#i miss that era it was so strange and wacky

[rucow]

i wanted to finish watching a poto adaptation and maybe draw again today but im still too sick to do it ough 😭 misery

[dalesramblingsblog]

I know we've been commenting since The Star Beast on the irony of Russell T. Davies taking Disney money and using it to say trans/gay rights as part of one of the biggest British television events of 2023/2024, but I think Dot and Bubble fully opened my eyes to something I've been quietly contemplating since at least the time of The Giggle.

I am genuinely convinced, knowing everything I know about Davies' comments on the state of the BBC and the kinds of art he's been making of late, that Series 14 is a brilliant and purposeful piece of artistic subversion that has taken Disney's money to not just say trans rights, but to actively comment upon the cold, empty yawning abyss that is modern MCU franchisecrafting.

Time and time again, the show has returned to the idea that that sort of "artistry" is completely anathema in a cosmic horror sense to the very fabric of Doctor Who. The Toymaker is an arbiter of rules and continuity, who threatens to turn Doctor Who into a knock-off of The Avengers before everything collapses back into a game of catch with the Doctor in his underwear.

73 Yards is quite explicitly about the loneliness, emptiness and futility that accompanies human beings trying to impose rational, ordered frameworks and narratives on a fundamentally chaotic and strange universe. The very fact that the episode exists in a media ecosystem where hackish YouTubers will be falling over themselves to make "Ending Explained" videos for it *is part of the point*.

And then we have Dot and Bubble, where the modern glut of franchisal/social media (and the two are often close to interchangeable, as proven by this very blog post) is explicitly shown to have an anaesthetising effect that insulates people from real-world suffering. But it's more than that, because that same anaesthesia ties into expressions of actual, direct racism that are so baked into the foundations of that media and who it tends to uplift (white, conventionally attractive and implicitly straight people) that they become indistinguishable from said suffering.

After years of Doctor Who trying its hand at being a generic MCU-esque property and fans creating mockups of Phase-esque release timelines with a million spin-offs focusing on the Wacky Adventures of Miss Evangelista or whatever other bullshit fandom constantly clamours for, here is an era that puts its foot down and says "Actually, the foundational elements of that brand of media consumption are materially connected to the constant racist or sexist backlash you see against the casting of Ncuti Gatwa or Jodie Whittaker or Kelly Marie Tran."

And it is absolutely, positively, 100% correct.

How, then, does Doctor Who resist the creeping power of this monolithic cultural entity? In a world where studios seriously try to argue for the artistic worth of tripe like Morbius or Madame Web or Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, what is the appropriate response?

The same response that it's always had, the thing that it's been doing for sixty years. Getting people to learn how to run down corridors from hokey aliens, hoping against hope that those people don't turn out to be massive fucking racists and telling them exactly where they can shove it if they are, and instilling the children of the world with a healthy dose of fear and light-hearted humour.

Welcome back, Doctor Who. God, I have missed you.

[squipedmew]

well, since the Dream SMP has officially come to a close, I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to for the past 2 years - making character designs for every single one of the characters!

 I really wanted every character to look distinct, with really distinct color pallets, unique weapons for each and every character - basically like each one of them could be the protagonist of a wildly different story from one another. Feel free to steal them (with credit) if you want!

I kinda dropped off working on it in late 2022, so I think I missed a few characters, as well as going back and re-doing some of the oldest ones (that’s why some of them are more detailed - those are the 2023 versions)

As strange as it is for me to say this, DSMP had such a big impact on me, especially over COVID. I haven’t had a piece of media fill me with such a passion to create art and improve probably since Undertale all the way back in 2015, if you can believe it. I owe a lot of my art improvement to this silly little Minecraft series, and though I may have lost touch with it near the end, it will always hold a special place in my heart. 

o7 you crazy, wacky, depressing, stupid, unsatisfying, joyful, hilarious, and amazing series. I wish everyone involved in it the best!

(A few extra designs under the cut!)

This is a 2020 Pogtopia Wilbur I made, and if I were to draw it now, I probably wouldn’t change a thing. This design fucking slaps imo, I’m still super proud of it. 

Exile Era Tommy. Wilbur’s old Pogtopia coat has been passed around so many times between so many different interpretations of characters, so I thought it made more sense for Tommy to take the L’Manberg era coat from Wilbur, since that was the version of him he idolized (This is an old version of Wilbur’s coat btw)

Post Dream-Getting-Sent-To-Prison Tommy! I wanted to emphasize how Tommy was trying to move past his trauma, so he shaved off the grey streak he got from the Withers in the L’Manberg explosions (I gave him the grey streaks before Revival canonized it - don’t ask me why)

Las Nevadas Quackity. It’s basically a 1 to 1 for his skin, save for the really ugly blue patches and hoodie I gave him. If I were to do it again, I would def change that. 

Snowchester Tubbo. Also still holds up, though I’m not 100% on the pants. This was kinda before goat Tubbo got super canonized, so I just decided to have the eyes. The scars are from the execution. 

Revivbur. He looks pretty good for a dead bitch - though I messed up the L’Manberg flag colors on the bandanna on his ankle. Guess he’s french now. 

Team Rocket era Niki! She took custody of Wilbur’s Pogtopia coat, albiet cutting off the parts that were covered in blood and soot (which was most of it) I also made her a fire-born like Sapnap, though you can’t see from his design - her hair is on fire when she feels strong emotions, and she’s basically going through it 24/7 during this part. 

Syndicate Niki! She’s calmed down and is no longer on fire, but her hair is still pink from all those weeks of constant rage and sadness. Also dressed more appropriately for the snow. 

Dream Post Prison. Mask no longer has invisibility enchantments, so he doesn’t bother hiding his face. Gotta wonder how it’s staying on though. Get this man some moisturizer. 

[kabutoraiger]

Boonboom's been kind of a slog for me too lately, so I feel you there. I think the biggest issue is that main team are all kinda bland and samey. Taiya, Chashiro, and Genba are the serious ones and Mira and Jou are both goofy, but I don't think their individual personalities are well defined enough to differentiate themselves from one another. I took a break to watch Magiranger and the difference between those two teams is night and day.

cosigned fr...

i've read that the boomger staff have gone on record saying this is fully intended to be a much simpler show that very young children can understand especially after kingoh was mostly incomprehensible for that age group which is like. on paper, i support 100%.

but. i feel like it's really swung around wayy too far on that scale... where it seems like it's being written by people who have a very narrow understanding of what a "simple" sentai episode is like. like their whole concept of such a thing is "a wacky monster appears and does something strange." not really grasping that even in simpler sentai the wacky monster is generally meant to be a springboard to reveal or further establish something about one or more characters?

i just keep thinking about that camping episode in particular. you expect the premise to then tell you something about taiya, or his mentor guy, or the mentor's relationship with taiya or his nephew, but in the end you don't learn anything meaningful about any of them. it's just. an episode where a monster puts people in tents and taiya happens to be there bc of a job. which is certainly... watchable for preschoolers in the most basic sense. but for anyone even a little older there being no real emotion or meaning behind it makes it fall totally flat. and since there's multiple such "empty" episodes we miss all these chances for character development that other sentai would've utilized to flesh out their casts by now.

i dunno. it's possible the more recent stretch of eps has just been a flop era for the show. i will keep some hope in my heart for improvement bc i do really like the sanseaters and seeing sakito every week and the general silly cuteness of everything.

[isagrimorie]

I think cherry picking episodes from Voyager makes it seem that Voyager is a really good show with more or less a coherent emotional continuity.

Like how it feels logical Hope and Fear would directly contribute to Kathryn’s depression in Night.

If you choose select episodes from seasons 4 to 6, it’s a really good run.

Season 7 is where it feels like the writers were really phoning it in. Braga and Berman should have really started handing over the reins to Bryan Fuller and Ron Moore, instead B&B alienated them. No wonder they were creatively exhausted by the time they started producing Enterprise; and basically killed the franchise until Discovery entered the picture.

Of course, a machete style Voyager watch can’t solve all problems– like how there should have been more consistent B’Elanna episodes.

But also, while Voyager wasn’t perfect there are often many episodes where the writing and directing let the actors work. Moments where they won’t say what they’re feeling but showing it, and not every emotion or lessons learned is talked about.

Sometimes, there are episodes with thorny philosophical issues and then the show just lets the audience sit in it with no easy answers or pat words to fix everything.

Like in Drone where it started out as a ridiculous wacky thing happens but at the end of the episode, Seven is bereft but the show doesn’t say so, instead we just see Seven alone and Jeri Ryan shows us how devastated Seven is at that moment. And then the beautiful thing where the episode is bookended by mirrors.

(On the other end of the spectrum there are all plenty of episodes where they are heavy handed).

Rewatching DS9, Voyager (and now Farcape) made me miss the slice of life scenes in the show, where the characters just hang out together. The luxury of having more than 10 episodes is how easily it can build character relationships and dynamic.

Seeing the crew just chatting in the mess hall or Quark’s or even just relaxing in the Holodeck.

I know they were just mostly padding time but it also let moments breathe.

I miss when Trek shows did that, I suppose Strange New Worlds is bringing that back but I also still feel the limitations of a 10 episode season.

In an era of tightening budgets and uncertainty, we don’t know when that format will return.

Also, I can’t believe how in a few years I’ve become an advocate for longer episodes with cases of the week/episodic shows with serialized arcs.

Back in Person of Interest days in season 4, I chafed against the case of the week format thinking they were squandering opportunities.

It turns out, like all things, a balance of both is what would make things great. Pure serialization can be boring, so is pure episodic that resets everything back to status quo.

Case/Alien of the Week but with consequences building on top of everything with one overarching seasonal theme. Ala Farscape and DS9.

[makeste]

BnHA 326: What’s up Kids, It’s Me, Your Old Pal Stain

Previously on BnHA: Ochako shamed the U.A. Clown Mob into letting Deku go back inside his own fucking school by giving them an hour-long speech about how not to be humongous dickheads. Kouta and Gigantic Fox Lady saved the manga by being the only ones brave enough to give Deku a hug. Shouto was all “man, all this togetherness sure does remind me of that promise you made that we would handle Touya together which you immediately bailed on, doesn’t it, Dad.” Aizawa was all, “for the one and a half people out there who thought that my losing an eye and a leg might actually make me less sexy, I’m very happy to prove you wrong.” All Might was all, “[standing outside the U.A. fortress alone in the rain talking to someone or something??].” Like seriously, what was up with that though.

