#if you don't know who dennis the menace is

[aranciadotcom]

dennis the menace and christian girl autumn

[gizkasparadise]

finished kaos! i had a great time with it (LOL if the immediate binge didn't tip that off). check content warnings for the show before you dive in though!

some more spoilery thoughts:

jeff goldblum was perfect casting for zeus. you start off being like ay! it's this goofy guy in a tracksuit who's a little hammy, a little weird, and then the pivot he makes toward becoming more and more menacing is so good

loooooved the fates! did not expect suzy izzard in the show, so that was a pleasant surprise

billie piper as cassandra was another pleasant/unexpected surprise! allll the excellent ladies

styling for all the characters was so, so good. esp dionysus and hera

WOULD DIE FOR THE 3-HEADED PUPPIES and dennis omg rip

i...was rooting for orpheus/eurydice ngl. how can you not with "eurydice" and orpheus straight up choosing her over his life twice. i think the romance between her and caeneus didn't work/went way too fast for it to be believable with the weight they were giving it & the circumstances they both were in. orpheus/eurydice would've been interesting to see as a couple falling out of love trying to build it back up (and maybe failing). or i couldve gone for caeneus/eurydice if they had more build up and more connection than the plot macguffin (yes, yes, i know they were both about "fuck the gods!" but it didnt land for me). love caeneus though, and his puppyyyyyy. excited to see more from him if s2 happens

the show did a really nice job of balancing the gods being these kind of hammy, larger than life creatures with their darker/more menacing natures. the baby scene, kitten scene, etc. all really hammer in that these people have killed their way to the top

the final arrangement of the prophecy montages at the end of the season didnt quite work for me. i liked the energy, where it was going, etc. but i don't think it had the wham! impact they were going for and the pieces didnt line up as neatly as the show was building it up to

FINALLY someone portraying hades as a man who just wants to stay home and have a nap!!! persephone was great too

i swear to fucking god if netflix cancels this before i can see dionysus/ariadne im going to scream and riot

[rootspiral]

WANDAVISION DEEP DIVE part 1

(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])

(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1][2][3][4] ep3 [1][2][3] ep4 [1][2])

After managing to keep away from social media for almost two months, here comes Agatha All Along sucking me back in 🙃 I want to rewatch the whole thing and see how many details I can catch, but I guess I might as well go through Agatha's scenes in Wandavision first. and you guys are coming with me!! we can all hyperfixate together (spoilers from both WV and AAA below. this is going to be just a stream of consciousness as I go through scenes, don't expect anything elaborate)

SO.

Agatha arrives in Westview attracted by Wanda's Hex. She might already suspect she's dealing with the Scarlet Witch because lbr, who has that sort of power? She takes a calculated risk to come investigate (detective Agnes of Westview on the case!) It's funny that her calculated risks are always way more emotional than she'd admit, because who in their right mind comes after the SW? But all that power is too alluring, so Agatha takes possession of Ralph's house, ruins the market value adding a creepy basement and brainwashes him into being her husband/minion/pet.

And now it's time to do what she does best, con artist is gonna con! I adore that Agatha became one of the most infamous witches in history thanks mostly to her improv skills.

She's a magical gal is a small time locale!! he's a husband who's part machiiiiiine (great now it'll get stuck in my head again)

worth nothing that both witches and androids have historically and culturally been used as queer allegories, and here's a very sapphic witch pretending to be a straight 1950s housewife and another witch who's got an elaborate fantasy going on where her husband is able to pass and all their problems are sitcom-level fixable.

How to solve the Hex mystery according to Agatha Harkness:

step #1, casually fish for personal info

step #2, flirt with your suspect (obviously)

she literally asks if Wanda's single ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

AGATHA

she's lying it on soooo thick

she dropped that pot so deliberately LMAOO stinky chaotic goblin

knowing she' s being an asshole on purpose makes this scene 100 times funnier tbh

(also a moment of silence for Sharon's irreparable trauma. her last words will be "Wanda, I'm begging you, let him breathe, please")

episode 2: Agatha keeps being a menace

And knowing now that she's always playing a part and her real personality is much more emo makes it easier to spot when she slips out of character

"was that too much? might rein it down a lil bit" (btw I'm still suspicious of Dennis the mailman and totally expect a big reveal in Westview season 3)

I'm betting that this was Agatha rather than Agnes too. she's so miserable lol. she hates playing this part so much. and that wig is hideous

not Agatha casually planting the idea of children in Wanda's head. She probably was the one making people chant "for the children" too. literally manipulating Wanda into showing her if she can create life, calculated risk my ass, she's out here playing with fire

(does that mean that Agatha is a liiiiiiitle bit Billy's and Tommy's parent too?? she planTED the sEED. hear me OUT.)

you know she was dead inside at having to sit through the whole talent show. she probably took it out on the contestants and made them trip onstage or something

Episode 3 of pappappa pappappa wandavision!

Agatha helping Wanda to pick baby clothes, I'm going to sob. (look at this technicolor filter! modern shows CAN color their shit! it's just that they'd rather make everything look like muddy ass instead)

not much from Agatha this episode except scheming to get Monica kicked out of the Hex, seeing as she's the biggest obstacle between herself and Wanda ('s powers). Also you know she was stalking the house to keep track of when the babies were born. Also also, the painted scenery! Like mother like son, it's such a big hint about the nature of the Road.

look at this piece of shit, I love her so much. And she does tend to wink when she's just told a truly egregious lie, doesn't she? it's like her little signature.

Agatha in episode 5 coming in like: LEMME SEE THOSE BABIESSSSSSS

kathryn hahn with 80s curls is doing something to me, let me tell you

so manipulative, in so many ways. and knowing what we know now about Agatha and children, imagine the turmoil inside of her!! triumph at having confirmation of Wanda's life-giving powers. nervousness about the mess she's putting herself in. exasperation at having to keep up the charade. and, most importantly, getting to HOLD A BABY BOY AFTER ALL THIS TIME (amazing, terrifying, traumatic, wonderful)

what is she doiiiing. this bitch, I swear.

OH MY GAWD I FORGOT WANDA SAID THIS. "so she keeps coming at me like a cat in heat, that's not her fault Vision, she has a Medical Condition"

"kids. can't control them. no matter how hard you try"??????? the suddenly wistful voice?????????????????????? why don't I fling myself off a cliff?????????????????? was this woman actually honestly dying inside while still having to play pretend, I can't, I cannot. And how much of Agatha's backstory was decided at this point, was Kathryn given a general idea?

Agatha and Billy, partners in crime already! Seriously, Jac Schaeffer must have had an idea of where this was going. And it's obvious in retrospect that Agatha would be drawn to Billy the most, he's a witch unlike Tommy and he's such a polite, sweet little fellow, he probably reminded her of Nicky so much?? Here's this scary dangerous witch who on one side is planning to murder everyone in the room, and on the other is fighting back the urge to go full mama bear on this kid and protect and cherish him forever. This is not what she signed up for when she decided to stalk Wanda!

She is so horrible. She is despicable. I'm allowed to say it because I love her so much! I can't remember, was it revealed that she turned a fly into a dog or something? Or did she kidnap a dog dog from a shelter / someone's garden and then stone cold killed him? No, wait, she made Ralph kill him. Do your own killing of cute innocent little creatures, you coward! Love that vest tho.

"Fix the dead!" "You can do that?" And of course she's pretending here but you know that's EXACTLY what this whole sordid Sparky affair was about, she's testing and prodding at Wanda's powers, trying to figure out her limits. There's an eagerness here that she doesn't need to fake. Who knows, maybe she was actually squeamish about killing the dog (she does have a cuddly bunny and woves him vewy much), hence why Ralph had to do it. But more importantly even if she didn't like killing a pet, even if she wasn't happy about traumatizing these kids - that's exactly what she's doing here, she's willingly hurting two children - she went and did it anyway, because her thirst for Wanda's powers is too big. She kills witches out of anger, out of fear and self-preservation. She is ultimately a selfish person, and that is what makes her a villain. It's not that she doesn't have feelings. She has plenty of feelings, she has a conscience, and she chooses to do the bad thing anyway.

