#mary vs mary showdown...

[boatmediatourney]

🚢Boat Song Tournament🚢

Round 3A, match 4

Links: 🚢, 🚢

[one-showdown-at-freddys]

join the discord

[some-spinner-in-june]

on pacifist nurturer witch blue

in which i overanalyze my favorite stick figure lol <3

---

credits:

maggie nelson || animator vs. animation 4 || @/soracities || @tallsc || the good place (2016) || tv tropes || mercy, rudy francisco || dogfish, mary oliver || @becker-call || the piglin war - animation vs. minecraft shorts ep 20 || @becker-call || what my bones know: a memoir of healing from complex trauma, stephanie foo || the showdown - animation vs. animation 8 || asofterworld, #1237 || peach yogurt, frank o'hara || perhaps the world ends here, joy harjo || the chef - animation vs. minecraft shorts ep 32 || sam sifton || @whirld-of-color || potions - animation vs. minecraft shorts ep. 4 || red ocher, jessica poll || a short history of nearly everything, bill bryson || @inksandpensblog || a new witch - an actual short || the hocus-pocus of the universe, laura gilpin || witch wife, kiki petrosino || the king - animation vs. minecraft shorts ep 30 || lapis lazuli, the oh hellos

[catholic-saint-tournament]

Poll based on winners of each previous bracket!

After this poll is over, our winner will be crowned the patron saint of Tumblr. Then we will have losers brackets, a beatified bracket, Marian apparitions, and more!

[monsterfucker-showdown]

Welcome monsterfuckers to the Monsterfucker Showdown!

Characters in showdown

Part 1 has started!

Bracket A Round 3: is up!

Bracket B Round 3: is up!

Bracket C Round 3: is up!

Bracket D Round 3: is up!

Bracket E Round 3: tba

Bracket F Round 2: is up!

Bracket G Round 2: is up!

Bracket H Round 2: is up!

Links to polls under the cut

Part 1

BA:R1 BA:R2

BB:R1 BB:R2

BC:R1 BC:R2

BD:R1 BD:R2

BE:R1 BE:R2

BF:R1 BF:R2

BG:R1

BH:R1

Bracket G

Matchup 1: Ursula from The Little Mermaid vs surtur from Thor: Ragnarok

Matchup 2: Garudamon from Digimon vs frankenstein's creature from mary Shelley

Matchup 3: Gummy from Gummy and the Doctor vs The crow mauler from fear and hunger

Matchup 4: Rengar from League of Legends vs Lord Arum from The Penumbra Podcast

Bracket H

Matchup 1: Demona from Gargoyles vs Dracula from Bram Stroker

Matchup 2: Bowser from Super Mario vs Smaug from The Hobbit

Matchup 3: Slender man vs the devil from the arcana

Matchup 4: Lunar Guardian Nasus from League of Legends vs scp 2521 from scp foundation

Bracket A Round 3

Matchup 1: Venom from Venom vs raiju from pacific rim

Matchup 2: Leshy from COTL vs Te Ka from Moana

Bracket B

Matchup 1: Winged Lion from Dungeon Meshi vs Ghost Rider is from Ghost Rider

Matchup 2: osail from Genshin Impact vs Indrid Cold's Mothman form from The Adventure Zone Amnesty

Bracket C

Matchup 1: madama khepri from bayonetta vs Yautja from Predator

Matchup 2: Garrus Vakarian from Mass Effect vs zoe from monster prom

Bracket D

Matchup 1: Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean vs the projectionist from bendy

Matchup 2: Uranus from Bloody Roar vs Jon Talbain from Darkstalkers

[thewillofdeez]

Talking to my husband about One Piece theories (as you do in a Healthy Adult Relationship ©). He said Mihawk vs Sengoku would be an interesting showdown. We've only seen the extent of Sengoku's powers once at Marineford, and that may or may not be the full picture. But that got me thinking.

Mihawk currently has no named attacks, whereas even the most powerful pirates we've seen have named attacks. The implications here are either 1) Mihawk simply DGAF about doing things the way others do (which tracks and I love that for him), or 2) all the Mihawk attacks we've seen thus far are such a teeny tiny fraction of his power that they're not even worth naming.

So let's say the second one is accurate. What level of power does Mihawk have to display in order for it to warrant a named attack? We've seen this bad bitch cut a damn ship in half but also scale his power low enough to cut Zoro without literally slicing him in two. The control he has over his power is insane.

We've seen what Zoro can do. We've watched him level up so far from when we met him. But we don't really see Mihawk in action very much. What displays of power we've seen are just a tiny fraction of what he's capable of because we simply haven't seen him have a real need to fully display his power. This is a guy who does just what he wants to do as much as possible, and only does anything else begrudgingly. We saw him at Baratie facing off against this 19 year old moron who thought he was ready to take on the World's Strongest Swordsman, and wasn't. We saw him at Marineford, but let's be honest, he had no reason to do more than the bare minimum. He doesn't care about the World Government, he probably doesn't care about the conflict between them and Whitebeard. He shows up, puts on a show, and peaces out so he can keep living his relatively quiet life. The World Government can say "you could have done more!" all they want, but at the end of the day, he did what he was required to do, and no more.