Today on BnHA: All Might is all “here I am in Kamino having a belated mid-life crisis because Deku abandoned me and I’m a terrible mentor and everything sucks and I hate myself.” Stain is all, “don’t make me come over there and give you a ten page speech about why you’re still the goat while menacingly holding you at swordpoint the entire time” because idk if you knew this guys, but Stain is pretty crazy actually. Anyway so he does that, and then All Might gets all emotional, and then the lady from chapter 92 shows up and gives All Might’s statue an encouraging pep talk, and then Horikoshi is all “and it even stopped raining lol can you believe this shit I’m not even a little bit subtle,” and he really isn’t. But I still got emotional anyway, because seeing people reassure All Might that everything he’s struggled for his entire life hasn’t been in vain just got to me okay. Horikoshi knows I am weak to the All Might feels and he just goes for the jugular every time, that bastard.

lmao. “in the neverending downpour, All Might is...” yeah, thank you, glad we’re getting right to that then

“All Might is driving 95 mph in his busted ass car in the pouring rain, is what he’s doing.” huh

so basically a day or two after his adopted child refused to accept the handmade bento that he packed with love, my man is out here acting like he’s got nothing to live for anymore. this sure bodes well for certain prophecies on which the clock is still ominously ticking down

his fucking face though omg. is it weird that I’m kind of hoping more people ambush him just because I think it’d be funny to see them get their asses kicked like the last bunch

(ETA: or maybe he will just stand there openly not giving a fuck and basically daring them to stab him!! get it together please All Might.)

side note, “anti-hero supporters” is such a strange way of saying “people who hate heroes”, which I’m assuming is what they actually wanted to say?? this makes it sound like it’s a group that really loves antiheroes. “these Hannibal stans have been a real menace lately. time to go deal with them”

ha ha ha, fucking ouch

are you really gonna do it Horikoshi you bastard. are you really going to let that be the final encounter between the two characters whose relationship you once described as the vertical axis of the entire fucking story. are you really gonna?? huh??

huh

you’re telling me you were driving 112 mph and you still didn’t get there in time. you’re losing your touch old man. lol Todo’s ice is almost fully melted already, how late were you

(ETA: so apparently this is taking place after the end of chapter 325, meaning he went to U.A., hung out for a bit, saw the kids come back with his bedraggled half-dead protégé in tow, watched as they shamed the civilians into some long-overdue character development, and then was all “welp, time to go argue with the hero-hating faction or something because I’m feeling useless.” and Edge just let him go, just like that. though to be fair I have to imagine it’s pretty hard to say no to All Fucking Might.)

also belated lol at the fact that the kids were all “yeahhhhhhh we are definitely not gonna touch that thing, let’s just leave it here, he doesn’t need it anyway.” probably the right call to make since they couldn’t get a hazmat team on such short notice

fuck. ha ha ha fucking ouch part two

All Might please put that thing down before you get gangrene. also yeah, you dropped the ball, good for you to acknowledge it. nobody’s perfect and you did your best. but yeah you could have handled a lot of things completely differently. but I still love you

is Horikoshi really putting this flashback here. are you serious. what kind of fucking sadist

look, I swear I’m not one of those people that runs up and down the street shouting “DEATH FLAG!!” at every third panel lol. but this shit screamed Death Flag when we originally got it, and it’s screaming DEATH FLAG!!! even more now. like with the capital letters and exclamation marks and all. and that’s just a fact. I don’t like it but that’s how it is

ffkdjslk

“DID YOU READ THE SIGN??!” Horikoshi asks while zooming in maniacally because he thinks we’re blind or something. lol what

-- though actually, it only just occurred to me that this sign is actually written in English. I never really paid attention up until now and had been assuming it was written in Japanese and translated by the scanlators, but the writing here is clearly part of the original image. anyway so maybe that’s why he’s zooming in?? just to make sure everybody pays attention lol

okay fuck this

see, this is the whole problem right here. once again All Might is all on his own. Deku’s self-destructive angst spiral was fortunately brought to a grinding halt because he actually has support from his friends and family and teachers and classmates. but All Might never had that same kind of support, and it’s made all the difference between the two of them, and not in a good way. Katsuki wasn’t wrong when he said All Might and Deku were both cut from the same cloth. but now when it’s All Might’s turn to go all “I WALK A LONELY ROAD~~” once again, there’s nobody in sight

just, after forty plus years of him carrying this torch, I just wish someone would finally come along to let him know he doesn’t have to. all those things that he wanted to say to Deku are also things that he needs and deserves to hear himself. Aizawa was making a little progress there, but now he’s got his sad zombie cloud boyfriend situation to deal with, and we can’t expect him and his perfect hair to solve all our problems. someone else has gotta step up

oh my god

“you rang?” never mind I take it all back sob

omg why am I laughing. shit

this man truly has the best PR game in the series. we were truly convinced he was gonna suddenly become a good guy and defend All Might against the other villains or some nonsense. as if this wasn’t the same man who decided on a whim that Iida Tensei deserved to be paralyzed, and that his fifteen-year-old brother deserved to die for daring to be upset about it

lol even All Might is all “I genuinely never saw this coming” lmao

just want to say, for the record, I have always harbored a very sensible hatred toward Stain. feeling very vindicated right now. good job Past Me

adsfklwkfsdwgkj

ffffwefjslkg. ghsdlkg. dsfkkkslkjldwkjrg

STAIN: heard you talking shit old man

ME: smh that’s what I thought you’d say you dumb fucking Stain

STAIN: how dare you talk about All Might that way

ME: gljfljgk

(ETA: in hindsight I have no idea how I didn’t clue in sooner that he didn’t recognize him -- or, well, ~didn’t recognize~ him, to be more accurate lol. I think it was the whole “is that a slight against the heroes?” thing that threw me. Viz’s translation makes it much clearer that he’s offended on behalf of All Might specifically, not heroes in general. anyways.)

sob. so All Might is all “yeah I don’t blame you for not recognizing me in this sweet leather jacket”

good thing he still knows how to do this party trick

A+ reflexes on Stain’s part presumably pulling the sword back a few inches to keep this dumbass from impaling himself with his whole pufferfish routine. can you imagine if that was the gruesome death Nighteye foresaw. and he was just too embarrassed to say anything

lol anyways guess I was wrong about Stain everyone

way to fucking go, Past Me. you really biffed this one

oh wait

Stain sure is one wacky rollercoaster ride

oh fuck me lol I forgot how much I did not miss this

(ETA: “this here is the sacred ground where All Might gave up the last of his power and turned into a shriveled old man!! please ignore the part where I admit to knowing all about that, and yet pretend not to recognize said man when he’s standing two feet in front of me.”)

Past Me, I know we’ve had our ups and downs these past ninety seconds, but I’m really starting to think you were on to something. this dude has always been kind of insufferable. always acting like his high horse is a fucking giraffe when it’s actually a Shetland pony

dammit now he’s got All Might going off on a depressed monologue

oh my god my heart

shit

why the fuck does that hit so hard. he became a hero because he couldn’t bear to just sit back and let bad things happen to people who didn’t deserve it. I mean that’s basically the same as every hero ever, right? so why does it still hit so fucking hard every single time though. what is it about seeing someone so determined to stand up for other people and fight on their behalf. it just never loses its impact no matter how many times I see that determination mirrored in so many of my favorite characters

“I wanted to make the world a better place.” omg. but you did, though. like seriously, I feel like people are always dogging on him for not being 100% perfect, and fandom really doesn’t give him enough credit for everything he still managed to accomplish. this man came of age at a time when Japan was by all accounts a total shitshow, and singlehandedly managed to bring about an era of peace that lasted for four fucking decades. can you imagine having peace for that long?? that’s longer than I’ve been alive. shit

and he gave people hope. he inspired them and protected them and made them feel safe. and no, he couldn’t save everyone, because he’s only one fucking dude (and also because the whole time AFO was also out there desperately working to undermine him so that he could keep preaching his narrative of “heroes are bad actually”). but you know what he did do, is inspire multiple new generations of heroes who, if they can all manage to work together, will finally be able to accomplish everything he never could

so yeah. forty years of peace, and inspired the “that’s how we all became the greatest heroes” generation -- that’s a fucking win in my book. talk about having a net positive impact on the world. lol anyways now I’m all fired up and ready to fight anyone who tries to talk any shit about you, All Might

“but what if I talk shit about myself” okay listen up All Might I’m gonna need you to try just a little bit harder to work with me here okay. please calm down and stop blaming yourself for every single bad thing that’s ever happened in the world. do you remember that time Bakugou was blaming himself for Kamino, and you gave him a hug and told him it wasn’t his fault, and that he was only a boy, and that even though he was strong, even strong people can struggle with the burdens they place on themselves, and that you were sorry for not seeing that earlier? do you remember all of that? that’s what I want someone to tell you too, dammit. anyway please stop breaking my heart please and thanks

wtf

are you dead All Might

um

I don’t even have the slightest idea what’s happening lol

oh snap did he grab him so they could hide??

hold the fucking phone. don’t tell me this person in the background with the umbrella is here to actually do something decent??

oh my godddd

and here come the feels. oh boy. okay don’t mind me, I’m just gonna sit here sobbing over this fictional lady and her simple act of kindness in this weekly shounen manga that I care about way too much

FUCKING DAMMIT AND HERE’S A SECOND HELPING

DON’T MIND ME, I’M JUST GETTING DISPROPORTIONATELY EMOTIONAL OVER THIS WOMAN’S DETERMINATION TO HONOR A MAN WHO SACRIFICED EVERYTHING TO SAVE HER AND COUNTLESS OTHERS. I’M JUST HAVING SOME FEELS OVER HERE ABOUT HER HEARTFELT, DOESN’T-EVEN-KNOW-ANYONE-ELSE-IS-WATCHING FEELINGS OF GRATITUDE THAT COMPELLED HER TO COME OUT HERE AND MAKE THIS SMALL BUT POWERFUL GESTURE. I’M JUST OUT HERE GETTING ALL PROFOUNDLY WORKED UP ABOUT STATUE MAINTENANCE AND THE HUMAN RACE. NEVER MIND. JUST IGNORE ME AND CARRY ON

holy shit. I was not even remotely prepared. you can’t just do that to me. you can’t just leave all these death flags on my lawn and then suddenly shift gears to show me the best of humanity in a chapter where I was expecting the worst. that fucks a person up lol

OH ARE WE STILL GOING

my heart. you see that, All Might. your legacy is so much more powerful and meaningful than you think

...has. has Stain actually been giving All Might a pep talk this entire time

I give up lol. this dude is a fucking enigma

YAYYY

it may just be a metaphor panel, but I’ll take it lol. I missed them. nice to see the traffic light trio front and off-center. I know the whole “this is the story of how we all became the greatest heroes” thing had left some questioning whether certain characters would continue to play a central role in the narrative, and hopefully this will help to ease those concerns just a bit

anyway, so idk if it’s getting a bit chilly down there in hell, but damned if Stain didn’t just give an actual decent fucking speech

I have to say, earlier when I was whining about All Might not having a support squad, I really was not expecting Stain to be the one to come over and pat his head and reassure him that he made the world a better place

-- okay LISTEN

YOU CAN’T JUST COME INTO MY HOUSE AND HIT ME WITH THOSE ALL MIGHT TEARS AGAIN GODDAMMIT THIS ISN’T FAIR. my god. first 317 and now this

holy fucking shit

“I’m just gonna pretend like I haven’t been stalking him for two days and didn’t see the entire Deku bentogate thing go down, and then I’ll give him the whole big speech that I rehearsed, and then I’ll turn around and be all ‘BUT IF YOU’RE A TRUE HERO’, and then I’ll toss him the super-secret AFO wifi password that I stole from Tartarus. god I’m such a badass. fucking give myself chills”

so basically what you’re telling me is that this whole time my “what’s up kids” characterization of Stain from this shitpost has actually been 100% accurate. just want to make sure I’m understanding this right. okay then

“and then I’ll dramatically spin around and be all NOW COME KILL ME BITCH”

it must be so much fun to write Stain. drawing this coked-out maniac who talks like a chatbot that was trained to speak by reading Alan Moore monologues. that must be a trip

anyway so All Might is still crying, the awesome lady from chapter 92 is admiring her handiwork totally oblivious to the batshit insanity going on fifty meters to her right, and it’s finally stopped raining lol

“THE RAIN WAS A METAPHOR YOU SEE” yes, yes, we got it lol. thanks for that Horikoshi. don’t think we needed any help putting the pieces together on that one but I appreciate the effort

so that’s the end! and as I mentioned in another post, I had the count off by one chapter, but next week should be cliffhanger week! so break out your U.A. Traitor bingo cards, friends and fiends. either that or something else happens that I’m completely not expecting at all. which, based on my success rate with Stain predictions, I’d say is more than likely lol

mmm but anyway, so now that the Hug Deku 2021 campaign has finally come to an end, what’s it gonna take to get a hug for my struggling bento-preparing jacket-rocking world-weary death-flag-waving husband who is the worthiest man to ever live and deserves the fucking world, goddammit

[symphoniesoutofsilence]

*kicks door in* I KNOW IT’S NEAR MIDNIGHT BUT I HAVE AN AU. 

