#my favorite tron poster <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[mandaloria314]

Thank you for the tag @maderilien!

How may works do you have on AO3? 36

What’s your total AO3 word count? 272,153 words

How many fandoms have you written and what are they? Now, I’m only writing Star Wars. In the past, I have written Marvel Avengers, Star Trek (TOS and reboot), and even (shhh) SPN and Sherlock and other stuff over the years.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Aureole (dinluke) - sweet tabloids fic where everyone in the New Republic thinks they’re together (and then they are)

Vessel (dinluke) - Jedi sex magic

Twin’s, Right? (dinluke) - Han has a story to tell Din

Follies, Forged Attachments (dinluke) - obi-wan outsider pov

The Accidental Political Ascension of Boba Fett (bobadin) - senator fett (my newest long fic and I’m so stoked it’s reached my top kudos!)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not? Yes, I respond to every single comment, even if it’s just a quick ‘thanks’! Once upon a time I was just a lurker in fandom. Once I became part of the communities, bonding on Livejournal and Dreamdwidth and helping run archiving projects and zines, I realized the foundational part of being in fandom is to Be In Fandom. “Be” is an active verb, and I really want to support everyone and leave comments and that includes responding to them on my own works. Our fandom is only as good as we make it! I’m always happy to have a conversation in comments--or just blow you a kiss as you pass by. 

What’s the fic you’ve written the angstiest ending? I don’t really write angsty endings. I will write ambiguous ones or even stuff I wouldn’t necessarily rec or actively share. 

Do you write crossovers? If so, what’ is the craziest one you’ve written? Absolutely! I have written a lot. My favorite right now Is my Tron/Mandalorian cross-over: Derezzed (bobadin).  Commissioned fanart incoming! I keep editing the story and thinking I’m gonna make it better before adding the amazing fanart in order to do the art justice, but I should just pull the trigger, right? It’s a one-shot that plunges the Mando characters straight into the Tron world. And the art is so good I should not be hoarding it to myself. 

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Yep! I offended an Obi-Wan fan with Follies, Forged Attachments (see link above if you wanna see the exchange). It’s ironic because I love Obi-Wan and he was my favorite character for many years after the Phantom Menace. I like him a lot, and I thought I left it on a hopeful note but still kept it true to canon in the OT as it actually played out. He’s so tragic. 

Do you write smut? Absolutely! I love writing humorous pwps.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge. But honestly if anyone saved any of my old fics and posted them for posterity, more power to them. 

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, and right now on ao3 I have two: thank you to the amazing people who translated Aureole and Twin’s, Right? into Chinese.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! And currently I’m gonna count the ongoing Tatooine Spa Verse series as cowriting because it’s a collaborative round robin and it’s been a blast! Hint hint there is more coming down the pipeline! *eyes cryo_buckey*

What is your all-time favorite ship? All time? Kirk/Spock. <3

What is a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? One time I started a Pride and Prejudice AU that was awesome, but I lost interest and will never finish it. 

What are you writing strengths? Quippy dialogue. I like puns and humor and sass and banter. I’m also pretty good at dropping in-universe clues that the fic takes place in the fandom universe, such as changing idioms to Star Wars words, like curiosity killed the loth cat or bantha bait or other random references to Star Wars animals, places, or foods.

What are your writing weaknesses? A lot of times I either write too much purple prose OR go the opposite and just don’t make an impact. Finding the sweet spot is challenging. I also have an unbridled fondness for ‘big words’ that aren’t necessary. But fanfic is the one place I get to use them!

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? Love it! I love random bits of Mando’a tossed in for the Mandalorian fics. It’s both fun as heck to do and fun to read, especially if you leave enough basic context that you can figure it out without peeking at the bottom. 

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Star Wars! As a kid, I posted a wip to Fanfiction.net about Jaina and Jacen Solo time traveling to the time when Anakin was Obi-Wan’s apprentice. <3 I’ve come full circle!

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? Aw, my opinion on this varies from time to time. Today, it’s probably Aureole, because I just think Din and Luke deserve each other (in the best way). I wrote that fic as pure self indulgence, each chapter completely unplanned and invented as I went along, just imaging all the best possible outcomes for them. So it’s wish-fulfillment.

Tagging @purplesauris, @redseeker, @dosmit-raeh, @ghost-teat, and @cryo-bucky, and anyone else who sees this and wants to jump in! As Palps would say, DO IT.

[rlmfanfic]

Sharing my Jay Knowledge 

As I prepare to retire, I’m clearing out all of my old manuscripts and research material. I wanted to share the treasure trove of Jay fun facts I gathered from listening to the commentaries, BotW episodes, Re:View, interviews, and sampling the Pre:Recs in case anyone would like to use the info to take up fic writing. 

Or in case you just want to know strange things, I suppose.

All of this is from RLM stuff, Twitter, and the old GMP/BSC sites. No reddit, no 4chan. 

FUN FACTS:

Born September 13th 1980

Height is 5’6, Eye color is green (according to the license shown in Where’s Deathlist)

Met Mike and Rich in person at Beef-a-Roo in Rockford, IL in May 2000. They filmed The Trouble with Her Uterus that weekend. Mike played a character named Big K and Rich played a baby named Little Joey.

Jay's first film-making group was called Blanc Screen Cinema. His first movies were such notable hits as The Sign, Clowns and Suicide, Disconnected, Chia II, Rice and Titties, Pervert Goes Home, and The Trouble with Her Uterus.

He sold VHS copies of his early films out of his apartment.

Owns a record player 

Has two cats including a black cat named Regan (after the little girl in The Exorcist) and Nico (named after the woman who sings 'These Days' featured on the The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack and the Velvet Underground.)

In Jay’s Movie Pervert Goes Home, his character, Arlo Jenkins, cums in his own eye while masturbating. This is the first of TWO occurrences of Jay’s characters masturbating on camera in his films. (The other being in Feeding Frenzy.) 

Saw The Ring at the theater inside of the Mall of America.

Went to UW - Milwaukee for two years. Dropped out. 

Has a little brother and little sister

Went to highschool in Orfordville, WI

Has been to a strip club ‘a couple of times.’