It's vital to Zoro's character not just that we see him defeat Mihawk, but that we fully understand how strong Mihawk is so that we can understand just how strong Zoro has to be to defeat him.

So, how can Oda do this? How can he possibly show how very strong this untouchable character is in a way where we can appreciate it before his inevitable downfall? Because I feel like if we see him give his first real attack in the middle of his final duel with Zoro, it's not gonna hit as hard. It'll be like "Oh, that was cool, aaaaaaaand he's dead now."

Mihawk not only needs but deserves a scene independent of his final fight with Zoro where he can truly show off what he can do. I want to see this man EXHAUSTED. I want to see something that completely takes it out of him, that shows us he's not untouchable, that it's possible to wear him down, that beneath his strength he's just a guy who gets tired and winded with the right amount of exertion just like the rest of us. Mihawk was one of the OG antagonists of One Piece, he deserves his own version of Galaxy Impact or Divine Departure.

Okay, so hear me out. Outside of his fight with Zoro, what could Mihawk possibly do to display the true extent of his power? What is a feat so massive that it would be exceptional for even a man of his power?

Perhaps it would be something that avenges a man who was (per SBS) betrayed by a Marine, an agent of the World Government. Something so impossible and insane it was only alluded to in a relatively minor character.

So....what if Oars the Continent-Puller created the Red Line 800-900 years ago, and Mihawk will become the Continent Destroyer by taking it down, destroying Marie Geoise and at least symbolically everything the World Government represents? And furthermore, what if he and Zoro do this together? We've seen them both cut enormous things..... combined, at their full power, what if they just slice a 10k meter wall that encircles the globe to bits? What if they create the All Blue?

This is a mishmash of various theories, but tbh..... I'm happy to give Oda an enormous amount of leeway. He's the artist here and I have my wants and hopes and ideas, but there is very little in One Piece that I think could truly and deeply disappoint me because things not going the way I want /= things are bad. I'm just along for the ride, ya know?

But this is a must-have. Oda has been setting this up for more than 20 years now. This rivalry between Mihawk and Zoro needs to be concluded in a way that does both characters justice. And this would be a pretty cool one.

[the-forest-library]

And, it’s done!

Queer AF - Okay, Cupid

2023 Debut Novel - One Night in Hartswood

That’s Not My Name - The Marvelous Magic of Miss Mabel

Good Vibes Only - Infectious Generosity

Bird is the Word - Elf Dog & Owl Head

On Your TBR 5+ Years - The Silver Chair

Between 300 and 400 Pages - A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem

Name That Tune - The Breakup Tour

Dance the Night Away - The Ladies Rewrite the Rules

Four Word Title - All the Hidden Paths

These Woods Hold Secrets - After the Forest

Coauthored or Illustrated - Winter

Neon Colored Cover - Karma

Prominently Features a Desert - Places We’ve Never Been

Hotel, Mansion, or Castle - The Glass Castle

Retelling of a Classic - Most Ardently

Creature Feature - Shady Hollow

Written By or About a Celebrity - A Book of Days

Blurbed By a Fave Author - Just for the Summer

STEM Stan - The Planets

I Was Framed! - Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

Writing About Writing - Says Who?

Second Chances - The Tusks of Extinction

Author Last Name Starts With V - Every Time You Hear That Song

Let’s Circle Back to This - The Husbands

First in an Unfinished Series - The Lying Game

Space - the Final Frontier - The Planets

Small Town vs. Big City - My Good Life in France

Travel by Ship - Jingo

3+ Points of View - My Salty Mary

Walk Through History - One-Star Wonders

It's the End of the World as We Know It - The Only Light Left Burning

Character Name is a Color - Where Are You, Echo Blue

We All Scream (for Ice Cream?) - All Roads Lead to Rome

Sibling Showdown - Royal Scandal

Title Contains a Body of Water - Hawkeye: Rio Bravo

Anthology or Ominbus Edition - She Hulk: Jen-Sational

Published 100+ Years Ago - My Antonia

Coffee-House Reads - Lips Like Sugar

An Unexpected Inheritance - The Grandest Game

[electronickingdomfox]

"Demons" review

Novel from 1986 by J. M. Dillard.

It started promisingly, with a story about demonic possession, hints of "The Exorcist", and a sense of creeping horror. At Sarek's and Amanda's house, of all places. But I didn't like much the direction it took afterwards. The later sections are split between scenes in the Enterprise, where Kirk punches possessed people and locks them in closets, over and over again. And the (somewhat more interesting) plot of Spock, McCoy and Mary Sue, searching for a solution to the problem, where most of the adventure comes from McCoy being a constant damsel in distress. It doesn't help that he puts himself and the others in so much danger, just because of a really uncharacteristic and childish behavior on his part (though he kind of redeems himself at the end). The key to defeating the titular "demons" is also quite anticlimactic. And I feel that the plot of "Kirk vs. mutinous crew" was better done in previous novels, like "Mutiny on the Enterprise", with a more nuanced villain and satisfying resolution. There are some good scenes, though. In particular the final showdown at Sarek's house carries quite the emotional punch.