"And we can't reverse death. No matter how sad it makes us. Okay? Some things are forever." These two shows above all else are about grief. You can peel this scene and find more and more layers, it was about the kids losing Sparky at first but also about Wanda losing Pietro, Wanda losing Vision, Wanda losing the kids. And it's also, DEFINITELY about Agatha losing Nicky. I need a drink.

Agatha discreetly wiping a tear in the background nbd

And I can only upload 30 pictures per post so there's going to be a part two. I was NOT planning to write so much, help. What are you doing to me AGATHA

go to part 2

[incorrectbatfam]

You have the pinned post explaining the batfamily so I thought you'd be a good person to ask this: who is RJ in regards to Dick Grayson? I've seen the tag "Dick Grayson Is RJ" on ao3 but I haven't found anything anywhere else so I'm pretty confused. I know it's something to do with him being a former talon, but I really don't know beyond that.

Thanks!

A few years back there were rumors circulating about editorial rebranding Dick's name and I think RJ was proposed as a nickname his friends would call him (as in Richard John). There are similar ones where he's R*c 🤢 or Richie Grayson (the equivalent of Brucie Wayne). Dick Grayson Is A Menace is the best tag though, and anyone who disagrees is free to meet me in the Denny's parking lot.

[intermittent-showers]

Part 3: Postponed Games & Rainy Days

When the rain ruins the day's plan, Tommy and Evan still make the most of it.

Read below or on AO3

---

"So, that was Hen." Buck said, tossing his cellphone on the coffee table before taking a seat next to Tommy on the couch. "She said the game was postponed."

Tommy stretched out a bit. "Mm, not surprising. That field would be a mess if they played on it in this rain."

"Yeah, I was looking forward to going, though, and so was Denny and Mara."

"We can take them next weekend."

Buck sighed but nodded. He knew Tommy was right, but it still annoyed him that their plans had been canceled. Hen had been so relieved when Buck volunteered both him and Tommy to take the kids to the baseball game today. Karen had to work, and Hen was not a fan of the sport whatsoever.

Shaking off the disappointment, Buck got up off the couch and headed into Tommy's kitchen, deciding he'd use today to make that new recipe Maddie had told him about. He had picked up the ingredients yesterday anyway, so he might as well do something productive with his day.

Reaching up into the cabinet above the stove, Buck felt two strong arms snake around his waist. With a kiss to the side of his neck and a tender squeeze, he heard. "You okay?"

The item he was searching for was completely forgotten in that moment. "Yeah. I'm... I'm fine."

"Evan."

Sighing, Buck turned to face Tommy. "It's stupid."

"I highly doubt anything going on in that head of yours is stupid. Odd, maybe... interesting, always... but never stupid."

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Scouts honor."

"When I was young, my parents were... uhm... distant, I guess you could say? They'd make a promise to take me and Maddie somewhere and then when the day came... well, we never went."

Tommy leaned back, taking in the almost hidden pain on his boyfriend's face. "And you think that because the baseball game was canceled, you let Denny and Mara down."

It wasn't a question, but Buck still answered. "I guess? Maybe... I mean, yeah, I do."

"This situation is completely different. You didn't cancel the game, baby. The rain did."

Buck smiled at Tommy, suddenly feeling silly for allowing his mind to berate itself. "You're right. I know you're right. Sorry, my therapist says the same thing, but I still doubt myself sometimes."

"And that's okay. It means you're normal." Tommy chuckled when he got an eye roll from the younger man. "So, what are we making?"

"We? You don't trust me in your kitchen?"

"Key point there is that it 𝘪𝘴 my kitchen."

Buck shoved Tommy away playfully. "I'm making meatloaf."

"Can I observe the cook at least?"

"You mean, can you check out my ass while I zoom around 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 kitchen?" Buck looked back at his boyfriend, who was raising an eyebrow in his direction. "Always."

"You're a menace. You know that?"

----

Half an hour later, Buck slid the meatloaf into the oven and set the timer.

"Now, it has to cook for an hour. You wanna watch a movie or something?"

Without any acknowledgment of Buck's question, Tommy linked a finger through Buck's belt loop and pulled him close. "Or something." He said, hooking two fingers under his boyfriend's chin, making sure they made direct eye contact. "I really like you in my kitchen."

Buck grinned into the kiss, sighing happily when Tommy deepened it, all the while expertly untying the straps of Buck's apron.

The kiss broke abruptly, allowing Tommy to slip the apron over Buck's head, discarding it somewhere on the floor. Then, with a growl, Tommy lifted him onto the counter, eagerly taking up refuge between Buck's legs.

"Someone's eager."

"You said we only have an hour, right?"

Buck reached down, grabbing the bottom of Tommy's shirt before helping him remove it. "Probably closer to fifty-six minutes now."

Laughing, Tommy brought their lips together once more, one hand anchoring them both to the counter as the other cradled the back of Evan's head. He shivered, feeling the warmth of Evan's hand running up his bare chest, ghosting over his nipple before continuing its descent down to the hem of his pants.

Tommy pulled away slightly, both of them gasping for air, yet both still willing to drown in one another. "Think we can beat the clock?"

One nod was all it took for Tommy to grab Evan's wrist and lead him straight into the bedroom.

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here bestie and these last few days have been a ride, to say the least. I am not feeling very normal about anything going on myself, how are you?? We're not even on the same day as the episode and everything already feels unhinged. Masks?? Confessions?? BUDDIE HOLDING HANDS (in front of the tree)??!! I have never hoped so much (a mistake I know) that we are living in the best timeline and I suppose in less then 24 hours we'll see how insane it is to do that.

Anyway my "saving it for an episode emergency" wine is toast after today (todo list: replace that before tomorrow's episode) and thought I'd share my dumb spec for this episode. So not dumb is BT bones are obviously happening (like seriously, windex couldn't make it any clearer at this point) and I do think the Eddie-takes-care-of-Buck while treeman-cowers-in-fear is going to play a role in that, but I can't help thinking of the choice to have the mummy in Eddie's old bachelor party clothes. Like its kinda weird to have that specific outfit back in "masks" of all episodes, but maybe its not so much for the symbolism but just to remind the audience that that was a whole thing. Because what if one of our boys, via meditation or mummy curse or whatever (I'm not picky) actually remembers what happened that night?? And it, er, it wasn't exactly strictly platonic?? So one of them has to confront exactly what that means and we end up with (at least one) third party confession. I'd like to see it. But either way I feel like for sure next episode will end with Buck at least realizing he's been putting on a mask with his current relationship, and its covering up who he really wants, and I for one can't wait to see it. Less than 24 hours my friend, let's hope they don't do anything else insane before then 🥂.

Good morning friend! I'm glad you sent this last night because with the banger d20 ep last night and the pettiness and excitement about tonight, I just KNOW I'm gonna be put in post limit jail SO early, so I'm getting this out now while I can!

What a month these last couple days have been! I am feeling unhinged and damn is it hard not to get my hopes up! 🤪

I am *desperately* hoping that we see a bachelor party flashback in the next couple episodes! I would be happy with either Buck or Eddie, but not Buck if he's still clinging on to Tree #3, because I don't want the guilt spiral or him breaking it off because he "did something wrong". He really does for once need to recognize (on screen for the audience to share with him) that he is not being treated well in a relationship and leave. (Justice for the BT 1.0 breakup we SHOULD have had in 5a but FOX sucks.)

And now we have a scene (that to be fair I haven't watched because I like going in if not blind, at least not having watched big chucks of the episode yet) that once again shows Eddie knowing and loving Buck to his weird, superstitious core, and his BF being the odd man out, once again putting others down as a way to get laughs at work, and not knowing who is married to Buck's dad, Bobby, months after saving her and her and being together with Buck all this time. No wonder Oliver has been so excited! That man is a menace and petty bench and I love him SO MUCH.

Cheers my friend, I'm probably not going to have to drive home since my car is in the shop so I plan to have a drink and enjoy the chaos! Fun Halloween episode after 84 years, let's fucking gooooo! (Because the Denny stuff is not real, I do not SEE, I do not PERCEIVE.)

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

Well here is trying to send a message. A great eclectic mix from Dennis the Menace to classics. Love your taste in natural beauty and the human body and you remembered my name.

