breaches did. They also talked about the fact that it seemed like Tress was being kept at one of the paper mills, and agreed it probably made sense to investigate them. As the group prepared to head out, Palava called Erwyn over and cast Death Ward on him.

“Just a little extra protection,” he said, squeezing his shoulder.

Alembic suggested sneaking the party out of the city in the demiplane, which meant when everyone headed inside, they saw the sculptures of Volfred that Amaranth and Nora had made, which Kriv shrank down to a more manageable size and moved after heading over to his goat.

“What do you think of the images of me they have created?” Volfred asked him.

“That one is pretty good,” Kriv said, pointing to the one Nora had been working on.

“Yes, the dwarf has more patience for these things than your tiefling friend.”

When Ditto referred to Kriv by his alias, Volfred asked about it and Kriv explained the party was on the run, but did not elaborate on everything that had happened since. With the party waiting for a bit in the demiplane, Kriv did take the opportunity to look at the mail that he’d recieved

Voski, meanwhile, consolidated some of the skull lamps Tenny had made into a chandelier.

Eventually, the demiplane door opened up and Palava waved enthusiastically at the party to let them know they’d gotten outside of town successfully. On their way to the Cavern papermill, Ditto sent Tiktik to spy on the White Heart, but they really only saw workers hanging up sheets of paper in the mill. The group knocked on the door to the Cavern and were greeted by an elderly halfling who introduced himself as Elderberry. When Voski mentioned they were there because of his ad in the versos, his demeanor changed, asking if they knew anything about “DeeDee,” and the group asked if they could speak with him in his office.

Voski explained to Elderberry that the party was in a somewhat similar situation, searching for a friend of a friend who was also a tiefling that had gone missing. Elderberry explained that DeeDee had gone missing on Blomhath 18th, nearly a week ago. He said it felt as though the watch had just stopped trying to follow up with missing persons reports. It was also explained that he’d adopted Dandelion, whose parents hadn’t been expecting a tiefling. 

After Voski asked if Elderberry had a working relationship with any moembers of the watch, and he explained that some of his employees had minor infractions in the past, which meant the city watch occasionally bothered them. Around that time, a goblin Elderberry referred to as Zero briefly interrupted the group to ask if everything was alright. When Voski asked about the mercenaries working in town, Elderberry admitted he didn’t have a very high opinion of them, but there was no curfew out by the mills. Kriv asked if anyone unusual had come into the mill prior to Dandelion’s disappearance. He said there wasn’t anyone he could think of, but that the other mills got more unusual clientele.

Suddenly, Ditto, who had been oddly quiet for much of the conversation, asked if she could have a look around the paper mill because she’d never been in one before. Elderberry agreed, but as she was zooming out the door of the office and into the mill, Erwyn Messaged her to ask if everything was alright.

“I think… that goblin…” she said, “I think that Tiktik knew them… bye!”

The others continued their conversation with Elderberry. Erwyn asked about some of the individuals that had been coming and going from the other paper mills, and Elderberry mentioned that the White Hart in particular had been so busy that Vatman, the proprietor, cancelled the papermaker’s subset of the stationer’s meeting for the first time ever last month. He also mentioned that there was a distinguished-looking fire genasi who’d been putting orders in there.

Ditto succeeded in finding Zero chatting with a big bugbear, and told them that she’d been together with Tiktik the goblin a long time ago. Zero immediately asked if she was Ditto, and suggested they duck into the rag-sorting room to talk. They told Ditto that Tiktik told a lot of stories about her, though they suspected that not all of them were all the way true – things like her tying guards shoelaces together, Goz the Great, how when she met Tiktik she shot fire at a guy and they had to flee. It turned out that Zero knew about the package Tiktik had left with Knife.

“Knife was sure you’d come back, but I didn’t know,” Zero said. “I kind of thought you’d just be a weird story.”

“Well I guess all of us are weird stories eventually, right?” said Ditto.

Zero told Ditto that Tiktik had been her adopted aunt. Apparently Zero and Brenga, the bugbear they’d been talking to, had come into town together and Tiktik had taken them under her wing. They told Ditto that Tiktik had talked about her a lot, but especially towards the end, and commented that a cuna wasn’t finished until the person it was intended for got it. Ditto told them it made her feel sosoceni – a goblin word she’d learned from Tiktik, though she and Zero both laughed at how she still struggled to pronounce it. She asked it it would be weird if she gave them a hug, but Zero said it was alright – though after giving them a tight squeeze, Ditto warned them that she and her friends were looking into some stuff and Veritas was really dangerous right now. She also told them about how she could cast Sendings, and that she’d try to warn them of any danger if she could.