This is the second Star Trek novel by Dillard, and there are several things in common with the other one ("Mindshadow"). Sarek and Amanda also figure prominently, this time in the unusual role of enemies. And large sections of the story are set on Vulcan, including an appearance of the masters of Gol. Lieutenant Ingrid Tomson returns as well, with a greater protagonism in the story, helping Kirk to fight against the murderous crewmembers. As also happened with "Mindshadow", there's a Mary Sue stealing the spotlight and having a romance with McCoy (which has as much chemistry as inert matter). But while Dr. Saenz at least played a key role, here Dr. Anitra Lanter has no real business in the story, other than doing the things that Spock could perfectly do himself. The romance is also incredibly shoehorned in the middle of the story, as it comes from nowhere, and by later sections it has basically disappeared (and with this, I think there's been three McCoy romances in the TOS novels so far: all of them sucked, all of them reminded us that the woman was young enough to be his daughter, and all of them ultimately pinpointed just how gay he is for Spock). So yeah, I can't say I liked this Anitra character at all. And her personality traits don't quite mesh together: she's a brilliant scientist with a doctorate (in her early 20's), she has studied among Vulcans to control her telepathic abilities, she's a practical joker that pranks the Captain with her "haha! so funny!" jokes, she's a barroom brawler, she behaves like a child... I don't know, make up your mind!

As a side note, and even if I didn't like this novel all that much, it has a distinctive quality: Uhura kicks a possessed Kirk in the balls, and that's something that doesn't happen everyday.

Spoilers under the cut:

Some scientists have recently returned to Vulcan from Beekman's Planet, where they unearthed ancient artifacts that seem like boxes, impossible to open due to their magnetic fields. The artifacts suggest an older, more advanced civilization than all others in that sector. Among these scientists is Silek, Sarek's brother, who's staying at his house, and who lost his wife under strange circumstances during the expedition. And there's also Silek's father-in-law, Starnn, who gifts Sarek one of the mysterious boxes. Soon thereafter, Amanda starts noticing disturbing things at her home: uprooted rose bushes, portraits upside down, and a not-quite-himself Sarek.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise is headed for Vulcan to drop there more scientists from Beekman, and have shore leave. We're introduced to brilliant Dr. Anitra Lanter, who's currently working in some secret project with Spock. However, during the trip, Lieutenant Tomson finds her security team member al-Baslama brutally murdered in his quarters. And the description of his corpse is really, REALLY gruesome; so much that it made me feel lucky that this was a book and not a film... The murder investigation returns nothing, but nonetheless, Kirk decides to go ahead with the shore leave at Vulcan, because why not (and this is something that also happened in "Mindshadow": Kirk granting a shore leave under absolutely unreasonable conditions). Also, Kirk feels like singing in the shower after seeing the horribly mutilated corpse. And everyone aboard hears him singing through the intercoms, since Anitra thought it would be very funny to violate the Captain's privacy with a hidden microphone (hahaha...ha?). Kirk punishes her by sending her with Scotty to overhaul the engines, but she does it in no time because she's brilliant. So she gets to enjoy shore leave at Sarek's house, with Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

During the visit, they find Silek murdered in the garden, and later Starnn impaled in a sword, as if he had commited suicide. That same day, Anitra wakes up in the middle of the night and sneakes into Sarek's study. The strange box begins to open, and she averts her eyes from the light inside. First Spock, and then Sarek, follow her, and she alerts Spock through their mind-link to not look at the light, or Sarek's eyes. They evade Sarek with excuses, and confer at Anitra's room: she tells Spock that his father has been taken by the same entity that's possessing the Vulcans, and forcing them to commit those murders. And it's apparent that Anitra and Spock have been investigating this problem for a while. Nonetheless, the next day Spock and Anitra go to the Vulcan Academy, while Kirk and McCoy go to a bar (because why not?), leaving Amanda alone with the possessed Sarek (what could go wrong?). Amanda finds a warning note from the late Silek, and tries to contact the Enterprise, but too late. Sarek has found her... Fortunately, Uhura was suspicious of the cut transmission, and alerts Spock, who rushes to his home and saves Amanda from Sarek. It turns out that Sarek (or whatever has taken control of him) murdered Silek and Starnn.

Everybody has returned to the Enterprise, and Amanda is put to sleep with a sedative, after her traumatic experience. Finally, Spock explains what's going on. The researchers at Beekman were infected by parasites that mesh with the brain at subatomic levels, and force the victim to commit unspeakable acts of sadism. Anitra is specially sensible to the entities due to her telepathic powers, and can sense who's possessed; but those same powers make her specially desirable for the parasites. The major problem now, is that the infection spreads quickly through contact, and thanks to the very intelligent actions of everyone (from Starfleet to Kirk), now both Vulcan and the Enterprise are infested.