Hi Chris LOL

For me Usually it's normal if I can't remember people's faces, but it's abnormal if I can't remember people's names; the best is to be able to do both, but the hope is getting slimmer & difficult… Because I'm old, it's that simple ! hahaha

Oh has another reason ~

Because the human body has so many variables and Asians are very keen on "medical beauty", sometimes a woman would tap me on the shoulder and call me "Chu Lan" on the street. At that time, my mind kept turning the pages and thinking secretly… What the fuck is this woman's face so "fake"? Who is she? I don't know her at all. XD It wasn't until she said her name that I found the page that belonged to her in my mind.

I must say that your page is very holy. If I was your mother, I might tell you: Don’t be so mysophobic. It’s good for your page to be a little dirty once in a while. Otherwise, people will think you are a president? A professor? Or a philosopher? The above .

ps. I love to joke, but I’m also a serious person! LOL

Thanks for your praise and kindness.

Have a good time on Tumblr.

Chu Lan~*

[l-ii-zz]

u are correct about the age thing. it depends which source(s) u use. I think the show bible calls him a kid (but iirc it also says Dib's exact age and last name should never be given and yet we have both in Enter the Florpus), but if u go by lost/unmade eps, iirc the Trial shows that irkens are smeets until they are 10 and then they are adults (and they aren't human so saying "but in human years!" is ridic imo. we don't say "but it human years that would be..." except for our domestic animals, and even then not every person does THAT). if u take Word of God, Jhonen has said Zim is an adult so many times idk why ppl think he's STILL just having a laugh. he's said it's bc he thinks it's funny that a grown ass man would count a Literal Child as his nemesis, and cites the Dennis the Menace comic series. but if u take ONLY what is on screen then it's a mystery and up to interpretation. it's just sort of *shrug emoji*.

The show bible (made by JV btw) calls him a kid, yeah. There's one section of an old magazine talking about the series and describing Zim as a kid too.

Honestly there are a bunch of things that have been told about the IZ universe that doesn't even make sense now. Like yeah, Dib's last name and age, another example would be about the Tallest and the cut thumbs and how this was entirely forgotten/discarded for their new design for the movie.

I also agree with you about the possibility that human and irken age concept could be different from one to the other. We're talking about aliens anyway. Alien society with alien customs and alien ideals and alien culture and alien environment etc etc etc. Who knows? maybe planet Irk rotates/revolves faster that Earth's and by that it would mean that an irken year is way shorter than an earthling year. Nothing in the series can confirm that, yeah, but you cannot either deny that it's a possibility. Hell, even irkens can have another extremely different perspective about maturity

Like, the show itself is so ambiguous about these themes that I don't even understand why people are so stubborn to gatekeep one single concept as the entire truth, even if the show is a whole pile of nonsense that doesn't even try to take itself seriously.

"But JV said this" yeah.... and? not everyone support the "Word of God" thingy. If the final product doesn't give you a clear answer then you are on your right to have different interpretations. Not to mention that the creator is not the only one developing the concepts of a show. There's a whole team behind the show, and behind the team there are different perspectives.

I'll give you one example with another fandom: Cuphead! when fans were speculating about the age of the cupbros (and this was looong before the dlc and animated show's announcement) they asked Studio MDHR (the creators) if the bros were kids or adults. They replied saying that they were "kidults" (adults with childish tastes). But then, another person asked the same question to the writer of Cuphead, and he answered that they were teens! So, in this case, is one answer more valid than the other? I don't think so, 'cause both parts worked for the final product. This is one of the reasons why I don't truly take "Word of God" seriously.

Also, and this is just my opinion btw, even if Zim is a straight up adult, he can still be interpreted as a kid. Because well... he dresses up as a kid, he goes to school, he interacts with other kids, his nemesis is another kid, he has robo parents, he's small like a kid, he behaves like a kid, he sounds like a kid... (WITH ALL THIS ONLY REFERRING TO IZ'S UNIVERSE, I'M NOT SAYING THIS ALSO APPEALS THE REAL WORLD)

"Yeah, but visualizing Zim as a kid triggers me" that's valid, but have you ever thought that other people can also feel triggered by visualizing Zim as adult? Because well.. some people can feel uncomfortable with the thought of a straight up adult fighting a kid and pretending to be one, even if it's just comedy.

Can't we all.. stop gatekeeping and let everyone interpret fiction however the heck we want without pointing each other and talking shit to each other? I know it's too much to ask, but wouldn't be nice to respect the fact that no one will think the same way you do? (NOT SPECICALLY TO YOU ANON, ALL QUESTIONS ARE RETORIC, LOL).

It's just so absurd to me, we're talking about fiction. Why are we fighting for the age of a character that doesn't even exist? We're going coconuts.

It's more fun to create headcanons and aus, I prefer doing that instead of fighting nonsense.

As you said, dear anon: *Shrug emoji*

[legallybrunettedotcom]

hello !! :) today a friend of mine asked me this question and if you’re ok with it, i wanted to know your version: if you could host a party with your favourite artists ever (musicians, directors, writers, editors, actors etc) what kind of party would you organize & who would you invite?

oh what a fun question! feel free to tell me your own choices, anon! would love to know! i think i'll make it a dinner party. i can envision a beautifully decorated table, some candles, it's intimate, it's cozy. i don't know if all these people would mesh well but they are my favourites and i've connected with their artistry and work.

i definitely need fka twigs there. she's such a renaissance woman. so incredibly talented and curious. i remember when i first stumbled upon her back in high school, it was the two weeks music video and it was like finding a precious gemstone. even at that moment it felt like i just witnessed something important and crucial. everything she does is so cohesive and sturdy and idk how else to say it, but some music is like a snack, while her albums and everything that comes with them is like a five-course meal.

then i'll say trent reznor. he's a genius to me. i discovered nine inch nails when i was like 20 and it was the perfect moment. he gets me. he gets self-loathing like no one else. he wants to skin himself alive and you can hear it in his voice. there's so much variety in his discography, from industrial to these more ambient and atmospheric albums to his movie soundtrack endeavour. i think he also stayed true to his artistry, as much as one can, and i think he's funny, very no bullshit allowed type of person so yeah. and he has a super hot and talented wife that needs to come to my party too.

ok so another musician, david bowie. he's another renaissance person. i like re-invention, i like never staying the same, trying to fit as many lives as you possibly can in one life. he has that chameleon-like quality in his work and when i first discovered his music it was this moment of recognition, of someone getting the anxiety and passion that comes with creativity.

i need a painter now, and i'm choosing jean-michel basquiat. when i was a child, i used to catch this movie called basquiat from 1996 on tv all the time and i was so transfixed. looking back it's not a particularly great movie or like a super accurate depiction of his life, but at the time i didn't know that. i was just in awe. like as an idk 10 year old i've never seen someone so interesting and different and cool. it was a sort of entrance into the art world beyond those like classic old masters.

for film, well my favourite director is david fincher. i would say that everyone i list here gets my heart and the emotional aspect, while he gets my brain. his films scratch my brain and there is something clinical and sterile about his films that attracts me. he dissects things, he's a surgeon and an investigator, he gets research, all his characters are obsessive freaks who can't stop peeling the layers of the object of their obsession.

another film person. i'm choosing someone who is a menace and might create some commotion at the party and that's dennis hopper. his story, in his own words, is the one of great potential largely squandered by a rebellious nature and self-destructive hedonism. he's just an interesting guy and i think it would be so fun to hear his stories, but underneath all these crazy stories and like life ruining decisions is someone whose approach to life is very much create or die.

i think i need a writer there and tbh i don't really have favourite writers. i have my favourite books but i still haven't found my writer, like someone who i cling to, but i'll choose my favourite poet who is rainer maria rilke. he wasn't really religious but his poetry was doused in it, the way he talked about God was so beautiful and different. his art was his prayers and i feel like all i was supposed to get from religion i never did, but instead it was art and philosophy that offered that to me. he was someone who believed he was nothing if he wasn't an artist and he was this eternal spectator in life, you can really see his dedication to details in his words. i love the way he talks about nature, i am instantly there wherever his words are. i think he was just a very sensitive soul burdened by the search for truth that he'll never be able to touch.

i think i'll stop here. it's so funny bc i now notice 5 out of 7 of these are earth signs lmao.