It makes very little sense and I probably won’t ever have the motivation to create content for it, but nonetheless: Star Wars Original Trilogy x 70s era Scooby Doo! It’s a similar setup to Scooby Doo--young people chasing down crooks, meeting all sorts of strange creatures and getting involved in all manner of wacky hijinks along the way--but there’s some space-y elements involved (I’ll elaborate a bit on that later)! I’ll introduce the characters here, and if there’s some interest, I might write some more!

So, without further ado:

Lando as Fred! He’s the confident, friendly leader that usually gets the gang involved in these messes, but he’s also very good at getting them out! Much like Fred with his traps, Lando is an expert at creating elaborate little schemes to stop the culprit once and for all (which are usually constructed with Han and Leia’s help; Lando may be smart, but he’s not an ace mechanic). 

Luke as Daphne! Surprisingly, these two clicked immediately for me; both are a tad bit ditzy, but disarmingly perceptive; the team really wouldn’t be the same without them! (This is where Luke’s Force-sensitivity comes in. He isn’t by any means a Jedi in this AU, or even quite aware of his gift, but come on, he’s accidently discovered waaaaay too many trapdoors/secret entrances for it to be coincidence). Also, both are undoubtedly “the pretty friend”. Trendy scarves and Chanel boots aside, Daphne’s been flirted with by at least a dozen one-off male characters, and you cannot convince me that Luke would be any different; he’s got a different hunk on his tail every other day and he’s absolutely enjoying it! 

(Also, yes, Luke is wearing the purple blouse and matching miniskirt in my mind, no, I won’t be elaborating or taking constructive criticism, thank you ;)).

Leia as Velma! The vital braincell of the group, Leia is definitely the most grounded. Her first impulse is to figure out as much as she can about the current threat, though she’s certainly not above swinging a blunt object if things go awry! Because she’s the most thoughtful--or as Han likes to complain, a buzzkill--the others tend not to hear her out right away, more focused on their overdramatic, overcomplicated solutions than a conveniently missing piece of evidence or strangely timed encounter that she notices along the way. (Again, Leia’s Force-sensitivity shows itself in a similar fashion to Luke’s, but even more subtly; where he tends to sense physical disturbances, Leia just feels when someone or something isn’t quite right. Again, it’s not so much a power like in the original films as it is an odd quirk, but it’s definitely there!) Seriously, things would wrap up so much faster if they just let her handle things for once! 

(Unfortunately for all of us, those instances are few and far between. Her boys are very lucky that she loves them as much as she does; they’re so much trouble).

Han as Shaggy! Alright, I know this one is a little strange but here me out: same aesthetic, but entirely different vibe. I always interpreted Shaggy as someone who seems very useless and cowardly but when he gets himself together enough to play along, he’s surprisingly adept and a real asset to the team, maybe even brave! Get it? Okay, now imagine Han as the exact opposite of that. He’s reckless and hotheaded on the surface and is usually running after the monster without a plan, a weapon, or any information before the rest of the gang can so much as blink (think canon Han, but a little more awkward and less outwardly cocky). Granted, he actually manages fine when he stops to think--he can be surprisingly cunning at times and brings Lando’s schemes to the next level!--but usually, he’s a mess and a half that the others are constantly rescuing. 

(Note: the idea that actually spawned this AU was a quiet scene of Lando, Luke, and Leia researching this week’s monster while Han goes looking for more clues. Leia grumbles in response to Lando’s confidence in his friend, “I just hope he really can handle this on his own”. Smash cut to Han screaming at the top of his lungs, running from about half a dozen more monsters than we were aware of 5 minutes ago (???), and just all around Not Handling It Very Well).

And good ol’ Chewbacca as Scooby Doo! As the token furry mascot, poor Chewie is constantly saving somebody from something. He’s very clever and intuitive, and his miniscule observations, much like Scooby’s, are usually what save the day (when he can get his lovable but idiotic human friends to listen, that is!). Just a good bro, with a big brain and a bigger heart, Chewie is the glue that holds the team together :) 

(And yes, he absolutely picks up Han bridal style and carries him out of danger while said idiot throws a tantrum--”It was fine, Chewie, I could have handled it--I was not screaming like a little girl!!”--at least once every episode :P).

So, that’s about it for now! Obviously, this AU isn’t super fleshed out, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask them! I’d love to hear your thoughts :)

[jamdoughnutmagician]

10 characters, 10 fandoms, 10 tags

The lovely @bookshelfdreams tagged me (thanks for the tag!) to do this, and while I can't guarantee this will be a coherent list of characters (and reasons why I like them!) hopefully this will help at least make for interesting reading, if not some very un-hinged thoughts at the very least 🤷‍♀️

Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)

Rose was one of my earliest memories of being obsessed with a character. I started watching Doctor Who in about 2006/during season 2 (I would have been about 8/maybe 9 years old at the time) so I missed her initial introduction in season 1, but I went back and rewatched her stuff with the ninth doctor and I just absolutely loved how she was just an ordinary working class girl who wanted to go on adventures (of course I didn't understand that this was the reason why I loved her so much as a kid but yeah..)

Bucky Barnes (MCU)

Look, I know we all have our opinions/ and criticisms on the mcu (which I totally understand) but there was just something about Bucky that I gravitated towards (Probably because I found Sebastian Stan attractive, but I digress.) A young boy who was willingly wanting to go fight in the war to defend his country and then ending up going through arguably the worst kind of trauma that someone could go through. Then to see his journey and story progress through the years, for me, has been a real treat to watch.

Eddie Munson (Stranger Things)

Eddie became a very quick favourite of mine in such a short space of time (partly to Joseph Quinn playing him brilliantly) but I just loved how his character COULD have been this dark, brooding, misunderstood teen, but he was ACTUALLY a very sweet and warm character, despite what everyone else thought of him. He was just a funky little metal-head D&D nerd, and I loved him for that. I just really need him back for series 5 Please!!

Orla McCool (Derry Girls)

Again, Orla was just someone I gravitated towards, I can't quite put my finger on why, I just really liked her giddy optimism and strange but sweet outlook on things!

Harley Quinn (DCEU) is that what it's called sorry idk about these things! 🤦‍♀️

Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is very special to me (Especially in her post Suicide Squad era) because she's outlandish and wacky, but also incredibly smart and quick. I'd read a handful of Harley comics and I just think she's really cool.

Elphaba Thropp (Wicked The Musical)

I can't really speak too much about her novel version because I haven't read enough of the book to form an opinion, but stage Elphaba has my entire heart. She's unapologetic in standing up for what she believes in and fighting what she believes is right, and I admire that about her.

Mabel Mora (Only Murders in the Building)

More so I love her relationship between Oliver and Charles, but Mabel's willingness to get stuck in and try to help to solve murders alongside her two slightly older friends was a very interesting dynamic to watch! Also I would kill to have her outfits because girls got style.

Gina Linetti (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

How could you not love the absolute self-confidence and bravado of Gina Linetti! She was as will forever be the most <3

Tecna (Winx Club)

Although I sat through both seasons of that bad neflix adaptation, nothing compares to the original cartoon in my eyes (at least the first 4 seasons anyway.) I think it has something to do with how it captured my attention as a kid because the idea of pretty fairies to me as a child was very appealing! I think (although the whole group had their own merits) Tecna was my favourite even just from a character design standpoint.

Becky Lynch (WWE)

I don't know if this technically counts since she's a real person, and considering I haven't watched WWE for a while but Becky's in-ring persona, was always a fascinating and exciting watch for me! Especially finding her feet as 'Becky-Two-Belts' and her being 'The Man', she was strong, powerful and for a long time under-rated as a performer, but I loved her so so much!

Tagging (sorry I'm not tagging 10 people, also don't feel like you have to do this at all!)

@the-odd-aardvadillo @unlimiteddream90 @lucyferchrist @ndj-blogs @smute @pherre @amidalasweets @theravensdreamer

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Wet-Dry World

Debut: Super Mario 64

We’ve talked about Mario Enemies. We’ve talked about Mario Entities. We’ve talked about Mario Allies, Mario Power-Ups, Mario Games, Mario Mechanics, Mario NES-era Game Manuals, and even things that aren’t Mario at all! While the blog’s called “Weird Mario Enemies,” and probably always will be, make no mistake. We’ve covered just about everything under the Weird Mario Sun...

...except for Weird Mario Places. I don’t think we’ve ever dedicated ourselves to talking about locations within Mario’s great wide wacky world, but today is the day we change that! That’s right, we’re headed to...

Wet-Dry World! This place has been the talk of the town as of late, and it’s easy to see why... It’s all so... surreal! People describe it as having a “negative emotional aura,” and I have to definitely agree with that statement... though what is it, specifically, that makes Wet-Dry World like that? it’s hard to look at Wet-Dry World without something feeling weirdly off... let’s take a deep dive to figure out some of the possible reasons why!

An important part of Wet-Dry World’s negative emotional aura, I feel, comes from its aesthetic. While most Mario locations are bright, poppy, and fun, Wet-Dry World is a notable exception. The stage is largely drabby shades of blue, gray, and brown, and it’s not like the music is the most jolly music to jaunt around to, either. Even just from screenshots, it’s pretty easy to tell that something feels weirdly wrong about Wet-Dry World, compared to nearly every other location Mario’s been to. Even places like New Donk City, thoroughly grounded in realism, seem to have more “fun” aesthetics than Wet-Dry World!

But while Wet-Dry World focuses itself to dull, realistic “urban landscape” colors, that doesn’t necessarily mean the location itself is grounded in any sort of realism. While the “downtown” area looks almost exactly what you’d expect a primitive N64-era cityscape to look like, the “uptown” area is precisely the opposite, going for the Super Mario 64 level design favorite: “abstract shapes put together in a way that represent the concept of a level more than any sort of level itself!” Ahhhh, the old classic.

Heck, even the skybox so perfectly represents the clash between abstraction and realism! It’s genuinely a picture of an actual town in Spain, but the filters and background applied to it give the impression that it’s all underwater, which adds further to Wet-Dry World’s surrealism: everywhere you look around you, there’s these strange realistic buildings, but look up, and you’re underwater. But not actually, because despite everything, you’re still walking on dry land! Unless you go for a swim, in which case you are underwater underwater.