Wants to make Weekend at Bernies 3, but really experimental. 

Wants to love Blade Runner, but doesn’t.

The neon-green button on his black jacket reads “Horror” It’s supposed to be a recreation of the stickers video stores used to put on movies in their horror section. 

Dated the second Honey from The Grabowskis - he met Jack through this ex-girlfriend.

Had a copy of The Pit in his glove compartment for months

Is a craftsman (building sets, etc.)

Can drive manual transmission car

Has a poster of Dawn of the Dead above his desk.

Has a tiny fake skeleton on a chair 

Has a John Carpenter’s They Live poster at his house.

Loves saying “There’s not many ways this can go right” - while filming any special effect shot. 

Had a Pink Flamingos poster in his apartment (Gorilla Interrupted shot here)

Listens to his own Talking Heads Pandora station. Loves This Must Be the Place

Loves Funions “But they just make you smell bad for the rest of the day”

Has owned Tom Savini’s book on special effects since he was a child (Grande Illusions)

Got his first video camera when he was 10. 

Loves Gene Wilder’s delivery of “You know, morons” from Blazing Saddles

Made a series of web shorts in 2003 called Monkey Make Movie. There are 9 episodes.

Favorite TV: Twin Peaks, Rick and Morty, Seinfeld, The Boys  

Favorite Films: Re-Animator/ From Beyond, Escape from New York, Robocop, PeeWee’s Big Adventure, The Gate, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, The VVitch, Day of the Dead, Under the Skin, Ed Wood, Pink Flamingos, Crank 2, Wet Hot American Summer, Big Trouble in Little China, Commando, Galaxy Invader (1985), Shaun of the Dead, Halloween (movie and holiday)       

Favorite Directors: Sam Raimi, James Gunn, George Romero, John Waters, Paul Veerhoven, David Lynch, (formerly Kevin Smith)

Favorite Music: 

“The Pink Room” from the Fire Walk with Me soundtrack. From RE:View “It's so wonderful. I wish that was the soundtrack to my life. I wish I just walked around and whatever I was doing, that music was playing.” 

Nico - These Days

Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place and Sugar on my Tongue  

Oingo Boingo

The Tron Soundtrack 

Songs used in his old films: 

Weird Al - Dare to be Stupid 

Superdrag - Sucked Out 

Donovan - Catch the Wind 

Sum 41 - In Too Deep 

Ass Ponys - Mr. Superlove 

Millencolin - Lozin’ Must 

The Vandals - An Idea For a Movie 

Parasites - Hang Up 

The KGB - Fortune and Fame 

The Ataris - Song for a Mix Tape

Moby - BodyRock

Summercamp - On Her Mind

Allister - Scratch

Ladytron - True Mathmatics

The White Stripes - We’re Going to be Friends

Leftfield - Phat Planet

Hope you enjoyed this bizarre information. I’m sure I’ll be getting a lot of fun messages about this. Yay!

[conanaintslick]

Ignore this if you want imma tag it cuz it's gonna be long and I'm on mobile so idk how to clip it but I can't sleep and I have to rant about this con situation

‪Went to Sac Anime for the first time in five years today and now I can't sleep because I was so disappointed by my experience it's literally haunting me alkdkdkdldk like I know obviously they are a lot bigger now but the disorganization and straight corruption I saw??? yikes ‬

So here's the thing: I used to be an AVID con attendee. They hold two sac anime conventions a year, and I went to both every year for about four years straight. I missed maybe one in that whole period, but then I went to college and the con schedule never worked out with my school schedule, so I stopped going. That was 2014, and even back then it was always a little chaotic, but it was never as bad as I saw it today.

There are some things I understand. My first con, I think I paid maybe 15 dollars to get in on Saturday. The others it was around 30-40 to get in for the whole weekend. It's more now, I paid 35 for one day. I get that. It's been some time, prices rise, whatever. But con USED TO BE: you pay the ticket price and everything is included except food, hotel stay, and the items you buy from the vendors inside. There were maybe one or two paid events, but it would be pretty mild. 10-15 max. The panels, autograph sessions, and a most other events came with the price, other than a few VIP exclusives you pay extra for.

I've never in my LIFE been to a convention that charged me 20 dollars per individual autograph, 40 if I wanted to take a selfie, and an extra 30 fucking dollars if I wanted the voice actor to say a line for me PER. ACTOR. Just to reiterate, if I wanted to get an autograph, selfie, and quick line from my favorite character, that would be 70 dollars PER ACTOR, something that, in literally every other con experience I have had, would have been free after waiting in that line for fucking hours to get it.

Their "free autograph session" is absolute bullshit. You only get a free autograph if you bring something in with you from outside, which I guess I understand. What I don't get is that you can pay 20 fucking dollars at one of the booths to get a poster with a character on it, but NONE OF THE OTHER VOICE ACTORS ARE ALLOWED TO SIGN IT. Like seriously I cannot be the only one who thinks that that is fucking insane??? Unless the poster you buy SPECIFICALLY has another character on it, they will not let the other voice actors sign it. Either you get something else signed or you pay ANOTHER 20 DOLLARS to get a NEW character specific poster for JUST THAT ONE ACTOR TO SIGN

They also make you stand in line for every individual voice actor now, instead of doing the logical thing of having one line for one long table where you just go down the line and get everyone's signature. It was honestly depressing. Everyone was in line for like maybe three actors and all the others were empty. I saw one actress take out her phone because everyone was so busy waiting in the line three fucking times to see the big name voice actors they wanted to see and no one had time for anyone else. The longest I have EVER waited for autographs was three and a half hours, I got everyone's signatures, three pictures, and even heard a couple of my favorite lines, and I didn't have to pay a single dime for that experience other that the cover price to get into the con to begin with. Today, I was in that autograph room for 2 hours and 45 minutes, I paid 20 dollars for a useless poster they only let one actor sign, I heard no lines, got no pictures, and I couldn't get everyone's signature because they were forcing everyone to wait in the giant line over and over and over and at one point I just said fuck it it's not worth it and I snuck into the individual lines of the voice actors I couldn't miss and bounced. Again, in case anyone is reading this, just to emphasize my point: I would have had to pay somewhere around 120-150 dollars and waited in line 10 times if I had wanted the same experience I had last con, and that ISNT including the cost of getting a seperate poster for every voice actor, that's just the cost of getting three pictures and hearing 2-3 lines.