“It’s magic. It’s like wizard shit. I can do so much wizard shit now, it’s crazy. I don’t know how to deal with it,” said Ditto.

Ditto then rejoined the rest of the party, who were preparing to leave. Once they were outside, Amaranth and Palava asked Ditto if she’d seen anything interesting, and she explained about the connection between Zero and Tiktik. She emotionally said she hoped everything turned out okay for everyone at the Cavern, because she was really fond of them all now. Kriv patted her as she explained.

As the group approached the other paper mills, Ditto sent her familiar Tiktik to snoop on the White Hart paper mill again, through whose eyes she noticed that the workers in the mill seemed to be working a little suspiciously in unison. Through a door, she also saw a white tabaxi with a black mark over their eye, who looked like the one the group had seen during the fight at Inner Truths—though they weren’t sure if he was the original or a duplicate. 

Erwyn offered to try detecting fiends in the area, and the group settled down among some trees so he could focus. He picked up on something that looked like a raven on the roof of one of the paper mills, but that actually pinged as a devil. As his awareness spread and hit the city walls, he felt a building wave of demonic presence that hurt his head and eventually grew overwhelming.

The group discussed options for distracting or sneaking past the “raven,” deciding they should probably take it out before they headed into the mill. Since it seemed worth looking for ways to sneak in the building before engaging it, everyone did some investigation, but came up empty—though Kriv did manage to find some nice medicinal herbs in the process. Tiktik’s investigation at least turned up a door leading to the lower part of the mill, but with no windows looking in.

Amaranth hid some of the foliage nearby in order to get the element of surprise. Ditto linked to the Arcane Shuttle, in order to cast a distraction once it was placed, which she gave to Erwyn, who she then cast Invisibility on. He dropped it in an unassuming spot and hid himself in the foliage as well. Ditto cast a rustling sound through the shuttle, and the devil hopped off the roof and into the trees to investigate. 

Once the devil was in range, Amaranth, threw the ice dagger at it, utterly obliterating it. The party then sprang into action. Ditto cast Mage Armor on herself as the group rushed to the door of the paper mill. Palava slipped slightly on the way, and Kriv helped him up and along. There was a heavy lock on the door, which Amaranth was able to pick easily. Kriv cast Aid on Ditto, Erwyn, and Voski as the group headed inside.

It was dark inside the mill, prompting the dragonborn to don their scarf and goggles respectively. There was another locked door inside, which Amaranth proceeded to check for traps before unlocking it. She opened the door and snuck in, entering a room full of manacled humanoid shapes–including the tabaxi proprietor. She silenced him before he could cry out, saying they were here to rescue him.

As the others entered the room, Ditto recognized some of the other figures in the room as the employees of the paper mill. Erwyn and Voski noticed several piles of papermaking rags in the corners of the rooms which had some kind of spherical glassware underneath them that looked suspicious and potentially magical. Kriv used Divine Sense, but didn’t detect any fiends nearby. Amaranth went to attempt to unlock a set of manacles, but Voski, who had noticed something carved into their edges, gestured for her to wait. 

Voski asked if there was some kind of a spell on the manacles. Vatman, the proprietor, replied that there might be as “they” had a lot of magic, warning about oozes that could take you out of your mind. Palava knelt down to examine the manacles, then the glass vessels in the corners of the room, saying that they were linked–and the latter were triggered to explode if the manacles were tampered with. Kriv reassured some of the prisoners, asking them to stay quiet but promising they were going to get them all out. Palava put a hand on Vatman’s shoulder, making the same promise and casting Calm Emotions–though not before asking for permission, in case the prisoners had had enough of magical effects. 

Voski had wandered back into the first room, where she had noticed some strange discoloration near a ladder leaning against the wall. She tried sending a Message in Esmerelda’s voice down below, since it looked like there might be a trapdoor, saying “Tressamine, darling, how’s my favorite assistant?”–to no response. Ditto investigated the trapdoor area and noticed that there seemed to be a metal layer underneath it, with some sort of spell on it. Voski tried casting Dispel Magic on it, causing the spell to vanish. 

She tried sending the same Message, a little more irritably the second time, and heard back “Oh, I think we’re making very good progress.”

Voski informed the others Tress was down there, but might still be compromised. She tried messaging her in Esmerelda’s voice again, saying she was thinking about getting some food in town and asking if she wanted anything. Tress replied saying she liked the spicy dumplings at a particular stall. Voski then tried asking via another Message what the schedule was that day, and was told that Kereft was in, as usual–though Tress added that he was being unhelpful, as always.