And it might just be me, but even Wet-Dry World’s base concept feels weirdly off-kilter. I feel like a lot of the late-game worlds in Super Mario 64 sort of have this thing where they don’t feel completely “real,” like Tall Tall Mountain and Tiny-Huge Island, but at least those feel like the kinds of CONCEPTS you’d see in Mario games! Heck, they even seem to be based on the athletic levels and Land of the Giants, respectively! But Wet-Dry World is based on the concept of wetness. I don’t know exactly how to explain it -- it’s not like a beach world, or a lake world, it’s a world based on the concept of “wet” and something about that just feels like it doesn’t really belong in the world of Super Mario. Granted, Mario’s world is so huge that really anything is fair game at this point, but I guess it’s Wet-Dry World’s presence in a mainline Mario game that makes it feel more strange than usual.

And while the gimmick of a world where you can change the water level DOES seem right for Mario, they decide to go and make that weird too, by having it activated by these weird crystals instead, apparently called Crystal Taps!

Wet-Dry World is such a weird, weird place. It feels almost... unnatural in a way. I guess it doesn’t help that despite resembling a town, it’s devoid of any actual life, and most of the enemies are notably mechanical ones, such as Chuckyas, Heave-Hos, Amps, and Keronpa Balls which don’t even work because they’re placed so low on the stage that they’re never not underwater. The only enemies that look natural at all are Skeeters, a type of bug. They’re featured in the stage’s painting!

Yeah, that sure is the first thing I’d paint to show someone what Wet-Dry World is like. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of Skeeters there! I’d probably just pay attention to like, the entire city down there first. Interestingly, this painting has a unique gimmick, where how high you jump into it influences the water level when you enter the stage! But once you’re in, what is there to do in Wet-Dry World? Well, how about trying astral projection?

While the “astral projection” glitch can be performed in a few places in Super Mario 64, can you really think of a better place to do it than Wet-Dry World? I mean, Wet-Dry World feels like the kind of place you’d astral project in. As you can see in this video, which is kind of low-quality, but in a way that only makes it more fitting, buddy up with your Chuckya Chum, and separate Mario’s soul from his body like never before!

In conclusion, Wet-Dry World is a weird, weird place. There’s really just a lot about it to point out, and chances are, I missed quite a bit, myself. Really, Mario 64 in general is a weird game, quite possibly the most “off” feeling of the main Mario series, maybe only beaten by Super Mario Bros. 2, but probably ahead of the Land games, which at least feel like traditional Mario platformers. Super Mario 64, being the genre-defining game it is, will always hold a point as being revolutionary to video games, even if half of the courses feel kind of like developer test areas.

Really, the primitive nature of Mario 64 seems to play into Wet-Dry World’s weirdness somewhat, it’s hard to imagine today a level being designed with the abstract geometry seen here, though I’d love to see a modern Mario game try to recapture its unique aesthetic, whether it’s in an HD remake, or even a Mario Kart track or something (because hey, Tick-Tock Clock got the treatment). Would it even be possible? Or is Wet-Dry World something that can only exist on the N64?

Either way, Wet-Dry World will leave a lasting impact on all of us... as the place seen in that weird Super Mario 64 milk commercial.

[krinsbez]

Super-Sizing the Superfamily: A DC Comics Storybuilding Project

So, on a forum I post on, we’ve been working on a storybuilding project. To wit, we plan to envision a selection of Superman and related comic books, if the Superman family was allowed to be even bigger than the Batman family, with multiple Superboys and Supergirls, as well as various other characters. To this end, we are be using multiple different versions of some characters, as well as occasionally decompositing existing characters.

At the bare minimum, I'd like to come up with a set of Superman Family titles (not everyone gets their own book, of course), and plot out a year of storylines, culminating in a Superman Family Crossover. Ideally we'd go beyond that as well, but given how ambitious that goal is, I'm not holding my breath.

The project has hit a bit of a wall ATM, so I figured now was as good a time as any to post what we’ve got so far on Tumblr. With his permission, I am tagging @davidmann95, the Internet’s Premier Supermanologist, to get his opinion, but anyone is free to comment or make suggestions.

We begin with... The "Core" Super-fam. Note that this is not an exhaustive list of characters appearing in this thing: -Clark (Superman) -Lois -Jon (Superboy Blue?) -Chris (Superboy Red?) -Kon (Kid Cadmus) (decomposite, based on original, Jacket version) -Conner (?) (decomposite, based on later, Geoff Johns/YJ version) -Kara Zor-El I AKA Zara (Supernova) (decomposite Modern Supergirl , based on TV Show version) -Kara Nim-El AKA Nara (Supergirl) (Variation on Silver Age Supergirl)* -Kara In-Ze AKA Iara (Blue Bombshell) (DCAU Supergirl)** -Kara Zor-El II AKA Tara (Miss Metropolis) (decomposite Modern Supergirl, based on "Cheerleader" version)*** -"Cir-El" (Tomorrow Girl) -Mae (Matrix) (I'm gonna say that for our purposes, she managed to come back after being separated from Linda) -Linda (Mighty Maid) (as per the post-Earth-Angel part of PAD's comic, with the Earth-Angel thing being backstory which we will leave vague) -Kristen (Superwoman) -Karen (Power Girl)**** -Mon-El (?) -"Uncle Carl" (decomposite Bizarro. Imperfect clone, somewhat "cured") -Bizarro #1 (decomposite, Imperfect duplicate, lives on Htrae, etc.) -Jimmy -Perry -Lucy -Kenan (New Super-Man) -John Henry (Steel) -Natasha (Steel? Starlight?) -Lana -Krypto -Streaky -Ma and Pa (I've seen good arguments for one or both of them being deceased by the modern-era...but I'm including them anyways) Possible members: -Lori Lemaris -Luma Lynai -Marvel Maid and Marvel Man -Vartox -Strange Visitor -Sally Selwyn -Lyla Ler-Rol -Thara Ak-Var -Alpha Centurion -More I'm not thinking of. 

*In the Silver Age, Jor-El had two brothers, his younger brother Zor, Kara's dad, and his twin Nim-El. We are making this Kara daughter of the former rather than the latter, born on Argo City, which survived the destruction of Krypton, named for her presumed dead cousin, sent to Earth when the systems keeping the city alive began to fail. **Keeping mostly the S:TAS backstory, with the caveats that the people of Argos were Kryptonian colonists, not a separate species, and that she's a relative of Zor-El's wife Alura In-Ze, with "Kara" and "In-Ze" being common family names. ***Something her ship encountered on her journey to Earth created a duplicate that took even longer to arrive, and was the subject of the previous Superfam crossover. ****The original "Super Girl", magically created by Jimmy wishing into existence a perfect mate for Superman.

Next, The Superfam books and casts thereof (not distinguishing between main, supporting, and recurring characters) (no villains as of yet. Mostly)

-Action Comics: Anthology title, each issue spotlighting different members of the Super-Fam.

No specific cast.

-Superman: Duh.

Somehow, I don't think we've specifically cast this one.

-Lois Lane: Again, duh. Serious journalism, with occasional Wacky Hijinks.

Lois

Clark

 Perry

 Jimmy

Lucy

Gen. Lane

Lex's administrative staff (Mercy, Ms. Tesmacher, the Loisbot, etc.), whom she is “casually bitchy” with

 As-Yet-Unselected-Police-Contact

 Bibbo

-Jimmy Olsen: Third verse, same as the first.

Jimmy

The Planet staff

 Iara (who he's dating; superspeed makes long =-distance relationships easy)

The New Newsboys (Famous Bobbie included)

Scorn

Ashbury

Misa

-Power Girl: Ditto.

Karen

Atlee

Hiro

Mae

-Cadmus: Again. We're basing this mostly on the bit of Kon's '90s book when he was hanging out on Cadmus, with the caveat that the Hairies moved the Wild Area (and thus the whole damn Project) to a pocket dimension with entrance termini in a number of different locations, including, but not limited to, Metropolis, Honolulu, the Un-Men reservation in Louisiana, and wherever the Justice League of China is headquartered.

Kon

Golden Guardian

The OG now-adult Newsboy Legion

The New Newsboys (Famous Bobbie included)

Dubbilex

Tana

 Roxy

 Serling

 Tekka

 Kenan and the JLC

 Mickey Cannon

 Sam Makoa?

Prince Tuftan and friends

-Adventure Comics: Stories about Conner, Iara, and Tara hanging around Smallville; inspired largely by Kon's late '00s title. Back-up feature is stories about Clark's Superboy years.

Conner

Iara

Tara

Lori Luthor

Lena Luthor I

Ma

Pa

Simon Valentine

Psionic Lad

Lana

 Loretta "Golden Genie" York (the character formerly known as the Yellow Peri)

-Sons of Superman: Starring Jon and Chris.

Chris

Jon

Lois

Clark

Beacon

Jor-El AI

Kelex

Ma & Pa

Lucy

Kon

Conner

Kristin

-Planet Comics: About the adventures of the Daily Planet crew in general. Workplace comedy, Clark keeps the glasses on, mostly.

Perry

Lois

Clark

Jimmy

Cat

Steve Lombard

Ron Troupe

Dirk Armstrong

Angela Chen

(I'd like to feature more of the various folks who've been shown working for the Planet over the years)

-Streets of Metropolis: Comparatively gritty stories about battling street-level crime, starring Gangbuster, Black Lighting and fam, and the MPD.

Jeff

Anissa

Jennifer

Lynn

Gangbuster (let's face it, most of y'all wouldn't recognize his real name)

Maggie

Turpin

Henderson

Leocadio

-National Comics (alt. title: Supernova and the DEO): Zara's adventures trying to make it on her own in National City, whilst helping Alex and the DEO.

Zara

Tara (commuting from Smallville)

Linda

Mon-El

Alex

Director Bones (standing in for the show’s version of J’onn, though the relationship is *probably* less familial)

Cameron Chase?

Winn

Simone D'Neige (standing in for the show’s version of Cat Grant)

Lena Luthor II (standing in for the show’s version of her aunt; we’re assuming that she stayed aged up after being de-Brainiaced)

Dreamer

-Steel and the Girls of Steel (need a better title): Starring John Henry, Natasha, Cir-El, and Traci 13.

John

Henry

Natasha

“Boris”

Cir-El

Mia (i’m counting Cir-El and her alter ego as separate characters)

Traci 13

The Supermen of America (a team, including Super-Chief and “Iron” Munro, inspired by Superman’s example, that John Henry is training)

-Nightwing and Flamebird. Adventures in the Bottle City of Kandor, which is majority Kryptonian but has a sizable population of other species. Despite the title, the eponymous duo are not the protagonists, but rather an ordinary citizen who’s taken it upon themselves to unravel the mystery of their secret identity (the truth is that an assortment of people take turns at wearing those costumes)

?

-Superman Family. Anthology title, with each issues featuring a team-up between Clark and another member of the Superfam.

No specific cast

There are a few other odds and sods here and there, but that’s most of it, asides from the fact we’ve decided to costume the Supergirls thusly:

-Karen, of course, wears the Power Girl costume. -Cir-El has a distinct costume already. -Linda is rocking the DCSHG look.* -Iara has her S:TAS look.* -I wanna say Nara's wearing one of the Bronze Age-era outfits, but they might be too '70s to really work? -Mae is wearing a somewhat sexier version of the classic look (I'm imagining she's the second-most vavavoom-y of the Supergirls after Karen). -Zara I is wearing the second TV show suit with the pants. -Zara II (Tara?) is wearing the Jim Lee cheerleader outfit. Note: despite both being a miniskirt and bellyshirt, her outfit is notably skimpier than Iara's, with a shorter, lower slung skirt, and a tighter top with...what's the right way of saying there's less of it? This is her deliberately distinguishing herself from her older duplicate's more modest look. *May switch these, IDK.