I'm gonna wrap this up because it's getting long, but if you want to hear the rest of my con story shoot me an ask lol it's literally 3AM at this point and I'm just ranting because I'm still so angry I literally cannot sleep. I heard from someone at the con that back when they had v///tron there, josh Keaton was so appalled by the way it was run that he said he was never going back to another sac anime, and honestly, I'm right there with him.

At least I got some cool shit from the artist alley, but I'm not even going to start on my rant about how they treat exhibitors.

[junker-town]

Western Illinois’ Final Four run in Year 20, continued

The epic conclusion of Western Illinois’ Cinderella run to the Final Four as a No. 12 seed in College Hoops 2K8.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April for full context. As a reminder, I simulate every game in this series (even the ones we watch on Twitch) and only handle the recruiting and coaching strategies.

We pick up with Western Illinois in the Final Four of the 2027 NCAA tournament. Here’s a recap of everything that has happened so far this season:

Western Illinois entered the season seeking redemption after losing to Cal in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year. We began the new season rated as a 96 overall with three new starters. We went 3-6 against a difficult non-conference schedule before sweeping the Summit League and again capturing the conference tournament championship. We enter the NCAA tournament at 24-6 overall.

We earned a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament. We defeated No. 5 seed Minnesota, 89-72, in the first round. We beat No. 4 seed Ole Miss, 116-85, in the round of 32 as senior wing Wilky Henry set a program record with 46 points. We defeated No. 1 seed Dayton, 109-82, in the Sweet 16, and then we beat No. 2 seed Indiana in the Elite Eight, 105-69. You can read a full recap of our road to the Final Four here.

We recruited for one scholarship and are poised to land five-star JUCO shooting guard Edwin Wolfe after the season.

Read: Western Illinois, Year 20, 2026-2027

Read: Western Illinois’ NCAA tournament run in Year 20, continued

Here’s a look at our roster heading into the Final Four:

It seems like just yesterday I was a fresh-faced 25-year-old taking over arguably the worst program in college basketball. Now in my 20th season, our Leathernecks are making their fourth Final Four appearance and looking for their third national championship.

Our opponent in the Final Four is No. 2 seed Pepperdine. The Wave enter the game at 34-2 on the season. You can find their roster here. We’re rated as a 99 overall, they’re rated as a 94 overall. Here’s how the two teams stack up:

I could feel the heat when we started this tournament run. The program came maddeningly close to breaking through in Year 16, Year 17, and Year 18, which each ended with a loss in the Elite Eight. The first round exit last season only made matters worse. Part of me always felt like this would be the year before the year given that three of our top players are juniors. At least that’s what I was telling myself when we were under-seeded yet again by the committee and given a difficult opening round matchup vs. talented Minnesota team in the 5-12 game.

I was expecting an all-out battle with the Golden Gophers, and we got it — for the first 20 minutes. Second half team has become a rallying cry for our Leathernecks on the Twitch streams, and we pulled away after halftime again. From then on, it’s been nothing but blowouts.

Round of 32 vs. Ole Miss: This was The Wilky Henry Game. Our senior small forward set a program record with 46 points on 10-of-16 shooting from three-point range.

Sweet 16 vs. Dayton: The Flyers were the top-seed in our region, but we turned the game into a beatdown by halftime. Junior point guard Tron Whaley led the way with 21 points even as he sat on the bench the entire second half.

Elite Eight vs. Indiana: Just a 36-point victory to punch our ticket to the Final Four, no biggie.

We were winning by an average of 27.75 points per game on our road to the Final Four. We have never approached anything like this before, not even during our two other national championship seasons. This team was firing on all cylinders, but it didn’t mean a thing without the ring.

This team just has so many weapons. Junior power forward Allan Cunningham — 6’11, 290 pounds — is an absolute monster on the interior and has soft touch out to three-point range on his jump shot. He feels like the best four in program history. Wilky Henry is everything we want out of a wing — big, athletic, always ready to fire from three. Tron Whaley has given us a point guard who can take care of the ball and stretch the floor. Mathew Alloway has a super bright future and has held his own as a freshman starter. Pat Giddens is comically large and is finally starting to play up to his rating.

I am very confident entering the Pepperdine game. I am nervous about the potential national championship game matchup against the winner of Villanova vs. Maryland. As we simulated into Final Four weekend, Tron Whaley goes up one point to 90 overall, and Alloway goes up one point 86 overall. That has to be a good sign.

We streamed this game on Twitch on Sunday night. As always, I’m not controlling Western Illinois; we’re watching a simulated game played by the computer. I’m not playing any of the games in this series, I only do the recruiting and set the coaching strategies. The game will start when you press play.

FINAL FOUR, LET’S GO!

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Win, 93-70. We’re going to the national championship game!

No star performance this time around — the whole team balled out. Again, we blew this game open in the second half. The most impressive thing is we didn’t even have a particularly good shooting night, only hitting 26 percent of our shots from behind the arc. It didn’t matter because we dominated the glass and made so many big plays defensively — 20 combined stocks (steals + blocks), many of them leading directly to offense going the other way.

Honestly, I thought our center Pat Giddens was the player of the game. Giddens has been heavily criticized by the fanbase throughout the year despite being a projected lottery pick and the highest rated junior in the NCAA tournament at 94 overall. While Giddens has been knocked for being unpolished as a scorer and a little underwhelming as a rim protector, he put it all together vs. Pepperdine. He made some sweet moves offensively and anchored the defense with six blocks. I know the fan who wrote “The Case for Pat Giddens” on our Subreddit had to be thrilled.

There really isn’t too much else to say about this one. We were clearly the better team at both ends of the floor. Here are some clips from reader Abby, starting with my favorite play of the night: this monster dunk from backup freshman center Kevin Brazzle:

Great ball movement leading to the Wilky Henry three:

Brazzle with the block, Wilky Henry with the powerful two-handed slam. This is when the flood gates really started to open:

One win away from title No. 3.