“Kisses,” said Voski in Esmerelda’s voice, finishing the Messaging exchange.

“--W-what?” replied Tress.

After Voski let the others know Tress wasn’t alone, Kriv broke the trapdoor open to reveal a room with stacks of paper, and iron cage, and an oddly fancy chair, as well as a door to another room. Kriv tried Divine Sense again, and while it didn’t detect anything, he noticed an ooze flowing from beneath the bars of the cage. Quickly, he dropped the ladder down so the party could rush downstairs. 

Amaranth went after the ooze and successfully beat back the smaller ooze that had flowed through the cell with a powerful attack. Kriv went after it next, hitting it twice and casting Diving Smite on the second of his attacks, which allowed Erwyn to run past, maintaining his Invisibility. Voski cast Vicious Mockery on the smaller ooze, saying “Oh, you’re still here?” and it recoiled, at this point barely holding itself together. 

Kriv and Amaranth felt a tugging on their minds from the ooze, and while Kriv was able to fight it off, Amaranth ended up frozen in place, unable to move. Four tendrils separated themselves from the larger ooze and morphed into humanoid figures=–one of which took the form of Vatman-–that drew swords and screamed out incomprehensibly. Alembic then closed his eyes and focused on an aura that strengthened the minds of those standing near him. Ditto cast Magic Missile on the smaller ooze, which destroyed it, and then flew up towards the ceiling.

Palava remained up above, saying he didn’t want to leave the prisoners, but still was able to lean down and cast Sacred Flame on the larger, remaining ooze. Amaranth—who had regained the ability to move when Ditto destroyed the smaller ooze—tried rushing past the four gooplicates, meaning one got an attack in on her, but succeeded in attacking the larger ooze twice.

Kriv turned to Voski, “Do you want me to go get her now?”

“I think we’re beyond secrecy now,” she replied.

He ran to the door on the other side of the room, only to discover it was locked, so he busted it in physically. On the other side was a room filled with alchemical equipment, as well as as Tress and the fire genasi that Palette’s footage had shown in Inner Truths. Kriv attempted to position himself between Tress and the genasi, and as soon as he got close, there was a sudden shift in her eyes and she looked horrified. Furious, Kriv cast Wrathful Smite on his hammer. Erwyn followed Kriv into the other room and cast Ray of Frost at the genasi, causing his Invisibility to drop. He then asked Tress if she was okay.

“Physically,” she replied.

Voski attempted to whack one of the gooplicates near her with a sword, but failed. She then asked Ditto to give her the shuttle. Inside the other room, the genasi moved away from Kriv, who was at least able to smash him with his hammer, adding a Divine Smite for good measure. The genasi pulled something that looked like a tuning fork from his belt, and grabbed a flask with arcane markings on it that looked like the ones the group had seen upstairs.

“Put your weapons down,” the genasi said threateningly, “Or all the prisoners will die.”

[kevrocksicehouse]

I have a confession. But first I want to emphasize that none of us is perfect, y’all without sin etc. Everybody has some secret shame that if exposed should be penalized with nothing more stringent than forgiveness. Except this. This is worse. Okay here goes (deep breath):

I DON’T THINK THERE WERE ANY OSCAR SNUBS.

Nope. Not even Barbie. Despite Greta Gerwig’s masterful shepherding of what is so far Mattel’s greatest movie, if Zone of Interest (which I haven’t seen yet) is a dog, I’ll give Jonathan Glazer’s place to May/December’s Todd Haynes. Ditto for Robie who was almost perfect (But what’s up with her still using the Harley Quinn accent?). If Nyad isn’t up to snuff I’ll just slide in Past Lives’ Greta Lee.

It was that kind of year. Lots of good movies and for a change most of them got at least some kind of Oscar nod. But. There were those orphans and also-rans that came up all the way short. No nominations. Let’s honor them, okay?

In other words, it’s time for KEVROC’S ANNUAL BEST MOVIES THAT DIDN’T GET EVEN ONE LOUSY NOMINATION list!

Asteroid City. Wes Anderson had a short-lived Oscar vogue in the last decade with  Best Picture nominations for Moonrise Kingdom in 2013 and  Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014, but this year the consensus was that this deadpan dramatization of the tension between postwar optimism and post-nuclear domination which defined the latter half of The American Century was just a collection of the director’s tropes instead of a humanist masterpiece. It should have been nominated if for no other reason than to give a push to “Dear Alien (Who Art in Heaven)” for the Best Song award it deserves. (But hey, Wes got a Best Live Action Short nod for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar).