[iam-back]

A Review of Vinny's Quality DOS Games 1

We begin the stream with a little game called...

[KOR] Duck | Also known as Bulsaejo Duck by D.Swizzy's little folder, this one is a Galaga-esque. It seems right up Vinny's alley, being about a duck and all. And when I say Galaga, I do mean Galaga. Look at the way the enemies swirl around! And look at the enemies themselves! You got little ships, little wheels, big blue-and-red worms with yellow heads, individual segments of said worms, big bees...

The duck himself seems to be a robot, given how he explodes into screws when he dies. Says to me that the story is about this robot duck who flies above Busan or Seoul or that culture village and blasts down whatever may come in his way. If you don't shoot for a bit, a shield forms around you, which you can turn into a big energy-blast by resuming fire. You also have 7 backup ducks, which Vinny, not being the best gamer in the world, loses all of them.

[CHN] Act of Fighter | Tragically misnamed Action Fighter (no Vinny, this is not that Spy Hunter copycat game for Master System), Vinny can't get past the copyright protection. In a Trio of Trash stream much later on (that includes the hidden gem Toonstruck), we finally see what it looks like - and it seems to be a fantasy-themed Tetris-esque game. Moving on to...

[KOR] Zis: The Adventure | "Ablex~" This is the game studio which brought you Little Witch and Hades, and now this! I mean Zis! Meet Zis, the lovable little rascal whom nobody knows about, otherwise they'd call him a Korean Dennis the Menace. Apparently it gives Vinny the dèja vú. The first thing he sees is the copyright protection - or "Password Check" as the game calls it. You're thrust into a little playground where you must shoot these enemies in this order (p9n4, p3n2, p4n2) - or since D.Swizzy did a little wizardry, Vinny just shoots whichever enemies in whatever order, and he's off!

Zis never shuts up - when he stands still he goes "la la la la", when he accomplishes certain things he giggles, when he collects the little diamonds he says "mmm", when he climbs up onto the things he yells "YABBO" at the top of his lungs. Apparently the gameplay tune sounds alarmingly like the Donkey Kong Country theme, at least to Vinny. But I'm more concerned with the title screen reminding me of Mega Man X!

We're thrust into a cutscene of Zis relaxing by the river, when he should come across a map in a bottle that will take him all across Lisnia in order to find... something. I'm not fluent in Korean. The first level is apparently called "Slowly Forest", and it's there that Vinny starts to ramble about how DOS platformers are never good (apparently ignoring Commander Keen), aside from The Great Giana Sisters, which is a slapdash bootleg Super Mario Bros to everyone else!

His eye's a bumhole, his finger's a chode, and his weapon of choice is a slingshot, which becomes a yoyo when he finds a watermelon and wears his bunny suit. By the way, there's an owl who shoots an arrow at your health meter, which I'm just now realizing might work like the Gloom in Tears of the Kingdom, unless I got to actually play it for myself and see otherwise. Unfortunately, after that Vinny can't figure out how to yoyo up (if one can), and so he leaves the game on Zis singing what sounds disturbingly like the Thomas the Tank Engine theme!

[CHN] Battle Europe | After a bit of Wiseau and an oopsie-crashie, we see that this is a game about tanks and stuff - you can play as Allies or Axis. This one plays decent if you don't have Hearts of Iron and don't mind slow framerates, but brace yourself for the worst horn and drum known to MS-DOS. There's a bom (sic) you can collect which can summon an airstrike missile to wipe your screen, but Vinny doesn't seem to think it did anything. Spoilers - it reduced the number of enemies by 3! Oh, there was a shi that he failed to notice, he coulda used it to protect himself for a bit. He also realizes you can shoot down your own base and fail the mission on purpose, which brings an end to the European battling.

...Have you noticed that the same drums and same horn are in the DOS port of Street Fighter II? I have.

[CHN] Battle of the Martial Arts | Once upon a time, a kindly old monk-esque character by the name of Shau Ling was going on a calm afternoon walk in a thunderstorm. Except it wasn't afternoon, it was like midnight or something! Lesson learned, kids, never go outside at night during a thunderstorm - you could be killed, in this case by this evil wizard with a murder-palm-blast technique.

The game itself is one of a strangely prolific amount of 1v1 fighting games - look, I know I mentioned Street Fighter II earlier, but gee beasties, the game created a lot of competition just by existing! Anyway - Vinny picks Hua Shan v.s Gai Bang (!!!!!!!) in the forest. A comment below mentions his apparent brother Gang, but I know how Chinese nomenclature works and so I realize it would then be Gai Gang.

Hua Shan is a swordsman whereas Gai Bang borrows from Sun Wukong's playbook and speaks softly, but carries a big stick. Anyway, after that Vinny picks Shau Ling and his wiener-leg v.s his exact clone off the coast of the Forbidden City, a very popular tourist attraction in China. Shau Ling actually has some magic palm-blasts of his own, which makes you wonder why he didn't defend himself against the evil wizard. I didn't understand a single thing of that opening text, so for all I know the whole game could be his dying dream as he lays bleeding.

[CHN] China Pro Baseball 1 and 2 | This should be a run-of-the-mill baseball game using at-the-time teams for the Chinese baseball leagues, but the game got stuck on the opening cinematic and the faces (probably real Chinese baseball superstars at the time) made Vinny crack up so hard he could substitute for a malfunctioning space-time continuum. Plus, the music in CPB1 reminds me of Upside Down, a song my old Discord friend said was used in plenty of animation memes, yet I know it from speedpaints that also have *gasp and shock* NCS music in them!!!

Oh yes, the 3D rotating title screen graphic glitches out when it reaches its loop-point.

[FRA] The Death of Vegeta | One of exactly one fangame on this list, it's very short, but very infamous for the way the always Super Saiyan-powered Vegeta screams out "BIG BANG ATTACK!!!!!" at the top of his royal Saiyan lungs. It ends when he falls down an impassable pit and you're greeted with text that says "Vegeta is dead. As he did not perform beneficial gestures in life, he is immediately sent to Hell. [Game's end] NB: Nothing is preventing you from using the crystal balls to revive him. You could start another game." You can tell this was made before Vegeta became Goku's BFFFL (Best Friend Forever For Life).

[KOR] Father World | Much like France has Flashback/Another World/Heart of Darkness, Korea has this little doozy. Vinny was laughing at the game's name, but at least it's not called Daddy World. It's very story-driven, and hey, how much percent of the game's data do you think went into recording voiced dialogue for it?

You've got scenes featuring a cityscape, an evil overlord, some sort of rivalry staring contest as the glass breaks in front of them, the most 90s shonen anime cutscenes your Korean game company can buy, blondie and blue-hair are friends now, and then when he starts the game he's immediately run over by a car. Good job, buddy.

Then he's nursed back to health by a lady. Let's move on.

[KOR] Fox Ranger 1 | "SUFFICIENT TOILET" That's the first thing Vinny hears upon booting the game. It actually says "Soft Action, present:" Anyway, this one's a side-shooter along the likes of R-Type and Life Force/Salamander. It takes place in 2044 AD, 26 years after this VOD and therefore 20 years from now. Having graduated from Korean air force boot camp, this little NF43 is saving the world from aliens. It's always aliens in these sorts of games.

I see you, Mr. Death Star! You can't disguise yourself as a Saturnesque planet and get away with it, not without Lucasfilms noticing! And you, CATS! You just gonna stop by without saying "all your base are belong to us"?

Stage 1 is called "Outer Space", yet that's the most inner-iest space I've ever seen! That's, like, plane-cruise height! Anyway, you shoot all sorts of creeps and weirdos, the game says "flushing right here/fashion deer/f⨺⩙⫑ you nerd", and there's a giant skull-monster as the boss. Shoot it in its sensitive eyes to kill it.

[KOR] Fox Ranger 2 | This exciting sequel improves upon the original in many ways - presentation, story (something about alien monsters being dropped into the ocean), cutscenery (Listen! Voice acting!), a whole different play style (think Star Fox), and more creeps and crawlies to fight, including a two-headed dragon boss that roars like a gong! Unfortunately, Vinny has the exact wrong soundcard (likely Soundblaster instead of Roland) and so his shots sound like a piano constantly smacking the D key and occasionally D-Sharp. You'll be screaming for vengence (sic), just like the game's tagline!