[ragnarachael]

top 5 tom hiddles looks!! could be from red carpets, photo shoots, interviews, etc

welcome to rachael is just rambling about her love for tom as an actor. there's no other things i ramble about more than this in my alone time at 3 am when i'm alone with my cat.

i ramble too fucking much for my own good. i'm sorry.

let's open the file, shall we?

1.) 2013 tom SPECIFICALLY AFTER THE CORIOLANUS RUN listen, i am a woman of my word and when i say i love coriolanus!hiddleston? i MEAN IT (honorable mentions here: also the tom hiddleston livestream when national theatre live dropped the coriolanus watch stream in what?? june 2020? i can't remember but i literally watched that livestream during work and that was the highlight of my day)

2.) BETRAYAL ERA! betrayal era hiddleston was during one of the roughest times of my life, and honestly i'm glad i had something to fixate on while going through it all. i mean. look at this.

this was my computer's fucking background for three months. tom. charlie. zawe. i miss them.

and of course i can never leave out this interview with joshua horowitz. he is the only man i trust to interview tom in any shape or form.

3.) tom from these two interviews here and here

the first is a thor ragnarok interview with buzzfeed where he's with jeff goldblum!! i love their banter and i just. tom so lovely. thor: ragnarok and infinity war tom press supremacy.

the second is from IGN! i put them together bc they came out around the same time! but,, he's so sassy. i love the man (honorable mentions for this era: the interview with lad bible, seb, letitia and tom judging stunts and this bad boy which is tom and chris doing a would you rather. i quote the whole "i'll be doctor strange, seNd YA BÆCK IN TIME—" and also "you're cheating. no, you're cheating, i'm taking this away from you" all the fucking time to myself sdfjhdfs ugh i love them)

4.) RECENT TOM IS SUCH A GIFT TOO???

to get into specific interviews for this Era i just love to death while you've got me here rambling: this interview here

to start with: ugh love the sweater. my favorite thing in the world. love that. ANYWHO

i love when actors/people i admire can just sit down and talk about their experiences. this is one of my favorite tom interviews just FOR THAT category in my brain. even if we were snubbed of him talking about the night manager in this one (if i remember correctly, it's been so long since i've watched this one) i'm literally in LOVE hearing about his thoughts on his films. i could sit and listen to him talk about it all fucking day.

once again, josh horowitz on his podcast happy, sad, and confused with special guest tom hiddleston tom just. he sounds like such a profound person, he's a celebrity, he could never be on our level! how could he?! and then you sit him down to talk and he's really just US but in the spotlight. this podcast episode proves that even MORE for me. he talks about that tom hanks movie cast away (2000) and he makes it seem like the most AMAZING SERIOUS HEARTFELT FILM when literally my first thoughts seeing this movie was "oh god i would literally DIE if i ever ended up on an island like that." i listened to this at work during a truck shift one night and god i had some good laughs to. tom is a literal ray of sunshine in this. it's so good.

5.) THE MIGHTY FIVE! this fucking talk that i have watched more than i have breathed probably

i. love. tom's. relationship. with. josie. maybe it's because i've watched coriolanus a BILLION TIMES, maybe it's because i've seen them in interviews together or they talk highly of each other, whatever it is, i love it.

the opening literally just talks about his time at drama school, and as someone who has almost ended up auditioning for an acting/drama school, it's so lovely to just. hear an actor to talk about their education. listening to this talk made me realize that yeah, if i had the time and the commitment for it, i would absolutely throw myself head first into acting. but i'm far off from where i would like to be for that, and this talk i come back to makes me realize that i would love to eventually be able to pursue this wacky wild dream i have to go to a drama school or something like that. this talk really just. stuck with me. i love the hell out of this talk.

also tom not being allowed to be a giraffe because he already was a giraffe really makes me chuckle.

anyways. ahem. how was that for answers? whoops?

ask me what my top 5 things are and i’ll answer!

[theradioghost]

I don't know if you're still doing podcast recs, but if you are, I really like dramas, horror, sci-fi, honestly anything that gives you the feels (especially if it has lgbtq+ rep). I am not much of a comedy person though unfortunately. The only podcast I finished was tma and I really loved it.

The recommendations are always on tap here, whenever my askbox is open! You might wanna check out:

Archive 81, for a found-footage horror about mysterious archives of tapes full of encounters with otherworldly horror, dark rituals, cults, and a long-suffering archivist with the same name as the show creator who plays him, which despite all that could not possibly be more different from TMA and yet easily matches it as one of the best horror stories I have ever enjoyed. The sound design on this show is basically unparalleled – where TMA has fairly minimalist sound design, A81 goes all out. Quite a few lgbtqa+ folk also.

I Am In Eskew, for a surreal, Lynchian horror about the city of Eskew, where it’s always raining and the streets are never the same twice, as narrated by a man who is trapped there and the woman hired to find him. Take the most viscerally disturbing episodes of TMA as a baseline for how intense this show is, then imagine the Spiral built a city and invited all the other fears over for a party. Also right up there as one of my favorite horror things ever, and recently ended, so you can listen to the whole thing right now.

Within The Wires, for a found-footage scifi dystopia, telling stories from an alternate-history world. Three of the four seasons focus on lgbtqa+ leads, and the first season, a set of instructional meditation tapes provided to a prisoner in a shadowy government institution, is still some of my absolute favorite creative use of medium and framing device ever.

Kane and Feels, for a surreal noir-flavored urban fantasy/horror hybrid, about a magically-inclined academic (and sarcastic little bastard man) named Lucifer Kane and his demon-punching partner with a heart of gold, Brutus Feels. They share a flat in London, they bicker like an old married couple, and they fight supernatural evil. This show WILL confuse the hell out of you and you will enjoy every second of it.

Alice Isn’t Dead, for a weird Americana horror story about a long-distance truck driver, criss-crossing the US in search of her missing wife. Along the way she discovers that both of them have been drawn into a dangerous secret war that seethes in the empty and abandoned expanses of America, and that inhuman hunters have begun to follow her. Also finished! And as the title kind of gives away, the lesbians do not die!

Janus Descending, for a sci-fi horror miniseries about two scientists sent to survey the remains of a dead alien civilization on a distant planet, only to learn all too well why the original inhabitants have disappeared. You hear one character’s story in chronological order and the other in reverse, with their perspectives alternating, which is done in an incredibly clever way so that even technically knowing what will happen it still holds you in suspense right to the end. Also, it made me cry, a lot.

SAYER, for a sci-fi horror with a touch of dark comedy, and probably the single best use of the “evil AI” trope I have ever seen. Tells the story of employees of tech corporation Aerolith Dynamics living on Earth’s artificial second moon, Typhon, in the form of messages from their AI overseer SAYER. The first season is great, the second season is okay, and the third and fourth seasons are fucking amazing.

Tides, for a really interesting sci-fi about a lone biologist trapped on an alien world shaped by deadly tidal forces. It’s different from just about any other sci-fi I know, focusing more on the main character’s interactions with and observations of this strange new world, where she’s very aware that she is the alien invader. (Also I don’t think any of the characters are straight.)

Station to Station, for a thrilling sci-fi mystery where a group of scientists and spies on a research ship (the ocean kind) discover that the time-warping anomaly they’re studying might be causing people to vanish from existence. Corporate espionage and high-stakes heartbreak abound. (And once again I’m not sure anyone is straight.)

The Strange Case of Starship Iris, for Being Gay And Doing Crime IN SPACE! Or, decades after a war with an alien species leaves humanity decimated and under the control of totalitarian leaders, the lone survivor of a research mission joins up with a ragtag crew of rebels and smugglers to figure out why the very government she worked for tried to kill her, and to stop them from inciting a second war. 100% lgbtqa+ found family in space heist action and it’s glorious in every way.

Unwell, for the horror-ish Midwestern gothic story of a young woman who returns to her hometown to help her estranged mother after an injury, and discovers that there is something just a little bit wrong, not just with her mother, but with her mother’s house, and with the whole town. Subtle and creepy. The protagonist is a biracial lesbian, one of the other major characters is nonbinary, the cast in general is super diverse.

The Blood Crow Stories, for an lgbtqa+ focused horror anthology! The four seasons so far have been the stories of an ancient evil stalking the passengers of a WWI-era utopian cruise ship, a dark Western mystery about a group of allies trying to stop the mysterious killer known only as the Savior, a 911 operator in a cyberpunk dystopia who starts getting terrifying phone calls from demons, and strange and deadly goings-on at a film studio in the golden age of Hollywood. Everyone is Very Gay and anyone can die, especially in season 1.

The Tower, for a melancholy experimental miniseries about a young woman who decides she’s going to climb the mysterious Tower, from which no one has ever returned. Quite short and very, very good.

Palimpsest, for a creepy, heartbreakingly sad and yet incredibly beautiful anthology series. Season one is the story of a woman who suspects her new home is haunted, season two is a turn-of-the-century urban fantasy about a girl who falls in love with the imprisoned fae princess she’s been hired to care for, and season three is about a WWII codebreaker who begins seeing ghosts on the streets of London during the Blitz.

Mabel, for a part-horror, part-love story, the kind of faerie tale where you feel obliged to spell it with an E because these are the kind of faeries that are utterly inhuman, and beautiful, and dangerous. Anna, the new caretaker for an elderly woman, leaves messages for her client’s mysteriously absent granddaughter Mabel. An old house in Ireland has a life and desires of its own, few of them friendly. Two women fall in love and set out for vengeance against the King Under The Hill. Creepy, strange, and gorgeously poetic.

Ars Paradoxica, for a sci-fi time travel Cold War espionage thriller. Physicist Dr. Sally Grissom accidentally invents time travel, landing herself – and her invention – in the middle of a classified government experiment during WWII. As the course of history utterly changes around them, she and what friends she can find in this new time must struggle with the ethics of what they’ve done, and the choices they’ll have to make. An aroace protagonist, Black secret agents, time-traveling Latina assassins, Jewish lesbian mathematicians, two men of color whose love changes the course of time itself, this show says a big fuck you to the idea that there’s anything hard about having a diverse cast in a period piece and it will break your heart, multiple times. Also finished!

The Far Meridian, for a genre-bending, poetic, at-times-heartwarming-at-times-heartbreaking story about an agoraphobic woman named Peri who decides to begin a search for her long-missing brother Ace after the lighthouse in which she lives begins mysteriously transporting to different places every day. I can never forget an early review that described this show as “the audio equivalent of a Van Gogh painting.” Suffice to say it is beautiful, and fantastically written and put together.

What’s the Frequency?, for a Surrealist noir horror mystery set in mid-20th-century LA. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I can really explain what goes on in this show, but it features a detective named Walter “Troubles” Mix and his partner Whitney searching for a missing writer. Meanwhile, the only thing that seems to be playing on the radio is that writer’s show Love, Honor, and Decay, which also seems to be driving people to murder. Fantastically weird, deliciously creepy.