A Good Person. Zach Braff’s directorial rep as the King of Emo, not to mention an early release date kept Oscar voters from this story of two addicts struggling not to relapse in the face of their lives’ biggest tragedy, that gave Morgan Freeman his best role in years and reaffirmed Florence Pugh’s status as the best actor of this decade.

All of Us Strangers. A simple dreamlike plot (a depressed gay man meets his soulmate, and simultaneously gets to see his long-dead parents) becomes a soul-wrenching mystical reverie brought to life by Claire Foy and Jamie Bell as the parents, Paul Mescal as the troubled soulmate and Andrew Scott, who gives a performance so exposed and vulnerable that if it went any further he’d literally shed his skin.

Monica. A trans woman (Trace Lysette) reconnects with her family and is taken for a nurse by her demented, homophobic mother (Patricia Clarkson). It sounds like Joan Crawford doing an Almodovar film but director Andrea Pallaoro goes for subtlety and nuance over camp drama in this quiet gem. Lysette should have been talked about more.

Air. This crazy-entertaining celebration of the marketing synergy of Michael Jordan and Nike got Oscar-overlooked because a whole movie devoted to a celebrity spokesperson deal is maybe just a little too on-the-nose. But it had great work by Chris Messina, Jason Bateman, a Macchiavellian Viola Davis and especially Matt Damon who might be too good an actor to ever win an Oscar for it.

Passages. Ira Sachs examination of why-good-people-love-irredeemable-pricks is a high point in the careers of Adele Exarchoupoulos and Ben Wishaw but was a breakout star vehicle for Franz Rogowski playing the kind of prick who has a one-night stand and is so smitten he can’t wait to tell his husband all about it.

Blue Beetle. You know the superhero movie is in trouble when this crackerjack film about a reluctant Latino champion of his family and community (and whose sidekicks include a Zapatista-veteran grandmother) could only find a fraction of the audience it deserved.  And the line “Now is when we cry” made me cry.

Strays. All apologies to Poor Things and American Fiction, but this profane and scatological tribute to couch-humping, trash-eating dogshit producing (and eating) canis lupus familiaris was the funniest movie of the year.

Bottoms. Even beating out this gloriously tasteless and bracingly absurdist tale of high school lesbians who start a fight club to meet chicks that would win the Jean Hersholt humanitarian award if they renamed it for John Waters.

Taylor Swift: The Eras tour. The Academy’s prejudice against performance films is understandable. Certainly the struggle against dictators in Uganda and Invaders in the Ukraine are more important than a superstar juggernaut’s latest step on her way to world domination. But I’m not the only one who became convinced that the juggernaut was a real (and major) artist. And flashing on the closeups of random fans experiencing pure ecstasy was as moving as anything I saw this year.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

I've been seeing the not-so-great projections for THE MARVELS, the latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This is MCU film #33... I mean...

That right there, I think, is the reason why it's projected to open relatively so-so for an MCU movie and for a CAPTAIN MARVEL sequel. The original opened with over $155m, as the penultimate film before AVENGERS: ENDGAME in early 2019, this looks to open with... Some four years later... Less than $80m...

I think THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA really pin-pricked the MCU balloon, despite the shows still being pretty popular (then again, that's right there on your TV, you don't have to spend an arm and a leg for a ticket), and the leggy success of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3.

This year, I feel, kinda told me that the superhero movie boom hasn't ended per se, but has taken on a new form... In that, audiences will definitely see something superheroic in a theater **if** it has a hook.

QUANTUMANIA was frontloaded like an MCU would be, opened quite awesomely with $106m domestically (that was way up from the previous Ant-Man outing), but had abysmal legs. Legs, less than 2x multiplier abysmal. Even for a big-opener, that's horrible... Its worldwide total couldn't quite make back the budget thrown at it... I've only seen the first 10 minutes of it at my job and bits and pieces while doing auditorium checks, and... It just seemed blah to me... And I think audiences don't want blah anymore out of these movies.

Ditto their general avoidance of Warner/DC's SHAZAM sequel and THE FLASH. BLUE BEETLE was apparently quite alright, but from the trailers, it looked like just another superhero movie. Release that in 2016, it probably would've made its domestic total on opening weekend alone.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 opened with $118m, which was deemed disappointing, but... Something happened... The movie was loved by audiences. Scored a fantastic 3x multiplier, higher than what the last one took in, and higher than most MCU multipliers. I mean... It was a movie that looked pretty nice as opposed to gray rushed CGI murk, people connected with its more emotional storyline, and it helps that people really like those characters when exed out of the larger MCU equation. That they hold a solid trilogy on their own, it says a lot I feel.

