#it's in reference to one of the GF: Lost Legends stories :]

[gracefireheart]

Whoops, wrong Stanley

I know I'm not the first one that have thought about Gravity Falls x the Stanley Parable, but I wanted to draw something too 💃 Also, I think the banter between Stanley and the Narrator would be fun.

[hkthatgffan]

The Flamebel Mystery!

Now, I'm sure you all know who this is. That is of course, Flamebel from Gravity Falls Lost Legends. Appearing only in the story "Don't Dimension It," she's become arguably the most iconic and remembered of the alternate Mabel's we see in that story (aside from Anti-Mabel of course).

However, this is NOT Flamebel! You might already know this, but in case you don't or forgot, given how many years it's been (just like I did), then you should know that this Mabel was NEVER referred to as Flamebel at any point within Lost Legends. If you read through DDI, she's never mentioned in name. Of all the alternate Mabel's that helped Mabel defeat Anti-Mabel, she was the only one who didn't have her name be stated in the story.

I looked over LL again and sure enough, nowhere in the DDI is she referred to as Flamebel. But okay, there's a Barnes and Noble edition of Lost Legends where we see the names of all the Mabel's in Dimension MA-B3L. Surely in it there will be a name for her and it would be Flamebel. Well, not every Mabel in that page was given an official name and surprise, surprise...neither was this Mabel...

In fact, she isn't even the same Mabel here! "Flamebel" didn't even exist in this original line art of the page. She was added in later and neither her or the Mabel that used to be there was named.

So, that brings up an interesting question; Where did the name Flamebel come from if it was never her official name?

Having been in the fandom back when lost Legends came out, I do have some theories. And it starts with this fanart that was posted in 2018 by turquoisespace35.

In Turquoise's post, which was made on August 14th, 2018, she refers to this Mabel as "Flamebel." This was the oldest mention of the name that I remember. And given Turquoise back in 2018 was one of the most popular GF fan artists at the time, it's possible her post helped popularize the name, given it got over 3K notes on Tumblr and also likes of that same amount on Instagram, as well as over 300 favourites on Deviantart.

However, in my research, I found some older posts that may have been where the name initially came from. For one, found this now deleted post from a user named korla-the-kenku that was made on August 2nd, 2018. In it, they list their favourite Mabel's and among them, is our mystery fire Mabel under the name of Flamebel.

I did also consider asking Kiki-Kit; the artist who worked on Don't Dimension It, about Flamebel and if she knows how the character came to be and if that was her name at any point, but uh...for obvious reasons...that was out of the question...

But then, I found what was the oldest post I could at least find during my own research, that used the Flamebel name. And it was this piece of fanart that was posted on July 28, 2018 (4 days after Lost Legends came out), that was made by hntrgurl13.

In the post, she refers to this Mabel as Flamebel. But what's more intriguing is the fact that she made this for an ask question and in it, the anon refers to her as "🔥Mabel," which suggests that before this post was made, the name Flamebel was not what she was known as.

Like Turquoise, hntrgurl13 was a pretty active and popular artist in the GF fandom back in 2018 when Lost Legends came out. And while her post of Flamebel only had a little over 650 notes compared to the 3K Turquoise had, her post is the oldest I could find that uses the Flamebel name.

It's possible there are older posts out there or now deleted ones that use the name, but as far as I can tell, hntrgurl13's post was the first one to use it. I did find this post on Reddit of Flamebel art dating to July 27th, 2018. However, given the OP posted it in May 2019, I can't tell if they referred to her as Flamebel then or added the name in based on the fact that was by that point the name she was most referred to as.

I also found this post hntrgurl13 reblogged on the same day in July, from a now deleted user that talks about Flamebel and while the name isn't used, it could be where she got the question asked to her from that made her post the art where she first used the name. I also found this fanart of Flamebel (but not using that name) posted on July 28th too by Pitopishi; the artist who worked on the story Face It in Lost Legends. But uh...for obvious reasons there too...I don't think there's any chance of asking them about Flamebel either (why did both Lost Legends fan artists have to screw up big time?).

My theory therefore is that hntrgurl13 was the one who came up with the Flamebel name while posting that fanart for the ask she got. From there, given her popularity in the fandom at the time, the post got the name to be used more. Eventually, artists like Turquoise used the name in her viral post and that caused it to stick. Plus, with how wholesome and on point of a name it is to the theme of that Mabel, it worked and people probably didn't bother to realize that wasn't her official name.

I did reach out to hntrgurl13 to ask her about it, but she never got back to me. So, I can't say for certain if she made the name up or heard it from someone else, but it seems she was the first or at least oldest remaining person to use the name that I could find a record of.

At the end of the day, does this all matter? Of course not. I'm not trying to say we shouldn't refer to this Mabel as Flamebel cause even I love the name and think it's super wholesome and on point for her. Alex never bothered giving her a canonical name but the fandom did and she became legendary through it.

But what is funny is how the name became so common place that so many of us, including me, thought it was her canon name and was what was written in Lost Legends itself. I didn't even realize that wasn't the case till a few days ago when someone asked me about where the name originated from and I realized, "Oh...she's never officially been called Flamebel!"

I used to think the Mandela effect wasn't as prominent as it often gets talked about as being. But even I believed for a good while that Flamebel was really this Mabel's name and was in Lost Legends...only to realize that was never the case.

I guess it goes to show; even when you think you know the source of something, you may be wrong. So, always work to make sure what you believe really is based on solid fact. Whether it be something you hear on the news in this divisive world we live in, or just verifying if a character name fans use really is that character's real name.

At the end of the day though...I just hope like we see in this wholesome fanart that mischieflily made for the Epilogue fanzine for Lost Legends, Flamebel finally got to canonically reunite with her Dipper ❤️

And that, was the Mystery of Flamebel; the Lost legends Mabel that Gravity Falls fans named themselves!

[cartoonfan21]

📚(the most I can find)Books based on Gravity Falls🌲🌠

Happy Summerween, Pining Away, Once Upon A Swine (these books are just storybooks based on the S1 episodes.)

Dipper & Mabel's Guide to Mystery And Non Stop Fun! (This book is presented as written by Dipper and Mabel themselves. They team up to provide in-character journal entries, advice to decode secret messages, mystery games, quizzes, cryptograms, and plenty of references to past events of the show. Mostly spoilers from Season 1 and the first three episodes of Season 2.)

JOURNAL 3 (This GF book consists of every page shown in its cartoon counterpart, plus many pages never-before-seen by fans, Journal 3 also includes entries made by main characters Dipper and Mabel Pines over the course of the show, as well as those made by the Author of the Journals prior to his mysterious disappearance in the 1980s.)

Dipper and Mabel and the Curse of the Time Pirates' Treasure!: Select Your Own Choose-Venture (This GF book isn't canon, it's a choose-your-own-adventure book. Dipper and Mabel stumble upon time traveler Blendin Blandin, who's searching for the treasure trove of the Time Pirates, a group of rogue time travelers who stole history's greatest treasures and hid it somewhere. Bored and interested in untold riches, the Mystery Twins quickly get themselves involved, and must choose between one of three time periods to find the key to the treasure.)