Our opponent in the national championship game is No. 5 seed Villanova, who defeated Maryland in the other Final Four game.

No. 12 seed Western Illinois vs. No. 5 seed Villanova, national championship game, 2027 NCAA tournament

Villanova was the team we didn’t want to see. The Wildcats have been about as good in our simulation as they’ve been in real life lately, which is to say: really damn good. Nova is the rare team with the size up front to compete with Ham and Giddens. They have dynamic guards too who will be a threat out past the three-point line.

Nova enters the game rated as a 100 overall, one point higher than us. Here’s a full look at the Villanova roster:

This is going to be our toughest test of the tournament. It’s been five games and five blowout victories so far. Something tells me that’s not going to happen again against Villanova.

We streamed this game on Twitch on Sunday night. We had more than 1,700 people watch at least part of the stream and we hit 500+ concurrent viewers at one point. The game will tip off when you click play, but you should click through and watch it on Twitch’s interface to read all of the comments. Thank you everyone who came out. New fans are very much welcomed and appreciated.

One win away from a national title. LET’S GO!

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Win, 97-67! THE WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS FOR THE THIRD TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY.

Just pure dominance, man. I can’t believe we just 30-pieced Villanova in the title game. This team just completed a six-game NCAA tournament run where they won by an average of 27.3 points per game.

And we’re the lowest-seeded team to ever win the NCAA tournament, breaking our own record back in Year 8. Not bad for a No. 12 seed.

Our best players carried us in this one. What more can we say about Wilky Henry? The man is a legend. He finished the title game with 30 points on 13-of-19 shooting to complete arguably the most brilliant individual tournament run in program history. Allen Cunningham was every bit as good. He finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists, and was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

Ham turned the game with 17 minute left. We were only up five when he unleashed this poster dunk for the and-one.

It was pretty much curtains for Nova from there. We have had some great teams at Western Illinois in my 20 seasons as head coach, but this feels like our most complete group ever. We had size, we had shooting, we had depth. At no point did I ever think we were going to lose. What a team.

Here are a few clips from the title game, starting with this three + stare-down (!) from Silky Wilky:

Ham from NBA range!

Wilbur Ager with the MJ shrug:

Legends, all of them.

Western Illinois became America’s team with an unlikely run to the national championship in Year 8, or 2015. Our second title in Year 13, or 2020, solidified the fact that this program is for real. Now our third title in 2027? Well, that just proves we’re one of the greatest college basketball programs of all-time.

This one’s for you, Neck Nation. There’s only one thing left to do at this point: enjoy this “One Shining Moment”.

Please check out our beat writer Matthew Morrow on what this third title means the fanbase and the legacy of head coach Ricky Charisma. To whoever edited the Wikipedia page for the most national championships by one head coach in college basketball history ... thank you.

The game gives you 40 seasons before it forces you to retire, and I plan on playing it out. I’m coming for you, Coach K.

National champs, baby. Let’s hang the banner!

The scary thing? We could be just as good next year if Giddens and Ham decide to bypass the NBA draft to return for their senior seasons. Let’s go to the offseason — just skip to the end of the title game to watch me play through it on Twitch.

Offseason

Your 2027 national champions: the Western Illinois Leathernecks. 12-seed. Soak it in.

Wilky Henry gets selected in the NBA draft. One of the all-time greats

GIDDENS AND CUNNINGHAM ARE COMING BACK. Oh my. I thought we were for sure losing one of them. Year 21 is about to be lit.

We lose an assistant coach. I love seeing our guys get head coaching jobs. I think we found a pretty good replacement: 72-year-old Leighton Merriex, who has an A+ rating in teaching and a B+ rating in scouting. Welcome to the staff.

We only had one scholarship to recruit for this season, and we’re been chasing the same player all year. He signs on the first day of spring recruiting: five-star JUCO shooting guard Edwin Wolfe out of Federal Way, Washington. We’re excited to add to him to the program. We’ve had a few stellar JUCO players through the years and we’re hoping he can be next.

Now it’s time to set our schedule for Year 21. Here’s what I came up with:

@ Dayton, Maui Invitational, @ LSU, @ Louisville, @ Charlotte, vs. Illinois, @ Kansas, @ Florida.

Year 21 is going to be a ton of fun. In addition to having a team that can repeat as national champs, we also have four scholarships to recruit for. We need to make sure our present is as bright as our future.

Year 21

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 21:

We start the year at No. 18 in preseason polls. How are we not No. 1???? The disrespect never ends.

Unfortunately, Wolfe came in lower than we were hoping: he’s a 70 overall with C+ potential. He’ll redshirt. Either way, we’re totally stacked next year. We’re going to stream the regular season in Year 21 on Friday, Aug. 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch. Please join us.

Western Illinois, Year 21, 2027-2028 regular season stream

Game: Western Illinois Year 21 regular season stream. We’ll watch one regular season game, recruit for four scholarships, and sim to the NCAA tournament.

How to watch: My Twitch channel

Date: Wednesday, August 28

Tip-off time: 8:30 p.m. ET // 7:30 p.m. CT.

I hope to see you there.

NATIONAL CHAMPS! Go ‘Necks.

[supercultshow]

Hello Supercult West! This is Supercult South Bad Movie Professor Cameron Coker (BS in “0%” with a minor in “Everyone is a Ninja but Dudikoff”) and I’m reaching out to you from across the country to help hype tonight’s screening of American Ninja!

Okay let’s get the boring stuff out of the way: First off, American Ninja has too many titles. It’s American Warrior in the UK and in the trailer, it’s American Fighter in Germany, and it’s American Ninja everywhere else. Secondly, this film is bad. It has a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and was released by the infamous Cannon films group responsible for about a third of the hilariously named things we watch here at Supercult. Finally this film had a hilariously small budget of $1 million dollars, but made $10 million back, which in the world of Cannon Films means that American Ninja deserved no fewer than 4 sequels: American Ninja 2: The Confrontation, American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt, American Ninja 4: The Annihilation, and American Ninja V which wasn’t even meant to be an American Ninja sequel and had the working titles Little Ninja Man and American Dragons before the title was changed just before release. But that’s not what you should be paying attention to Supercultists. What you should care about is Michael Dudikoff, whose entire film career is due to Chuck Norris turning this role down.