Directive, for a short sci-fi miniseries about a man hired to spend a very, very long trip through space alone, which doesn’t seem all that sad until suddenly it hits you with Every Feel You’ve Ever Had, seriously I don’t want to spoil it so I won’t say anything more but listen to this and then never feel the same way about Tuesdays again.

Wolf 359, for honestly one of the best podcasts out there, containing all of the drama and feels, seriously this show ended over two years ago and I still cry literal tears thinking about it sometimes. It has definite comedic leanings, especially in the first season which reads a bit more like a wacky office comedy set in space, but it takes a sharp turn towards high stakes, action, and feelings and that roller coaster never stops. Take four clashing personalities alone on a constantly-malfunctioning space station eight light years from earth, add some mysterious transmissions from the depths of space, toss in some seriously Jonah-Magnus-level manipulative evil bosses, and get ready to cry.

or, may I suggest Midnight Radio? It’s a lesbian-romance-slash-ghost-story completed miniseries about a late-night 1950s radio host in a small town who begins receiving mysterious letters from one of her listeners, and I have been assured by many people and occasionally their all-caps tweets that it provides ample Feelings! (also I wrote it.)

[wearevillaneve]

Killing Eve S3, E5: “Are You From Pinner?“ should  really  be called “Killing Oksana.”

With “Are You From Pinner?” in the books, we are past the halfway mark of the Suzanne Heathcote era of Killing Eve and in some circles of the fandom, the hope is this wet firecracker of a season will blow up in the final three episodes.

Based upon what’ has come before, this may be a tad optimistic.   As erratic and disjointed as the preceding four episodes, E5 introduced something entirely new and different to Killing Eve.  A standalone showcase for Jodie Comer’s Villanelle without Eve or Dasha or Konstantin or any of the other regular cast to block the spotlight. Can you see the fatal error in all this?

Typically when something is dubbed a “shitshow” it’s meant metaphorically, but as one of the set pieces was Villanelle literally throwing shit, it becomes an accurate description.

Before we got to this point, the six-month time jump from the end of last season looked like a combination of a tactical error and a missed opportunity.   Instead of Villanelle returning to Russia to drop in on the home folks, there were a many more unanswered questions from “You’re Mine” in dire need of an explanation.

1.  Who rescued Eve found and transported her to the hospital?  The “lucky some tourists found you” one-liner by the late Kenny Stowton seems pretty flimsy.   Didn’t the Rome police have any questions about this Asian woman with amazing hair ended up in Hadrian’s Villa lying facedown in a pool of blood?  Was it a robbery?  Okay, so then did Eve have any money, passport or ID to get back to England once she healed sufficiently?  Did she receive any rehabilitative aftercare?   Is she on any pain-killing medicines?  What was her mental state after being shot by V?  What was her emotional and psychological state after slaughtering Raymond to save V?

2.  How did Niko get out of the storage locker?  Eve didn’t know where he was and neither did MI6.  Even if he was found by someone else, how did he explain away the small matter of Gemma’s rotting corpse? Niko griped to Eve that MI6 intervened to make it look like Gemma committed suicide to cover up the fact that not only can’t a spy agency catch an international assassin who kills British citizens at will, they later hired her to work on an off-the-book mission where a technocratic billionaire got his throat slit.  

Why would MI6 go through all that fuss and bother to cover up a murder of a civilian when it could easily be laid at Niko’s feet? His only defense is Gemma was killed by a beautiful blonde psychopath with a crush on his estranged wife.  Carolyn told Eve she was on her own after Rome.   What changed, because something must have for MI6 to ride to Niko’s rescue. 3. Isn’t The Twelve presented as this immense, almighty, sprawling international diabolical entity of murder, violence, and sowing chaos and espionage against nations with their dirty little fingers apparently manipulating every intelligence agency on the planet?  It also deploys assassins and goons too fucking stupid to look under a bed to find an unarmed MI6 agent hiding there quaking in fear OR recognize said agent when a thug asks her out for a sushi dinner.   Well, okay then. Killing Eve logic explains it all.  Returning back to this sluggish solo flight, Villanelle’s family in Mother Russia are a bunch of dopey dunces with anger management issues, poor self-control, and flat-earthers who break out in spontaneous dance routines while the prodigal trouble child, Oksana, looking like the Whitest White Girl Ever who tried to shake her moneymaker, but couldn’t because both of her feet were super-glued to the floor, stands by bewildered probably thinking, “Who the hell are you people?”

A few weeks ago rumors from not-very reliable sources were floating around that executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle had mused it might be conceivable Killing Eve could conceivably go on without one of the two leads.  Perhaps Woodward Gentle is hedging her bets should Comer or Oh not return after the fourth season. “Are You From Pinner” is proof that’s not true.  The show is called Killing Eve, not Killing Villanelle.  Though she has become the sun to Eve’s moon, there’s a reason for Eve Polastri to inhabit a central place in Villanelle’s life.   She is the other half which makes Villanelle whole.  Whether together or apart, what keeps the audience coming back is the strange relationship between Eve and Villanelle. Without Eve to humanize Villanelle, she become just another attractive, charismatic killer with a sad back story.   Yet Villanelle is not a Marvel super villain and many fans were perfectly fine with not knowing what it was in her past that made her who she is now.

Heathcote subverted expectations of another meeting between the central characters in episode 5 as her showrunner predecessors Emerald Fennell and Phoebe Waller-Bridge had done previously, but she went further by removing Eve completely.  Eve was not referenced a single time by Villanelle and weirdly, Sandra Oh and all the other cast members names were removed from the credits.  Heathcote’s erred by that omission as it reinforced the notion some KE fans have held that she and Fennell tilted the balance in favor of Comer’s character as Oh’s is diminished.  That may not have been the newest showrunner’s intention, but it certainly feeds the impression that it was. The conclusion of Villanelle killing her mother and burning down the house was a wrenching, powerful moment, but taken in totality of the entire show, not nearly enough to compensate for the lackluster and pointless set-up scenes.

What we learned from Oksana's origin story is you really can't go home again.  Fine, but why did that require an Eve-less episode to know that.  This all could have unfolded in the six-month jump after Rome as a sub-plot playing out over the first four episodes.   It didn’t justify a standalone showcase for Villanelle. 

All it did was blunt the equally affecting impact of Eve witnessing Niko’s death.  A better and much fairer approach would have been devote the first half to Eve grieving for her murdered husband and the second to Villanelle less-than-warm welcome home. Minus Eve,  and without Konstantin and no Dasha to exercise some guidance over the nuclear missile that is Villanelle, what you get is an unleashed assassin alternatively being childish, being a smart-ass, being mysterious, being fashionable, before inevitably turning murderous.

Most of the time it works and we forgive Villanelle her many trespasses  This time it face-planted despite a sensational closing sequence between Oksana and her mother.  Unfortunately, ten riveting minutes do not make up for the uninteresting 32 minutes which preceded it. 

Villanelle has become unstoppable in her homicidal tendencies.   She has morphed into a female Terminator who occasionally imitates human traits.  Nothing can stop her or barely slow her down.  She commits mayhem and slaughter like most of us breathe and suffers zero consequence for it.  The fact she took out her own mother should neither shock nor surprise. 

“Are You From Pinner?” demonstrates Villanelle’s complex charms shine most brightly in her interactions with Eve, Konstantin and Dasha. Remove them from the equation and even Comer’s wealth of talents are not enough to rise above flat, lifeless characters, muddled motivations and a plot which wavers between the comedic for too long and the tragic too late to register.    A friend said she didn’t much like “Are You From Pinner” but hoped it would be better after a second or third viewing.  I told sometimes a first impression is a right impression and that it was doubtful a third watch would help much.  How much subtlety and nuance is there to be found from a turd tossing contest? I can say with all confidence, I can't see myself watching this episode again.   Like ever.  If you got something out of this misfire and it touched your heart and made you squirt a tear for Oksana, more power to you.   All I got out of it was confirmation why the show is called Killing Eve and not Villanelle and Her Wacky Russian Family.   Come for the comedy.  Stay for the kills.  In a new interview for her Elle Canada cover story, Oh spoke of how she had reached a point in her life where she was not looking for the next big blockbuster movie, but interested in roles where her Korean American identity can be explored.  “I decided that I’m only going to play characters that are essential to the plot, that conduct the narrative and therefore can’t be cut out.” Eve is an essential character who conducts the narrative, and was cut out of the latest installment of the program that bears her name.   And that bothers me.   It bothers me a lot more than just a mediocre Killing Eve story.  I will never watch another Killing Eve which erases one of the female leads to elevate the other.    That is not how women empower women. 

FINAL GRADE: C 

[echos-orchard]

For the short story game!

Opal

Being yourself

Tired of everything

A young man loves Opal, but she doesn't return those feelings

Victorian era

Beach house

Doesn't have to be historically accurate :)

Hope you have a nice time

With The Waves

Sorry it took so long to get to you, it’s been a wacky few weeks. Hope you enjoy!

It was a warm summer evening- the sky shining a bright, brilliant orange; the sound of the oceans waves echoing through the halls; truly peaceful and beautiful, an incredible end of the day...for most.

Opal wished she could have gone outside to socialize with the other girls in town, or to sew in a small boat, gently drifting along with the waves, but instead, she was preparing for her upcoming wedding. She was to be married in two days time to a man she had never before met. Opal would be whisked away from her home by the ocean, from the town she loved, from the friends she cherished.

She had been so lost in her own depressing thoughts that she was genuinely surprised when her maid Gwendolyn tugged on the strings of her corset, the cloth tightening around her waist. A sharp gasp left Opal’s lips, Gwendolyn scoffed, the wrinkles on her face deepening alongside her frown. Gwendolyn was an old maid of the house, she had taken care of Opal from the time she was a small child...though she tended to be a heartless and cruel woman, except for times when Opal’s father was around.

“Daydreaming again? A young woman shouldn’t have her head up in the clouds, she should be prim, and proper, and focused. You are getting married in two days, and yet you still act like such a child, hell, sometimes you act like an absolutely uncivilized heathen, blah blah blah,”

Opal could care less about another of Gwendolyn’s scoldings, the woman was practically a church bell. As she slipped on her dark blue gown atop her petticoat, she glanced at herself in the mirror, sad gray eyes staring back. Her wavy dark chestnut hair cascading down, stopping at the small of her back; her tanned skin, fair and flawless. Opal smiled gently, apologizing for acting so childish, before walking out of her room. 

Her navy heels clicked upon the wooden floor, hair bouncing gently behind her, she was the perfect picture of elegance and grace at first glance. Looks however can be oh so very deceiving, no one knew who she really was, nor had anyone ever taken the time to get to know her, the real her. Hell, she barely knew who she was, her only moments of freedom were when she would run away from home for a few hours, but when she returned she would be scolded and sent to bed without dinner, or have her wrists slapped, or something of the sort.

Standing in the hallway, Opal could hear the blaring orchestra playing below. She let out a deep sigh; tonight, at this dull dinner party, she would meet her suitor. Her father had planned this whole thing to celebrate, she could only imagine how many people were behind the door a few feet away. Opal really did not want to take another step, her heart anxiously pitter pattering in her chest. She wanted to run far, far away, or at least up to her room so she could sleep for the next century.

Opal took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach, as she slowly opened the large wooden door into the parlor. 