Don't Color This Book It's CURSED! (Dipper is trapped inside a coloring book! The only way out is for Mabel to color him to freedom with the help of a strange new friend named Chamelius Pendraggin. The more Mabel colors, however, the more things start to go awry.)

Gravity Falls: Lost Legends (This graphic novel consists of three stories that take place during the final season, as well as a fourth taking place during Grunkle Stan and Ford's childhood.)

Gravity Falls: Tales of the Strange and Unexplained - The Grunkle Stan edition (This collection of Gravity Falls stories shares Dipper and Mabel’s recollections of the adventures they shared visiting their Grunkle Stan’s Mystery Shack. Each retelling is accompanied by a Grunkle Stan version of the same story written form his gruff, humorous perspective.")

The Book of Bill (Based on the main antagonist of the series BILL CIPHER!!!! This is the first entry in the Gravity Falls series to be aimed at a more mature age range, being marked as "Adult". While mostly a spooky/humorous biography over the show's main villain mostly written from his own twisted and off-kilter perspective, it also functions as a sort of epilogue to the show proper.)

Which are your favorite GF books? (For me it's Journal 3, Lost Legends, and The Book of Bill.) Feel free to type in the tags and reblog your favorite GF books. Also feel free to type which GF character should have their own book next.

[minijenn]

It could be fun.

I've seen a few folks reboot their older fics (just recently, one of my favorite RWBY fics that vanished a couple years ago got rebooted), and I've been considering doing a reboot of my RWBY/KH crossover.

Plus, as both shows have concluded, you know which ones contribute to the story and characters AND which ones can be trimmed.

And with the gift of hindsight, you can lay the groundwork for later developments earlier on.

Yeah see I didn't have the hindsight of both shows being complete when I started UF. I was going in blind for so much of UF because SU kept on going and going. Now I know what's important, what's not, now i have additional GF content to refer to like the Book of Bill and Lost Legends. Now I have SUF to help me guide a lot of UF2. When I was writing most of UF... I just didn't have that.

[365days365movies]

March 8, 2021: The Thief of Bagdad (1940) (Part One)

ARABIAN NIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTS

Aladdin is actually the first film I ever saw in theaters, according to my Mom, and I do adore this movie. In case you’re wondering, I thought the remake was...OK. Not great, not terrible, but...not bad, y’know? But yeah, I love this movie, even if it’s not exactly the most accurate to the original story of Aladdin presented in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights.

Interestingly enough, though, this movie instead takes from a much more recent, much newer source for a lot of its inspiration. And this is going to begin a chronologically-ordered foray into cinematic fantasy. So, back to 1940, in a time period where fantasy films began to explode in popularity, thanks to one film that came one year before.

Yup. The Wizard of Oz, considered one of the greatest films of all time, is still a classic that holds up today, as well as being arguably the most high-profile fantasy film in all of film history.  But a year later, Hungarian-British film director Alexander Korda came out with an often-forgotten film: The Thief of Bagdad. Which was ACTUALLY a remake of a silent film from 1924!

But I’m going with the 1940 British film instead! And honestly, I’m excited enough to just get started here! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

Before I get into all of this, I think I need to say this at the jump: this is a film from 1940. Most of the main actors are White. Yeah. Duh. Not ALL of the are, but the two love interests definitely are, alongside the villain. And NONE of the actors are from the region that the film takes place in, except for possibly the extras. So, yeah, thought I should bring that up before anything else. ANYWAY

A ship pulls into port somewhere in ancient Arabia, and before we start here...I can’t even SLIGHTLY comment on the authenticity of this film, costume wise. But in the meantime, I can at least enjoy the color of this film, which are beautifully bright and technicolor.

A mysterious man has come into port, seeking a sleeping princess and a blind beggar. I won’t say the name of the traveler yet, as I don’t know it from the film itself as of yet. He and a young woman named Halima (Mary Morris) go into town to find the blind man, named Ahmad (John Justin).

Speaking for the mysterious traveler, Halima invites Ahmad to a palace, alongside his trusty dog, Abu (a good boy). At said palace, a princess is afflicted with a ceaseless sleep. The man would appear to be an advisor of some kind, and also does not know how to end her sleep. She is apparently in love with the blind beggar.

Said blind beggar is being attended to by many maidens, and to them (and the advisor), he tells a story of his dog’s past life, a street thief also named Abu (Sabu), who’s stealing food, pursued by a group of angry salesman and citizens. He parkours away from them all, keeping one jump ahead of the bread line.

There will be MANY Disney puns, I’m warning you now.

From a rooftop, he sees the young Sultan of the kingdom, Ahmad’s past life, named...Ahmad. He is accompanied by his Grand Vizier: Jaffar (Conrad Veidt). Yup. Really. Also, he’s the same guy playing the advisor from earlier, meaning that this is also HIS past life. Neat!

Like a Vizier do, Jaffar whispers in Ahmad’s ear, trying to get him to do less-than-great things in order to show his power. Ahmad, however, is a kind man, who wishes to show such kindness to his citizens. He goes into the city that night, with Jaffar’s encouragement, in order to discover more about his people. He begins this by listening to a sermon, prophesying that the tyrant Ahmad will fall to Allah’s will. Awkward.

Not that it’s about to matter, since Jaffar tells his men to arrest Ahmad, as he’s now dressed as a citizen, and to claim that he’s a madman if he claims to be the Sultan. It works, and Jaffar is crowned Sultan as Ahmad is thrown in prison. It’s there that Ahmad meets Abu, who’s also been arrested. A madman and a thief.

The two plot to escape from the jail, and Ahmad learns that he’s presumed dead by the populus. After Ahmad realizes that Ahmad’s not mad, but the actual Sultan, they decide to flee to the kingdom of Basra by travelling down the river for three days. Time for a cruise!

We skip ahead quickly to the glorious city of Basra, which is...impressive. It’s genuinely gorgeous, and it was filmed in...THIS ENTIRE THING IS A SET? HOLY SHIT!!! That is legit impressive, goddamn. In Basra, Abu trains Ahmad in the way of subtle thievery and trickery, and they learn of the Sultan of Basra, who has the world’s largest collection of toys, like a proper nerd. He guards his toys more carefully...than he guards his daughter. Well, OK!

Speaking of the Sultan’s Daughter, a commotion clears the marketplace in order to clear a way for a procession, at the center of which is the beautiful Sultan’s daughter, Jasmine. No, not really. But considering that she’s only credited as The Princess (June Duprez)...I’ll be referring to her as Jade.

Attended to by Harlem Renaissance legend...the Singer (Adelaide Hall, who is one of the big figures from the early days of jazz), Jade would appear to be a somewhat bored young women, disaffected by her upper-class life. So, yeah, Jasmine. And Ahmad is, of course, wildly in love with her at first sight.