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Originally the studio wanted Chuck Norris to star, but Chuck was already a star by then and said, “If I’m going to be in a film, I don’t want my face hidden. I’m going to be me.” And then one day while lounging by the pool at his home in Dallas, Texas Chuck thought to himself, “Wait a minute, I already starred in the film that started this American Ninja craze: The Octagon. I am the ORIGINAL American Ninja!” and then he roundhouse kicked Hollywood so hard that it flew all the way to the West coast. Yeah, Hollywood used to be in Dallas, but now it’s in California and there’s a 2-hour time difference and that’s why I record these speeches instead of just skype call you guys. Thanks Chuck.

So, then the studio had to find a different American Ninja, so they got one of the extras from Tron, Michael Dudikoff. Up until this point Dudikoff had mostly been surviving on supporting roles in TV movies. American Ninja would be his first big starring role. Unfortunately, Michael is not a ninja. He’s just a buff white guy with a bro-tastic last name and a face that says, ‘James Dean stunt double’ who doesn’t speak until 14 minutes into his own film. So, they had to find a third American Ninja to teach the second guy how to be an American Ninja on camera. So, they found Mike Stone, a martial artist, fight choreographer, stuntman, actor, author, and motivational speaker who trained with Chuck Norris at his school in West LA and is a U.S. Army veteran who was stationed in the Philippines. Mike Stone assured the producers that he could help Michael Dudikoff appear to be just a few of the things that Mike Stone already was: a U.S. Army Ninja man stationed in the Philippines who fights like Chuck Norris. Why they didn’t just have Mike Stone be the American Ninja is beyond me, but perhaps Mike Stone was too busy having a scandalous affair with Prescilla Presley, then wife of Elvis Presley and selling his story, “How I stole Elvis Presley’s Wife From Him” to the Globe tabloid. You know…personal stuff.

The most American poster of all time…

Huh?

Wha?

I mean, I just don’t know, man…

“But she is cute, isn’t she? Isn’t she? Huh? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re jiggling. You’re jiggling. I knew I’ve touched something again. Ha ha ha, yeah.”

This movie has a body count of 114, but most die of embarrassment from being in this movie, so do they really count?

You’re not a real supporting actor unless you can carry your star like Sam carried Frodo.

Director Sam Firstenberg has stated in an interview that his two favorites of the films he’s directed are this one and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984). He said that this film “has a special quality of innocent, true friendship, love and youthful idealism.”

This film features a lot of Dudikoff performing U.S. Army Ninja man moves very close to camera with a face that looks like he forgot to study for his Algebra final. He performs the moves slowly, not because he’s necessarily a bad martial artist (he did learn quickly and eventually earned a black belt) but because he was suffering from Malaria during the shooting in the Philippines and being really nervous around Steve James, American actor, stunt performer, and martial artist, yet another guy on set who probably should have been the American Ninja if the producers didn’t have such a specifically milk toast picture in their heads for the protagonist.

But poor, unremarkable, Michael Dudikoff survives the filming, makes up with Steve James and goes home. And then the film becomes the equivalent of a block buster in Cannon films terms and he’s suddenly one of the studio’s go-to action heroes along with Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, and Jean-Claude Van Damme! He has over 60 titles to his name and he’s still working to this day. So, here’s to you Michael Dudikoff. If ever there was a personification of a cult classic it would be you.

Supercult West is proud to present, American Ninja!

  American Ninja Hello Supercult West! This is Supercult South Bad Movie Professor Cameron Coker (BS in “0%” with a minor in “Everyone is a Ninja but Dudikoff”) and I’m reaching out to you from across the country to help hype tonight’s screening of American Ninja!

[attract-mode-collective]

CASE SHOTSHOT STAGE4, aka THUNDERBOX’s Summer Collection 2017

… But first: Toco Toco’s season finale (I wasn’t aware that there was one in the first place) is here, and the subject is the man responsible for perhaps my favorite video game of all time? And maybe yours as well? It’s Tetsuya Mizuguchi…

Alas, the focus is squarely on the most recent iteration of Rez (aka my fave game). Was hoping it would touch upon his earlier work, in particular, Sega Rally. Older games are oh so briefly mentioned, with the role of audio being the primary emphasis. And even though it’s not a music game… holy sh*t does Sega Rally have an AMAZING soundtrack.

BTW, I’ve got game music on my mind because… will explain later! Also, the gifs above are courtesy of Prosthetic Knowledge, cuz they make them far better than I ever could.

Anyhow, it’s been a while since the last game culture round-up, hasn’t it? So long in fact that… there’s a new THUNDERBOX lookbook to, well, take a look at. Which actually just came out, so this particular round-up ain’t that overdue…

Whereas the HuCard was the hottest fashion accessory of last spring, summer will see this rather nifty take on the Sega Saturn Lightning Brain design (also, RIP 1CC shirts)…

There’s also a really nifty shirt, a collab with INC NOXXX SCREAMING…

… plus a single Famicom cart holder/wallet…

Along with LEBLANC GIRL, either on a shirt…

… or as a pin…

Back to INC NOXXX SCREAMING, real name Yozi Shimoda, who’s been grabbing my attention more and more as of late. Was going to share his latest shirt in the next Instagram dump, but no point in waiting right?

Sticking with fashion for just a tiny bit more; it’s been over three years, but the King of Games has finally updated their YouTube channel, and they now have a trailer?

Which video game-centric footwear do you prefer? These sneakers, based upon Sonic’s (via miki800)…

… Or these sneakers, based upon the Super Nintendo, one that’s also running NBA Jam (via FreakerSNEAKS)…

As you may have heard, a new Super Famicom cart is going to be released later this year. Am talking about Kaizou Choujin Shubibinman Zero, originally released 20 years ago for the Satellaview.