Amanda is one of the first to appear possessed, when she attacks Anitra. The parasites speak through her, telling Anitra that, if she stuns Amanda, they'll kill the host. She's forced to stun her, however, and Amanda is put in life support, apparently dead. Things get worse, once it's revealed that Scotty (currently commanding) and the whole bridge crew are also possessed, and are bringing the ship to Rigel to further spread the infection. Kirk goes to the hangar to secure a means of escape, while Spock sabotages the engines to put the Enterprise adrift. Meanwhile, Anitra and McCoy barricade themselves at auxiliary control, with Amanda's lifeless body. The situation is of course very romantic, so they start to flirt. When Kirk returns to auxiliary control, he finds out that Amanda was just playing dead and attacked Anitra again, so McCoy put them both to sleep with a hypo. Then, McCoy notices something weird about Kirk... The Captain has been also possessed! But before Kirk can attack them, Spock storms into the room with Uhura (who's also free of parasites) and stuns Kirk. Uhura stays at auxiliary control, to watch over Kirk and Amanda, while Spock, McCoy and Anitra run to the hangar. In the end, only Anitra gets into the shuttle and flees away, since McCoy and Spock stay behind to secure her escape.

Somehow, evil-Kirk has recovered and escaped, and captures Spock and McCoy, showing them how the Enterprise destroys the shuttle. Then Spock and McCoy are put together in the brig, but are rescued by Anitra. The shuttle was just a decoy, and now they're free to take another and return to Vulcan. The objective is taking a live subject with parasites, and study him at the Vulcan Academy in search for a cure. They land on the Vulcan desert, far away from the city, and have to traverse it on foot. McCoy is attacked by a tentacled man-eating plant and sprains his ankle. But he's too stubborn to be carried by Spock so they proceed very slowly, and once the sun rises, McCoy collapses from the heat. They find shelter in a cave, inhabited by the Kolinahr masters of Gol, where McCoy recovers a bit. Spock asks the masters to take care of McCoy while he and Anitra solve the parasite crisis. But he should have asked them to tie the doctor up instead, because McCoy is determined to come along, so he follows them secretly across the desert... And then a le-matya attacks McCoy, so now he's poisoned (face palm). Anitra has to go quickly to the city, get an antidote from a local healer, and hitchhike her way back in a flying car, to cure McCoy.

In the Enterprise, Uhura catches the naughty Kirk again, and after stunning and locking him up for a day or so, Kirk recovers from the possession. After this comes a lot of Kirk sneaking through corridors, punching people and all that. It's a bit messy, but suffice to say that at the end, only he and Lieutenant Tomson are free from the parasites. They notice that people who've been unconscious and isolated for a while tend to become themselves again. Thus, they flood the entire ship with sleeping gas, and problem solved, for the moment.

Finally at the Vulcan Academy lab, Spock leaves McCoy and Anitra there, while he goes fetch a test subject for the experiments: his father, who's still at home doing... possessed things, I guess. Spock confronts Sarek, but he's no match for him and is rendered unconscious. At the lab, Anitra feels the severed mind-link with Spock, and rushes to help him. McCoy, of course, wants to go too (but it's okay, this is the only time he ends up being useful). At Sarek's home, McCoy tends to the unconscious Spock, who's suffered a fracture in the head and will die without immediate surgery. While Anitra goes after Sarek, armed with a phaser. And just then, the doctor notices that Spock's phaser is missing... uh, oh! Sarek returns triumphant, with a now possessed Anitra in tow. They try to force McCoy to revive Spock, so they can torture him later. McCoy offers himself instead, if they will just leave Spock alone, but the demons laugh at this (everyone in this novel reminds poor McCoy that he's useless, even the parasites!). The doctor is put in a very difficult situation: on the one hand, he can't just let Spock die; on the other, if he revives him, the entities will just kill him in a horrible way. Thus, he resorts to trickery, and injects Spock with something that stops his heart for a moment (I guess it's the same thing he used on Kirk in Amok Time, which may prove that he just carries one of those hypos everywhere...). McCoy focuses on his grief for Spock's "death", knowing that Anitra's telepathy will make her feel that, and believe Spock's truly dead. When she enters the room to check it, McCoy incapacitates her, takes the phaser, and stuns both her and Sarek.

A while later, Spock wakes up in the Academy lab, recovered from his injury. As it turns out, McCoy brought them all there, and now has Sarek and Anitra in isolation chambers to begin the experiments. They try several compounds on them, but nothing works, and both subjects are dying... Until they're not. Sarek wakes up, and he's again himself. As it turns out, a bit of waiting was all that was required (which Kirk had already discovered in his own way aboard the Enterprise). The parasites need to feed constantly on others, so after a day or so of isolation, they just simply disappear.

In the final part the Enterprise, with its crew back to normal, puts some bombs filled with sleeping gas over Vulcan, so everybody is eventually freed of the parasites. There's also an explanation for the boxes found in Beekman; they were containers for the entities, that would keep them indefinitely alive after all hosts in the planet had died. That way, they had waited for millenia, until new potential hosts appeared.