Stage 1 is still as inappropriately named as the first game's - "Into the Fire" when you're swirling in a weird vortex.

Just like that Vinny is immediately thrust into a voiceless cutscene where NF43 is getting debriefed by his boss and now we're in a top-shooter. The enemies now die in a very low D-Flat.

[USA] Krusty's (Super) Fun House | Nothing much to note on this, aside from Vinny's Krusty impersonation. It's Rat Trap for the British computers, only now it's multiplatform (released for Game Gear, Nes, Genesis, Snes, and of course DOS) and you assume the giant clown-shoes of Herschel Krustofsky as he guides the rats into the Bart-painted mallet-operated rat genocide machine. Would this be foreshadowing for the Simpsons fangame where Krusty beats up dolphins?

[KOR] Lars the Wanderer | Gravity and Samsung combine their forces to give us an Adventure of Link-esque game where you play as a Marth recolor who finds a fairy and goes into town. Unfortunately, it's very text-heavy and Vinny only knows English (and even then sometimes he screws up), meaning all he can do is be distracted by fairy cleavage and wander around the town and do nothing and then give up. At least the music's awesome though, especially the title screen.

[CHN] Last Hero in China | ...You know what I just noticed? Given the digitized stills from some kind of movie, Last Hero in China might be based on a movie, thereby making it also a licensed game! How did I not notice this before!? Anyway, they turned the movie into a beatmup, where you play as the movie's main character, master of a flying kick and a Mantis eye-poke.

The story seems to be about some bad guys taking over the Forbidden City and therefore our white-clad protagonist saves the day and stuff. However, the gameplay on display is no Turtles in Time or Streets of Rage. The sound effects don't kick in until a good bit into Vinny's short romp with the game - you'll have to wait to hear the Last Hero in China yell out what sounds like "week Dwight" when he uses the flying-kick move.

Heh, check out those two identical goons! They're synchronized in a way only fictional twins could be! ...Oh of course. It wouldn't be a beatmup without the flying kick hurting you. And this won't be the last beatmup we see in these MS-DOS stream rundowns, oh no. But let's move on to...

[CHN] Little Monk | In this Zeldalike, you are Little Monk, and you're sent on your merry way by Big Monk off to save the world and stuff while the whole way, a fun, dopey little tune plays. First stop, the forest! If I could read more Chinese I'd figure out just what that forest is called. Little Monk has 2 Extra Dudes™, infinite apples, no firework rockets yet, and one scroll of each major element, all while a timer counts down from 1,400.

The candles represent his health bar, and they go down kinda like Minecraft hearts. Essentially he's 75% as durable as a completely unarmored Minecraft person. This isn't that bad when you have infinite apples, which explode into some Bonk-like monstrosity and are a handy defense tool against the snakes and fiery skulls and evil mushroom-monsters and whatever else. Little Monk can restore health with these pork buns, which says to me that he gets them as a little treat for a job well done.

You can also find bubbles that contain little busts of Hippocrates and a necklace - both likely talismans. Vinny accidentally uses the wind-scroll, so at least we see that the wind goddess floats around on a cloud and carries a banana-leaf fan which she uses to literally blow away the competition. Immediately after he gets mauled by boars and dies, noticing a Vineshroom (read: a green variant of the evil mushrooms) and not the old man who dropped a scroll. Why if that were me at that DOSBox, I'd trudge through, or as through as I can without understanding very much Chinese! So he gives up and moves on to...

[KOR] Little Witch | Remember the crow from the intro screen to Zis: The Adventure? He's from this game! Unfortunately, his appearance changes the book cutscene's music from this nice waltz to a horrible screechy mess. Not to mention Vinny can't get past this one, nor understand the story. Cool page effects, though. Ablex was ahead of their time, with their game Hades being Korea's very first FPS.

[KOR] My Love: Chaos Daejak-jeon | Why are you surprised that this one's published by Samsung? Samsung is based in Korea and so of course they'd be the ones to introduce video gaming to that little fun and fancy-free southern half. All the loons up north get is endless streams of propaganda left and right. Speaking of lunacy, this one's opening cutscene goes for some Ranma½-style wackiness, as we see the old man educate these five heroes on the dog-ship about the sorry state of the world - the rivers are drying up, the forests and flowers are dying, genetic scientists are splicing pigs with bunnies and horses with ducks and pigs with chickens, it's horrible! And so after some insane slapstick we see a weird yellow dinosaur chase after an electrified bone.

All this just for a beatmup where you attack skeletons in the cave while stock dancehouse music plays and the game-over screen is the villains eating you in the soup.

[KOR] Pee and Gity | Not yet, buddy! First we have to watch a trailer for the producers' other game, Illusion Blaze! From what it displays it seems to be a space-shoot game with multiplayer support where you and a friend can shoot aliens in space together.

Okay, after fiddling with what the right command is, he can finally experience the game. The cutscene is about a frog and a mouse, best of friends, frolicking in the fields together when they should come across a smoldering house. Their first course of action is to investigate, whereupon they're immediately accosted by Carills and soon afterward Gators. Surprise, Vinny! Another beatmup!

Then he messes with the screen settings and immediately gives up on the game. By the way, Pee is the mouse. First "Mr. Goo" from that one K-drama and now this.

[CHN] Prince of Evil | Featured in Eat Drink Man Woman (a movie from China) and now in good-ol' American-grown Vincent Vinesauce, this game is also a Zeldalike, only now instead of limited time your dude now has limited ammo. This one features a soldier galloping through the woods on horseback when he finds a demon-werewolf-thingy. Then we're thrust through the door into the game.

Soldier-boy has no elemental scrolls this time, just his feet, his wits, and his 300 spirit cards. They're all you have to stand a chance against the haunted dresses, skeletons, beetles, Adhering Suzies, and Vagina Dentata.

[KOR] Super 64 Classic | Way to break the alphabetism of the folder-pack, bucko. Now your dreams of Super Mario 64 on DOS are ruined - instead we just get MS-X games, like this Hello Kitty (Cat Widemohom) one where he immediately dies and gives up.

[KOR] Rage of Tiger 2: Blood, Money, and Tears... | I agree, Vinny, that title sounds super silly. After a bit of a struggle, he finally gets it to work whereupon he beholds the chalky jank that lies within. Meet our roster - Hanin, Kent, and Mangho! I see Kent wants to go Skins against a buncha Shirts.

The gameplay isn't much better - Vinny hasn't increased the cycles, and so he can't combo his opponent to death, which is required for victory. And why is the background a spraycan-doodle of a tiger?

[KOR] Shakii the Wolf | Hey, this one's in English! We can understand the story this time!! *ahem* So, once upon a time everything was happy in the land of Shake, and its ruler, good old titular Shakii. Then one dark and stormy night, this bad lion called Midnight Sword came in, and so Shakii and his people (wolves?) had to go to the Land of Giants for help.

Then after that Vinny bungles up the cutscene speed when Shakii finally shows up - way to go, pal. You can't play the game now because now the cutscene's gonna take 99 more hours instead of another minute or so!

[USA?] Shaolin Campus King | Why is the opening cutscene silent? It's eerie without, say, a fiery swoop and some rock-n-roll. And as MrDmoney156 said, you need to press Escape when the vanity plate appears - this would cost you the cutscene, but at least Vinny would've gotten a taste of the game!

[KOR] Super Cop | Sorry, you spiky-shouldered Jupiter-helmet, you're no Mappy. Especially when your game has that stanky Korean DOS snare and you run around a Ghost House from Dinosaur Island (Super Mario World) and you say "DIE!!!" when you get hurt and you ricochet everywhere when you die. ...A-and a princess is there now too. The art direction makes me sad.

And that start-game menu has to be stolen from something too! Day of the Tentacle? Ironic, Super Cop - you steal, which the police would actually reprimand people for.

[RUS] Super Tetris | Finally, something with less infringement! In this take on the classic (which coincidentally celebrates its 40th anniversary this year), we're sent to the Moscow Circus, with bomber-rats and kids who look at elephants. What changed in 7 years? The music is quieter and in Vinny's case it stops early, not to mention the controls, tragically, have been worsened. From Russia with FOON!!!