Ahmad has to see her again, and when Abu notes that they have tickets on a ship helmed by Sinbad the Sailor (trying to set up a 1001 Nights Cinematic Universe, nice), Ahmad insists that he has to see Jade again. Abu agrees, and helps him get into the palace garden.

There, he pretends to be a genie in a pond, using reflections while he hides in a tree. She falls for it (somehow), and he just simps all over her. She notes that she’s come to the pond to bathe, and he notes that he’s paid good money for his OnlyFans subscription, and wants some of that sweet, sweet bathwater. Which sounds like a semi-topical humorous exaggeration, but is BASICALLY THE TRUTH I SWEAR

He reveals himself to be a real live simp, and she responds by IMMEDIATELY kissing him. Goddamn, they’re fuckin’ perfect for each other. They agree, but her father will not be pleased. Still, they pledge to see each other again. Which pisses off Abu, because now he can’t go on that trip and set up this film franchise. He agrees to stay with Ahmad to help him get Jade.

Which is gonna be WAY goddamn harder, since Basra has a new visitor in the form of the usurper, Jaffar. He’s come to meet with the Sultan of Basra (Miles Malleson), a man who is absolutely obsessed with toys, big ol’ nerd that he is. Which, again, is SUPER used in Aladdin. To win over the Sultan’s favor, Jaffar brings in a mechanical horse. And that horse can FUCKING FLY WHAT THE SHIT

And this is when the GF (she says hello) informs me that this is ANOTHER REFERENCE to One Thousand and One Nights! Apparently, there’s a flying mechanical horse called the Ebony Horse, given to a King! It really IS a 1001CU! But back to the original story, and the Sultan WANTS the goddamn horse. In exchange, Jaffar wants only one thing: his daughter. And he immediately agrees.

She ain’t havin’ that shit, and she tells one of her handmaidens to find Ahmad in the garden, and tell him to meet her in Samarkand (another reference!), where she flees to avoid the forced wedding to Jaffar. However, that message doesn’t get to Ahmad soon enough, and he’s arrested in the garden by the palace guards, along with Ahmad.

Overjoyed to finally be able to stab the EVER-LOVING FUCK out of Jaffar, he tries to tell the truth to the Sultan. However, Jaffar uses his magic to...make Ahmad blind. Abu tries to tell the truth instead, only to be...turned into a dog. Wait...it’s not past lives? THEY’RE LITERALLY THE PRINCE AND ABU? Abu is a FUCKING DOG? Damn.

Back in the present day, Ahmad finishes his story, where the maidens tell him of Jade’s fate: she was caught by slave traders and brought back to Basra, where she quickly fell into a trance that she hasn’t awakened from. Although, she apparently still talks in her sleep about the Genie of the Pool.

They take him to see her, and she IMMEDIATELY wakes the fuck up! The two embrace, reunited at last, only for that reunion to be interrupted by Halima, sent by Jaffar to “end the masquerade”. That can’t be good. She takes Ahmad away under false pretenses, and she’s told that she can cure his lost sight by seeing a doctor. Ahmad leaves Abu with her, for protection.

However, this whole thing was just to get Ahmad to wake Jade up, so they could kidnap her and put her on a ship back to Basra. He throws Abu overboard (MOTHERFU-), and goes to speak with the Princess. As she notes that she was roised a cure to Ahmad’s blindness, he claims that the second the two of them embrace, Ahmad will see again. Damn...dude really wants a hug, huh?

AND IT WORKS! Not only is Ahmad able to see again, but Abu is a human again, as both of their curses are broken by a fucking hug. Um...somebody hug this man. Goddamn. The Hays Code is STRONG with this one, holy shit. And it’s ESPECIALLY weird, because Jaffar literally admits that he could MAKE her love him, but wants her true love instead. Um...fuckin’ YIKES, buddy.

As she runs away, he pursues her outside, and they look out to see that they’re being followed in a boat by Ahmad and Abu. And then Jaffar pulls an Elmer Fudd, and goes “NOWTH WINS BWOW”, and summons a storm after the two on the sea.

GREAT place to pause, I think! See you soon, in Part Two!

[speeps-highway]

What are certain issues you personally have with Sonic adventure 1's story and would've wanted to personally change?

The backstory is very poorly explained. There’s a whole load of info that was only given to Japanese strategy guides, such as the order Tikal’s flashbacks happened in.

My GF has them here:

Chaos Emerald Legend

At the End of the Battle…

In a few cases, this has caused people to consider them plotholes, like the aftermath of Chaos’ attack.

What people think: Tikal sealing herself in the Master Emerald created Angel Island, giving the survivors no chance to create the mural in their temple and the tablet Eggman found.

What happened according to Chaos Emerald Legend: Chaos crippled the tribe, who used the Master Emerald to create Angel Island themselves, leaving various warnings behind.

There’s also more obscure/weird stuff concerning the main story that isn’t in the guides, like when Knuckles follows Gamma.

Assumed: Knuckles follows Gamma during the latter’s Tikal flashback after Emerald Coast.

NPCs’ timelines suggest Knuckles follows Gamma a day before he goes looking for Froggy, waiting until the Egg Carrier arrives and takes off next (The next day) Plus, Big can be found:

Except for Amy (whose encounters take place before her story starts) all of the player character encounters can be found as the opposite character, in this case Big can find Knuckles on the same day.

If anyone wants to complain about Tikal being more than one place they should look at Amy/Big/Knuckles on the Egg Carrier.

There’s also stuff that’s made confusing due to changes in development. Eggman is likely supposed to fight Tails first, then go to Sonic, as Tails’ credits show his ending took place in the evening:

However, at some point it was changed to night (Probably to be consistent with Speed Highway’s night time setting), making it look like Eggman is in two places at once - you can even go to Station Square as Sonic after Lost World and find the NPCs freaking out about the missile.

Then there’s stuff I just think is stupid, like the Egg Carrier 2. The first one was still mostly (Judging by Gamma’s Hot Shelter) functional, why ass pull another one out nowhere when the ship could’ve been given a proper ending by having Perfect Chaos destroy it for good?

Don’t get me wrong though - I love SA1′s story. It makes it clear that it’s the same cast as the Classic games, just older - with obscure references like Tails’ flashback to an event from Sonic 2′s JP manual, or Tikal’s flashbacks entirely being a reference to an event described throughout the Classic manuals. It’s the only game after the Classics that did this well, the rest is just like, “Classic Sonic = GHZ”.

[rubyleaf]

Worldbuilding: The Tale of the Thrice-Escaped

An elvish legend in the Colorlessverse, very much basing on real stuff that actually happened. It’s about these two:

(The second one is a WIP.)

Basically, the story is about an absolutely feral elf-girl and a much more sensible human boy falling in love and doing some absurdly impossible stuff. The story in short:

The setting is the Oldlands (the same continent as in the Colorless trilogy) a looooonngggg time before the contents of the Colorlessverse. The olden times of legend when the spirits still roamed the earth.