Now, something that’s getting far less attention is how the same publisher, Columbus Circle, is also releasing a new Famicom game called Heiankyo Alien around that time as well (via tvgame)…

In other news, there’s a manga based upon Daigo Umehara, which you may or may not have heard about. Anyhow, UDON Entertainment has just revealed that it’s become translated and published in the West…

Here we have a nice little piece from José Salot, one that’s simply entitled: “Gamer Room”; I really want that poster that’s on the wall, of the Famicom karts…

And a somewhat similar scene, except it’s a girl playing games while in bed, and that girl also happens to be Sailor Moon (via sixteen-bit)…

Check out these photos of a strategy guide, for that Godzilla game that came on a Dreamcast VMU, which I want to say pre-dated the release of the console itself (could be wrong, but am pretty certain; via jimpluff)…

And on a related note, here are some pics from a shmup supplement that accompanied an issue of Famitsu, way back in 1990 (via videogamesdensetsu)…

On another related note; which bonkers shmup flyer do you prefer? This one for Darius (via shmups)…

… or this one for Space Bomber (via obscurevideogames)…

It’s Mario and Bowser, adorning a nuclear command bunker, taken by NPR originally, that suppermariobroth recently re-posted it (if you want to catch glimpses of some of the other oddball Mario artwork that exists alongside, then watch this video)…

And on that note, time once again to see some of the more interesting discoveries and observations that the Broth has made as of late. Including the actual note for the coin sound effect in the Mario games that Nintendo filed a trademark for only last year…

This question posed in a strategy guide back in 1987…

This “extremely rare official artwork of Mario holding up a Super Koopa” from a pog…

This image of a Thwomp on a moped from a Mario Party…

This curious depiction of Donkey Kong from an ad for the GBA port of DKC…

This photo of a goofy looking Mario with a Korean boy that looked just like me when I was his age…

This photo of a scarier looking Mario with Wil Wheaton and his younger brother; apparently it was from a tournament where the Star Trek TNG star had the highest score among all the celebrity guests…

And this fascinating bit of intel…

“In one particular piece of official art for Super Mario Odyssey, Mario’s hair is rendered in great detail. Zooming in to the part above his ear, we can see what appears to be a single gray hair. This seems to be deliberate, as analysis of the image reveals that this is not a transparency issue, but that the hair is indeed colored a lighter color than the rest. Due to the image being released in a lossless format by Nintendo, this also could not be a compression artifact.”

BTW, I completely forget where I got the following. I may have blocked it out of my memory to be honest…

Gizmodo recently ran an interesting piece about an astronomy student who strapped a Game Boy Camera to the end of a 179-year-old telescope to take pictures of the moon…

Meanwhile, The Verge recently ran a story on Shawn Wasabi, that musician with a MIDI controller that has 24 arcade buttons, whom Eric and later myself wrote about over two years ago.

Though it reminded me that I hadn’t checked his YouTube channel in a while and totally missed the following, posted on this past Valentine’s Day. So if you haven’t seen it before either…

Sticking with musicians for just a bit; here we have a guy who plays music with a Famicom on his head, playing a game with a Famicom that’s on a table…

Isn’t this Tron movie poster from Japan the raddest or what? (via gaijira)

You Mortal Kombatants get off my lawn (via horrorsoflife)…

meldowiseau asks: “from Mortal Kombat Advance’s credits; does that imply they spent a fraction of their budget on a new coffee machine?”

vice-s-assistant notes: “Oh shit’s its Robert From King of Fighters’ bank password“…

Let’s say hello to the cast of Primal Rage, shall we? (via thewaragainstgiygas)…

And let’s check out what Josh’s top 3 games are, shall we? (via xxx.hypnosis.party)

Is this image from a TED talk for real? (via smart-elec)

Whereas as I know for a fact that this isn’t some piece of Gex fan art, it’s an official image, from the cover of Gex 3 on the N64…

Please enjoy this rundown of assorted Pac-Man clone covers, courtesy of vgjunk, with perhaps my favorite one being…

It’s funny how the Game Boy was essentially the video game equivalent to the Walkman, which someone would clone and make it resemble a Game Boy (and which Nintendo would officially sanction, according to nintendroid)…

And speaking of music, by someone who goes by Motocross Saito…

Oh, so at the very top I mentioned that I had game music on my mind… game music by Treasure to be exact. And that’s because, earlier this evening, I was a guest on the Video Game Grooves podcast! Where I was asked to talk about the just released Gunstar Heroes record by Data Discs. Alas, I didn’t get a chance to touch upon the music of Guardian Heroes, but at least I have this super cool gif by kyn…

And finally, why yes someone has modded fidget spinners into Grand Theft Auto V, did you even need to ask?

Don’t forget: Attract Mode is now on Medium! There you can subscribe to keep up to date, as well as enjoy some “best of” content you might have missed the first time around, plus be spared of the technical issues that’s starting to overtake Tumblr.

[kevoreally]

#BuffyAt20 - S03E05 “Homecoming”

AND HERE WE ARE! I am finally caught up on #BuffyAt20 with this liveblog! Very exciting. Season 3, Episode 5, “Homecoming.”

> It’s weird to see these kids talking about something normal like a dance. Not funny weird. Weird weird.

> Why is Willow talking about this being their “last homecoming” as if they’ve ever been the types to celebrate homecoming? (Didn’t Cordy almost get Bride Of Frankenstein’d at last homecoming or something?)

> Is it homecoming or Homecoming? I’m not going to get it right, that’s for sure.

> I actually don’t think going in Oz’s van is the dumbest idea. It's at The Bronze, not The Plaza.

> Why are they talking about a limo for homecoming anyway?? Is this a thing? I thought that was just Prom. And yet I remember no mention of a limo once we get to the actual Prom.

> Wow, in a rare instance, Cordelia’s tactlessness is actually useful. I mean, she’s not calling out Scott in defense of Buffy so much as from a complete lack of social awareness, but it still proved useful.

> “The judge will accept that as a yes.” Bless Oz forever.

> Okay, Buffy is still a little zoned out, but she’s a fairly decent girlfriend in that first scene.

> Was that Angel dramatic curtain pull really as intense as the music tried to tell us? Probably not.