[KOR] Adventures of Eol! | More like "Eeyole" in Vinny's case - he should know better, in Korean pronunciation logic, "eo" is pronounced like "aw".

Anyway, this one has the most insane story out of every Family Pro game - there's this evil purple character who tears the mountain asunder. Eol must stop him before he turns the whole world into rubble! Vinny can't play past the first level, which means he'll never experience the twist that Eol is a prince of some sort.

After he dies and gives up, he laments how his collection is double his usual. Moving on to...

[KOR] The Adventure of Tipi: Legend of Meda | From the makers of Lars the Wanderer, here's a cutscene with a badass mother-fricker in a cloak and then a dragon shows up. And then... demo footage. Tipi herself reminds me of Yuko Asou in design.

[KOR] Dragon Force: The Day 3 | Another space-shooter where you shoot aliens!? Perish the thought! Well at least this one doesn't work, just makes a gentle hum.

[CHN] Journey to the West | If I had 5 yuan for every time a non-game medium from China was turned into a beatmup available for MS-DOS, I'd have 10 yuan, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Anyway - Vinny immediately picks Bajie because "Ooh, piggy-man!" and fends off weird red-green-blue demons before falling off a bridge and dying. I miss this sort of brevity from Vinny. Now it's just Corruption Stockpile this, Commercial Chaos that, horror fangame this, hot new game that.

[CHN] Legend of the Dragon | Ignoring the IM stock sound at the title screen, remember Sun Wukong, snotty little brat and so-called "protagonist" of Journey to the West? Here he is, as a playable character alongside Little Dragon Lady! When you begin, the wind goddess (remember her, from Little Monk?) shows up and tells us of a bad situation. Vinny then mistakes the Manji for something worse. Then bazoomy, we're sent to the mountains!

It plays like Grol, as Vinny said, and you fight your way past music-loving sea serpents, weird racist caricatures, Peahat-Piranha Plant hybrid monsters, and this bouncer who won't let you in without an ID or something. He looks like a pirate who got drunk and wound up on the wrong side of the Himalayas.

[KOR] Van Slug: X Mission | This one has the usual scifi story of "it's the future but ohs no aleins took over", but in a more comical sense - this bumbling little idiot is late for his mission! So the general chews him out, he hops on his bike and into a run-n-gun adventure!

After the longest transformation sequence in the world that isn't a Fetish, we're off, shooting skeleton-demons and mud-monsters and being distracted by "I Love Elvis" on the bottom! But don't get the pills! Big mistake!! Now you got hurt a bit!

After he dies to spikes, he ends this big fat ugly DOS stream right then and there, exactly 2 hours long, for your "enjoyment".

[r3dblccd]

Rough description of my new muses, members of a group called Deadly Extravaganza, aka what if the seven deadly sins made a group together lol. I'll eventually add more information on the group and muses, I just wanted to finally post this and set these menaces free. I put it under the cut because it gets a little long.

Claude, they/them (fc: Park Seonghwa) -- the personification of Lust; main vocalist, main dancer, sub rapper & face of the group, can also play the guitar and the saxophone; it's painfully obvious to everyone, including fans and viewers that they're the most favoured member out of the group even leading up to rumours of them being in a relationship with their company's CEO (though it's never been confirmed nor denied). 1/3 of the "I only kill eat boys" club; in an open relationship with Don and Eris and always looking for an addition.

Do beware of potentially explicit stuff, for obvious reasons.

They were the first person in the group to be introduced to the public with the songs BEG! (with backing vocals from Kali) & Closer

playlist + pinterest

Jiyoo Ava, she/her (fc: Yoo Jimin/Karina) -- the personification of Greed. The person she possessed used to be a doctor who truly wanted to help people instead of caring more about their paycheck, but gradually lost hope due to corporate greed. The actual person died in a housefire as she took over, the doctors were surprised she survived, but they did not know the full true story. What they found even more confusing for them how only her fingertips were burned up (and she still has burn scars there), but other than that she was completely fine, it didn't make any sense compared to the time frame she was presumably trapped in the fire. To the surprise of all the people who once knew the previous person, Ava changed her name and turned her life full 180° by becoming a singer, she also cut all contact with those people. (Also nepo baby allegations? I don't know her) Despite all of that one could say there are still remnants of the old Jiyoo.

She was the second member of the group to be introduced to the public with the songs BLOODMONEY and Midas Touch

playlist + pinterest

Don, he/him (fc: Bang Chan)-- the personification of Pride; the tired leader of the group who constantly has to argue with Kali, especially when they share the screaming parts in songs. More information on him tba.

The third member to be introduced to the public with the songs Sun//Eater and Personal Jesus (there was a leaked snipped of a song called God Complex thought to have been for him, but later on the full song was released as a duo song sung by Ava and Eris and him only doing some of the backing vocals)

playlist + pinterest

Eris, she/her (fc: Seo Soojin) -- the personification of Envy; sub vocalist and lead dancer of the group (she's good at contemporary dance as well), can play the flute. Despite the fact Don and Claude don't exactly like Yi and Luca, she secretly meets with them for the latest tea. more information on her tba.

The fourth member to be introduced to the public with the songs Obsessed and INVU

playlist + pinterest

Dennis, deadboycoric (afab), it/its (fc: Huening Kai) -- the personification of Gluttony; lead vocalist & visual, can also play the piano and the guitar, its screaming vocals are extremely underappreciated both by the company and the fans; one of the less serious members of of the group, 1/3 of the "I only kill eat boys" club. Annoying little bastard. It kind of works as a manager of the group (even though they do have one that's not part of them) and plans things for them.

The fifth member to be introduced to the public with the songs Teeth and Concrete

Important note: Do keep in mind that if you want to interact with this muse it's possible for triggering topics such as eating disorders to pop up.

playlist + aesthetics

Kali, also known by the nickname "Rex", she/her, they/the & he/him (fc: Huh Yunjin) -- the personification of Wrath; lead vocalist, lead dancer & main rapper, if there are any screams in a song, she's usually the one to take care of them, can play the drums, from time to time she does some DJ gigs at clubs too, a big chunk of the group's music is created with her help; she's been a part of a few musicals and movies as well. Stronger than all the other members combined together, 1/3 of the "I only kill eat boys" club (no but really, if you're a man you should be scared for your life if you're alone in a room with her, she doesn't fuck around); the girlies are gatekeeping her, and for good reasons. Has a short temper and anger issues, and usually constantly has beef with at least one of the other members, as they should; will always argue with the leader of the group. She's also the member with the most scandals revolving around fighting; just give her a bat, I promise nothing bad will happen. Surprisingly hasn't started any fires so far, or at least that's what they say. "At least I am the life of the party!" (Claude - "Keep dreaming, babygirl.") Anger issues aside, Kali is probably the member who has the most empathy towards humans, especially those treated unfairly, and being fair is very important to her. Despite being the one who does a huge chunk of the work to make music and stuff, she's probably the most neglected member of the group. She would be your scary dog if you want to go out at night and not have to worry about being in danger, but if you call her "Rexie", she will fuck you up.

She was the last one to be introduced to the public with the song Burn Your Village (featuring Ava). Later there were leaks of three songs rumoured to have been possible demos for her debut called Growing Pain (later released as a full song sung by all the member in an album), Brutus & K.O (later released as a separate solo songs of hers).

playlist + pinterest

Nyx, any pronouns, aroace (fc: Park Jongseong/Jay) -- the personification of Sloth; tired all of the time, honestly not really in the band - he doesn't often get involved in the making of the music, doesn't perform on stage at all, only goes to the studio from time to time to record some background vocals. Most of the time you could find Nyx at home in his room sleeping, they don't go out much often on their own so the rest of the members have to drag him out (with Kali usually being the one to bring it up). That caused of some rumours about the group having a secret member after some fans noticed the unfamiliar voice in the background of some songs and also finding images of him being with the members. On her own time, Nyx usually talks the most with Kali out of all the members, the others honestly kind of forget about her.

Important note: Triggering topics such as depression and trauma could be present when interacting with this muse.

playlist + pinterest

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: An evening with Bill.