Back in the day humans and elves had started a horrible war against the Spirit of Fate because they wanted to control their own destiny; fate was retaliating; fun times

Taryon—the young human—is about 20 when he gets dragged into the war to fight alongside his father and older brothers, but his first battle is also a terrible one and he gets separated from his family and barely escapes with his life

cue being lost in the woods, in winter, with minimal food and no shelter, isn’t life great

he passes out in the middle of nowhere and that’s where he gets found by Elien, the elf girl, who lives nearby and is basically like “Oh HUMAN??? New creature to befriend??? What does it eat?”

long story short they become friends, they’re both considered oddballs by their respective peoples (Elien is charming but rebellious and prone to breaking social norms, like keeping her hair short despite all elves wearing it long; Taryon has always been considered “not manly enough” by his people for his feminine face and interests) and they bond over that

Elien falls for him pretty fast but Taryon is Dense™ and all like “she can’t possibly like me, she’s an elf and I’m mortal”

she makes a move on him but he still doesn’t believe they’ll work out and has her help him get home instead

at home he finds he’s the only survivor of his family and now head of his house, and over his responsibilities they don’t see each other for some time

war continues, he has to enter more battles and gets captured in one of them

Elien finds out and is all like, what the hell that’s my FRIEND and immediately sets out to find him

she does find him, but to break his people’s hope Fate has brainwashed him and he doesn’t recognize her and Fate’s all smug like, “You can appeal to him all you want, your words won’t get through to him” and expects Elien to despair

but Elien just goes, “These hands might” and just.

Decks her future boyfriend. Square in the face.

And it works.

long story short they escape but Taryon isn’t quite ready to return to his decimated people yet, so they hang out in the wild and fall in love and do start dating

then they find out that in the meantime Elien’s home was overrun and all the surviving elves taken captive, and Taryon is shocked but Elien just goes, “FREE THEM WE MUST”

cue Heist Of The Century™ starring a ticked-off elf who’s barely of age and her human companion who has no idea WTF he’s doing but supports his GF

and they succeed

except, as they take the elves back to safety, they run straight into a trap and Taryon gets killed defending Elien

everyone’s telling her, “That’s what you get for dating a mortal” but you think this girl gives up??? Bold of you to assume she’s letting death end her relationship for her.

Oh no precious.

What she does is kidnap a spirit and hold them hostage until they agree to take her straight to the Keeper of the Dead

and she walks in there, alive and kicking, like “Excuse me, I’d like to retrieve my boyfriend”

the Keeper of the Dead obviously ain’t having it but this is where she turns on the waterworks and cries and pleads so convincingly that their heart is almost swayed

but they’re still like “I can’t just send him back, his time is over”

which is when Elien offers to give half her lifespan for him and THAT works

and they cheerfully leave the Houses of the Dead and only THEN does the Keeper of the Dead realize she scammed them

half of an immortal lifespan = STILL an immortal lifespan because half of eternity is still eternity

now they’ve got a whole immortal HUMAN on the loose and it’s an EMERGENCY

but they also can’t go back on their word, all they can do now is make sure these two never find rest anywhere anymore

So they’re still out there roaming the world and enjoying their literal happily ever after. The end.

(The story is called Tale of the Thrice-Escaped referring to Taryon. #1 was escaping from the first battle; #2 was escaping from Fate’s captivity; #3 was escaping from death.)

[missiodine]

How are you so beautiful???

A very good question!

To answer that question, we must first travel back into bygone eras, eons long since lost to the depths of history—far before the advent of tumblr, further past the beginnings of humanity, even preceding the formation of Earth...We must travel back to the formation of stars...

As energy and matter collided, stardust was scattered across the universe. And then, a cataclysmic reaction took place, forming the legendary and mystical “Autumn.” Omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient—a more powerful and beautiful entity...but alas alone. The ingrained presence of the Autumn persisted, entering unconcious thoughts and feelings within all living beings, so the legend goes.

From obscure early records of human civilization, there was a mention of a beautiful, mythical, powerful goddess-like creature. The myth permeated into many cultures, however never was there definite, sound evidence of such a thing ever existing in real form. Only isolated witness testimonies and second or third hand reports of this phenomenon occurring ever surfaced.

Given the lack of solid proof for the existence of the Autumn the GF (as she is sometimes referred to), this leads to only one main theory. The Autumn Fable is fake, forged. By who? All evidence points to the Eden. She invented the tale of the Autumn in order to inconspicuously draw attention away from her own beauty, prettiness, cuteness, loveliness, and wonderfulness because she knew she was too amazing. She created this web of stories to falsely pin the “best most beautiful gf ever” on Autumn. Naturally, we scholars have seen through the net, uncovering the truth; Eden is the most beautiful girl ever.

All inquires and questions can be forwarded to the Miss Iodine Foundation.

[lutiaskokopelli]

WARNING: This timeline is in no way official, especially considering the dates it offers! It (supposedly) includes all canonical events from the cartoon, most of the shorts, the official Journal 3 (except for the dates), the recently-released comic Lost Legends, and from some more media that could be considered canon to some extent; the chronological order of these events has been deduced arbitrarily due to what felt the most logical to me, but there is no official confirmation of this being real. Besides, the following events could be considered to be to some extent contradictory to the canon:

Soos's birthday has been set on July 31 instead of July 13, as stated in the cartoon. The official Journal set this date between July 23 and August 22, however. I had initially planned to take July 13 as the canon date, but since my original time reference was Summerween (Friday, June 22), it was simply impossible to cram sixteen episodes in the span of only three weeks.

The episodes S2E10 (Northwest Mansion Mystery) to S2E12 (A Tale of Two Stans) happen on a Sunday and Monday; however, in S2E11 (Not What He Seems), Stan states that episodes S2E11 and S2E12 happen on a Saturday. Despite my efforts, I still haven't found a way to correct this due to the periode between S1E12 and S2E10 being heavily crammed already. However, S2E13 (Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons) still occurs on a Tuesday.

Here are some additional notes:

It is unclear whether the party from S1E07 (Double Dipper) was actually supposed to be secretly a party for Stan’s birthday; in this timeline, the party occurs on June 13 instead of June 15 due to my inability to put it on June 15.

S2E06 (Little Gift Shop of Horrors) is completely ignored due to being supposedly not canon. Similarly, Dipper's, Soos's and Stan's stories from S1E14 (Bottomless Pit!) are considered not canon as well.

Everything in red or yellow are events that have been mentioned or implied to have occurred at some point, but the chronology was too vague for me to actually decide when to place them, especially when they happened during the series (instead of before S1E01 (Tourist Trapped)). I either input the most likely time span for the event, or chose to leave the event in the bottom of the timeline with some indications; the second option was also chosen when it is likely that said event happened more than just once.