Whereas, Ant-Man and Captain Marvel are much more tied to the wider MCU framework, their movies felt like homework films that you had to see in order to keep up. And I'm saying this as someone who likes and owns CAPTAIN MARVEL, ANT-MAN, and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP on Blu-ray. They're solid movies, but I feel the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY trilogy is on another level.

This leaves us with SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE. The movie made more money domestically ($381m) than the first film, INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, made in its entire worldwide run. ($373m) Now that right there was the superhero success story of the year, and it held up nicely worldwide, too. Again, the critical and audience response to this one said it all. If audiences love the characters and really liked how the story was told, and that they don't feel obligated to doing homework, they'll come back. They'll make the thing big.

And I think that's where we've been at this year. Audiences want something worth seeing in theaters. If it isn't, they'll wait til it goes to streaming. I suppose a lot of audiences see previews for THE MARVELS, and feel "We'll wait til it comes to Disney+." Plus, there's AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, a movie that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things since James Gunn and Peter Safran are completely hard-resetting the DC movie universe. That looks to be a "wait til Max" movie, even if the first film cleared a billion back in 2018/19. The world is a lot different now, and audiences are voting with their wallet in different ways now. Plus you have to factor in the ongoing actor strike.

This year, only two superhero movies made it into the Top 10 domestically, two of them Marvel adaptations. Again, GUARDIANS and SPIDER-VERSE.

Last year? Four, three Marvels - DOCTOR STRANGE 2, THOR 4, BLACK PANTHER 2, one DC - THE BATMAN. Another DC, BLACK ADAM, fell a little bit outside of the top 10 and was deemed a financial disappointment.

Let's go further back before COVID-19, to 2019, Marvel's *big* year. CAPTAIN MARVEL, AVENGERS: ENDGAME, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME. All in the Top 10, in addition to - not a superhero film, but a DC adaptation - JOKER. Four movies.

2018 had a top three of superhero movies: BLACK PANTHER, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, and INCREDIBLES 2. DEADPOOL 2 and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP were a little lower on the Top 10, and a little outside the Top 10 were VENOM and INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE.

I think it's now going to boil down to "does this look like it's worth spending a fortune on to see in a theater?"

But you just know, the thumbnail chucklefucks are going to make this about women. They're gonna make this about Brie Larson, their number one enemy. (They're angry at her over something she said about film criticism being too dominated by white men... And she's absolutely RIGHT about that.) They're gonna make this about "WOKE" or whatever. These are the weirdos who deny that CAPTAIN MARVEL made a billion, claiming it was astroturfed. Brie Larson lives in these dirty-bearded pathetic loser men's heads rent-free 24/7/365.

But really, if the movie underperforms, it's not because of that...

Because BARBIE was apparently "woke", a movie *soaked* in feminism and anti-patriarchy sentiment. Enough to make the wet sandwich man-baby that is Ben Shapiro whine about it in an hour-long youtube video... that's the year's biggest movie.

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, last year and into this year, made $2 billion, and that's supposedly PC liberal stuff. There were even some weirdos who were upset about Princess Peach being a bit of an action gal in the MARIO movie, if they weren't using said movie as weapon against Disney's supposedly "woke" movies. MARIO made over a billion.

Even then, despite losing money theatrically, LITTLE MERMAID proved to be very popular with audiences. I know because I saw it all unfold at the cinema I work at. We also saw a THREE-HOUR political drama that condemns imperialism and superweapons nearly make a billion...

That new Taylor Swift concert movie made a real killing this weekend. The right hates Swift for various reasons, but it doesn't matter, most "normal" people love her music... So her concert movie, in just three days, single-handedly became the biggest concert movie of all time. And Beyonce's movie is on the way.

It isn't about "woke". Never was.

Audiences' movie tastes have simply shifted. Like they always do. Something rushed and assembly line-looking just isn't always going to cut it, no matter what the "politics" of the movie are.

If THE MARVELS fails, it'll simply be because audiences just didn't care to see how that story would be told. And superhero fatigue really should mean "audiences won't see every single one of them".

It's kind of the same way animated movies were treated every time a few of them flopped at the box office. "Are there TOO MANY animated movies?" "Is the bubble going to pop?" "Is there animation fatigue?"

NO. It's as simple as, if audiences want to see a movie, they'll see it.