Moon Knight afterward from issue #25. 

Truth, I agonized on if I was going to acknowledge this. My business is with the Moon Knight comics, after all… History, development, and personal insight into the comics. You know, me screaming into a dark room about how much I love this comic. 

But where would we be if we didn’t have a little insight into the legend himself: Bill Sienkiewicz. 

Issue #25 was a special double long comic. These bad boys come out once in a blue moon to celebrate the success and growing popularity of a comic! Once a comic becomes top ranking, you’ll start to get Annuals and yearly (sometimes bi-yearly) double longs! 

So here we sit in 1982, just a few years after the creation of Moon Knight and we get our first double! 

But what really makes you pick up a comic in the store in the first place? Especially if you know nothing about the characters. Sure, Marvel (and DC) will splash a crossover event with a popular character across the cover to lure in those that are fans of the one character. They’ll also do variant covers to get the collectors wild (gotta catch ‘em all!). Limited runs? You know someone’s trolling Ebay for that blank cover that gives nothing away. You’ll also get guest artists who do ONLY covers. Fans of the art will collect them just for the covers. 

But all those special things aside, you know that a well done cover piece is what makes you pick it up and go “Neat. I wonder what’s inside.” 

So what makes a cover? To all the aspiring artists out there, this one’s for you. 

Don’t worry people. I’m not going to make you squint. I’ll just type up everything verbatim that Mr. Sienkiewicz has to say. And I admit, I was so pleasantly surprised to find his sense of humor on point. 

I've also added the final cover product so you can really see how the cover ended up laid out in publishing.

A TALE OF THREE COVERS by Bill Sienkiewicz

When Denny and Ralph asked me to come up with a possible topic for the editorial pages in the double-sized issue of MOON KNIGHT, my first reaction was "Editorial? Isn't that your job? I've just finished the art for this issue and the last thing I feel like doing is an editorial page." Then I made some crack about them earning their money and proceeded to walk out. 

"Hold it!" Denny snapped, bringing his riding crop down smartly on the New York Post. I turned, my nostrils filling with the stench of wounded printer's ink, and did some serious reconsideration. 

"Look," Denny began, "I don't want you to get the idea that this is something you have to do," his gloved hand waving the riding crop in what could be construed as a menacing fashion, "But we'd like to give you the opportunity to do something that you'd like to do to get you involved in EVERY aspect of the book, not just the artwork, to tell the readers some of your viewpoints and..." Denny leaned back, crossed his jackbooted feet on the desk. He smiled a wicked smile "...to let the readers know that we're just one big family here at Marvel. My mind raced. 

"Covers." I said. 

"What?" asked Denny, cocking a thumb under the visor of his cap. Light glinted off some odd metallic insignia there. 

"Covers." I repeated. "Unused covers." 

"Go on..." He crossed his arms awkwardly, creasing his holster.

"Well... The covers -the unused one-- we could run them along with the ones that were used, and I could write about the dumb...the uh, reasons that they weren't used, you know, why I did them the way I did and why you turned them down." 

There was a long pause. Very long. Then he smiled again. Only worse than before, and said -- "We'll do it..."

I relaxed. I turned to leave but Denny wasn't finished. "Sienkiewicz," he hissed. 

I cringed. "Yeah?" 

"Don't make me look like the bad guy in this." 

"No. Of course not." I said, then turned I left. 

I returned one week later, armed with the covers and my feelings about each. I walked into Denny's office and snapped to attention. The Post was still on the desk. It had decayed horribly "At ease." Denny cooed. He shot a sly grin at Ralph. 

"What did our little artist friend bring us perchance?" Said Ralph as he woke up, "Our meal ticket?" 

Denny's smile faded. "You can be replaced, Macchio." 

I looked at Ralph. Innocent of face. Stubbly of beard. Ralph. Ralph Macchio. Ralph went back to sleep. There was a smile on his face. 

Denny turned back to me. "What have you got?" 

This--" I replied, and proceeded to show him what a week of coffee, cigarettes and images of a mutilated newspaper had inspired.

"First: Issue #9's cover for The Return of the Midnight Man. I wanted to do a total image, an essence of the relationship between him and Moon Knight. The paintings --the Jekyll and Hyde shots of Midnight Man's face. The target around Moon Knight. Moon Knight's expression of worry and insanity --He was going through a lot back then." 

"That's all well and good--" Denny smirked. "But it's too tall--the paintings would be obscured by the logo. All that we could see would be the two big faces and MK going crazy. And he's been crazy or in a losing position on the past five covers. I wanted to show him fighting, maybe winning. I thought about it. I really did. But you were moving to a studio and couldn't be reached in time to do another. Frank Miller was in the office and drew the cover that was used." 

"Oh," I said. My hand shook as I reached for another cover. Number 12. Morpheus and Moon KNight. Boffo action. "I wanted a closeup," Denny said. "Simple as that. Miller was in again and did it up. Milgrom inked it." 

"That Miller guy again." I thought. 

I turned to issue 13, which guest-starred Daredevil. Frank was drawing Daredevil. Denny thought it would be fun to have Frank draw the cover and me ink it. I agreed. I spoke to Frank on the phone. He said we could do "crossover" covers; I'd do one later for Daredevil. Fine idea. "What are you waiting for, Sienkiewicz, "Denny screamed, interrupting my reverie. Veins showed in his forehead. Big ones. 

"Right," I said. "The cover for issue 13--Frank pencilled, I inked. I really had a good time with this one. It was the first time I inked anyone else's work." 

Denny Scowled. "Except it was too tall. The logo would have obscured the pinball machine's scoreboard. That's why I nixed it. Ron Wilson happened to drop by the same time as Dave Simons did. The deadline was tight. I had no alternative. They did the cover." 

Deja vu. Denny was beating a dead Post. "That will be all for now. And Sienkiewicz--About the article. Flattery will get you nowhere." 

I managed a weak smile, and again turned to leave. As I did so, I glanced at Ralph Macchio, his eyes closed in contented slumber.

—

Ralph Macchio is a comic book editor and writer. He's done a lot of the big ones (The Avengers, Captain America, Ultimate Marvel, Doctor Strange, Thor, Spider-Man...). He retired in 2011. 

Dennis O'Neil (Denny) is the editor for Moon Knight at the time. He also worked for DC back in the day. He tended to write the more mature themes in early comics that were often controversial. Also the creator of notable characters like Ra's Al Ghul, Talia Al Ghul, Iron Monger, Lady Deathstrike, and many others that I have no idea who they are off the top of my head. 

If anything, I am more endered towards Bill after this. The idea of him turning in cover after cover only to have them nixed and replaced by the LEGENDARY Frank Miller, and then being playfully bitter about it is the funniest thing. The notion that these other cover artists just happened to be hanging around only to ruin Bill’s day… 

Also, some of those nixed covers are amazing! The Dare Devil one in particular is amazing! And relevant to the comic! I wish I could see it in color! What happens to these rejected covers? Do they get sold? Trashed? Look at that Midnight one!

Anyway, there are a lot of little afterwards in the backs of the early comics. A lot of letters from fans with author/editor responses mostly. But now and then they include a behind the scenes with narrative from various levels of Moon Knight creators. My favorites are these ones that show the character of the creators themselves. It also gives us a peak at the process of how a comic is made and the art and skill it takes. 

Current comics don’t really include these anymore. You’ll see some fan letters in the backs of some (I’ve been in one! For a Moon Knight of course.), and a few spotlight articles on writers or artists… But you don’t really get the big behind the scenes things anymore. The characters are all established, the readers/fanbase know what they’re in, and there just doesn’t seem to be interest anymore into the creation of the comics. 

Which is a pity. 

I’d love to see more excerpts like this. Imagine getting an aside from Lemier!Jed Mackay! Smallwood! 

What do you think? What afterwards would you like to see in modern day comics? 

[jokeringcutio]

Deleted From the Black Phone Fanfic: Albert Shaw being Gay/Bi?