It has been made obvious during Dipper’s Guide to the Unexplained: Candy Monster that the number of the anomaly isn’t related to the chronological order of Dipper’s episodes, since Dipper discovers the Candy Monster (”Anomaly #76”) seconds after finishing the filming of his episode on the Möbius Chicken Strip (”Anomaly #13″). I personally made the hypothesis that Dipper makes a list of anomalies with the number according to the chronological order of their discovery, but actually makes the episodes only about the most relevant anomalies, or the ones he simply has the time or opportunity to make an episode about.

Feel free to use this timeline any way you wish! You can totally take it as a reference and modify the dates, remove/add events or change their chronological order depending on your needs, and I totally don't need credit for any of this (although credit would be appreciated since making that thing took me nearly an entire month of sweat, nightmares and intense hair-ripping). The only thing I would ask of you is to PLEASE reblog/share this in any way you can! If anyone else on the web wants to make a full GF timeline that makes sense and if seeing this could spare them from the time and headaches, then I wish these people to be able to see it :D

And finally, if you notice any errors, events that I forgot or misplaced etc., PLEASE tell me! I'm completely open to criticism on this and if it's possible to improve this timeline, then I wish to do it.

[quell-tea-salon]

THE IDOLM@STER SideM 3rdLIVE TOUR - GLORIOUS ST@GE Fukuoka (2018/3/25) event report

Cast: S.E.M, Cafe Parade, THE Kogado, Legenders, Mofumofuen, Beit (Pierre and Minori only; Kyoji (Ume-chan) was at Anime Japan).

This is going to be long and messy and full of CAPS. Cast members are referred to by their nicknames. The set list, if you don’t mind spoilers.

Where do I start? My heart is so full.

My day started like this: I was exhausted even before the concert because I had been in the queue for the merchandise booths for FIVE HOURS since 8:30am. There was SO many people, and no doubt many, like me, had traveled interstate or even from overseas. As Fukuoka’s concert was the only one held in West Japan I think that many fans from this side of the country would make the effort to come even if they didn’t have a ticket for the concert (anyone could visit the merch booths and there were cinemas nearby showing the live-viewing). Anyway, I was planning to buy the rubber wrist bands but they all sold out within the first hour. I had to keep changing my shopping list while checking twitter updates about stuff that had sold out, and by the time I reached the booths pretty much everything that I wanted was gone, save the official pamphlet and Fukuoka limited edition charm (in pic above). I’ve attended events before so I should have known what to expect, but I was still shaking my head in disbelief ^p^ On the bright side I made friends with the person who was in line next to me (a BeitP!) and after we were finally done with the booths we barely had time to grab lunch before the show started.

There was another long (but thankfully fast-moving) queue to enter the concert hall as staff did ID checks, then yet another line for the bathroom. By the time I made it back to my seat, it was 6 minutes to start time OTL Unfortunately I didn’t have much luck with seating this time; I was two thirds down the back of the hall and could barely see the ground level of the stage. ...And of course there was a tall dude a few rows in front of me blocking my view of the middle of the stage >_> I had to keep reminding myself that I was lucky just to be there. (Sitting in the back rows isn’t all bad though; more on that later.)

The show kicked off with the standard sponsors and messages from Yamamura on the main screen. Then the lights dimmed and the whole cast appeared on stage to perform Reason!! It took a while for it to set in that I was actually physically present at a concert and not watching a live-viewing T_T For today’s concert Totto (Hazama-sensei) covered Shugon’s (Teru) solo parts in the song. Later he introduced himself as the MC for today! While I was happy for him tbh I was also a little worried bc Totto can be fuwafuwa (fluffy.... if you get my drift), but I knew Yoshiki would support him. Thankfully Totto was a decent if mostly absent (lol) host, and even Enokiya, usually a salty tsundere, was surprisingly serious for the most part *Maita P’s everywhere clutching their chests* Furukawa and Shohei both said that they were happy to be here as Fukuoka/Kyuushu is their hometown. They both spoke a few lines (in-character) in the local dialects :D During Legenders’ turn Kasama-san shared a cute story about Fuumin - apparently it was Fuumin’s first time on a plane and after landing his ears felt weird so he said “I think I left my ears in the sky!” which Kasama-san thought was such a cute thing to say wwwwwwww Fuumin turned bright red... Koma-chan was just happy to be near the ocean ww (the convention hall was right along the water).

After the intro talk the lights dimmed again and as soon as we heard taiko drum beats we quickly set our pen lights to fluro pink - it was From Teacher to Future! S.E.M appeared in the ouendan cheer outfits and recited the lines from ep5 (as per Makuhari day 2) before striking the Pose of Passion as the crowd cheered :D Again, they shed the ouendan coats before singing. This time Cafepa were the background cheerleaders!! (Later, Enokiya said that he felt whoever was behind him (Asselin iirc) hit him with their pompom a couple of times ww)

Next was Mofumofuen with Welcome Happy Kira Park! THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST SONGS TO DO CALLS WITH! It was sooo much fun and there were all so adorable T_T To this day I’m still in awe of Yano every time Nao’s voice comes out of his mouth lmao

Cafepa was up next with Cafe Parade! As a fan of Furukawa I was excited to finally get to see him live and he didn’t disappoint. Idk why but today he cranked up the seduction to 100 and his Asselin was.. ajfh;ajfk;ahk;s Asselin u ok why are you dripping sex appeal.......... this is not the Asselin that i know... Also i was wearing concert earplugs (bought a pair after realising that attending so many concerts was gradually damaging my ears; didn’t help that Japan’s concerts are RIDICULOUSLY LOUD) but I could still feel his insane vibrato through the ear plugs O______O But I digress. Cafepa are always rly fun to watch on stage as their performances tend to be dramatic and have a musical flair.

Legenders - Symphonic Brave. I was shaking bc MY OCEAN BOYS!!! It’s my least fave Legenders song but I’ve gradually warmed up to it after watching them perform it on LV a few times, and i rly do love the vocals. Combined with the visuals on the monitor this song makes you feel like you’re soaring through the sky and that anything is possible... Sadly Koma-chan wasn’t performing well today (I briefly wondered if he had a cold or something bc his voice was rly weak in both volume and control), but Kasama-san and Fuumin were amazing! I love the use of mic stands in this song T_T

Kogado - Tsuyoku Toutoki Kemonotachi. Each time they perform this song they do a brand new fight sequence during the bridge; usually Shohei is the one who comes up with the moves (with help from the dance instructors) but for Fukuoka, all three Kogado members worked together and performed a badass fight scene complete with explosive sound effects www