> I actually loved and still love the “Buffy hiding Angel” arc. I think it makes a lot of sense. I think it could’ve been better executed at times, but I still enjoy it more than, say, XILLOW.

>This smash-cut to the break-up is actually almost laughable. Who wrote this one? … Written AND directed by Greenwalt? Huh.

> This was such a weird three-episode arc, this Scott Hope thing. We literally never see him again after this episode, and he’s only mentioned again I think once in Season 7.

> He barely gives a reason for dumping her! YOU AGREED TO GO TO HOMECOMING WITH HER LAST NIGHT! What a chump. You can do better, B.

> Woof. The Twins. Hello, boys.

> Them watching her is such an interesting note to close the teaser on, because it still yet doesn’t give away any of the SlayerFest stuff, you just think “assassins.”

> No, seriously, every week this theme song gets me.

> THE MAYORRRRRR!!!!!!!

> Also Deputy Mayor Allan. Love him. Was he Deputy Mayor? I suppose I’ll be reminded soon enough.

> The germophobe stuff was such an odd and interesting quirk to add to this villain.

> “Dirt. And germs. And mayonnaise.” This performance, man.

> “You have all my faith.” HA!

> It’s cute that these senior portraits were used in the “official” Sunnydale High Yearbook. (Which I own, of course. (It’s… not great.))

> “Open to all mankind.” There’s that slut-shaming again.

> Xander actually does occasionally show emotional concern for Cordy and it’s… almost nice? But then this is the episode where he starts cheating, so… nvm.

> Eddie’s friend Nicole on #FreshOffTheBoat looked just like Faith and I loved it.

> See, and now here Buffy and Faith are talking about being sexually empowered. Isn’t that so much nicer than slut-shaming?

> UGH, the scene where Buffy’s favorite teacher doesn’t know her. I feel this too hard.

> I find it hard to believe any teacher has not heard of Buffy. THAT NAME ALONE.

> Also hard to believe there’s no make-up dates for senior portraits. And seriously? When Buffy didn’t show up after Cordy said she’d get her, no one else went?? 🤬

> “just because you were Guacamole Queen when you were three” - is that in response to Buffy saying she was Fiesta Queen a moment ago, when Cordelia wasn’t present?

> Yeah, my IG post had me wonder if Buffy should’ve backed off, since this is all Cordy has, but no. This is actually great. I root for Buffy all the way. Go for blood.

> "...and whatever the hell you are, my brother. You got them  spiny-looking head things. I ain't never seen that before." "I am Kulak, of the Miquot Clan." "Isn't that nice." Loool.

> “Ladies, gentlemen, spiny-head-looking creatures.” Seriously, Mr. Trick was great.

> OH NO, IT’S HERE. The dreaded Xillow.

> Seriously, can I just blackout during this?

> There’s even a soft pop hit playing in the background. STOP TRYING TO BE #DAWSONSCREEK.

> I’m sorry - eighth grade COTILLION? WHAT? (Meanwhile, I was in seventh grade when this aired.)

> Xander asking Willow how far she and Oz got is only inappropriate because of what comes next. It would’ve been so nice if they could’ve been comfortable opposite-sex friends who could talk about those sorts of things.

> This whole scene is so painfully awkward. Who actually wanted this? STOP DANCING.

> Okay it’s over bye, bye, byeee.

> This whiteboard reminds me of #CabinInTheWoods

> Okay, Buffy. Like. Why do you think anyone is going to laugh at you making fun of Cordy? We all know it’s beneath you.

> “A lot of people came to my welcome home party.” “They were killed by zombies.” “Good point.” HA.

> Okay, you know, Willow and Xander’s guilt pushing them to work harder for Cordy almost makes it worth the moment in THIS episode. But its continuation after this is just dumb.

> Like. At the very least, can’t Willow let Buffy see her database too? Wtf?

> “As Willow goes, so goes my nation” is something I say a lot, except with Nico.

> I straight up thought Buffy was just drinking directly from a bottle of wine just now.

> I like this song during the compaign montage. And hey, it’s Fastball! https://youtu.be/e97XbcKy8ZU

> I liked the Lisa Loeb song from earlier, so I may as well link to that too: https://youtu.be/NDdivQ8n5Ug

> Aww, it was so nice of the promo department to lend Buffy a headshot to use for her campaign posters. 🙄

> Remember last week when Scott’s two oldest friends were both killed, including one by the other? And we were supposed to, like, feel sympathy for him?

> How long is this campaign going on for? Where is Buffy getting the funding for all of this?

> WHY WOULD WILLOW *NOT* HAVE SHOWN BUFFY THE DATABASE? Sigh.

> JONATHAN!!!

> Cordelia only gave Jonathan $6? Even in 1998, that was nothing. At least make it $10!

> Vulcan Death Grip - that’s not the right name, right? I feel like even I know that one.

> “is that any more tacky than your faux ‘I’m shy but deep’ campaign posters?” “...yes.” Ha. And, yes.

> ”How can you think it’s okay to talk to people like this?” SERIOUSLY, BUFFY. I’m finding it hard to understand how liking Cordelia at this point in the series.

> Like right here. Cordelia *purposely* goes to physically push Buffy, assuming the Slayer would never push back. The moment Buffy actually defends herself, Cordelia calls her “sick.” That’s uncanny.

> Okay, “vapid whore” wasn’t great. But. ...Y’know. 🤷🏻‍♂️

> For real, I still keep expecting it to turn out there’s some kind of horny homecoming ghost that’s going to be revealed as the source of this Xillow nonsense. But no. Never.

> “I’m talking about us.” Loooool, of course you are, Willow. Watch out for anvils, everyone…

> “The limo was not cheap, work it out”? What the fuck? 🤭🤣

> Okay, but for real, the setup here of how Cordelia came to be mistaken for Faith? I actually do find that amusing. And it was 1998, so you could still just barely get away with the Germans making that mistake without saying, “Okay, but all that tech and they got it wrong?” It was a magical time.

> Their dresses are gorgeous and timeless, by the way. And the color scheme evokes thoughts of #TRON for me, that orange and almost-teal green.