...It was bright…

...so incredibly bright, her eyes hurt…

...but after a moment…

...everything was okay.

Opal smiled as her vision cleared, gracefully stepping into the vibrant parlor full of guests. She greeted a few as she made her way elegantly across the room, avoiding dancers and dodging waiters. Her father stood tall in the distance, talking to a young man whose red hair resembled that of a raging fire. His eyes, a soft amber, and his stance strong and unparalleled. It was him.

Upon catching sight of her, Opal’s father smiled and beckoned her over, to which she begrudgingly continued forward. Her father introduced the man to her- Mateo, as he pressed his lips to the back of her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my beloved Opal…”

Opal cringed, many would have thought this to be sweet, but Opal was just not here for it. She smiled politely back, as her father called for everyone to proceed to the dining room. Sitting across from her spouse, she felt more nervous than she had ever felt in her life. He just stared at her- almost judgmentally, making remarks about her lacking in beauty or her terrible posture. He criticized the way she ate, how much she ate, commented on her weight and makeup. By the end of dinner, Opal came to the oh so stunning realization that her fiance was an absolute prick. 

“I’m sure you will make a wonderful mother in the near future, hopefully our children get their looks from my side of the family” 

Her fiance joked, Opal’s father howled in laughter as Opal excused herself from the dining table, rushing out into the cold night. It was quite soothing, the cold breeze on her shoulders, the ocean waves hitting against the cliffs. She wished she could stay here in this moment forever, to keep her freedom and not marry Mateo the dick of the century. Tears began to overflow, as she let out a quiet, strained sob.

“Excuse me, miss?” a timid voice questioned from behind.

Opal gasped, turning quickly and locking eyes with...the flower girl? She had been tending to her family’s gardens for months now, but they had never spoken before. The girl approached, pulling Opal into a gentle hug.

“What's the matter, miss?” asked the flower girl, as Opal sobbed in her delicate arms. Opal could no longer keep it in, and let her words fly. She cried about her father, and Gwendolyn, and Mateo; she cried about the want to be happy and be free; she cried for her mother, and her friends, and for herself for being so pitiful as to cry in a stranger's arms on the night of her engagement party. The flower girl listened, in comfortable silence, holding Opal close to her heart. “I just wish I could be free, I wish I could be...me?” Opal cried.

The flower girl moved, and wiped Opals tears away, a soft smile replacing her previously concerned frown. “Let me take you away Opal, lets be free”

Opal sat in shock, she had no reason to trust this strange girl, would she really leave her life behind because of some selfish desire, leave her father and have him  be disappointed? Would he even look for her? And yet...she couldn't say no as the flower girl stared at her with the love and warmth Opal had always craved.

The flower girl held her hand, as they walked down the beach closer to the water, her deep green eyes were so enchanting, Opal couldn’t look away. It was almost as if she were under a spell, trapping her in the flower girl’s gaze. The flower girl began to hum a beautiful melody, something almost trance inducing, as Opal followed her deeper and deeper into the depths of the ocean.

[sammy8d257]

Masterlist For Object Head Media

LAST UPDATED: April 1st, 2020

Google Doc: HERE

Welcome! Ever wanted to find out if there’s any types of media that feature Object Head characters that aren’t just one-off or background characters?

Well you’ve come to the right place!

Here I hope to create a comprehensible list of all types of media that contain Object Headed characters!

But I’m only one person who doesn’t know every piece of Object Head media out there

SO IF YOU have a suggestion for a piece of media that would fit on this list

Send me a message through my Tumblr @sammy8d257 ​  

or on Twitter under the same name

With your help, I hope this list becomes very long with all sorts of amazing Object Head media!

Other than that, have fun exploring to your heart's content!

- Sammy

(List under “Keep Reading”)

Comics/Webcomics:

Saga - written by Brian Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples

Gene: Space/fantasy

Rating: M+

Language: English

Status: 54 issues, On Hiatus (as of 4/1/2020)

Read On: Physical Comic

Description: Saga is an epic science-fiction/fantasy drama about two lovers from long-warring extraterrestrial races, Alana and Marko, fleeing from authorities from both sides of a galactic war as they struggle to care for their daughter, Hazel.

Object Heads: TV Heads, in Saga there is a whole race known as Robots Kingdom that are made entirely TV Headed characters.

Character Status: The object head characters turns from side to supporting character in the main cast

Warnings: Nudity, Sex, Death, Violence, its a war setting, blood, drugs, etc.

MyStereoBot - by bioatomic

Gene: Sci-fi, Romance, Comedy

Rating: M

Language: English

Status: 537 pages + 24 page Epilogue, Completed on 6/6/2017

Read On: Smackjeeves or Tapas

Description: Infinity, a stereo head robot, finds himself conflicted with his worth as a person, as a partner, and as a friend. Having trouble with feeling at home on Planet Ribbon and finding happiness, his boyfriend, Cloudburn, and his cousin, Ohm, do the best they can to help him feel worthy. Things seem to go downhill when Quence, a new friend, worries Cloudburn about Infinity’s motives towards him. That is, until an outer-worldly encounter changes all of their lives, for better or for worse, and may just show Infinity what home really is.

Object Heads: Stereo heads, radio heads, tv heads, box heads, etc. There's a lot of different Object heads in this comic

Character Status: Main characters and other side characters are object heads

Warnings: Swearing, partial nudity, drugs

Notes: You can find more information on Tumblr - @mystereobot

Sebastian - by Amanda Heard

Gene: Slice-of-Life, Romantic, Comedy

Rating: pg-13 to M

Language: English

Status: On-going, 80+ pages (as of 4/1/2020), Updates Tuesdays and Thursdays

Read On: http://www.sebastiancomic.com/, Tumblr: https://sebastiancomic.tumblr.com/ or @sebastiancomic

Description: Sebastian is about a pessimistic thief and a happy-go-lucky dork finding each other through unexpected circumstances and learning about forgiveness, love, and loss. Also CRIME!

Object Heads: Pumpkin Heads

Character Status: Main characters are object heads

Warnings: Swearing

Notes: Created by @batberryboo on Tumblr

The Property of Hate - by Sarah Jolley

Gene: Fantasy/Adventure

Rating: Pg 13

Language: English, translations in French, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Japanese, Norwegian, Dutch, Portuguese, Breton, Brazilian, Tagalog, German, Chinese, Swedish, Spanish, Esperanto, Latin, Korean, Italian, Hebrew, Greek, Czech

Status: On-going, 400+ pages(as of 4/1/2020), Updates Sundays

Read On: http://jolleycomics.com/, Smackjeeves

Description: When offered a chance to be a hero by a strange figure with a TV for a head, a young girl is whisked away to a whimsical land in desperate need of a hero. This journey will take them across the lands where emotions manifest into physical forms and the inanimate becomes animate.

Object Heads: Tv Head, Radio Head, etc.

Character Status: One of the main characters and a few secondary characters are object heads

Warnings: None

Notes: Created by @modmad ​ on Tumblr

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn - by Tri Vuong

Gene: Fantasy, slight horror

Rating: PG 13

Language: English

Status: 100 Chapters, Completed on 5/21/2019(maybe on Hiatus?)(as of 4/1/2020)

Read On: Webtoons

Description: Follow the journey of the world's greatest paranormal investigator - Oscar Zahn. Friend to lost souls, enemy of evil, he may lack a body but that doesn't mean he's missing a heart!

Object Heads: Skull Head

Character Status: Main character is an object head

Warnings: Some disturbing imagery

Robot Dream - by Robot Dream, written down by Paulie Godbout, illustrated by Sandra Grygier

Gene: Action, Drama

Rating: PG 13

Language: English

Status: On-Going, 70+ pages (as of 4/1/2020) No Solid Update schedule

Read On: https://www.robotdream.com/mystory (up until page 73), Tapas (up until page 70)

Description: When a lonely human-robot-hybrid refuses to live a life of seclusion, he discovers a community of outcasts in the world of electronic music. But, when he begins creating his own remixes, and discovers they somehow have the power to heal broken hearts and minds, he must learn that revealing who you truly are comes at a price before he is captured by the people who “created” him.

Object Heads: TV Head

Character Status: Main Character

Warnings: References to manipulation and abuse

Notes: You can also read it on Webtoon under the same name but it is only up to page 32

Third Shift Society - by Meredith Moriarty

Gene: Supernatural, Adventure

Rating: PG 13

Language: English

Status: 24 Episodes, On Hiatus(as of 4/1/2020)

Read On: Webtoon

Description: Life’s funny. One minute you're jobless, deep in debt and on the verge of eviction; the next you’re in a fight with a monster and getting a job working for a Paranormal Detective with the head of a Jack-o-Lantern. It’s an age-old story. Now the financially-challenged Ellie (who’s just discovered she has strong psychic powers) and her Pumpkin-headed boss Ichabod have to team up and fight the things that go bump in the night.

Object Heads: Pumpkin Head

Character Status: Secondary Main Character

Warnings: None

Notes: Created by @meredithmoriarty ​ on Tumblr

Rice Boy - by Evan Dahm

Gene: Surreal fantasy, Adventure

Rating: PG 13

Language: English

Status: 439 pages, Completed as of 2008,

Read On: http://www.rice-boy.com/see/, or on Soft/Hardcover Graphic Novels,

Description: Rice Boy is a simple creature torn from his mundane life by an immortal “machine man” called The One Electronic, who suspects that Rice Boy may fulfill an ancient prophecy. Now tasked with trying to fulfill a prophecy he did not choose, Rice Boy must explore the vast, fantastical, and surreal world of Overside and encounter the dangers that it hides.

Object Heads: Circular TV Head

Character Status: Secondary Main Character

Warnings: Chapter 19 contains one page of suggestive incest, Slightly disturbing imagery, violence, drug use

Notes: Dahm also runs a Rerun blog of Rice Boy where he does commentary on the pages as he posts them on Tumblr: @riceboycomic ​

Film/Shows/Anime:

FLCL (also known as Fooly Cooly) - written by Yōji Enokido, directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki

Studio: Gainax

Gene: Comedy, drama

Style: 2D Animation

Rating: PG 13

Language: Japanese, with an English sub and Dub

Status: 1 season(6 episodes), Completed as of 2001

Description:  A boy's humdrum life turns upside-down when he encounters a maniacal girl who causes strange things to grow out of his forehead and draws him into conflict with a mysterious, otherworldly organization.

Object Heads: TV Head Robot

Character Status: Side Main Character

Warnings: Sexual innuendos

Notes: There are 2 more seasons of FLCL known as FLCL Progressive and FLCL Alternative, I haven’t watched them but I don’t believe there are any object head robots in them

The Amazing World of Gumball - created by Ben Bocquelet

Premiered on: Cartoon Network

Gene: slice of life, comedy

Style: Mixed Media Animation

Rating: PG

Language: English,

Status: 6 seasons(240 episodes) + a 6 episode miniseries, Completed as of December 2019

Description: The series revolves around the misadventures of blue cat Gumball Watterson and his adopted goldfish brother and best friend, Darwin. Together they spread mischief across the weird and wacky city of Elmore.