For the next song, a grand staircase decorated with red carpet unfolded on the main screen and Pierre appeared on the upper level of the stage. Mahou no Stair!!! (Yes!!!!!! We knew that Pierre and Minori were definitely singing their solos since they were unlikely to do any Beit songs without Kyoji, and it also happened to be the last day for Beit in the tour.) As Pierre made his way down the stairs towards the lower level of the stage, the steps lit up in red, mimicking the red carpet, while the staircase on screen shifted so it looked like Horieru was a prince gracefully descending upon the ballroom to join us for a dance ;______; Tbh I’m not fond of Pierre’s solo as it sounds rather flat (a pity considering Pierre has such a cute genki voice) but he was super cute and princely and melted every heart in the vicinity T_T At the end of the song he made a gesture like he was waving a magic wand to cast a spell (the main screen behind him showed a sparkly golden spiral) and when he moved aside to retreat from the stage MINORI APPEARED ON THE UPPER LEVEL HOLDING A BOUQUET T______________T Pierre had summoned Minori!!!!!!!!! We screaaaaamed omg Beit medley T______T

During Cherish Bouquet TakaP unleashed his sparkly princely charisma by 5000000% and killed a bunch of people (both girls and guys) in the audience [FANSERVICE INTENSIFIES] By the end of the song most of us were dead.... and when he held out the bouquet towards us (the camera) our SCREAMS lol istg ;;;;;;;;;;;;

Then both Pierre and Minori appeared on stage again wearing blue happi kimonos as the next song’s intro played AND WE LOST IT BC IT WAS FUN FUN FESTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BEIT!!!!!!!! GROUP SONG!!!!!!! THEY’RE DOING BEIT SONGS AFTER ALL!!!!! T__________T AND FUNFUNFESTA IS MY #1 FAVOURITE SONG TO DO CALLS WITH omg i felt sooooooo spoiled at that moment...... There was so much to love about this part. Pierre usually dances with his Kaerre plush in this song but this time he was holding Kyoji’s pierre plush (the blue one!)  so Kyoji could perform with them ;___; And both Pierre and Minori were super generous with the fanservice! TakaP’s winks are so destructive >< During the catering part konamono was replaced with “Ramen!” (specialty dish of this region). THEN KOGADO BURST ONTO THE STAGE, ALL WEARING HAPPI KIMONOS AND CARRYING A MIKOSHI PALANQUIN djhfaglhgdfLJHGLFHJDSdf they were hopping and cheering and it was both hilarious and amazing to see Kogado like this......... Really there was so much happening, my heart could barely keep up ;;;;;;;

Shinonome was up next with Piece Montee. This whole sequence was really cute! During the song he mimicked making a cake, piping cream and taste-testing before finally being satisfied with his creation. A HUGE (like, human-sized) balloon art cake was wheeled out onto the stage. After Shinonome left the stage, the lights dimmed and Nao-kun appeared, admiring the cake which had a plate saying “Happy birthday Nao!” on it!!!! NAO-KUUUUUNNNNN THE BIRTHDAY BOY <3<33333

Nao was the cutest thing during Hop Step Hai, Ship T___T He kept admiring the cake and looked soooo happy... He even showed us his fluffy tail and i just jhdfkj;gf;KDF,lkl just, an angel ;;;;;;;;;;

Later during the talk segment, Yano thanked us for all the love, support, and birthday wishes, and said that while he’s feeling incredibly happy and blessed, he has no doubt that Nao is feeling even happier and at the top of the world. It was also Minori’s birthday around that time, so as a double birthday celebration they asked us producers for a favour. We all held up our pen lights in red to mimic candles on a birthday cake, and when Minori and Nao made the motion of blowing out the candles we turned off our pen lights all at the the same time. The hall and stage lights were completely dimmed for this and it was a really pretty sight T_T Happy birthday, Nao and Minori!!!!!!!!!!!

Then it was time for Mofu In The Park, another super fun song to call along to! ME ME! PYON PYON!! GAO GAO!!!!!!!!!!!! This was Mofu’s last day in the tour and they really gave it their all ;___;

THE NEXT PART......IS WHERE I DIED. When i heard the song intro play i FLIPPED MY SHIT BECAUSE I RECOGNISED IT AS SECRET! PLAYFUL! DRIVE! which is a song from the St@rry Collaboration series (the extra CDs that came with the anime BD/DVDs) and NOBODY EXPECTED THIS BECAUSE IT WAS BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE SAVING THOSE SONGS FOR FIVE ST@R PARTY DKJFA’JGFA;KJGAF;IYLAKYJK

So i was in disbelief already and my brain barely had a second to process that this song belongs to S.E.M and Jupiter before S.E.M APPEARED FROM THE SHADOWS ON AN ELEVATED TROLLEY DECORATED IN BRIGHT RAINBOW LIGHTS AND I JUST DIEEEEEDDDDDDDDD ajbgadjakhaf;l ok so i kinda expected a trolley to come out bc i noticed the staff running around and looking like they were securing the routes, but i wasn’t expecting it to be S.E.M, much less them singing this...sinfully sexy song ;_______; The trolley started from the left side of the stage and made its way around the perimeter of the concert hall, doing a left into the walkway RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BLOCK OF SEATS WHERE I WAS (they were so close omg S.E.M!!!! BEFORE MY EYES!!!! crying forever) before ending its journey on the right side of the stage. As per tradition they were throwing rubber balls at the audience (sadly not in my direction ><). Jirou-chan and Rui were perfect idols and dishing out fanservice the entire time //// Hazama-san was amazing and beautiful and stoic ajhgfsaldgsl god i love SEM so much ;;;;;; As the trolley passed in front of me JIROU-CHAN POINTED AT ME!!!!!!!! At that moment i was actually grateful for getting a shitty seat at the back of the hall sobssss Jirouuuuuuuuuu ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

I REALLY love this song but i have to admit i was barely paying attention to the singing because i was... distracted....... haha... Also this performance changes things for Shizuoka because if SEM did their collab song without Jupiter there’s a chance that DraSta will sing Etranger without Beit. Oh my god. I’m shaking just thinking about it. I’M JEALOUS OF EVERY SINGLE PERSON ATTENDING SHIZUOKA T_T pls say hi to my babies on my behalf.... Anyway, back to the concert.

Tbh i was already 1000000% satisfied with the concert after SEM’s performance lmao but the set list continued to blow my mind... One of the solos i was hoping to hear was Saki-chan’s Favourite ni Odorasete, AND THAT WAS THE NEXT SONG!!!!!!! I started out not rly liking Kobapyon’s voice for Saki-chan because he does this weird squeak that a lot of female seiyuu do too for cute moe characters, which ig kind of describes Saki-chan... But the more i learned about Saki-chan the more i started to like him (her? they? idk which pronoun Saki-chan prefers, pls do enlighten me if you know) and his solo is such a cute and catchy song T_T Kobapyon is srsly really cute in person as well.... just a bundle of angelic cuteness and ribbons tbh.... To top it off, the guest performers for this song were Minori and Pierre!!! Minori was at the top of the stairs and as Saki-chan approached he gave him a bouquet, which Saki-chan happily accepted. Then Minori held out his hand like a fking prince and held Saki-chan’s hand and escorted him down the stairs AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH (the crowd wouldn’t stop screaming ajkh;skjfg). At the bottom of the stairs was Pierre, sitting on a bench and reading a book (iirc). Saki-chan bade Minori farewell and approached the bench, and Pierre pulled out a handkerchief and set it on the bench for Saki-chan to sit on JKAHGLFHGLAHG WHO EVEN DOES THAT ANYMORE OH MY GOD T_______T Saki-chan danced with the both of them in turns and just looked like a beautiful princess with her princes... (I just remembered a tweet i saw about this... “Saki-chan with B(eit) LOL BURUZON CHIEMI REFERENCE) By this point the audience had died again from both jealousy (of Saki-chan) and just overall bliss from getting to witness this cute af performance. Compare this to last year when SEM were the ones escorting Saki-chan and got slapped in the face instead LOL. (When this was brought up during talk time Yoshiki was like “Oh, so it’s fine if it’s Takatsuka?” LMAOOO)