> Omigod, it’s a TV in the woods, hooked up to a VCR. Maybe it wasn’t such a magical time after all, haha.

> I want a SlayerFest T-shirt.

> I vividly remember “She’s a Slayer, I’m a Homecoming Queen” from the commercials.

> Faith just hanging out at this dance is so cute. There weren’t nearly enough stories with Faith actively involved as a good guy.

> I haven’t ever listened closely to “She Knows” by Four Star Mary, I don’t know how much sense Oz writing it for Willow makes, but believe I’ll be looking into it before I blog it.

> Giles psyching out Willow and Xander is friggin’ adorable. I love that Giles starts to loosen up this season. Is it a response to seeing the change in his returned Slayer? Hmm.

> I love Buffy just lobbing a bear trap at someone.

> I can’t tell if the hunter is cute. I wanna say mostly. I wonder if this was supposed to be Whats-his-name from “Phases”?

> Okay, it’s vindictive, but Faith’s revenge on Scott still makes me giggle. What?? That was a very unceremonious dumping.

> And we never saw Scott again. Who was his date anyway? What became of Scott after this? Other than, y’know. Gay.

> Giles is so on point in this episode. He’s fun and caring and charming. What a wonderful highlight in a lot of mess.

> Omigod, I almost forgot about Cordy’s spatula.

> Hm. This making Cordy realize she loves Xander is… interesting.

> And then her fortifying after Buffy goads her - and being smart enough to recognize that’s what she’s doing. Huh.

> Oh wait, she forgot to mention the telephone, nevermind, she still dumb.

> “No, this is better, for - oh.” Ha, tho.

> Buffy is leaving a voicemail on Giles’s landline. Lol.

> The spiny demon offering to cut off the hunter’s leg is actually kind of a nice gesture. New OTP.

> Wait, Buffy’s voicemail actually went through? Interesting.

> “I spent a year’s allowance on this dress.” And the muffins?

> Loving Buffy’s “pick up a yearbook and prove I went to high school” speech here, tbh. Writing and performance.

> How did this guy not just turn around and stab Cordelia while she was swatting him?

> “Cordelia, the spatula.” Haaa.

> This tech is some real #VRTroopers-looking shit.

> How have I not yet mentioned the Gorch reappearance here? And how much I love it? So fun.

> Wow, Buffy goes down hard when she gets hit with that stand. Damn.

> I do sort of love Cordelia talking Gorch into fleeing. He’s just stupid enough for this to work here.

> “I don’t recall them mentioning corsages” - that’s what tips them off? Sigh.

> “I need some wet toilet paper.” “Yeah! That’ll help.” Okay, lul.

> NOOO, goodbye, hot German twins! RIHotness.

> Seriously, cute plan tho, making them fire on each other. I wonder if their Dad/Handler ever got his money. Also, so like, what happened at school the next day, with this shot-up wall?

> The Mayor immediately offers his hand to Mr. Trick, that’s endearing. He’s a very endearing villain.

> “This is a very important year for me.” “Election year.” “Something like that.” Snerk.

> “The children are our future. We need them. I need them.” Like, does he mean ‘to eat’ here? I don’t think so, actually. He talks in Season 4 about having a children’s museum dedicated to himself.

> HA, SEE, I KNEW IT: “long story,” “got hunted,” “apparently not that long.” And also written by David Greenwalt. Gotta watch those, brother!

> Oh hey Devon!

> This scene does completely make me laugh still, not gonna lie. When he’s switching the crown over the two winners’ heads and our girls just walk off. Classic.

Speaking of classic - next week, a very classic episode, with another character reappearance, “Band Candy!” Looking forward to it. Especially now that I’m finally caught up! :D :D :D

[nealbruce]

TrOn the road to mastering Twitter

I have not been a big Twitter user over the last several years, so this class will teach me a lot about how to use Twitter. In this post, I will discuss 5 features in Twitter.

#1 - Liking posts: I have included a screen shot to show that I have liked Sterling Etheridge’s (@thehonoroller) post about using Twitter for this class. The Like feature used to known as the Favorite feature. It is one of the easiest ways to engage with the Twitter community. Liking A tweet lets other people know what you enjoy or support. When you like a tweet, the poster of that tweet is notified.

#2 - Hashtags: This term is now deep in the US culture (Hashtag USculture) Get it, I just made a little joke! Hashtags were first used by Twitter, but now other social tools are incorporating Hashtags as a way to tag or classify content. It is a link that connects you to other topics or tweets that mentioned the same keyword. I included a screen shot of me using #CollaborativeComputing in a tweet. @silvanacollabclass used #BCCollabClass in a tweet to tag the same type of content. This shows a weakness of Hashtags. Because Hashtags are unstructured, several different Hashtags can be used to classify the same content. Hashtags are tracked and help the Twitter search engine decide which topics are trending at any given moment.

#3 - @ feature: This is a way to let forward a tweet directly to an individual. In the included screenshot, I used this feature to send a note about class to several classmates. Now the @ feature is used by several other products (including Tumblr) e.g. @nealbruce  and @silvanacollabclass. This feature is often discussed in the media these days because President Trump tweets often @realDonaldTrump, but perhaps a bit too often :)

#4 - Following: This is another easy to use feature that fosters collaboration. Following others helps you stay connected to people you know or find interesting. Following creates a group or virtual community. Following others helps you see what is going on in their lives and what they like. Also, it is good to know that Twitter does not send a notification when you unfollow someone.

#5 - Trending topics: In a screen shot above I demonstrate the Trending Topics that show up on my homepage. This feature let’s me know what is hot right now. For example, I found it interesting that #MondayMotivation is trending on Monday. The term “trending” (like Hashtag) has become part of the US culture.

#6 - Direct Message: This feature lets me send a message to an specific individual. I have included a screen shot of a sample text message to @paulbradleybc. This is an convenient way to have a private conversation in the mist of a larger group conversation. You can start a private conversation or create a group conversation with anyone who follows you. Anyone you do not follow can send you a Direct Message if (a) You have opted in to receive Direct Messages from anyone or (b) You have previously sent that person a Direct Message.