Spirk Meter: 0/10*. Nothing that comes to mind, unless you count Kirk's confidence in Spock finding a solution for the infestation, no matter what... But c'mon, you can do better than that!

The Spones, however, is veeeery heavy. At the beginning, McCoy is hilariously jealous of Anitra and Spock spending so much time together. He confronts first Anitra, and then Spock about it, warning the Vulcan that Anitra may have a crush on him. The response of both is that he should mind his own business. Later, McCoy confronts Spock again, when he finds him leaving Anitra's room in the middle of the night, and he's again suspicious and angry. Sure, the narrative later tells us that McCoy was jealous because he liked Anitra all along. Only that... it doesn't look like that in the slightest. At this early point, there's been no sign whatsoever that McCoy is interested in her. His only concern for Anitra was that she was developing an ulcer, and McCoy had even suggested to her that she should date young men her own age (which obviously would exclude him). So the later explanation seems more like a retcon than anything, or a bad case of "tell and not show". But there's much more. Throughout the entire novel, Spock and McCoy are protecting each other, and in fact, whenever there's a choice between staying with Spock, or going after Anitra, McCoy somehow ends up always with Spock, having some emotional conversation about how thankful they are for the other's help, or how sorry they are for having hurt each other. At times, it seems that Anitra is just there to fulfill Spock's duties, so Spock's free to be alone with McCoy and have angsty scenes with him. It happens first when Spock chooses to stay with McCoy, unnecessarily, while he treats Amanda. Which prompts Kirk to comment that Spock only did it to protect McCoy (of course, Spock quickly denies it). Then McCoy lets Anitra go away in the shuttle, because he's that stubborn about protecting Spock, which leads to another emotionally charged scene in the brig (very similar to the one in Bread and Circuses). And once McCoy discovers that Anitra's alive and Spock knew all along, he feels "the ridiculous urge to kiss the Vulcan or kill him". It's Spock who rescues McCoy from the tentacle plant, and gives him the vine to eat something. And later, when McCoy kisses Anitra in the cave, Spock interrupts them with a cough, and Anitra leaves them alone once more. Then McCoy acts all embarrassed, and looks guilty at Spock (why guilty!?), while Spock feeds him. In fact, Anitra could take a bath in a cave pool, since Spock was so concerned about McCoy, that she knew they'd leave her in privacy. After the le-matya incident, it's Anitra who leaves, and Spock stays to nurse McCoy. Then the doctor apologizes (to Spock!) for being in love with Anitra, and that he didn't intend to love her... See a pattern already? It's even more evident at the climax, after Anitra has been possessed and McCoy protects Spock against her, offering himself to be tortured in his stead. Spock also wonders why McCoy took the trouble of bringing Sarek to the lab too, since testing with Anitra was enough. McCoy can't tell him the real reason. So yeah, there's something curious going on here. Is Anitra a genuine love interest for McCoy? Or is she being used as a device to underline Spock and McCoy's closeness (in a similar way that the woman in the novel "Triangle" was used, to emphasize the same between Kirk and Spock)?

On a lesser note, there's a bit of McKirk if you want. Kirk and McCoy are given the same guest room while staying at Sarek's house (though we don't know if they shared a bed or not). Which is frankly unnecessary; the author invented a separate guest room for Anitra, so it's not like she couldn't have invented a further room in the house, right? The way that possessed Kirk talks to McCoy is also kind of... suggestive:

"If we need to take someone, we take her. If we don't need to take someone, we can still use him... for other purposes." He smiled menacingly at McCoy, who quickly lowered his eyes. "We don't just... leave him alone."

And later:

He leered at them. "I want you to think--really think about what happened to people on this ship who were uncooperative." "Such as al-Baslama," said Spock coldly, "and Liu..." The remark seemed to please rather than anger him. "To mention only two. We don't need you, gentlemen. But we can use you… at our leisure, and for our own pleasure." His chilling smile was the last thing McCoy saw as they left the bridge.

Sure, it's the parasites talking, and not the real Kirk. But they don't seem to say these things to others, or while possessing other people.

[raddest-hat-showdown]

RADDEST HAT SHOWDOWN FULL BRACKET!

Polls for side 4B begin tomorrow, 03/30 at 10am EST. See below for the list of contestants.