The CafePa medley kept going! Next up was Roll’s One Whole Wonderful. Roll is SO cute!!! TwT He mimed being surrounded by cakes and took a bite from all of them before breaking into the HAPPIEST smile, omg just precious ;;;;;;; Why is CafePa full of cuties ;;;;;;;;;;;; My heart was purified ;;;;;;;;; Then the rest of CafePa joined him on stage for Reversed Masquerade. I love this song more and more each time i see it. I especially the single-file march they do towards the end ;w; 

I started yelling again when the next song played because it was another one that i had been hoping to hear!! Amehiko’s Sweep Your Gloom!!!!!!! (Lol before the concert i was like “I’ll be happy if i get to hear this ONE song. And maybe these others too if i’m really lucky” and i got to hear pretty much all the songs on my list dhjgladhflajdh BLESSED) I love Amehiko’s smooth voice so, so much and this song, despite the serious and uplifting lyrics, sounds sexy af bc of Kasama-san’s voice //// To make the performance even more amazing (THIS KEEPS HAPPENING THROUGHOUT THE CONCERT ISTG WE ARE SO LUCKY) Rui and Jirou-chan joined the stage as the backup dancers and i wished that i had extra pairs of eyes to watch all my favourites doing the moody sensual dance T_T

As a LegeP i was still feeling giddy and happy AND THEN SORA APPEARED ON STAGE FOR FLOWING FREEDOM omggggggggg my heart >_____< I LOOOVE this song and Sora did such a great job performing it T_T Fuumin was even wearing red contacts to match Sora’s eyes and the text graphics on the main monitor was really stylish and well done, so much so that i found myself watching the graphics half the time. Next, rounding up the Legenders medley was Legacy of Spirit. Legenders’ starting point! This LegeP couldn’t have asked for more TwT (I guessed that they would save Chris’ solo for Shizuoka.)

Finally it was The Kogado’s turn again! They’ve performed RAY OF LIGHT at every appearance in the tour and it just gets better each time!! Just kickass in all aspects and I love Ren singing in a higher tone, esp that last note of the chorus *__*

Back to SEM with ∞ Possibilities! I’ve heard this song a million times but i’ll never get sick of it. We cheered each time Hazama-sensei hit that goosebumps-inducing note in “koeTEEEEEEE” ;____;

Next was yet another song on my wish list! Hazama-sensei’s Learning Message! Like everyone else I’m absolutely in love with Totto’s amazing vocals and the song’s technopop instrumentals are to die for. Imo this song’s key sounds a tad high for Hazama’s in-character vocal range but Totto never fails to deliver a strong vocal performance >< In true SEM tradition he had some weird dance moves haha (someone on twitter interpreted them as possible math symbols).

Beit took the stage again for Smile Engage!!!!! Ahhh THE representative Beit song T_T Horieru and TakaP were sparkly and charming as usual but tbh the vocals sounded a little thin without Kyoji...

SEM joined them on stage next for Eureka Diary. As with the previous songs i think Minori sang most of Kyoji’s lines? I have to admit that I don’t really like this song but it was great seeing Beit and SEM on stage together ;w;

We were in the last segment of the concert which followed the standard template - Beyond The Dream, costume change break/”Encore!” yelling time, then GLORIOUS RO@D, and lastly, DRIVE A LIVE. Iirc Jirou-chan sang Touma’s solo part in GloRoad? I was jealous of the people sitting in the front half of the hall as it was raining paper/foam stars with the Glorious St@ge logo. But more importantly I was ecstatic to be able to participate in yelling “WE ARE 315!!!!” during Drive A Live T_______T I’ve never felt closer to the im@s community and the 315 idols.....

I don’t remember much from the ending talk but I do recall SEM attempting to speak in the local dialects, a somewhat teary-eyed Murase addressing F-LAGS who were watching the LV, Beit & Mofu & Kogado expressing gratitude for the support they’ve received (last day for all these groups), and SEM blowing a synchronised kiss at the camera before disappearing from the stage right at the end akjgfa;kgjfas; *clutches heart*

This day will be a treasured memory of mine for years to come.... Ngl, because i didn’t have a great view from my seat at times I kinda wished that i could’ve split my body in two to watch the concert live and the LV at the same time. But SEM drove by in their rainbow limo trolley within metres of my seat and Jirou-chan shot me in the heart so there’s that.... And while it’s a shame that my main baes DraSta weren’t at Fukuoka, the amazing set list gave me everything else that i wanted, plus more. So much more T_______T Thank you, 315Pro. This P will keep working hard to support our idols!!

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: Bugger

FAR too many assumed we’d be having the biggest grand final in over 30 years this time last week 

Half-time Friday night we all thought we’d got it wrong but alas regular programming prevailed and they then expected Saturday to be the breezier of the two prelims .

Yeah nah.

Now we have third playing sixth in a Grand Final no-one saw pre-season, mid-season, to start the finals or even last week when it was a one in four chance.

Expect the unexpected they say. And they are usually right on that.

 1.       Tigers just win, by five goals plus. As soon as that siren went Saturday, and thousands of male Collingwood supporters suddenly sprouted innies, thousands of Richmond fans grew really firmly in the trouser knowing it was only the expansion kids ahead of them next week now. Giants have won two games by under a kick in the dying minutes, once lucky, twice you’re kidding yourself, three times though, yeah nah.

2.       Actually, lets knock out some Brownlow before getting back to the on field. Interesting year, probably the greatest field of live chances going in for some time. So much analysis available these days that someone out there will get it right but about a dozen others, whilst looking super schmick with their spreadsheets and formulas, will be way off. This column has no idea although liked Fyfe for a while. Gets 2 or 3 votes in each Dockers win. Nice platform.

3.       Otherwise, three randoms to watch – Boak, Yeo and Treloar, could easily podium. And a real smokey from the clouds? James Worpel. One for the exotics.

4.       Back to on field, let’s go back to Friday. Cats missed a Scott Selwood type in the midfield. Getting ahead was one thing, and they did that well to their credit. But when it got tough in the second half, when the Tigs were coming, they lacked grunt and determination like the Giants showed in the final term Saturday, to get the job done. And to be honest its plagued them since the bye too. Can look flashy, can score, but when it needs to get ugly for 15-20 mins, think back to the first half of the first final too, no dice. Kinda like when its past 2am on a Bucks night, usually phantom, usually pass out, usually Ryan Babel.