Because I discussed this with @myers-meadow, I thought it might be fun to share with you all as well. While writing the fic The Chance to Make A Change, which I am currently in the process of uploading, I wrote a few different outlines. My computer holds 3 documents with deleted scenes, conversations and outlines for this story alone. One thing that didn't make it into the final draft was Albert's male partner/boyfriend. He nearly made it in, but I wrote him out again because I didn't want to kill him. Dennis the Menace, I called him in my drafts. (Other fanfiction users, feel free to use any of the ideas discussed in this post and even the name Dennis, rofl). In the movie, there's evidence of Albert being gay. Some might think it farfetched, others will canon the heck out of it. We might wonder why a man like Albert Shaw is still living an unmarried life (if you watch the house and the furniture in it, it's all clearly meant to accommodate one person) and then kidnaps boys. And there is the ring on his right hand.

I left the right ring references in the fic, Max points it out in chapter 7 which I recently uploaded. It could be a sign (at that time in America) of a man being gay or perhaps even in a committed relationship with another man. So originally, having researched these (hidden) clues, I had Albert be with another man. And I wrote 2 outlines for that. One where this Dennis was unaware of Albert kidnapping and killing boys, and one where he was aware and helped him. In the end, the way things were heading, both options seemed to point toward the death of Dennis - which I didn't really liked to write. So I cut him out of the tale again. I didn't have to kill him. Instead, I opted for attributing Albert's state as an unmarried man to past trauma caused by his dad ( God knows I know enough men who never wanted a wife/kids because they don't want to become like their father). Albert is afraid of women because his father would beat him up whenever he saw him with one, even at a young age. I found back the notes on this background/origin tale for Albert, but knew I could share this much with you all. I also kept a list of unwritten thoughts and feelings of Albert to help me with his reactions. These thoughts are not in the fic, but I know exactly what he is doing and thinking during certain parts of the tale. And boy, oh boy.

[the-firebird69]

A Bronx Tale 1993 murder scene

Does Trump look stupid yeah he looks stupid so who are these people people say Robert de Niro is not Tommy f and the same time you have to study Tommy f is sunny and Trump was on the street getting talked to so where is cheeseman and people are saying it looks like there's a bunch of mac proper as Mafia and yeah a bunch of them are and it's the big time and they have him do it and they have him do it cuz he wants to be VP he's going to do it anyways it's not much of a deal but they're trying to threaten their son too and that's what happens and it's a famous character of Tommy f and it goes on in the movie on and on and finally it goes into The sopranos and he shoots Garth for asking those dumb questions. No it's for being a witness and the other kids too get killed and permanently and it's not a joke anymore to them they are up against the wall and they don't do well they die in a few different movies and you see them dying one of them is in sopranos and they're not little kids no their mob guys. And they die in The godfather and they get annihilated and it's in those genre that they buy the farm those are not supposed to witness it and he also goes after the Mac proper who we're having him do it and he says let's go to it anyways

Dan is shot by him in the head three times and he's a mess and then nobody after that and it's after he dies his Dennis and he becomes the Giant singhe and is gone.

All of this is going to start November 27th we think

Thor Freya

Olympus

This guy taught me f is a menace and everybody knows it and we're not doing that much about it

Dan

No we're not and it's a damn nuisance

Trump

You see him and we're not doing anything but we're getting creamed and it's been that way for a while

Bja

We're going to do something and we're going to pull his card and get the guy out of there and ride as well

Mac daddy

We sure are he's a huge pain in the ass

Justin

Olympus we need this to be printed now

[sodapunked]

○○News~☆⬇️

Hello everyone! I want to hop on here and announce that the Vfoxes comic will return soon as I am slowly getting ready to start producing the second part of chapter six. I sense that this second part is going to be a challenge but it won't be a problem for me!

If you want to view it, here is the link below, if you're a new reader, read the first chapter.⬇️

Oh, in case if you forgot, or didn't know, I also have a community for all things associated with the Vfoxes comic if you want to view it, please read the community rules before doing anything here, thank you.

Well, I guess that should be it, I don't think I have much else to say really, this was just a quick news post, see you all soon, and have a good day.

-Sodapunked

[theorist-influencer-untitled]

10.9.24 Wednesday

4:42 am

Still,have windblow...

Preparin' to take off going to TP Molino... Later about Bianca the TL, I will share something about her,she did something yesterday...

4:53 am

Still,have windblow...

Here in trycycle terminal waiting for a join ride coz obviously I'm on a thrift... Not really my ideal life, from my nose perfection to breast implants and here a smash poops???

Bianca the TL of Disney wave 35, she took over my account yesterday... It was my first day on my tools of Disney since the day they took away my access before our, one on one certification with Ms Anj and the rest of NA's such as weird Mr Matthew, I hope a truly nice Kate and Rona... When Bianca took over my account, it felt weird... As if she wasn't real... She just took over and made some typo that I got worried coz it was my name on it and my account though she was the TL that time...

5:23 pm

Still,have windblow...

I will share something today about Bianca the TL and about TP and some people there...

Whew! So fucking-less busy here on something like doing some stuff in here coz we can't afford helpers anymore and for my me moment...

Later, will tell something here...

Me moment coz my S-bones are in pain...

In a lil while...

Love me please...

7:48 pm

Still,have windblow...

About Bianca the TL, well we are cool and I have maturity to maintain my professionalism with her... She seemed nice today, I talked to her in CR ( comfort room ) asked her if she is single and she said Yeah! I'm single and she came from Cavite Institute... She was ohkay today, she sounded sweetish and nice but of course as a mature person, I need to be cautious... I don't know what's inside her, if she is a "dennis the menace" kind of person or she didn't mean to do that....

When she took over my account last Monday she was cheerful and she said yeah! It's ohkay just chill and I'm here ( in fairness on the doubts that I have for her ). Then, I noticed that she made some typo or wrong spelling but she was really helping me but I know there are some higher position who can appear helpful but will harm you....Still, I'm not plastics here coz I really confronted her about it. I said TL or Bianca there are some typo,she said chill! It's okay. Then, I got worried, I told her in a nice way that Bianca it is my account, it will appear in my name and she just looked at me and smiled and said yeah! It's okay.

I told her that she is cute ( I mean Bianca our TL is cute ). I said you have a look alike on youtube and I will try to find her and will tell you...

What else? Sis Nang was brought by his uncle, riding a motorcycle... I saw her when I entered the buiding of Teleperformance.

In a lil while,will take my shower...

Did someone needs to say sorry,on something...

8:21 pm

Still,have windblow...

This early morning while walking going to the building of Teleperformance Molino, I saw an old man, I think skinhead doing his super straight push-ups on the gutter sidewalk going to the entrance building of TP. As I saw the man he looked like as if he is having sex on the gutter sidewalk... Hmm... Hmm...

Hmm... If I will relate it to sex it is somehow I think "missionary" but I don't like stiff... I mature and I wanna do the act with someone I want.. I don't want stiff do...

I just really do do with a bf that I want.... But a sing performance will keep me safe... Or a pact on something... I will never do a "stiff do"... For me me do is giving me LIFE, giving me ENERGY not simply to release and kill... I didn't do it and I never do that... And I will never do that,the "stiff do"!

For me a super straight "stiff do" means you can't accept the fact that we are doing this, you wanna keep yourself and you don't wanna be free and it is something scary coz you are not relax...

I'm looking for a bf and a bf but my mind is still somewhere... I was really thinking of something else... But I appreciate soul that I'm seeing in TP like some other confusing soul coz God Tenko gave me or still giving me this fucking-less "hallucination"...

I really wanna do do the "rumuor the thing" on my cousin-white on my Aunt Ten2x or Aunt Tin2x...In a way I'm starting to hate him so much...I don't know, I've been single for so long... I have this flash back in my head and remembering his face, if he is not my first cousin the day that I first saw him then probably I attacked him to be my bf...

For me love is an abstract form of art!!!

I've been single for 17 years, I have my 2nd virginity and hoping I can see a morning star but there is none in TP... I just have hallucination and probably appreciating good soul to sing but I'm really thinking of a lot of things like money, future,vanity and happiness with LIFE.

9:04 pm

Still,have windblow...

I have no fear in TP... As long as the hotdogs are fairly clean and clean as in no STD's....I can sing to safe myself, for a pact and for a 100k hahaha...

Do is something sacred for me, a decision that I wanna do this coz probably we can be together forever but we are not yet sure...