Round 1 Side 1A-

Polls starting 10am EST 03/23

Doug Dimmadome vs RGB

Captain Amelia vs Captain Barbosa 

King Julien vs Commander Peepers 

Greg vs Tia Safalin

Ravio vs Jack Noir

Mephisto Pheles vs Carmen Sandiago 

Louise Belcher vs Wander

Ralsei vs Robinhood

Round 1 Side 1B

Polls start 10am EST 03/24

Preceptor Seluvis vs Mami Tomoe

Chess Chocho Cookies vs Papa G

Rennala vs Brain

Jezaille Brett vs Caitlin

Scaramouche vs Cad Bane

Spider Noir vs Fuka Kazamatsuri

Ernesto De La Cruz vs Dandelion

The Good Hunter vs Jotaro

Round 1 Side 2A

Polls start 10am EST 03/25

Mad Hatter vs Lord Yupa

Suika vs Mario and Cappy

Big Hat Logan vs Knuckles

Mizune vs Finn the Human 

Gabdalf vs Apple Jack

Professor Layton vs C.Q. Cumber

Kuzco vs Melia Antiqua

Jin Guangyao vs Trafalgar Law

Round 1 Side 2B 

Polls start 10am EST 03/26

Puss in Boots vs Donald Duck 

Black Hat vs Marx

Midna vs Funky Kong

The Man in the Yellow Hat vs Ice Cap

Niko vs Skullduggery Pleasant 

Dimentio vs Rook Hunt 

Angela Leon vs Merlin

Guinan vs Metallia The Swamp Witch vs Janus Sanders

Round 1 Side 3A

Polls start 10am EST 03/27

La Muerte vs Wild Wheel

Dark Magician Girl vs Chi Chi

Celty Sturluson vs Reginald Copperbottom

Perry the Platypus vs The 11th Doctor

The Captain of the Dead vs R.J. Macready

Luigi vs Cure Miracle Alexandrite 

The Riddler vs Indiana Jones 

Timekeeper Cookie vs Mary Poppins 

Round 1 Side 3B 

Polls start 10am EST 03/28

Rubber Helm vs Smokey the Bear

Stanley Pines vs Rincewind 

Lich King vs Asra Alnazar

Hat kid vs Zora Salazar

Amon vs Snufkin

Ainz Ooal Gown vs Green Arrow

Lady Dimitrescu vs Woody

Jarlaxle Baenre vs Black Pepper

Round 1 Side 4A

Polls start 10am EST 03/29

Captain Hook vs Suwako Moirya

Hat Man vs Luffy

Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen vs The Cat in the Hat

Charon vs Chuya Nakahara

Detective Sokka vs Juvia

Detective Rama vs Pearl

Cerebella vs Wakko

Megumin vs Laszlo Cravensworth

Round 1 Side 4B

Polls start 10am EST 03/30

Link and Ezlo vs Alfredo Linguine

Captain Jack Sparrow vs Vivi Ornitier 

Sir Pentious vs Jughead

The Onceler vs Moist Van Lipwig

Mona Megistis vs Dipper Pines

Robert E.O. Speedwagon vs Stella

Miriel Pastor of Vows vs Ask Ketchum 

Dr. Facillier vs Wirt

MAY THE RADDEST HAT WIN

[siblingshowdown]

Sibling Showdown Round 1 Bracket D1

Image credit: The Oath of Fëanor by Jenny Dolfen (goldseven.de) used with permission, also showing Fëanor

Antigone by Marie Spartali Stillman (1844-1927), Eteocles not pictured

[popballadtourney]

Frankenstein Showdown - Week 3

[some-spinner-in-june]

the chosen one, on loving and losing the dark lord

web weave on these two silly little sticks ^^ they're quite tragic, dontcha think?

---

credits:

the chronology of water: a memoir, lidia yuknavitch || the flashback - animator vs. animation 7 || us against you, fredrik backman || asofterworld, #1199 || the flashback - animator vs. animation 7 || @bearymouse || the plagues, prince of egypt || the flashback - animator vs. animation 7 || @splonk-fox || the fourth of july, sufjan stevens || war of the foxes, richard siken || what's wrong with me?, ashley park || the flashback - animator vs. animation 7 || after the movie, marie howe || the showdown - animator vs. animation 8 || after the movie, marie howe || the showdown - animator vs. animation 8 || after the movie, marie howe || @bearymouse || game shows touch our lives, the mountain goats || the showdown - animator vs. animation || requiem, dear evan hansen || the showdown - animator vs. animation || sue zhao

[hubristicassholefight]

Swordswoman Showdown Round 2 Part 1

Lady Oscar Fracois de Jarjayes (Rose of Versailles) vs Lady Maria (Bloodborne)

(Better here in a "preferred character" sense, not "who would win in a fight")

Propaganda below cut

Lady Oscar

She is the commander of the royal guard of the Versailles Palace, also the bodyguard of the Queen Marie Antoniette, she has a thin sword and excels with it to the point that one of the first plot points is how she can defeat any man while also embracing being a woman; I love her and she gets all the ladies at court flustered, very gnc character she is described both as handsome and beautiful and she is so cool and techaes another girl to fight with swords and she cucks the monarchy when discivering the inequality outside the palace :v idk i just think she is iconic

I'll argue that Lady Oscar is *the* pioneer for sword women in shoujo anime, she walked so Utena could run, and inspired a bunch of other anime outside the demographic, like Beserk. TLDR Lady Oscar is one of the best female leads with a sword; She's hot. I feel like the 70's-80's era of anime is often neglected. Swords. I'll be surprised if no one else nominates Rose of Versailles.