Object Heads: Bomb Head, Boombox head, whatever rob was

Character Status: Secondary and background characters

Warnings: None

Notes: This one really shouldn’t be on the list but I added it because I literally could not think of another show or film that has Object Head characters

Video Games:

Cuphead by StudioMDHR

Gene: Classic Run and Gun

Style: 2D Handpainted Visuals

Rating: E

Language: English

Released: 9/29/2017, DLC (coming soon 2020)

Playable On: Steam, Xbox, Windows 10, Mac, Nintendo Switch

Price: $19.99

Description: Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles. Inspired by cartoons of the 1930s, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era, i.e. traditional hand-drawn cel animation, watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings.

Play as Cuphead or Mugman (in single player or local co-op) as you traverse strange worlds, acquire new weapons, learn powerful super moves, and discover hidden secrets while you try to pay your debt back to the devil!

Object Heads: Cup Heads, Apple Head, Dice Head, Fork Head, etc.

Character Status: Playable Main Characters, some secondary characters, and some of the Bosses

Warnings: Cartoony violence

BattleBlock Theater by The Behemoth

Gene: Platforming, comedy

Style: 2D Graphics

Rating: E

Language: English

Released: Xbox Live-4/3/2013, Steam- 5/15/2014,

Playable On: Steam, Xbox, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Macintosh operating system

Price: $14.99

Description: Shipwrecked. Captured. Betrayed. Forced to perform for an audience of cats? Yes, all that and more when you unlock BattleBlock Theater! There’s no turning back once you've started on your quest to free over 300 of your imprisoned friends from evil technological cats. Immerse yourself in this mind bending tale of treachery as you use your arsenal of weapon-tools to battle your way through hundreds of levels in order to discover the puzzling truth behind BattleBlock Theater.

If solo acts aren't your style, go online or bring a buddy couch-side to play a thoroughly co-optimized quest or enter the arenas. The game also includes a level editor so you can craft your own mind bending trials!

Object Heads: Heads are customizable but the main game gives you many heads to choose from. Block heads, Shape Heads

Character Status: Playable Characters

Warnings: Cartoony violence, crude humor

Pumpkin Noir by PumpkinNoirDev

Gene: RPG Adventure

Style: Pixel Graphics, RPGMaker

Rating: E

Language: English

Status: Demo as of 6/19/2017

Play On: PC, demo link - https://rpgmaker.net/games/9817/

Price: Not available

Description: Stop, Drop, Noir!

Perched on the precipice of endless void-- a single seedy city. Detectives “Smoke & Fire” Rem and Wednesday face a puzzling situation as the curtain lifts on Halloween night. Go broke, or investigate a rollickingly risky mafia mystery? The answer is clear.

Search for the void’s greatest criminal minds, uncover the shocking secrets of the underworld!

Object Heads: Pumpkin Head

Character Status: Main Character

Warnings: None

Notes: This game is still under development, for more information visit the dev’s blog- https://pumpkin-noir.tumblr.com/ or @pumpkin-noir ​

Other:

Object Head Zine - hosted by @potentialforart on Tumblr

Style: Mostly 2D Illustrations and short comics

Gene: Genes differ per year

Rating: PG-PG 13

Language: English

Status: On-Going Project, This zine is a yearly thing

Read On: Tumblr- https://objectheadzine.tumblr.com/ or @objectheadzine, Buy Physical/Digital Copies here - https://gumroad.com/objectheadzine

Price: Prices Vary

Description: The Object Head Zine is a collection of artwork from different artists coming together for a common love of object heads. The Object Head Zine is a yearly project with a new theme chosen for each year. Such themes include Forks and Utensils, Spooky, Flora and Fungi, Superstitions, and Science and Technology.

Object Heads: Yes

Character Status: Main Focus

Warnings: None

And if you have any more suggestions for this list, please let me know!!

[prurientpuddlejumper]

HEY ANON, sooooo remember how I said I know I said NO to this ask?

well I LIED!!! (kind of!) This is a bit of a different angle on it, and is actually an idea I got while watching Legends of Tomorrow XD I hope you enjoy this kinda wacky concept :D 

Please pretend, if you will, that you have just been reading a full-length novel about a band of plucky heroes trying to thwart the enigmatic-but-definitely-villainous plans of an evil monster, and this is the last 2 pages >_>

A group of valiant heroes race through a dark castle, which stands like a spire atop a desolate Swiss mountain, their boots clapping against the stone as they descend into the dank dungeon below.

“Stop, fiend!” a golden-haired adventurer shouts, “the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation will never allow you to pierce the veil!”

“YOU ARE TOO LATE,” a harsh, booming voice echoes. A steel gate drops in front of them with a heavy clank, and another behind, trapping them. The voice cackles madly. 

Gathering his instruments around him, the dark, immense silhouette of the monster emerges from the shadows, and draws an intricate sigil upon the floor.

“In fact, I was counting on your following me. Did it not seem too easy?” he taunts. Taking a long spear, the creature plunges it deftly and suddenly between the metal bars, hitting his target. One of the adventurers, a sallow young man in glasses, gives a sharp yelp as the weapon pierces his shoulder. “The blood of a descendant of my despised creator. The last ingredient.” The monster grins a pearly-white grin that does not match his dry-parchment complexion. With a fluid motion, he flicks the blood onto the sigils, and the markings begin to glow with magic. As the etheric light swirls and fills the air, the room shakes as if by earthquake—no, not the room—it is as if reality itself is cracking.

“Whatever beast you are summoning, you-you mustn't!” the sallow young man cries, “There was a reason my ancestor refused to help you! He believed you were capable of destroying all of mankind if he granted your wish. There will be repercussions even you cannot predict. I know you hold an ancient grudge against my family, but you cannot doom the entire world! Please! I’m begging you to reconsider before it’s too late!”

There are many things the creature could say, that he could spit at this naive Frankenstein in contempt, but he is bored of hatred after so many years. The whole of humanity could burn—or not—all he cares about is one thing, and nothing will stop him from getting it. He watches the glowing of the seals, his eyes feverish with anticipation.

“Here it comes. However monstrous this fiend is, whatever he summons from Hell shall be even worse. Brace yourselves!”

Slowly, you begin to remember. You remember the ashy taste of smoke filling your throat and scorching your lungs. You remember the searing pain of your flesh blistering as it was licked by the flames. The rough rope digging into your wrists was a discomfort you could no longer feel over the agony of burning alive. And then everything went black.

You open your eyes.

There are distant shouts echoing off the hard stone walls of the torch-lit dungeon you appear to be in, but you hardly give them any notice. The first thing you see is a familiar face, smiling so sweetly and tenderly at you that you almost don’t notice its cadaverous hollowness. You never minded his appearance, anyway. There is a haze around your memory, like waking from a dream, and you’re not quite sure when you last saw him. (Don’t you see him every day?) All you know is there’s a burning feeling in your stomach of missing him so much.

“It is really you?” he whispers, almost a prayer.

“My love!” You laugh brightly, throwing your arms around his neck and flooding him with kisses. His arms lift you off the cold stone altar or sarcophagus you had been laying on.

Somewhere in the distance, voices argue in sharp, confused tones. In between the desperate, passionate smashing of your lips against his, you make out only a few words, including, “—doesn’t look like a demon?” and “what the f—” 

His skin is just slightly too cool for a human, as always, but his arms still feel warm around you. You’re freezing, actually. As if you had been swimming in an icy river. And as you peer out over his shoulder, you confirm you are indeed in a castle dungeon, surrounded by strange tools and occult paraphernalia, with several oddly-dressed prisoners trying to free themselves from a steel cage.

“Wait. What… what happened? What is this place?” you tremble, pulling back. He sets you down again on the stone platform, his face unreadable as he searches for the words to explain. His hesitation convinces you something is very, very wrong—he never hides anything from you. You stare at the back of your hands. Your skin. There was something wrong with your skin.

It was… fine.

“No. I remember… I remember burning. The fire. How am I not burned or scarred?”

“My love…”

“No! Not just burning. I died, didn’t I?” you demand, breathing hard and shallow.

He puts a large hand on your shoulder, and his yellow eyes meet yours, trying to calm you. In a slow, deep voice, he says, “It has been two-hundred years, my love. It is the 21st century now.”

“Two-hundred years?” you breathe. “That can’t be.”

“I can thank Victor for one thing. There is no reason my body, powered by an artificial mechanism of life, need ever age or die. I have lived all this time, learning every science and mysticism that could return you to me. When my father refused to aid me in restoring life to your physical form, the dark arts became the last refuge of my hopes. I have spent every waking minute finding a way to bring you back. And it worked. Finally, you are here. We are together again.”

He stoops to kiss you again, but you stop him with a hand on his chest. “But… So much time has gone by. We were only together a decade. If it has truly been two centuries, you’ve been working to restore me far longer than we ever knew each other. Do I even know you anymore?”

“Of course you know me!” he snarls, making you jump. “I did all of this for you—now do as you were meant to, and love me!” He gnashes his teeth, towering over you at his full eight feet of height. Your breath catches in your throat and tears prick your eyes. He was always prone to outbursts of emotion, but he never behaved like this before. He never made you afraid. 

Who had he become in all that time? Left on his own, his goodness and gentleness eroded away as he obsessed over his one goal—you.

But as quickly as his anger flashed, the moment he saw your horrified expression, he melted to his knees, bowing his head over your lap. “I am sorry, my love. Forgive me. I have been alone for so long, waiting for this day. You still know me.” He looks up, yellow eyes soft and sorrowful. He reaches cautiously toward your face, and when you don’t recoil, wipes a tear that had formed at the corner of your eye. 

You consider his apology, and, after leaving him dangling for a few dreadful moments, stroke his hair like the magnanimous owner of a penitent cat after a night of roving. “Have you never loved again in all this time?”

“Never. Who else could ever tolerate such a wretch?”

“Oh you poor, foolish man.” You cup his chin, and can’t help but get caught up admiring him. Though his skin was scarred and shrivelled like a corpse, he had a strong jawline that made him quite handsome. “Of course there are others who would love you. I’ve always told you so.”

“And if they were caught up by some angry mob that was looking for me? If they were burned alive for loving me as well? No—I could never put another in danger after what happened to you. Not until I could correct the injustice that was done.”

You lean in to kiss him, but are interrupted by the loud choking sounds of weeping. One of the men in the cage—a bespectacled boy bleeding from his shoulder—blows his nose into a handkerchief and swipes at his reddened eyes.

“Th-that’s so beautiful. I had no idea.” he whimpers.

Oh right. Those guys. 

"Umm. So, who are they?"

"Oh, well, you see..." The creature scratches the back of his head, and shrugs his shoulders sheepishly. "I had to break certain... laws of nature, you know, spitting in the face of god and so forth in order to bring you back. There may have also been some crimes involved. At some point a monster-hunter group got wind of what I was doing, and—"

"You WHAT? CRIMES?"

"And, you know, the prejudice of humans against me has not changed in the passing eras." His eyes shift around the room, landing on his feet, which he scuffs nervously on the floor. “They just see a monster and… and make assumptions.” 

"Oh don't give me that excuse, buddy, you are in SO much trouble! Breaking the laws of nature..." You wag your index finger at him.

Grinning widely, he pulls you off the altar into his arms, and squeezes you tightly to his chest. You nuzzle into him, breathing in his familiar tomb-scent, and twining your fingers around his neck, through his long, dark hair. You sigh. Life was always an adventure when you were by his side, good or bad. Now you have a second chance, whatever the future holds. You're finally home.