5.       Alrighty, Saturday. Yikes. Wet weather clearly didn’t favour the Pies. No excuse but it mattered. Why? Well would you like to know who trained in a down pour midweek? The Giants, in their main session. Probably the best training session in that football history given the conditions that eventuated.

6.       So – and thanks to Rohan Connolly for this, who I’m shamelessly stealing from – between 2008 and 2015 only one Qualifying Final winner of 18 lost a prelim final. The last four years where we’ve had a pre-Finals bye, it’s a 4-4 record. Look at the Pies, didn’t turn up until three quarter time, the Tigers at least turned up after half time. Plus last year, the Pies had no right in their matchup with the Tiges and jumped them something shocking in that first half. Might be something to it. Might not be wrong, but there’s something to it.

7.       If you look at the Pies, Tigers and Giants, on balance this all looks about right. Richmond since 2017 probably deserve at least one flag and a go this weekend at a second. The Giants these last four years probably deserve a Grand Final appearance for their body of work. And Collingwood these last 18 months, a toss of the coin Grand Final result probably sits about right for them too.

8.       Difference between Richmond and Collingwood? One covered their injuries a lot better and was better set up for the pointy end as a result. Injuries aren’t the reason the Pies lost Saturday or that they would have been underdogs to Richmond had they won, but it’s the reason Richmond has a better list and is likely to win a second flag in three. Case in point – Richmond’s reserves win the Grand Final a week before their Seniors probably win as well, the Collingwood reserves didn’t even make the VFL Finals.

9.       Bucks getting questioned a bit in the media, ‘oh, that’s 22 years now without a flag, ho hum indeed’. Relax. On that basis we should give Bob Skilton a call, interrupt his midday movie to let him know despite his three Brownlows and everything else he means to South, his Hall of Fame Legend status is getting revoked coz he never won a flag. And that his spot will be taken by Tom Barrass instead, because he has actually won one. That Buckley hasn’t got a flag isn’t news, it might be factual but its not a story. The idea that obviously would clearly yearn for one is also factual, but not a story. Please be serious.

10.   Matt De Boer was excellent on Saturday but then again the Collingwood mids weren’t requiring a tag to be kept quiet. Does he got to Dusty and try and ruffle him again like he successfully achieved last time in Sydney? Won’t matter, Martin goes forward and kicks four on him in that case. Whether Martin gets shut down in the midfield by De Boer or not won’t prevent a Tigers’ flag anyway, lets not bother about that discussion all week.

11.   Norm Smith tip – no Tiger is in better nick than Shane Edwards, otherwise Bachar Houli for a little value with you preferred corporate bookmaker. But Titch onball will be as dangerous for Leon Cameron as nailing your Tinder date in Bali. You better put a clamp on that otherwise you’re in big trouble.

12.   Marlion Pickett was BOG in the VFL GF yesterday. We know that the Tigs have held over Jack Ross and Kamdyn McIntosh in lieu of the incredibly-stiff Jack Graham being doubtful to get up for Saturday. But back on May 28th we said this lad, who was playing for South Fremantle four months ago “would be best 22 by year’s end”. We’ve left it late but whilst McIntosh might be the safer play, Dimma will go very close to debuting the Western-Australian in the hope his mercurial style might just be perfect for an occasion like Saturday. If he’s picked, remember where you heard it first. Or read it first, even.

13.   Presume Kevin Sheedy is on standby to present the cup to Phil Davis and Leon Cameron should the Giants salute, the link to Richmond notwithstanding. The GWS best and fairest is the Kevin Sheedy medal, and unless you’re looking to Chad Cornes or Izzy Folau it has to be Sheeds. On the Tigers side, I think about Dale Weightman, otherwise Matty Knights or even Chris Newman if you want to go more recent.

14.   So yes, Richmond has been the pick for a while and it remains the pick. They are beatable though. Last four games their opponents all had strong chances they didn’t take. Eagles down here, in the wet, stuffed it and lost by a kick. Brisbane the week after got spooked but did a lot right but too late. First final, Brissy again, they kick straight they’re in it up to their eyeballs and then Geelong was leading by 21 points at half time, kick straighter its over five goals and the Tigs are staring down a repeat of last year. They’re not invincible, but it was only ever going to be a hot Essendon or hot Collingwood who stood a chance this finals series. Yet the Bombers lasted as long in September as Saturday Night Rove and then the Pies made a mess of it like The Veronicas on a Qantas flight.

15.   This column gets it right far more often than most and has banged on about the Clarkson-assistants theory for some time. This week’s Grand Final coaches, both ex-Hawthorn assistants. It will mean that after this weekend the last seven premierships will have been coached by Al Clarkson or one of his ex-assistants. Incredible. By this column, that is.

16.   More people in Sydney watched the Giants on free to air Saturday afternoon than people in Melbourne watched the Storm on free to air that night. What do we make of that?

 I love Victorian footy as much as the next Ted Whitten. This column still lapses occasionally and refers to Fitzroy instead of Brisbane, and it’s only been 20+ years. And whilst this column’s position on the Gold Coast experiment is well documented, the idea of a team in Western Sydney has always made sense to me. The population out there alone is more than Perth, Adelaide and Geelong combined.

 So to see GWS successful, largely on their own merit now (Gold Coast with the same concessions stuffed it, and you didn’t see Toby Greene playing on Saturday did we), is a good thing for the comp. Leave Gold Coast and Tassie aside, mind you.

17.   Speaking of Victorian footy, can we just kick the AFL reserves team out of the VFL into a legit reserves comp, and let Williamstown and Port Melbourne and Werribee actualy duke it out for a proper VFL title? Williamstown are long-storied VFA club who were looking for their 15th flag in 155 years of history. They lost to a team who sat out two of their players because they might be needed this coming weekend in a different comp. Don’t like it. Split the AFL reserves from the VFL. And the SANFL…

18.   Great to see Glenelg, another historic club in this country, win its first flag in 33 years. And yes they were playing Port Adelaide, their biggest rival, but half the opposition Sunday were Port Adelaide’s reserves, not SANFL players, so it’s a similar story. Great for the Bays to get up, but let the SANFL Magpies be just that, and then Port and the Crows can have separate reserves teams playing reserves footy.

19.   Speaking of Williamstown, feel for Willie Wheeler. Just a knockabout VFL footballer who had the win on his boot twice in the last term, so to lose by under a kick is devastating.

20.   Still not bothered by trade chatter. It’s all glorified brainstorming and suggestion permeating from the Herald Sun lunch room. When something remotely close to an actual story emerges I’ll get interested. Until then I’ll pass on Ralphy and Sammy and Jay-Z getting far too eggplant about what boils down to guesswork or stuff they dreamt about the night before when their partner slept at her friend’s house once again.