If you think Utena is swordy, this woman INSPIRED her creation. She’s badass and better than everyone at the sword; Everyone is in love with her. And I mean EVERYONE. Also, Rococo aesthetic and gorgeous artwork, AND she’s a big BIG deal in early shoujo and still is.

a soldier for france + swordfights often; "Despite being raised as if she were a boy and dressing in males' clothes, Oscar is open about being female. Even as she embraces her femininity, she uses her male position to gain freedoms that she could never have as a lady of the court."

Lady MariaShe has a double-bladed sword called Rakuyo that can split in two to be dual-wielded; She's haunting the narrative and the whole game foreshadows her existenceShe wields the rakuyo, twin-bladed trick weapon that can transform into a matching katana and dagger, making it a versatile weapon; She one of the highest-ranked Hunters in the game, and fights like an experienced PVP opponent. During the boss fight against her, she stabs herself twice, first to bloody her blades and increase the range of her attacks, and the second time to cause her blades to emit flame when she strikes. Finally, she starts off the boss fight with this quote: "A corpse, should be left well alone. Oh, I know very well how the secrets beckon so sweetly. Only an honest death will cure you now. Liberate you from your wild curiosity."She fights with a sick twin bladed sword which can split into two smaller swords, She was too hard and I couldn't beat her :'(Duel wielding sword and dagger that combine as a twin blade; Best boss in the game. Also taller than your character by a full head. Her outfit is fashion as fuck as well.

[disneyparksattractionstournament]

Favorite Disney Parks Attraction Showdown: Round 3 - Group A

Videos and propaganda under the cut!

MuppetVision 3D: Disneyland, WDW Hollywood Studios

Propaganda:

"Muppets!!! We love the Muppets!!! And also the last thing Jim Henson worked on!!!"

It's a Small World: (Any version/park!): Disneyland, WDW Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland,Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland)

Propaganda:

"it's a small world" is one of the oldest rides still standing today, and I think it's for good reason. It might not be as thrilling as expedition everest or as flashy as the haunted mansion, but it has a distinct charm that has people coming back year after year. The design of the ride itself - inspired by Mary Blair - is whimsical without being garish; the gold and white of Disneyland Anaheim is reminiscent of their early classic films, while the colorful geometric shapes in Tokyo Disneyland are fun and funky. It's one of the few rides with installations in every park. The propulsion system created for it would go on to be used in later rides like pirates of the caribbean, so if you're a fan of the latter, you have the former to thank for that. You either love or hate the infamous song, but there's no denying that it's catchy. What's more, I think what really keeps people coming back is it's message. "it's a small world'' emphasizes unity, but it also celebrates the diversity and uniqueness of cultures around the world. It's not "you and I are both the same", it's "you and I might be different, but at the end of the day we both laugh and cry and have hopes and fears and many more similarities than what our geography and government tries to say". Sure, it might be corny, but it's not like anyone goes to Disney to get away from this type of cheesy shmaltziness."

"Taken from Escape From Vault Disney podcast, but, three women and a stoner were the main artists and I think that's important. Adding to that, the song is good and no I don't care if it's annoying. Listen to the original version, it's freaking beautiful. Mary Blair art is cute and charming and the whole attraction just looks like kids coloring and drawing and singing and being friends!!! The adult chorus in the finale room is like the parents joining in and spending time with their children and encouraging their kids to respect each other and don't judge people. But also it's like those kids are adults now and refuse to let negativity win and they see the beauty and kindness in people and dang it, that's what being human is about!!!! Be kind to others and accept and help people because we got one earth people!!! And it has just one moon and one golden sun!!! Also the clock has a name. His name is Glockenspiel and he's just a happy guy I love him. Also inspired the boss in Epic Mickey and that boss theme is so good omg"

"it's stuck in your head now isn't it"

"the song may be annoying. it may be creepy. it might, despite its intentions, come off as kind of xenophobic. but, goddamn, it's one of the few good memories i have from my disneyland trips as a child"

Video is of Disneyland, but any version/your fav for the poll!

[companion-showdown]

Showdown 2k24: Round 2

Everyone has been split into groups of 16 roughly by how well known they are and seeded within those groups to determin matches. There will be 16 polls posted every day (so two of the groups) except Friday. At the end of the round groups will be paired up and re-seeded ready for next time

the submission form for contestant propaganda is still open, you can find it here.

ROUND 1

Day 4

Mary Shelley vs Ikalla

Claudia Winkleman vs Cinder

Hector vs Sibling Different

Ruth Leonidas vs Susan Who

Alan Turing vs Peter Summerfield

John Lennon vs Dorothy (The Wonderful Doctor of Oz)

Tom Campbell vs Barusa

Peter Cushing vs Alison Cheney

Brian the Ood vs Penelope Gate

Hattie Munroe vs Gabby Gonzalez

Splinx vs Grayla

V.M.McCrimmon vs Patience

Andy Davidson vs Dormouse

The Squire vs Weeping Angel (Origins)

Cindy Wu vs Guinevere Winchester

Child Master (The Then and the Now) vs Koschei

previous and future days under the cut

Day 1

Jamie McCrimmon vs Sergeant Benton WINNER: Jamie McCrimmon

Vicki Pallister vs Zoe Heriot WINNER: Zoe Heriot

Barbara Wright vs Steven Taylor WINNER: Barbara Wright

Victoria Waterfield vs Sarah-Jane Smith WINNER: Sarah-Jane Smith

Jo Grant vs The Brigadier WINNER: Jo Grant

Ian Chesterton vs Leela WINNER: Leela

Liz Shaw vs Polly Wright WINNER: Liz Shaw

Dodo Chaplet vs Susan Foreman WINNER: Susan Foreman

Charley Pollard vs Mark Seven WINNER: Charley Pollard

Cass Fermazzi vs Molly O'Sullivan WINNER: Molly O'Sullivan

Oliver Harper vs Liv Chenka WINNER: Liv Chenka

C'rizz vs Lucie Miller WINNER: Lucie Miller

Iris Wildthyme vs Anya Kingdom WINNER: Iris Wildthyme

Erimem vs Bliss WINNER: Bliss

Hex Schofield vs Helen Sinclair WINNER: Helen Sinclair

Tania Bell vs Evelyn Smythe WINNER: Evelyn Smythe

Day 2

Bill Potts vs Nardole WINNER: Bill Potts

The TARDIS vs River Song WINNER: The TARDIS

Wilfred Mott vs Jack Harkness WINNER: Wilfred Mott

Amy Pond vs Martha Jones WINNER: Martha Jones

Clara Oswald vs Rory Williams WINNER: Clara Oswald

Ruby Sunday vs Rose Noble WINNER: Rose Noble

Kate Stewart vs Canton Everette Deleware III WINNER: Kate Stewart

Missy vs Donna Noble WINNER: Donna Noble

Bernice Summerfield vs Marie (Alien Bodies) WINNER: Bernice Summerfield

Chris Cwej vs Business Woman WINNER: Chris Cwej

Roz Forrester vs The Mortimer family WINNER: Roz Forrester

Rosie Taylor vs Compassion WINNER: Compassion

Fitz Kreiner vs Serena WINNER: Fitz Kreiner

Badger vs Wolsey WINNER: Wolsey

Sam Jones vs Claudia Marwood WINNER: Sam Jones

Homunculette vs Anji Kapoor WINNER: Anji Kapoor

Day 3

Ace McShane vs Mags WINNER: Ace McShane

Romana I vs Nyssa WINNER: Nyssa

Romana II vs Ryan Sinclair WINNER: Romana II

Graham O'Brien vs Mel Bush WINNER: Mel Bush

Vislor Turlough vs K9 WINNER: K9

Chang Lee vs Tegan Jovanka WINNER: Tegan Jovanka

Inston-Vee Vinder vs Grace Holloway WINNER: Inston-Vee Vinder

Peri Brown vs Yasmin Khan WINNER: Yasmin Khan

Frobisher vs ARC WINNER: Frobisher

Duh vs Josie Day WINNER: Josie Day

Ssard vs Chantir WINNER: Ssard

Gus Goodman vs Izzy Sinclair WINNER: Izzy Sinclair

Rose-the-cat vs Abslom Daak WINNER: Rose-the-cat

Majenta Pryce vs Maxwell Edison WINNER: Majenta Pryce

Kroton vs Ly-Chee the Wise WINNER: Kroton

Fey Truscott-Sade vs Destrii WINNER: Destrii

[teenagemutantninjaturtleshowdown]

Welcome to the TMNT Riseless Showdown!

Polls will begin Monday 27th

(This bracket is not seeded; it is randomly generated.)

Previous Brackets:

TMNT Showdown 2023

Predictions

~~~~~~~~~

Winner

2012 Raph

~~~~~~~~~

Final Round

2012 Leo vs 2012 Raph

~~~~~~~~~

Round 4

'03 Raph vs 2012 Leo vs IDW Mikey

2012 Raph vs '87 Raph vs '03 Donnie

~~~~~~~~~

Round 3

'03 Raph vs '87 Leo

'03 April vs IDW Mikey

2012 Raph vs '87 Donnie

'03 Mikey vs '03 Donnie

~~~~~~~~~

Round 2

'03 Leo vs '03 Raph

'87 Leo vs IDW Casey

2012 Splinter vs '03 April

IDW Mikey vs 2012 Mikey

2012 Leo vs 2012 Raph

'87 Mikey vs '87 Donnie

'03 Mikey vs Ronin Mikey

'03 Donnie vs 2012 Donnie

~~~~~~~~~

Round 1:

'87 Splinter vs '03 Leo

'87 April vs '03 Raph

'87 Casey vs '87 Leo

Ronin April vs IDW Casey

2012 April vs 2012 Splinter

IDW April vs '03 April

'03 Casey vs IDW Mikey

2012 Mikey vs 2012 Casey

2012 Karai vs 2012 Leo

IDW Donnie vs 2012 Raph

IDW Leo vs '87 Mikey

'87 Donnie vs '03 Splinter

'03 Mikey vs IDW Splinter

Ronin Mikey vs Ronin Casey Marie

'87 Raph vs '03 Donnie

IDW Raph vs 2012 Donnie